New Publication Encourages all to Sing Psalms
Singing Psalms is a most welcome new publication that will be launched in Belfast on Saturday 29th November in St Nicholas' Church, Lisburn Road by the Archbishop of Armagh.
The book arose from a feeling that the practice of singing psalms has been somewhat lost in parishes where, for whatever reason, Anglican Chant was considered too difficult to master, resulting in psalms being said or dropped altogether. In an attempt to recapture the the richness and variety of emotion expressed within the psalms, the Liturgical Advisory Committee of the Church of Ireland asked Alison Cadden and Peter Thompson to devise a way of setting the psalms to music that can be sung easily by everyone.
This publication contains all the psalms needed for the liturgical year set out in a clear and easy-to-use manner. This is a simple but most cost-effective way of singing the psalms using simple chants composed by Cadden & Thompson and set to the words as found in the Book of Common Prayer 2004.
Alison Cadden and Peter Thompson are both members of the Liturgical Advisory Committee and actively involved in the music of their parishes. Alison is a music teacher in Portadown, while Peter is Rector of St Michael's, Castlecaulfield. They both feel passionately about ensuring the beauty and richness of the psalms is available to all in our services and so have collaborated to produce an easy way for all to sing the psalms. Whether there is a congregation of 10 or 100, no choir or a large chorus, Singing Psalms will work effectively - all that is needed is the prayer book and a copy of this new publication. The hope is that the passion expressed in the poetry of the psalms will be enhanced by the music.
Singing Psalms - Responsorial Psalms set to Simple Chant for Year B is published by The Columba Press, Dublin - price £9.99