Psalm 53 (2016)
for SATB double choir, a cappella
Text: Psalm 53:1-3, 6 (KJV)
Duration: 5 minutes
Difficulty: 3/4
Winner of Best Under 30 in the Psalmfest Composition Competition by the Elysian Singers.
First performed by the Elysian Singers (Sam Laughton, dir.) in October 2016.
My setting of Psalm 53 was written in response to a competition by the Elysian Singers in London, tasking composers with setting one of the 3 least-common psalms. In my piece, the passionate language of Psalm 53 is realized through thick, flowing lines in a dramatic double-choir setting, culminating in a bright and strident exclamation: "Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad."
Click here to see the complete score.
The audio below is from the first performance by the Elysian Singers in October 2016.
Full Text
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity:
there is none that doeth good.
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Every one of them is gone back:
they are altogether become filthy;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!
When God bringeth back the captivity of his people,
Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.