
Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Even though the angel had told Mary that her baby was God's son, she realized and pondered the importance of Jesus' birth. I tried to capture that pondering in the opening moments of this arrangement as each instrument enters in a quasi-cadenza, with little resolution to the phrases.
This performance is from the Jackson Symphony Orchestra 2020 Chamber Series with the wonderful musicians Charles Lewis (flute), Sandy D'Amato (oboe), and Taneea Hull (clarinet).