Chichester Psalms
Encyclopedia
Chichester Psalms is a choral work by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

 for boy treble
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...

 or countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

, solo quartet, choir and orchestra (3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion [7-8 players], 2 harps, and strings). A reduction written by the composer pared down the orchestral performance forces to organ, one harp, and percussion.

Bernstein stated explicitly in his writing that the part for countertenor may be sung by either a countertenor or a boy soprano, but never by a woman. This was to reinforce the liturgical meaning of the passage sung, perhaps to suggest that the 23rd Psalm
Psalm 23
In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music....

, a "Psalm of David" from the Hebrew Bible
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...

, was to be heard as if sung by the boy David himself. The text was arranged by Bernstein from the psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

 in the original Hebrew. Part 1 uses Psalms 100 and 108, Part 2 uses 2 and 23 and Part 3 uses 131 and 133.

History

The work was commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals' Festival at Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, otherwise called Chichester Cathedral, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in Sussex, England...

 by the cathedral's organist, John Birch
John Birch (musician)
John Birch is an internationally renowned Recitalist, Concert Organist and Organ Scholar. He was educated at Trent College, Derbyshire and left in July 1947 to study at the Royal College of Music, London....

, and the Dean, Walter Hussey
Walter Hussey
Walter Hussey was an Anglican clergyman who had a great fondness for the arts, commissioning a number of musical compositions and visual art for the church as well as amassing his own collection....

. However, the world premiere took place in the Philharmonic Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on July 15, 1965 with the composer conducting, followed by the performance in the Chichester Festival on July 31, conducted by John Birch. Some material was recycled from early sketches of West Side Story, which was initially supposed to involve a Jewish-American gang, as well as a never-completed musical version of Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...

's play The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...

.

Chichester Psalms was Bernstein's first composition after his Third Symphony (Kaddish)
Symphony No. 3 (Bernstein)
Kaddish is Leonard Bernstein's third symphony. The 1963 symphony is a dramatic work written for a large orchestra, a full choir, a boys' choir, a soprano soloist and a narrator. The name of the piece, Kaddish, refers to the Jewish prayer that is chanted at every synagogue service for the dead but...

. They are his two most overtly Jewish works. While both works have a chorus singing texts in Hebrew, the Kaddish Symphony has been described as a work often at the edge of despair, while Chichester Psalms is affirmative and at times serene.

The Psalms and the first movement in particular are noted among performers for their musical difficulty, with the opening section of the first movement often considered one of the hardest passages for choral tenors ever written, owing to the range of the piece, its rhythmic complexity and the consistent presence of the strange and difficult-to-maintain parallel 7ths between the tenor and bass parts (see illustration). The seventh interval figures prominently due to its numerological importance in the Judeo-Christian tradition; also the first movement is written in the 7/4 meter
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...

, and the third in 10/4 (separated into half-bars of 5/4).

Like many of Bernstein's works, the Chichester Psalms significantly features the harp; the full orchestral version requires two intricate harp parts. Bernstein completed the harp parts before composing the accompanying orchestral and choral parts, thus granting the harpists a pivotal role in realizing the music. In rehearsals, Bernstein is noted to have requested that the harpists play through the piece before the rest of the orchestra to emphasize the importance of the harp's role.

A notable recording was made in 1986 conducted by Richard Hickox
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...

. With Bernstein's approval, the countertenor part was sung by Aled Jones
Aled Jones
Aled Jones is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality, broadcaster and television presenter who first came to fame as a treble...

, then a treble
Boy soprano
A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily...

.

Despite the work's difficulty, it is occasionally performed as an anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...

 in services of choral Evensong
Evening Prayer (Anglican)
Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...

 in the most musical Anglican cathedrals. The soloist in the second movement is thus very often a treble.

Introduction

Psalm 108, vs. 2 (in KJV; vs. 3 in Hebrew)

עוּרָה, הַנֵּבֶל וְכִנּוֹר;
אָעִירָה שָּׁחַר.

Urah, hanevel, v'chinor!
A-irah shaar

Awake, psaltery and harp:
I will rouse the dawn!


