Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion.
Psalm 136 (Vulgate Numbering)
COVID-19: Suspender of Public Masses
On March 13, we were informed of a decision by our bishop to cancel all public Masses in the diocese because of COVID-19. As of this writing, public Masses have been suspended in all 50 states on account of the virus:
Super Flumina Babylonis
In the last couple of evenings and this morning, I composed a lament in four parts (SATB) on the words of Psalm 136, as we, the faithful lay, live in a sort of exile from our Sion on earth. As I read the words of the Psalm and wrote my setting, I could not but marvel at the pertinence of this text in the present crisis. All the more, as one connected with Church music, the text speaks of the anguish of my soul in this time.
The following is a digital rendering of the piece. A free (Creative Commons) PDF is available at the bottom of the post.
Today, one might say:
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept: when we remembered Mass and Holy Communion.
On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments.
In our exile, are we then compelled to sing spiritual songs? Shall we now sing of the songs of Faith?
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange Land?
Update 2021-07-27
I made a few small edits to the second theme (which begins on measure 16). Rather than come down to the C from the G (interogaverunt and qui captivos), the Soprano and Alto both go to E-flat. I modified the timing of the Bass’s movement from G to E-flat slightly as well. I wanted to be sure that this second theme does not sound too close to that of Schindler’s List.
If you downloaded the previous version, please download the update.
Update 2022-07-29
I discovered a number of mistakes in the lyrics. For example, in the first verse, “cum” should be “dum”. I went through the score pretty carefully, so I believe I caught all of the lyric issues. The updated score is available through the download link. (Update Nov 2022: I’ve since learned that “cum” and “dum” are more or less interchangeable, so it was not the mistake I thought it was).
Update 2022-11-18
At the request of the ladies’ schola at my parish, I have made an arrangement for SSA.
About the Featured Image
The featured image is By the Rivers of Babylon by Eduard Bendemann. According to Wikipedia, it is in the public domain in the United States.
