Skip to content
Psalms in the South

Psalms in the South

Singing the psalms at Woden Valley Uniting Church, Canberra

  • The Blog
  • The Psalms
    • Music Styles
    • Psalm Tones
    • The penitential psalms
  • Index
    • Subtitle index
    • Records
    • Archive of posts by psalm number
  • Resources
    • Notes for singers
    • Links
  • About
    • Contact
    • Join us

Category: Songs

Crystal Ball, Nov and Advent 2020

26.10.202009.12.2020 ~ BrendO ~ Leave a comment

During social distancing, The Crystal Ball indicates likely choices for a recording for the online services, assuming the first set psalm is to be used. [Letters in square brackets] every second week apply to Zoom services at South Woden only. Worship leaders indicated are invited to advise the Webmaster of any preferences in theme, music … Continue reading Crystal Ball, Nov and Advent 2020

Psalm 114, 13 Sep 20

09.09.202007.09.2020 ~ BrendO ~ Leave a comment

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

Psalm 22 again; Mendelssohn

09.04.202007.04.2020 ~ BrendO ~ 2 Comments

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

02.03.202001.03.2020 ~ BrendO ~ 1 Comment

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?

18.02.202018.02.2020 ~ BrendO ~ Leave a comment

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

16.02.201616.02.2016 ~ BrendO ~ 3 Comments

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

04.12.2015 ~ BrendO ~ Leave a comment

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

01.12.2015 ~ BrendO ~ 3 Comments

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

11.11.2015 ~ BrendO ~ 1 Comment

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

17.12.2014 ~ BrendO ~ 1 Comment

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

Posts navigation

Older posts

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts. We never share personal information.

Join 125 other subscribers

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Welcome
  • Psalm 27, 13 Mar 22
  • Psalm 91, 6 March 22
  • Psalm 99, 27 Feb 22
  • 150 psalms; a 500th post
  • Psalm 138, 6 Feb 21
  • Psalm 71, 30 Jan 22
  • Psalm 19, 23 Jan ’22
  • Psalm 36, 16 Jan 22
  • Psalm 29, 9 Jan 22
Creative Commons License
Psalms in the south is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
  • Follow Following
    • Psalms in the South
    • Join 125 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Psalms in the South
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...