In the sight of the angels…
…I will sing Your praises, Lord!
Thus begins the psalm for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). I particularly love the text of this psalm, as it reminds us that the heavenly host surrounds us, even though we forget it most of the time. If we could see with spiritual eyes, we would be surprised to realize that there really isn’t an empty pew in church… nor even an empty bit of air! For all of our angels are there adoring with us too, and many more besides. Our Lord will always be praised, no matter how lukewarm our own hearts may be.
My setting of this week’s psalm is nearly a 1:1 transcription of an original Gregorian antiphon which sets the same text as the refrain:
“In the sight of the angels, I will sing psalms [of praise] unto Thee, my God.”
It is very rare that such a 1:1 adaptation is even possible, let alone so satisfying, especially when adapting two very different languages. That is what makes this arrangement such a treat to me. And not only was the refrain essentially an exact representation of the original, discerning eyes will notice that the melody of the verses is also derived from the first part of the original chant as well. The end result is a very cohesive composition that works very well. Unlike some other chant adaptations, this is easily singable by an average congregation as well.
I hope you enjoy!
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