This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Babylon
Staff Notation • Sacred, Hymns
Preview
0
0
2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Barry Johnston
Preview
Subscribed as
Want Sunday picks sent to another address too?
Free weekly email
Your choir should not be left out in what's trending
Sunday mass selections, psalms, and trending songs in your area — straight to your inbox.
Babylon by Alexander Gillet — Lyrics
Psalmus David, Jeremiae. Super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus, dum recordaremur Sion.
In salicibus in medio ejus suspendimus organa nostra:
quia illic interrogaverunt nos, qui captivos duxerunt nos, verba cantionum; et qui abduxerunt nos: Hymnum cantate nobis de canticis Sion.
Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena?
Si oblitus fuero tui, Jerusalem, oblivioni detur dextera mea.
Adhaereat lingua mea faucibus meis, si non meminero tui; si non proposuero Jerusalem in principio laetitiae meae.
Read full lyrics
About Babylon
Alexander Gillet’s Babylon opens with a contemplative mood, setting a scene of exile and longing. The SATB voicing allows for rich harmonic colours, reflecting the sorrowful text drawn from Psalm 137. The choir depicts the exiles weeping by the rivers of Babylon, their harps silent and their captors demanding songs of Zion. The composer captures the poignant question, 'How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?', exploring themes of remembrance and a yearning for home. The work shifts between Latin and English text, offering a powerful musical setting of this deeply moving psalm, concluding with a reflection on retribution.
