Most Saturdays I spend at least part of the day up in Houston and/or running errands, but today has been an unusual Saturday in that I have been able to spend the whole day at home. It's been a beautiful warm day, and we've had the windows wide open, the curtains swaying gently in the breeze. This morning we hosted a psalm sing. It was well attended, including lots of children, and a couple of visitors from Canada.
We sang three of my favorite tunes.
First up was Felix, which fits nicely with Psalm 14.
Psalm 14 to Felix
Then we practiced St. Botolph.
Psalm 27:7-11 to St. Botolph
Last of all we sang a tune that's very familiar to us here in Texas: Ericstane.
Psalm 142 to Ericstane
After the psalm sing, several of us stood and watched as herds (Or is it flocks? Gaggles? Swarms?) of children ran around in the front yard. Visitors to our Texas congregation often comment on how many small children we have here. And we have indeed been very blessed. :) As the children get older, they are participating more in the singing, so our recordings may sound less "polished," but I like them better this way. I hope you do too. :)
P. S. Remember that you can download these recordings, and others, to your own computer here.
Showing posts with label Psalm Singing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm Singing. Show all posts
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Another Psalm Sing
Shortly after John and Naomi moved into their new place, they invited us all over for a psalm sing. We had a great time visiting and singing, and recorded several psalms. The acoustics were great!
Psalm 71:14-17 to Stracathro
Psalm 107:23-30 to Torwood--note that we don't sing the tune as it's written in the latest version of the Free Church split-leaf psalters. I believe this is an older version.
Psalm 127 to Artaxerxes--again, we sing a different version from that found in the Free Church split-leaf psalters.
Psalm 139:17-24 to Contemplation
Psalm 143:1-5, 2nd version, to Leuchars
And last but not least, Psalm 150 to Denfield
Hopefully we'll have another psalm sing soon. Maybe next time I'll get the recordings posted in a more timely fashion. :)
Psalm 71:14-17 to Stracathro
Psalm 107:23-30 to Torwood--note that we don't sing the tune as it's written in the latest version of the Free Church split-leaf psalters. I believe this is an older version.
Psalm 127 to Artaxerxes--again, we sing a different version from that found in the Free Church split-leaf psalters.
Psalm 139:17-24 to Contemplation
Psalm 143:1-5, 2nd version, to Leuchars
And last but not least, Psalm 150 to Denfield
Hopefully we'll have another psalm sing soon. Maybe next time I'll get the recordings posted in a more timely fashion. :)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Project Psalms Nearly Complete
I've mentioned Project Psalms before. Project Psalms is an effort by some folks in Australia to record all 150 Psalms from the Scottish Metrical Psalter. They've hired a professional tenor to do the singing; you can hear sample recordings here and here.
The recording has been finished, but additional donations are needed to pay for the editing/mixing and various other expenses. Once the remaining $5250 has been collected and the project is complete, the recordings will be made available to the public to download for free.
If you donate $500 to the project (that's Australian dollars), you'll receive a full 15 CD set of the recordings, plus various other bonuses including the sheet music for the tunes used, and a hard copy of the Scottish Metrical Psalms with John Brown of Haddington's notes. Of course, smaller donations are also welcome.
I look forward to the completion of the project; I think the recordings will be a valuable resource indeed, and I'm happy that the plan is to make those recordings freely available to the public. I think this is a worthy cause, don't you? Please consider donating today.
The recording has been finished, but additional donations are needed to pay for the editing/mixing and various other expenses. Once the remaining $5250 has been collected and the project is complete, the recordings will be made available to the public to download for free.
If you donate $500 to the project (that's Australian dollars), you'll receive a full 15 CD set of the recordings, plus various other bonuses including the sheet music for the tunes used, and a hard copy of the Scottish Metrical Psalms with John Brown of Haddington's notes. Of course, smaller donations are also welcome.
