Psalm 121
Edward P. Mascari
About this work:
Psalm 121 (2002)
For SATB chorus unaccompanied
Commissioned by the Ecclesia Consort of New England under the direction of Pierre Masse, this composition is made up of seven sections of varying length. While none of the sections is literally repeated, each of them shares musical material with other parts of the piece. These relationships are indicated by the letters shown below. The musical language is tonal, and the translation of the text is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Section A
“I will lift up mine eyes….Lord which made heaven and earth.”
This 3-part section employs chordal writing interspersed by a short middle section which features imitation. Although 6/8 is the predominant time signature, there are several metrical shifts which are used to accommodate the text.
Section B
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved…….slumber nor sleep.”
The ostinato which introduces this section begins with the basses and continues with the addition of the tenors followed by the altos. The sopranos sing the melody above this repeating figure which has a sonority that is reminiscent of a Renaissance motet. The tempo is slightly faster than that of the A section and the meter is 3/4.
Section C
“The Lord is thy keeper……shade upon thy right hand.”
This 10 measure transition is based on the material from the A section.
Section B
“The sun shall not smite thee….by day.”
The ostinato returns in an abbreviated version sung by the sopranos followed by the altos. After this, the basses introduce a passage which features imitative writing. The melodic material includes a short melismatic phrase and the meter is once again 3/4.
Section C
“The Lord shall preserve thee……preserve thy soul.”
The original transition section based on the material from A is now expanded in both length and breadth.
Section B
“He shall preserve thy going out………from this time forth.”
The ostinato has now disappeared as the altos immediately begin this imitative section with the melodic phrase. Rather than participate in the soprano–alto–tenor exchange, the basses, after 15 bars of silence, introduce the final phrase “from this time forth” as a pedal point which ascends up an F major chord
(F-A-C-F). The section builds in intensity and volume as it concludes with each word receiving a different harmony: “this”-Eb major 7th; “time”-Db major 7th; “forth”- Cb major 7th.
Section A
“Forevermore”
Using musical material from the opening of the piece (the setting of the phrase “unto the hills”), this final section employs only one word from the text (“forevermore”). It includes both imitative and chordal passages and begins softly. The volume gradually increases until the final phrase, which is marked fff, con forza (extremely loud and with force), brings the composition to a triumphant conclusion.
Year composed: 2002
Duration: 00:04:30
Ensemble type: Chorus, with or without Solo Voices:Chorus, Unaccompanied
Instrumentation: 1 S, 1 A, 1 T, 1 B
Instrumentation notes: SATB chorus unaccompanied; No divisi; keyboard reduction included for rehearsal purposes.