Description:

Song Cycle: In the summer of 1820 a fourteen-year-old boy named Joseph Smith Jr. walked into a grove of trees in upstate New York to pray. Prompted by a verse from James that stated "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...", Joseph intended to ask which church he should join himself with. When he knelt to pray, he felt as though he was being assailed by an unseen power that wished to destroy him, yet no sooner did he lift up his voice to God than he felt himself delivered and saw a glorious light descend around him. "A Light that Shames the Noonday Sun" is based upon this visionary experience of Joseph Smith Jr.,and was written in celebration of Smith's 200th birthday. The work was premiered 12/23/05 by Dr. Lawrence Vincent, head of Brigham Young University Opera.