The Symphony of Psalms is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The symphony derives its name from the use of Psalm texts in the choral parts.
History
According to Stravinsky, the commission for the work came about from "a routine suggestion" from Koussevitzky, who was also Stravinsky's publisher, that he write something "popular" for orchestra without chorus. Stravinsky, however, insisted on the psalm-symphony idea, which he had had in mind for some time. The choice of Psalm 150, however, was in part because of the popularity of that text. The symphony was written in Nice, and Echarvines near Talloires, which was Stravinsky's summer home in those years. The three movements are performed without break, and the texts sung by the chorus are drawn from the Vulgate versions in Latin. Unlike many pieces composed for chorus and orchestra, Stravinsky said that it is not "a symphony in which I have included psalms to be sung." On the contrary, "it is the singing of psalms that I am symphonizing."
Although the piece was written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere was actually given in Brussels by the Société Philharmonique de Bruxelles on December 13, 1930, under the direction of Ernest Ansermet. The American premiere of the piece was given soon afterwards by Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with the chorus of the Cecilia Society (trained by Arthur Fiedler) on December 19, 1930. The first recording was made by Stravinsky himself with the Orchestre des Concerts Straram and the Alexis Vlassov Choir at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on February 17 and 18, 1931. One reviewer wrote, "The choir, throaty, full-blooded, darkly, inwardly passionate, sing with liturgical conviction and intensity in a memorable performance."
General analysis
Like many of Stravinsky's other works, including Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, the Symphony of Psalms occasionally employs the octatonic scale (which alternates whole steps and half steps), the longest stretch being eleven bars between rehearsal numbers 4 and 6 in the first movement. Stravinsky stated that the root of the entire symphony is "the sequences of two minor thirds joined by a major third... derived from the trumpet-harp motive at the beginning of the allegro in Psalm 150".
Stravinsky portrays the religious nature of the text through his compositional techniques. He wrote substantial portions of the piece in fugal counterpoint, which was used widely in the church in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He also uses the large chorus to create a ritual atmosphere like that of the Church.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for the following instrumentation:
;Woodwinds:
:5 flutes (5th doubling piccolo)
:4 oboes
:1 cor anglais
:3 bassoons
:1 contrabassoon
;Brass:
:4 horns in F
:1 trumpet in D
:4 trumpets in C
:3 trombones
:1 tuba
;Percussion, harp and keyboards:
:timpani
:bass drum
:harp
:2 pianos
;(Lower) strings:
:celli
:double basses
;SATB mixed chorus
In the score preface, Stravinsky stated a preference for a children's choir for the upper two choral parts.
Notably, the score omits clarinets, violins, and violas.
Movements
First movement
The first movement of the Symphony of Psalms is marked "Tempo = 92" and uses the text from Psalm 38, verses 13 and 14. This movement was finished on August 15, 1930, which is the feast of the Assumption in the Catholic Church and is written as a prelude to the second movement, a double fugue.
The movement is composed of flowing ostinato sections punctuated with E-minor block chords, in a voicing known as the "Psalms chord", which stop the constant motion.
:<score sound="1"> {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
{ \new PianoStaff <<
\new Staff { \clef treble <g' e g b>-.\mf }
\new Staff { \clef bass <e, g, b, g>-. }
>> } }
</score>
The first ostinato section in measure 2, which is played in the oboe and bassoon, could be six notes from the octatonic scale starting C–D–E–F, etc., but incomplete sets such as this illustrate the controversial nature of the extent of its use. Stravinsky himself regarded this ostinato as "the root idea of the whole symphony", a four-note set consisting of a sequence of "two minor thirds joined by a major third", and stated that it initiated in the trumpet–harp motive at the beginning of the allegro section of the third movement, which was composed first. and uses as text Psalm 39, verses 2, 3, and 4. The first fugue theme is based on the same four-note cell used in the first movement,