Cat No. JM40669
Price £53.00
Composer / arranger: James Curnow
Category: LIGHT CONCERT MUSIC

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Commissioned in memory of Peter Swanson a trumpet & Cornet player who died tragically at the age of 14. Based on the gospel song "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" - Concert item 7.00

On April 6, 1998, Peter J. Swanson suddenly and quietly slipped into eternity. We remember him especially for his love of music, a gift from his older brothers, Nathan and Stephen. Worthingway and Thomas Worthington Schools in Worthington, Ohio, nurtured this gift until, as a concertmaster and solo cornet in the All Star Brass Band of Columbus, Peter reached his highest potential in performance and leadership.

What Pete liked best about music was its ability to draw people together. When he was not rehearsing his brass quintet or practicing for the next drama production, he was rounding up a gang of guys for sandlot rugby or simply getting up a game of euchre in the hallway. Woodwinds may remember Pete’s merciless teasing, and more than one teacher wished he would pay as much attention to his academics as he lavished on his trumpet. But everyone who knew Pete remembers him for his whimsical sense of humor, his joy at working together, and his faith in God.
Peter’s family felt that this commissioned work should express thanks to his Creator for loaning us this talented, wacky fellow for over fourteen years. It certainly was tough to return this priceless loan on that Good Friday. But what a vivid reminder of how this Creator entered our dimension of time specifically to conquer death, and how he knew that this conquest would cost him his own life, and how he now calls each of us to enjoy a lasting relationship with him. This music recalls Pete’s commitment to such a rela tionship while he lived with us, and it celebrates the closer walk he presently enjoys.

Finally, this music looks forward to when ‘the trumpet shall sound”, and when time will be no more; to when death will meet its final defeat, and every tear will be wiped away, to when the natural order as we know it will give way to the new creation.
Mark and La Verne Swanson, 1999

PROGRAM NOTE:
This work was commissioned in memory of Peter J. Swanson, 1983-1998, Trumpet, Thomas Worthington Symphonic Band, Worthington, Ohio, Solo Cornet All Star Brass Band of Columbus; whose love of music reflected his whimsical sense of humor, his pride in his country, and the majesty of his God.
The composer’s desire was to create a musical portrait of Peter’s personality that would also represent the personalities and lives of thousands of today’s youthful music-makers. His favorite gospel song, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, is manipulated (in motivic form) throughout the work to create new themes that are both energetic and reflective in character.
The work is a set of motivic variations that take the listener from the opening distant trumpet call, through many divergent styles and moods. These contrasting variations are sometimes reflective, sometimes energetic, joyful and whimsical, but always in a spirit of praise and adoration.
All of the energy culminates in a sudden powerful, yet thought provoking climax that refocuses the attention of the music, through the use of three brief musical quotations (euphonium) from the original gospel song. These quotations are presented to remind
us of one of the greatest promises of all time:

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To thy kingdom shore, to thy shore.

The music then returns to the composer’s original theme, presented in a soft reflective meditation, which gradually evolves into a climactic fanfare and celebration of praise.