Psalm 100 (Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord)

This anthem was commissioned by Dorothy Yates to mark the 50th anniversary of St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia.

 

The text is announced by a brief fanfare on the organ. The raised 4th scale degree of the opening theme suggests the Lydian mode and accentuates the music's upward thrust. Following the opening fanfare, the setting passes back and forth between duple and triple meter several times. Triple and duple rhythmic elements occur simultaneously and play off of one another. In the anthem's middle section, the rhythmic energy of the opening is exchanged for a gentle extended crescendo as voices alternately sing theirfour-note, stepwise, rising lines over sustained organ chords. Then, the more energetic and somewhat metrically ambiguous elements of the previous section return. Finally, the text and music heard at the anthem's opening recur in the manner of an antiphon. Duration: 3:20