Symphony of Psalms, movement 3 Igor Stravinsky.

Stravinskys Symphony of Psalms is a three-movement work that was commissioned to celebrate the 50th annual season of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the USA. It was actually first performed in Brussels, but the American premiere in the Boston Symphony Hall followed six days later, on 19 Dec 1930. The words are taken from the Latin verse of the psalms, although the work is intended for the concert hall. Stravinskys omission of some of the text and repetition of other parts out of order, along with the very large orchestra, makes it unsuitable to use in a church service. The composer himself explained the role of the text It is not a symphony in which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, It is the singing of the Psalms that I symphonising Surprisingly for an orchestral commission, there are no parts for upper strings or clarinets. However, there are still 14 woodwind, four horns in F, a trumpet in D, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, harp, two pianos, cellos, double basses and an all-male choir (although this is often sung by mixed voices). These hard-edged timbres and variety of clear textures that Stravinsky achieves with these forces are as vital to his concept of the piece as the notes themselves. Despite these formidable resources, the Symphony of Psalms is an understated work. Stravinsky shuns the obvious opportunities for word paining. For instance, Praise him in the sound of the trumpets (bars 87-94) the trumpets are very much in the background. When the text mentions timpano in Bar 152, Stravinsky avoids using drums, and the cymbalis (cymbals) sung about in Bar 165 are not even included in his orchestra. Similarly, when Stravinsky interpolates the word Alleluia he sets it softly for unaccompanied voices: the effect is one of rapt adoration rather than the great outburst of joy with which composers usually treat this word. Stravinsky himself identified two ideas that are central to this movement. The first is the two linked 3rds heard on the trumpet and harps in Bars 29/4 30/3 (G-Bb and Ab-C). This motif recurs at different pitches on different instruments, for example piano 2 in Bars 109112. It also unifies the movement in less obvious ways. For instance in Bar 38 the notes of the motif are presented in a different order in the trombone and piano parts the first and last notes make the 3rd (C-Ab) while the middle two notes make the third (Bb-D). By similar reordering, Stravinsky constructs the whole melody of Bars 4-11, the outer notes of Laudate being D-Bb, the next phrase using C-Eb. The opening melody, suggesting the key of Eb major is accompanied by a bass part outlining a triad of C major, giving an impression of bitonality, a device frequently used by Stravinsky. These dissonances wonderfully resolve to a pure major 3rd on C (the tonic of the entire movement) in Bar 7 significantly on the capitalised Latin name for God.

The second of Stravinskys ideas that dominate the whole movement is the six -note rhythm first heard in Bar 24. This is used to generate excitement as it steps up in the horns from a C major triad (Bars 32-36) to a D major triad (bars 37) then an E major triad (Bars 40-43). Stravinsky wrote of bars 40-47, which culminate in the massive D major chords (with bass G#) of 48-49 that he, was inspired by a vision of Elijahs chariot climbing to the heavens. never before had I written anything quite so literal as the triplets to suggest the horses and chariots In Bar 65 the six-note rhythm is shifted forward a quaver to form the setting of the key words of the movement (Laudate Dominum Praise the Lord). Stravinsky then combines this idea with other motifs from the opening section, reaching a climax in Bars 87-98. In the recapitulation (which begins at Bar 99) the six-note rhythm is sung to a series of chords that rise from C major (114-121) through E major (126-128) to Bb major (132-133). The triplets return in Bars 126-132, now overlapping with the rhythmic Laudate Dominum motif. This time propelled by the higher-rising chords, they culminate in massive E major chords (with A# in the bass) in the main climax of the movement at Bars 144-146. Another important element in the movement, and one that helps account for its hypnotic effect, is the measured tread of slowly resolving ostinato patterns. The first of these is the three-note figure heard in the bass of Bars 14-19, but much more memorable is the fournote ostinato in the coda. Starting at Bar 163 this pattern of 4th, played by timpani, harps and pianos, is heard more than 30 times, underpinning the exquisitely balanced dissonances of this final section. The alleluia returns one more time at Bar 205, to be followed by the complete resolution of all tonal tensions in the plain C major triad with which the Symphony of Psalms ends.