Published on
December 18, 2020
Video length
5 mins

This setting of Psalm 150 was submitted by composer Delvyn Case and performed by Elizabeth Ostling. It explores the mystical connection between breath, life, music, and praise as described in the psalm.

Psalm 150

How does this psalm piece interpret the psalm? 
The psalter ends with the command for all things who have breath to praise the Lord. In the Hebrew, each line of Psalm 150 begins with “Hallelujah”, a word which, when heard in the context of that final command, seems intentionally onomatopoetic: a simple breath, out and in, over and over, forever and ever.  

In keeping with the universal directive of the psalm (or is it simply an observation?), this work is written for both the flute and the flutist. It explores the sonic and ritualistic dimensions of our breath, and how—like the ruah (“breath” or “spirit” in Hebrew)—it surrounds us and inspires us, giving life (literal and musical) in ways that we cannot explain.  

The piece’s opening gesture—animated, like Adam, by a breath—metamorphoses by the end into the word whose shape inspired it: Hallelujah. The word and the music then return from whence they came, merging into the rhythmic breath that sustains us throughout our lives and whose inescapable cessation will bring us into the presence of the One who made everything, from the tiniest drop of water to the spiral nebulae.  

The mystical sounds and visuals remind us that the universe will continue to praise God long after it is devoid of anything with breath. Thus, this psalm is really just a beginning.  

The performer is Boston Symphony Orchestra flautist Elizabeth Ostling. The composition and the video are by Delvyn Case. 

 

Other resources by Delvyn Case

This piece may be performed live by a single flautist as a special anthem intended for meditation and prayer. The video may be shown either alongside a live performance or with recorded audio. It’s a quiet, mysterious piece that would work best in a darkened sanctuary. 

Music: Delvyn Case, © Delvyn Case  
Contact: Delvyn Case, case_delvyn@wheatoncollege.edu 

 

Recent Media Resources

Playing Well with Others: Musical Collaboration in the Worship Service

Musical collaboration in worship can be rewarding: it can build relationships, enrich the musical life of a congregation, and add more colors, timbres, and textures. 

July 15, 2025 | 1 min video
Public Worship, Health Care, and Illness in Early Christianity

Explore how Christians in the earliest centuries of Christianity preached and prayed about illness, pain, and health care and shaped practices of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and funerals in response to illness and injury, including during pandemics—all so that we can learn from their pastoral, theological, and practical instincts as we seek to be faithful witnesses to Christ in our own globally diverse contexts. ​ 

July 15, 2025 | 1 min video
Morning Prayer with Nate Glasper and the 7:9 Project

Nate Glasper and the 7:9 Project, a multicultural group of Calvin University students, lead a time of morning song and prayer firmly grounded in scripture. Inspired by the vision of Revelation 7:9, this gathering reflects the beauty of “every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

July 15, 2025 | 1 min video