Psalm 23: Dominus regit me

Continuing with my recent trend of sharing my process for adapting ancient Gregorian melodies to modern psalm settings, I present my new setting of Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. which is the psalm for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

This time I decided to adapt the beginning of the Dominican version of the communion antiphon based on this text:

While I do believe the new refrain pushes the limit where floridity is concerned (for congregations) I view this as a good opportunity to stretch a congregation slightly. The more congregations unfamiliar with chanting can get into the habit of singing things that are either easier chant or chant-like, the more they will become familiar with the sensation of melismatic singing—an essential skill where chant writ large is concerned.

Unlike my other recent compositions, spacing constraints prevented me from displaying any annotated square notes at the top of this score, however you will certainly recognize the chant as soon as the refrain is introduced in the organ. And while greyed out above and not previewed in the video below, the hawk-eyed among you will notice that the verse melody is distilled from the line, “super aquam refectiónis”.

I hope you enjoy!
James