LOVE'S PURE LIGHT

A striking dramatic work that is perfect for the high point of a Christmas concert, Love's Pure Light is an arrangement of "Silent Night" that expands the carol to include an original setting of St. John 3:16 in five different languages. The music begins with a subdued introduction and solo baritone singing the beloved carol, followed by the full choir in the second verse. The middle of the work features the famous passage from St. John's gospel, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" (3:16), a passage that highlights the theological zenith of Christian story: the Incarnation of Christ. The languages used (Spanish, Mandarin, Twi, Italian, Armenian) were chosen because of their contemporary importance on the global stage and for historical significance to Christian communities - Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox - around the world. The carol is transformed in its return to "Silent Night" into a celebratory dance, underscored with Latin American and African percussion: a triumphant conclusion anticipating the day when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4, KJV)