Whoever chose Psalm 114 for the Lectionary for Easter must have been serious about it. It is the one and only psalm set for both Easter Sunday and Easter vigil services in all three years of the cycle. Why? This poem is all about the Exodus, the release from slavery in Egypt, and the transit … Continue reading Psalm 114, 13 Sep 20
Category: Songs
Psalm 22 again; Mendelssohn
The post two days ago on Psalm 22 in the readings for Good Friday was enriched by a fine a cappella rendition of a favourite Sibelius hymn, suggested by a revered musician, singer, educator and member of our community, a community now dutifully isolated here in Canberra, Australia. Such listening suggestions -- and indeed such … Continue reading Psalm 22 again; Mendelssohn
Psalm 121, 8 Mar 20
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. (v.1) Or so went this familiar line from Psalm 121 in the dusty old King James version, still beautiful but little used. This is the second of the songs of ascent (120 to 134). Originating perhaps as pilgrimage songs, the psalms of … Continue reading Psalm 121, 8 Mar 20
How and why sung?
While enjoying the Song Company's '150 Psalms' concert the other night (see earlier blog) -- which included the impressive seven-part setting of Psalm 20 by Robert White, a fragment of which is shown here -- several singers from Psalms in the South speculated on how and why these poems came to be sung. Written music … Continue reading How and why sung?
Psalm 27, 21 Feb 2016
God is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? Light -- the light of the world (John 8:12) and light upon the path (Psalm 119:105) -- is a theme found in many psalms, in words that have become familiar by virtue of repetition and songs based on such verses. This psalm offers encouragement, weaving together two threads of thought. … Continue reading Psalm 27, 21 Feb 2016
Cloud-capp’d towers
You won't find that little phrase in the psalms: but poetic imagery is there in spades. Part of the fascination of the psalter is the special place in our lives of poetry set to music. As noted previously, the synergy of music and word is somehow magical -- a classic case of the sum being greater than the … Continue reading Cloud-capp’d towers
Benedictus (Zechariah), 6 Dec 2015
The lectionary in some seasons substitutes a canticle or other reading for the psalm. We can hardly feel short-changed: we sing most of the psalms over the three-year (weekly) cycle, compared with less than 10% of the rest of the Bible. Anne Richardson, of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, writes: All three of the non-Psalm options in … Continue reading Benedictus (Zechariah), 6 Dec 2015
Psalm 16, 15 Nov 2015
Most weeks I look up the lectionary and, lacking a reliable (let alone encyclopaedic) memory, the first thing I do is look back in this blog history or my Psalm Library to see what goodies I have in the cupboard from last time. There I find a couple of settings of Psalm 16 and things that I … Continue reading Psalm 16, 15 Nov 2015
The Magnificat, 21 Dec 14
This lovely Song of Mary, found in Luke 1:46b-55, is called Magnificat since that is the first word of the text in the Latin: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. You can feel the thrill springing up in her heart -- to be the mother of the promised one! … Continue reading The Magnificat, 21 Dec 14
Song of songs, 6 July 14
In place of the set psalm this week, we find a reading of that lovely poetry of The Song of songs, or of Solomon. It's a small emotional poem of love and devotion: Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among … Continue reading Song of songs, 6 July 14
