Psalm singing -- Isle of Lewis

[johnquinn39]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3MzZgPBL3Q


WOW! -- This is the real thing!

[Southern Comfort]

Interesting features:

All the chants are in a kind of slow 3-time, as well as (as you would expect) all being pentatonic. I wonder if there are any in 2- or 4- time. Without knowing which psalms were being sung, all the chants sounded rather similar in mood.

The congregation seems to have little problem with top Es.

All three cantors (all men) have similar vocal tone-colour, despite disparity of age and physical appearance.

The congregation (and perhaps the cantors too) have only the words of the psalms in front of them. This is clearly an oral tradition.

Thanks, John, for this link.

[John Ainslie]

I was so mesmerised by this psalm singing that I bought a whole CD of it (Salm Vol 1, obtainable from http://www.codamusic.co.uk in Edinburgh), which gives the Gaelic texts and an English translation.

The Gaelic texts are in rhyming verses, so evidently belong to the tradition of Calvin's Genevan Psalter - i.e. sacrifice exact translation of the psalms in order to get congregations to actually sing them.

Like the video clip, the singing on this disk is claimed to be spontaneous and totally unrehearsed. That I can believe: the folk would only ever practise the tune, never with the sacred words of worship.

The vocal range of the voices is extraordinary: reciting notes of C or D are common and top notes are a dizzy G.

Most impressive.

[NorthernTenor]

Beautiful music, and very well performed, but they should move with the times. Perhaps a bit of Comfort or Schutte?

[keitha]

I hope you are kidding NT! We are, after all, dealing with a cultural heritage that I hope we would all wish to see preserved. I, for one, was as mesmerized as John Ainslie was by this wonderful singing.

[NorthernTenor]

Yes, Keith, I was kidding - in order to make a point about another cultural heritage of inestimable value.