Sacrifice - The Death Of Samson
For Concert Band
Concert Band - Sheet Music

Concert Band/Harmonie - Grade 4

SKU: BT.EMP-AC001

For Concert Band. Composed by Chun Wai Wong. EMP Collection Asian Composers - Masterpieces. Set (Score & Parts). Europa Music Publishing #EMP-AC001. Published by Europa Music Publishing (BT.EMP-AC001).

This piece is about the tragic death of Samson in the Book of Judges from the Bible.
After Moses and Joshua led the Israelites out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, God raised up judges to save the Israelites out of the hands of raiders; among the raiders there are Philistines who tyrannized them and insulted God. Samson was chosen byGod to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines, and he was gifted with tremendous strength. Yet, he abused his power and indulged himself with sensory pleasures; in the end, God left him and took away his strength. The Philistines seizedhim, gouged out his eyes, and took him to entertain the Philistines in a temple. Feeling gravely remorseful, Samson prayed to God; God answered his prayer and strengthened him one last time. With his renewed strength he pushed down the entire templeand died with thousands of Philistines. His sacrifice made a big step forward in liberating the Israelites from the oppressive reign of the Philistines.


Earning his doctorate from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Wong Chun-Wai has a versatile composition profile comprising concert music, musicals and film scores. He draws from, an often infuses various musical languages to evoke variousatmospheres and/ or sceneries, so as to engage audiences with a quasi-multimedia-art experience.

His compositions are featured worldwide in occasions such as the International Rostrum of Composers (2012, Sweden), ISCM World Music Days (2012, Belgium), ACL (Asian Composers League) Festival(2015, Philippines) and International Forum of New Music “Manuel Enriquez” (2014, Mexico). His music is performed and recorded by professional musicians including the International Ensemble Modern Akademie (IEMA), Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra,performers from the New York Philharmonic and soloist including Dong-Suk Kang and Jan-Erik Gustafsson.

He won The Bassoon Chamber Music Composition Competition (BCMCC) with his piece A Breath of Life (2015, United States), the First Prize and Audience Prize in the Coups de Vents 5th International Composition Competition for Wind Orchestra with hispiece Sacrifice - The Death of Samson (2015, France), the David Gwilt Composition Prize and Audience Prize with The White Wall II (2015, Hong Kong), the Veridian Symphony Orchestra Second Annual Call for Scores Competition with his piece A Call inthe Wilds (2014, United States), The Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Scholarship (2010, 2013 and 2014) among other honors.