PROJECT : ENCORE™: Funerals and Memorial Services

Although Valley of Silence is a lengthy one movement work, there are various tempi, colors, and moods in the piece as they follow Rev. Ryan's post Civil War poem. This particular poem  is from Ryan's later writings and is sweeter yet more powerful compared to the earlier bitterness of his post war poems. The poem's message of blocking out the “noise” and busyness of our world applies even more today than the times after the Civil War.

The AHS Bel Canto Chorale Men were invited to perform a concert as a featured chorus for the TMEA Convention in 2008.  They commissioned me to write this piece to not only showcase their talent but also to pay respects to a local family who lost their son in the military.
 

The recording submitted is conducted by the composer, who has completed the questions below.

"In paradisum" was chosen as one of five finalists in the "Outside the Bachs" Choral Composition Contest, sponsored by the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth.

I chose this text because I think it asks us to acknowledge the minor misdeeds and omissions we permit in our everyday lives. So often we make small allowances for ourselves, fudge things that are difficult for us, or mistreat our loved ones in little ways. Most of the time we allow ourselves to ignore these things, hoping that nobody, perhaps not even ourselves, will notice. I think that those small things are often far more important than they seem, and I hope that this text, and this piece, will remind us to be more careful of ourselves and of one another.