As of last month or so, I have finally completed my latest compositional project, Three Images of Christ’s Final Hours. This is a fifteen minute collection of three individual pieces that, when performed as a set, depict the Garden of Gethsemane (including Christ’s prayer, arrest, and trial), the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. The Images are: A Garden Prayer for two violins and piano, Bleeding Heart for soprano saxophone solo and string orchestra, and Easter Victory for piano solo and orchestra.
The origin of this work is somewhat eclectic, the first idea for Garden Prayer having come about in 1998. Easter Victory was also first penned in 1998, though at the time it was merely a piano solo. With these two pieces completed, I dreamed of adding a “second movement” to close the circle of these momentous events depicted, and, while I toyed with several ideas, Bleeding Heart did not come about in completion until 2004/2005. With this finally finished, I took another look at Easter Victory and re-worked it to include a string orchestra accompaniment, giving its opportunity for complex rhythmic activity much more potential.
For your listening pleasure, I have uploaded a small sample of each Image: Images 1 and 3, unfortunately, are not live recordings but are attempts by the computer, and Image 2 is actually a portion of the live recording of the Cal Poly String Ensemble performing this in the Winter “Herstory Month” Concert 2005, with Lori Huff as featured soloist.
If you are interested in perhaps owning your own copy of the score, feel free to contact me. 
Update (11/2/11): Due to some updating of the score, Images 2 and 3 are now MIDI samples from the computer, as opposed to live recordings… Hopefully another opportunity to get super-nice recordings of all 3 Images will appear soon! 🙂
Beautiful, beautiful music.
Last night I played the segment of A Garden Prayer and my teenage boys stopped to ask me what it was because it was cool. Your music is cross-generational!
I also liked the Vortex Warped piece. James said your Three Images would be available on CD, but do you have other CDs available?
Your music is lovely.
Hi, Bonnie! Thanks for the great compliment! I like being cross-generational… 🙂
Currently, I have a couple not-so-professional recordings of some of my music… a CD release is a goal of mine in the very near future. I imagine my first CD will include, not only, “Three Images” but also a few of my other, more-favorite works, such as Vortex Warped, Face in the Moonlight, Roses and Lilies…etc….
Yup, I can’t wait to have more of my music done live… er, by good people, in a good studio, you know… 🙂
Thanks again!!
We should have a CD of some of Sarah’s other compositions completed earlier this year, and I can only hope that a CD of the “Three Images of Christ’s Final Hours” will be completed soon after.
…if we can round up enough musicians… 😉
We just need a full string orchestra, and a talented pianist.
That would be great! 😀
(continuing… :)) You never know. Things are already opening up as far as this current January recording project… I’m very excited. Many thanks to the musicians who have helped me out so much in the past, and those who continue to do so today!