O Praise the Name (Anastasis)

I was recently commissioned to do an arrangement of the relatively new song, O Praise the Name (Anastasis), written by Dean Ussher, Marty Sampson and Benjamin Hastings of Hillsong Church in Australia.  We have only recently started singing it in our church so I was just becoming familiar with it.  

When my friend, Dan Mullis, contacted me about doing the arrangement he had a very special purpose in mind.  It was going to be used to launch the new season of his church’s music academy and would feature not only the church orchestra but also all of the young students enrolled in the school.  A good number of these students are either String players, Piano players or Guitar players.  The opportunity to feature those players is in the middle section of the arrangement.

The first verse opens with Penny Whistle (or Piccolo) over a low pedal point, then the second verse includes all Woodwinds with full Strings underneath. The next statement of the chorus is with brass choir - I really like this section, which is easily played but fits the music perfectly.  

The next verse is opened by the Horns in the key of C, which is followed by a chorus for Piano solo with Guitar, followed by adding the Woodwinds and Strings on the repeat of the chorus. I then added an original transitional section starting with Flutes and then adding Clarinets and Oboe with Strings underneath before adding full Brass that builds to a full orchestral statement of a final chorus.

The grand molto ritard at the climax is a fitting close to this magnificent shout of praise to our God.