Psalm 24

1916 · Tenor, mixed chorus and ensemble including brass and organ

A short setting proclaiming the Lord’s dominion over the earth, for choir with brass and organ.

4 min

Recording

Psalm 24 — La terre appartient à l’ÉternelMichel Sénéchal, tenor; J. J. Grunenwald, organ; Chorale Élisabeth Brasseur; members of the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux; Igor Markevitch, conductor
3:30
Lili Boulanger’s Psalm 24, La terre appartient à l’Éternel, is a short setting that opens with a fanfare in bare fifths for trumpets, trombones and organ. Michel Sénéchal sings the tenor solo.
Listening notes · joins
1. Opening fanfare, brass and organ
  Trumpets and trombones play the fanfare in bare fifths, doubled by the organ. Tenors and basses sing the words between the brass replies. Boulanger marks the passage Vif et décidé (lively and decisive).
2. Composition in Rome, 1916
  In 1916 Boulanger returned to the Villa Medici in Rome, where the Prix de Rome had brought her to compose. She wrote this psalm and Psalm 129 during the same stay. At the foot of the final page she wrote the place and year: Rome, 1916.
3. Tenor solo, muted horns
  The tenor sings of receiving the Lord’s blessing. Muted horns play in alternating pairs, and harp and organ repeat a short figure underneath. The tempo slows, and the solo voice is marked grave et doux, solemn and gentle.
4. Scoring and dedication
  Boulanger set the psalm for four-part choir, organ, four horns, three trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani and two harps. Apart from the harps, the line-up recalls a fanfare band. The score is dedicated to Jules Griset, director of the Guillot de Saint-⁠Brice choir.
5. Full-choir entry
  The full choir sings the call for the gates to open to the King of Glory. Sopranos and altos join the lower voices, and the brass fanfares return. Later, trombones, horns and trumpets enter in turn with the same fanfare, and their entries overlap.
6. Recording session, Salle Pleyel, Paris
  The album sleeve has a photograph of Nadia Boulanger at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, listening to the playbacks of her sister’s music. She supervised the recording. Her former pupil Igor Markevitch conducted.
Joins
1. Muted horns around the tenor
  The trumpets and trombones stop. At figure 3, marked Un peu moins vite, the organ holds the bass while the harp and muted horns repeat a small figure. The horns play in pairs. Over this accompaniment the tenor begins his blessing, marked grave et doux.
2. All four voices together
  The lower voices hold their last syllable over moving harp notes and sustained organ chords. The brass joins the held harmony, and then the accompaniment stops. At Au mouvement the full choir enters together without accompaniment, marked éclatant. The brass then repeats the opening fanfare.
Open in the Concert Hall

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