About The Reformation Psalter
Psalms from Christian Worship in Four-Part Choral Settings
The musical editors of CHRISTIAN WORSHIP recognized the importance and validity of the notion that the psalms should be sung and therefore made provision for this in the new hymnal. Wisely, the editors supplied a form of chant that is simple enough for any child of God, be they young or old, new to the faith or a lifelong believer, to sing. They also prudently crafted the fifty-nine psalms included in CW so that they could be rendered responsorily. However, there are inherent musical limitations in singing psalms to chants that consist of just eight notes. The current psalm project is an attempt to make use of the flexibility built into the CW Psalms by having the choir sing more elaborate chants that are musically compatible with the CW Psalm refrains. In these settings the congregation sings only the refrain; the choir the verses of the psalm and the Gloria Patri. 

This project makes use of four-part or harmonized chant which is often called Anglican chant. The name "Anglican chant" has become associated with four-part chant because these chants were developed and have been widely used in the Anglican church. However, since chant in general and four-part chant as well are the result of the Christian Church's desire to sing the Holy Scriptures, they are very much the collective property of the whole Church. The Lutheran Church has long recognized the usefulness of this form of musical expression. Many of the canticle settings of the Order of Holy Communion and Matins in THE LUTHERAN HYMNAL (1941) were settings of four-part chant. TLH also included six full psalm settings (662-667) set to Anglican chant. 

Four-part chant is designed to be sung by an SATB choir, although they can also be sung effectively by a unison choir singing the melody line. Most of the chants that will be supplied in this series are double chants which consist of two pairs of reciting tones which are followed by three chord cadences or endings, and two pairs of reciting tones which are followed by five chord cadences. The basic pattern is reciting tone, three chord cadence; reciting tone, five chord cadence; reciting tone, three chord cadence; and reciting tone, five chord cadence. The combination of harmony and the longer cadences allow for greater melodic and musical interest for both the singer in the choir and the worshipper in the pew. 

These chants make use of standard notation: whole notes (reciting tone), half notes (cadences), quarter notes (passing tones), and bar lines. However, these musical conventions must not be interpreted literally. Any attempt to straight jacket these standard notational symbols into a metered form will do great musical violence to the chant. Chant, by its very nature, must be free and flexible. Although, this is an over-simplification and should not be interpreted literally either, a half note should be sung a good deal more like an eighth note than its normal note value. 

There is a tendency for the amateur singer, when confronted with just one note (the reciting tone) and many words, to speed up and gallop over the words. There is also a tendency for the singer, when confronted with just a few words or syllables but several notes in the cadence, to slow down. Both of these tendencies need to be avoided. The guiding principle that should govern the singing of chant is natural speech rhythm. The words should flow naturally and at the pace of deliberate speech. The words sung on the reciting tone should flow naturally into the words sung in the cadence without any unnatural slowing. As in normal speech, certain words or syllables should be emphasized to make the meaning of the text clear and to give variety. This is best achieved by subtle accents and/or a very slight lengthening of the word. The concept of natural speech rhythm will also provide guidance regarding the pace at which psalms should be sung. The nature of the text should be the controlling factor when determining the pace and the dynamic level at which psalms, verses of the psalms, or individual phrases are sung. Finally, like in normal speech, the psalms need to breathe where indicated by punctuation and good sense. It is the normal practice for the choir to come to a brief but full stop before the final Amen. 

Pointing is the allotting of syllables to the notes. These settings have been pointed with the amateur singer and the church choir in mind. This process involved compromises with the methodology used by editors of psalters used by choirs that sing harmonized chant on a daily or weekly basis. These compromises principally revolve around placing less syllables in the cadences than is the normal practice which results in more syllables being slurred. However, unlike the psalm settings in CW, these four-part chant settings do frequently have more than one syllable on a cadential note. Again, natural speech rhythm needs to guide the singer and choirmaster in singing these multi-syllable cadential notes. Any attempt to metrically sub-divide the note should be avoided. 

These psalm settings may be sung with or without accompaniment. However, the general practice in places where they are sung on a regular basis is to sing them with organ accompaniment with an occasional verse(s) sung unaccompanied. The judicious use of various organ registrations that reflect the words of individual verses or phrases can be particularly effective. However, common sense and good taste should be employed. 

A good place to begin is to develop an affinity for the singing of this type of chant by listening to recording(s) of professional choirs who sing harmonized chant on a daily basis. We would commend to you THE WORLD OF PSALMS (Decca 452-941-2) which is a recording of St John's College Choir, Cambridge, singing 18 psalms. This recording will prove both instructive and a revelation of what musical artistry can be achieved with these simple chants. An equally useful collection in 2 volumes is THE PSALMS OF DAVID (EMI 5 66784 2). Twenty-seven psalms sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. The Priory and Hyperion record labels have also produced full collections of the Psalms. It should be noted that these recordings make use of the Coverdale translation of the Psalms and/or the revised psalter. 

Steven J. Rhode
Reformation Lutheran Church
San Diego, California