Score of page 1, Movement I of The Chichester Psalms, Boosey & Hawkes edition. Note the changes of time signature. The movement settles into its predominant 7/4 metre in bar 11 (not shown).

The Chichester Psalms is a choral work by Leonard Bernstein for boy treble or countertenor, solo quartet, choir and orchestra (3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion (5 players), 2 harps, and strings). A reduction written by the composer pared down the orchestral performance forces to organ, harp and percussion. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3920 × 5968 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3920 × 5968 pixel, file size: 1. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... Treble (or Boy Soprano in slang) is a term applied in music to a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range. ... A countertenor is an adult male who sings in an alto or soprano range, often through use of falsetto. ...

Bernstein stated explicitly in his writing that the part for countertenor may be sung by either an actual 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, a "Psalm of David" from the Hebrew Bible, was to be heard as if sung by the boy David himself. The text was arranged by Bernstein from the psalms in the original Hebrew. Part 1 uses psalms 100 and 108, Part 2 uses 2 and 23 and Part 3 uses 131 and 133. The theme of this poem casts God in the role of protector and provider, and is routinely read and recited by Jews and Christians alike. ... Tanakh (‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... This page is about the Biblical king David. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ...

It was commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals' Festival at Chichester Cathedral by the cathedral's organist, John Birch, and the Dean, Walter Hussey. However, the world premiere took place in the Philharmonic Hall, New York in early 1965 with the composer conducting, followed by the performance in the Chichester Festival in July that year, conducted by John Birch. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Chichester Cathedral today Chichester Cathedral, illustrated circa 1650 The Chichester Cathedral in Chichester, West Sussex, England is an Anglican Cathedral. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Walter Hussey (May 15, 1909 – 1985) 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. ... , Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. ... NY redirects here. ...

The Chichester Psalms was Bernstein's first composition after his Third Symphony (Kaddish). 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 the Chichester Psalms is affirmative and at times serene. Kaddish is the third symphony of Leonard Bernstein. ...

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 interval of a major 7th between the tenor and bass (see illustration). The seventh interval figures prominently due to its numerological importance in the judeochristian tradition; also the first movement is written in the 7/4 meter, and the third in 10/4 (separated into half-bars of 5/4). Particularly, this article is not about Hymn meters, as often found on hymn tunes Meter (UK spelling: metre) is the measurement of a musical line into measures of stressed and unstressed beats, indicated in Western music notation by a symbol called a time signature. ...

A notable recording was made in 1986 conducted by Richard Hickox. With Bernstein's approval, the countertenor part was sung by Aled Jones, then a treble. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Richard Hickox CBE (born March 5, 1948) is an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. ... Aled Jones (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality and broadcaster who first came to fame as a boy soprano. ... Treble is a term applied in music to the high or acute part of the musical system, as opposed to the bass, the lower or grave part. ...

Despite the work's difficulty, it is occasionally performed as an anthem in services of choral evensong in the most musical Anglican cathedrals. The soloist in the second movement is thus very often a treble. An anthem is a composition to an English religious text sung in the context of an Anglican service. ... The term evensong can refer to the following: Evening Prayer (Anglican), the Anglican liturgy of Evening Prayer, especially (but not exclusively) so called when it is sung. ...

The Piece

Introduction

The introduction (presented on sheet music as part of movement one) begins gathering energy. Word painting 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 in the soprano and alto parts consisting of a descending perfect fourth, ascending minor seventh, and decending perfect fifth. The motif is also found with the seventh inverted as a decending 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 ("Hiney mah tov," m.60), with a haunting reentroduction of the material in the harp on unison G's during the "Amen" of m. 64. This article needs to be wikified. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

First Movement

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. The last word, "emunato", recalls the 7th interval presented as the main theme in the introduction.

Second Movement

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). This is gradually overpowered by the soprano voices (with the bizzare direction, "blissfully unaware of threat" in m. 102) 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. Messiah (HWV 56), is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto by Charles Jennens. ...

Interestingly, the boy's theme was adapted from a musical that Bernstein never completed, The Skin of Our Teeth (based on the play by Thornton Wilder). The men's theme was adapted from material that was cut out of West Side Story. The Skin of Our Teeth is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning play by Thornton Wilder. ... Image:Thorntonwilderteeth. ... For The Games song, see Westside Story (song). ...

Third Movement

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

The finale comes in from the third movement without interruption. The principal motives 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, Yachad, means "together" or, more precisely, "as one." This same note is that on which the choir then sings the amen, while the 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. A Picardy third (also known as Tierce de Picardie) is a harmonic device used in European classical music. ...