In the Shadow of Your Wings
Information about In the Shadow of Your Wings, a unique event combining liver musical performances with ecumenical discussion about Scripture,.
IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS
A Musical Exploration of the Psalms
IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS, Deus Ex Musica’s signature project, is a unique event that combines musical performances with discussion about Scripture, inviting participants into dialogue with the psalms in memorable and thought-provoking ways. IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS is part of the Deus Ex Musica COMPOSERS PROJECT, which supports the creation of new sacred music.
IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS is an adaptable event that may be offered in-person or online. Deus Ex Musica works with congregations, organizations, and educational institutions to craft unique versions of this event to best serve their communities. Past collaborators have included churches, seminaries, para-church and denominational organizations, and secular universities.
Participants gather to hear live performances of brand-new musical settings of three beloved psalms (13, 57, and 148), each of which has been set to music by a composer representing a different Christian tradition.
Since each psalm is set to music by more than one composer, participants hear how different musical responses to the same text bring to life various dimensions of each psalm. The performances are followed by opportunities for small- or large-group discussion about the psalms and the musical settings.
IN THE SHADOW OF YOURS WINGS is unique and memorable way for students, church leaders, and lay Christians to engage with the Bible. No musical experience is necessary for participants, and DEUS EX MUSICA provides simple and accessible resources for discussion leaders. If you are interested in bringing a version of the event to your congregation or institution, online or in collaboration with musicians from your location. please contact Deus Ex Musica founder Delvyn Case.
See below for more details about this unique experience, and click here for FAQ’s about hosting this event. And for more information, contact Deus Ex Musica founder Delvyn Case.
Want to check out it out yourself? Watch this video from the national conference of the United Church of Christ introducing and modeling the event for faith communities. Another video is available from the UCC’s Southern New England Conference, here.
Read this article in the online magazine Open Horizons “Deus Ex Musica and The Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy.”
For an example of the ways your own church or institution can collaborate with DEM to create a new version this event, you can watch a video of a version of “In the Shadow of Your Wings” presented at Royal York Baptist Church in Toronto. The combined a selection of DEM-commissioned psalm settings with new compositions created expressly for this occasion.
If you are interested in offering this event to your school, church, or organization, either independently or in collaboration with us, click here to download our information packet.
FOR CHURCHES AND ORGANIZATIONS
This unique event is an engaging contribution to a faith formation or adult Bible-study curriculum. No musical experience is necessary. Sessions are flexible in length, and may be led by Deus Ex Musica’s staff of professional educators in collaboration with clergy and/or lay leaders.
Feedback from lay participants:
“I feel closer to these psalms than before the concert.”
“I loved the format. Not only the chance to talk and listen about the music, but it moved into philosophical discussion.”
“Loved the diversity of composers and singers.”
"Musical Bible study" is a great way to describe it: It was an exciting opportunity to analyze and discuss how music can draw out the nuances of Scripture and further edify our faith. Thank you!”
“Wide range of musicians and people in the audience.”
“LOVED it! So wonderful to participate in a musical Bible study that brings worship/devotion and art music together. It's fascinating and thought-provoking to hear different settings of the same Biblical text. Thank you.”
“This is food for my soul, my intellect and my spirit.”
“What a beautiful way to engage scripture together! Being placed in a breakout room for discussion was a bit intimidating at first, but our facilitator, Cathy, made us all feel very welcome and we soon melded as a group. By the third round of discussion, we were interacting with each other so much...like we had known each other prior.:”
“The pieces of music offered a range of emotions and movements some of which resonated and some of which provided uncomfortable but possibly necessary dissonance.” - Methodist pastor
"I loved the webinar so much I came back for more. I'd come back again, too! This is such a wonderful practice that I think I might adapt it for our ZOOM worship between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday somehow and then do a Lenten series more in depth." - UCC Pastor
If you are interested in offering this event to your school, church, or organization, either independently or in collaboration with us, click here to download our information packet.
FOR EDUCATORS
This event can contribute to secondary, undergraduate, and graduate courses on a topics ranging from the Hebrew Bible, Bible as literature, theology & arts, Biblical hermeneutics, homiletics, religious pedagogy, ecumenism, and sacred music. Institutions who have brought this event to their classes include Boston University School of Theology, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, Eden Theological Seminary, and UMass-Boston College of Liberal Arts.
Comments from graduate seminary students and undergraduates:
”[This] musical approach to teaching the psalms was quite liberating in that it recast my relationship to the psalter…In listening to the different musical approaches to Psalm 148, I was able to “play” and liberate myself from a calcified engagement with my spiritual practice.”
“I work with youth are very wary about engaging with art because they think they are not artists and are afraid of doing things wrong and this I think would offer a way for us to talk about music and art in a way that might feel more comfortable.
