A new choral work for Lent

Last year The Waltham Singers approached me for a new piece for their Lent concert this year in Chelmsford, Essex, followed by a Belgian tour. The Waltham Singers, based in the Chelmsford area, and conducted by Andrew Fardell, are an excellent amateur choir who have performed several of my pieces and who commissioned A Summer Garland from me some years ago.
As it was for a Lenten work, the request was for a setting of the Penitential Psalms lasting about 15 minutes for choir and organ – and my challenge was to energise a work of this length, with the necessary contrast and drama, while using texts which were very focused on penitence – no ‘Glorias’ or ‘Alleluias’ allowed! I decided to use the Latin version of the Psalms, choosing extracts from three of them, to make three main movements.
Within each of these three movements I made short references to the plainchant antiphon for Maundy Thursday, Ubi Caritas, and then I made the Ubi Caritas melody appear complete four times – each time arranged differently – to make a prelude, interludes, and postlude. So the shape of the work is as follows:

Psalmi Penitentiales (originally titled ‘Psalmos’)
1. Ubi Caritas (Where charity and love are, God is there)
2. Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me (O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger) – from Psalm 6
3. Ubi Caritas
4. De profundis clamavi ad te (Out of the depths I have cried to you) – from Psalm 129 or 130
5. Ubi Caritas
6. Domine, exaudi orationem meam (O Lord, hear my prayer) – from Psalm 101 or 102
7. Ubi Caritas

I hope that by framing the music in this way I have achieved the focus on penitence while also communicating the caring aspects, and the joy, of the Christian message. I went to a rehearsal last week and it was an uplifting experience to hear the choir responding to my music, and I am looking forward very much to the first performance!

Psalmi Penitientiales was commissioned by the Waltham Singers with a generous bequest from Peter Andrews. It is planned to be published by Oxford University Press later in the year.
The first performance is at the King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, on Saturday 18 March at 7.30.

POSTCRIPT
The first performance, to a packed house, was most successful – the performers gave a wonderful interpretation and the composer was very pleased! Please contact him if you would like to hear a recording. The choir are now taking the work on the Belgian tour.

The piece, under its correct title, is now published by OUP – please follow this link for details of the score and to listen to the recording.