Alleluia - Randall Thompson performed by Octarium

Celebrating the 71st anniversary of Randall Thompson's "Alleluia," first performed on July 8, 1940 at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood under the direction of G. Wallace Woodworth.
Performed by Octarium. Krista Lang Blackwood, artistic director.
Available on the album Essentials (www.octarium.org/cd3.html).

[@shortgirl346]

I am convinced that when I get to Heaven this is what I'll hear the angels singing.

[@user-qn3wp1wv6u]

This piece is perfection . A heavenly choir praising the Lord.

[@jorgegiosciafilho2706]

I can't listen to this piece without crying

[@nt4979]

Had the privilege of singing this song with a rowdy college choir, but one night as we were rehearsing, this song was sung so beautifully - it was as if the angels came down and sang with us. Beautiful song and text, pray that all listeners would enjoy it to the depths, knowing the only true God who all praises and Alleluias belong to.

[@lunapyrope9683]

When we learned this is high school, our music teacher told us a story. Back in the late 70's-early 80's, she performed with a group touring in Europe. One of their stops was Soviet Russia and they went into Saint Basil's. The conductor had the group perform this, in broad daylight in the middle of the cathedral. Of course, the local guards tried to stop them, but the civilians in there at the time were so moved by the display that they formed a circle around the choir, and protected them as they sang, some crying and some joining along in the song. It was a powerful moment, as those people hadn't been able to hear music like this in years.

[@lissyperez4299]

WOW

[@zairasalim6937]

Beautifull...

[@beelmuller7034]

Powerful!

[@gainesvillewesleyumc9631]

I think I learned this in high school, too, in 1965. But it might have been college. I love it.

[@marktabla5434]

Your ancedote reminds me of a scripture passage I recently read that portends a time when the good-hearted from all nations will "be on the same page" and connect at a visceral level like what your choral teacher experienced with her choral group and those then oppressed under totalitarian rule, especially once pandemics, plagues, etc. have passed: "96 For I, the a Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to scourge them for their wickedness.97 And a plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness-98 Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing (a) new song..." - D&C 84: 96-8

[@barrypoupard7009]

Discovered this piece entirely by accident a couple of months ago. Listening to the BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Prog while driving home on a deserted motorway on a Sunday morning after a 12 hour nursing shift I was utterly captivated by this piece and wondered why on earth I hadn't heard it before. This recording is wonderful.

[@DMLand]

This is the prettiest version of this piece that I found here on KZbin. So pure and unadorned. No part dominates. Octarium's eight voices sound like a "select choir of angels".

[@kevbidgood]

As a tenor, I sang this thirty years ago in my thirties. Now in my sixties I'm singing it again and I'm fairly certain that the piece has got a lot higher, longer and more difficult....... But these folk make it sound effortless. Beautiful control and pitch all the way through.

[@lucettabutt0926]

Ha!! Ha!! ... I agree!! I'm now 52, and it seems much higher, longer, and more difficult now!! Or... Maybe it's just us!!???? Ha! Ha!!

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

Sing bass. Just be in tune and enjoy being in the middle of it. This piece is deceptively unsimple, and you are not alone in finding it tricky.

[@izzonj]

I've heard scores off renditions of this piece and have performed it a dozen times but this recording made me cry. Beautiful.

[@donniemi1958]

The individual parts can be heard clearly in this version of "Alleluia" -- yet they blend nicely. It's the best version to listen to if you're trying to learn your part in this magnificent work.

[@pamelaamidon6671]

Don NIEMI.

[@moisesreid283]

@Ernest Solomon Yup, I have been using Instaflixxer for since november myself :D

[@davidbeatty3540]

I've been bored during Covid (what chorus member hasn't?) But I'm more tempted to stream Randall Thompson than streaming 'instaflixxer' going into our third year of this. ... this ...

[@freckamd]

Sang all 4 years at Lakewood High School 1977-81. Lived this. Thank you.

