God of the Ages
Catalog Number: J125
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ARTISTS
Ariel Gilley, COMPOSER, PIANIST
 
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REPERTOIRE
 
For “God of the Ages,” Ariel Gilley found her inspiration from the words of a hymn by the same name. Ariel became closely acquainted with this song in 2004 when she arranged it for a small choral group...The composition was begun in 2005 and completed two years later... “God of the Ages” is in five movements, each of which explores different facets of the theme. In some ways the work may be considered a sonata in four movements, with the second and third, the traditional slow movement and scherzo, while the fifth movement acts as an extended coda, almost a meditation on all that has preceded. That said, there is also much that is unique about the musical organization. The first movement, Allegro brillante, is a free fantasia, with motives of the theme hidden, sometimes in a middle voice, sometimes in the highest. More overtly programmatic is the Andante misterioso, which introduces another hymn tune as a second theme, found only in this movement, and these two melodies are freely combined throughout. Scherzando con spirito is truly light-hearted as it discovers the playful and capricious sides of the melody. The most imposing movement, in length as well as content, is the fourth, Grandioso con passione, truly grand and passionate in its transformations of the theme but also the most structured, with aspects of sonata form and fugue. Finally, the Cantabile espressivo brings the work to a quiet close. Musically it brings back earlier ideas and emotionally it recalls earlier feelings, while the texture creates an ethereal atmosphere that concludes in the upper register of the piano.
                                       
                                                                                           -from the Program Notes by Jay Rosenblatt 
 
"For scope and inventiveness, however, no previous "Bunessan" adaptation beats that of Ariel Gilley." WORLD MAGAZINE

“…Gilley has an honest and inspired compositional talent, backed by solid technical and interpretive abilities at the piano.” AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE