Purihin Si Yahweh (SATB)
Originally written for the all-female St. Paul College Manila Glee Club in 2003, Purihin si Yahweh is an exhortation to raise one’s voice in praise of God. After the opening fanfare, a rhythmic motif drives the work and introduces the main melodic material. Starting rather low in the soprano, the melody reaches new heights at each iteration, as if literally reaching up to heaven in praise of God. Written predominantly in triple meter, this melody is a nod to the idea of a perfection in the medieval sense – that the Trinity is represented in the triple division of the bar – and works in contrast with the asymmetry of the rhythmic motif and the interjections between statements of the melody. This mixed choir version of the work was written for the St. Paul University Manila Chorale for their performance in the South Manila Educational Consortium Choral Festival in 2014.