Eternal One

This Legacy release brings back an anthem offering from 1999, written with the late Claire Cloninger. Considering the message of Claire’s lyric, the eternal promise of Christ’s return, “timeless” is an apt description of the song itself. To capture the essence of the lyric, I employed a Ravel-like ostinato throughout the piece, relentlessly driving the anthem forward from the whispered opening measures to the thunderous concluding statement. While I suspect many of today’s choir directors and worship leaders have never heard the original, for those who have, allow me to point out some changes from the original version. The intro is shorter, noticeably and for the better. (I was overly self-indulgent in the original offering.) The choral parts have been made easier to sing, but without diminishing the strength of the anthem at all. I’m confident choirs will sound better singing this version. The piece is laid out “straight through,” without the cumbersome D. S. al Coda page turns in the first release. While this makes the anthem longer on the page, it also makes it easier to rehearse and perform. (Let’s face it, nobody likes to chase the roadmap caused by a D. S. al Coda!) The orchestration is better. The changes are subtle but significant. (What can I say? I’m better at my job today than I was when the anthem was first released.) I have liked this piece from the moment I first wrote it with Claire. It’s a strong choral declaration, and a somewhat contemporary musical offering for traditional choirs, especially those accompanied orchestrally.