This is, literally, my musical diary–notes fresh from my pen and recorded in a few hours. You can find my finished works elsewhere; here, it's all about capturing the moment!
I haven’t posted to my blog in a month, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been slacking off. No, indeed! I’ve been working on some big commissioned projects and soon-to-be-released albums. But here’s a recent arrangement I can share with you.
St. Athanasius
My good friend Carlos Colón wrote a beautiful song based on St. Athanasius’ On the Incarnation, called “Prince of Peace.” He asked me to write strings to go with the choral anthem and then he recorded it with a group of exceptional musicians.
Most of the time, I follow my own artistic impulses, but it is really satisfying to help someone else achieve their musical vision–especially when it turns out so beautifully!
A friend sent me this lovely Chinese communion song and a literal translation by a missionary/translator. There is no better way to procrastinate than to translate, arrange, and record a new global hymn, so I set to work!
The key to translating a song is to get the spirit of the song, rather than just the words. Is the song highbrow or heartfelt? What is the rhyme scheme in the original language–or is there one? Is the music simple or complicated? All these questions come into play when “transplanting” a song from one culture to another.
“One with the Lord” is a simple chorus with no surprises or sophisticated nuances. And yet, in its simplicity it is lovely and immensely singable. You’ll notice that the lyrics are all in first person. I’m not always a fan of “Jesus and me” communion songs, but I’ll make an exception for this authentic expression of personal prayer. One of the difficulties was that meter is 6.6.6.4. With lines that short–and distinct breaks between each line–it’s hard to fit all of the Chinese lyric’s meaning into so few English syllables. In cases like this, I always choose singability over correct grammar.
I would love to hear from anyone who has sung the song in its original language or know where the song originated!
1. Christ gave himself for me– body and blood for me. The bread and cup I see come from our Lord.
Christ broke the bread of life, poured out salvation’s wine. I eat and drink and I’m one with the Lord.
2. I have been crucified. My sin is dead in Christ. And yet I am alive– alive for God.
I am made new in Christ. Darkness gives way to light. Christ has become my life. Glory to God!
This December, I wrote four string arrangements of Christmas carols for Wendell Kimbrough and Church of the Incarnation in Dallas. I was simultaneously planning a service of carols for Rosewood Church in Jenison, so I decided to get double duty out of one of the arrangements. This version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” has a funky backbeat that gives a fresh new twist on the classic.
You can hear it at 13:27 in the video below.
If you’re interested in the music for these four Wendellified arrangements, you can find them here:
A few years ago, I helped write a song called “Refugee King (Away from the Manger).” This year, I used it in a service accompanied by The All Saints Orchestra (St. Sinner’s holier half), so I decided to write a string arrangement for the ensemble. It’s very difficult to avoid gilding the lily on a song like this, but I think this arrangement strikes a good balance of background “string halo” and foreground string writing. I was especially pleased with the “running” figure in the instrumental verse.
Enjoy the dulcet tones of Lindsey Burkey singing with the All Saints Orchestra at Rosewood Church, Jension, MI.
Edit: I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make the video play from a particular spot, so if you’re interested in hearing “Refugee King,” go to 30:30 in the video below.
As the year ends, I’m going to try to catch up on blogging 2023 compositions. Posting them in 2024 will seem…stale.
This arrangement of the classic Christmas carol, “Once in Royal David’s City” is a collaboration between me and my old friend Carlos Colón. (That is not to say he’s elderly–we’ve just been friends for a long time.)
The arrangement began its life as a violin and piano duet written for Sarah York. Carlos used it in one of his Christmas services at Baylor University. Since he also had a cellist available, he had the cello double the bass line of the piano part. It worked splendidly. This Christmas he turned it into a full-fledged arrangement for strings and flute. Bravo!
We started this “Music Unites Us” series with an overview video introducing the project. We’ll end with this documentary that goes behind the scenes, interviewing the performers and me about the creative process. I usually hate watching videos of myself, but this video is interesting enough that I watched it all the way through!
Lương Chí Cường moved to America a few years ago after a successful singing career in his home country of Vietnam, even winning Vietnamese Idol. The song we chose for his collaboration with the Holland Symphony Orchestra was a rousing song of national pride, Dòng máu Lạc Hồng (The Children of Lac Hong).
