A Note From the Composer:
During the Summer of 2024, I was itching to write some new choral music. However, I wanted to work with a director and ensemble in putting it together. After deciding to reach out to local choir directors, I soon began working with Heather Baker and the Clyde High School Concert Choir to create a never-before-heard piece just for them. Not only that, I even recorded a series of videos that catalogued my journey in writing the piece from start to finish. Overall, I’m so happy and grateful that I was able to work with Heather and her choir, as it led to the creation of two very cool things. The first was this piece, Eclipse – the story of a people that experiences a solar eclipse for the first time without knowing what’s actually happening. The second was the video series that is now on the Christian Fortner Music YouTube channel, called Choral Music From Scratch. The Clyde High School Concert Choir premiered Eclipse in October of 2024 in Clyde, Texas.
Heather Baker –
My students and I loved the challenge of Eclipse. The rhythms and the ostinato pushed us all to have to truly be a part of the music. We performed the piece in the fall and when I told them it would be our choice piece for contest, they all cheered. To say it was well-liked by my students is an understatement.