Continuing from Part I, here’s the second movement of the Chichester Psalms.
The opening solo of Psalm 23 is one of the simplest and most beautiful melodies ever – compassionate and full of hope. Bernstein specifically wrote this part for a high male voice, whether boy alto or countertenor and never, never by a woman.
Again this can be divided into 2 sections, almost in ternary form.
Bin’ot deshe yarbitseini, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,
Al mei m’nuḥot y’naḥaleini, He leadeth me beside the still waters,
Naf’shi y’shovev, He restoreth my soul
Yan’ḥeini b’ma’aglei tsedek, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness,
L’ma’an sh’mo. For His name’s sake
The movement opens with an arpeggiated chord by the harp consisting of open fifths (A and E), and a D# to create a feeling of apprehension. Then the solo sings, accompanied by simple chords on the harp. The picture of the boy David accompanying himself on a harp comes to mind. It is a simple, atonal but tuneful melody, singing of the Lord’s goodness and providence. There is a little break, and the first two lines end with the same arpeggiated chord that started the movement. The next part which follows is more contemplative, with descending arpeggiated notes plucked by the harp. This was stolen from the never-published musical, The Skin of our Teeth, with different words in the exact same tune (the song was about the coming of spring)! It was charming and poetic, with the same sense of hope as this poem. It is tonal now, and leads slowly but surely into the key of A major, where the violins enter playing the melody and the harp playing the bass, giving one the feeling of assurance and security.
Gam ki eilech Yea, though I walk
B’gei tsalmavet, Through the valley of the shadow of death
Lo ira ra, I will fear no evil
Ki Atah imadi. For Thou art with me.
Shiv’t’cha umishan’techa Thy rod and Thy staff
Hemah y’naḥamuni. They comfort me.
At this point a new figure emerges based on the primary melody, set between the Soprano1s and 2s. There is a soprano voice, and then a sort-of distant echo that starts one bar later. Over the top of it, the violins play a delicate, descant, ascending countermelody. The next part starts off in the same quasi-canonic quality earlier, and this time, right after the verses, the boy soloist enters, most miraculously and beautifully, singing “The Lord is my Shepherd”. The choir sings this in the same rustic simplicity as the boy soloist earlier, affirming the Lord as shepherd. And suddenly the tranquility is shattered by the rude interjection of the male choristers of Psalm 2:
Lamah rag’shu goyim Why do the nations rage,
Ul’umim yeh’gu rik? And the people imagine a vain thing?
Yit’yats’vu malchei erets, The kings of the earth set themselves,
V’roznim nos’du yaḥad And the rulers take counsel together
Al Adonai v’al m’shiḥo. Against the Lord and against His anointed
N’natkah et mos’roteimo, Saying, let us break their bands asunder,
V’nashlichah mimenu avoteimo. And cast away their cords from us.
Yoshev bashamayim He that sitteth in the heavents
Yis’ḥak, Adonai Shall laugh, and the Lord
Yil’ag lamo! Shall have them in derision!
Percussive sounding Hebrew words, such epically and graphically written! It creates a divided sense of the splutterings, whisperings and mutterings; all the evil of our world and the craziness of it all. The theme worries away at the small handful of pitches, as if scratching away at a wound. Loud outbursts, protests and insistant shouts fill this movement, like war-music. Why do the nations rage so furiously together? It talks further about God sitting in the heavens laughing at these people, having them in derision. This is theatre at Bernstein’s best, soothing the savage beast of the men’s outcry. He brings in the women, with the original boy-solo melody above the men’s voices and the warming words of Psalm 23 once again:
Ta’aroch l’fanai shulchan Thou preparest a table before me
Neged tsor’rai In the presence of mine enemies,
Dishanta vashemen roshi Thou anoitest my head with oil,
Cosi r’vayaḥ. My cup runneth over.
The men continue the splutter and jeering underneath the women’s voices, who spread their healing balm with words of comfort. At this point the boy-solo enters with the crux of the message:
Ach tov vaḥesed Surely goodness and mercy
Yird’funi kol y’mei ḥayai Shall follow me all the days of my life,
V’shav’ti b’veit Adonai And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
L’orech yamim. Forever.
And as if to put across the message that the world never shrugs off its troubles, the distant war-cry is heard by the trumpet and the xylophone ending the music with three final beats of the bass drum.
This post follows Paster Andrew Yeo’s sermon yesterday at Live! on how the world is dying, and how we can make a great change just by having the compassion to love what we see as the unlovable.
for Reuben.
let’s continue to see everything through God’s eyes, show the world what God’s love and compassion is.
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