Knaggs: Psalm 100

Description

Psalm 100 was co-commissioned by the Texas Tech University Choir and the Iowa State Singers, and written with the skills of these two choirs in mind. It is a concise and hope-filled composition which seeks to fuse the craft and savor of polyphonic style from centuries past with an unmistakably modern style. The opening line "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth" is joyfully sung in Latin, creating bookends at the beginning and end of the piece. The rest of the words are set in English and the music traverses through rhythmic and cascading textures to highlight the words and express their meaning.