This edition was prepared by Éric Leroy — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Au bord des eaux de la cité païenne (Psalm 137)
Staff Notation • Sacred, Anthems
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Laurent Vauclin
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Au bord des eaux de la cité païenne (Psalm 137) by Claude Goudimel — 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.
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About Au bord des eaux de la cité païenne (Psalm 137)
This setting of Psalm 137, Au bord des eaux de la cité païenne, opens with a gentle, imitative texture that gradually builds in intensity. Claude Goudimel’s SATB arrangement masterfully captures the sorrowful longing of the text, a lament of the Israelites in Babylonian exile. The music reflects the poignancy of their questions: "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?" The initial French translation is enriched by the inclusion of the original Latin text, deepening the historical and religious resonance of this sacred anthem. The composer’s skill ensures that the emotional weight of the psalm is conveyed through each voice part.
