John Newton’s famous hymn with an Irish twist, opens with the familiar drone of the pipes and the pounding of the bodhran, the Irish hand drum. Over the ostinato, the hymn tune Amazing Grace is first heard in a rhythmically augmented form. The woodwinds, accompanied by the snare drum, interject Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, which is quickly overtaken by the brass and low reeds playing Amazing Grace in its original meter. The two groups trade fours until each hymn is completed. An interlude introduces the overlapping hymns played simultaneously and the return of the drone. Woodwind soloists appear to bring things to a calm conclusion before the rousing rhythmic recap and a final statement of the melody in the solo trumpet. Grade 3