NEW CHAMBER MUSIC
ABHANDENGEKOMMEN

That Heavenly Country
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Premiere: 2006 / Grace Episcopal Church / Newton, Massachusetts / Dr. Linda J. Clark
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Instrumentation: SATB with optional keyboard accompaniment
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Duration: 2:00'
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Text: Episcopal Book of Common Prayer - Rite Two, Eucharistic Prayer B
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Suitable for choirs of all levels
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Appropriate for worship or concert performance
Program Note
Completed on October 18, 2006, in Newton, Massachusetts and revised in November 2009. This motet was, like many choral works between 2005 and 2009, commissioned and premiered at Grace Episcopal Church in Newton, Mass., under the direction and supervision of Dr. Linda J. Clark. The text is taken from Eucharistic Prayer B, Rite Two, as found in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. The full text is:
In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where, with...all your saints, we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our salvation.
As with many of the motets from this period, homophony and polyphony intermingle and fade into each other. The piece stays firmly in E Major, albeit with a few of my favorite alterations - lowered seventh and raised fourth. This piece was also my first European premiere. In August, 2011, it was sung during the Eucharist at Ely Cathedral, where I was in residence as a staff singer with the choirs of Trinity Church Boston.
Ely Cathedral