Shadyside Presbyterian Church, grew out of Sunday school gatherings begun in 1860. Through the many years since such small beginnings, it has become a flagship church of its denomination, the pioneer congregation of religious radio broadcasting, and a citadel of quality sacred music.

Across centuries and cultures, composers have given voice to the soul's yearning to offer praise and thanksgiving to God. This recording samples that expression.

Bach, Beethoven, and Franck all employ brilliant fugal technique to set the text "Praise the Lord." The tender and lyrical voice of praise is heard in Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" and in Godfrey Sampson's "My Song Shall Be Alway of the Loving-Kindness." Stylistically diverse settings of psalms or metrical versions of psalmody are heard in works by Benjamin britten, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, John Weaver, and Ronald Arnatt along with arrangements of traditional tunes by Michael McCabe and Alan Ridout. The African-American musical idiom is represented by Robert L. Morris' setting of "I Thank You, Jesus." The Russian repertoire, with its rich choral sonorities, is heard in works by Rachmaninoff and Tchesnokov. Traditional American hymns of thanksgiving ("We Gather Together" and "Come, Ye Thankful People") are portrayed in settings for choir and organ in which organ improvisations and choral descants decorate the well-known tunes.

The musicians participating in this recording hope that through these musical selections, listeners will grow in appreciation for the abundant goodness of God's love and mercy.

Click on the track name to listen to a clip. You'll need:

• at least a 14.4K modem to hear these, and we recommend a faster one.
• a RealOne player.

If you have trouble downloading the files, please contact us and we will be glad to send the samples to you via email.