I look forward to the completion of the project; I think the recordings will be a valuable resource indeed, and I'm happy that the plan is to make those recordings freely available to the public. I think this is a worthy cause, don't you? Please consider donating today.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Psalm 103 to Kilmarnock
We're in the middle of a communion season here, so I don't have much time, but I thought I'd stop in to post an old recording of a psalm we usually sing during communion services: Psalm 103, the first six stanzas. I like London New best for this psalm, but I know a lot of people prefer Kilmarnock, so perhaps y'all will appreciate this recording.
This is an old recording of congregational singing, with my dad precenting.
Psalm 103:1-7 to Kilmarnock
For Psalm 103 to London New, see this old post.
This is an old recording of congregational singing, with my dad precenting.
Psalm 103:1-7 to Kilmarnock
For Psalm 103 to London New, see this old post.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
St. Botolph
Thank you Connor Q. for posting this beautiful recording.
Psalm 27 v 7-10
7 O Lord, give ear unto my voice,
when I do cry to thee;
Upon me also mercy have,
and do thou answer me.
8 When thou didst say, Seek ye my face,
then unto thee reply
Thus did my heart, Above all things
thy face, Lord, seek will I.
9 Far from me hide not thou thy face;
put not away from thee
Thy servant in thy wrath: thou hast
an helper been to me.
O God of my salvation,
leave me not, nor forsake:
10 Though me my parents both should leave,
the Lord will me up take.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A Psalm Sing At Last
After a very long stretch of time without any psalm sings, we finally managed to arrange a last-minute psalm sing earlier this month. We had a very nice time singing, visiting, and eating delicious leftover birthday cake.
We worked on two tunes: Glenluce and Bloxham. Glenluce is a very old and very simple melody with a very interesting and unusual harmony. You may have heard other recordings of this tune, like this one and this one. We thought it was a good fit for the last half of Psalm 42.
Psalm 42:6-11 to Glenluce
Bloxham starts out just like Colchester, but then heads in a very different direction.
Psalm 119:97-104 to Bloxham
Enjoy!
We worked on two tunes: Glenluce and Bloxham. Glenluce is a very old and very simple melody with a very interesting and unusual harmony. You may have heard other recordings of this tune, like this one and this one. We thought it was a good fit for the last half of Psalm 42.
Psalm 42:6-11 to Glenluce
Bloxham starts out just like Colchester, but then heads in a very different direction.
Psalm 119:97-104 to Bloxham
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Psalms Sung
A friend in Scotland has put together a nice website with recordings of psalm singing. He's posted recordings from several different psalters, but they are now sorted so that you can easily listen to just the recordings from your favorite psalter. Here's the link to the recordings from the Scottish Psalter:
The Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650) on The Psalms Sung
If you hit "play" the tracks will play through consecutively, so I like to pull up this site when I have housework to do, or sweaters to unravel.
In other news, we had a very nice communion season earlier this month, with a number of visitors, including a family that stayed with us for two weeks; so it's been a busy but enjoyable month. I would have a lot to blog about, if I had time for blogging. :) I'll try to at least post a few photos some time soon.
The Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650) on The Psalms Sung
If you hit "play" the tracks will play through consecutively, so I like to pull up this site when I have housework to do, or sweaters to unravel.
In other news, we had a very nice communion season earlier this month, with a number of visitors, including a family that stayed with us for two weeks; so it's been a busy but enjoyable month. I would have a lot to blog about, if I had time for blogging. :) I'll try to at least post a few photos some time soon.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Two Old Psalm Recordings
A while back I uploaded two new recordings to archive.org, but I'm just now getting around to sharing them with you here. If you'd like to download them to your own computer, you can do so here.
The first is an older recording of FP congregational singing in Santa Fe. The precentor is Nathanael Smith.
Psalm 40:5-9 to St. Paul
The second was sent to me by a blog reader. This is a recording of Free Presbyterian congregational singing in Glasgow. I checked with Evelyn, and she confirmed that the precentor is definitely her husband, Rev. Jett Smith.
Psalm 130 to Martyrdom
Enjoy!
The first is an older recording of FP congregational singing in Santa Fe. The precentor is Nathanael Smith.
Psalm 40:5-9 to St. Paul
The second was sent to me by a blog reader. This is a recording of Free Presbyterian congregational singing in Glasgow. I checked with Evelyn, and she confirmed that the precentor is definitely her husband, Rev. Jett Smith.
