Sweet Infancy! O Heavenly Fire!

Description

This work, written for trebles and organ, takes its title from the poem “The Rapture” by the 17th century poet, Thomas Traherne. The text of joy and praise is underlined by the use of treble voices only, and by the animated and colorful organ accompaniment. The opening fanfare-like theme for the choral parts gives way to an excited middle section with syncopated accompaniment. The work reaches a great climaxat “What hand divine!”, then concludes with a reprise of the opening words, ending with full organ. While the writing is challenging for trebles, it is mostly written in the central part of their range. This work would be especially useful for festival Sundays.