Terminology Tuesday: Psalmody

From its beginnings the Christian community continued the synagogue practice of singing psalms. Various methods of psalmody appear to have been used during the early years, including singing to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument, repeating each phrase sung by a soloist, completing a phrase begun by the cantor or by two halves of a trained choir singing antiphonally.

With the Reformation, metrical psalmody began to be sung by lay people in their own languages. This style originated with Clément Marot, who as a poet in the court of King Francis I began translating psalms into French verse (1533). Popularized by the Catholic court, these metered psalms were quickly taken over by the Huguenots and later by Calvin, who gave them their first formal place in worship.

The practice of versifying the psalms swept Europe rapidly. Thomas Sternhold began the task at Edward VI’s court in England. After Sternhold’s death (1549), John Hopkins took up the work. Peter Dathenus translated the French Psalter into Dutch (1566) and Ambrosius Lobwasser into German (1573). The Scots (1564) and the Hungarians also developed Psalters. Benedictine chanted psalms and metrical psalms—a unique characteristic of Reformed worship—stand as the two most important liturgical uses of the psalms in Christian history.

The metrical Psalter became the precursor of modern hymnals. By the late nineteenth century many Reformed churches opted for hymnals rather than Psalters. Today, there is renewed liturgical interest in psalmody, with many Reformed communions once again singing psalms.

McKim, L. H. (1992). Psalmody. In Encyclopedia of the Reformed faith (1st ed., p. 308). Louisville, KY; Edinburgh: Westminster/John Knox Press; Saint Andrew Press.