Psalm 110

Psalm 110 (Septuagint No. 109) is from the Book of Psalms. It refers in the general sense to King David ruling over the enemies of the Israelites and is thought to have become a Messianic psalm used by Christians. Because this Psalm is prominent in the Office of Vespers, its Latin text, Dixit Dominus, has particular significance in music, having been set by Charpentier (in 1689), Händel (1707), Leo (in 1741 and 1742), Monteverdi (1610 and 1640), Mozart (1779 and 1780), Pergolesi (1732), Porpora (1720), Scarlatti (1700), Victoria (1581) and Vivaldi (twice in 1715), among others.

Text and background

Psalm 110
¹ {A Psalm of David.} The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
² The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
³ Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
⁴ The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
⁵ The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
⁶ He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
⁷ He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Dominus

Dominus may refer to:

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John Eliot Gardiner

Sir John Eliot Gardiner, CBE (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor.

Life and career

Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, Gardiner's early musical experience came largely through singing with his family and in a local church choir. A self-taught musician who also played the violin, he began to study conducting at the age of 15. He was educated at Bryanston School, then studied history, Arabic, and medieval Spanish at King's College, Cambridge.

While an undergraduate at Cambridge he launched his career as a conductor with a performance of Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi, in King's College Chapel on 5 March 1964. This either featured or led to the foundation of the Monteverdi Choir, with which he made his London conducting debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1966.

Whilst at Cambridge, he conducted the Oxford and Cambridge Singers on a concert tour of the Middle East.

After graduating with a master's degree in history, Gardiner continued his musical studies at King's College London under Thurston Dart and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, whose music had been a very early influence. In 1968 he founded the Monteverdi Orchestra. Upon changing from modern instruments to period instruments in 1977, the orchestra changed its name to the English Baroque Soloists in 1978. In 1969 Gardiner made his opera debut with a performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute at the English National Opera. Four years later, in 1973, he made his first appearance at the Covent Garden conducting Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride. The English Baroque Soloists made their opera debut with him in the 1977 Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, performing Handel's Acis and Galatea on period instruments. His American debut came in 1979 when he conducted the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He then became the lead conductor of Canada's CBC Vancouver Orchestra from 1980 to 1983.

John Eliot

John Eliot may refer to:

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George Frideric Handel

George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (/ˈhændəl/; born Georg Friedrich Händel,German pronunciation: [ˈhɛndəl]; 23 February 1685 (O.S.) [(N.S.) 5 March] – 14 April 1759) was a German, later British Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Born in a family indifferent to music, Handel received critical training in Halle, Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712; he became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition.

Within fifteen years, Handel had started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. Musicologist Winton Dean writes that his operas show that "Handel was not only a great composer; he was a dramatic genius of the first order." As Alexander's Feast (1736) was well received, Handel made a transition to English choral works. After his success with Messiah (1742) he never performed an Italian opera again. Almost blind, and having lived in England for nearly fifty years, he died in 1759, a respected and rich man. His funeral was given full state honours, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.