This song has the feel of a score from a Hollywood blockbuster, with strings soaring into their upper register and brass punching through with regal fanfares. Still, the full orchestra is no match for Cuong’s powerhouse voice, spectacular wardrobe, and performance style. When he left the stage and sauntered into the crowd (3:26) I thought the crowd would lose its collective mind!
Besides the overall pedal-to-the-metal orchestration throughout, here are a few moments I particularly like:
2:31 I discovered a while back that using a clothespin as a violin mute imitated the nasal tone of the Chinese Erhu or Vietnamese Dàn Gáo. The first time the orchestra rehearsed this section, everyone looked around to see what exotic new instrument this might be.
4:01 The percussion-heavy arrangement culminates in an extended percussion section in which two sets of tom-toms spar over a foundational beat from the drum set.
4:46 At the final return of the chorus, I wanted to ramp up the energy even more, so I used an unprepared modulation to increase the intensity, switched the flutes to piccolos, and gave all the woodwinds Philip Glass-style arpeggios that really cut through the wall of sound coming from the rest of the orchestra.
Samuel Nalangira is a Ugandan songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has lived in West Michigan for several years. He is a consummate performer, an Adungu virtuoso, and a lovely human being.
He wrote a song when his twins were born called “Babirye” (the firstborn among twins). While many of his songs are energetic opportunities for Samuel to teach audiences African dance moves, “Babirye” is a mesmerizing, tender song based on a repeated Adungu* arpeggio.
The challenge with this song is that a four-chord pattern repeats over and over with vocals floating freely on top of that foundation. I decided that the best approach would be almost minimalist–some doubling of the Adungu arpeggio, a cloud of strings, and soloists and sections of the orchestra filling in the spaces between Samuel’s vocals like a conversation. This was one of my favorite arrangements; it felt like the orchestra added depth and texture, heightening Samuel’s already beautiful song.
Pay special attention to a few moments in the performance:
4:18 The song builds slowly with muted, sustained strings and light percussion doubling. More musicians are added little by little until a final build-up to the chorus at 7:30.
8:17 The oscillating marimba pattern worked beautifully in this section.
8:42 The “Babirye” theme moves through the orchestra, building lush chords.
10:30 I like how the arrangement winds down: the full orchestra finishes, and the strings take over, followed by short a woodwind coda.
Grupo Super Nova is Cumbia band from Holland, MI, comprised of the Garcia brothers, who immigrated from Mexico when they were children. We decided on their original song, “Sufro Por Tu Amor” (“How Long Must I Suffer for Your Love?”) written by Christian Paul Garcia when he was 16.
Here’s where my job as an orchestrator became interesting. Cumbia is a Latin style that features a strong backbeat to create upbeat, danceable music. Upbeat and danceable are not typically an orchestra’s forte… Further complicating the task is that Super Grupo Nova already includes an electric bass and drum set, so I had to find ways to have them complement each other rather than fight.
A few notable moments:
1:45 Grupo Super Nova’s original recording began with a quiet synth pad and a digital harp arpeggio. It translated beautifully into solo violin and string pizzicato.
3:26 I love this string ostinato against the song’s melody. Together, they really soar.
4:00 This orchestral interlude felt just right–a brief moment for the orchestra to take the lead, with the melody volleying between sections. It was also at this point in the performance that the rhythm gelled between the band and the orchestral percussion. (In retrospect, we should have put the band on the percussion side of the orchestra so they could hear each other.)
The first collaboration was with Nina Tritenichenko. She sings and plays Bayan Accordion, an all-button accordion that is common throughout the world, including her home country of Ukraine. The tune she chose was “Ikhav Kozak za Dunaj” (“The Cossack Rode beyond the Danube”). This folk song became popular throughout the world by its German name, “Schöne Minke” (“Beautiful Minke”).
Nina had a specific set of variations on the Minka tune that she wanted to perform. Because her accordion part was set in stone, my task was to build around it with the orchestra. I began by composing a grand overture-style introduction–a fanfare that established the tone of what was to come. Next, she sang a verse of the song to introduce the theme. Each variation became increasingly complex and exciting, with orchestration to match.
Some favorite moments in this arrangement include:
4:00 I turned this variation into a duet with the concertmaster! It added texture to the solo accordion and let an orchestra member momentarily come to the foreground.
4:42 I’m a huge fan of arpeggios that sweep through the orchestra like a harp. This one worked magnificently.
5:00 This interlude gave Nina a breather and created anticipation for the final, flashy variation.
