Anonym. «O sing unto the Lord a new song»
The panegyric concert «O Sing unto the Lord a New Song» based on lyrics picked up from different psalms includes the text of the prophecy of Isaiah. Interestingly, the selected lines from the prophecy of Isaiah – Is. 45:8, 8:20 («Rejoice ye heavens, from above», «With a voice of singing declare ye») – are not sung in church, but read at liturgies dedicated to the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner and the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner. In the concert they appear in the centre of the composition, framed with verses from psalms: 98:1 (beginning), 75:9–10.
The anonymous author of the concert demonstrates a perfect command of the polyphony’s technique, as witnessed by such sophisticated compositional tools as a 12-voice canonical imitation («for he hath done marvellous things»), three- choir endless two-voice canons with a free third voice («Rejoice ye heavens, from above», «let the skies pour down righteousness»), a three-choir three-voice canonical imitation («the tumult of the people»), etc. The use of these polyphony techniques presents a way of a rhetoric reading of the text, along with rhetoric exclamations («voice»), pauses and melodic figures («the skies», «joy», etc.). This C-dur concert has a very interesting tonal plan, with an evident trend towards sharp major: F-dur, E-dur and H-dur before the final C-dur. The vocal virtuosity of all choral parts, and especially child descants, witnesses the extremely high level of then Ukrainian choral culture.
English translation
O sing unto the Lord a new song;
for he hath done marvellous things.
Rejoice ye heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down righteousness:
let the earth open,
and let them bring forth salvation,
and let righteousness spring up together.
With a voice of singing declare ye,
tell this,
utter it even to the end of the earth,
For terrible is the name of his praise
and his face stilleth the tumult of the people.
I will declare for ever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off;
but the horns of the righteous
shall be exalted.
Original text
Воспойте Господеви пѣснь нову,
яко дивна сотвори Господь.
Да возвеселится небо свыше,
и облацы да кропят правду,
да возсияет земля,
и да прозябнет милость,
и правда да возсияет вкупѣ.
Глас веселия возвестите,
и услышано да будет,
возвестите даже до конец земли.
Яко страшно имя славы Его
и от лица Его смятутся языцы
Аз же возрадуюся во вѣк и воспою богу Иаковлю
и вся роги грешных сломлю, и вознесется рог праведнаго.
Track list
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