Take a Harp (2003)
for chorus, piano, and percussion

 

Commissioned in honor of Mary Carole Horne by Lebanon (VA) Memorial United Methodist Church
 

Premiere performance:  SWCC Community Chorus, Joseph Trivette, director. Southwest Virginia Community College, Richlands, VA, 2003

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COMPOSER’S NOTE
Take a Harp was commissioned by the Lebanon (VA) United Methodist Church in honor of the retirement of Mary Carole Horne, the church's Music Director for more than thirty years. The work was introduced, in 2003, in back-to-back performances by the church's choir and the Southwest Virginia Community Chorus.

The choral text is drawn from the Bible — the first two lines from Isaiah 23:16 and the last three lines from Psalm 100:
 

Take a harp, make sweet melody,
Sing many songs that we’ll remember.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the Earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness,
Come into his presence with singing.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
And his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name,
Bless his holy name.
 

Jonathan Romeo
January 2024