Make a Joyful Noise
Make a Joyful Noise: American Psalmody features the collective works of different American composers from the late 1760s through the late 1790s. There are seventeen different tracks on the album and they are sung by the Oregon State University Choir. One of the composers that are mentioned frequently is William Billings. William Billings started a school in New England were they wrote modern poems of music with no professional training. All of the music was written for unaccompanied chorus and for four parts. Billings strived for consonance, showing long notes with intervals of an open fifth. Billings wrote 340 tunes and in 1770 wrote the first song book. All the music was written for the glory of God, and it was not until after Americans started to move to the east coast that his music was being noticed.
After listening to the first song entitled “An Anthem of Praise”, written by Supply Belcher, I was moved by how powerful it starts off. The first words out of the chorus’s mouth are “make a joyful noise.” This is a powerful message that uses open fifths and fourths. The set up consist of the voices at a fortissimo. The whole song is based off Psalm 100 in the Bible. This piece kept my interest with the different dynamics and its modulation up a fifth. This piece was my favorite out of all the tracks. I also liked “Heroism” by Belcher. This piece was patriotic and I liked how it repeated the last line of each verse. The last lines had words such as “dreadful”, “torturing”, and “death groans”. These powerful words were often repeated to remind everyone why they wanted freedom. The word death groans really caught my attention. I paint the image of a man yelling out his last words. I think of the movie Brave heart. This piece represents the time of early America. It talks about the battle field and cannons and bombshells. “Heroism” tells us that Americans were being tortured and made to believe a certain way of life, and the people who fought for freedom and risked their lives are the heroes of this war. Religion is sung throughout this entire work.
I find religion is important to look at when thinking about these pieces. Much of America was made because people in England were not given the right to believe or worship in a manner they believed. This I think is very important because unlike most of the great Canon, these works were not written for the Catholic Church. These works were written for American Protestants. It was more than likely the first works written for Christian churches that were not catholic. They wrote music on how they believed in god. For this reason alone I believe it should be part of the Canon. This was music by untrained professionals who wrote music about what this country is really known for. Like it or not it is what defines America today.
These hymns were written at a turning point in world history. I am a right brain person, and when I listen to music what catches my attention is if the music moves me in someway? If it does what I believe music should do, better someone’s life. I do not follow the theory that the composer is amazing. Even though I do respect so that side of the music, it does not mean anything if the message is not getting across. Music does not exist on paper. So I believe if a composer can write a piece of music where musicians, singers, and performers can get the music across, I believe the composer has done his or hers job. Billings and Belcher accomplished this aspect.
Certain features that grasped my attention were the use of call and response between the male and female voices. A good example of this is in the song “Middletown” by Amos Bull. The male and female voices trade parts then come together as a whole. I thought that is was unique.
Make a Joyful Noise: American Psalmody features the collective works of different American composers from the late 1760s through the late 1790s. There are seventeen different tracks on the album and they are sung by the Oregon State University Choir. One of the composers that are mentioned frequently is William Billings. William Billings started a school in New England were they wrote modern poems of music with no professional training. All of the music was written for unaccompanied chorus and for four parts. Billings strived for consonance, showing long notes with intervals of an open fifth. Billings wrote 340 tunes and in 1770 wrote the first song book. All the music was written for the glory of God, and it was not until after Americans started to move to the east coast that his music was being noticed.
After listening to the first song entitled “An Anthem of Praise”, written by Supply Belcher, I was moved by how powerful it starts off. The first words out of the chorus’s mouth are “make a joyful noise.” This is a powerful message that uses open fifths and fourths. The set up consist of the voices at a fortissimo. The whole song is based off Psalm 100 in the Bible. This piece kept my interest with the different dynamics and its modulation up a fifth. This piece was my favorite out of all the tracks. I also liked “Heroism” by Belcher. This piece was patriotic and I liked how it repeated the last line of each verse. The last lines had words such as “dreadful”, “torturing”, and “death groans”. These powerful words were often repeated to remind everyone why they wanted freedom. The word death groans really caught my attention. I paint the image of a man yelling out his last words. I think of the movie Brave heart. This piece represents the time of early America. It talks about the battle field and cannons and bombshells. “Heroism” tells us that Americans were being tortured and made to believe a certain way of life, and the people who fought for freedom and risked their lives are the heroes of this war. Religion is sung throughout this entire work.
I find religion is important to look at when thinking about these pieces. Much of America was made because people in England were not given the right to believe or worship in a manner they believed. This I think is very important because unlike most of the great Canon, these works were not written for the Catholic Church. These works were written for American Protestants. It was more than likely the first works written for Christian churches that were not catholic. They wrote music on how they believed in god. For this reason alone I believe it should be part of the Canon. This was music by untrained professionals who wrote music about what this country is really known for. Like it or not it is what defines America today.
These hymns were written at a turning point in world history. I am a right brain person, and when I listen to music what catches my attention is if the music moves me in someway? If it does what I believe music should do, better someone’s life. I do not follow the theory that the composer is amazing. Even though I do respect so that side of the music, it does not mean anything if the message is not getting across. Music does not exist on paper. So I believe if a composer can write a piece of music where musicians, singers, and performers can get the music across, I believe the composer has done his or hers job. Billings and Belcher accomplished this aspect.
Certain features that grasped my attention were the use of call and response between the male and female voices. A good example of this is in the song “Middletown” by Amos Bull. The male and female voices trade parts then come together as a whole. I thought that is was unique.
