Psalm refrains

Julie Sager writes about Survey Insights for the Psalmody Committee:

I'm a cantor/choir director/arranger of music for my congregation, and my biggest desire in the Psalms is to have them fit the lectionary. I think the psalm tones are very singable by a congregation (and to me that highly important), but the hymnal will have a refrain that in no way adds to the focus of the Sunday. Psalm refrains, when done well, add a sense of momentum between readings and allow the congregation to participate in and internalize the message for the week. I feel the refrains should be tailored to the lectionary instead of the Psalm text.

I'm also a hymnal/Psalter collector. I've found the most inspiring collections were created "in-house", so to speak. I'd like to see a WELS project where we create our own Psalter for home/school use that's entirely created by WELS musicians.

I haven't fully thought out these ideas, but I hope they add value to the discussion.

Paul Prange responds:

Thank you for your suggestion, Julie! The Psalmody Committee will talk about the very issue you have raised at its next meeting, which is scheduled to take place in July. Since we are also responsible for settings of the Verse of the Day, it will be very natural for us to consider how closely we can tie everything to the lectionary. Thank you again for writing!

Published on Apr 2, 2014

About Paul Prange

Rev. Paul Prange is the Psalmody Committee Chairman for the WELS Hymnal Project. He currently serves as the WELS Administrator for Ministerial Education. Prange has served congregations in Austin, TX, Roscommon, MI, and on the Apache reservations in Arizona. Prange and his wife, Leanne, raised three children in Saginaw, MI, where Prange served for fifteen years as president of Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

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