For the Mystic Harmony

Commissioned for a consortium of high school and college bands in the north Dallas region, For the Mystic Harmony is a 10-minute inspirational work in homage to Norwood and Elizabeth Dixon, patrons of the Fort Worth Symphony and the Van Cliburn Competition. Welcher draws melodic flavor from five American hymns, spirituals, and folk tunes of the 19th century. The last of these sources to appear is the hymn tune For the Beauty of the Earth, whose third stanza is the quatrain: “For the joy of ear and eye, For the heart and mind’s delight, For the mystic harmony, Linking sense to sound and sight,” giving rise to the work’s title.