Psalm 22 was commissioned in 1979 by Maureen Forrester through the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council. On receiving the completed composition, Ms. Forrester wrote to Morawetz in a letter dated 8th February 1979: The new work looks stunning. I cannot believe how quickly you write - but then I don't know many geniuses!

The work was premièred in Toronto by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on March 17, 1980 with the composer at the piano. Soon afterwards Miss Forrester commissioned him to orchestrate this work and in this new version she premièred it January 4th, 1984 with Andrew Davis conducting the Toronto Symphony.

The composer himself commented about his work:

Although I knew the opening line from the day I first heard, as a young student, Bach's St. Matthew Passion as the last words of Christ on the cross, I realized only in 1979 shortly before starting this composition, that these words were a quote from David's Psalm 22 from the Old Testament. I think it is one of the most moving passages of the Bible and, of course, from the musical point of view it offers a tremendous opportunity for contrasting moods - a strong belief in the absolute justice of God and, at the same time, a terrible fear that He has abandoned his people during their terrible suffering in the hands of enemies.

The composition comes to its dynamic climax, shortly before the end with the words "the foes will say, 'We have beaten him!' and all the oppressors will have the joy of seeing me stumble." Though the Psalm was written several thousand years ago, I could not help but be reminded again vividly of the suffering and fate of prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

For this composition, I used three English translations of the Bible: the Oxford, the Jerusalem and the New English Bible, selecting for each sentence the translation which seemed to me to contain the strongest words and meaning. As it was my intention to give my work a unified feeling I felt compelled to insert in the last part of my composition a few lines from other psalms (after the words "and cast lots for my clothes"). These additional verses were necessary so that I could return to the opening cry of fear and anguish: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" at the end of the composition.