…Here me Lord, O listen to my prayer, Be a rock in the face of fear and care…
In four movements Symphony of Psalms takes inspiration from Psalms 9, 16, 27, 31, 39, 42, 47 and 92, addressing the distinct themes of Courage, Hope, Trust and Triumph. The lyric, written mostly in the first person, begins with a cry for courage before going on to speak of God as guardian, light-bringer and provider of divine peace; leading at last to unrestrained exaltation of the mighty God, who, in triumph, ‘will reign all over the earth’ and provide our eternal home in Heaven. The opening theme should be firm and be presented with a steady ‘2 in a bar’ tempo. The firmness must remain evident in its repetition at 21 and its recapitulation at 102 but the central themes contain tonal contrast. Movement two should gently flow and movement three contain much emotion. The energy should abound in the final movement particularly in the repetitive theme before a majestic presentation of the ‘movement three theme’ at 367.
