Cantus and the National Lutheran Choir: Ye Shall Have a Song

[proudaltome]

I cannot listen to this without tears streaming down my face for the sheer beauty of it. Kudos esp. to the best 2nd sopranos I ever heard! The sincerty of feeling radiates from every face. Bkless you guys!

[micvnow]

Divine

[motnurkep]

Outstanding, Perfect, Flawless. On the level of St Olaf and Dale Warland. Glad I'm a Lutheran

[LixPlague]

awesome.. I just knew cantus few months ago from youtube, you're just awesome guys..and i just saw this vid..cool, cing along with National Lutheran Choir...

btw, who is the composer of this song?

[PottersHallows]

So pure, so clean. Chilling and gorgeous. So well done!

[BigBadWolfy87]

WOW! Makes me want to be a Lutheran... just a little. Incredibly beautiful.

[sarahann1107]

WOW! Makes me proud to be a Lutheran :)

[theominoussunset]

@meemo506 just out of curiousity, are you talking about Bartel?

[theominoussunset]

@meemo506 oh wow! who is this?

[Charlestheverger]

WOW! I've loved this since we sang it in High School 40 years ago. This is certainly the ost beautiful rendering I've heard. it is very difficult to have that luscious sonority without heaviness, and the beautiful two-part soprano lines without shrillness. The conductor lets the music speak through him and the choir - it's not a performance by him. Amazing.

[sparrowmud]

@sgneal13: Do you really have to sully this beautiful piece by using the f-word? Sad.

[sgneal13]

Fucking Amazing.

[Pumbinoo67]

Can you give me the name of the composer, please ? :--)

[sgneal13]

@Pumbinoo67 Randall Thompson

[Pumbinoo67]

@sgneal13 Thank you !!

[spokanerws]

I came across this video a week ago while looking for some other choral music. This performance moved me to tears.

Find a good set of headphones and listen to it, or pipe it through a good sound system.

Surely if there is music in Heaven it must sound like this!

[Koogler5618]

omg wow i thought when i sung it with my choir it gave me serious goosbumps but omg wow this is amazing

[makingmagic4ever]

This is by far THE MOST beautiful version of this masterpiece that I have ever heard. Pure intonation, excellent control, commendable phrasing...I am especially impressed with the full, rich quality of the male voices. BRAVISSIMO!!!

[ttlms]

Excellent choir.

[vdk80]

Absolutely amazing.  That piece is gorgeous, and they bring it to life.

[Akee1990]

My choir is practicing this song.I'm a first bass.Any suggestions?

[TheRealmsOfGold]

Sure! I'm a graduate student in composition and conducting, and the choir I'm in is working on "The Peaceable Kingdom."

* Think light, always on the top side of the pitch, and place it all in that higher floaty part of your voice. The "Gladness of Heart" stuff is easy to go flat on.

* Watch your conductor at the tempo changes, or you'll be lost on the "goeth with a pipe" stuff.

* TALL, PURE VOWELS. Always.

* Perform the text, not just the notes. It's a great setting.

Hope that help! :-)

[TheRealmsOfGold]

er. "Hope that helps." Gosh.

[Philip2Herbie]

Heavenly music rendered with intelligent musical direction! Thanks for posting this.

[myoosikmaker]

A great piece. Wonderful mix of lyricism, melody, homophony, and counterpoint, and it doesn't give the impression, like a lot of new pieces, that the composer is trying to be "different." I know he's not the regular conductor, but if he keeps it up he's throw out his shoulder. He looks like he's bouncing a basketball. Or playing that "whap the gopher" game you play at a carnival. We are so fortunate to have these two choral groups in our backyard.

[TheRealmsOfGold]

@ myoosikmaker: whoever rated your comment down needs to get their brain examined. I love it when people provide this kind of insight on YouTube! You're right, the conductor needs to seriously chill out—his gesture is completely inappropriate for the music (and is, in general: floppy, extravagant, untrained, outdated, and unclear). Also, visibly, the choir's vowels don't match the recording, which is outstanding. I wonder what's going on here.

[TheRealmsOfGold]

@ myoosikmaker: BUT: I'm a composer very interested in choral music and I have to disagree with your statement about "new" music. One of the great things about good avant-garde music is that it works with new sounds in ways that are still expressive and artistically convincing. We've all got to be willing to stretch our comfort zones to let new art continue the progress of civilization—so when you hear an "ugly" new piece, listen again. It might just capture your heart the second time around!

[myoosikmaker]

Realms, I hope I didn't imply that I find all new or "avant garde music" ugly. I love things that go out of the comfort zone and take me to "new dimensions in the world of sound" (Fred Pratt Green), but I esp. like it if the composer has mastered the basics of things like writing good melody, some kind of counterpoint and structure of some kind.... Dang, these posts can only be 500 characters...

[TheRealmsOfGold]

Well, often composers do. Very few composers are interested in deliberately avoiding basic principles of sound organization such as structure, balance, tension, and release. So postmodern works aside (besides, the heyday of ignoring such principles is on its way out), most new music that you'll hear on the classical circuit today does indeed rely on these principles.

For a good example of what I mean, listen to Messiaen's "Messe de la Pentecôte." It's one of my favorite "modern" pieces.

[pondwhite]

Thank you for providing a short taste of excellence!!! I This was the best music event of the year.