Te exaltaré/I Will Exalt

Performance Notes:

• For more information about this song, refer to the Leader’s Edition of Sing! A New Creation.
• The following article is by Emily Brink from Reformed Worship.

"Te Exaltaré" is one of the forty-six songs in Celebremus II, produced by a task force representing Hispanic congregations and musicians and by the Section on Worship of the Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. We know nothing about the origin of this particular song, but it is well known among Spanish-speaking Christians.

In style, "Te Exaltaré" is similar to the African song "Jesus, We Love to Meet," Bruno Nettl writes: "The development of characteristic and memorable rhythyms that became the basis of Latin American popular dances-the rumba, samba, and conga-was probably made possible by the fact that both the West African and the Hispanic traditions favored complicated, driving rhythyms with steady pulsating patterns" (Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents, p. 189).

The text is taken from the opening verses of Psalm 145, a joyful song of praise. This song would serve well as a hymn of dedication and offering, or anytime when praise is appropriate. The hymn has an infectious beat; don't be surprised if you catch yourself singing it at home or in the car!

Suggestions for introducing the hymn follow:

Week 1. Have the youth choir accompanied with guitars and piano, present the song to the congregation. The song may be sung in English or in Spanish-or one time through in each language. Use percussion instruments to add to the festive joy of this psalm. See pattersn at left.

Week 2. The youth choir sings the hymn the first time throughl the congregation joins them on the second singing.

Week 3. If you live near a Spanish-speaking congregation, you may wish to plan a joint bilingual service, in which the hymn is sung in both languages. The joy of singing this song might spill over into additional fellowship as you exalt together the greatness of the Lord.

• The following article is from the Psalter Hymnal Handbook.

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. = Ps. 145:1-3

Casiodoro Cardenas, an Ecuadoran, based this song on Psalm 145: 1-3. The English translation of the text includes work in 1985 by Frank Sawyer and in 1986 by Bert Polman. "Te Exaltaré" was published in Ecuador in 1975 in Tiempo de Cantar (vol. 2) and in the United States in Celebremos I (1979), a collection of Hispanic songs produced by the United Methodist Church.

Liturgical Use:
At the beginning of worship as an entrance psalm of praise, at the offering as a psalm of dedication, or at the conclusion as a psalm of commitment to honor the Lord.

Tune Information:

ECUADOR, composed by Cardenas, consists of four musical phrases repeated and combined in various ways. The tune was arranged by Raquel Mora Martinez (b. Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, 1940) for Celebremos; she served on the editorial committee that prepared that collection of Hispanic songs and also supervised the revision of Himmnario Metodista (1973), both United Methodist publications. Martinez, a church musician and editor for Word, Inc., received a B.A. in music education from the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas. She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

This music shares characteristics with the sanjuanito dance found in Ecuador (thus the tune title) and has the infectious rhythms common to other Latin dances such as the rumba, samba, and conga. ECUADOR is intended for unison singing, for keyboard (preferably piano or organ without pedals), and guitar. Hand clapping and ostinati on Orff instruments can be improvised in addition to the given percussion patterns.

Other Resources:

• Visit hymnary.org for more information on this song and additional resources.