"Why me?" Psalm 22: 2-9, 18, 19, 22, 24, 32

[click link to hear the recording]

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Longe a salute mea verba delictorum meorum
Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Deus meus clamabo per diem et non exaudies et nocte et non ad insipientiam mihi
O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Tu autem in sancto habitas Laus Israhel
But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

In te speraverunt patres nostri speraverunt et liberasti eos
In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Ad te clamaverunt et salvi facti sunt in te speraverunt et non sunt confusi
They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Ego autem sum vermis et non homo obprobrium hominum et abiectio plebis
But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Omnes videntes me deriserunt me locuti sunt labiis moverunt caput
All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Speravit in Domino eripiat eum salvum faciat eum quoniam vult eum
He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Ipso vero consideraverunt, et conspexerunt me:
In truth, consider and observe me,

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea et super vestem meam miserunt sortem
They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Libera me de ore leonis et a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam
Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Qui timetis Dominum laudate eum universum semen Iacob magnificate eum
Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

Annuntiabitur Domino generatio ventura et annuntiabunt caeli iustitiam eius.
There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth his justice

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

populo qui nascetur quem fecit Dominus
a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.

Deus Deus meus respice me quare me dereliquisti
O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me?

* Recorded Sept. 2004 M. Hettinger Bernheim Forest, Kentucky
A Watchmaker Press chant page

Two Expressive Chants for Pentecost in modern notation

I've been working on a modern-notation version of Spiritus Domini and Factus repente. I've uploaded the score to SibeliusMusic.com. The title is Two Expressive Chants for Pentecost

Cover notes:

Rhythm:
This is an attempt to render the highly-expressive Laon and St. Gall neums to familiar notation. Therefore, rhythms are approximate. Bar lines are included so that we can see “pick-up” and leading phrases. THERE IS NO BEAT in Gregorian chant. The rhythm flows around the accented syllables of the words.

The accented syllables are marked by underlines in the scripture text above the music.

To begin to understand the piece, first practice speaking the text with clear accented syllables, then speak it again, broadening the sound to orate (proclaim) the text. Your chanting should be very similar to this oration of the Latin text.

Pitch:
In general, chant is not restricted to any pitch, but can be sung in whatever range suits the singer(s). However, in Spiritus Domini, there is an appropriate pitch that depends on the space in which the chant is sung. Many reverberant churches have a particular pitch that resonates well throughout the building. You can set C (do) of this chant to match that pitch.

The asterisk (*) in the notation points out a pulsing on the reverberant note, which, when let ring, offers a kind of harmony special to chant. The pulsed note sets the worship space ringing, at which point the singer drops to another “part,” tucks in the harmony notes, and then returns to pick up the pulsing, ringing tone and carry on. This effect can be experienced with the words replevit, terrarum, and scientiam.

Factus est repente has its own "special effects." The opening phrase can be sung strongly, starting with the open fifth and leading to the word sonus (sound) which can be echoed thru the church. Notice that the words ubi erant sedentes (whereupon it settles) are set to a drifting, peaceful melody--much like leaves drifting from a tree, or a feather on a breeze. This effect can be sung again in magnalia Dei. I'll leave you to extract your own meaning from that.

The liturgical chant of the Graduale is some of the most meaning-filled, prayerful music I have ever encountered. I encourage you to discover the original sources, and learn to sing from the ancient, expressive, yet simple neums recorded in the Graduale Triplex.

"The Gregorian repertory is a complex world which unites several centuries of musical history. It is in fact a world of astonishing variety which mysteriously approaches nearly delirious enthusiasm as well as the most delicate interior things. It is a paradoxical world where music blooms in silence."

-- the monks of Solesmes
at http://www.solesmes.com/anglais/ang_solesmes.html

"The pure echoes of the chant can touch the hearts and minds of all who are fortunate enough to sing or listen to it. Conceived in humility and expertly and lovingly crafted over centuries, chant is our heritage, and should be allowed to live and breathe as it was intended, in liturgy. It ought not to be relegated to the concert hall where its beauty can be only half realized, as there it can point to no mystery beyond itself."

-- Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker, from the February 2004 issue of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review

One way to bring this music into the Liturgy would be to sing Spiritus Domini as a prelude to the gathering song, and Factus repente after the Communion procession and song.

For more suggestions, see Watchmaker Press Chant Index.




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.