On Performing Psalms

The psalms featured here are scriptural text that is sung (rather than read) at an appointed time during a congregational service. Although they vary considerably, these psalms are performed in the following manner:

1. The psalm’s Response and psalmtone are played to introduce their melodies to the choir and congregation.
2. The Response is sung by all.
3. The appointed psalm verses (which may be all or only a portion of the entire psalm) are then sung to the psalmtone. This may be done by the choir (or even the congregation) in harmony or unison. To break up the recitation of the verses, the text periodically indicates that the Response is to be performed, and the Response always is performed to conclude the psalm.

Performing psalms in a flowing manner

When congregations read text out loud jointly, whether it be a psalm or any other text, they quickly find a pace for speaking aloud without giving it conscious thought. While it may not be as fast as if only one person was speaking, it does flow along without the participants thinking to themselves that it sounds unnaturally stilted.

However, one of the most common habits into which congregations (and choirs) settle when singing psalm verses is slowing down and evenly spacing the final three notes of the psalmtone when singing the final syllables of each verse. Consider this example:

The LORD makes me lie down | in green pastures.

The LORD leads me be- | side still waters.

The | symbol is used to indicate the verse’s final three (or four) syllables. Compared to the initial part of the verse, congregations and choirs often slow down these final syllables (as if they were regularly spaced quarter notes, for example). But the psalmtones, as notated, do not suggest a defined rhythm. The last three notes of each psalmtone feature noteheads that are stemless and indicate only their pitch, not rhythm. So the pacing of the verses, as often sung, could be represented this way:

The LORD makes me lie down | in....green....pastures.

The LORD leads me be- | side....still....waters.

While they would never read the psalm in this manner, musicians and congregants (incorrectly) assume the psalmtone notation indicates a rhythm for singing the verses.

The solution is surprisingly simple: sing the psalms at the identical pace that they would be jointly read. To practice this, first have a choir or congregation read a verse out loud. Then have them sing the same verse using the identical pacing at which they read it. Note out loud to them that, when reading, they didn’t slow down for the final syllables of the verse – and for natural-sounding verses, the same needs to hold true when they sing it.

I have found it helpful to perform this exercise with congregations a few times each year, and to work with the music staff and choir on a more regular basis.

Bruce Brolsma