[@user-bj2qe9my6w]

When I was a senior graduating form high school; there were 15 of us that sang Alleluia. we did with by heart and we nailed it. Those were great singers to be with.

[@sskspk1]

FINALLY!!! Have been searching for years for a Randall Thompson Alleluia that stays in tune throughout the entire piece. This one is as good as it gets. Possibly a little too pedantic but NO performance is perfect. My compliments to the chef!

[@bethcrawford6094]

pedantic?

[@mattfn]

It's a bit too technical and textbook. And it's not that kind of piece in the least. There is nothing wrong with it, no mistakes, obviously, but I would have loved a bit more life and joyfulness put within it.

[@sskspk1]

@@bethcrawford6094 I know you wrote this 2 years ago but I just read the replies. You are right, pedantic isn't the correct word. Just thought it lacked emotion. I looked up pedantic and found that I was misusing it for many years. Thanks!!

[@yosoy9709]

This is about as angelic as it gets down here on earth (for me), when it comes to sacred vocal music... I fell in love with this sacred choral piece while learning the tenor part and performing it as part of a Florida state choir made up of high school students--many eons ago. Sometimes I will listen to it and it will immediately transport me back to my youth--and oftentimes right back to Jackie Alexander's Miami Senior High School choir class. Miss Alexander was unquestionably my favorite teacher; there wasn't a day when I did not look forward to her class--unruly bass section notwithstanding. I also made many lifelong friendships there. Perhaps someday, in a realm to come, we'll all reconnect and plunge right back into some amazing (and tight) harmonizing--and maybe we'll even allow a few angels to join in... Thank you for your patience, kindness and encouragement, Miss Alex. Oh, and tenors still rule! Julio Enrique Delvalle, this one's for you, old friend. You are loved and missed by many down here, and we will never forget how vividly we saw the face of Christ in your beloved countenance...

[@christopherstephenjenksbsg4944]

Beautiful performance. I sang this piece as a choir boy in the 60s and for years as a student and staff person at Tanglewood back in the 70s, and this version is far better than any performance we ever gave! Thank you!

[@bonncaruso]

Big thumbs up!! Finally, ensemble tenors who know how to ring perfectly and still sing ensemble. It is a gift that not all have. Brava tutti! Next time, taper the phrase endings even more. But still, what a delight to hear.

[@walterbaughman2139]

My uncle sang in a choir singing this piece at Tanglewood under the direction of Mr. Thompson.

[@pennykearney2467]

Fantastic. Sang this about 50 years ago. Loved it then, these folks do it better! Thank you.

[@georgefelty6357]

One of the best versions where all the voice parts blend!

[@antonioyune5417]

I sang this in High School now 20 years ago and it has stuck with me all these years. This rendition is VERY WELL DONE. Thank you for positing. I have not been singing for awhile and its nice to think back to those awesome choral works I sang at Puyallup High School, Puyallup WA.

[@NisiRW]

How wonderful to have it demonstrated that singers without natural vibrato can blend together to create a beautiful sound. I'm speaking of course as someone who has no vibrato. Pitch, tone and blending are what matter and The Octarium have all those qualities and skills in abundance.

[@lizziecurrier3323]

I preformed this piece with my high school women's choir my freshman year and it remains one of my favorites!

[@debbyplayer]

Dear Lizzie, so is there also a version for women's choir of this wonderful piece?

[@pearlflamberg5430]

Yes, SSAA.

[@PatroniFan]

I've also heard this sung by The Ambassadors of Harmony, a men's barbershop group in St. Louis.

[@brookeggleston9314]

@@PatroniFan This is most *definitely* not written for barbershop harmony!!

[@PatroniFan]

@@brookeggleston9314 The arrangement I heard them do was passable but I prefer it in it's original form.

