The Battle of Words

Here at Parish, we have long enjoyed singing the psalms, often to musical settings produced in house. But psalm singing is a distinctive of the Reformed faith that goes back to the origins of the movement in the 16^th century. The setting of Psalm 12 we will sing at the end of this morning’s service was composed by Loys (Louis) Bourgeois (c. 1510-1561), one of the finest Huguenot musicians of his age. Bourgeois was the music director at Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Geneva, pastored by John Calvin, and the man largely responsible for the music, editing, and publication of what we know today as the Geneva Psalter, published posthumously in 1562. His association with Calvin came in handy—the great reformer was instrumental in getting Bourgeois released from prison after the city authorities arrested the composer for altering some of their preferred tunes! Each setting in the 1562 psalter was uniquely fitted to each psalm (no recycling of tunes, as was common in English church music) and was intended to be sung in unison (no four-part harmony) by the congregation with a simple, somewhat austere musical style. This tune is called Genevan 12 or Donne Secours, after the first words of Psalm 12 in French. So while it may be less familiar to us, this music has been associated with this passage of Scripture for nearly five centuries. —Henry C. Haffner