Laude

Howard Hanson

Laude , Chorale, Variations and Metamorphoses was commissioned by and is dedicated to the College Band Directors National Association. The composer has prefaced his score with the following paraphrase of Psalm 150:

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, with psaltery and harp,
with timbrel and dance, with string instruments and organs.
Praise Him upon the loud cymbals, the high-sounding cymbals.
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.

The chorale movement is from the very old Swedish tune “All the World Praises the Lord” which the composer, as a boy, sang in Swedish in the Lutheran service.

Howard Hanson (1896-1981) was born in Wahoo, Nebraska. He studied music at the Institute of Musical Art, New York, and at Northwestern University. Throughout his education, Hanson studied piano, cello and trombone. He became director of the Eastman School of Music and led it for forty years, turning it into one of the most prestigious music schools in America.. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his Symphony No. 4, one of many honors and distinc- tions he received in this country and abroad.

Last updated on July 18, 2013 by Palatine Concert Band