Bravery and Grace

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Violin 3, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Piano — Bravery and Grace is a setting of the unofficial Scottish national anthem Scotland the Brave. While the melody is taken from Scotland the Brave, the accompaniment and harmony both have a “Western Americana” feel, remi- niscent of composers like Roy Harris and Aaron Copland. This combination of a Scottish melody with American harmony is a reflection of the composer’s Scottish-American heritage.The piece begins with a fragment of Scotland the Brave presented in a lush and reflective context. The main theme is performed in full by the first violins at m. 9. The second violins perform the material at m. 17, and the low strings perform it again at m. 33. This results in a loud passage representing pipers at m. 46. The traditional spiritual Amazing Grace appears suddenly at m. 51 in a somewhat polytonal setting. This is, once again, reminiscent of practices of the aforemen- tioned American composers. After this lyrical presentation, a fragment of the main theme returns at m. 66. This is followed by a broad restatement of the main theme at m. 70 and a brisk conclusion with a final flash of polytonality. This new piece from composer George Sweet is a delightfully unique combination of Scotland the Brave and Amazing Grace. Each tune on its own is wonderful, but in Sweet's setting they seem as if they were meant to be together. It surely shows the influence that Scottish immigrants had on the music of America. This is a stunning example of compositional craft.

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