“The Betrayal” – Storytellers

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“The Betrayal” is an instrumental piece that Leah Wilson and myself composed for “Knowing Jesus.”  The piece was meant to capture the moment when Judas sneaks off from the group and the betrayal of Jesus takes place.

Leah’s musicality is off the charts.  I can give her a look or a 1-second cue to play the melody on something or do a fill and she nails it on the spot.  She is one of the best combinations of someone who can play by ear or by sight.

When we came to this piece, I knew I wanted a flute piece, but we had to come up with something short and to the point.

We also wanted it to be a musical theme for Satan where we would use in two places.  Yeah, I know.  We are really weird.

If you have ever heard “Peter and the Wolf,” you understand the concept of musical themes.  A line or a certain instrument heralds a certain character.  In the album “Knowing Jesus,” Satan is used in 2 places – “It Is Written,” and “The Betrayal.”  The same melody line is used in both places and Leah plays them on the flute.  So, when Satan begins the temptation of Jesus, the theme plays.  When he comes back to tempt Judas, the theme plays.  Different results on those though.

In “It Is Written,” the theme introduces the song and also sneaks back in during some diminished chord structures.

In “The Betrayal,” the theme alerts to you who is behind the scenes on the prowl.  The piece begins with Leah playing the melody from the previous song, “Not My Will,” with some crazy chord arrangements on the piano accompanying here before going back into the theme.

While the piece sets up the crucifixion, we also used some live sound effects when we did it at North Side to bring the crucifixion to life.

We can’t wait to do this live again on March 29 & 30th.  Here are some links to keep you informed and to help us get the word out:

Get chord charts for entire album here.

Listen to a snippet below or get your copy on iTunes.

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