For the Fallen

The unfortunate fact of war is that we always loose many of our brave service members. This is the only movement that uses preconceived material, in that is built upon the hymn "Nearer my God to Thee" as well as the Bach Chorale "Our Father in the Kingdom of Heaven." My description is that after death I believe that those of us whom have accepted Christ as our savior, will ascend to heaven to be with Him. It is my hope that this is the case of all service members that we lose. The movement is meant to show the movement from this world to that of the heavenly world. The first section of the movement starts this progression and leads us to the sax quartet that brings us to the gates of heaven. With a fairly abrupt change the walk into heaven and the sights and sounds that are heard is brought to us. Then as we approach the throne of God the ensemble builds progressively until the face of God is visible as the Bach Chorale is stated in the full ensemble. At this time the original chorale comes back as we celebrate eternity in peace. This movement is also dedicated to my friend and mentor, Dr. David Maslanka. The movement is constructed using many Maslankian techniques found in his Symphonies. Although for all fallen service members, it is also my farewell to a kind and gentle soul that gave us so much.