[@miriambucholtz9315]

I was in my high school's a capella choir in 1964 and we sang this at a dedication ceremony. The choir instructor told everyone to listen to me because I have absolute pitch. It didn't win me any friends, but we stayed on key. It was a distinct pleasure to hear this, as the pitch stayed beautifully true throughout the entire piece. I've bookmarked this page.

[@TheoWren]

Miriam Bucholtz Hey, perfect pitch singer here too! Did you ever get asked to hum the starting pitch for a cappella pieces? I get asked to do this. Been singing in choirs since I was in middle school - I’m 30 now.

[@miriambucholtz9315]

Yes, I did. My mother took me to a Methodist church when I was ten years old and I sang in the adult choir there. I used to think that everyone had perfect pitch until my father discovered that I had it and he told me how rare it actually is. Do you, by any chance, get colors from hearing sounds? (No, I'm not crazy; this is a neurological phenomenon and I've been told that it tends to be a bit more prevalent in people with perfect pitch.)

[@TheoWren]

Miriam Bucholtz yes!! i have multiple forms of synaesthesia. every note and key has a colour for me. i also see colours and patterns for smells, tastes, tactile sensations, letters/numbers, and some concepts.

[@miriambucholtz9315]

Isn't it wonderful what benignly-crossed wires in the brain can do. I have much the same; in fact, the only way I can keep numbers in my head for even a short time is to visualize them as blobs of color. Also, music gives me entire scenarios involving weather conditions, time (of day or night, year, etc.), scents, and a story line to go with it. I'll tell you one thing - I can never be bored.

[@TheoWren]

Miriam Bucholtz yes! it’s so interesting! one of the things my best friend and i bonded over was synaesthesia. she has it for most senses too. it’s fun to see which connections we have in common and which ones are different. the letter S is yellow for us both, but J is purple for me, whereas her J is sky-blue. and yes - certain keys evoke temperature and seasonal ideas for me too. D major is so nice and springlike, and F minor is cold and wintry and emotionally-intense.

[@geuros]

exactly - when performers keep on the spirit of piece it will make you goose skin. And this really works now.

[@mfrmll3786]

AHHHhhh.........Once upon a time, a young college student submitted a hand transcribed incredible, mindblowing work of music, to the church choir to learn. It looked like a Bach manuscript, sheet after sheet after sheet of hand written notes, with all the necessary pertinent music notations included. Of course, we thought it was the most glorious piece of music any of us had EVER encountered. We were very young, very naive, but trusting souls, overwhelmed that he had created such a work of sheer genius and we were the FIRST choir EVER to perform this GOD inspired work!!! This young man went on to continue working in Canadian orchestras all his life. Three of my family members are buried in the cemetery across the street from that church! His own father taught at the christian college on the same street as that church. As far as I know, no one ever questioned the authenticity of that manuscript. Two decades later, after singing this piece of ethereal music how many dozens of times, in my head, I finally discovered the REAL origins of this music!

[@brookeggleston9314]

I hope he stopped plagiarizing!! It would be difficult to present a symphony with a piece by Mahler and claim it as your own!!! 😎

[@Middlesex1957]

I sang this as a TTBB arr. in the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus and thought, "I've done it. Now I can die." Then, I sang Morten Lauridsens' Lux Aeterna and realized... I may want to keep singing a little longer... ;)

[@dorizook3922]

Do Thompson's Peaceable Kingdom. It will take you to another world.

[@suekeller9230]

Yes!

[@suekeller9230]

And O Magnum Mysterium-Lauridsen

[@viewjet]

Simply awesome! My Dad was a choir director at a Christian college and would occasionally do this fantastic piece if he had the soprano talent to do it. And of course this anthem would then be one of the hallmark songs for his choir tour. It is a beautiful choral work that immediately places a person of faith in a posture of worship. Hearing this brought tears to my eyes thinking about the loftiness of this music and my Dad directing it. Thanks!

[@dezangerman]

You also need a few good basses for this, they seem to be missing at the very end.

[@joshdaniels2363]

That low D is pretty awesome if you can find dudes to pull it off.

