Classique
Description :
Choral settings of ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates’ from Psalm 24 are numerous, from that of the sixteenth-century Geneva Psalter of Claude Goudimel to the present day. Unsurprisingly so, as the text has many appropriate liturgical applications. In this jubilant setting, The King of Glory, Sarah Rodgers has provided church choirs of all abilities with a truly celebratory anthem that in its writing for SATB displays many elements of choral craft, from unison and two-part textures to a satisfyingly contrapuntal full harmony. The driving, rhythmic figure in the organ accompaniment underpins and uplifts the voices, and occasional harmonic juxtapositions add delightfully unexpected moments of colour. Importantly, with a proficient organist, the anthem can be prepared with just one or two rehearsals. It is certain to be of great appeal both to choirs and to congregations.