This piece tells the story of Pentecost through text from Acts 2, a refrain with original lyrics, and some unusual techniques like having the choir make wind sounds. But those aren’t the reason I’ve spent more time on this piece than on any other composition.

No, that would be the “speaking in tongues” part, where the choir members repeatedly say “Come, Holy Spirit” in different languages at the same time. For this I embarked on a quest to collect translations in as many languages as I could by stretching my personal network as far as possible. So far, I have 129 (see the last pages of the PDF). Some of them came from people who are three degrees of separation from me. Through this project, I have gotten connected with dozens of people whom I never would have otherwise and have learned a great deal about many languages, which, as a language nut, has been its own reward. I am still working on the pronunciation guide, which can be found here as a work in progress.

I composed this for a choir I was a member of in 2010, but unfortunately, due to several extenuating circumstances, we weren’t able to perform it. The original 2010 edition only had fifteen languages. When I started the massive project of collecting translations for the new edition, I chose to dedicate it to the memory of my friend Sheralynn Neff. She was also a member of that choir in 2010 and provided one of the translations for the first edition. If I knew anything about her, she would have been excited about this project, as a language nut herself (she spoke five). I am glad to honor her memory in this way.

This piece borrows some musical material from my composition “Inspiration.”

A portion of the revenue goes to the company that holds the copyright of the NIV Bible.

I am not releasing this for sale until it has had its premiere. If you are interested in premiering it, contact me.