What is the most challenging musical form a composer can attempt? The fugue is tricky, to be sure. Complicated as all get out. But I’d say a composer's hardest row to hoe is the writing of a hymn.

A hymn must be short. Easy to learn and easy to sing. The tune daresn’t reach too high, nor fall too low. Rhythms and harmonies must be simple. The words must suit the tune and the meaning of the words must suit the theology of the congregation who will be expected to sing it.

The tune must be simple, yes, but it must also be sufficiently catchy to withstand unvaried repetition as several verses are sung. Who wants to sing a dreary tune three times, four times, five times? … “Lemme outta here!"

I’ve written about fifteen hymns and most of them still need work. One of the least flawed is “We Begin Again” with stirring words by my poet friend W.B. “Bucky” Ignatius.

I’m including below a link to a PDF of the hymn if you’d like to see Bucky’s words but the music I want to share today is a set of variations on the hymn’s tune, comprising the second movement of my Trio #5 for clarinet, cello and piano.

The first thing you’ll hear is the piano playing the “skeleton” of the tune. Just the bare bones, but with a twist at the end: a descending, four-note “Blues-y” figure closes the tune each time. I had fun figuring out ways to alter that Blues-y touch at the end of each variation. You’ll have fun listening for it.

Each variation fleshes out the skeletal structure of the tune in a different way until the last variation when the piano finally delivers the hymn “in all its glory" while the clarinet soars above and the cello elaborates the bass.

To hear the second movement played by clarinetist Laurel Bennet, cellist Teresa Villani and pianist Carol Alexander, (the musicians who recorded it on my CD “Winds of May”) click on the link above.

To see a PDF of the score for the clarinet / cello / piano version, click on the link above.

To see a PDF of the hymn version, click on the link above.

Rick Sowash
Cincinnati, OH
Jan. 3, 2016