Contemporary Developments In Responsorial Psalmody

Recent years have witnessed increased commitment to singing psalms at each worship service. As a result, composers of church music have produced a wealth of psalm settings for congregational use. These range in style and manner, but all intend to restore psalm singing as a significant aspect of common worship. One of the happier effects of the liturgical movement and the subsequent renewal of worship in this century is the revived interest in singing the Psalms. While it can be rightly argued that some Protestant traditions never abandoned the practice (principally through the use of metrical psalmody), the period following Vatican II and the nearly simultaneous charismatic renewal gave rise to a resurgence of interest in the ancient practice of responsorial psalmody. Spanning the denominational spectrum, the Psalms once again comprise a major component in the sung praise of the church. This is as it should be. The Psalms, after all, are the church's first hymnbook, and hymns are m…