Psalm 130 to Martyrdom
Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back Home Again In Indiana
In July, I flew back to my old home state of Indiana to attend the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference. It was a six-day conference with about 2100 attendees, mostly RPs of course, but also a few (like myself) from other denominations. The week was full of public worship services, lectures, classes, psalm singing, and fellowship with friends both old and new.
The conference was an encouraging experience for me. The lectures and classes were edifying, and I appreciated the opportunity, especially given that I come from a small and fairly isolated congregation, to spend some time with like-minded people outside my usual circle.
I got to see some old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in well over a decade, and to make new friends as well. I met some Facebook friends, and some who read this blog. I even met someone who used to be an FP! I was encouraged, challenged, and comforted by the people that I met, and have enjoyed keeping in touch with several of them.
I especially appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with a few other single women around my own age. I also enjoyed visiting the Crown and Covenant bookshop. I saw a lot of interesting titles in the bookshop, but managed to limit myself to two. Oh, and I also picked up a copy of the new RP psalter. I'm tempted to write a review...but probably won't have the time, at least not any time soon. :)
The main speaker was Dr. Beeke. I heard Dr. Beeke preach often when I was a child, as he was the moderator of the (pastorless) congregation I attended in Kalamazoo; so it was nice to hear him again. Here are links to recordings of his lectures at the conference, plus outlines. I really appreciated these lectures, and look forward to listening to them again.
Dr. Beeke's Lectures
One of my favorite experiences of the week was the Scottish Psalter psalm sing. It was well attended with 150 or so present. Here's a video of a few of the selections sung. (Can you see me there in the front row?)
Perhaps you're thinking "It's been a while since you've had a psalm sing there in Texas, hasn't it?" And if so, you're right. I'm in the process of trying to arrange something. Hopefully we'll get to do some psalm singing soon!
The conference was an encouraging experience for me. The lectures and classes were edifying, and I appreciated the opportunity, especially given that I come from a small and fairly isolated congregation, to spend some time with like-minded people outside my usual circle.
I got to see some old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in well over a decade, and to make new friends as well. I met some Facebook friends, and some who read this blog. I even met someone who used to be an FP! I was encouraged, challenged, and comforted by the people that I met, and have enjoyed keeping in touch with several of them.
I especially appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with a few other single women around my own age. I also enjoyed visiting the Crown and Covenant bookshop. I saw a lot of interesting titles in the bookshop, but managed to limit myself to two. Oh, and I also picked up a copy of the new RP psalter. I'm tempted to write a review...but probably won't have the time, at least not any time soon. :)
The main speaker was Dr. Beeke. I heard Dr. Beeke preach often when I was a child, as he was the moderator of the (pastorless) congregation I attended in Kalamazoo; so it was nice to hear him again. Here are links to recordings of his lectures at the conference, plus outlines. I really appreciated these lectures, and look forward to listening to them again.
Dr. Beeke's Lectures
One of my favorite experiences of the week was the Scottish Psalter psalm sing. It was well attended with 150 or so present. Here's a video of a few of the selections sung. (Can you see me there in the front row?)
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
a cappella: two words, two p's, two l's
On Friday we had a psalm sing, at Carl's place this time. We were missing all of our bass singers, and one of our altos, but by switching Sam from tenor to bass (he's versatile like that) we had at least one person for each part. We reviewed the short meter tune Golden Hill, then moved on to Wiltshire. We've been singing Wiltshire for years and know it well, but half of us were singing the end one way and half the other, so we agreed to do it "by the book" from here on out.
A cappella singing is hard sometimes, especially when you're the only person singing your part. Several people kindly pointed out that my timing was a bit off in the last line. So, I tried to more closely follow Jeshurun's conducting. My timing sounded fine to me, but the others said no, I still didn't have it quite right. Supposedly my timing was clashing with that of the tenors, but I just couldn't hear what I was doing wrong, and listening to the recording, I still can't. Can you? :)
Psalm 84:7-12 to Wiltshire
I'm so happy to finally have a decent recording of the second half of Psalm 84. Now I just need a good recording of the first half, sung to University, of course!
