Petit Family Foundation | Hymn To The Beauty That Was

December 12, 2011

Hymn To The Beauty That Was by Jane Russell Bate

“A Hymn to the Beauty That Was” is dedicated to the Petit family of Cheshire. The piece was conceived to make maximum use of the number 3.There are 3 soloists: euphonium as Jennifer, English horn as Hayley, and flute as Michaela. The over-arching form is basically an A-B-A, with each larger A section being comprised of a smaller a-b-a. At the climax of the piece (following the timp roll) the three musical ideas (the “a” theme, the “b” theme, and the triplet arpeggiations first used in the harp) are heard simultaneously. The first canonic treatment of flute following English horn portrays the younger sister’s copying and following her older sister around. The second canonic treatment, using all three soloists, represents the three souls ascending into heaven. There are two brief dissonant sections to remind the listener of the tragic circumstances surrounding their deaths. Finally, the harp/bell notes in the opening represent the stars weeping at the events unfolding below, and the three harp/ bell tones at the end of the piece are the three new stars in Heaven.

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