The Psalms of David are recognised not just for their religious significance in the Jewish and Christian religions, but also as beautiful literature, expressing religious belief in a poetic and spiritual way. It’s in no way surprising then that setting them to music has been a tradition for literally thousands of years.
The singing of the Psalms was already well-established in the synagogue services in the time of Jesus, and the early Christian church readily appropriated this tradition. The Psalms of David formed the core of liturgical music for the early church, to which other songs from the Old and New Testaments (canticles) were added.
Palmfest is almost an embarrassment of riches, and our musical directors have made a wonderful selection, spanning time, musical idioms and languages. Early composers such as Monteverdi and Palestrina rub shoulders with Mendelssohn, and the 20th century is well represented by Holst and Walton among others.
The centrepiece to this concert is the stunning and exciting “Chichester Psalms” by the brilliant Leonard Bernstein. The work was commissioned in 1965 by Walter Hussey, the then Dean of Winchester for the Southern Cathedrals Festival, although its premiere performance was given in New York. The piece sets extracts from several Psalms (2, 23, 100, 108, 131 and 133) and is performed in the original Hebrew. (That made the first few rehearsals ‘interesting’!). There have been several versions scored – Amici are performing the setting for organ, harp and percussion.
Tickets on sale at Taunton Visitor Centre