Commissioned by Rev. John A. Savage, Jr for the Three in Concert in February 2020, at Perryville Bible Church, Wakefield, RI in support of the Loving Hands Orphange in Turbe, Haiti. The melody is based on a blessing the children at the orphanage sing before meals.
Instrumentation: solo classical guitar
Duration: 4′
Program Notes: Since the piece was written to support the orphanage, I wanted to incorporate the tune of a song they would know. I was sent a video of a benediction (prayer of blessing) that the children sing before meals. The translation is “Bless this food, Bless the hands that prepared it, Bless everyone, Bless the ones who have no food.” That melody, which bookends the piece, and the Haitian meringue rhythm provide the foundation of the piece. I combined the tune of the prayer with a dance rhythm because I wanted to convey two things: God loves all the peoples of the world, and prayer is not always something formal. We can talk with God about anything, any time. I aimed to capture a variety of emotions in the piece – thankfulness, joy, sadness, and hope because God is near to his people in every situation.
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