We also worked on the tune Glenluce, but few of us knew it. Perhaps next time we'll work on it again.
A cappella singing is hard sometimes, especially when you're the only person singing your part. Several people kindly pointed out that my timing was a bit off in the last line. So, I tried to more closely follow Jeshurun's conducting. My timing sounded fine to me, but the others said no, I still didn't have it quite right. Supposedly my timing was clashing with that of the tenors, but I just couldn't hear what I was doing wrong, and listening to the recording, I still can't. Can you? :)
Psalm 84:7-12 to Wiltshire
I'm so happy to finally have a decent recording of the second half of Psalm 84. Now I just need a good recording of the first half, sung to University, of course!
We also worked on the tune Glenluce, but few of us knew it. Perhaps next time we'll work on it again.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
April 2012 Psalm Sing
Last Saturday, we had another psalm sing. We've been having them more often lately; isn't that nice? :)
First, we reviewed the tune Sawley, which we also worked on in March. The third line of the bass is tricky, so our bass singers spent some time figuring it out. Once all of us had their part memorized, we sang the first six stanzas of Psalm 62 again. I won't post that recording now, since it's much like the one I posted last month.
Next, we moved on to Golden Hill. Golden Hill is a beautiful short meter tune, written down by Aaron Chapin in 1805. The melody, they say, was inspired by the song of the wood thrush. It's not in our psalters, so our first encounter with the tune was this recording by a young Scottish fellow. Several of us (not just me!) quite like Golden Hill, and have beennagging politely suggesting for months that we do the tune at a psalm sing. So we were delighted to finally sing it on Saturday.
Here's the recording for you. The plan, last I heard, is to review this tune next month, since it is still very new to most of us. Enjoy!
Psalm 25 v 15-22 (1st version) to Golden Hill
First, we reviewed the tune Sawley, which we also worked on in March. The third line of the bass is tricky, so our bass singers spent some time figuring it out. Once all of us had their part memorized, we sang the first six stanzas of Psalm 62 again. I won't post that recording now, since it's much like the one I posted last month.
Next, we moved on to Golden Hill. Golden Hill is a beautiful short meter tune, written down by Aaron Chapin in 1805. The melody, they say, was inspired by the song of the wood thrush. It's not in our psalters, so our first encounter with the tune was this recording by a young Scottish fellow. Several of us (not just me!) quite like Golden Hill, and have been
Here's the recording for you. The plan, last I heard, is to review this tune next month, since it is still very new to most of us. Enjoy!
Psalm 25 v 15-22 (1st version) to Golden Hill
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Beautiful
The last few days, I have really been enjoying this recording of Psalm 42 to Glenluce. I hope you enjoy it too.
A number of people have been posting psalm recordings on Soundcloud.com lately. I hope to post links to the best of them soon.
A number of people have been posting psalm recordings on Soundcloud.com lately. I hope to post links to the best of them soon.
Friday, March 23, 2012
March Psalm Sing, and a Question
We had another psalm sing last Saturday. I thought the singing sounded especially nice, though listening to the recordings, I'm not sure whether the singing was better than usual, or I just like the tunes more!
We practiced three tunes: Sheffield, Colchester, and Sawley. You might recall that we've done Sheffield at a psalm sing before, but Jesh thought we could use some review. I do think we sounded more confident with the tune this time around. We also practiced Colchester--one of my favorites. I like the way the first line marches downhill. You wouldn't think a downhill tune could sound so triumphant, but it does! It's a perfect fit for the second half of Psalm 46. And we worked on Sawley, a more thoughtful tune, and one of my sister's favorites--a beautiful tune.
Here are the three recordings:
Psalm 22:22-26 to Sheffield
Psalm 46:7-11 to Colchester
Psalm 62:1-6 to Sawley
I hope you enjoy these recordings!
