for mixed voices (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Text: English (Psalm 102, v1)
Duration: c6 minutes
Difficulty: 4/5

Commissioned by Adelaide Chamber Singers Supporters Fund and first performed on 25 June 2021 by Adelaide Chamber Singers, conducted by Christie Anderson, in the Art Gallery of South Australia

A contemporary setting of the opening verse of Psalm 102 ('Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee'), as set by Henry Purcell in his well-known motet of the same name. This setting finds its roots in that 17th-century setting, making use of some of its motifs and immitation, as well as its eight-voice texture. Briggs applies her own compositional style to give a contemporary twist, using more dissonance and tonal shifts, alongside occasional vocal glissandos. A striking new motet which would sit equally as well alongside the Purcell version or standing alone in a worship or concert context.

Text
Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee.

Psalm 102, v1

Kerensa Briggs
Kerensa Briggs is an award-winning composer specialising in choral music. Described as “poignant, ambivalent, quietly devastating music” in the New York Times, her works have been performed internationally at venues including St Paul’s Cathedral, London and the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City and are regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and BBC Radio Scotland. Her portrait disc Requiem (2023) on Delphian Records placed in the top 30 classical charts and was described as “alluring and heartfelt music” by BBC music magazine. Kerensa was winner of the National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award 2014 and is a member of the TheoArtistry Composers scheme at St Andrews’ Institute for Theology and the Arts, as well as the Illuminate Women’s Music project. She is currently Composer in Residence for St Louis Chamber Chorus. Her love of choral music emanates from her background, singing in choirs including Gloucester Cathedral Youth and the choir of King’s College London, where she held a Choral Scholarship and undertook an MMus in Composition.