MORMON ARTISTS GROUP

announces new music by

DAVID FLETCHER

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

BY JOSEPH SMITH, JR.

A Song Cycle for Children’s Chorus or Solo Voice

with Piano Accompaniment

The thirteen statements of belief written by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1841 were in response to a query by Chicago newspaperman John Wentworth. The resulting document was published by the Church in Times and Seasons March 1, 1842. It was included in a British pamphlet, The Pearl of

Great Price (1851), later canonized, and is now regarded as scripture. Today, The Articles of Faith are regarded as the central principles of the Church. 

Children, in particular, have been drawn to The Articles of Faith as a way to learn about the gospel, and memorizing them is a rite of passage for every Mormon child. The challenge is that although the ideas are straightforward, the vocabulary is unfamiliar and difficult. How are statements with words such as paradisiacal, transgression, magistrates, evangelists, and benevolent, for example, to be understood? And how are they best learned?

David Fletcher’s setting of the The Articles of Faith is an ingenious solution finding beautiful, natural cadences in these adult words. By creating a cycle of songs that are interconnected, with refrains and development of lovely and simple melodies, the composer has given us music that is highly memorable (and memorizable).

THE COMPOSER

The songs of David Fletcher are well-known through nine recordings of his original songs and hymn arrangements (which include, “Weepin’ Mary,”“Eternal Day,”and “Wondrous Love,”) sung by Ariel Bybee, George Dyer, Clayne Robison, Charlotte Smurthwaite, and Jamie Peterson, and by many live performances. Fletcher studied composition with Merrill Bradshaw, David H. Sargent, and Robert Manookin at Brigham Young University, and studied in New York with Mary Rodgers,

Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Richard Maltby.

This unusual range of influence is evident in Fletcher’s setting of The Articles of Faith which weds the sensitivity of sacred music to the tuneful, narrative sound of the theater.

THE BOOK

The Articles of Faith is printed on Mohawk Superfine text paper (8.5''x11'',12 pages) with a golden yellow cover of Fabriano Ingres, mouldmade in Italy, and lasercut with the publisher’s mark, staple-bound. 

The Articles of Faith – $7.50