Psalm of the Sky SAB
for SAB 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 SSA.
SKU: SRD-004a
Categories: Choral Music, Mixed Voices
Instrumentation: Choral
| Sacred or Secular: | Sacred |
| Season or Event: | Concert, General, Jewish Festival |
| Difficulty: | Intermediate, Advanced Student |
| Duration: | 5-10 Minutes |
| Voicing: | SAB, SATB |
| Language: | English, Hebrew |
| Descriptive Tags: | Comfort, Devotion, Jewish, Peace, Poetry, Prayer, PROJECT : ENCORE, Psalm, Reverence, Worship |
| 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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| SATB | 10' 15" | English ⋅ Latin | Gloria in D was premièred in December 2014 by the Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee in their ‘Christmas in the Basilica’ concerts. It is written for a large chorus, soprano soloist, brass ensemble, consisting of three trumpets and three trombones, timpani and organ. Richard Hynson, who conducted the première in Milwaukee, writes: “As music Director of […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gloria in D was premièred in December 2014 by the Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee in their ‘Christmas in the Basilica’ concerts. It is written for a large chorus, soprano soloist, brass ensemble, consisting of three trumpets and three trombones, timpani and organ. Richard Hynson, who conducted the première in Milwaukee, writes: “As music Director of […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SSA | 5'30" | English | This marvelous love poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is dynamically dressed with a rich palette of word painting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This marvelous love poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is dynamically dressed with a rich palette of word painting. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 5'15" | English | “If Ever There Is” is a setting of “John’s Song,” by American poet Robert Creeley (1926-2005). The poem has a dedication to the poet John Taggart; the style of wordplay and repetition here can also be found in Taggart’s poetry. I hear it as a prayer for peace. In 1967 Creeley signed a “Writers and […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| “If Ever There Is” is a setting of “John’s Song,” by American poet Robert Creeley (1926-2005). The poem has a dedication to the poet John Taggart; the style of wordplay and repetition here can also be found in Taggart’s poetry. I hear it as a prayer for peace. In 1967 Creeley signed a “Writers and […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SSA | 4' | English ⋅ Latin | JUSTITIAE DOMINI RECTAE (SSA) is based on the original Gregorian chant sung as an offertory on the Third Sunday of Lent. The Latin text is based on verses from Psalm 19 (18 in the Latin Vulgate): The laws of God are just, rejoicing the heart, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb; therefore your servant will observe them. […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JUSTITIAE DOMINI RECTAE (SSA) is based on the original Gregorian chant sung as an offertory on the Third Sunday of Lent. The Latin text is based on verses from Psalm 19 (18 in the Latin Vulgate): The laws of God are just, rejoicing the heart, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb; therefore your servant will observe them. […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 3'30" | Latin | A melodic, prayerful, and emotionally engaging setting of the ancient Latin hymn text attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604), Supreme Creator of Light. Lucis Creator optime, Supreme Creator of light, lucem dierum proferens, Bringing forth each day’s dawn, primordiis lucis novae, Creating anew the primordial light, mundi parans originem: Which first shown when the […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A melodic, prayerful, and emotionally engaging setting of the ancient Latin hymn text attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604), Supreme Creator of Light. Lucis Creator optime, Supreme Creator of light, lucem dierum proferens, Bringing forth each day’s dawn, primordiis lucis novae, Creating anew the primordial light, mundi parans originem: Which first shown when the […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB ⋅ Unison | 12'30" | English | Majestic Ride is a choral sequence for the beginning of Holy Week. It consists of three new hymn settings, linked by optional solo/choral passages and narration drawn from the Bible, centred mainly on the events of Palm Sunday. The three hymns are ‘All glory, laud and honour’, ‘My song is love unknown’ and ‘Ride […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majestic Ride is a choral sequence for the beginning of Holy Week. It consists of three new hymn settings, linked by optional solo/choral passages and narration drawn from the Bible, centred mainly on the events of Palm Sunday. The three hymns are ‘All glory, laud and honour’, ‘My song is love unknown’ and ‘Ride […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 4'30" | English | “O Child” is written from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, imagining what they might have been thinking and feeling when they first beheld the newborn baby Jesus. Composer Michael T. Roberts also penned the words, inspired by his experience as a father of two. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| “O Child” is written from the perspective of Joseph and Mary, imagining what they might have been thinking and feeling when they first beheld the newborn baby Jesus. Composer Michael T. Roberts also penned the words, inspired by his experience as a father of two. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SSAA | 4'30" | Latin | Commissioned premiere performance at Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco) by the San Francisco Girls Chorus. The explosive Lang work was appropriately contrasted by the excellent, gentle and more subtle O Magnum Mysterium by Kurt Erickson. This world premiere was commissioned by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Here the “mystery” part of the thematic trinity […] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned premiere performance at Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco) by the San Francisco Girls Chorus. The explosive Lang work was appropriately contrasted by the excellent, gentle and more subtle O Magnum Mysterium by Kurt Erickson. This world premiere was commissioned by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Here the “mystery” part of the thematic trinity […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SATB | 4'23" | This lively arrangement in 7/4 meter re-fashions Lowry’s familiar hymn into a rhythmically-charged spiritual, using an unequal four beats per measure to carry the listener along on a joyous spiritual journey along the celestial river. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This lively arrangement in 7/4 meter re-fashions Lowry’s familiar hymn into a rhythmically-charged spiritual, using an unequal four beats per measure to carry the listener along on a joyous spiritual journey along the celestial river. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 […] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||