Sacred Music in a Time of Natural Disaster, War, & Upheaval

The devastating effects of natural disasters, war, and tumultuous change call for music of consolation, hope, and encouragement. The following pieces are appropriate. I invite you to download one or more scores for your personal review. Please contact me if you wish to perform one of them with your ensemble.

My hymn, Hill of Crosses, was written after a choir tour to Lithuania in 2007. It compares a hill of resistance and suffering in Lithuania to Golgatha and to hills of despair in our lives. Listen to the 2008 Lenoir-Rhyne University A Cappella Choir perform an expanded version of this hymn during a chapel service at St. Olaf College.

The Lord’s Prayer (2006) may be sung in Unison or in an SATB choral version available from me.

So We Do Not Lose Heart (2008) is an SATB anthem based on 2 Corinthians that juxtaposes affliction and destruction with confidence in God’s promise. Originally composed for organ alone, an oboe may render the solo line as indicated in the score. This performance by choir and organ was recorded on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 by the Lenoir-Rhyne University A Cappella Choir, Hickory, NC.

Agnus Dei (1978) for high and low voices combines two melodies in a plaintive setting. For an earlier twelve-tone setting of this text, listen to my Agnus Dei (1971) and view the score in my a cappella works.

Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord (2009) is an STB setting of Luther’s Prayer for Peace.

Just as I Am (2007) is set in its original key and harmonization with two original descanting soprano parts. This beloved hymn, with a slight editorial change for soldiers, was found in the hymnals of both the Northern and Southern armies during the Civil War. You may hear a recording performed by the Lenoir-Rhyne A Cappella Choir in 2007 at the Riga Dom in Latvia with its eleven second reverberation in the ANTHEMS category of this website.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is an expanded setting that depicts the battle between good and evil, God and the Evil Foe, the baptized and diabolical tests of every kind. All or part of my setting available from MorningStar Music is appropriate for this time of desolation, violence, and conflict.