“The Battle of Jericho” Arranged by Moses Hogan

Traditional Spiritual sung a cappella by The Gary Bonner Singers conducted by Dr. Judd Bonner.

Dr. Daniel Judd Bonner: Rehearsal and performance excerpts.

In the relentless effort to keep choir/orchestral music meaningful, alive, and energized, partially by broadening our repertoire, I found this arrangement from Prestonwood by Bradley Knight a breath of fresh air. The UCO students and I never tire of it, and our audiences, young and old, gain renewal of their faith and are energized in their walk with God by the power and assurance of the message.

Excerpts from Belshazzar’s Feast and Durufle's Requiem timeline:

0-11:21 William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, 3rd Section, CBU Choral Union

11:22-13:37 Maurice Durufle’s Requiem, “In Paradisum”, CBU Choral Union

What's special about this arrangement is its bold, aggressive treatment of the mysterious text that opens the Gospel of John. Rather than setting it in music that is ethereal and reflective, Joshua Spacht sets the text in music that is a battle cry, asserting "enough with passive wondering; this is what we believe: Jesus is the Ideal; Jesus is God!"

The Gary Bonner Singers, December 2020

Mount of Olives Church, Mission Viejo, CA.