Chichester Psalms

Scoring: 0.0.0.0 - 0.3.3.0 - Timp.Perc - 2 Harps - Strings

Every summer the Cathedral of Chichester, in Sussex, England, joins choral froces with its neighbours, Winchester and Salisbury, to produce a music festival. (Chichester has a great musical tradition. going back to its famed organit-composer of the early 17th century, Thomas Weelkes.)

For its 1965 Festival, Leonard Bernstein was commissioned to write these Psalms. The world premiere took place on July 15, 1965, in Philharmonic Hall, N.Y. The first performance of the original version, for all-male choir, was heard on July 31, 1965, at Chichester.