Category Archives: Hallel Psalms

Hallel Prelude

Now that I’ve got most of the Hallel Psalm songs done, I can begin working on the instrumental parts of the piece. This “Hallel Prelude” (also known as “Hallel? Ooh Yah!”) is the lead off piece and will segue directly … Continue reading

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Psalm 117: All You Nations

This, the shortest of Psalms, is made up of two, diminutive sections. The first is a call to all people of the world to praise God, the second gives the reason for praise: God’s steadfast love. In a process very … Continue reading

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Psalm 116: Be at Rest, Once More, O My Soul

For the record, I no longer equate lots of notes with good writing. There’s a time to explore the thresholds of complexity.* But there’s also a time to keep pruning until nothing remains but the simplest, most pure form of … Continue reading

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Psalm 116: The Land of the Living

My FAWM challenge continues. I’m writing a piece based on the Hallel Psalms (113-118). Nine days in and I’ve got four of the six Psalms done, with sketches for the fifth. Once that foundation is laid, I can begin writing … Continue reading

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Psalm 115: Not to Us, O Lord

My head is in the Hallel Psalms (113-118), so this morning a little praise chorus just sort of began singing in my mind. I had to write it down. Now, if this were the early 90s I would have a … Continue reading

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Psalm 114: Tremble Before the Lord

A few years ago I wrote a setting of Psalm 114 called “The Hills and Mountains Tremble.” I liked it, especially compared to the settings of Psalm 114 that are available. (There aren’t many.) I didn’t want to use the … Continue reading

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Psalm 113: From the Rising of the Sun

I finally decided to bite the bullet and do FAWM. What is FAWM, you ask? It stands for February Album Writing Month, and people who take part make it their goal to write 14 songs in 28 days. You can … Continue reading

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