Ruminations on the Lord’s Prayer

Share performances, ask questions, give your thoughts on the project Facebook page.

A Subscription Based Choral Commission
A New Movement Every Month for a Year

Once the goal of twenty-five subscribers has been reached, the project will commence the following month.

Testimonials

“. . .modern but uncynical, complex but focused, intense but hopeful, and driven by an undeniable thoughtfulness that gives his music an inclusive and welcoming voice.”

Thoughtful Craftsmanship Consummate Artistry

Those are just some of the descriptions that come to mind when hearing the music of Bryce Weber, a young vibrant composer I have had the wonderful opportunity of being associated with from the earliest years of his musical development. Bryce Weber and I shared the same island home for many years, in the middle of a vast blue ocean, surrounded by nature in raw glory, renewing and birthing itself. In that environment, there is abundant creative energy which nurtures the urge to create beauty that pays homage to our surroundings. Bryce has inherited this energy, indelibly captured in his music, combined with a generosity and inclusiveness that comes with the confidence of a composer who has truly found his voice. In his music I see clearly the marks of genuine artistry: the desire to share, to give, to enlighten, to delight and edify.

His music is of the time, with a twist and undeniably unique — modern but uncynical, complex but focused, intense but hopeful, and driven by an undeniable thoughtfulness that gives his music an inclusive and welcoming voice. This is true of irregardless of genre, ensemble configuration or setting.

His is truly the music of an island boy, raised near the gentle waves and rising sun who has grown into a consummate artist for a new generation.

“. . .a person of extraordinary intellectual and inquiring mind, and one of my most remarkable and promising young composers I have met in many years.”

It is with great pleasure that I am writing this letter in strong support of composer Bryce Weber and his innovative choral project, Ruminations on the Lord’s Prayer. I have known Mr. Weber for over five years as an outstanding musician, a person of extraordinary intellectual and inquiring mind, and one of my most remarkable and promising young composers I have met in many years.

In 2021, Bryce participated ISAM – the International Summer Academy of Music, which I direct every summer in Ochsenhausen, Germany. While working with him on his compositions I was deeply impressed by his unique and expressive voice as a young composer, his tremendous creative imagination, and the meticulous way by which he was crafting his scores. That year, by a unanimous vote of the international jury, Bryce won the First Prize at J. Dorfman Memorial Composer Competition. Mr. Weber’s music is of the highest quality: harmonically pleasing, rhythmically exciting, imaginative, and exciting.

Mr. Weber’s unique proposal for a subscription based choral commission must be given a serious consideration by all amateur and professional choirs. I urge you to partner with this remarkable composer in fulfillment of the words mandate by King David in Psalm 96: “Sing unto the Lord a new song: Sing unto the Lord, all the earth!”

“. . .a singer himself, he understands how to set text and has a gift for melody. While his music can be complex, often fusing various styles, it is always accessible.”

Bryce is a talented young composer with a special affinity for the voice and ability to write meaningful text. Being a singer himself, he understands how to set text and has a gift for melody. While his music can be complex, often fusing various styles, it is always accessible. Having worked with him on previous compositions, I can attest that he is wonderful to collaborate with on new works.

“Bryce Weber is a fine composer with a wonderful, melodic and harmonic approach and a strong command of vocal and choral compositional techniques. .”

Bryce Weber is a fine composer with a wonderful, melodic and harmonic approach and a strong command of vocal and choral compositional techniques. His proposed “The Lord’s Prayer” is an exciting project which will make an important contribution to the choral repertoire.

Details

Overall Goals

Choirs will have the opportunity to work directly with a composer on an original work at a very affordable price ($50 a month). The commission fee is shared by multiple choirs making the commissioning of a new work more financially accessible to a wide variety of ensembles.
- For more info on typical commission fees click here.
The project will build a sense of community between ensembles as they discover a new work together and collaboratively give feedback to the composer throughout the process.

Goals of the Text

I will author the text of four inner sections based on themes found in the Lord’s Prayer.
I admire this text because, it is an extremely compact statement of profound wisdom.
My goal with the work is to ruminate on each theme in a way that is applicable to a variety of worldviews, backgrounds, and ideologies making it appropriate in both sacred and secular contexts.

Scope

SATB divisi and piano
- Limited solos drawn from members of the chorus
- Potential for optional solo instrumental parts
Twelve Movements
- Each movement = three to five minutes
- Total length = approximately forty-eight minutes
Collegiate skill level
Genre:
- Pays tribute to many of the standard genres within choral music
  - Choral fugues, anthems, folk song, chant. . .
- Each movement can be performed independently but is also interconnected with the whole piece; the entire work may be sung attacca.

Benefits to the Subscriber

The subscription fee of $50 is due at the beginning of each month.
- Each movement will be delivered by the end of the month via email
  - Formatted score with a piano reduction and MIDI realization
- The subscription fee grants permission to print and own as many copies of the delivered PDF for your ensemble as needed.
  - The PDF may not be shared or distributed outside of that subscriber’s institution or ensemble.
- Yes, please do post and share non-monetized videos and recordings of performances!
- A performance rights royalty may still apply for applicable venues and ticketed events.

Methods for Collaboration

Post your thoughts and performances to the project Facebook page.
I also strongly encourage ensembles to email and share their thoughts with me directly.
- This feedback will influence the composition of future movements.
At the project’s conclusion, a revised/reformatted version of the complete work will be delivered within two months to ensembles having subscribed from the start or having purchased all the movements.
- The final version considers all feedback received throughout year.

Formal Plan

Movement I. The Lord’s Prayer

(The Lord’s Prayer set in its entirety)

Section I. A Statement of Humility

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done [on] earth as it is in heaven.”

Section II. Thankfulness

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

Section III. The Cycle of Forgiveness

“And forgive us our debts, as we [also] forgive our debtors.”

Section IV. A Foundation Against Darkness

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from [the] evil [one].”

Movement XII. Doxology

“For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.”[1]

[1] King James Version with minor alterations in brackets

To subscribe please email me the following at brcweber@gmail.com.

Director’s Name
Ensemble’s Name
Email for score delivery

Make your payment by the first of each month via:

Mail:

3814 W Camino Real

Glendale, AZ 85310

Please make a note as to which movement(s) is(are) being purchased.