Soprano, Flugelhorn, and Piano (4:16) - February 2001

Amazing Grace (MIDI)

Commissioned by Nikole Giraldi and Jonathan Shachter as a closer for their junior voice & trumpet recital, this piece was arranged in the gap between writing music for my own recital, and the neverending rehearsals a month later. The piece starts with an extended jazz flugelhorn cadenza. After a traditional 9/8 version of the first chorus, a lesser-known chorus gets a laidback jazz treatment as all three performers play in counterpoint in 12/8. One of the early worries was that the piece would end up somber and dirge-like. Hopefully I managed to successfully avoid this. Listen closely for the background strain of Swing Low Sweet Chariot.