The Psalmus was commissioned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the unification of Buda, Pest and Óbuda for a gala performance on 19 November 1923 along with the Dance Suite by Béla Bartók, and the Festival Overture by Ernő Dohnányi, who conducted the concert.
The text is based on the gloss of Psalm 55, "Give ear to my prayer, oh God", by 16th-century poet, preacher, and translator Mihály Vég [hu].
Uncommonly, Kodály chose a sacred text to mark a secular occasion; the libretto's passages of despair and call to God provide opportunities for the composer to address Hungary's tragic past and disastrous post-Trianon Treaty predicament, when it lost over 70% of its national territory.
The second movement follows attacca without pause, in a contrasting pensive mood, featuring extended solos for clarinet and violin, over a shimmering undercurrent of harp and pizzicato strings.
The final movement primarily features the entire chorus, alternating sounds of martial bombast with words of defiance.