Homeward Bound

By Marta Keen

This is a great piece for Memorial Day. My choir performs this while a video of armed forces personnel is displayed behind us. The harmonies are great and the melody is very lyrical.

THis is a wonderful choral anthem our small church choir is singing for "All Saints Sunday" on Novermber 3, 2011. THe Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang it during their tribute for the 9/11 tenth anniversary. It is hauntingly beautiful, with a melody that you will continue to hum over and...

over. You will LOVE IT!!!!

This piece is nice and soft and has amazing harmonys. The choir that I'm in is singing it and its so light. It doesnt have that heavy feel to it so its nice to listen to and sing it.

I originally heard this piece as the background to a video honoring our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It evoked such strong feeling in me, that I had to find its origin. I found that it was sung by the Brigham Young University Choir and had been recorded on Tantara...

Recordings. I brought the piece to our planning committee for our annual event called the Columbine Interfaith Choral Concert. It was decided that it would be performed as one of our pieces for the combined choirs from four churches. We added a handbell choir and the performance by 160 singers was one that truly spoke to the heart. I rate Homeward Bound as intermediate even though it is extremely lyrical and has no extreme range of pitch, but because the singers have to sustain long seamless phrases with staggered breathing.

This music will be a standard for choirs for years to come. We are performing it for our concert, "Salute To America." It will certainly be a favorite of both chorale and audience members alike.