Andrew Bleckner

Andrew Bleckner (b. 1964) serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Singing City Choir in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied composition with George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania, and served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Susquehanna University. His choral music is published by Transcontinental Music Publications.

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Website: www.andrewbleckner.com

Psalm 42 - Vanguard Premieres Contest 2004 (Honorable Mention)

Psalm 42 is one of my favorite Psalms. I am attracted to the deep sense of longing and intimacy with which the speaker addresses the Divine. The text of Psalm 42 shares the same dramatic shape as many of the Psalms: an arc from faith to despair, and then a transformative return to hope and faith. The musical structure of my setting mirrors this same dramatic shape. (Notes by the composer, 2004)

K’aiyal ta’arog al afikei maiyim
Kein nafshi ta’arog eilecha, elohim
Tsamah nafshi
leilohim l’eil chai
matai avot veira’eh p’nei elohim
Ma tishtochachi, nafshi
Ooma tehemi alai?
Hochili leilohim!
Ki od odenu
Ye’shuot, panai veilohai.

As a deer longs for flowing streams
So my soul longs for you, O God
My soul thirsts for you
O Beloved, the living God
When shall we meet face to face?
Why are you so desolate, my soul?
why so distraught within me?
Hope in the divine source of all!
For I shall praise the Holy One
My ever present saviour, My God.