Vocal Works

A Few Words About "Rejoice in the Lord"

My introduction to Katrina Wylie’s sacred music was in 2001, when I sang her 23rd Psalm at a church service.  My comment in my notes at the time was “this is a tremendous piece of music… the congregation received it very well.”  That was a mere 3 years after the piece was published, and I have used Katrina’s other compositions on many occasions in the years since.

Along the way I have learned to love these pieces, and I’ve developed a strong desire to share them with others — not just the congregations for which I sing, but other soloists and church music committees.  It’s only been 8 years since these solos have begun to be published, but they deserve much wider exposure.  That’s the purpose of this collection.  I don’t anticipate that people will play these CDs as they drive to work in the morning, nor that they’ll listen to them in a mellow moment in their easy chair by the fire.  But if publishing these recordings causes these wonderful compositions to be more widely appreciated and used by soloists, I will have accomplished my purpose.

I trust that you will be impressed, as I have been, with the beautiful and stirring melodies, the harmonies, the interesting rhythms, the sense of drama, and above all, by the extraordinary variety in style.  None of these pieces sounds like any other, and to emphasize that quality, Diana and I have used different instruments and instrument voices for the accompaniment, and I have adopted different singing styles, as the style of the piece seemed to require.

It was two years ago when the idea of recording all of Katrina’s music first occurred to me, and I was thrilled when she agreed to the project.  In all this time, there have been a lot of takes and re-takes, changes in approach, delays, and experiments.  During that time, Katrina herself published 6 new pieces, all of which have been included.

To me there is no doubting the inspiration behind these wonderful compositions.  Listen to the online samples, and see if you don't agree.