Hallelujah

The seventh piece in the concert is entitled Hallelujah. It is an arrangement written by Michael Brown (see below) in 2010 of original song by Leonard Cohen (see also below) written in 1984.

“Hallelujah” was written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. Cale's version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone’s “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

The song achieved widespread popularity after Cale’s version of it was featured in the 2001 film Shrek. Many other arrangements have been performed in recordings and in concert, with more than 300 “covers” known as of 2008. The song has been used in film and television soundtracks and televised talent contests. “Hallelujah” experienced renewed interest following Cohen's death in November 2016 and re-appeared on international singles charts, including entering the American Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

Cohen is reputed to have written between 80 and 180 draft verses for “Hallelujah”—a number affected by having many versions of the same line. He claimed 150 draft verses, substantiated by his notebooks containing manifold revisions and additions, and by contemporary interviews. In a writing session in New York's Royalton Hotel, Cohen is famously said to have been reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, filling notebooks, banging his head on the floor. Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, creators of the 2022 documentary film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, said that Cohen took about five years to write the song, and reconfigured it numerous times for performances.

Unlike some other songs that became anthems, “Hallelujah” initially was on an album that was rejected by Columbia Records, was largely ignored after an independent label released it, and was not widely covered until John Cale's 1991 version, and did not reach the Billboard charts until Cohen's death in 2016. Reflecting on the song's initial rejection, Cohen related that Columbia told him that “we know you are great, but don't know if you are any good”.

Following his original 1984 studio-album version, Cohen performed the original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances during his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained a quite different set of lyrics. Numerous singers mix lyrics from both versions, and occasionally make direct lyric changes; for example, in place of Cohen's “holy dove”, Canadian-American singer Rufus Wainwright substituted “holy dark”, while Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe sang “holy ghost”.

Leonard Norman Cohen (1934 – 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. In 2023, Rolling Stone named Cohen the 103rd-greatest singer.

Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1966. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man, co-written and produced by Phil Spector, was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound.

In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz, East Asian, and Mediterranean influences. Cohen's most famous song, “Hallelujah”, was released on his seventh album, Various Positions (1984). I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.

Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. In 2005, Cohen discovered that his manager had stolen most of his money and sold his publishing rights, prompting a return to touring to recoup his losses. Following a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2013, he released three albums in the final years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014), and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death. His fifteenth studio album, Thanks for the Dance, was released in November 2019.

Arranger Michael Brown is currently staff arranger for the United States Army Band in Washington, D.C., having served previously as staff arranger for the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, New York. His arrangements have been heard on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and with the National Symphony Orchestra and Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. He has over 200 arrangements published by Hal Leonard Corporation and the FJH Music Company. Prior to enlisting in the Army, he worked as a freelance arranger and trumpeter, having performed with Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Robert Goulet, Lou Rawls, Sam & Dave, the Temptations, and others. He earned a Bachelor’s in Music degree from Furman University and a Master’s in Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Brown draws upon his former experience as a high school band director, church orchestra director, and freelance trumpeter in his writing.

The music for Hallelujah was provided for the band by Marian and Tom Jensen.