Shepherd Thou Art Forgiving Light
Program notes
This song cycle in five parts pairs various voice types with brass and woodwind instruments. The idea for this piece came after a friend mentioned how much she liked the tuba and said, somewhat jokingly, that I should write something for her to sing with tuba. Soon after, concept of writing an entire song cycle based on this idea of a vocalist accompanied by a single wind instrument soon developed.
The text is taken from various parts of the Bible (King James Version) and all had some personal meaning for me at the time the piece was composed. The songs are linked harmonically by a five-note chromatic set that is linearly reordered in each song to create contrast and variety. The first four songs are duets and the last features an ensemble of all the vocalists and wind players.