This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Brattle Street (1786)
Staff Notation • Sacred
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.
Brattle Street (1786) by William Billings — Lyrics
Psalmus cantici, in die sabbati.
Bonum est confiteri Domino, et psallere nomini tuo,
Altissime:
ad annuntiandum mane misericordiam tuam, et veritatem tuam per noctem,
in decachordo, psalterio; cum cantico, in
cithara.
Quia delectasti me, Domine, in factura tua;
et in operibus manuum tuarum exsultabo.
Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! nimis profundae factae sunt cogitationes tuae.
Vir insipiens non cognoscet, et stultus non intelliget haec.
Cum exorti fuerint peccatores sicut foenum, et apparuerint omnes qui operantur iniquitatem, ut intereant in saeculum saeculi:
Read full lyrics
About Brattle Street (1786)
William Billings, a self-taught American composer, established a distinctive voice in early American sacred music. Brattle Street, from 1786, showcases his robust, energetic style. This SATB setting features a Latin text, likely taken from a psalm, which praises God for his mercy and truth, and marvels at the magnificence of his works. The music moves with a vigorous drive, reflecting the text's exultant and awe-filled pronouncements. Billings's compositions were widely sung in New England meetinghouses, and Brattle Street stands as an example of the powerful and direct musical language he employed to express profound religious sentiment to his congregation.
