Dave Brubeck has written more than 50 sacred works for voice — songs, hymns, carols, psalm settings, cantatas, oratorios, a Christmas pageant, a mass — ranging in length from under a minute to 75 minutes. His sacred choral works range from his initial oratorio, The Light in the Wilderness (1968), about the teachings of Jesus, and Upon This Rock (1987), a chorale and fugue for the entrance of Pope John Paul II into San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, to Earth Is Our Mother (1992), and Hold Fast to Dreams (1998), a song cycle based on the poems of Langston Hughes.

Mr. Brubeck is better known as one of the world’s most popular jazz composers and pianists known for his jazz compositions incorporating unusual meters and classical techniques such as fugal form and counterpoint. Born in 1920 in Concord, Calif., Mr. Brubeck first learned classical piano from his mother and began playing jazz as a teenager. He studied music theory and composition at both the College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific) and Mills College. He achieved wide popularity with his quartet, formed in 1951, which included the gifted alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. In the innovative album Time Out (1959), the group abandoned the 4/4 meter of earlier jazz compositions to experiment with a different time signature for each piece on the album. Featured on Time Out are Mr. Brubeck’s Blue Rondo a la Turk, written in 9/8 time, and Mr. Desmond’s Take Five, written in 5/4 time — a piece that, despite its unconventional meter, imparts a natural and relaxed jazz feel.

In 1994 Mr. Brubeck received a National Medal of Arts lifetime medal, the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government, recognizing his wealth and depth of creative expression.