Beyond the Stars - James Curnow

Based on the traditional American shaped-note melody The Promised Land (first published in the 1800s), Beyond the Stars captures the spirit of the early American church musicians who voiced their enthusiasm for life and thefreedom of worship through both vocal and instrumental music. The music features several mini-variations wrapped up in four large variations (Fast, Fast, Slow, Fast-recapitulation). The composer has created new thematic materialfor each variation by excerpting motifs from three separate phrases of the original shaped-note melody. A stunning and powerful work for winds. Dur: c. 6:20