This edition was prepared by Dick Wursten — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Estans assis aux rives aquatiques
Staff Notation • Sacred, Partsongs
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Estans assis aux rives aquatiques by Abel — 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 Estans assis aux rives aquatiques
This moving setting by Abel for SATB choir draws on both Latin and French texts. The Latin is Psalm 137 (136), the poignant "Super flumina Babylonis", sung by the Israelites in exile by the rivers of Babylon, weeping for their lost home of Zion. They are asked to sing the songs of Zion in their captivity, but the text expresses their sorrow and their inability to sing joyfully in a foreign land. The French text, "Estans assis aux rives aquatiques", is a setting of the first verse of the Psalm, reflecting the same themes of exile and longing. The work beautifully captures the sorrowful mood of the original text, with the choir expressing profound grief and remembrance.
