A New Song (2023)

Psalm 33

 

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous,

for it becometh well the just to be thankful.

 

Praise the Lord with harp;

sing praises unto him with the lute,

and instrument of ten strings.

 

Sing unto the Lord a new song;

sing praises lustily unto him

with a good courage.

​

 

Composer’s Note

 

A New Song is a response to the unabashed joy of Psalm 33. The music focuses on the commands of the text: to rejoice, sing and praise, setting the words with visceral fanfare-like harmonies and insistent, syncopated rhythmic ostinati. The voices enter cumulatively with a series of chattering cross-rhythms, until bursting into shouts of ‘Rejoice in the Lord!’ Following a more reticent middle section, the cross-rhythms of the opening return, proclaiming more grandiosely, ‘sing unto the Lord a new song.’ The work concludes with a swelling vocal fanfare as the voices conclude –– as in the opening –– with cries of ‘Rejoice!’