July updates: youtube psalms

Here are four samples of psalm-singing worth posting.

I am constantly amazed and heartened that, after four decades of communism, the church not only survived in Hungary but appears to be thriving, with ordinary Hungarians continuing to sing the Psalms as they have for centuries. This is Psalm 25, sung, one assumes, according to the versification of the great Albert Szenczi Molnár:



In the meantime, Ernst Stolz is continuing his slow but steady journey through the Psalms. First, Psalm 26:



And then, Psalm 27 below, which I think is one of the finest recordings of a Genevan Psalm. It ends all too soon; I really wanted it to keep going. To begin with, the tune, in the mixolydian mode, is one of the more compelling of the Genevan melodies. Second, the combination of lute, recorder and strings nicely brings out the Renaissance flavour. Definitely worth repeated listenings.



Finally, this is not a Genevan Psalm, but this congregational singing by young and old of Psalm 45 is energetic and inspiring. I believe this group, the Providence Church of Pensacola, Florida, has some connection with the psalm-singing Reformed congregations of Moscow, Idaho.