Next? What’s next for Refiner’s Fire US? Lor’ willing and the crik don’t rise, a lot. Future recording projects will feature works for voices and instrumentalists by Chris McMurtry and Michael Linton, and some instrumental things too. Here’s some of the music we hope to give you and “give,” literally, because one of the things about Refiner’s Fire is that you will always be able to listen to this music for free if you are unable to purchase it. 1. Processionals for the fourth Sunday of Advent and Maundy Thursday (Linton) --“The King Shall Come” for mixed chorus, strings, and organ (you can see a performance of the piece here) --“Pange lingua gloriosi”, Thomas Aquinas’s text translated by Joseph Bottum (for mixed chorus, orchestra, and organ; you can get an idea of the piece here) 2. “Psalms” for soprano solo and string orchestra (McMurtry) 3. Cantata No. 3 for the first Sunday of Advent; a setting of Isaiah 64.1-9 for piano, trombone, tenor, percussion, mixed chorus and organ) 4. Cantata No. 4 for Easter; a setting of Mark 16.1-8 for tenor solo, three sopranos, chorus, winds, piano, organ, percussion, and two harps (Linton) 5. Canon for Maundy Thursday, a setting of John 15.1-17 for mixed chorus, strings and organ (Linton) 6. “O magnum mysterium:” a Christmas Eve introit for solo soprano, wind chimes, organ, strings, unison chorus (Linton) 7. “Memorial” for triple chorus (Linton) 8. “Communion Music”, three hymns for trombone quartet and organ (Linton; you can get an idea of what these are like here and here).
9. “Pieta” for orchestra (Linton; you can hear a reading of the piece here) 10. A concerto for electric guitar and orchestra (McMurtry). So, there’s a lot that can be done. If any of these projects is of interest, or you know a work by an American composer that Refiners Fire US should seek sponsorship to record, please let us know. We are looking for new works by American composers and are always interested in speaking with possible sponsors. Although not a IRS 501(c)(3) organization, a sponsorship of a Refiners Fire US recording of a work by Mr. Linton can legitimately be directed through the Joyce Fund of Middle Tennessee State University, a fund set-up for the recording of pieces of music by MTSU composers.
OH, and where did our Refiners Fire US blue-eyed logo come from? It’s derived from the mosaic of the Archangel Gabriel in the apse of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Completed in the late sixth century, Hagia Sophia is greatest architectural monument preserved from antiquity and is arguably the greatest church ever built. Perhaps dating from a century after the church’s completion and today much damaged, the mosaic of the Archangel remains one of the supreme achievements of Christian Art. The works preserved in recordings by Refiners Fire US are consciously though of as contemporary participants of this ancient tradition.