Augsburg Fortress

Praise, My Soul

Praise, My SoulPraise, My Soul

Praise, My Soul

by John D. Cornish (Composer)
This classic hymn of praise, based on Psalm 103, is given a reverent new melodic setting that captures the beauty of the Henry Lyte text in a fresh way. Arranged for SATB choir and piano, each stanza begins tenderly and builds to a glorious refrain of Alleluia!, highlighting both the immanent and transcendent nature of our God.
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  • Publisher Augsburg Fortress
  • Format Sheet Music
  • ISBN 9781506413969
  • Brand Augsburg Choral Library
  • Dimensions 7 x 10.25
  • Pages 12
  • Season/Occasion General; Thanksgiving
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Voicing SATB/4-part mixed
  • Publication Date March 3, 2016

Composer Commentary

In recent years, I have found myself particularly interested in the hymn texts of Henry Lyte, as Lyte had a unique way of expressing his personal relationship with God while not at all sacrificing his belief in God’s glory and power. "Praise, My Soul" is no exception. In this text, which was based on Psalm 103, Lyte was able to illustrate how the God who tenderly cares for us as God's children is the same God who is exalted by saints and angels in the highest heaven.
 
As a composer, my challenge was to set this text in a way that respected and communicated the multi-dimensional image of God that Lyte was trying to present. Since other settings of this hymn have historically been very triumphant and majestic (Goss’ extraordinary tune LAUDA ANIMA comes to mind), I wanted to write something that captured the more intimate and personal elements of the text. To do this, I utilized a simple legato melodic line in each stanza that gradually builds to a climactic point on the Alleluia refrain.
 
While most of the harmonization of this setting is fairly stable and very much centered around the home key of C major, I did create an intentional sense of harmonic instability and transience on the fourth stanza, which I utilized as a sort of “bridge” to the final stanza. The section begins with a series of minor chords which leads to some particularly striking dissonances on the words "God endures unchanging on," over which the sopranos sing a persistent C illustrating the “unchanging” character of our God in contrast to our mortal nature.
 
My hope and prayers is that this setting will bring Lyte’s work to life in a fresh way, and that each person who sings or hears this setting will be reminded of just how much our creator and God cares for each of us.
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