The introduction (presented in the score as part of movement one) begins gathering energy. Word painting
Word painting
Word painting is the musical technique of writing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song. For example, ascending scales would accompany lyrics about going up; slow, dark music would accompany lyrics about death.Tone painting of words goes at least as far back as Gregorian chant...

 is used in that the dissonant 7ths present in every chord sound like clanging bells, indicating that we are being told to awaken in a deep and profound way.
In the first measure, Bernstein also introduces a leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...

in the soprano and alto parts consisting of a descending perfect fourth, ascending minor seventh, and descending perfect fifth. The motif is also found with the seventh inverted as a descending major second. The significance of the passage is unknown to the editor, except that it conjures up images of tuning the harp and psaltery (especially the use of perfect fourths and fifths). This leitmotif is found elsewhere in the work, including the end of the first movement ("Ki tov Adonai," m. 109-116), the third movement prelude, and in the soprano part of the final a cappella section of movement three ("Hineh mah tov," m.60), with a haunting reintroduction of the material in the harp on unison G's during the "Amen" of m. 64.

First Movement

Psalm 100

הָרִיעוּ לַיהוָה, כָּל־הָאָרֶץ.
עִבְדוּ אֶת־יְהוָה בְּשִׂמְחָה;
בֹּאוּ לְפָנָיו, בִּרְנָנָה.
דְּעוּ-- כִּי יְהוָה, הוּא אֱלֹהִים:
הוּא־עָשָׂנוּ, ולא (וְלוֹ) אֲנַחְנוּ--
עַמּוֹ, וְצֹאן מַרְעִיתוֹ.
בֹּאוּ שְׁעָרָיו, בְּתוֹדָה--
חֲצֵרֹתָיו בִּתְהִלָּה;
הוֹדוּ־לוֹ, בָּרְכוּ שְׁמוֹ.
כִּי־טוֹב יְהוָה, לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ;
וְעַד־דֹּר וָדֹר, אֱמוּנָתוֹ.
Hari'u l'Adonai kol ha'arets.
Iv'du et Adonai b'sima
Bo'u l'fanav bir'nanah.
Du ki Adonai Hu Elohim.
Hu asanu v'lo ananu.
Amo v'tson mar'ito.
Bo'u sh'arav b'todah,
atseirotav bit'hilah,
Hodu lo, bar'chu sh'mo.
Ki tov Adonai, l'olam as'do,
V'ad dor vador emunato.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God.
It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Come unto His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His court with praise.
Be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
the lord is good, his mercy everlasting
And His truth endureth to all generations.


The first movement is in a joyous 7/4 meter, sung in a festive fashion, as is implored in the first verse of the psalm. Its last words, "Ki tov Adonai", recall the 7th interval presented as the main theme in the introduction.

Second Movement



יְהוָה רֹעִי, לֹא אֶחְסָר.
בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא, יַרְבִּיצֵנִי;
עַל-מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי.
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב;
יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק,
לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ.

גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ
בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת,
לֹא־אִירָא רָע--
כִּי־אַתָּה עִמָּדִי;
שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ,
הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי.

לָמָּה, רָגְשׁוּ גוֹיִם;
וּלְאֻמִּים, יֶהְגּוּ־רִיק.
יִתְיַצְּבוּ, מַלְכֵי־אֶרֶץ--
וְרוֹזְנִים נוֹסְדוּ־יָחַד:
עַל־יְהוָה, וְעַל־מְשִׁיחוֹ.
נְנַתְּקָה, אֶת־מוֹסְרוֹתֵימוֹ;
וְנַשְׁלִיכָה מִמֶּנּוּ עֲבֹתֵימוֹ.
יוֹשֵׁב בַּשָּׁמַיִם
יִשְׂחָק: אֲדֹנָי,
יִלְעַג־לָמוֹ.

תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי, שֻׁלְחָן--
נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי;
דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי,
כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה.

אַךְ, טוֹב וָחֶסֶד
יִרְדְּפוּנִי-- כָּל־יְמֵי חַיָּי;
וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְהוָה,
לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים.

"David" and sopranos (Psalm 23)
Adonai ro-i, lo esar.
Bin'ot deshe yarbitseini,
Al mei m'nuot y'nahaleini,
Naf'shi y'shovev,
Yan'eini b'ma'aglei tsedek,
L'ma'an sh'mo.
(sopranos)
Gam ki eilech
B'gei tsalmavet,
Lo ira ra,
Ki Atah imadi.
Shiv't'cha umishan'techa
Hemah y'naamuni.
(Tenors and basses (Psalm 2
Psalm 2
Psalm 2 is the second Psalm of the Bible. It tells us that we can either defy God and perish, or submit to him and be blessed. Psalm 2 itself does not identify its author, but Acts 4:25-26 clearly attributes it to David.-In the original Hebrew:...

