Psalmody

Whereas Martin Luther would admit any suitable text to be sung in worship unless it was unbiblical, John Calvin would allow only those texts which came from Scripture. Calvin commissioned poets to write metrical settings of the Psalms for the congregations in Strassburg and Geneva. Calvinist churches throughout Europe developed large repertories of psalmody, especially churches in England and Scotland. By about 1532 the French court poet Clement Marot (c. 14971544) had already translated some of the Psalms into French verse. These translations were shared at court and sung by an ever increasing circle of admirers. John Calvin selected twelve of Marot's metrical translations along with five of his own to be printed in his first Psalter, the Aulcunes Pseaulmes et Cantiques Mys En Chant. This was published in Strassburg in 1539. After Marot's death, the work of translation was continued with the expert aid of Theodore Beza (15191605), who moved to Geneva in 1547. A complete Psalter of 1…