HE HAS HEARD MY VOICE • Elizabeth C. Patterson, cond; Gloriae Dei Cantores • GLORAE DEI 43 (74:36)

Psalms of ROBINSON, WALMISLY, WOODWARD, GOSS, LUARD SELBY, BREWER, LLOYD, HYLTON STEWART, GAUNTLETT, ALCOCK, SKEATS, WALFORD DAVIES, GARRETT, HOPKINS, TURLE, HIGGINS

This is a collection of 19 psalms sung in Anglican chant, following an earlier disc of 20 psalms (29:4). We have had a number of such collections, including complete sets of 150 psalms from St. Paul’s Cathedral (24:4 for the final disc) and from a series of cathedrals on the Priory label (14:2 for the first of the series), as well as partial sets from King’s College Choir of Cambridge (30:2), St. John’s College Choir of Cambridge (3:6), and many others. The psalms heard here are sung every Sunday at the Eucharistic service and Evensong (not daily, as the notes have it, the daily Office still being sung according to the Catholic service in Gregorian chant). The major difference here is the adult mixed choir, which gives listeners an alternative to the men and boys on all the sets cited. The usual organ accompaniment is furnished by the new organ of the Church of the Transfiguration at the choir’s home on Cape Cod, an instrument assembled from the pipes of a dozen old organs built by E. M. Skinner a century or so ago. Skinner was a respected organ builder whose firm eventually merged with another in 1932 to form the celebrated Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company.

The disc is subtitled “Psalms of Faithfulness and Hope,” just as the earlier one was “Psalms of Salvation and Mercy.” Both discs furnish a full-page meditation on each psalm, thoroughly dependable guides to the theological content of the texts. Only occasionally is reference made to the Christian interpretation of the text, though the traditional use of psalms in Mass and Office relied on reading the story of salvation after the fact. The organ accompaniment is sensibly subdued, serving only to support the voices, though the harmonies are subtly chosen. These two discs will satisfy any longing for Anglican psalmody, especially if adult voices are the preference.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber