Canadian song leader Debbie Lou Ludolph brought this rhythmic, layered Alleluia to the MMC community. Transcribed from a Palestinian source and arranged by John Bell, it can easily be taught without paper.
The structure of the song means you only need to teach two phrases, which can be done through call and echo. It can help to use hand gestures to offer guidance as you thread the parts together. Once the higher part is learned, teach the lower. A stomp or clap on the downbeat of the second, ascending phrase helps keep the tempo steady and keeps the group in their bodies. When both parts feel confident, bring them together.
The piece is useful as a song of praise, a gospel acclamation, or even as a warm up for a choir or singing circle.
Copyright for the piece is held by GIA Publications, Inc. so you'll need a OneLicense membership to print the music.
Sheet music can be found in Singing In Community, our latest songbook published by Augsburg Fortress. It is also published in Sing With the World, a collection edited by John Bell and Alison Adam of the Iona Community in Scotland and published by GIA Publications, Inc.
Here's a video of Debbie Lou leading the song at The Bishop's Ranch:
And here is a recording from GIA's Sing With the World collection mentioned above:
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