Chant de benediction

Description

Duration: approx. 4′

Commissioned by: Rev. John A. Savage, Jr.

Year written: late 2019 – January 2020

Premiere:
February 9, 2020
“Three in Concert”
Perryville Bible Church
Wakefield, RI
Guitarist Rev. John A. Savage, Jr

Program Notes:
This piece was commissioned by my husband, John A. Savage, Jr. in November 2019 so he could perform it at the “Three in Concert”, an annual concert at Perryville Bible Church held to benefit The Loving Hands Orphanage in Turbé, Haiti. John recorded the piece and all proceeds from the recording go to support the orphanage.

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.