Christ at the Door image

CFAMC Listening Page #83

First issued September 28, 2011

A monthly musical offering by a composer member of the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers.
Both your listening and comments are encouraged.

Barbara Holm

Overture

Performed by

The St. Paul Civic Symphony
Dr. Jeffrey Stirling, conductor

To view a PDF copy of the score while you listen, first download the score.

Program Notes

This recording is of the premiere performance, done by the Saint Paul Civic Symphony of St. Paul, Minnesota, during a snowstorm that cancelled all flights (including mine) into the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

The inspiration for this piece is a quote from the New Testament, Revelation 3:20 (“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”) Overture explores the setting and possibilities of this text. The modes of Aolian, Phrygian, Dorian, and Ionian are used. The sound of each mode and the harmonic structures that are generated are used, along with melodic and rhythmic motives, to suggest the composer’s ideas about the meaning of the text. In the first three sections, motivic characters are introduced in settings that suggest different kinds of experiences. In the final section, these characters meet together, somewhat transformed but individually present, to present a possible result of the overture.

Composer’s Statement of Faith

I have been a disciple of Jesus for over 50 years, but came to the work of composition later in life. It is my hope to express some of the joy of being in Christ, and some of the truth of the Gospel, in my music.

Composer Biography

Barbara Anne Koenen Holm has received a BA in mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 1975, and a MM in flute performance from The Boston Conservatory in 1990. She has studied flute with Robert Stallman, Adele Lorraine, Irene Pruzan, and Emil Opava. She became interested in composition later in life, beginning studies with Larry Bell while in Boston. Upon moving back to Minneapolis she studied with Chris Granias, and is currently studying with Carol Barnett. Her compositions and arrangements are self-published by Holm Legacy Publishing and are available online (www.HolmLegacyPublishing.com), at Flute World, and a few stores in Minneapolis and Chicago. Her philosophy of music is that a composition should offer a meaningful experience to both the performer and listener.

- - -  SOLI DEO GLORIA!  - - -

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