North Texas LDS Composer Premiers Original Piece Dedicated to the Savior

Maybe it’s no small coincidence that in 2016—on the 275^th anniversary of Handel’s completion of Messiah—prominent LDS North Texas Composer S. Andrew Lloyd finished Christus, a large scale work which glorifies the teachings of Jesus Christ. And like Messiah, which premiered the first Easter season of the following year in 1742, Christus will debut on April 28, 2017, less than two weeks after Easter, at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth.

“Christus arises out of my love for my Savior Jesus Christ, and represents my testimony that He lives,” said Lloyd, a thirty-seven-year-old adjunct professor of music at both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University. “I feel that He has given me a beautiful gift of music, and I have been imbued with an overwhelming desire to make music that glorifies Him in every way.”

Like Handel, Lloyd—with humility and no small sense of awe—is quick to credit his Savior for the inspiration of Christus.

“In all my years composing music, I have never felt the veil so thin, or felt inspiration come so freely as I did while writing Christus,” said Lloyd, who has composed over 60 works and holds music degrees from Brigham Young University, University of Kansas, and University of North Texas. “As I look back over the music while rehearsing with the choir, I marvel at the piece’s exquisite music and message. I feel to some extent, that I was only a tool by which the Lord communicated His message.”

Indeed, one of the many spiritual experiences Lloyd had while composing Christus eerily echoes that of Handel when he was inspired to use a melody he had composed earlier in his life which resulted in the aria titled “He Shall Feed His Flock.”

“While I had several spiritual experiences writing Christus, I will share a moment I had while composing the sixth movement:  As I began working on the piece, I had selected a text from Psalm 24, ‘Save me, O God.’ However, I was absolutely drawing a blank on how to set it to music. I had labored with several different ideas, but nothing seemed to work or fit with the movements I had already finished,” said Lloyd.

“One evening I had a dream where I was singing the text to an older art song I had written in 2012. When I woke up, I went and looked at this older song titled: ‘When Thou Passest through Waters.’ The new text not only worked perfectly, it actually made more sense with the music than my original text. In my short life, I have never had dreams where I felt that the Lord was communicating with me, but for some reason, I had several dreams while writing Christus, which opened my eyes to the direction I needed to go next.”

Lloyd also drew inspiration from the artwork of J. Kirk Richards, a contemporary Latter-day Saint artist whose paintings reflect the many aspects of Christ.

“[Richard’s artwork] takes me to a creative world that allows me to ponder on a deeper level my relationship with my Savior. Kirk has expressed that he gleans inspiration from the deep past, while infusing those idioms with contemporary techniques, hopefully giving the viewer a taste of the transcendent.

“As I began Christus, I took this same approach. I decided to go back in time to Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers a piece that was written in 1610. I studied the piece intently, and I began creating a work, as if I lived in 17th century Italy. I took various characteristic musical elements from the time period, while infusing the piece with modern compositional techniques, and Christus was born. It is this unique juxtaposition of the past and present that I hope elevates the listening audience, placing them in a transcendent open space away from the world, where they can truly experience Christ.

“About a year into writing Christus, I decided to get on J. Kirk Richards website to glimpse his latest projects. I was overcome with emotion at the moment I discovered that Kirk had just finished a series of sculptures titled, Christus,” said Lloyd.

Unlike Handel who wrote Messiah in twenty-four days, Lloyd spent two years on Christus.

 “I began working on Christus in the fall of 2014, finishing in December of 2016. Believe it or not, the most difficult part about composing Christus was actually finishing the piece. I had mapped out most of the nine movements in the spring of 2015. However, my three part time jobs and professional career kept me from finishing the piece sooner. I learned patience, for many times I had melodies and themes in my head for months before I could finally get them on paper.

“There were times that I thought that I would never finish Christus. However, I never gave up. I developed more discipline, faith, patience, and a deeper love for my Savior. I felt loved and strengthened. When I started this journey over two years ago, I had no idea the sacrifices that I would have to make to finish Christus. But looking back, I would have it no other way. I grew as an individual and musician in ways that I could have never imagined, and I can’t wait for the audience to experience this journey with me,” said Lloyd, a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Performing Christus, a nine-movement work for choir, organ, and soloists, will be The Choral Artists of Fort Worth, a professional choir under the direction of Ryan Chatterton, along with five soloists who are prominent musicians within the community: Jeffrey Snider – Baritone (UNT faculty), Jennifer Youngs – Soprano (TWU faculty), William Joyner – Tenor (UNT faculty), Carol Harlos – Cellist (Member of the Fort Worth Symphony), and Julia Bushkova – Violinist (UNT faculty).

“Christus would be nothing without the many artists that have come together to perform the piece,” said Lloyd. “Most of the choir members are choir directors or supporters themselves, and they understand what it takes to put on a production of this magnitude. They have worked very hard, and they are in love with the piece,” said Lloyd.

Written to be performed in a large reverberant space, Lloyd considers it a blessing for his premiere to be hosted by First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth and Christ the King Catholic Church in Dallas, both of which also agreed to pay for much of the advertising and publicity costs.

“I am honored to premiere Christus at these venues, and I am thrilled about sharing my beliefs about Christ in these environments,” said Lloyd. “My hope is that the audience will experience the power and the infinite nature of Christ’s atonement and resurrection. In the very first movement, the music places Christ in Gethsemane pleading to God for help, while the choir, representing humanity, is singing the text, ‘My Redeemer Liveth, and His Hands are Outstretched Still.’ This jarring juxtaposition of death and resurrection permeates the entire work, giving the piece a feel that there is no beginning or end. The last movement is in seven sections painting the seven days of creation, depicting the hands of Christ as those who were not only offered up on the cross for mankind, but also the hands that created the universe. It is in this moment that I hope the audience feels the absolute love that Jesus Christ has for His children.”

The world premiere of Christus will be performed on April 28, 2017, at 7:00pm at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, with an encore performance at Christ the King Catholic Church on May 7, 2017, at 7:30pm in Dallas, Texas. Admission is free. For more information visit http://sandrewlloyd.com.

S. Andrew Lloyd, a native of Kalispell, Montana, lives in Denton, Texas, with his wife Lesley and four daughters. They are members of the Denton 1st Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Please feel free to share the following informational pdfs below:

Christus – Poster (PDF file 7.5MB)

Christus – S. Andrew Lloyd Bio (PDF file 1.3MB)