Psalm Arcs for Choir and Strings: Program Notes for (another!) Half Recital
Presented as the second half of a choral conducting recital with the Conductors’ Choir of Peabody Conservatory
Choral Triptych — Ulysses Kay (1917–1995)
Give Ear to My Words, O Lord (Psalm 5, v.1–7)
How Long Wilt Thou Forget Me, O Lord (Psalm 13)
Alleluia
Three Psalms — Imogen Holst (1907–1984)
Psalm 80: Give Ear, O Shepherd of Israel
Psalm 56: Be merciful unto me, O God
Psalm 90: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high
Psalm settings are nothing new to choral singers, and filling a program exclusively with these Old Testament poems is no innovation on my part. The fact that these composers wrote such structurally and spiritually similar pieces in the same quarter-century, however, struck me as a coincidence too good to overlook. At first hearing, the differences that come to relief between Choral Triptych and Three Psalms are the tonal and textural languages—angry and insistent in the former, and often frighteningly sparse and unmoving in the latter—but these sets complement each other more through their similarities. Like countless psalms, the arc of each piece is from lostness and supplication to salvation and joy, while pangs of anxiety persist even to the end. The choice to pair choir with strings is a natural one (suggested by the scriptures themselves), and both composers employ the instruments to further distill atmospheres of longing, aggression, doubt, and peace.
Beyond their spiritual meaning, however, the present composers capture a stunning array of humanism in these short pieces. Both pieces were written in times of great anxiety (for Ulysses Kay, the tumultuous 1960s in America; for Imogen Holst, the height of World War II’s destruction in the UK) and both elevate psalms’ urgency for help and solace. Through this music, listeners and musicians alike confront harrowing questions: how do you call for help when you fear you won’t be heard? What does it feel like to be left behind by those you trusted? What would it mean for a loved one to lend an ear, to turn their face to shine upon you? Any concert program of psalms may raise these questions; I welcome you to explore them again, to explore them in this moment in your human experience and political life, and to listen fully to these composers’ musical explorations from their own times.
While I had the pleasure of performing Three Psalms in a 2022 concert featuring underrepresented composers, I wish to note that both of these pieces deserve more attention, performance, and recording than either of them have received to date. Should you or someone you know be interested in learning more about this music beyond this concert, I am happy to discuss the pieces and composers further.