Psalm of the Sky SSA
for SSA chorus, piano, and violin
In the poem “Psalm of the Sky,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat reimagines “The Lord is My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) in a contemporary context. Performers may highlight the many instances of text painting and create contrast between moments of gentleness, boldness, and carefree movement. The last verse of Psalm 23 is included in Hebrew as a coda in a similar style to many prayers sung in Jewish worship; this allusion to Barenblat’s textual inspiration is intended to express the enduring human need for comfort and hope despite changing modes of worship.
Psalm of the Sky was commissioned by the Creative Commissions Project at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, sponsored by the Harmony Fund, and it was premiered by Ensemble X at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. This work is ideal for moderate to advanced high school, university, and community choirs. It is also available for TBB (the original) and SAB (with parts indicated for any size tenor section).
SKU: SRD-004b
Categories: Children's Choir, Choral Music, Treble Voices
Instrumentation: Choral
| Voicing: | SA, SAA, SSA, SSAA |
| Language: | English, Hebrew |
| Descriptive Tags: | Comfort, Devotion, Jewish, Peace, Poetry, Prayer, PROJECT : ENCORE, Psalm, Reverence, Worship |
| Difficulty: | Medium, Intermediate, Advanced Student |
| Duration: | 5-10 Minutes |
| Instrumentation: | Piano, Violin |
$3.95
This title is available in print. For both options, there is a minimum required quantity of 8 copies for choral titles. Please support self-publishing composers by ordering the quantity according to the number of singers in the ensemble that will perform the work.
Print orders are printed on demand and shipped by our printing partner, and can be expected to be processed within a few days of the order. Please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] to follow up.
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Title | View | Voicing | Duration | Language | Composer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Among The Trees The Clearing Rests In Song and Shade I Go Among the Trees and Sit Still All the Earth Shall Sing (The dark around us, come) Three Songs for SATB Choir & Piano Words by Wendell Berry These three songs are about finding peace and unity within nature. Balance comes to many of […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 2' 3" | English | This setting is ideally suited for a good chamber choir with a high soprano soloist. Julie Myers’ beautiful poem suggests to the composer a journey from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and this is reflected in the music, which should be performed simply, but with expressiveness and conviction. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This setting is ideally suited for a good chamber choir with a high soprano soloist. Julie Myers’ beautiful poem suggests to the composer a journey from darkness to light, from despair to hope, and this is reflected in the music, which should be performed simply, but with expressiveness and conviction. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 3' 32" | English | This anthem is a setting of words from Psalm 5. It is particularly suited to church performance during devotional or penitential seasons such as Lent, or in prayer or dedication services. The anthem was also incorporated as the middle piece of the contrasting set of “Three Anthems“, commissioned by the Purbeck Arts Choir in the […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This anthem is a setting of words from Psalm 5. It is particularly suited to church performance during devotional or penitential seasons such as Lent, or in prayer or dedication services. The anthem was also incorporated as the middle piece of the contrasting set of “Three Anthems“, commissioned by the Purbeck Arts Choir in the […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SAB ⋅ SATB | 5' | English ⋅ Hebrew | In the poem “Psalm of the Sky,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat reimagines “The Lord is My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) in a contemporary context. Performers may highlight the many instances of text painting and create contrast between moments of gentleness, boldness, and carefree movement. The last verse of Psalm 23 is included in Hebrew as a coda […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the poem “Psalm of the Sky,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat reimagines “The Lord is My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) in a contemporary context. Performers may highlight the many instances of text painting and create contrast between moments of gentleness, boldness, and carefree movement. The last verse of Psalm 23 is included in Hebrew as a coda […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB ⋅ SATBB | 4' | English | This work received second place in the 2015 Ithaca College Choral Composition Competition. It sets a poem by A. E. Housman which was not published until after his death. In 1895 Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for two years for being a practicing homosexual, a crime in England at that time. Housman’s poem, while seemingly tongue-in-cheek, […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This work received second place in the 2015 Ithaca College Choral Composition Competition. It sets a poem by A. E. Housman which was not published until after his death. In 1895 Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for two years for being a practicing homosexual, a crime in England at that time. Housman’s poem, while seemingly tongue-in-cheek, […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Inspired by the imagery of my home Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, this is an evocative piece which celebrates the sea, using driving rhythms, a soaring high soprano solo, and an iconic ‘fog-horn’ motif. After it’s premiere by the Guernsey Glee Singers in 2007, this piece has been routinely performed by various choirs […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SSAA | 2'30" | English | This sweet and gentle setting of a classic Southern Harmony hymn features the Alto section in its first verse, then opens out into a joyful depiction of the sensation of flight. The second verse features birdcalls in the piano accompaniment. Recording by First Readings Project. This recording is of the SATB version of the piece, […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This sweet and gentle setting of a classic Southern Harmony hymn features the Alto section in its first verse, then opens out into a joyful depiction of the sensation of flight. The second verse features birdcalls in the piano accompaniment. Recording by First Readings Project. This recording is of the SATB version of the piece, […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 3'45" | English | ‘Balm in Gilead’ is a fervent prayer to the heavens, to relieve the aches and weighty sorrows of an entire enslaved people. In his memorable autobiography, Frederick Douglass wrote these searing, and unforgettable words; “I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
‘Balm in Gilead’ is a fervent prayer to the heavens, to relieve the aches and weighty sorrows of an entire enslaved people. In his memorable autobiography, Frederick Douglass wrote these searing, and unforgettable words; “I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SATB | 4' | English | “Thou God” is the title of a text by Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. A deeply moving and personal faith statement, it is set here as an anthem for mixed choir and organ. Hammarskjöld’s book Markings, from which this text comes, is an enduring spiritual classic still widely read […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“Thou God” is the title of a text by Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-general of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. A deeply moving and personal faith statement, it is set here as an anthem for mixed choir and organ. Hammarskjöld’s book Markings, from which this text comes, is an enduring spiritual classic still widely read […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||