Monday, April 21, 2008

Cantus Christi Selections in Recordings

Those unfamiliar with many of the selections in the Cantus Christi hymnal would be helped by acquiring some recordings of the psalms and hymns in the book. Below is a basic list of recordings. Over the coming months (and years) I hope to include some commentary on the common selections with the Cantus. Links to the recordings on Amazon.com are included. Some of these can be downloaded directly from there. The Cantus numbers listed be low are page numbers.

1. Tallis, Archbishop Parker's Psalter Selections, Cantus Christi nos. 92, 93, 218, 372, & 377

2. Tallis, Dorian Service Selections, Cantus Christi nos. 126, 386, 392, 393, 396, 398, 406, 410, 413, 416, 420, 425, 426, & 430

Comment: This recording is a download and includes the selections from Archbishops Parker's Psalter listed under #1. Both recordings are very fine although the Tallis Scholars are especially fantastic.

3. Vaughn Williams, Hymns, Cantus Christi nos. 31, 66 (100), 154 (206), 214, 272 (288), 278, 280, 294, 301, 369, & 378

Not all the tunes listed are Vaughn Williams own arrangements. Vaughn Williams arranged a whole variety of sturdy and memorable tunes for the English Hymnal of 1906.

4. Scottish Psalter Selections, Cantus Christi nos. 38, 78, 84, 105, 134, 139, 144, 159, 162, 167, 193, 298, & 360

It appears that copies are only available from independent sellers. This is a nice disc. I hope its availability doesn't disappear.

5. Anglo-American Psalmody, Cantus Christi nos. 160, 266, 370, 382

This popular album, originally released under the title 'Goostly Psalms' hardly needs mention. There is some fun and unusual music on it. The first eight or so tracks are fantastic.

6. Genevan Psalms, Cantus Christi nos. 15, 36, 58, 72, 178.

The performances on this CD are all first rate. The Cantus numbers noted above are found in homophonic settings on the CD with the melody in the tenor. There are polyphonic settings on the CD of other Cantus selections but the tunes are harder to hear as they have been elaborated upon in such settings.

7. More Genevan Psalms, Cantus Christi nos. 15, 42, 58, 168, 178, 425

This CD I recommend with reservations. The arrangements of the psalms are interesting in that they feature Goudimel's several styles of psalm settings including monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic. The listener gets a good idea of the breadth of Genevan psalm styles. But the performances themselves aren't great making this CD non-easy listening.

8. Lutheran Music, Cantus Christi nos. 208, 225, 231, 232, 404, 408

This CD is another interesting study in Reformation music particularly because it pits the rich polyphonic music of the conservatives Luther and Walter against the simple music of the radical, Thomas Muentzer. Walter's polyphony is thick and being that the hymn tune is in the tenor voice most of the pieces won't sound recognizable. Nevertheless, this is a CD worth having, if for no other reason than blasting on Reformation Sunday.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Book Review:
Church Music in History and Practice by Winfred Douglas
revised by Leonard Ellinwood
Scribner's, 1962

note: the original edition of this book was published in the 1930's. References to The Hymnal, 1940 are Ellinwood's.

Canon Winfred Douglas has written a thorough and very helpful book on church music and its use in liturgy. It is indeed a foundational work for those wanting the "what's what" in liturical music. Douglas, a devoted Episcopalian, shows his true colors a number of times in the book. This blog has already highlighted a couple of these. Many a recovering low-churchman will be further enticed by his rhetoric. Yet, at the same time, Douglas is very ecumenical (if the reader permits the term). He expresses a great debt of gratitude to guys who have broad, evangelical appeal like Luther, Bourgeois, Watts, Newton, and Wesley. This is not a book that dwells in the remote past, although much value is placed there. On pages 199-200 he digresses into a discussion of the meaning of the word "catholic." Briefly, he says "...all who praise [Christ] may be catholic members indeed. No mere being a high churchman of a low churchman of a broad churchman, an Episcopalian or a Roman Catholic, a Baptist, a Methodist or a Presbyterian, can give us a right to that lofty name." Whereas there is room to take exception with this statement if too broadly applied, Douglas, whose apparent audience is Episcopalians and Anglicans, strengthens his argument by drawing others in.

Douglas was a high churchman, to be sure, valuing the bells and whistles of elaborate liturgy. At the same he was appalled by the state of the modern Episcopal church's worship, where congregations were made mere spectators to the drama. We who favor sturdy congregational singing find an ally here. Douglas frequently speaks in pastoral tones in his book, desiring a music of God's people, not merely aesthetics.

It could be said that this book is a commentary on The Hymnal, 1940, of which Douglas is listed among the editors. Those unfamiliar with the music Douglas mentions in his book will find a The Hymnal a supplement to Douglas (indeed, Douglas a handbook to the Hymnal). The Hymnal, 1940 is an outstanding piece of practical scholarship as Douglas's book well demonstrates.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Winfred Douglas on the Psalms

“Few churches sing the Psalms at all. Fewer follow any order which insures the regular use of the entire Psalter…I know of at least one small country church where for years the daily Evensong Psalter has been sung through every month, and the Matins Psalter read. A certain degree of adaptability to conditions, of reasonable flexibility is good but the permissions granted in the rubric have further worked out disastrously in our Offices. Not only our people but some of our clergy, are slowly losing any spiritual knowledge of the Psalter as a whole. The spiritual knowledge has, in every age, been the main sustainer of the soul of man apart from the sacraments and prayer, and the vehicle of the praise of God even in the sacraments.”

What a sorry state of affairs. Douglas wrote this back in the 30's. We Presbyterians should be ashamed; we who claim to value the psalms so highly. Even if we don't revive the daily office we'd be doing well if we had regular contact with the psalms.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Psalm 96:1-4

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; shew forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods.

Here we are exhorted to sing a new song. A less-evident understanding holds that old songs are to be sung as if they are new, in a fresh and winsome way. But the more obvious meaning certainly applies. During David’s and Solomon’s times lots of brand new songs were sung. We continue to sing new songs unto God because His mercies are “new every morning.” God has not ceased to be faithful when He granted us salvation but continues to save us and provide for our every need. Therefore new praise is necessary: “…shew forth His salvation from day to day.”

Psalm 95:1-3

O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods.

Singing is a fitting act of worship. Worship of God requires a joyful spirit that pours out praise. Praise is a worthy sacrifice. Blood is necessary in so much that our flesh and blood are to be living sacrifices to God. Part of what it means to present our bodies living sacrifices is to praise God in singing.