Cantata of Praise for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra (a Setting of Psalms 118 and 150)
Cantata of Praise is a setting of the poetic interpretation of Psalms 118 and 150 by the Elizabethan poet Mary Sidney Herbert, from her book "The Sidney Psalter" from around the year 1599, with some added text from Psalm 118 in the original Hebrew and from The King James Bible.
The structure of Cantata of Praise is similar to many of Bach's sacred cantatas, with large choral movements at the beginning and at the end, and shorter middle movements that feature soloists. It is in seven movements with the full chorus and instrumental ensemble in the first and last movements (Movements 1 and 7) and solo voices with varying groups of instruments in the other movements. Movements 2 and 3 feature the Soprano voice, Movement 4 features the Tenor voice, Movement 5 features the Alto voice and Movement 6 features the Bass voice.
The music in Cantata of Praise displays a wide range of influences in its seven movements. In addition to the influences of Bach’s sacred cantatas, you'll hear influences of Gregorian Chant, Jewish Chant, Renaissance sacred music, the Blues, Latin Jazz, Modal Jazz, “Classic” Rock and Pop/Rock, sometimes with multiple influences in a single movement.
Cantata of Praise won the Silver Medal - Outstanding Achievement at the 2026 Global Music Awards. It was commissioned by the New Mexico Performing Arts Society and was premiered in two special concerts on March 22, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico and on March 23, 2025 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Below is the interview that Aaron Alter had on March 18, 2025 with Alexis Corbin, the Executive Director of Classical 95.5 KHFM and KHFM.org about the world premieres of his "Cantata of Praise" for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra that were on March 22nd in Santa Fe and March 23rd in Albuquerque by The New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Franz Vote. The interview was broadcast on March 19, 2025. Below the interview are videos of all seven movements of the world premiere of “Cantata of Praise” for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra. Hannah Stevens is the soprano soloist in the second and third movements, André García-Nuthmann is the tenor soloist in the fourth movement, Kehar Koslowsky is the alto soloist in the fifth movement and Javier Ortiz is the bass soloist in the sixth movement.
The first movement for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra, shows influences of Gregorian Chant, Renaissance sacred music, Bach’s sacred cantatas, Latin Jazz and "Classic" Rock.
The second movement, Recitative for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra, shows influences of Bach’s sacred cantatas and "Classic" Rock ballads.
The third movement, Aria for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra, shows influences of Bach’s sacred cantatas and Pop/Rock.