The Seventh Seal

The Book of Revelation has always been a mysterious section of the Bible. In it, the author takes us through the plans for the end of times. The seven seals are one of a series of end-time judgments from God. In the author's vision, the seven seals hold closed a scroll in heaven, and as each seal is broken, a new judgement is unleashed on the earth. The opening of each seal brings False Prophets; War, Famine and Pestilence; the Great Tribulation; Natural Disasters; and Seven Trumpets. The final trumpet sounds as the announcement of the Second Coming of Christ. The Seventh Seal is meant to be an aural representation of the many prophesies that are found in Revelation. As the work progresses, I hope that you can visualize each of the items listed above. However, as dark as the music may sound, and as deeply sinister as each of the seal judgements is laid out, we find that in the end we have grace and peace. Commissioned by Edward F. Protzman and the William Mason High School Wind Symphony for the 2022 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Ill., the work is dedicated to the memory of the conductor's father, Edward J, Protzman.