De Profundis

 

(dā prōfūn'dēs) [Lat.,=from the depths], the opening words of Psalm 130, one of the penitential Psalms, in Jerome's Latin version (see Vulgate); also used as a title for the Psalm.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Psalm 130. (Discuss)

De profundis (literally "from the depths") are the first words of the Latin translation of Psalm 130 (129 in the Septuagint numbering), one of the seven Penitential Psalms: De profundis clamavi ad te Domine (From the depths, I cried to you, Lord!)

De profundis is often used as the title of musical settings of the psalm. Settings from the Renaissance include two by Josquin des Prez, one for four and another for five voices; the five-voice setting may be one of his last works. Orlando di Lasso published in 1584 a setting as part of collection of all seven Penitential Psalms, although he had written them more than twenty years before, and Andrea Gabrieli wrote a setting as part of his Psalmi Davidici (1583).

Later composers who set the De profundis text include Marc Antoine Charpentier (written in the early 1670s), Carl Georg Reutter (whose setting was formerly attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), as well as contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata BWV 131 is also a setting, although its title is in German (Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir).

De profundis in literature

"De profundis" is the title of a poem by the Spanish author Federico García Lorca in his collection Poema del cante jondo. The poem begins:

Los cien enamorados

Duermen para siempre

Bajo la tierra seca.

(The hundred lovers

sleep forever

below the dry earth)

A long letter by Oscar Wilde written to his former lover Lord Alfred Douglas near the end of Wilde's life while he was in prison also bears the title "De Profundis," as does a poem by Christina Rossetti, C.S. Lewis, Georg Trakl and Dorothy Parker.

Motto of The North Sea Divers Alliance

"De profundis" is the motto chosen for the Insignia badge, worn by members of the Pioneer Divers from the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea organisation, the North Sea Divers Alliance (Nordsjødykker-alliansen NSDA).

De profundis in contemporary and popular culture

• Davey Havok (AFI) whispers Sir John Squire's translation of the Charles Baudelaire's poem, "De Profundis Clamavi" (Out of the Depths I Cry) in the middle of the song "Midnight Sun," a hidden track on Black Sails in the Sunset.

• The industrial rock group Professional Murder Music released an album entitled De Profundis (2005)
• The Swedish black metal group Dark Funeral released a live album entitled De Profundis Clamavi Ad Te Domine (2004).
• The Hungarian symphonic rock group After Crying released an album entitled De Profundis (1996).
• The "" (2001) is a role-playing game created by Michal Oracz in the style of H. P. Lovecraft.
• The Polish death metal band Vader released an album entitled De Profundis (1995)
• A song by Peter Andersson (raison d'être), on the album Prospectus I (2005) is entitled "Ascension De Profundis."
• A song by the Australian dream pop group Dead Can Dance on the album Spleen and Ideal (1985) is entitled "De Profundis (Out of the Depths of Sorrow)."
• A science fiction short story by Henry Kuttner is entitled "De Profundis" (1953).
• A science fiction short story by Murray Leinster is entitled "De Profundis" (1945).
• The words "De profundis tridens" appeared on the crest of the USS Sperry (AS-12), a submarine tender of the U.S. Navy.
• The klezmer album "De Profundis", by the Krakow Klezmer Band, 2000.
• De Profundis is also the name of part 25 in Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Sol Niger Within and track 21 on Sol Niger Within (Version 3.33)
• At the beginning of The Sixth Sense, Dr Crowe follows Cole into a church. The words that Cole is saying and that Crowe (Bruce Willis) writes down are "de profundis clamo ad te domine". 'Clamo', effectively, means the same thing as clamaui; the one is a present tense while the other is a perfective.
• During the death scene in the musical Man of La Mancha, the priest chants the De profundis.
• Tony Award-nominated actor, American stand-up comedian, and musician Stephen Lynch, wails de profundis clamo ad te, domine, domine as the final line of his song “Priest” which is about a clergy member’s lustful obsession with an alter boy. The song is featured on his albums, A Little Bit Special, Superhero and on his DVD Live at the El Ray.
• An animation film directed by the Spanish Miguelanxo Prado is entitled "De profundis" (2007).

See also

• Death
• Funeral
• Requiem

External links

• The King James version at wikisource
• The Vulgate version at wikisource (dead link)
• De Profundis - excerpted text of Wilde's De Profundis (1905 version?)
• De Profundis. Catholic Encyclopedia. - From the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia this short article talks about the hymn's origins, its Jewish use and (pre Vatican II) Roman Catholic usage.

References

• Kuttner, Henry (1953), "De Profundis (also known as The Visitors)", Science Fiction Quarterly.
• Leinster, Murray (1945), "De Profundis", Thrilling Wonder Stories.
• Oracz, Michal (2001), written at Redhill, Surrey, De Profundis: Letters From The Abyss, Hogshead Publishing, <http://www.hogshead.demon.co.uk/newstyle/ns_deprofundis.htm>. ISBN 1-899749-35-7
• http://www.pioneerdivers.org/

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