Program Notes from Charles Bruffy, Kansas City Choral:

"All that hath life and breath, praise ye the Lord is one of his earliest pieces, written at the tender age of twenty-five, when Clausen had just accepted his first collegiate choral job at Wichita State University in Kansas. His a cappella choir was comprised of freshmen and sophomores, and, needing a piece that would show the young singers to their best advantage without being too physically taxing, Clausen composed a sparkling fanfare that creates what he describes as a ‘kind of swash of colour’. The jubilant opening gives way to a plaintive soprano solo, which is then followed by a statement of the chorale Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. The most striking section of the piece is the brief aleatoric reprise of the opening themes in the sopranos, which quickly sweeps the entire choir back into the celebration. All that hath life and breath has long been a favourite of choirs the world over, as evinced by its inclusion among only three choral pieces presented in the 2008 Presidential Office Year-End Concert of Compassion held by the Republic of China (Taiwan), with the theme ‘Music Brings Warmth – Songs Spread Feelings’."

Source: https://www.chandos.net/chanimages/Booklets/CH5105.pdf (Accessed 12 August 2025)

About the composer:

https://www.reneclausen.com/

• Performance tempo will be slightly slower than the demo recording.

• Sopranos divisi, equal number of singers on each part

• Soprano solo will be assigned

• Altos divisi, equal number of singers on each part

• Tenors divisi as marked

• Bass divisi as marked

• Written breath marks - observed as marked

• ms. 2-3, no breath

• ms. 8-9, Tenors take T2, Altos take T1

• ms. 11-12, no breath

• ms. 14, no breath

• ms. 22-23, no breath

• ms. 34, "mm" as marked (not "ooo")

• page 7, please watch for cues for each fermata

• page 8, note the 5/4 measure and that 1/8 notes = 1/4 notes in this section

• page 10, second system, follow instructions at the bottom notated by the asterisk, listen to SATB recording to heard it in practice

• large ritardando during the final two measures

• fermata on the last chord