Now I have a question for you. I know that a few of you are experts on Scottish psalm tunes. I'm curious about the tune Gairloch. I've heard about the tune's origins, but failed to write down the info at the time, so now of course I have forgotten the details. I am wondering: who wrote the tune? When was it composed? Is it now in print or has it been in print? Here in Texas we sing the tune with the parts that my mother wrote for it. Do others use different harmonies, or do they generally just sing the melody line? Thanks for any info that you can share!
We practiced three tunes: Sheffield, Colchester, and Sawley. You might recall that we've done Sheffield at a psalm sing before, but Jesh thought we could use some review. I do think we sounded more confident with the tune this time around. We also practiced Colchester--one of my favorites. I like the way the first line marches downhill. You wouldn't think a downhill tune could sound so triumphant, but it does! It's a perfect fit for the second half of Psalm 46. And we worked on Sawley, a more thoughtful tune, and one of my sister's favorites--a beautiful tune.
Here are the three recordings:
Psalm 22:22-26 to Sheffield
Psalm 46:7-11 to Colchester
Psalm 62:1-6 to Sawley
I hope you enjoy these recordings!
Now I have a question for you. I know that a few of you are experts on Scottish psalm tunes. I'm curious about the tune Gairloch. I've heard about the tune's origins, but failed to write down the info at the time, so now of course I have forgotten the details. I am wondering: who wrote the tune? When was it composed? Is it now in print or has it been in print? Here in Texas we sing the tune with the parts that my mother wrote for it. Do others use different harmonies, or do they generally just sing the melody line? Thanks for any info that you can share!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
February Psalm Sing
I've got a lot of things to post but no time to post them! I suppose I can at least post these psalm recordings, though. I've got Noah on my lap trying to read what I type, which will slow me down a bit, but that's all right. :)
On Saturday we had another psalm sing. We learned one less familiar tune, Rockingham, and sang two more familiar tunes, Arnold and Ballerma. I was surprised to see quite a bit of resistance to the tune Ballerma. It's a perfectly good tune, but apparently many of us are burnt out on it, due to its being over-used by various precentors in the past. I guess it's important for precentors to learn and use a good range of tunes, huh?
Without further ado:
Psalm 13 to Ballerma
Psalm 45:1-6 to Arnold
Psalm 145:1-7 (2nd version) to Rockingham
On Saturday we had another psalm sing. We learned one less familiar tune, Rockingham, and sang two more familiar tunes, Arnold and Ballerma. I was surprised to see quite a bit of resistance to the tune Ballerma. It's a perfectly good tune, but apparently many of us are burnt out on it, due to its being over-used by various precentors in the past. I guess it's important for precentors to learn and use a good range of tunes, huh?
Without further ado:
Psalm 13 to Ballerma
Psalm 45:1-6 to Arnold
Psalm 145:1-7 (2nd version) to Rockingham
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
communion
Sorry that I haven't been writing much lately. I've been even busier than usual the last few weeks. The increased activity has forced me to do some unpleasant thinking about time management, and priorities, and just how much I can realistically expect to accomplish in a given day or week. I have concluded that some of my favorite activities (such as blogging) will have to go, or at least will have to be cut back by quite a bit. Perhaps I'll post more about that later.
This week is our congregation's communion season. While I look forward to the services and the fellowship with friends and visitors, I am of course extra busy at the moment with preparations. I've been listening to psalm recordings as I work in the kitchen, and it occurred to me that I should post two of my favorite recordings for you to hear, since they have something to do with the upcoming communion season.
These two psalms are traditionally sung at FP communion services. Psalm 116 is sung as communicant members gather around the Lord's Table. Psalm 103 is sung as the communicants leave the table with thanksgiving in their hearts.
These are recordings of congregational singing, recorded a couple of years ago. Both psalms were precented by my brother Jeshurun.
Psalm 116:1-8 to Coleshill
Psalm 103:1-7 to London New
This week is our congregation's communion season. While I look forward to the services and the fellowship with friends and visitors, I am of course extra busy at the moment with preparations. I've been listening to psalm recordings as I work in the kitchen, and it occurred to me that I should post two of my favorite recordings for you to hear, since they have something to do with the upcoming communion season.
