Amazing Grace (Dawson)

From Wind Repertory Project
Jay Dawson

Jay Dawson


General Info

Year: 1835 / 1995
Duration: c. 4:20
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Hymn
Publisher: Arrangers Publishing Co.
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $80.00   |   Score Only (print) - $7.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass 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
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

  • Bells
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Amazing Grace is a Christian hymn published in 1779, with words written in 1772 by the English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both religious and secular purposes.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by others' reactions to what they took as his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (conscripted) into service in the Royal Navy. After leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy. This moment marked his spiritual conversion, but he continued slave trading until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether. Newton began studying Christian theology and later became an abolitionist.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. Amazing Grace was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, Amazing Grace became a popular song used by Baptist and Methodist preachers as part of their evangelizing, especially in the South, during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies. In 1835, American composer William Walker set it to the tune known as New Britain in a shape note format; this is the version most frequently sung today.

It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic black spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. Amazing Grace became newly popular during a revival of folk music in the US during the 1960s, and it has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century.

- Program Note excerpted from Wikipedia


In memory of Mary Willenborg from your children, Monica, Hal, Kevin and Timothy.

- Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

  • Georgia: IV
  • Tennessee: V
  • Virginia: III


Performances

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Works for Winds by this Composer


Resources