Boosey & Hawkes Bernstein - Chichester Psalms
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Essential Information About This Score
Essential Information About This Score
- An iconic work of 20th-century sacred music, commissioned for the Southern Cathedral's Festival and quickly becoming a classic of the repertoire.
- Three-part structure : a clear and effective form designed to highlight the strength of the text and the liturgical momentum.
- Texts in Hebrew, assembled by Leonard Bernstein from psalms to enhance spiritual coherence and continuity of the message.
- A decidedly tonal language : Bernstein here claims a luminous writing style, notably in B major, contrary to his more radical experimental works of the same period.
Manufacturer Information
Boosey & Hawkes
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Summary of This Score
Every summer, Chichester Cathedral in Sussex joins with its neighbors in Winchester and Salisbury to host one of the most significant events in religious music in Great Britain: the Southern Cathedral's Festival. For the 1965 edition, a commission was given to Leonard Bernstein. From this invitation arose the Chichester Psalms, a work in three parts that quickly established itself through its immediacy, fervor, and clarity.
Bernstein constructs the piece from psalms in Hebrew, which he personally selects and assembles. This choice is not merely aesthetic: it aims to emphasize the continuity of the text and its liturgical grounding, as if the music follows the flow of a service, alternating between meditation, rhythmic drive, and moments of contemplation. The writing highlights a frank and accessible expression while retaining the composer's signature: highly structured energy, direct spiritual intensity, and a musical dramaturgy that depends as much on the text as on the progression of moods.
The context of composition also sheds light on the originality of the work. In 1965, Bernstein was on a one-year sabbatical from his position at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, a period conducive to creation. He recounts having explored more experimental paths for several months before abandoning them, judging that writing "not sincere." The Chichester Psalms thus mark a deliberate return to a luminous tonality, which Bernstein describes as his "clearest" piece in B major. The result is a score that is both spiritual and deeply musical, ideal for enriching a sacred music library and working on the articulation of Hebrew text in service of expressivity.
Technical specifications
| Musical Genre | Religious, Sacred | Publication | Sheet music |
| Composer | Leonard Bernstein | Pages | 44 |
| Language | Hebrew | Year of Publication | 1965 |
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Questions frequently asked
In what language are the Chichester Psalms sung?
The texts are in Hebrew, the language specified for this edition. Bernstein himself selected and assembled the psalms used.
How many movements does this Bernstein work have?
The score includes a work in three parts, constructed from psalms in Hebrew.
How many pages does the Boosey & Hawkes Bernstein - Chichester Psalms score have?
This edition contains 44 pages and was published in 1965.
What is the musical genre of this score?
The indicated repertoire falls under religious and sacred music. The work was composed for the 1965 Southern Cathedral's Festival.
What key does Bernstein associate with the Chichester Psalms?
Bernstein describes the composition as his brightest piece in B major. Its writing alternates between contemplation, rhythmic impulses, and reflection. The Hebrew text contributes to its liturgical grounding.
