The Jesse Tree

Notes

Inspired by medieval Jesse Tree windows, which trace the genealogy of Jesus at the top down to Jesse, father of King David at the bottom in stained glass, this sets well-known text from Isaiah: ‘There shall come forth a root out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall come out of its roots’. The phrase is treated as a refrain, using irregular metrical patterns which stay in the head long after the piece has finished. Intended for confident school, university and amateur choirs, this unaccompanied work was commissioned by the St George’s Singers, Poynton and their conductor, Stephen Williams.