FORMAL ARCHETYPES IN THE MUSICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PSALMS IN THE MODERN ERA

Abstract

The present paper started from the premise that the composers of classical music in the modern era resorted to religious texts written almost three millennia ago, they discovered their essence, despite the social, territorial, linguistic and, not least, religious changes which occurred throughout history. The meanings of David’s Psalms resonated with modern man, and creators expressed themselves by using the psalmic texts. This prompted us to investigate in more detail the formal archetypes in the musical representations of the plasms. We believe the composers’ choice concerning the musical genres and forms is significant, because they represent the shell of the spiritual universe described in psalmic verses.