Instrumentation: SATB with brief soprano solo
Duration: 4:00
Premiere: 12/9/05
Chicago Chorale, Bruce Tammen conductor
Grace Lutheran Church, Chicago, IL
Program Note:
I composed my Alleluia in November 2001. It was a direct response not only to the general terror of the 9/11 attacks but specifically to the death of firefighter Timothy Welty of Squad 288, son of my friend Bill Welty and stepson of my friend and colleague Louisa Panou Takahashi. Many others in our community lost family and friends in the attacks in New York and Washington. One might wonder why I chose to compose an Alleluia since it is a song of praise. I have used it to express a blend of comfort and defiance, to sing against the dark, but in knowledge of it. –JS