Amazing Grace for Clarinet Quartet

As a notoriously unreligious British sailor actively involved in the Atlantic slave trade, John Newton led an immoral life. In 1748, his vessel was tossed about in a storm so violently that a crewmember—who was standing where Newton had been moments before—was swept overboard to his death. The crew spent hours emptying water from the ship during the storm, suspecting that a shipwreck was imminent. While struggling for some very long hours, Newton cried out to God for mercy. The ship was battered and the crew starving, but they eventually arrived on dry land. Some time after this near-death experience, John Newton devoted his life to becoming an Anglican clergyman, later penning the words of Amazing Grace. The poem was set to several different melodies before being paired with the popularized traditional tune we recognize today.

Primarily in 9/8 time, this arrangement features the melody in the clarinet 1 part. The accompanying parts contain a bagpipe-like drone and develop into lilting countermelodies and unique harmonies.