[@ramakrishnaom]

i bow to your Dad - excellent composer

[@tubularbill]

John Thompson - my Dad was a choir director as well from my family Church. He did it this wonderful work every Christmas Eve candlelight service. This piece brings tears to my eyes.

[@dorizook3922]

Eastern Mennonite University Chamber Singers, 1985-1990. Believe it or not, we didn't take this on tour. We DID, however, take Thompson's Peaceable Kingdom on tour. To say a gifted composer is an understement.

[@DLJ2890]

These singers intonation are perfect!

[@SyydRaven]

NYSSMA All County 1976 ? Sixteen and moved to tears performing this - a quiet rapture.

[@ticupponee]

Sang this in my high school choir many years ago. Good memories!

[@fr397]

Listen, and may we begin to imagine the One towards whom this exquisite and enthralled expression is directed. This is rapturous evidence of the existence of God.

[@stevewallschlaeger1379]

I still remember each and every single note nuance triple p and triple or double f. Beginning to end. Thanks Dad.

[@davidbeatty3540]

So sweet to have had a dad like that (mine was tone deaf and died long ago). I've been working on my wife of 46 years of marriage, Steve -- who has improved much in classical music through that long time -- to understand how such 'every single note' should be in place and should be .... what it is. ...

[@fermans.covingtonjr9365]

Awesome performance of the Randall Thompson Alleluia 😁 I did this in high school chorus and I still remember most of this selection!!

[@nathanaelgentrymusic]

Splendid piece. Superb performance.

[@xdcountry]

I sang this as a child (many times) with a very talented choir -- this will always stick with me

[@RosieLass]

Just heard this at a funeral in a gothic church with an amazing choir. Perfect.

[@MrDLByrd]

Absolutely beautiful!

[@sacrosby]

Best rendition I've ever heard. :) amazing!!

[@RebeccaErickson17]

This is so wonderful. So cleanly and beautifully done.

[@tonycole5209]

I love this!!

[@onetenore16]

I love the Choral Work!!! One of my all favorite anthems/

[@georgefelty6357]

One of the finest choral anthems and one I have done many times with choirs as an organist!

[@brookeggleston9314]

Yes, it is one of the finest anthem's in existence, but how did you perform it as an organist? It's an acapella piece!! Were you, perhaps, also choirmaster??

[@kdkeydude1]

Pure perfection ! Bravo !!

[@musicladysylvia]

Beautifully done. Someone commented that it lacked emotion (paraphrasing), but I disagree. It was definitely there - perhaps too subtle for some. One of my absolute favorite choral works. I've had the privilege of singing it with a number of different choirs and it always feels holy.

[@yourbluesmama]

Wonderful! Like listening to angels singing!

[@maricristinacastel]

ahh! with a camera choir! :P I love this piece, I want to sing this again so badly!

[@stereoncat]

Samsies!!!

[@jsrlasher4711]

Excellent performance of a Thompson masterwork.

[@cherryandivy]

Awesome! We sang this at Cal Poly, and at Sonoma State. Fun to sing, and this chorus does it perfectly!!

[@barbaraweiser-lada6800]

It is incredible

[@trentinworks]

Sublime.

[@monalisaholandesa9929]

Sublime..... hermoso.

[@lissyperez4299]

I performed this in high school many years ago, still remember it....

[@hughvane]

Beautiful vocal control, 11 out of 10!

[@brookeggleston9314]

More like 9.5! Some of those *yuhs* gotta go! Sounded like something fell into a lump of risen dough! Of course, these things only stand out when the rest of the product is excellent!! My only major problem with this group is that they *really* should be *The Twelve!* Having three voices on each part vastly improves the blend, and this blend, while good, is not excellent. Four more quality people would make an incredible difference!!!

[@trukeesey8715]

Can't say that without lyin. Try again. If only ten exist, then can't give eleven.

[@jbflaherty6120]

Heavenly!

