'My soul declares aloud': A metrical version of Mary's Magnificat

My latest column at Christian Courier is titled: 'My soul declares aloud': A metrical version of Mary's Magnificat. I offer it here to readers of a local Christian periodical for which I've written for nearly 35 years. Although the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is obviously not one of the Psalms, it is traditionally classified as a biblical canticle and has been sung in the church's liturgy since the very beginning. We should certainly be singing it today as well.

Text © David T. Koyzis, 1987.

RAPT interview

In recent years I've been interviewed on subjects related to my books and other writings, but my new RAPT interview required that I bare my soul in a more personal way. One of the questions posed had me revisiting my work with the Psalms. Here's an excerpt:

Although I changed to political science during my second year, music is more than a sideline for me. My latest obsession is the “Genevan Psalter,” a metrical Psalter completed in 1562, in which several people set the biblical Psalms to verse and composed melodies for them, some of which were based on familiar Gregorian chant tunes. It took me from 1985 to 2021, but I set all 150 Psalms to verse in English meter so they could be sung to these tunes. I hope to publish this collection eventually, and I’ve received funding from two sources for this project. During the past week or so, I have recorded guitar performances of several of these tunes and posted them on my YouTube channel.

Many contemporary Protestants don’t know that their forebears sang the Psalms, but they did — right into the 19th century. Some traditions still do so, but they are a minority, sad to say. My ultimate goal is to revive the ancient practice of singing the Psalms, which should be an integral part of all Christian liturgies.

Do read the entire interview for more.

Ali Ufki's Turkish Psalms

Many years ago I became interested in Ali Ufki, a Polish-born Reformed Christian who in his youth was abducted by Tatars, sold to the Ottoman Sultan, nominally converted to Islam, and became treasurer, translator, and musician to the Sultan's court. Among his brilliant accomplishments, he translated the Bible into Turkish (which is how my late father knew him) and also the first 14 of the Genevan Psalms. 

I have just discovered the Kitab-ı Mukaddes Şirketi (Bible Society of Turkey) YouTube channel, which contains performances of all 14 of Ali Ufki's Psalms: Ali Ufkî Bey’in Bestelediği Mezmurlar. Hearing this seemingly exotic music, one would scarcely believe that it had originated with the Reformation in western Europe. Here is one such performance below:

Intriguing, no? Do listen to the entire playlist. And just imagine if Ali Ufki (born Wojciech Bobowski) had had the opportunity to translate all 150 of the Psalms! Might the history of the eastern Mediterranean have been utterly different? Could the gospel have spread throughout the Ottoman Empire?

Genevan Psalter: guitar arrangements

Over the past few days I have been posting on my YouTube channel videos of my guitar arrangements and performances of the Genevan Psalms. I have created a playlist which allows the viewer to play all of them in order. This can be accessed here: The Genevan Psalter. Here are two of my performances below:

 

I will be posting more such videos in the future. Stay tuned.

The English Bible

Today the church observes the 507th anniversary of the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Although many people believe that the Reformation began with Luther, most of the typical doctrines that we associate with that movement had precedents in mediaeval England and subsequently spread to the European continent. In other words, the doctrines of grace, as recovered by Luther and Calvin and so many others in the 16th century, were already understood and believed by Christians centuries earlier, especially among the Lollards, the Hussites, and the Waldensians.

But of course all of this depended on ordinary Christians being able to read the Bible for themselves in their own languages and thereby to discern its true teachings. Today the English language in particular boasts a huge number of bible translations for every conceivable use and occasion. We speakers of the language are singularly blessed by such an abundance of spiritual riches. But there was once a time when most Christians did not have access to the Bible and had to depend on hearing only sections of it read in the liturgy in a language with which they might not be familiar. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century changed all this, laying the foundations for the Reformation.

De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 151

No, there isn't exactly a Psalm 151, or at least it's not titled such. But an additional one does occur in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Old Testament as a Psalm "outside the number," or a supernumerary Psalm, about which I wrote two years ago. It is known especially in the Orthodox tradition, where it is accorded something close to canonical status. If Protestants are at all aware of it, they consider it part of the Apocrypha, those extra books (Judith, Tobit, the Maccabees, &c.) often included in an appendix after the New Testament or between the two testaments.

So I was surprised—pleasantly so, to be sure—to discover that our friends behind De Nieuwe Psalmberijming have recently posted a Dutch metrical versification of this psalm set to the Genevan tune for Psalm 19: Psalm 151. To be clear, the arrangement is not precisely of the version found in the LXX but of a longer version found at Qumran and thus part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This psalm is unusual in being autobiographical in nature and is written in the voice of David himself. The story recounted is the familiar one in which David slays the Philistine warrior Goliath of Gath (1 Samuel 17).

