Common Ground Song 5 ‘Alleluia’
Music George Mxadana © Copyright Control
YouTube recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg6e_qf4YG8
Featured image: George Mxadana, still from a  video by Choral Mag TV via YouTube.

This is a simple chant, repeating the word ‘Alleluia’. It can be sung as a simple melody or in parts. The notes in the book say that George Mxadana was the conductor of a South African choir, and the score was transcribed from a recording of the service. The notes do not indicate the context of the song in the service in question, but it may well have been used as a Gospel acclamation, see my post earlier this year.

That it was transcribed from a recording suggests that originally it was taught by ear alone, something that African cultures are much more used to than modern European ones. As a result, it is best sung unaccompanied, though instrumental accompaniment can be useful while learning it. In the recording linked above, the choir spears to be singing from a score, which should not be necessary if it has been rehearsed.

The word ‘alleluia’ simply means ‘Praise God’, which is what the Church does, always and everywhere, as also our Jewish brothers and sisters whose Hebrew word it is. The Arabic phrase alhamdulillah (or hamdullah) is the Muslim equivalent. In recent years these words seem to have escaped from their synagogue, church or mosque setting and become, in vernacular use, an expression of surprise or gratitude not necessarily or consciously addressed to God.  That reflects, perhaps, the deep human need to have someone or something to receive our praise and thanks when things go well, and for that matter to receive our frustration and desires when they do not. The musical direction in Common Ground is for the chant to be sung ‘warmly and purposefully’, which makes sense: a deliberate and faithful use of ‘alleluia’, consciously addressed to God, can be a good way of connecting with him throughout the day.