Hymn to the Angels
‘Hymn to the Angels’ is a short reflective work written by Karl Whelan, the winner of the Wind Band Association’s 20th Anniversary Composition Award. Karl, whose wife is a nurse, wrote the piece in direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the connotations of the words, “hymn” and “angels”, the work has no words and was never intended to be religious. However, it is dedicated to all NHS staff, emergency services and everyone else who keep us safe, not only during these unsettling times, but always. All proceeds from the sales of this music will be donated to NHS Charities Together.
Commenting on what inspired his to write the piece Karl stated, “My wife is a nurse and we have a daughter (Melody, 4) and a son (Harper, 1). They are obviously quite confused at the moment, our daughter especially (who knows of Covid-19 as a “big bug” so she imagines some sort of strange huge monster) and it made me think of all the people who are nurses, police officers and firefighters etc. who all have young families but still risk their lives, not just during this pandemic but all of the time.
“I’m not trying to compete with John Barber and Foden’s own superb tribute, rather just adding to the excellent work they have done. I do have a band working on a social distancing recording, which I’m looking forward to releasing once completed. In the mean-time I have a JustGiving page to which people can donate.”
As well as writing ‘Hymn to the Angels’ for brass band, Karl has also scored the piece for wind band and orchestra, allowing the opportunity for the three ensembles to collaborate with identical arrangements. The full score and parts are available digitally at the moment (as PDFs) with details on how to purchase Hymn to the Angels can be found at https://karlwhelan.co.uk/hymn-to-the-angels.
Donations can be made via the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/karl-whelan
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