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The music of Stephen Lounsbrough

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Redemptione Aeterna

By Stephen M. Lounsbrough

Redemptione Aeterna
$50.00
  • Publisher: Lounsbrough Music
  • Available in: PDF Score and Parts; Printed Score and Parts ($10 printing fee)
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Program Note

The title of this work is taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of Hebrews 9:12 which speaks of the eternal redemption accomplished by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and offered to those who draw near to God in faith.  The work is a fantasia on a hymn tune by the composer set to a Philip Bliss text, “Hallelujah, What a Savior”.

The opening antiphonal solos are intended to convey mankind’s position of alienation from God.  The hymn tune is introduced in the woodwinds in its simplest statement as an expression of sorrow.  In a dramatic surge, the brass enters and the horns take over the melody with a swelling accompaniment by piano, mallet percussion, and clarinet choir.  The lament ebbs away into a thin, suspenseful chord.

Timpani and bass drum herald the centerpiece, entitled “propitiation.”  This section paints the lifting up of Christ on the cross with ascending scales in the brass and suggests the cosmic nature of the crucifixion with crashes and surges in the percussion.  The tension builds to the dramatic climax, entitled “cleansing,” where brass and woodwinds call and answer with a new majestic, joyful theme.  Piano and mallet percussion are used to create a shimmering, refreshing effect.

 After a brief subsiding to antiphonal solos, now as simple expressions of faith, the hymn tune returns in its fullest instrumentation with the second theme soaring in counterpoint above it.  This gives way to “reconciliation,” where previous musical elements all come together in a peaceful, albeit weighty, resolution.  Chimes and other mallet percussion emerge from the texture ringing out the good news and the ascending scale now represents access to God.
REDEMPTIONE-AETERNA-Perusal-Score

Series: Large Ensemble Tagged with: Wind Ensemble

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