Commissioned by pianist Stephen A. Emberley to be part of their performance memoir, “Becoming More”, this piece takes the shape of a sonata form, utilizing found-object melodic materials. The primary theme is an arrangement of the early 20th C. hymn, “God Leads Us Along” by George A. Young. The secondary theme is based on the famous “Evening Prayer” from Humperdinck’s 1892 opera, Hansel and Gretel. But the overall shape of the piece is the traditional exposition-development-recapitulation of the Classical style of ‘sonata-thinking,’ common to the works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
Instrumental to the conception are the words to the two vocal pieces. In God leads us along, the lyrics explore the concept that through the trials and sorrows of life, the constancy of God’s Love provides a path for us, a guiding light, which in this case is expressed as ‘a song.’ Some key lines:
“Gods leads his dear children along”
“Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose….Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes”
“Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all through the blood, Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song”
In Hansel & Gretel, the brother and sister are lost in the woods, tired, cold and hungry. Afraid and exhausted, they fall asleep, but not before singing Abendsegen, or Evening Prayer. The piece displays bravery, self-comfort, faith and hope. After they sing this prayer and fall asleep, 14 angels gather round the duo on stage and protect them.
Related but contrasting, the joyful 6/8 rhythms of God Leads Us play against the hymn-like quality of Evening Prayer, ending with unity in the same, original key.
