July 22, 2010

• The Psalm CD once more………

   

  Our Psalm CD was reviewed by Christopher Dawes in the July 2010 issue of Organ Canada, the official publication of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. He did not review this CD purely based on what he heard and what he read in the CD booklet: Mr. Dawes did his research and addressed also the context, our reformed churches, the style of singing and highlighted a few aspects of the position of the Genevan Psalter in North America (and more…). 

  I appreciate his comments about the playing and singing… I paid extra attention to his comment that this form of musical orthodoxy (e.g. Genevan Psalms) is tied tightly to a certain doctrinal orthodoxy (i.e. of the Canadian and American Reformed churches). He refers to the Anglican chant for the (conservative) Anglicans and the Scottish Psalter for the (conservative) Presbyterians.

  I am wondering what Canadian/American Reformed church members think about this… is there a relation between the music and the doctrine of the church? Could you generally predict the docrine when you hear the music of a church? To stretch it futhter: is music part of the identity of the church? Is it realistic that the (conservative) Angican church remains Anglican and says good-bye to the Anglican chant? The Lutheran church stays Lutheran without the hymns of Luther? The conservative Presbyterians stay presbyterians and replacing the Scottish psalter?

  Over the last few years I have thought about this too, also considering what history does to reformed churches that practically replaced the Genevan Psalms (and subsequently the indiscriminate singing of Psalms) in the church life and in the personal life of their members. Mr. Dawes does not indicate if his personal experience as organist of a Christian Reformed church or his visits to the Netherlands have shaped this comment.

  Enjoy the reading of this CD review.

   

  Other CD reviews:
  Review – Clarion by Rev. Theo Lodder (Cloverdale BC, Canada)
  Review – Una Sancta by Rev. John Smith (Albany, WA, Australia)
  Review – The Messenger by Rev. Joel Overduin (Mitchell, ON, Canada)

   

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  • 11:59 pm
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