LORD, WHO THROUGHOUT THESE FORTY DAYS

Expertly arranged for soprano sax and piano, this work, based on the well-known hymn, ST. FLAVIAN, captures the somber mood of the forty-day journey through the Lenten season. Following the opening march-like fanfare, the familiar melody enters in the sax above the drone in the piano. Then the melody is transferred to the piano (bass clef), transposing it to F Dorian, then, briefly to G Mixolydian. At the key change, the melody returns to its original form, taken up again by the sax. The opening fanfare returns in an abbreviated form in the coda as the piece ends quietly on a Dmaj9 arpeggio. Particularly appropriate for Lenten services, this short work can be played during the prelude, the offering, or as a meditation during communion.