He fell to the ground

Acts 9:4 for small orchestra

2009

Stefan Klaverdal

Commissioned by C-Y contemporary, Malmš Chamber Orchestra and the Swedish Ministry of Culture

Durata approx 8-9 min.

Score

 

É As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Acts 9:3-5 (New International Version)

 

 

About the piece

This is a recomposition of HaydnŐs symphony 103. The commission of this piece was to use the Haydn symphony in some way. I found this very interesting, since Haydn has always been a great source of inspiration to me.

However, I find inspiration in stories, too. In this particular case, I found that the story on Saul's conversion as told in Acts was very compelling and an interesting sort of counterpoint to the very happy music. The story of Saul is very dramatic and tells of his complete transformation from a persecutor of the Christians to become a Christian himself.

This feeling of a life in transition is something I frequently relate to, especially during the time of composing this piece as my own life at the time was occupied by a major change for my family. told in Acts was

 

Composed to Malmš Chamber Orchestra and ContemporarY ensemble.

First performed at Palladium in Malmš by Malmš Chamber Orchestra and ContemporarY ensemble with Alexander Einarsson conducting.

 

Instrumentation:

Flute

Clarinet

Bass clarinet

Strings (vl, vl, vla, vlc, db)