Written by Ken Day
Composed by Johnie Dean
Ken Day has scripted a picturesque text on the Easter story, note the word pictures:
"the whole earth trembled when Jesus died, soldiers gambled and Mary cried"
"the tomb lay silent and the stone held firm"
"to hopeless followers come words of cheer"
The theme of darkness to dawn, gloom to glory is accentuated in the music as well. This is apparent in the refrain: "But then the morning comes, the bright, new dawning comes--God's shining angel rolls the stone away." Choirs and congregants alike will emote with the textual/musical language used. The bridge on page 6 propels the anthem with anticipation toward the conclusion. Followed with a modulation into Ab Major, this work ends with vitality and joy--"O Hallelujah world—it's Resurrection Day!"
Scored for SSATBB with keyboard, one needs to restrain the choral forces from becoming too loud too soon. Save the volume for the last page, this will allow anticipation to accrue. Also, work to make sure that the inner divisi parts are covered equally to allow for good balance. Also, only have a couple of singers on the penultimate high Ab, so as not to overshadow the rest of the choir.
|
