SKU: PR.16500100F

ISBN 9781491114421. UPC: 680160669783. 9 x 12 inches.

Commissioned for a consortium of high school and college bands in the north Dallas region, FOR THEMYSTIC HARMONY is a 10-minute inspirational work in homage to Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon,patrons of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Van Cliburn Competition. Welcher draws melodic flavorfrom five American hymns, spirituals, and folk tunes of the 19th century. The last of these sources toappear is the hymn tune For the Beauty of the Earth, whose third stanza is the quatrain: “For the joy of earand eye, For the heart and mind’s delight, For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight,”giving rise to the work’s title.
This work, commissioned for a consortium of high school bands in the north Dallas area, is my fifteenth maturework for wind ensemble (not counting transcriptions). When I asked Todd Dixon, the band director whospearheaded this project, what kind of a work he most wanted, he first said “something that’s basically slow,” butwanted to leave the details to me. During a long subsequent conversation, he mentioned that his grandparents,Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon, were prime supporters of the Fort Worth Symphony, going so far as to purchase anumber of high quality instruments for that orchestra. This intrigued me, so I asked more about his grandparentsand was provided an 80-page biographical sketch. Reading that article, including a long section about theirdevotion to supporting a young man through the rigors of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition fora number of years, moved me very much. Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon weren’t just supporters of the arts; theywere passionate lovers of music and musicians. I determined to make this work a testament to that love, and tothe religious faith that sustained them both. The idea of using extant hymns was also suggested by Todd Dixon,and this 10-minute work is the result.I have employed existing melodies in several works, delving into certain kinds of religious music more than a fewtimes. In seeking new sounds, new ways of harmonizing old tunes, and the contrapuntal overlaying of one tunewith another, I was able to make works like ZION (using 19th-century Revivalist hymns) and LABORING SONGS(using Shaker melodies) reflect the spirit of the composers who created these melodies, without sounding likepastiches or medleys. I determined to do the same with this new work, with the added problem of employingmelodies that were more familiar. I chose five tunes from the 19th century: hymns, spirituals, and folk-tunes.Some of these are known by differing titles, but they all appear in hymnals of various Christian denominations(with various titles and texts). My idea was to employ the tunes without altering their notes, instead using aconstantly modulating sense of harmony — sometimes leading to polytonal harmonizations of what are normallysimple four-chord hymns.The work begins and ends with a repeated chime on the note C: a reminder of steeples, white clapboard churchesin the country, and small church organs. Beginning with a Mixolydian folk tune of Caribbean origin presentedtwice with layered entrances, the work starts with a feeling of mystery and gentle sorrow. It proceeds, after along transition, into a second hymn that is sometimes connected to the sea (hence the sensation of water andwaves throughout it). This tune, by John B. Dykes (1823-1876), is a bit more chromatic and “shifty” than mosthymn-tunes, so I chose to play with the constant sensation of modulation even more than the original does. Atthe climax, the familiar spiritual “Were you there?” takes over, with a double-time polytonal feeling propelling itforward at “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”Trumpets in counterpoint raise the temperature, and the tempo as well, leading the music into a third tune (ofunknown provenance, though it appears with different texts in various hymnals) that is presented in a sprightlymanner. Bassoons introduce the melody, but it is quickly taken up by other instruments over three “verses,”constantly growing in orchestration and volume. A mysterious second tune, unrelated to this one, interrupts it inall three verses, sending the melody into unknown regions.The final melody is “For the Beauty of the Earth.” This tune by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872) is commonly sung atThanksgiving — the perfect choice to end this work celebrating two people known for their generosity.Keeping the sense of constant modulation that has been present throughout, I chose to present this hymn in threegrowing verses, but with a twist: every four bars, the “key” of the hymn seems to shift — until the “Lord of all, toThee we praise” melody bursts out in a surprising compound meter. This, as it turns out, was the “mystery tune”heard earlier in the piece. After an Ivesian, almost polytonal climax, the Coda begins over a long B( pedal. At first,it seems to be a restatement of the first two phrases of “For the Beauty” with long spaces between them, but it soonchanges to a series of “Amen” cadences, widely separated by range and color. These, too, do not conform to anykey, but instead overlay each other in ways that are unpredictable but strangely comforting.The third verse of “For the Beauty of the Earth” contains this quatrain:“For the joy of ear and eye, –For the heart and mind’s delightFor the mystic harmonyLinking sense to sound and sight”and it was from this poetry that I drew the title for the present work. It is my hope that audiences and performerswill find within it a sense of grace: more than a little familiar, but also quite new and unexpected.

SKU: WD.080689266997

UPC: 080689266997.

In a work of this magnitude, hundreds of decisions, from the significant to the seemingly insignificant, determine the quality of the final result. An uncompromising commitment to excellence has guided every step of the creation of The Celebration Hymnal.

The first step was to put together a leadership team with a vision for making The Celebration Hymnal truly innovative and exceptional. Tom Fettke, Senior Editor of The Celebration Hymnal, has been a composer, editor, arranger and producer of music for the church for over three decades, and served as Senior Editor of the highly regarded The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration. His love for music of the church, his desire to equip worship leaders, and his determination for excellence made him uniquely qualified for the ambitious undertaking of creating The Celebration Hymnal. Tom studied closely the needs of worship leaders, monitoring carefully the songs being used widely in today's evangelical church, and thoroughly researching new hymns and songs that will be sung by congregations in the years to come.

Camp Kirkland, Instrumental Editor for The Celebration Hymnal has been a major force in the development of instrumental music in the church over the last two decades, and is considered one of the foremost arrangers and orchestrators of our day. He has served as consultant and orchestrator on three previous hymnal projects. For two years, he and a team of twenty orchestrators have invested themselves in perfecting the orchestrations created for The Celebration Hymnal.

The involvement of a distinguished group of musicians, pastors, worship leaders, editors, and Bible scholars combining their experience, expertise, and enthusiasm has resulted in an exceptional hymnal of unsurpassed quality. A diverse group of consultants and advisors from a broad range of denominations participated in a rigorous process of design and song selection surveys, assuring that The Celebration Hymnal will provide the most beneficial features and the most usable collection of hymns, gospel songs and contemporary praise & worship songs.

Dr. Kenneth Barker, former Executive Director of the NIV Translation Center, served as Scripture Editor, ensuring the utmost integrity in the use of Scripture throughout The Celebration Hymnal.

The nearly 700 songs included in The Celebration Hymnal were chosen on the basis of textual integrity, musical interest, and universal usage by today's evangelical church. As a non-denominational hymnal, the compilation was developed with the sole purpose of providing the strongest possible collection of songs and hymns for today's congregations. Hundreds of songs were evaluated carefully by this broad spectrum of advisors and consultants.

SKU: ST.W209

ISBN 9790220220562.

For the celebrations of HM the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, Peter Cutts, composer of 'Bridegroom', has written an anthem version of Fred Pratt Green's much loved Hymn for the Nation, set to 'Vision' by Walford Davies. Widely heard in 1977 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, 'It is God who holds the nations in the hollow of his hand' is now available in this new arrangement which has been specially written with the varying performance needs of modern church choirs in mind.