All Loves Excelling

Wind Orchestra

7' 40"

The commissioner required the music well in advance of the March 2007 premiere and the engraved score was completed in late 2006 with sketching and scoring taking place in the month or so preceding the engraving.

WELS National Lutheran Band Festival, Fox Valley Lutheran High School, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA.

I had spoken to the commissioning organisation previously about writing for them but nothing came of it. James Neujahr sought me out to write a work for the National Lutheran Band Festival that was presented by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod schools from across the USA - James' school, Fox Valley Lutheran High School acted as host in 2007. He asked for a work that based around a sacred theme. I chose the hymn Love Divine by Charles Wesley as the thematic material for the work. The tune most often associated with it, the Welsh melody, Hyfrydol, is one of my favourite hymns and the words have great significance to me as a measure of what I believe is a pivotal message of the Christian faith:

Love divine, all love excelling, Joy of heav'n, to earth come down,
Fix in us your humble dwelling, All your faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, you are all compassion, Boundless mercy from above.
Visit us with benediction; Comfort us with heav'nly love.

I was also inspired by a book written by Jonathan Krause for the Christian Blind Mission where, at one stage, he quotes Mother Teresa on love, saying, "Do not think that love, to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."
Commission letter
Love divine
I am very thankful for the belief that James Neujahr had in commissioning this work from me.

11th March 2007 at the WELS National Lutheran Band Festival, Fox Valley Lutheran High School, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA.
Subsequent performances:

• Australian premiere - Tasmanian State Concert Band - August 2009

Manuscript

Sketch, Manuscript Score, Engraved score

Program note

Premiere recording CD

Commission thank you

Wesleyan hymns are such rousing things to sing and to be able to use 'Love Divine, All loves excelling' set to that marvellous Welsh melody Hyfrydol was a joy. It's so singable and lends itself to both boisterous rendering and more contemplative reflection. The program note tells the story about Christian Blind Mission's book by Krause that affected me so much. I wish I could have someone publish the work and then there may be some royalties that might be able to flow to CBM for their wonderful work..