These two psalms are traditionally sung at FP communion services. Psalm 116 is sung as communicant members gather around the Lord's Table. Psalm 103 is sung as the communicants leave the table with thanksgiving in their hearts.
These are recordings of congregational singing, recorded a couple of years ago. Both psalms were precented by my brother Jeshurun.
Psalm 116:1-8 to Coleshill
Psalm 103:1-7 to London New
Saturday, November 19, 2011
The RPCNA Psalter: A Review
When I was in my early teens, my family discovered the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (via the magazine). After a few visits to the congregation in Chesley, Ontario, we began singing from the 1650 Scottish Psalter in family worship.
When I went off to college, and for a few years after graduating, I attended a large nominally-Reformed church with a contemporary worship style. At first I liked it, but it got old fast. Many of the praise choruses they sang were loosely derived from the psalms, but singing (or listening to the praise band sing) the line "Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere" a dozen times in a row (or more) is hardly the same thing as singing Psalm 84 (one of my favorites!) in its entirety!
When I found myself single again, and free to choose a new church, I began attending a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), where they sang the psalms from The Book of Psalms for Singing--and sang them a cappella, and with enthusiasm. After years of contemporary worship music, I found it immensely refreshing!
However, once I moved to Texas and started singing from the 1650 Scottish Psalter again, I really fell in love with it, and felt as though I'd come full circle back to the best Psalter. I appreciate the much-closer correlation between the psalms we sing, and the prose psalms. Also, I really prefer singing from a split-leaf, where you can choose the tune to use with a given psalm, as opposed to being "stuck" with a tune that might happen to be one that you don't know, don't like, or can't sing.
I am very thankful for the RPCNA church and glad that they sing and appreciate the psalms. And I would far rather sing from the RPCNA psalter than go back to praise choruses! But I'm also glad that the church I belong to now uses the Scottish Metrical Psalter rather than The Book of Psalms for Singing, or the newer version, The Book of Psalms for Worship.
Some time ago, I came across a good review of the RPCNA's newest psalter, The Book of Psalms for Worship. Now I'm guessing that few of my readers are connected to the RPCNA in any way, so this review may not be specifically relevant to most of you. However, you may find it interesting anyway, because it does address a few objections commonly made to the Scottish Psalter, like the use of "outdated" language including the thee's and thou's.
Book review: The Book of Psalms for Worship
This review was written by Mr. Andrew Meyers, an elder in an independent Reformed church in Virginia.
When I went off to college, and for a few years after graduating, I attended a large nominally-Reformed church with a contemporary worship style. At first I liked it, but it got old fast. Many of the praise choruses they sang were loosely derived from the psalms, but singing (or listening to the praise band sing) the line "Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere" a dozen times in a row (or more) is hardly the same thing as singing Psalm 84 (one of my favorites!) in its entirety!
When I found myself single again, and free to choose a new church, I began attending a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), where they sang the psalms from The Book of Psalms for Singing--and sang them a cappella, and with enthusiasm. After years of contemporary worship music, I found it immensely refreshing!
However, once I moved to Texas and started singing from the 1650 Scottish Psalter again, I really fell in love with it, and felt as though I'd come full circle back to the best Psalter. I appreciate the much-closer correlation between the psalms we sing, and the prose psalms. Also, I really prefer singing from a split-leaf, where you can choose the tune to use with a given psalm, as opposed to being "stuck" with a tune that might happen to be one that you don't know, don't like, or can't sing.
I am very thankful for the RPCNA church and glad that they sing and appreciate the psalms. And I would far rather sing from the RPCNA psalter than go back to praise choruses! But I'm also glad that the church I belong to now uses the Scottish Metrical Psalter rather than The Book of Psalms for Singing, or the newer version, The Book of Psalms for Worship.
Some time ago, I came across a good review of the RPCNA's newest psalter, The Book of Psalms for Worship. Now I'm guessing that few of my readers are connected to the RPCNA in any way, so this review may not be specifically relevant to most of you. However, you may find it interesting anyway, because it does address a few objections commonly made to the Scottish Psalter, like the use of "outdated" language including the thee's and thou's.
