Program Note:

During the Battle of Britain in 1940, Coventry Cathedral was destroyed during a raid by German bombers. Provost Dick Howard’s courageous, visionary response was to implore his fellow citizens to “Strive for forgiveness and reconciliation with those responsible.” The test of the Litany itself was written in 1958, during the height of the Cold War. It reminds us that “when we pray about the problems of the world around us, we need to begin by acknowledging the roots of those problems in our own hearts.”

Commissioned by and dedicated to James Holmes, Music Director of the Church of Saint Mathew and Saint Timothy in New York City, Hymn of Forgiveness was first published under the title Litany of Reconciliation. It was completed in its original form on 13 August 1996 in New York City. The chorus of Saint Matthew and Saint Timothy,  under the direction of music director James Holmes, first performed the piece at the church in its original version on 13 September 1996. First published by the Roger Dean Publishing Company in 1996, it was re-printed and folded into the Carl Fischer catalogue in 2006.  In 2015, Hagen withdrew the original work and revised it, adding additional music and an extensive organ part. As the original version was dedicated to James Holmes; the revised version was dedicated to his memory.