This is another one of those pieces every composer has that they keep futzing with long after they first thought they’d finished it. I think I finally got it as good as it’s going to get. But ya never know…
The words of this are based on three parables: the shepherd and the one lost sheep; the woman who lost and found the coin; the prodigal son.
In the earlier versions there was more counterpoint in the voices, but after performing it several time with the choir at Lakewood UCC I felt decided that the counterpoint obscured the words too much and the words really needed to be front and center.
This demo uses the Cantai voice library samples–this is the first time I’ve had a demo of the anthem with voices. Cantai voices continue to improve and they fill an important role for the composer who doesn’t have access to live singers (I’m retired from my church job and don’t have the income to hire singers).
Sheet music available at https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1494371/Product.aspx and https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/the-lost-digital-sheet-music/22714060.
