Commissioned by the José Limón Dance Foundation to create a score to accompany Limón’s 1967 ballet of Psalm, I composed Psalm at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton during the winter of 2001-2002. During the composition period, I worked from a video reconstruction of the ballet, pencil sketching musical material on paper, and using a digital audio workstation com- monly used by film composers. The choreographic inspiration— and much of the musical inspiration—for Limón’s ballet came from André Schwarz-Bart’s novel, The Last of the Just, which is based upon the Jewish tradition of the Lamed-vovniks and re- counts the struggle of Ernie Levy, an Auschwitz victim and a “Just Man.” Limón abstracted this theme for Psalm, creating a solo role for the Just Man, and a community of dancers which supports him. According to Carla Maxwell, Artistic Director of the Limón Company (and my collaborator on the project), Psalm, like many of Limón’s works, “is about a people faced with annihilation, rising above it all.” —Jon Magnussen Commissioned by the José Limòn Dance Foundation with funding from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Doris Duke Fund for Dance of the National Dance Project, the Library of Congress, Meet the Composer, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Premiered on 13-14 February 2002 at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Arts Festival, Browning Center, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, with the Limòn Dance Company, baritone André Solomon- Glover, the Weber State Concert Choir, the Kay Singers, and conductor Jon Magnussen