Youth Brass Players Do a Great Job with Benedictus
Ever since I first heard the Benedictus from Karl Jenkins‘ “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” I knew that I would enjoy having the opportunity to share it with my church family. I also thought that it would need more than just me playing a piano accompaniment. Luckily my children and two of their friends were willing to put in the effort to learn an arrangement of the piece that I put together.
The Benedictus comes late in Jenkins’ Mass and provides a respite from the devastation, sadness and grief that is brought to life during the preceding movements. It begins in a beautifully serene way, erupts with a wonderful climax on the words “Hosanna in excelsis” (Hosanna in the highest) and then returns to its original calm and peaceful spirit.
Although scored for strings, with the brass appearing during the “Hosanna”, I think that the use of brass throughout worked well. During our early rehearsals the trumpets used mutes for the opening phrases, but we decided that the tone was not conducive to the mood of the piece.
A video of the performance has been uploaded to YouTube so that family and friends may share in the experience. I thank all four of these hard-working students for giving up some of their summer recess time to work on this. I know that the congregation and I truly appreciate each of them sharing his or her talents. Also, a special thank you to my wife, Lisa, for recording the service so that this could be shared.
The video is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_KdZfnyizE