There are lots of ways to categorise the pieces I have written: music for Shabbat, High Holidays, psalm settings, interfaith etc.. All of the music can be searched in multiple ways on my main music page.
In the meantime, I have listed my music here according to whether it can be sung as a solo (sometimes as art song), as a duet, in a choral version, or as a round. (more…)
(6 July 2019 – Recording coming soon.)
BUY the sheet music – $3.95 (lead sheet)
In Jewish scripture and liturgy we are often encouraged to ‘sing to the Lord a new song’. How many times can we sing a song before it’s no longer new? What happens then?
If we like a song, and it becomes part of our regular communal prayer, it can enhance our experience both of prayer, and of community. The downside is that we can start to take a familiar song for granted, and not pay attention to the words, intention or prayerful dimension. For liturgy and prayer, does that mean we should then look for a new tune, or compose a new one? Perhaps. As a composer, I find it spiritually and emotionally nourishing, as well as intellectually stimulating, to write a new setting of prayer book or Biblical text. It renews my engagement with the prayer, its connection to Jewish history, its ideas, its texture, and heart. A skilful musical setting can illuminate meanings old and new, and help us connect emotionally with the words. (more…)
Performance of Mah Gadlu by Worcester College Choir, and first performance of Barchi Nafshi by Alexander Massey and Matthew Faulk as part of the final Psalms Concert.
The SOTS is “a learned society of professional scholars and others committed to the study of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible”.
On 13 June 2019, Hansh’mah Lach was played at the Universal Unity Celebration fo Peace, hosted by the British Friends of the Abrahamic Reunion, a great cause!
Performance by Oxfordshire (Oxford Jewish Community Choir) of Tashlich, V’taheir Libeinu, and V’asu Li Mikdash on Thursday 20 June, 2019.
Hosted by Asylum Welcome for the United Nations World Refugee Day.
Music and audio © Alexander Massey 10 June 2019
BUY the sheet music – $4.95 (voice & piano/guitar)
Barchi nafshi et Adonai; v’chol k’ravai et sheim kod’sho. Barchi nafshi et Adonai v’al tishk’chi kol g’mulav. Hasoleiach l’chol avoneichi; harofei l’chol tachaluaichi; Hagoeil mishachat chayaichi hamatreichi chesed v’rachamim;
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives all your iniquity; who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; who encompasses you with lovingkindness and tender mercies; (more…)
(5 June 2019) Recording and commentary coming soon.
Here are fifteen pieces I’ve written for High Holy Days over the years. If you like this music, or are interested in singing some of it, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you! (more…)
Music and Audio © Alexander Massey 26 May 2019
BUY the sheet music – $3.95 (lead sheet)
יִשְׂמְחוּ בְמַלְכוּתְך שׁוֹמְרֵי שַׁבָּת וְקֽוֹרְאֵי עֹֽנֶג
עַם מְקַדְּשֵׁי שְׁבִיעִי כֻּלָּם יִשְׂבְּעוּ וְיִתְעַנְּגוּ מִטּוּבֶֽךָ
וּבַשְּׁבִיעִי רָצִֽיתָ בּוֹ וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ חֶמְדַּת יָמִים אוֹתוֹ קָרָֽאתָ זֵֽכֶר לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית
They shall rejoice in Your kingdom, those who keep Shabbat and call it a delight;
The people who sanctify the seventh day, will all be fulfilled and delighted with Your goodness;
And You found pleasure in the seventh day and sanctified it, the most precious of days, You called it, in commemoration of the work of Creation.
There are several popular tunes that people sing to this text on Shabbat, all of them lively and rhythmic. And to fit the irregular line lengths and non-metrical phrases into the metrical musical patterns, words and phrases sometimes land awkwardly, with the wrong syllabic emphasis, or are arbitrarily repeated or disconnected from their grammatical context. As a result, for all the vigour of the music, the meaning and spirit of the actual text can become obscured.
Given that the prayer comes during the Amidah, the intense, intimate sequence of prayers that form a spiritual point of gravity in the morning service, I wanted to explore creating a more introspective musical setting. This also provided an opportunity to bring out some of the yearning that we can feel at Shabbat. Feeling, or generating, unconditional joy or gratitude does not always come easily; it can even seem naïve or insincere in the face of one’s own life challenges or the troubles in the wider world of which we are all too well aware.
So this musical setting reflects some of this ambivalence. (more…)
