Incarnate is a Lessons & Carols service that tells the Christmas story through the idea of "place." Incarnate tells the story of how God came for a specific geography, and desires to renew our specific geography as well.
I wrote the music for Incarnate during a week in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains a few summers ago, and while I was out there, I chose several quintessentially Appalachian elements to weave into the fabric of the music. The hush and calm of Aaron Copland’s America-inspired Appalachian Spring inspired the music of “Creation,” “the Birth of Jesus,” and “new creation.” Interspersed throughout the underscores are otherworldy-riffs that respond to the harmony of The Arcadian Wild’s “Spring: Wake,” which was one of the carols that Hope used that year.
Most significantly, I used real-life fiddle tunes throughout the underscores whose titles remind me of different parts of the Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration narrative. I used the fiddle tune Snake Winder for “Out from the Garden” and “flight to Egypt,” because it reminds me of evil, and I used Wild Rose of the Mountain for “an Angel visits Mary” and “here & now” because it reminds me of Christ. I couldn’t find a fiddle tune called Incarnate, to use in “Creation” and “Shepherds and Angels,” so I wrote my own.
Music from Incarnate is available for churches and other organizations to use. This music is written to complement the reading of the text, and is meant to be played while the scripture is read - however, the music can be performed without the scripture reading. It's always my goal to support the text without overwhelming it.
The full score for Incarnate is not yet available, but I have provided individual scores for certain movements. If you want something you don't see, don't hesitate to be in touch.
More information about my other Lessons & Carols services can be found here, and a complete list of all Lesson Underscores organized by instrumentation and scripture can be found here.
1. Creation (with Genesis 2:5-10, 15-25) for Banjo, Clarinet in Bb, Violin, and Cello
3. Prophesy (with Isaiah 46:16-31) for Banjo, Clarinet in Bb, Violin, and Cello
6. Shepherds and Angels (with Luke 2:8-20) for Banjo, Clarinet in Bb, Violin, Cello, and Pump Organ (or Synthesizer)
9. New Creation (with Revelation 21:1-5) for Banjo, Clarinet in Bb, Violin, Cello, and Pump Organ (or Synthesizer)