
This is one of those times I say: why did I wait so long to listen to this? The Psaume XLVII HAS to be one of the most shattering pieces ever penned for chorus and orchestra (in this case, plus soprano and organ), it packs a punch of TNT! It's simply something that appeals to my most gargantuan tastes. Utterly fascinating, dramatic and atmospheric like nothing else, goosebumps galore! I've read this is the best available recording of it, and I can claim with total clarity that it's more than probable. The middle section contains a more meditative part with the soprano, just the necessary dose of contrast, yet it's somewhat intense as well.
It goes straight to my all-time favorite choral works.
Stupendous work indeed. The Hyperion version is better recorded, but Tzipine carries the day. There are other recordings but I haven’t heard them.
Yes, Schmitt was notoriously antisemite, but he was prepared to make exceptions (

), defending jewish composers Schönberg, Dukas and Tansman, or the singer Madeline Grey for example. What especially irked him was not so much the question of race, but rather a perceived trend toward musical decadence, something the nazis famously branded as
entartete musik. The use of jazz, blues, swing, popular melodies, "sleazy" orchestrations etc sharply divided the musical world. "Negro" music was put in the same basket of deplorables. See the association of the negro man with the star of David in this nazi propaganda poster:

Musical life in France during the nazi years was a patchwork of opinions, opportunistic moves, expressions of intolerance and even some acts of heroism. For those who are interested in the subject and who can read French, this article sheds some light on this very sensitive subject, still an open wound in french intellectual circles. As recently as 2005, the Lycée Florent Schmitt was renamed Lycée Alexandre Dumas folowing a long, protracted controversy. In this article you will spot the names of Honegger, Poulenc, Dutilleux, Jolivet, Sauguet. Not all were active collaborationists, but many found ways to "accommodate" their career aspirations with the political environment of the time.
https://www.nonfiction.fr/articleprint-2876-les_compositeurs_et_la_collaboration.htm