IWD is usually celebrated at Woden Valley Uniting and in many other venues during a Sunday service close to 8 March. Some comments, however selective, superficial and inexpert, are appropriate in a web-site dedicated to the music of the psalms and canticles. The inattentive visitor looking up at the vaulted Duomo of Siena might tread … Continue reading International Women’s Day, 8 March 21
Tag: women’s voices
Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 19 is soaring and thoughtful poetry. I'm tempted to say 'fantastic': The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes … Continue reading Psalm 19, 4 March ’18
Psalm 32, 5 March 2017
Psalm 32 is one of the psalms of penitence (the second after Ps. 6; this theme takes up the first half of the song), but also of refuge -- "You are my hiding-place" (vv. 6 -7). Then it changes direction, breaks into other riffs of guidance or wisdom (8-9) and finally thanksgiving. Of the seven traditional penitentials, David in this song is … Continue reading Psalm 32, 5 March 2017
Psalm 29, 8 Jan 2017
The voice of God is a constant and powerful theme in this psalm -- thundering over the mighty waters, shaking the wilderness, breaking cedars or flashing forth in flames. The psalmist (said to be David) assures us that through all the elemental turbulence of life, the divine spirit reigns supreme. A familiar voice from someone well-known but out … Continue reading Psalm 29, 8 Jan 2017
Psalm 131
Like most songs of Ascent, this is brief and to the point. Three verses extolling simplicity, honesty and humility, with a fourth calling for Israel, or the people of God, to wait in reverence. And as one of the songs of ascent (120 to 134), the poem is said to be one of pilgrimage (see also the comment on … Continue reading Psalm 131
Psalm 8, 22 May 2016
In the cosmology of Psalm 8, as in many others, humankind is a jewel of creation, somewhat smaller than the universe -- 'a little lower than the angels' -- yet 'adorned with glory and honour' (v.5). Significantly, the creation is placed under our care (v. 6), a responsibility that is not absolved by the loss of … Continue reading Psalm 8, 22 May 2016
Crystal Ball, May 2016
The plan for the coming month looks roughly like this -- a first cut, and anything can happen according to leaders' inspirations, the Cantor's whim and happenstance. 1 May. Psalm 67 is quite like the Aaronic blessing, suggesting lots of atmospherics. There's a famous canon by Tallis, but it needs preparation. If our visiting leader wishes, we could sing The emergent psalter (May God … Continue reading Crystal Ball, May 2016
Psalm 30, 10 April 2016
Psalm 30 may have originally been a song of thanks for recovery from a serious illness. Evidently this was somewhat worse that just flat batteries; brought up from death and 'the Pit' (verse 3). Whatever the origin, the psalmist -- it's again attributed to David -- gives thanks for finding restoration and divine mercy after … Continue reading Psalm 30, 10 April 2016
Psalm 133, 12 April 2015
A beautiful old Anglo-Saxon manuscript in the British Library from the 8th Century, shown above, records the psalms in Latin in an insular uncial script (capital letters) in common use around 700 CE. The British Library's description of this manuscript, titled Cotton MS Vespasian A 1, is simply: A Roman Psalter (‘The Vespasian Psalter’), including prefaces, canticles, … Continue reading Psalm 133, 12 April 2015
Antiphon by Hildegard, 8 March 2015
Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - 1179) shines as a beacon from the past, standing for the validity of a feminine voice and interpretation in a world where men wrote the rules and the history. Unlike many, Hildegard achieved a degree of recognition in her own times, and even more unusually left a significant body of work in thought, … Continue reading Antiphon by Hildegard, 8 March 2015
Psalms in the South 