So here is Psalm 122, one that we found on a CD of early American sacred music, a CD entitled Goostly Psalmes. Goostly is a great synonym for spiritual, is it not? Let’s try to bring that one back. Another name that we have for this psalm is the NSA Fight Song. The way we …
O Love How Deep, How Broad, How High
We sing a lot of psalms, but not exclusively. Call the practice dominant psalmnody. At any rate, here is an example of one of the hymns we sing. I believe the melody was composed after the English victory at Agincourt. Psalm Sing – Christ Church, Moscow, ID from Daniel Foucachon on Vimeo.
Through Composed
Okay, now it is time for a different kind of psalm. The previous two were metrical psalms, and the tunes were fuguing tunes — very popular in early American music. But there is another way to sing psalms as well, one which enables your people to get closer to the text, and to store up …
O Sing a New Song to the Lord
This is Psalm 98, “O Sing a New Song to the Lord.” It is another fuguing tune — one of the first that we learned here at Christ Church. It is found on pp. 134-135 of the Cantus. Let me take a minute to explain the set up here. The Christ Church choir is on …
Before Thee Let My Cry Come Near
Here is a portion of Psalm 119 from the Christ Church psalm sing in October. We are being led by our music minister, David Erb, and the location is the Administration Auditorium on the UI campus. Also keep in mind that this is a congregation, not a choir, but it should give you some idea …
Finding Your Pitch
This last week, we had the privilege of meeting together with the other delegates of Knox Presbytery, the inland northwest presbytery of the CREC. One of the things that we discussed, as we worked through the problems that are confronting our congregations, is the challenge of psalm-singing fatigue. As we have set ourselves the challenge …
Opening Every Lawful Door
We are eager to establish and grow up into a genuine musical literacy as a congregation, as a community. But we have to take care to understand this process rightly. We obviously have to teach our children, and we have a great deal to learn ourselves in this process. And in this area, we have …
Quality and Quantity
You are familiar with the exhortation that music in worship is summoned to be skilful music (Ps. 33:3). We are not permitted to just throw anything together and call it good. But skill is not the only characteristic we are told to cultivate. “Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise” …
New Covenant Instruments in the Old
Last week we noted that Paul assumes the use of musical instruments in worship—we are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with all our hearts, and we are to make melody as we do by means of instruments. Because this has been controversial in the church over the centuries, perhaps we should say a …
Instruments in Worship
In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul requires musical instrumentation in worship. He says there that we are to be “speaking to [one another] in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in [our] heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). The translation in the heart would better be rendered as with the heart. …