Grace Ascending
This L5 4½ minute beautifully melodic serenade for 5 octaves was commissioned by the Grace Notes bell choir of Winstead United Methodist Church, Wilson, NC, directed by Joyce Wolf. The title is a nod to the choir by using Grace in its name, and Ascending refers the optimism and joy in the constantly rising melodic line. It presents few technical challenges. The higher level designation has to do with reading the layers of voicing, of duples in 12/8 time and requiring rock solid battery ringing in a constant triplet pattern. The harmonic palette is gorgeous. For the mature and musically sensitive ensemble. 70 measures.