Excellence in Music and Worship
Original Musical Compositions and Thoughts on Worship
This is an essay on the famous Christmas carol, performed live by the Odessa Christian Faith Center Vocal Ensemble, Christmas Eve 2023. It was an experiment in linear textual writing, as well as linear melodic part-writing. Added to the song are some theological thoughts.
Hope you enjoy!
This is a composition for acapella choir, using the famous text from the Bible, as Mary greeted Elizabeth. (Lk. 1:46-55) The miracle of The Seed being placed in her womb, the Word becoming flesh, Heaven touching earth is even more astounding knowing that it happened to a young girl who was unsuspecting of her destiny to bear the Child Who would be the Savior of the world.
This was a live performance by the Odessa Christian Faith Center choir, directed by Stephanie Carter, Christmas Eve 2021.
Hope you enjoy!
Here are a couple more thoughts on ‘There Is Life’. The score shown below does not contain the full orchestration, which would probably be too small to read in this format. However, this condensed score shows the basic concept of the piece. Perhaps someday it could be done with a live full group consisting of rhythm section, choir, praise team vocalists, and orchestra. Until then, I’m glad to have this presentation.
Also, since the track itself bears a good bit of work, I wanted to share it without vocals. This was my first attempt at using EastWest Hollywood Orchestra sample library in conjunction with Logic X. Hope you enjoy!
(without vocals):
This was an experimental piece, written for Easter, in which the tempo gradually morphs through the middle of the song, becoming twice as fast at the end, as the opening material returns in the same tempo in which it started, only now in ‘cut-time’. In order to make this rhythmic transition successfully, a click-track arrangement was made to guide the rhythm section players successfully.
Due to the pandemic, Easter 2020 presented a big challenge: how was I going to do a piece of this magnitude? I had already started producing the orchestration and arrangement with Logic Pro and the EastWest Hollywood Orchestra sample library. I ended up digitally producing all instrumentation together with two phoned-in choir parts, and a four-member vocal ensemble, including myself.
The original concept of the work was to blend the various stylistic elements of: 1) Praise and Worship, 2) Symphonic Orchestration, 3) Elements of folk/spiritual, using the pentatonic scale, and 4) an Obligato Choir line throughout. The piece starts in F minor and concludes in Eb Major after going through a passage of chromaticism towards the end of the piece.
I wrote the original version several years ago with limited success in our performance. The difficulty it presented to our group was a rhythmic one. Making the ‘twice as fast’ change was difficult for our team at that time. I knew the only way to successfully achieve it would be to use click across the entire group, including vocalists. Finally having this capability in my grasp, the pandemic situation caused me to abort the larger group idea, replacing the instrumentation with a fully produced track.
Following is the video performance used for Odessa Christian Faith Center’s Easter 2020, featuring Ana Young, Carmen Young, Debra Bledsoe, and myself:
There Is Life (©2020 Lowell Hohstadt)
There is life
There is life in the River,
life in the River which flows from the Throne,
it flows from the Throne,
it flows from the Throne
There is life
There is life in the breath of His Presence
There is peace beyond measure,
beyond measure,
a peace freely given,
freely given
It surrounds, it surrounds
and it covers like a flood
covers like a flood,
like a flood
There is fruit precious fruit
which grows on the Vine,
inside there is seed to be planted
If it falls up on ground that is fallow and moist,
its power, its power,
its power will reflect all of Heaven,
all of Heaven
There is fruit precious fruit
which grows on the Vine,
inside there is seed to be planted
If it falls up on ground that is fallow and moist,
its power, its power,
its power will reflect all of Heaven,
all of Heaven
All of Heaven
Jesus is the Resurrection
Jesus is the life
No one comes unto the Father
No one comes unto the Father of Lights
with Whom there is no variation,
with Whom there is no shifting shadow of turning
No one comes unto the Father of lights
by any other way but Jesus
Jesus is the Resurrection Jesus is the Life
Jesus is the Life
Resurrection, Resurrection
Resurrection, Resurrection,
If you believe there is nothing impossible
If you believe there is nothing impossible
For He said, "I Am the Resurrection, I Am the Life,
He who believes in Me will never die."
Resurrection, Resurrection
If you believe, If you believe,
All things are possible
Resurrection, Resurrection,
Resurrection, Resurrection,
Resurrection, Resurrection,
Resurrection and the Life,
Resurrection and the Life
There is life in the River
which flows from the Throne,
There is life in the breath of His Presence
There is peace beyond measure, a peace freely given,
it surrounds and it covers like a flood
There is fruit, precious fruit
which grows on the vine,
inside there is seed to be planted
If it falls upon ground that is fallow and moist,
its power, its power,
its power will reflect all of Heaven
All of Heaven
He said, "I Am the Resurrection. I Am the Life.
I Am the Resurrection. I Am the Life.
Believe in Me, Believe in Me,
You'll never die.
I Am the Life, I Am the Vine,
I Am alive, alive, alive."
There is life,
There is Life!
Here is an arrangement of the well-known Christmas hymn. Hope you enjoy!
I enjoyed singing this hymn growing up in church. I hope you like this new string quartet arrangement.