CDE 84477
By the Waters of Babylon
Including first recordings of songs by
Howells, Bantock, Parry,
Head
In Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, the tragic hero, Michael Henchard, is drinking in the Three Mariners with the singers following choir practice. Looking out of the pub window, he sees his hated rival, Councillor Farfrae, and forces the choir to sing Psalm 109 which contains some of the most violent curses in the Bible. The choir master protests:
‘Twasn’t made for singing. We chose it once when the gypsy stole the parson’s mare, thinking to please him, but parson were quite upset. Whatever Servant David were thinking about when he made a Psalm that nobody can sing without disgracing himself, I can’t fathom.’
Certainly the words of the Psalms can sometimes shock, reflecting basic emotions that in the 21st century are felt better suppressed: Howells unsurprisingly sets only the first eight verses of Psalm 137, avoiding the final verse with its call for the oppressors’ children to be dashed on the rocks. Far more often, however, the Psalms express in very powerful and direct language feelings of joy, sadness, thanksgiving, love, and repentance which still have relevance to us every day. Stanford gives titles to his settings: Psalm 126 is ‘A Song of Freedom’, Ps121 ‘A Song of Trust’, Ps130 ‘A Song of Hope’ and Ps124 ‘A Song of Battle’. Similar titles could be given to others: Ps100 and Ps150 are Songs of Praise, Ps137 A Song of Homesickness.
If the word ‘song’ seems to be appearing rather often, it is with good reason: the title Psalmos was originally given in the second century BC to a translation of the ancient Hebrew songs in the sefer t’hilim, or ‘Book of Praises’. Psalmos derives from a Greek word meaning ‘to sing to the plucking of a musical instrument’ and suggests that these most ancient texts had become more than simply spoken verse: they had been heightened into song by the priests and singers of the Temple. The Christian Church not only adopted the singing – or chanting – of Psalms as an important part of its own liturgy, but these varied and expressive texts have also been widely used for choral compositions or anthems. Settings for solo voice are far less common; apart from Edmund Rubbra’s three Psalm songs, with piano accompaniment and memorably recorded by the works’ dedicatee, Kathleen Ferrier, it is perhaps surprising to find that all the major settings by Britsh composers are included on this CD.
The composers of the first three pieces all have connections with the Chapel Royal: John Travers (1703-1758) was organist there from 1737 until his death in 1758 when he was succeeded by William Boyce (1710-1779). Boyce had been a boy-chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral before being articled to the composer Maurice Greene and then appointed Composer to the Chapel Royal in 1736 and organist in 1758. Both the pieces recorded here are self-contained sections from much longer anthems, popular in their time but nowadays rarely performed in full. They are Travers’ Ascribe unto the Lord and Boyce’s The Heavens declare the Glory of God.
J. Travers - Let the heavens rejoice from Psalm 96
W. Boyce
- In them hath He set a tabernacle from Psalm 19
S. S. Wesley
- Thou, O Lord God from Psalm 71
C. H. H. Parry - *I Believe It (words:
Robert Browning)
C. V. Stanford -
When the Lord turned again
from Psalm 126
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from Psalm 121
Out
of the deep have I called from Psalm 130
If the Lord Himself had not been
on our side from Psalm 124
H. Howells - *By the waters of Babylon
from Psalm 137 for baritone, violin, ’cello and organG. Bantock -
*Praise Ye the Lord from Psalm 150 for voice and harp
A. Milner
- 3 Meditations on Psalms for organ:
*O pray for the peace of Jerusalem
from Psalm 122
*The Lord is my Shepherd from Psalm 23
*Truly my soul waiteth
upon God from Psalm 62
H. Thomas - *O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth
from Psalm 94
for
baritone, violin, ’cello and organ
M. Head
*I will lift up
mine eyes from Psalm 121
*Be merciful unto me, O God from Psalm 57
*Make
a joyful noise unto the Lord from Psalm 100
Tracks * are first recordings. All pieces for voice and organ unless otherwise stated.
Psalm numbers as in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.