Kit Grahame
Composer and Arranger
Hu lange wilt þu?
How long will you forget me?
for SATB a cappella with divisi
Details
- Theme
- Sacred
- Setting
- SATB a cappella with divisi
- Composed
- Canberra, 2006
- Source of text
- Psalm 13[12], Anglo-Saxon psalter (c. 1025–1050)
- Language
- Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
- Duration
- 5 m
- Downloads
- Preview score
- Pronunciation guide
Please contact me if you are interested in this score
About the text
The text is an Anglo-Saxon (Old English) translation of Psalm 13 (numbered 12 in some traditions) from an eleventh century psalter (c. 1025–1050).
Anglo Saxon text
For clarity, punctuation and modern conventions of macrons to indicate vowel length and dots to indicate palatalisation are used throughout, although these do not appear in the original text.
hū lange wilt þū, Drihten, mīn forġitan?
hwæðer þū oð minne ende wylle; oððe
hū lange wilt þū ahwyrfan þinne andwlītan fram mē?
hū lange sċeal iċ settan on mīne sāwle þis sorhfulle ġeþeaht
and þis sār æt mīnre heortan? hwæþer iċ ǣlċe dǣġe sċyle?
hū lange sċeal mīn fēond bēon uppāhafen ofer mē?
beseoh tō mē, Drihten, mīn God, and ġehȳr mē.
onlīht mīne ēaġan, þæt hī nǣfre ne slāpan on swylċum dēaðe,
þȳ læs ǣfre mīn fēond cweðe: iċ eom strengra þonne hē.
þā þe me swencað, hȳ fæġniað ġif iċ onstyred bēo,
ac iċ þēah on þīne mildheortnesse ġelȳfe
mīn heorte blissað on þīnre hǣlo,
and iċ singe þam Gode þe mē eall gōd syleð,
and lofie þinne na man þū hēhsta God.
English translation
This is a direct translation of the Anglo-Saxon text rather than a standard English Bible edition.
How long will you forget me, LORD?
Will you [forget me] until my end?
How long will you turn your face away from me?
How long shall I put this sorrowful thought on my soul,
And this pain in my heart? Shall I [do it] every day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Behold me, LORD, my God, and heed me.
Enlighten my eyes, so that I will never sleep in such death.
Lest my enemy ever say, “I am stronger than he.”
Those who trouble me will rejoice if I am moved.
But I have trusted in your mercy.
My heart rejoices in your salvation,
And I shall sing to God, who gives me good things,
And I shall praise your name, God in the Highest!
Phonetic transcription
See pronunciation guide for explanation of individual sounds.
huː ˈlɑŋ.ɡe wilt θuː ˈdriç.ten miːn for.ˈji.tɑn?
ˈʍæ.ðer θuː oð ˈmin.e ˈen.de ˈwylː.e; ˈoðːe
huː ˈlɑŋ.ɡe wilt θuː ɑ.ˈʍyr.vɑn ˈθinː.e ˈɑnd.ɫiː.tɑn frɑm meː
huː ˈlɑŋ.ɡe ʃæɑ̯l itʃ ˈsetː.ɑn on ˈmiː.ne ˈsɑːw.le θis ˈsorx.fu.lːe je.ˈθæɑ̯xt
ɑnd θis sɑːr æt ˈmiːn.re ˈheo̯r.tɑn? ˈʍæ.ðer itʃ ˈæːl.tʃe ˈdæːj.e ˈʃy.le
huː ˈlɑŋ.ɡe ʃæɑ̯l miːn feːo̯nd beːo̯n ˈupː.ɑː.hɑ.ven ˈo.ver meː?
be.ˈseo̯x toː meː ˈdriç.ten miːn ɡod ɑnd je.ˈhyːr meː
ˈon.liːçt ˈmiː.ne ˈæːɑ̯.jɑn θæt hi ˈnæːv.re ne ˈslɑː.pɑn on ˈswyl.tʃum ˈdæːɑ̯.ðe
θyː læs ˈæːv.re miːn feːo̯nd ˈkwe.ðe itʃ eo̯m ˈstreŋ.ɡrɑ ˈθonː.e heː
θɑː θe meː ˈsweŋ.kɑð hyː ˈfæj.ni.ɑð jif itʃ ˈon.styr.ed beːo̯
ɑk itʃ θæːɑ̯x on ˈθiː.ne ˈmild.heo̯rt.nesː.e je.ˈlyː.ve
miːn ˈheo̯rt.e ˈblisː.ɑð on ˈθiːn.re ˈhæː.lu
ɑnd itʃ ˈsiŋ.ɡe θɑm ˈɡod.e θe meː æɑ̯lː ɡoːd ˈsy.leð
ɑnd ˈlo.vje ˈθinː.e ˈnɑ.mɑn θuː ˈheːx.stɑ ɡod
Spoken recording
Under construction.
Pronunciation guide
This is not a complete guide to pronunciation of Anglo-Saxon; for simplicity, it only covers sounds occurring in the text.
Consonants
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| b | b | bat |
| c | k | cop |
| ċ | tʃ | chop |
| cw | kw | queen |
| d | d | dog |
| ð | θ | think (start of syllables) |
| ð | other (after vowels) | |
| f | f | file (start of syllables) |
| v | live (after vowels) | |
| g | ɡ | go |
| ġ | j | yo |
| h | h | hat (start of syllables) |
| ç | German ich (after I) | |
| x | German ach (after A, O) | |
| hw | ʍ | pompously, what! (H is sounded) |
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| l | l | let |
| m | m | met |
| n | n | net |
| ng | ŋɡ | finger (G is sounded, unlike singer) |
| p | p | pat |
| r | r | (rolled/trilled R) |
| s | s | same (start of syllables or when doubled) |
| z | maze (between vowels, unless doubled) | |
| sċ | ʃ | ship |
| t | t | tin |
| þ | θ | think (start of syllables) |
| ð | other (after vowels) | |
| w | w | wet |
| wl | ɫ | milk (“dark” L, as in Russian) |
Vowels
Short
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| a | ɑ | up/ German Mann |
| æ | æ | bat |
| e | e | let |
| i | i | hit |
| o | o | not |
| u | u | put |
| y | y | German Brücke |
Long
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| ā | ɑː | harp/ German Hahn |
| ǣ | æː | bad |
| ē | eː | lair |
| ī | iː | heat |
| ō | oː | nought |
| ū | uː | boot |
| ȳ | yː | German grün |
Diphthongs
In the diphthongs, the first vowel has the stress.
Short
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| ea | æɑ̯ | vowels from at + up |
| eo | eo̯ | vowels from let + on |
Long
| Letter | IPA | Approximate sound |
|---|---|---|
| ēa | æːɑ̯ | vowels from bad + up |
| ēo | eːo̯ | vowels from air + on |