Ko Matsushita De profundis clamavi

Psalm 130 is one of the most dramatic and certainly one of the Old Testament texts has most often been set to music by composers. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord … who shall stand?" Matsushita set this lament pianissimo, chordally and in a low-register, using chromatically altered chords with sparse, detached sounds. In contrast, as the aim and climax of the work he sets, most effectively the hopeful second part half of the text, "with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption." With the (optional) use of two hand bells he introduces the convincing, optimistic section in F major, which, however, through a reminiscence of the opening "de profundis" leads into a short coda: but actually Redemption is only optimism, something for the future and not reality. The level of difficulty should pose no problems for a sufficiently-sized choir with sure intonation. It is most impressive when sung either for worship services or in concert. World premiere: March 2016 in Stuttgart, Germany