My Tribute (Wallin)

From Program Notes

(Arranged by Sarah Wallin)

This popular and beloved gospel hymn by Andrae Crouch was arranged by Sarah Wallin for string orchestra in 2007, at the request of the Aineo Christian String Ensemble (a division of the Aineo Christian Chamber Orchestra). It was premiered to a full and receptive audience at Zipper Hall in the Colburn School of Los Angeles (CA) the same year.

Dr. Edward David Zeliff has described the work as having "beautiful string sonorities" and an "openness and ethereal quality...wonderfully fitting for a prayer of worship, very mystical...[the] first 16 bars are gorgeous - reminiscent of [Charles] Ives' Unanswered Question with a little of Morton Gould's fascinatingly original and highly textured string writing thrown in". The work can be divided into three sections. The first opens with a solo violin carrying the melody of the hymn's chorus over a backdrop of sustained harmonics, and, afterwards, easing into a rich texture of harmonies as the cellos, and then the first violins, introduce the melody of the verse. The second section returns with the solo violin presenting the chorus' melody over a gentle ripple of subtle movement in the accompaniment. This leads mightily into the third section, for which Wallin managed to interweave the three original melodies of the bridge, chorus, and verse into one striking sound world of unique harmonies and texture. This carries the listener through to the final, climactic statement of the chorus: "To God be the glory, for the things He has done." --Sarah Wallin 05:53, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

• Audio Sample from My Tribute