Reviews

Another highlight of the evening was Eugene Concert Choir’s rendition of Glenn Rudolph’s “The Dream Isaiah Saw.” Commissioned to honor the memory of those lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the slow-building work was the most impactful moment of the afternoon. Solo­ist Ryan Dixon and percussionist Sean Wagoner performed with absolute stoicism and all of the ceremony the work deserves.


Allison Kaufman - December 2016
The Register Guard, Eugene, OR


The most inspiring portion of the concert occurred near the concert’s conclusion when the combined chorus, with ISC members flanking the audience on both sides of the theatre, sang a breathtaking rendition of Glenn Rudolph’s “The Dream Isaiah Saw.”


Thomas Alvarex - December 8, 2015
Examiner.com - Indianapolis, IN


Still Shining in the Holy Light
Pub. MorningStar Music

Since there are very few anthems with a solo English Horn (or saxophone), this Christmas work is reviewd early so that it could be ordered in the fall, giving the director lots of time to find a performer; it will will make a wonderful addition to the usual Christmas music. It opens with a long unaccompanied solo for the English Horn in a rubato style; then the organ enters to help set the tempo for the choir. The sad, somewhat haunting music of the opening is then repeated by the choir. Also, the final section may be used as a benediction in the same service. The horn's music is included separately on the back cover. Highly recommended!


The Diapason - April, 2015


One of the most beautiful moments of the evening came just before the traditional “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. It was Glenn Rudolph’s “The Dream Isaiah Saw,” a driving and building prayer of hope for all children.


Jayne Coyne - December 16, 2013
DC Metro Theater Arts


The concert opened with another piece by Vaughan Williams, "Serenade to Music," with text taken from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Concertmaster Natalie Reed's sweet solos were a highlight. But Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw," which Allred commissioned in 2001 when he was director of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, arguably packed the biggest emotional punch. The SLCA singers clearly took the poignant "lions and lambs" text to heart, singing with palpable emotion.


Catherine Reese Newton - October, 2007
The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City. UT


And the martial brass and drums of Glenn Rudolph's gripping "The Dream Isaiah Saw" were ultimately quelled by the chorus's impassioned plea for peace.


Andrew Lindemann Malone - December, 2007
Washington Post, Washington, DC


The Utah Choral Artists, which responded attentively and enthusiastically to Allred's direction all evening, brought the evening to a powerful close with Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw."


Catherine Reese Newton - May, 2005
The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City. UT


"Near the end of the evening the Genevans pulled out all the stops with Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw," a moving piece dedicated to the victims of 9/11..."


Ja'neal Jett - April 12, 2005
The Cabinet, Geneva College Student Website


With its text combining the Old Testament prophet's description of God's peaceable kingdom with the coming of the Christ Child alongside humanity's abject failure to facilitate the fulfillment of the promise, the post-9/11 work made a memorable impression Saturday night. Voiced in a contemporary, Broadway-style musical vocabulary with an accompaniment that includes percussion and brass, "The Dream Isaiah Saw" came to a thrilling culmination. Harler conducted and the Mendelssohn Club sang with admirable polish and convincing passion.


Michael Caruso - December, 2004
ChestnutHill.com, Philadelphia, PA


“The Dream Isaiah Saw” is a haunting, up-lifting composition, written by Glenn Rudolph and published this year, dedicated to the “memory of those who perished on September 11, 2001."


online review - December 16, 2004
The Mountain Times, Boone, NC


Richard Elliott’s organ accompaniment in the next two pieces, Carlyle Sharp’s “Laudate Nomen” and Glenn Rudolph’s “Lord God, We All to Thee Give Praise,” was astounding. The Bedford audience was thrilled to hear the premiere performance of the vocal/organ section of the Rudolph composition; all three parts, with the other parts primarily for organ, were scheduled to be performed the next day at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh. 

The concert ended with a composition many of us had been waiting for since we heard it at the first Bach Choir concert here: "The Dream Isaiah Saw", by Glenn Rudolph. The achingly beautiful melody and the profound words, bringing together biblical threads into a vision of peace, brought tears to many eyes, including mine. 


Nancy MacRae - May 14, 2004
Bedford Gazette, Bedford, PA


The featured work, Rudolph's prelude, anthem and postlude on "Lord God, to Thee We All Give Praise," was, as originally projected, a traditional work that could be adapted for church choirs or a concert format. At once functional and inherently familiar, it still conveyed a lovely quality in its bucolic simplicity.


Jane Varnish - May 4, 2004
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA


Of the pieces on the program, I was especially moved by Richard Elliott's buttery setting of "Silent Night" and the blockbuster finale, "The Dream Isaiah Saw."


Jerry Johnston - December 6, 2003
Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, UT


Powerful music swept over the audience during the concert's climactic finale, Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw."


Robert Coleman - December 4, 2003
The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, UT


This is a fine set of choral and brass music. There are a few intonation problems here and there but if you can overlook it, you will derive a great deal of musical comfort from this CD. The sound is what you hope for in a SACD. The brass are world class. The piece, "The Dream Isaiah Saw" is all this offerring needs to justify any price. I love it.


online review - SA-CD.net


The multichannel SACD does a great job of conveying the space of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA., with the surrounds used primarily to convey ambience and hall information. On track 8, The Dream Isaiah Saw, the percussion and brass at the end of the piece have impressive weight and dynamic impact.


Tom Gibbs - Audiophile Audition


If there was a high point, it was the encore by Rudolph of "The Dream Isaiah Saw", commissioned by the Bach Choir.


David DeAngelo - December 17, 2002
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA


The work that ended the first half of the concert, a stunning piece by American composer Glenn L. Rudolph commissioned by the Bach Choir, brought the audience to its feet in a spontaneous show of appreciation.


Steven Myers - June 14, 2002
Bedford Gazette, Bedford, PA


The program turned serious with Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw," commissioned by the Bach Choir after the Sept. 11 attacks. Rudolph is a local composer whose work should be heard more often. Based on a Thomas Troeger poem, "The Dream Isaiah Saw" begins with lyric intensity, with each verse building to a gripping, cathartic climax.


Eric Haynes - December 10, 2005
PIttsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, PA



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