New Psalm

This is a new concert version of Psalm 151.
Ritual is part of my nature. I would actually call all of my pieces “rituals”, as gesture and sound appear in absolute unity first in this ancient genre. In “Psalm 151” the instruments – seven tubular bells, two bell plates and two hump gongs – are placed in a circle, with a bass drum in the middle. During the chorus, the drummer goes around – after having played a verse on the bass drum -, always following the same order: first the tubular bells, then the bell plates, finally the gongs. Then he comes back, plays a verse and again a chorus. This constant circling around the instruments creates a ritual act, in which every gesture, every mallet has a special role. The way in which the bells, plates and gongs are treated was very important to me: on the one hand, they chant (as they have a specific pitch), on the other hand, they are hit just as animals or people are hit, struck.

/Peter Eötvös/