Psalm 8
SATB chorus divisi a cappella
No. 0101
Text
Ps 8 : 1, 3–5, 9
Lord, our Master,
how great is your name on earth!
Your glory outreaches the heavens.
I look to the heavens, your handwork,
the moon and stars you have set:
what is man that you mark him,
or the son of man you endow?
You have made him almost as God,
bestowed on him glory and honor.
Lord, our Master,
how great is your name on earth!
About the piece
Although it’s a shorter piece, Psalm 8 has a sense of enormousness and grandeur. The music is meant to evoke the central image of the text: the experience of looking up at the night sky arrayed with stars and marveling at the glory of creation. The stars, though brilliant on their own, produce a much more beautiful sight when they constellate with one another in the night sky. In the same way, the human voices of the choir come together to produce a brilliant expression of glory that no single voice could produce on its own.
Because of its straightforward rhythms and diatonic harmony, this piece is accessible for a wide range of choirs. The performance length is about two and a half minutes. If you would like to order parts or a free sample copy, please send me an email.