The "Chichester Psalms" by Leonard Bernstein
Psalms 100 and 108
Welcome to the first post of The Church Van Devos. I’m so excited to start this section of the newsletter. These will be designed for you to reflect and meditate on scripture by listening, or viewing works of art. Each devotional will be between 5-10 minutes in length. Some of these will be specifically recorded or submitted for The Church Van, and some will be posted from YouTube or by other means.
The first set of devos we will be listening to are The Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein is an incredibly well-known composer, and is considered one of the most important American composers in history. He was also the conductor for the New York Philharmonic. His best known work is the musical “West Side Story.” He introduced many children and adults to classical music through the Young People’s Concerts which were broadcasted on T.V. If you want to read more about him please visit the website dedicated to his legacy. https://www.leonardbernstein.com.
Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms is written for boy treble, choir and orchestra. The text is — as you guessed — from the book of Psalms. Each week I will post the text for each movement. I was unable to clip only the first movement so you can manually pause it if you wish. The first movement is approximately four minutes and 20 seconds. Enjoy!
First Movement:
Psalm 100
הָרִיעוּ לַיהוָה, כָּל־הָאָרֶץ.
עִבְדוּ אֶת־יְהוָה בְּשִׂמְחָה;
בֹּאוּ לְפָנָיו, בִּרְנָנָה.
דְּעוּ-- כִּי יְהוָה, הוּא אֱלֹהִים:
הוּא־עָשָׂנוּ, ולא (וְלוֹ) אֲנַחְנוּ--
עַמּוֹ, וְצֹאן מַרְעִיתוֹ.
בֹּאוּ שְׁעָרָיו, בְּתוֹדָה--
חֲצֵרֹתָיו בִּתְהִלָּה;
הוֹדוּ־לוֹ, בָּרְכוּ שְׁמוֹ.
כִּי־טוֹב יְהוָה, לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ;
וְעַד־דֹּר וָדֹר, אֱמוּנָתוֹ.
Hari'u l'Adonai kol ha'arets.
Iv'du et Adonai b'simḥa
Bo'u l'fanav bir'nanah.
D'u ki Adonai Hu Elohim.
Hu asanu v'lo anaḥnu.
Amo v'tson mar'ito.
Bo'u sh'arav b'todah,
Ḥatseirotav bit'hilah,
Hodu lo, bar'chu sh'mo.
Ki tov Adonai, l'olam ḥas'do,
V'ad dor vador emunato.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God.
He made us, and we are his.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Come unto His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His court with praise.
Be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
the Lord is good, His mercy everlasting
And His truth endureth to all generations.