This is a recording of the world premiere performance of the seventh movement (Finale) of Aaron Alter's "Cantata of Praise" for chorus and chamber orchestra on March 23, 2025 at the Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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. The seventh movement (Finale) is for the full chorus and instrumental ensemble.

The music in Cantata of Praise displays a wide range of influences. The seventh movement shows influences of Renaissance sacred music, Bach’s sacred cantatas, "Classic" Rock and Pop/Rock.

Cantata of Praise was commissioned by the New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

The performers were:
New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra
Franz Vote, Artistic Director and Conductor

Hannah Stevens and Camille Tierney, sopranos
Patricia Henning, Kehar Koslowsky and Melissa Riedel, altos
Gregory Gallagher and André García-Nuthmann, tenors
Javier Ortiz and Andrew Paulson, basses

New Mexico Bach Society Orchestra
Linda Marianiello, flute
Elaine Heltman, oboe
Joshua Petersen, clarinet
Lisa Grodin, concertmaster
Carla Kountoupes, violin 2
Lisa Di Carlo, viola
Joel Becktell, cello
Bob Barney, double bass
Joshua Pielemeier, piano

Text: Selections from Psalms 118 and 150 by Mary Sidney Herbert from
The Sidney Psalter (1599), with some Hebrew text from the original Biblical Psalm
and quotes from the King James Bible.

7th Movement (Finale for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra:)
(from Psalm 118)
Here, here, O Lord, I will thee praise,
Who didst my life to safety raise:
The stone the builders erst refusèd,
In corner now is laid and usèd.
This workmanship in deed divine
Doth in our eyes with wonder shine.
God made this day, he did us send it,
In joy and mirth then let us spend it.
Oh, help us, Lord, oh, help we say,
Oh, prosper, prosper us we pray.
Blest in thy name who coming rideth,
Blest in thy house who dwelling bideth:
Thy house, Lord, mighty God, whence we
Both have our light and sight to see:
O God, my mighty God thou art,
And I to thee will praise impart:
O God, thou art my God, and ever
I will extol thee, ceasing never.

(from Psalm 150)
Let ringing timbrels so his honour sound,
Let sounding cymbals so his glory ring,
That in their tunes such melody be found,
As fits the pomp of most triumphant king.
Conclude: by all that air or life enfold,
Let high Ha-Shem highly be extolled.

Text is from The Sidney Psalter, The Psalms of Sir Philip and Mary Sidney
Published by the Oxford University Press (2009)
Copyright Hannibal Hamlin, Michael G. Brennan, Margaret P. Hannay and
Noel J. Kinnamon, 2009
Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

Cantata of Praise - 7th movement (Finale) for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra

I create ambient music, drones, and soundscapes that invite deep listening.

Recorded with guitar, pedals, and laptop in my small one-man studio.

For news, official releases, merch, communication, head to my Bandcamp:

http://thenextcommuter.bandcamp.com

On my SoundCloud you'll find live recordings, demos, experiments,... Official releases will always appear through Bandcamp first, and later here on SC as well. 



I teach in US higher education (in a STEM field) & am a hobbyist composer writing in a few different styles. I recommend headphones. All of my music is released under a Creative Commons Attribution/Noncommercial license.

My bandcamp page is getting out of date again, but some older albums there can be downloaded for free or for a name-your-own price donation.

If anyone wants to try performing any of this stuff on real instruments please send a message and I can provide scores. Not sure how playable some of it is for human musicians though.

Unsolicited messages asking me to listen to your latest song will lead to you being blocked unless if I know you well and we've interacted a lot.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for visiting!

Aaron Alter is a composer from Carlsbad, California.  His new music, which he calls his "New Beginning" is an exploration of a new style and energy that defies categorization.    

A native of Chicago, Aaron Alter's musical background was a product of the rich musical life that he found growing up in the Windy City.  While a high-school student, Aaron studied Jazz Piano with Alan Swain and Classical Piano with Helen Engler at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. For two years, while in high school, Aaron played piano in a band led by the legendary Chicago-based saxophonist Fred Anderson (Aaron's work for violin and piano, “For Fred” was written in memory of Fred Anderson.) Aaron received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied piano with Frances Larimer and Gui Mombaerts, and composition with Lynden DeYoung and David Noon. He received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Princeton University, where he studied with Milton Babbitt and James K. Randall.  

