Words from Paradise (Dan Forrest)
Choral Artists of Michigan with the CAM Chamber Singers
Jim Watson, Founding Artistic Director
Hannah Watson, Collaborative Piano
Recorded live at the Words from Paradise Choral Festival on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the University Presbyterian Church of Rochester Hills, Michigan.
Video Credit: Ken Richer Productions
Words from Paradise is a five-movement a cappella choral work, and Forrest sets only one word for each movement. Words is an early Forrest work, completed and premiered around 2005. It was the winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award as well as the ACDA Raymond Brock Award. So this piece is significant for moving Dan's career forward.
Each setting is a musical story, known as program music, that represents a different scene from the eternal state: Holy, Hallelujah, Selah, Hosanna, and Amen. The five 8-part a cappella pieces form an arch, of which "Selah" is the keystone. This arch is symmetrical, but contrasts most obviously in its tempos, moods, and harmonic structure.
Each word sets a specific biblical scene. "Holy" depicts the scene of the awe-inspiring Judge who dwells in inapproachable light. From the musical turmoil emerges a single note, declaring hope. Those that approach the throne find the merciful scepter extended. "Hallelujah" depicts a gathering crowd, elated with excitement. Shouts of exaltation burst forth, until the whole throng sings as one, “Hallelujah!” "Selah" is a pause, putting aside whatever else is happening. "Selah" is taken from the Psalms, and its meaning likely includes a musical direction for an instrumental interlude, asking the gathered to contemplate the previous stanza's text: pause, rest, and consider. "Hosanna" reflects the joy and celebration of the throng around the throne of the King. "Amen" is a postlude, a picture of eternal rest and peace: “So be it” (notes adapted from the Hinshaw octavos).
Available from Hinshaw Music at www.hinshawmusic.com.
Holy (0:00)
Hallelujah (7:22)
Selah (9:52)
Hosanna (15:29)
Amen (18:40)
To donate to the Choral Artists of Michigan nonprofit, visit http://choralmichigan.org/.