“The moderator passionately carried us through the sessions. it was a great learning moment for me. i appreciated psalms in worship and sermons, an areas not so focused in our church. I now have ways of creatively using Psalms - song, text and in sermon, for praise, for lament, for thanksgiving and for reflection. Very helpful. Thank you.”
“This inside/outside experience of life is why I find myself so drawn to conversations of identity, and to creative disruptions of status quo. We must complexify the narratives, look beneath the surface, test out responses, find our intersections, and our conflicts. This approach to the Psalms is far more than musical interpretation, it is conversation, it is an illustration of how many ways "getting it" can sound. It breaks open the idea of, ‘So what? People don't get it. Go out, be real. Make a little trouble. Let's see what happens.’”
“Illuminating, unsettling, exciting presentation of musical hermeneutics.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this event! It was well organized and provided opportunities for participation and engagement”
Comments from Faculty
“The discussion you moderated with the public about the different psalms and the way the meaning of the text is conveyed by the music was extremely enriching to our community. It was a wonderful night and many students and faculty members commented about the beautiful subtleties of the music presented.” - Prof. Xavier Beteta, Wheaton College (Illinois)
“The students were thoroughly engaged and very appreciative; and their responses revealed how the music invited new insights, as well as how the music highlighted dimensions of meaning that had occurred to them in their reading and study of the psalm. Highly recommended!” - Prof. Clint McCann, Eden Seminary
“It was a wonderful and inspiring experience!” - Prof. Alejandro Botta, Boston University School of Theology
If you are interested in offering this event to your school, church, or organization, either independently or in collaboration with us, click here to download our information packet.
VIDEOS FROM THE DEBUT EVENT
IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS debuted in June 2019 at historic Old South Church in Boston. An ecumenical group of over a hundred lay Christians from the Boston area gathered to hear top Boston musicians perform the new psalm settings, followed by discussions session led by clergy from various Christian traditions. More information about the composers and performers may be found here.
For the online version, participants watch these videos through Zoom, Google Meet, or another platform. The sound and video quality are excellent.
Settings of Psalm 13 by Shawn Okpebholo, Josh Rodriguez, and Mary Montgomery Koppel, performed by mezzo-soprano Carrie Cheron and pianist Julia Scott Carey.
Settings of Psalm 57 by Xavier Beteta, Delvyn Case, and Sungji Hong, performed by mezzo-soprano Carrie Cheron and pianist Julia Scott Carey.
Settings of Psalm 148 by Richard J. Clark, Haosi Howard Chen, and Tatev Amiryan, performed by mezzo-soprano Ann Fogler and pianist Delvyn Case.
THE MUSICAL SETTINGS and the COMPOSERS
Psalm 13
How Long?
Shawn E. Okpebholo
This psalm is about the journey from hopelessness to hopefulness. As such, I wanted to create a piece that musically embodied that dichotomy. The work features a child-like sonority, yet it is filled with complex rhythmic elements and wide melodic leaps that evoke the notion of conflict or struggle.
Text: Psalm 13 (New Living Translation and World English Bible, adapted)
How long? How long, O Lord? How long will you forget me? Forever?
How long? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Turn and answer me, O Lord, my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies say, “We have defeated her.” Don’t let them rejoice when I fall…
But I trust in your lovingkindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.
How Long, Yahweh?
Joshua Rodriguez
The psalmist’s initial desperation reminds us that control of our circumstances is an illusion. My setting begins by alternating between lamentation and anger. But at the end - when the psalmist has chosen to believe in an invisible yet very real salvation - the melancholic questioning music is transformed into a wave of confidence toward a reality – one that is “already, but not yet.”
Text: Psalm 13, World English Bible (adapted)
How long? How long? How long, Yahweh?
Yahweh! Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day?
How long shall my enemies triumph over me?
Behold and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death.
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against her!” Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.
But I trust, I trust in your lovingkindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to Yahweh. He has been good. He has been good to me.
Psalm 13
Mary Montgomery Koppel
This setting aims to convey the desperation of the speaker as they cry out to God, fearing they have been abandoned in their trials. Ultimately, though, the speaker regains faith and rejoices, trusting that God is with them in their darkest hour.
Performance by Mary Montgomery Koppel
Text: Psalm 13 (World English Bible, adapted)
How long, how long, O Lord? How long, O Lord? O Lord?
How long, how long? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul?
Shall I struggle in my soul, shall I grapple,
shall I agonize and wrestle with my thoughts and with my soul?
How long having sorrow in my heart, grief in my heart, day after day?
How long shall my enemy triumph over me?
Behold, and answer me, O Lord, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against her;” Lest my foes rejoice when I fall.
O God, O God, answer me, How long?
But I trust, I trust in your lovingkindness, your steadfast love, your unfailing love, in your mercy.
My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing, I will sing to God, my God, for God has been good to me.