After a long hiatus, Aaron re-emerged in 2012 with a new style and energy to his compositions, which he calls his “New Beginning.” Aaron's new music was first performed in 2015, with the performance of “Homage to Josquin” for two flutes, piano, electric bass and drum set by The New Mexico Performing Arts Society in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “Homage to Josquin” received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 American Prize competition for Chamber Music Composition.

Aaron Alter's music is published by Universal Edition and SilverWinds Publishing.

Works such as "Solar Rays" and "Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry" defy genres and exist in Classical ensemble and Jazz Big Band versions. Both the classical piano trio (piano, violin and ‘cello) and Jazz Big Band versions of “Solar Rays” have received Silver medals at the Global Music Awards. Solar Rays for piano, violin and 'cello is published by Universal Edition. Aaron’s Introspective Blues #1 for Flute and Harp has become his most popular work, with over 53,000 plays on Jango Internet Radio and over 27,000 plays on SoundCloud.  Aaron’s music has been featured on the albums “One Minute”, “Two Minutes”, “Gimel” and “Daleth”, by the flutist Iwona Glinka on the Sarton and Phasma Music labels, all of which have won Silver Medals at the Global Music Awards.  In 2019, two albums containing Aaron's music were released by Iwona Glinka on the Phasma Music label, "Four Minutes" and "Zayin." The world premiere recording of Aaron's Piano Sonata (inspired by Beethoven), was released by the pianist and Steinway Artist, Susan Merdinger on her album, "American Melting Pot" in 2020 (the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven's birth.) "American Melting Pot" received a Gold Medal at the 2020 Global Music Awards.  Aaron Alter's Piano Sonata (inspired by Beethoven) is published by Universal Edition. In 2021, Phasma Music released five new albums containing Aaron's music, "New Music for String Quartet", "Lamedh",  "Kaph", "Teth" and "Lament for Theodore Antoniou." Also in 2021, Composers Concordance released an album called "The Process Sessions #1 with Aaron's "Lament, Prayer and Renewal" for tenor saxophone and electric guitar, which was inspired by the COVID pandemic.

In 2023, Phasma Music released a recording of Aaron's Vival-departures for String Orchestra (inspired by the music of Antonio Vivaldi) on an album entitled "LVIV 1" by the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. “LVIV 1” won the “Best Classical Recording” award from the 2023 Clouzine International Music Awards. Vival-departures fuses the influences of Vivaldi's music with Blues and Rock music and is published by Universal Edition. In March, 2023, Aaron Alter's Earth Cantata (inspired by the Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach) for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra was premiered by The New Mexico Bach Society Chorale and Orchestra to wide acclaim. Earth Cantata was commissioned by The New Mexico Performing Arts Society and is published by Universal Edition. Earth Cantata was named as a National Finalist Honorable Mention in the 2024 American Prize, Major Choral Works Composition division and a Silver Medalist (for Outstanding Achievement in Composition) at the 2023 Global Music Awards.

On October 4, 2024, Composers Concordance Records released a new album called "Spontaneous" by the CompCord Quartet containing Aaron Alter's First Time Meeting for Clarinet, Violin, ‘Cello and Piano. First Time Meeting is published by Universal Edition.  On December 12, 2024, Phasma Music released a recording of Aaron’s Trio of Jade for Tuba, Cello and Piano as part of a new album, entitled Visions d'Athènes on all streaming platforms.The Steinway artist, Susan Merdinger, will give the premiere of a new solo piano work that Aaron wrote for her in a series of many concerts throughout the U.S. in 2026.

Aaron is a regular contributor of compositions to the repertoire of the flutist Iwona Glinka, the pianist and Steinway Artist, Susan Merdinger, the Cracow Duo, the ÉxQuartet, the pianist Vania Pimentel, The New Mexico Performing Arts Society and Composers Concordance in New York. 

Aaron also serves as an Executive Board Member of the Carlsbad Friends of the Arts and is the former Chair of the Carlsbad Arts Commission.

Cantata of Praise - 7th movement (Finale) for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra

AaronAlterComposer