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The Taize community in France has a few songbooks with Bible verses, including Psalms set to music. While some of them include instrumental parts, and they're not very old (1940-present), they are nonetheless very beautiful when sung in a capella harmony. Here's a few links:

http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/psalms/index.htm



I've really appreciated the online recordings in times of spiritual need and depression; the music is so simple it speaks well to the heart.

Heirbyadoption wrote:
As entails its evolution among Plain folk, you might make some study into Sacred Harp/Harmonia Sacra, and the development of the Aiken notation system. These all lent themselves to said evolution, at least on this side of the Pond.

Thanks for that tip. I've got the Sacred Harp book and have attended a few singing, but I haven't made a thorough study of the history of that singing. I suspect it had some influence on 4-part church music in America.

Josh wrote:From what I can tell, 4 part singing arose as an American cultural thing in the 1800s and was a popular hobby. At least contemporary literature seems to show that. Eventually it became popular in religious circles too, with the most conservative folks stubbornly clinging to 1 part.

Probably sort of true, although many aspects of 4-part go back to around the 1600's. Homophony came into existence then, which is basically a concept used to write harmony in 4-part music. There are some 4-part pieces from that era too. As to when it became common for entire congregations to sing 4-part together during worship services, I think that was probably an 1800's development, and possibly not until after 1900. More conservative churches tended to be later. I haven't really even found much on this yet, but then I haven't looked much.

J. Hertzler has quite a bit of good information about the history of the Sacred Harp.

KingdomBuilder wrote:

Sudsy wrote:I wonder how they got past this verse regarding how a Spirit filled Christian will act - 'singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts." Eph 5:19 NLT

Well "hymns" surely didn't mean the same thing to them now as it does to us. The great surplus of artistic expression in Christianity would be foreign to many of our ancestors.

I wonder what the difference might have been in the early church between singing a psalm, a hymn or spiritual songs. Some from my roots considered singing in an unknown tongue to be the spiritual songs.

My guess is that when 4 part harmony became a way of singing in church it ran into similar resistance as introducing the piano and bar tunes that were used for the hymns some still sing today. I enjoy a capella 4 part singing but my preference is the Gaither style quartets. I went to many concerts years ago and travelled a bit myself singing in an amateur quartet with 3 other MBs.

[bible]Psalm 98,4 [/bible]

A good verse for those who are tone deaf. It sounds beautiful to God when it is unto the Lord even though they may not get to sing in an earthly choir.