Psalm 13
Bil Mooney-McCoy
Psalm 13 use dissonant jazz harmonies, multiple tonal centers, and shifting tempos to communicate the writer’s different thoughts and emotions: anguish, frustration, and finally, a praise offering.
Text: Psalm 13 (adapted from the New International Version and New Living Translation)
How long? How long? How long, O Lord?
How long will You forget me? Forever?
How long? How long will You look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
With sorrow in my heart ev’ry day?
With sorrow in my heart ev’ry day?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord, my God!
Look on me and answer, Lord, my God!
Give light to my eyes or I will sleep in death, sleep in death,
Sleep the sleep of death…
And my enemy will say, “I have overcome her.”
And my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I will trust in your unfailing love.
Yes, will trust in your unfailing love.
My heart rejoices in Your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise for He’s been good to me.
How long?
Psalm 57
I Will Praise Thee
Xavier Beteta
As in the psalm, the first half of my piece is dark and imploring. The music is slow and mysterious, attempting to convey a desperate and intimate prayer to God. The second part is exuberant and full of light. Here the singer uses a tambourine to resemble the early Jewish worship, but also, in my case, as an allusion to my Pentecostal upbringing in Guatemala.
Text: Psalm 57 (King James Version, adapted)
Be merciful, be merciful unto me O God.
Be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee.
In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me.
I will praise, I will praise thee O Lord, I will praise thee among the people
I will praise, I will praise thee O Lord, I will praise thee among the people
I will sing unto thee among the nations, I will sing unto thee among the nations
I will praise, I will praise thee O Lord, I will praise thee among the people
I will praise, I will praise thee O Lord, I will praise thee among the people
I will sing unto thee among the nations, I will sing unto thee among the nations
For the mercy is great unto the heavens and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted O God above the heavens.
Let thy glory be above all the earth, the earth, the earth, the earth, above all the earth, the earth
Psalm 57
Delvyn Case
My musical setting imagines the psalm as it might sound if David were uttering it : hiding in a cave from a murderous gang under King Saul’s command. But as a man of great faith, David faces his enemies with an abiding sense of peace and hope. Thus, most of the descriptions of danger and persecution in the psalm are set to music that is calm and lyrical. Conversely, I reserve the most intense and dissonant music for David’s words of praise for the Creator. Its dissonance signals the sense of awe and wonder that we experience when we are confronted with something whose glory we cannot begin to fathom.
Text: Psalm 57 (King James Version, adapted)
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee:
Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge.
I will cry unto God most high; He shall send from heaven,
And save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up.
God shall send his mercy and his truth.
Be merciful unto me, O God. My soul is among the lions: I lie among them that are set on fire,
Whose teeth are like arrows, and their tongue a sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
Be merciful unto me, O God.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down:
They have dug a pit before me, but they have fallen into it themselves.
My heart is steadfast, O God: I will sing and give you praise.
Awake my glory, awake; Awake, psaltery and harp.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Awake Up, My Glory
Sungji Hong
I chose to set the second half of this psalm: a call for all of creation to joyfully praise the Lord our God. The ecstasy of the music attempts to capture the feeling of joy we experience when meditating on God’s unmerited goodness and grace.
Text: Psalm 57, vv. 1-9. (King James Version)
Awake up, my glory,
Awake, lute and harp
I myself will awake early
I will praise Thee, O Lord among the people:
I will sing unto Thee among the nations.
For Thy mercy is great unto the havens,
And They truth unto the clouds.
O God, above the heavens:
Let Thy glory be above all the earth!
Psalm 148
Psalm 148: Praise Ye the Lord
Richard J. Clark
Beginning with a sense of contemplation, the the initial words of praise are uncharacteristically gentle and turned inward. As the list of God’s glorious creation expands the music becomes more animated, the music blossoms in joy before returning to contemplation of praise in an elevated key—a heightened consciousness.
Performance by Jamie Korkos and Richard Clark.
Text: Psalm 148 (King James Version, adapted)
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, ye stars of light.
Praise ye him, stars of light. Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire and hail snow; vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
Praise ye, praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
He exalted the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints;
Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
Tehillah
Haosi Howard Chen
The Hebrew word tĕhillah means “praise” (noun). It is the word found in the last verse of Psalm 148: “He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.” (KJV). The psalm proclaims with uncompromising clarity the glory and lordship of our beloved Savior – the focus of our praise, our very praise. Hallelujah!
Text: Psalm 148 (King James Version)
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a
people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
Praise the Lord
Tatev Amiryan
With its ascetic and restrained character and strictly metrical setting, the vocal part of this setting resembles Armenian monophonic chants (sharakans) used in the divine liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic church. The syllabic and somewhat recitational text setting is designed to emphasise the text and to highlight its meaning. The musical language of the piece is mainly tonal and is based on Armenian church modes.
Text: Psalm 148 (King James Version)
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
{Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:}
Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
He exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints
Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.