'O', 'oh': interjections and our English Bible translations

In my work with the Psalms I've noticed a peculiarity in several contemporary English translations. In the King James Version of the Bible, we read the following:

O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).

But in the English Standard Version we read this:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

And in the New King James Version this:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Anatomy of the Soul: Psalm 28

Our friend Brian Wright has posted another psalm for our edification and enjoyment:

De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 25

One more psalm from Roeland Scherff and company from the new Dutch versification of the Psalms:

Thinking Christian podcast interview

Some weeks ago I was interviewed by James Spencer on What does it mean to be a Christian citizen?, covering topics in my three books. Not long after that, Spencer and I had a conversation about my work with the Psalms, and this has now been posted on the various media hosting the Thinking Christian podcast episodes: How Can the Psalms Help Christians Worship? A Conversation with David Koyzis. Spencer has a PhD in theological studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has hosted this podcast for about a year. Topics covered here include the Genevan and Scottish Psalters, my own Genevan Psalter project, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Lutheran use of the daily office.

Lutherans sing through Psalter

I would love to have attended this event. From 9 to 12 July, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) 2024 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music met at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, Nebraska. In the course of lectures, workshops, and worship services, the assembled gathering managed to sing all 150 Psalms, using the chant tones in the Concordia Psalter and other material produced by Concordia Publications in St.Louis. The story is told in this article, which makes for inspiring reading: ‘And they sang’: Worship institute covers entire psalter in four days. Here is an excerpt:

Huguenot Psalter: Psalm 24

Here is an inspiring version of Genevan Psalm 24 sung enthusiastically by a francophone congregation:

Goudimel: Psalm 137

Here is a lovely rendition of Genevan Psalm 137 sung to Claude Goudimel's arrangement by the Ensemble Clément Janequin:

Cithara Sanctorum: Psalmy

Last year I reviewed the wonderful album of Genevan Psalms in Polish produced by Cithara Sanctorum. This was shortly after I had had the privilege of spending time with Andrzej Polaszek, a Reformed pastor in Poland whose wife Agata directs Cithara Sanctorum. Because they live in the city of Poznan, the collection is known as the Psałterz Poznański. In my review, I highly recommended this album but hinted that it might be hard to come by for North Americans and others outside of Poland. However, the entire album has now been posted on YouTube for the entire world to enjoy: Psalmy -- album Cithara Sanctorum. Here is Psalm 11:

Robson goes Genevan

Two days ago, I alerted readers to Sam Robson's just released album of through-composed Psalms. Today he has posted a rendition of the familiar canticle often sung during Advent, Comfort, Comfort Now My People, a metrical versification of Isaiah 40:1-5 set to the tune for Genevan Psalm 42. Very nice indeed!

Cithara Sanctorum: Psalm 46

Our friends Andrzej and Agata Polaszek have just posted on their YouTube channel Psalm 46 from their new album, Cithara Sanctorum: Psalmy, which I reviewed last year. The text is from their collection of Polish-language Psalms, Psałterz Poznański.

Incidentally, I was privileged to spend time with Andrzei Polaszek here in Hamilton last September.

Robson's Psalter

Sam Robson is a gifted British musician who, for several years now, has posted on his popular YouTube channel videos of himself singing all parts to songs he himself has arranged, demonstrating thereby his singular virtuosity. These include popular songs, folk songs, and hymns. Now he has released an album dedicated to the biblical Psalms, three of which he has posted online. These psalms are through-composed rather than metrical and use the English Standard Version of the Bible as text. Here are Psalms 3, 15, and 67:

Psalm 100: thousands sing God's praise

A dozen years ago, a huge congregation assembled for the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference sang Psalm 100, set to the familiar tune, LOBE DEN HERREN.

Psalm 42: Goudimel, Tallis, Palestrina

This is quite lovely. A performance of three settings of Psalm 42, beginning with the Genevan version in French, proceeding to the version from Archbishop Parker's Psalter in English, and concluding with a Latin version composed by Palestrina. This was posted nine years ago, but somehow I managed to miss it until now.

Reformation worship

I recently read a fascinating book by Karin Maag, Worshiping With the Reformers, published by IVP Academic in 2021. Maag is Director of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies at Calvin University and was one of my hosts two years ago when I lectured there on the Genevan Psalter. Those of us who are heir to the Reformation may be tempted to think of the 16th century as a golden era when Christians were keen on worshipping the Triune God in spirit and in truth, readily discarding the unbiblical accretions of the mediaeval church. Reading Maag will quickly lay this notion to rest. She reminds us that in many if not most places reformation was a movement spearheaded by ecclesiastical and political elites, often compelling reluctant parishioners accustomed to the old ways to conform to the newer and less familiar practices.