Or (Ps. ii. 1), and the people i- | magine a |

vain

thing.

The interjection "O" is thus pointed when it occurs after a comma in the second or ninth bar :

Give ear unto my words, | O... | Lord.

And also in other instances the punctuation influences the pointing, thus :—

Contractions.

Four syllables are not admitted into single bars unless contraction, indicated by a horizontal line is employed, for instance :

For I have called up on thee | To be chanted-call'd up' on |,

Such contraction, a novelty in this Psalter, is as admissible when benefitting the rhythm of the pointing as when aiding the rhythm in metrical versions. Tetrasyllabic

Awkward words.

compounds under any circumstances most awkward to sing, such as testimonies, innocency, tabernacles, adversaries, sanctuary, diligently, caterpillar, &c., are, as the lesser evil, not divided when occurring in the double bars. Unimportant words, such as "upon" and "unto," cause continual compromises, and were they changed in the next authorised version to "on" and "to," unnecessary obstacles in pointing would be lessened, as well as the text improved,-for example, "He shall set me | up up- | on a | rock;" or to take a more glaring instance, in which, by the musical accent unavoidably falling on the preposition instead of on the verb, the invitation to "| sing' to the | Lord" has to be falsely accentuated "sing unto the Lord."

Unison

Chanting.

In regard to other new arrangements in this Psalter, the verses to be chanted in unison (according to the "8-feet or 16-feet diapason" of the vocal register possessed,) are indicated by brackets on the left hand of the pages, and should be sung by the whole choir and congregation. When the treble part is too high to be taken by altos or contraltos in actual unison, those voices can sing in unison with tenors and basses, whose unison must always be one octave below the melody. When consecutive fourths occur between treble and alto in the vocal harmony, the inversion of the melody in the unison passages may seem to cause corresponding fifths between the alto part of the accompaniment and the lower octaves of vocal unison. It may however be said, in reply to some rather hypercritical objections which have been raised on this point, that if the instrumental parts are supposed to cross, consecutive fifths only exist on paper: or the accompaniment may ments. be changed, by which vocal unison may be much enhanced. The introduction into this volume of many varied harmonies would have more than doubled its size, but a suggestion as to what might in this way be done in accompanying Psalm lxxviii. is given on page 72.

Varied

accompani

Transposition

and alterations.

If the original keys of some well known Chants are too high for unison-singing they are lowered; and if melodies are vulgarised by too many crotchets, or harmonies disfigured by awkward progressions which can have been so long tolerated only on the ground of use and wont, such hindrances to smooth chanting have been removed. Two notes in the melody in double bars, only tolerable when two or more syllables there occur, have only in such cases been retained; and dotted notes are not admitted on reciting notes. With such modifications, some chants, for instance that on page 99, which, either from lack of taste in the age in which they were made, or from gradual deterioration in melody as well as in harmony, probably caused by reproduction in numberless collections, have not undeservedly come under the ban of modern purists,—are here re-introduced in a more devotional form, and in one which it is hoped their composers would have approved had they lived in a rather later period, when views and taste as to "Anglican" Chants have changed.

Special treat

ment of Psalms.

Some Psalms require special treatment, e.g., xxiii., xxiv., xlii., and xliii., lxxviii., cvii., and cxxxvii. At the 9th verse of Psalm xxix., the 17th of lxxii., the 11th of lxxiv., and the 37th and 52nd verses of lxxxix., the second half of the chant is repeated, for paragraph reasons. In all other Psalms with an uneven number of verses sung to Whole Chants, excepting cvii., the second half of the chant is repeated at the final verse. As in other pointed Psalters, it has been deemed inadvisable to crowd the type by continual reminders of this important rule, but its observance may be secured by choirmasters at rehearsals.

Repetition of second Half of Chants.

:

"Doxologies."

The ascription of praise which occurs at the end of each of the five "books" into which the Hebrew Psalter is divided, namely, after Psalms xli., lxxii., lxxxix., cvi., and cxlix.,-cl. being throughout a doxology-is printed in italics, implying that in chanting such verses all should join, like the "consonus undarum fragor." It Musical portion

of this work equally suitable

version.

may be added that both the selection of Chants and their adaptation to to Prayer Book psalms have been made from long and wide experience of those which have most commended themselves in the principal "choirs and places where they sing" in the kingdom; and also that the sequence of keys, &c., is so arranged as to make this selection equally suitable to our beautiful older Bible version printed in 1539, and above referred to as having been ordered to be retained for daily use in the "Booke of Common Prayer."

For courteous permission to reprint, the best thanks of Publishers and Editor are due to Messrs. Mills & Co., Bond Street, for use of chants by Dr. Crotch; to Messrs. Novello, Ewer & Co., for those by Sir John Goss, Mr. Turle, Sir George Elvey, and Dr. Wesley (Single in F sharp minor); to Miss Havergal, for those by Rev. W. H. Havergal; to Mr. Paul Rimbault, for that by Dr. Rimbault; to Sir George Elvey, for those by Dr. Stephen Elvey; to Rev. F. Wesley, for the Double Chants by Dr. Wesley; and to Professor the Rev. Sir Frederick A. Gore Ouseley, Bart., for one of the best of Single Chants.

Without such kind co-operation any collection of Chants would be imperfect; and although the Editor is well aware that all collections and systems of pointing must be far from perfect, and also that any novelty of plan or system is liable to engender mistrust, he earnestly hopes that, on its being fairly tried, this Psalter may be found useful, and so, in some degree, may tend ad majorem Dei gloriam.