[@skillawatts]

My favorite piece of music I’ve ever performed.

[@yannjouault9710]

Cet Alleluia est splendide. En bass...il faut le tenir !

[@CreativeConsciousLiving]

I have always cringed a bit when I hear singers with heavy vibrato banging away at this piece. Your presentation, though, is beautiful. Alleluia is so delicate and ethereall; it's very satisfying to hear it presented so gently. Thank you!

[@brookeggleston9314]

I cringe *more* than "a bit"!!! 😎

[@ruthjones9237]

Carisa, I know exactly what you mean. It's so important for choirs to be intentional about when they use vibrato. Ironically though, there was at least one point in this recording where I was wishing for just a bit of soprano vibrato at the end of one the phrases that's in the "rafters" so to speak. Don't remember which one. But basically I like there to be a balance - I think it has to start off ethereal, and then vibrato can be sprinkled in, and then at the end, poured in (to taste).

[@rettajonesArabianHorseLover]

Fantastic job!

[@jeannegpocius]

Exquisite!

[@ewanodoherty2545]

I stand corrected Sylvie KD, thanks for your response

[@Arch5280]

Awesome.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

I never trivially namedrop, I think it is a sin. But, for the music, and this is a true story. Spring semester 1974 brilliant High School teachers got us performing this and other Thompson pieces under Thompson's baton. This is how this music is supposed to sound. Go for maximum sustain across phrases: it is supposed to ring. There is zero repeat zero vibrato. What he told us was if you can't sing the high notes don't, either for pitch or screeching (not his words) but it MUST BE in tune. You've got the tempi right. He would have said to you what he turned and said to our teachers the first time he conducted us, and I will honor them all by putting it here he said: this chorus is well-prepared. It works everywhere you do it: don't screech, lay out if you can't sing it, keep it in tune. This piece is why I hate vibrato. I also suggest you look into performing this with your tuning note A set to 432 Hertz. Nothing about how the Earth Rings, it's just that much easier on the vocalist. Particularly in any academic situation. Believe me, the Fourth Movement of Beethoven's Ninth sounds a lot better if you can actually physically sing it. It's down slightly like a third of a step I don't know it's not much you can hear it but only if you listen side-by-side and all of a sudden even the tenors are not hurting themselves or at least it doesn't sound that way as much anymore

[@tubularbill]

Magnificent version

[@catherinedurig8940]

C'est splendide ! Je ne connaissais pas ce compositeur (mea culpa).

[@bravaLiz]

as per the pronunciation of "Alleluia"... as a conductor, this is NOT a major challenge. This recording does not sound (at least not on MY speakers) as if this was a professional recording. However.... it is for the most part,...exquisitely LOVELY! Among the most challenging of a cappella choral works to conduct. Chorus remains balanced and most importantly.... "in tune" at all times. The nuances in terms of phrasing, (ok... some 'sections' overbear others at times) I can be a troll and "critique" at what minute:sec...etc. but not important! Thus far....this is THE best I've heard on KZbin. Again, phrasing is magnificent, as well as the observations of dynamic markings. I am very grateful to have stumbled across this, indeed!

[@handlebarstache624]

bravaLiz I agree... the pronunciation of "Alleluia" is NOT a major challenge and indeed, this performance stays in tune. But, I must say, as lovely as this performance is, Octarium pronounces the final syllable in a way that drives me crazy in choral music... they sing "-yuh." I dislike this vowel every time I hear it... it sounds... uncultured... and the intonation sags each time they sing it this way. With such a polished performance (save for the lack-luster "Movendo" and even more lack-luster "stringendo... Largamente" I am surprised this performance is as lovely as it is.

