Work
Witness for my Lord
for SATB choir and piano
About
This short spiritual sets a traditional text from the Afro-American gospel/spiritual tradition. The words refer to a number of Old Testament characters who made a strong stand (or 'witness') for God. Melodically and harmonically it aims to reflect the style of music normally associated with this type of music. The original scoring was for SSAB voices with piano, the vocal division reflecting the vocal balance in many school choirs. This SATB version was made at the request of American conductor Ted Gibboney (Director of Music at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis). The original version was set a third higher in the key of C minor.
Contents note
From Three Spirituals (2005)
Text note
Traditional Afro-American spiritual text