Book review: The Book of Psalms for Worship
This review was written by Mr. Andrew Meyers, an elder in an independent Reformed church in Virginia.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
More Psalms on Soundcloud
A few days ago, I was happy to discover a new set of psalm recordings on Soundcloud. These have been posted by a young man in Glasgow who has recorded himself singing soprano, tenor, and bass. (This same young man also posted another set of recordings made at a Bible study in Glasgow; I wrote about those back in February.) Niall has a fine voice and these are a pleasure to listen to, though I do miss hearing the alto part!
My favorite of these recordings, so far, is a recording of Psalm 50 to a short-meter tune previously unfamiliar to me, Golden Hill. Golden Hill is an old American tune, and can be found in the Sing Psalms split-leaf published by the Free Church. Sing Psalms also contains another of my favorite tunes, Land of Rest. I'm not impressed with Sing Psalms as a psalter, but I may have to get a copy some day just for the tunes.
I would love to post a player of the recording of Golden Hill, but sadly Soundcloud will not allow me to do so. You will have to visit Soundcloud to listen to it there (and download it if you wish). Also listen to Niall's other recordings. He is posting new recordings every few days, so check back often!
Psalm 50 v 1-6 to Golden Hill
More Psalm Recordings by Niall
I will add these to this index of online psalm recordings shortly. I've gotten behind on adding new recordings to the list, but will try to catch up soon. :)
My favorite of these recordings, so far, is a recording of Psalm 50 to a short-meter tune previously unfamiliar to me, Golden Hill. Golden Hill is an old American tune, and can be found in the Sing Psalms split-leaf published by the Free Church. Sing Psalms also contains another of my favorite tunes, Land of Rest. I'm not impressed with Sing Psalms as a psalter, but I may have to get a copy some day just for the tunes.
I would love to post a player of the recording of Golden Hill, but sadly Soundcloud will not allow me to do so. You will have to visit Soundcloud to listen to it there (and download it if you wish). Also listen to Niall's other recordings. He is posting new recordings every few days, so check back often!
Psalm 50 v 1-6 to Golden Hill
More Psalm Recordings by Niall
I will add these to this index of online psalm recordings shortly. I've gotten behind on adding new recordings to the list, but will try to catch up soon. :)
Monday, October 24, 2011
Singing and Sweets
Last Saturday, we had another psalm sing. I baked a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, and invited others to bring more desserts if they felt so inclined. Several people brought things to eat, including Hayley, who just happened to have a freezer full of Starbucks pastries that she was quite happy to share! Thanks, Hayley!
I very much enjoyed the singing (and the sweets) and look forward to singing with you all again some time soon.
We started by working on the tune Howard again. Once we'd beat that tune to death, as one person put it, we turned to the facing page in our split-leaf psalters, and worked on the tune Huddersfield. Lastly, we did the long meter tune Duke Street. Here are the recordings:
Psalm 92:12-15 to Howard
Psalm 98:1-4 to Huddersfield
Psalm 102:13-22, 2nd version, to Duke Street
(As always, you can download these recordings to your own computer from this site.)
We now have just over two hours' worth of psalm recordings!
I very much enjoyed the singing (and the sweets) and look forward to singing with you all again some time soon.
We started by working on the tune Howard again. Once we'd beat that tune to death, as one person put it, we turned to the facing page in our split-leaf psalters, and worked on the tune Huddersfield. Lastly, we did the long meter tune Duke Street. Here are the recordings:
Psalm 92:12-15 to Howard
Psalm 98:1-4 to Huddersfield
Psalm 102:13-22, 2nd version, to Duke Street
(As always, you can download these recordings to your own computer from this site.)
We now have just over two hours' worth of psalm recordings!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
September Psalm Sing
On Saturday we had another psalm sing. We worked on two less-familiar tunes, Winchester and Howard, which we sang to psalms 8 and 92:12-15, respectively. We still need to work on Howard a bit, so I won't post that recording, but here's the recording of Psalm 8 to Winchester:
I didn't care much for this tune before hand (partly because I kept confusing it with Farrant!), but after hearing it nicely sung in four-part harmony, I changed my mind. :)
After next month's psalm sing, all being well, we should have enough psalm recordings to make a set of two CDs. Interested? Details to come.