[@bravaLiz]

handlebarstache624 hahahahaha.... the "YUH" thing is just one of many examples of too many works to mention. The funniest thing I have heard however, is Dudamel's conducting the Berlioz Requiem in memoriam of Abbado's death. French chorus (I believe was at Cathedrale de Notre Dame...maybe Lucerne)... you'd have to look it up. But if you haven't seen/heard it.... I never heard Latin pronounced à la française! WHAT a cluster. Seriously...et leux pere-pai-tu-a... etc. oh.MY!

[@gajankowski]

+bravaLiz Latin is a dead language. We don't really know what it sounded like, so every language group colors Latin according to the pronunciation of their native tongue. So, IMHO the best pronunication of Latin should be what the composer would have had "in their ear. " Thus, Berlioz should be performed with the French pronunciation, Bach with the German, Palestrina with the Italian.

[@SonicPhonic]

It's arguable that Latin ever died if it has been used in Rome and in vocal music.

[@nettles89]

We don't have recordings obviously, but we know quite well how Latin sounded, even down to regional and temporal variations. Poetry, grammarians, and variant spellings are the major sources of this information. Allen's Vox Latina is a great resource on this topic, btw. However, since its pronunciation changed over time, and from place to place, it's a bit silly to insist on one static system for all use today - that would be artificial and naive. So I more or less agree with your conclusions, just not how you got there.

[@sahathutajulubo]

Superb!

[@fredyhasangapan680]

Amazing choir🙏✝️

[@leahrobinson3807]

Take 6 recorded an arrangement of this - abso gorg!! One of my favorites to sing too -

[@rolandoveraesparza]

Exquisito

[@shirley62162]

SJT Chorale (Philippines) will learn how to sing this beautifully using your video as a model.

[@CanaldeArquitetura]

Lindo

[@ewanodoherty2545]

Atmospheric and peaceful performance of 'Alleluia', thanks for posting it. As I understand it, Randall Thompson composed it as a protest against the bombing of Pearl Harbour by Japanese forces in Dec 1941

[@sylviekd7840]

Actually it was written in 1940, way before Pear Harbour bombing, but after the fall of France.

[@BloodAlwaysFindsItsLevel]

Baruk Hashem, this my jam! 🙏⚓

[@herbertpl05]

This is so beautiful. Different style, but i love it very much. Would u like to publish another your recording? I love Alleluia - Ralph Manuel too..Thank you..:)

[@1limey1a]

Wonderful rendering and the accompanying video was well constructed. Anybody have an idea where the barn-style structure (auditorium, church, etc.) in said video is actually located, though?

[@henrycbrenner114]

How appropriate that the performance space shown here is Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. Lovely performance but probably not recorded with a live audience, like the one shown.

[@3OrMoreBones]

Gotta love the individuals who post the lyrics in the comment section...

[@royman828]

THIS IS MY FAVORITE RENDITION.

[@geuros]

We tried to sing that piece with our choir. But we are amateurs so not all of us have good singing technique for this piece. And also not all of us feel this music. But to be honest I think that Thompson was really thinking about some faster tempo in the "peak" part of this piece (from 4:05 till returning to original theme)

[@brookeggleston9314]

Yes; the rallentando did seem a bit more like a ritardando! LOL!!

[@fluterampal]

May I know your recommended version of this piece?

[@abcastillox7998]

There are 55 closed minded people here.

[@ifi12ican]

Being forced to watch almost 5 minutes of commercials is horrible. No way to skip. Watching commercials that are as long as the actual viewing time of the content is unacceptable, KZbin. The sound quality is poor and not even stereo.

[@elijahbradley1055]

soprano was a bit pitchy here and there but overall, they sounded good

[@yosoy9709]

I thought the sopranos were pitch-perfect and ethereal. But we can disagree.

[@alejandor4870]

Wow. People do really like to find faults in choir recordings, when it would be so easy to just enjoy each unique interpretation.

[@hmdonohuehd]

lovely rendition. Unfortunately the sopranos made me cringe towards the end, scooped and flattened high notes.

[@trukeesey8715]

One of the soprani is flat.

[@davidblanchard3783]

Sort of repetitive isn’t it?