So here is Psalm 122, one that we found on a CD of early American sacred music, a CD entitled Goostly Psalmes. Goostly is a great synonym for spiritual, is it not? Let’s try to bring that one back. Another name that we have for this psalm is the NSA Fight Song.
The way we sing this one is by gradually stacking the harmonies. In the first verse, everyone sings the melody (which is found in the tenor line). On the second verse, the basses veer off. On the third verse, the altos do their thing, and then the sopranos in the fourth verse.
O Twas a Joyful Sound to Hear – Psalm Sing from Daniel Foucachon on Vimeo.