, vs. 1-4))

Lamah rag'shu goyim
Ul'umim yeh'gu rik?
Yit'yats'vu malchei erets,
V'roznim nos'du yaad
Al Adonai v'al m'shio.
N'natkah et mos'roteimo,
V'nashlichah mimenu avoteimo.
Yoshev bashamayim
Yis'ak, Adonai
Yil'ag lamo!
(sopranos (Psalm 23))
Ta'aroch l'fanai shulchan
Neged tsor'rai
Dishanta vashemen roshi
Cosi r'vaya.
"David"
Ach tov vaesed
Yird'funi kol y'mei ayai
V'shav'ti b'veit Adonai
L'orech yamim.


The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,
He leadeth me beside the still waters,
He restoreth my soul,
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness,
For His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk
Through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff
They comfort me.

Why do the nations rage,
And the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His anointed.
Saying, let us break their bands asunder,
And cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens
Shall laugh, and the Lord
Shall have them in derision!

Thou preparest a table before me
In the presence of my enemies,
Thou anointest my head with oil,
My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy
Shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.


The second movement begins with the psalm of David set in a conventional meter (3/4) with a tranquil melody, sung by the boy treble (or countertenor), and repeated by the soprano voices in the chorus. This is abruptly interrupted by the orchestra and the low, rumbling sounds (again word painting) of the men's voices singing psalm 2 (also notably featured in Handel's Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...

). This is gradually overpowered by the soprano voices (with the direction, "blissfully unaware of threat" in m. 102 - this is in the vocal score only) with David serenely reaffirming the second portion of psalm 23. However, the last measures of the movement contain notes which recall the interrupting section, symbolizing mankind's unending struggle with conflict and faith.

Interestingly, the boy's theme was adapted from a musical that Bernstein never completed, The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...

(based on the play by Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...

). The men's theme was adapted from material that was cut out of West Side Story.

Third Movement

Psalm 131

יְהוָה,
לֹא־גָבַהּ לִבִּי--
וְלֹא־רָמוּ עֵינַי;
וְלֹא־הִלַּכְתִּי,
בִּגְדֹלוֹת וּבְנִפְלָאוֹת
מִמֶּנִּי.
אִם־לֹא שִׁוִּיתִי,
וְדוֹמַמְתִּי--
נַפְשִׁי: כְּגָמֻל, עֲלֵי אִמּוֹ;
כַּגָּמֻל עָלַי נַפְשִׁי.
יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶל־יְהוָה--
מֵעַתָּה, וְעַד־עוֹלָם.

Adonai, Adonai,
Lo gavah libi,
V'lo ramu einai,
V'lo hilachti
Big'dolot uv'niflaot
Mimeni.
Im lo shiviti
V'domam'ti,
Naf'shi k'gamul alei imo,
Kagamul alai naf'shi.
Yahel Yis'rael el Adonai
Me'atah v'ad olam.

Lord, Lord,
My heart is not haughty,
Nor mine eyes lofty,
Neither do I exercise myself
In great matters or in things
Too wonderful for me to understand.
Surely I have calmed
And quieted myself,
As a child that is weaned of his mother,
My soul is even as a weaned child.
Let Israel hope in the Lord
From henceforth and forever.


The third movement begins with a conflicted and busy instrumental prelude which recapitulates the chords and melody from the introduction; then suddenly it breaks into the gentle chorale set in a rolling 10/4 (1+ 2++, 3+ 4++) meter which recalls desert palms swaying in the breeze.

Finale

Psalm 133, vs. 1

הִנֵּה מַה־טּוֹב,
וּמַה־נָּעִים--
שֶׁבֶת אַחִים
גַּם־יָחַד.

Hineh mah tov,
Umah na'im,
Shevet aḥim
Gam yaḥad

Behold how good,
And how pleasant it is,
For brethren to dwell
Together in unity.


The finale comes in from the third movement without interruption. The principal motifs from the introduction return here to unify the work and create a sense of returning to the beginning, but here the motifs are sung pianississimo, and greatly extended in length. Particularly luminous harmonies eventually give way to a unison note on the last syllable of the text - another example of word painting, since the final Hebrew word, Yaḥad, means "together" or, more precisely, "as one." This same note is that on which the choir then sings the amen, while one muted trumpet plays the opening motif one last time and the orchestra, too, ends on a unison G, with a tiny hint of a Picardy third
Picardy third
A Picardy third is a harmonic device used in European classical music.It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section which is either modal or in a minor key...

.
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