I wrote all of the following compositions between 1996 and 2001. These recordings are from recordings of church services and were performed by the Choir of Foundry United Methodist Church.
The Priestly Benediction (1996)
A setting of the Priestly Benediction of Aaron from Numbers 6:24—26.
A Cold Winter’s Night in Bethlehem
A Christmas Carol for Congregation and Choir. This carol consists of six verses. Verses three and four have alternate versions that can be sung by the choir alone. The version below contains five verses, including the alternate arrangements for verses 3 and 4.
A Song for Missions Sunday (1999)
A piece composed for Mission Sunday 1999 celebrating the work of mission and performed during a slideshow of activities done by the various mission groups at Foundry UMC.
The Passion According to St. Mark (2000)
A musical setting of the passion play traditionally read as dramatic dialogue by members of the Foundry Choir. I set portions of that play to music and in some cases used original languages for texture and variety. For the text, I used the version of the passion found in the Gospel of Mark.
The Triumphal Entry
The triumphal entry on Palm Sunday from Mark 11. The text is sung in Hebrew.
The Passover
From the traditional Jewish blessings over bread and wine: “Blessed are you, O Lord Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes the fruit of the vine.” This recording was not from the Palm Sunday service at which the bulk of the passion was performed, but from the Maundy Thursday service later that week.
Abba, Father (Gethsemane)
Christ’s agony in the Garden.
Ave, Rex Judaeorum!
The mocking and scourging of Christ by the Roman cohort, represented by the tenors and basses singing in Latin: “Hail! King of the Jews!”
Basileus, Rex, Melech
In Mark’s Gospel it is recorded that the words “King of the Jews” were hung over Jesus’ cross. In John’s Gospel it is recorded that those words were in Hebrew (Aramaic), Greek, and Latin. Here the words “King of the Jews” are sung under the narration in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
Elohi, Elohi
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus dies with the words Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—on his lips. Here those words are sung by the soloist quartet in the Aramaic: Elohi, Elohi, lamah sh’vakhtani?
Vere (Truly)
The words of the centurion at the foot of the cross—a reprise of the tune for “Ave! Rex Judaeorum” above. What was once sung ironically is now sung with conviction and including the voices of the entire choir.
Make a Joyful Noise (2001)
Written for the celebration of Eileen Guenther’s 25th Anniversary as Minister of Music. The text is taken from Psalm 100 and the tune concludes with the melody of the Old 100th by Louis Bourgeois.
Some, uh, Theologica 