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Dr. John Beall |
Tonight, the West Virginia University Wind Symphony will give the premiere performance of Righteous Fire, a new piece by WVU Composer-in-Residence Professor John Beall, conducted by Director of WVU Bands, Professor John Hendricks III.
Read Professor Beall's description of this new music below, and then listen to our interview from earlier this year.
The idea and sketches for Righteous Fire were written down
and worked on for a long time, really since 1995. Although I made several
attempts I simply could not get very far with the piece. During the summer of
2010 I was finally able to complete the work when I decided to integrate the
hymn tune Come Holy Ghost and another even older sketch melody
(originally intended for a violin concerto) into my existing sketch for Righteous
Fire.
The completed piece realizes my idea for music about the Day of
Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit as described in book of The Acts of
the Apostles in the New Testament. The work is not a “blow-by-blow” musical
depiction, but the listener will have no difficulty finding the “rushing mighty
wind” and the “tongues of flame.” These musical events occur after a hectic,
dissonant opening fast section and are followed by a serene mingling of the
main ideas to a quiet, mysterious conclusion.
The premiere is tonight at 7:30pm in the Lyell B. Clay Theater at the WVU Creative Arts Center. The WVU Wind
Symphony will also perform the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, Blue Shades
by Frank Ticheli, Go by Samuel R. Hazo, and arrangements of Franz Biebl’s Ave
Maria and Gordon Young’s Prelude in Classic Style.
Related links:
* Concert details
* Meet the Composer: John Beall