Akedah

Jesse Ayers

General Info

Year: 2013
Duration: c. 12:00
Difficulty: IV (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Jesse Ayers
Cost: Score & parts $120 Score & PDF parts $70 Score only $30

Instrumentation

Flute I-II
Oboe I-II (2nd optional)
Bassoon I-II (2nd optional)
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Organ (cross-cued if organ not available)
Piano (optional)
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV-V, including:

Orchestra bells (glockenspiel)
Marimba
Vibraphone
Chimes
Congas
Finger cymbals
Triangle
Suspended cymbal
Cymbals (pair)
Bass drum
Tam-tam

Program Notes

"Akedah" (AH'-keh-dah') was commissioned by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Area Lutheran High School Association for the 2013 WELS National Band Festival held at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. "Akedah" is Hebrew meaning “the binding” and refers to the Genesis 22 account of Abraham’s binding of Isaac when God tests Abraham by asking him to offer his son of promise as a sacrifice. As Abraham raises the knife to slay his son, an angel of the Lord stops Abraham, and God provides the substitutionary sacrifice of the ram caught in the thicket, a prefiguring of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. In addition to thanking the WELS Area Lutheran High School Association for the opportunity to compose this work for their National High School Band, the composer also wishes to acknowledge and thank his former student Kendra Hayes Stickle for her suggestion of the Hebrew word "Akedah" for the title, as well as thanking family friend Alexandra Gomez-Robbins for her thoughtful consultation on possible titles.

Audio Link

Click here to listen to Akedah

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Luther Summer Music Honors Band (IA) (Jeffrey Scott Doebler, conducting) - July 2015
Concordia University Irvine Wind Orchestra (CA) (Jeffrey Held, conducting) - March 2015
Mariette College Wind Ensemble (OH) (Marshall Kimball, conducting) - November 2014
Brigham Young University Idaho Symphony Band (Darrell Brown, conducting) - July 2014
Brigham Young University Idaho Symphony Band (Darrell Brown, conducting) - June 2014
Wisconsin Lutheran Synod National Honors Band (Brente Nolte, organ; Mark Zarling, narrator, Erin Meissner, conductor) - March 2013

Works for Winds by This Composer

Akedah
And They Gathered on Mount Carmel (1995)
Fanfare and Carol for Christmas
Fanfare for Christmas Morning (1995)
Fanfare for Christmas Morning (Brass) (1995)
The Fire of the Living God (1995)
Flashbax (2011)
The Incantations of the Prophets of Baal (1995)
Jericho (2005)
The Magical Mystical Rain Forest (1991)
Prayer of Elijah, The (1995)
Private Eye Prowl
Rachel Weeping for Her Children September 11 2001 (2002)
Rahab
Shinkansen (2019/2022)
Susanna and the Elders (1978)
Veni Emmanuel (1997)
Where the Stormy Winds Blow (2022)

Resources