Choral Choir,Choral (SAB) - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1389486 By Leonard Cohen. By Leonard Cohen. Arranged by Justin Matthew Starr. Contemporary,Pop,Rock,Standards. 16 pages. J M Starr Music #973074. Published by J M Starr Music (A0.1389486). “Hallelujah� was originally released by Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen in 1984 on his album Various Positions. This composition, however, is one of the few in history that may be more well-known due to covers of the song than the original version. In 1991, John Cale did a cover of the song that removed the synthesizers, gospel choir, full band, and low, borderline-talking bass voice from Cohen’s original; and replaced it all with a bare-bones piano and tenor voice. It is not difficult to argue that this arrangement of the composition became the definitive version that all future covers would be based on: from Jeff Buckley’s stripped-down guitar and voice 1994 version, to Rufus Wainright’s piano and voice 2001 cover for the soundtrack to the motion picture Shrek, to k.d. lang, the a cappella group Pentatonix, and many, many more.When I first arranged this song in 2010 for my 8th grade SAB choir, I did not know the John Cale version existed; rather, I started by transcribing the Rufus Wainright recording and then made it my own from there. My arrangement is melodically akin to the Wainright, but I added harmonies in various places throughout. Lyric selection was also a choice I had to me, as each version of the song contains a different number of verses. Cohen’s 1984 original had four, and then in 1988 he sang a live version with seven (supposedly he drafted over 80 different verses!). I decided to go with five. This allowed me to structure the song in a way that got feature and give the melody to: a Soloist(s) (verse 1), the Baritones (verse 2), the Altos (verse 3), the Sopranos (verse 4) and then the entire choir (verse 5). Over the years that I have performed this with my students, I couldn’t help myself from rocking out with little bluesy fills and licks in the final choruses, so I decided to write it in. I hope you, your students, and accompanist have fun with that!

Choral Choir (SAB) - Level 3 - Digital Download SKU: A0.943025 Composed by Lewis A. Kocher. Christian,Praise & Worship,Sacred,Spiritual. Octavo. 10 pages. Lewis A. Kocher #4601927. Published by Lewis A. Kocher (A0.943025). FROM TODAYChoral with piano accompanimentPlaying time: FlexibleServices: Pentecost/Confirmation, Ordinary TimeI have composed this piece with a number of things in mind:• Spiritual quality in text and music• Flexible performance length• SAB suited to small or large choirs• Easy to learn for the choir and the accompanist• Should require few rehearsals to prepareThis piece has been conducted at large Confirmation services which required a piece of great length because more than one church was celebrating in the same place, and for shorter, more intimate services. By using as many or as few verses as you need, and repeating any as necessary, the work can be timed to conclude as the Confirmation portion of the service concludes.I do apologize for the quality of the MP3 recording. Although this piece has been performed a number of times, I have no audio recording of it. Hence I am including a digital version here using Choir Ahhs. In the recording you will hear the refrain, one verse, and the final refrain - but the actual piece itself is flexible and can last as long as is necessary for the service. Thank you for your patience and understanding on the recording! God bless.