Moravec: Rejoice in Hope

“…Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”     Romans 12:10 (NRSV)

On March 17, Mark Hyczko — music director of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Westfield, NJ) — leads the parish choir in the premiere of Paul Moravec’s newest choral work Rejoice in Hope. Scored for solo bass, SATB choir and organ, the 5-minute work was commissioned by St. Paul’s and will premiere as part of choir’s Lenten-season musical offerings.

Mark Hyczko

Hyczko provides some insight into Rejoice in Hope. “Several years ago, in my capacity as the artistic director of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, I programmed [Paul’s] Morph [for string orchestra], an incredibly lush and wonderful work. His Vince & Jan: 1945 for string quartet appeared on a chamber program not long after. I’ve enjoyed Paul’s compositions for several years since, and had always hoped to find an occasion to commission him.

“I recently accepted the position of director of music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Westfield, which is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding this year. It immediately struck me that this would be the perfect moment to invite Paul to write a choral anthem for the celebratory Evensong that will take place on March 17th, 2019. While thinking about text, it made perfect sense to ask [him] to base the text on the writings of the apostle Paul, who is the namesake of our parish. Rejoice in Hope is a setting of the epistle to the Romans, where the evangelist exhorts his followers to ‘love one another with mutual affection’ which seems to be a perfect message for our troubled times.”

More Moravec: This month, the Craft Ensemble performs the composer’s string quartet Vince & Jan:1945 in Providence, RI.