Dixit Dominus is a psalm setting by George Friederic Handel (catalogued as HWV 232). It uses the Latin text of Psalm 110 (Vulgate 109), which begins with the words Dixit Dominus ("The Lord Said").
The work was completed in April 1707 while Handel was living in Italy. It is Handel's earliest surviving autograph. The work was written in the baroque style and is scored for five vocal soloists (SSATB), chorus, strings and continuo. It is most likely that the work was first performed on 16 July 1707 in the Church of Santa Maria in Montesanto, under the patronage of the Colonna family.
The score was published in 1867. A typical performance lasts a little over 30 minutes.
The work has the following movements:
| Movement | Type and Voice | Text (English) | Text (Latin) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chorus | The Lord said unto my Lord: Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot-stool. |
Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum. |
| 2 | Aria (Countertenor solo) |
The Lord shall send the rod of thy power out of Sion: be thou ruler, even in the midst among thine enemies. |
Virgam virtutis tuae emittet Dominus ex Sion: dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum. |
| 3 | Aria (Soprano solo) |
In the day of thy power shall the people offer thee free-will offerings with an holy worship. The dew of thy birth is of the womb of the morning. |
Tecum principatus in die virtutis tuae, in splendoribus sanctis. Ex utero ante luciferum genui te. |
| 4 | Chorus | The Lord sware, and will not repent: | Iuravit Dominus et non paenitebit eum: |
| 5 | Chorus | Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech. | Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech. |
| 6 | Soloists and Chorus | The Lord upon thy right hand, shall wound even kings in the day of his wrath. |
Dominus a dextris tuis, confregit in die irae suae reges. |
| 7 | Soloists and Chorus | He shall judge among the heathen: he shall fill the places with the dead bodies: and smite in sunder the heads over diverse countries. |
Iudicabit in nationibus: Implebit ruinas, conquassabit capita in terra multorum. |
| 8 | Soprano and Chorus | He shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore shall he lift up his head. |
De torrente in via bibet, propterea exaltabit caput. |
| 9 | Chorus | Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen. |
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. |