I didn't care much for this tune before hand (partly because I kept confusing it with Farrant!), but after hearing it nicely sung in four-part harmony, I changed my mind. :)
After next month's psalm sing, all being well, we should have enough psalm recordings to make a set of two CDs. Interested? Details to come.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Project Psalms (x2)
I was recently informed via a blog comment about "Project Psalms."
Project Psalms, in a nutshell, is an endeavor to record the singing of all 150 psalms from the Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650) and to produce a comprehensive set of 15 CDs. The project should be completed later this year, D.V.
This project is a great idea. I love the idea of having all 150 psalms available as audio recordings. Listening to recordings of the psalms is an excellent way for me to fill my mind with things that are true, pure, lovely etc.(Philippians 4:8) And recordings of the psalms are very helpful to those of us who are trying to memorize the psalter.
On the Project Psalms website is a sample recording, of Psalm 23. The psalm is sung as a solo by a professional tenor. He has a very good voice, and the recording quality is excellent.
I do have a few minor quibbles with the project: for instance, some of the tune selections, the vibrato, the fact that it's a solo performance. Nothing major.
However, the main obstacle preventing me from seriously considering the purchase of this CD set is the price: nearly 100 dollars! While this is probably a very good deal considering that you are getting 15 CD's worth of professionally produced music, the price is prohibitive for those of us on really tight budgets like myself.
Thankfully, I have discovered a poor man's alternative. :) A church in Dallas that sings the Psalms is singing straight through the Psalter at their monthly psalm sings, and posting the recordings online. So far they have gotten through Psalm 18. Their website cautions, "We're certainly not professionals, so don't tune in expecting anything other than a congregation of folks who love to sing the Psalms." However, their singing is quite good really, only the recording quality is less than professional. Perhaps someday their congregation (and ours) will be able to upgrade to better recording equipment. :)
My children and I have just started memorizing our way through the Psalter, and we have found the above recordings to be a helpful way to reinforce what we are learning. Of course, some of the tunes are unfamiliar to us, since the church in Dallas uses the Comprehensive Psalter, which has a different tune selection; but we haven't found this to diminish the usefulness of the recordings.
Here again is the link:
Recordings of the Psalms
I'll add these recordings to this index of Scottish Psalter recordings soon.
Project Psalms, in a nutshell, is an endeavor to record the singing of all 150 psalms from the Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650) and to produce a comprehensive set of 15 CDs. The project should be completed later this year, D.V.
This project is a great idea. I love the idea of having all 150 psalms available as audio recordings. Listening to recordings of the psalms is an excellent way for me to fill my mind with things that are true, pure, lovely etc.(Philippians 4:8) And recordings of the psalms are very helpful to those of us who are trying to memorize the psalter.
I do have a few minor quibbles with the project: for instance, some of the tune selections, the vibrato, the fact that it's a solo performance. Nothing major.
However, the main obstacle preventing me from seriously considering the purchase of this CD set is the price: nearly 100 dollars! While this is probably a very good deal considering that you are getting 15 CD's worth of professionally produced music, the price is prohibitive for those of us on really tight budgets like myself.
Thankfully, I have discovered a poor man's alternative. :) A church in Dallas that sings the Psalms is singing straight through the Psalter at their monthly psalm sings, and posting the recordings online. So far they have gotten through Psalm 18. Their website cautions, "We're certainly not professionals, so don't tune in expecting anything other than a congregation of folks who love to sing the Psalms." However, their singing is quite good really, only the recording quality is less than professional. Perhaps someday their congregation (and ours) will be able to upgrade to better recording equipment. :)
My children and I have just started memorizing our way through the Psalter, and we have found the above recordings to be a helpful way to reinforce what we are learning. Of course, some of the tunes are unfamiliar to us, since the church in Dallas uses the Comprehensive Psalter, which has a different tune selection; but we haven't found this to diminish the usefulness of the recordings.
Here again is the link:
Recordings of the Psalms
I'll add these recordings to this index of Scottish Psalter recordings soon.
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