CANTERBURY. NEW. (C.M.) This one has really grown on me. It’s got a mournful sound to it, and the melody (tenor line) is uniquely satisfying to sing.

PSALM HUNDRED AND NINETEENTH. (C.M.) (Probably v. 92?) Fairly wide range for melody (thankfully only hits highest note once). Lowered a whole step to better accommodate, although that makes for a pretty low alto. I love the dotted-half “pause” in the antepenultimate measure.

SOLITUDE (C.M.) Elisha West My refuge is the God of love, My foes insult and cry, Fly like a tim’rous, trembling dove To distant mountains fly. Since I have placed my trust in God, A refuge always nigh, Why should I like a tim’rous bird To distant mountains fly?

Danbury. C.M. Daniel Read. Watts. Our life is ever on the wing, And death is ever nigh! The moment when our lives begin, We all begin to die.

ACCUSER. S.M. Neal Shoemaker. I hear the Accuser roar Of ills that I have done; I know them well and thousands more But God remembers none.

Here’s an example of why I undertake projects to re-typeset entire hymnals and psalters. The first is from a “digital” hymnal PDF that I found for sale, which retained visual noise, probably from being scanned. The second is my own typesetting, which remains clear at any size.

Another example of how not all PDFs of hymnals — even digitally typeset ones — are created equal. The slur in the first example not only connecting the incorrect voices, it also looks like a razor-thin sabre, dead set on skewering the poor alto note.

A good reminder… From the Trinity Hymnal (1990), #150: “The Law of God Is Good and Wise.” A great final verse, too. Take the 2 minutes and 40 seconds to sing along:

Nothing but the merit of Christ can be our righteousness in the sight of God, either as a whole, or a part only. —Zacharias Ursinus

Sometimes, I’m in disbelief at what people attempt to pass off as acceptable sheet music online. Some scores you should really look at and say, “…N— no, this is embarrassing. I shouldn’t upload this.” Behold Mozart:

I transcribed some psalm anthems from Urania, and I wanted to post them here, but boy are they strange sounding.

I wish congregations would be trained in part-singing through-composed songs. I understand that proper worship in song means the whole congregation sings, but the songs need not be simplistic or dumbed down.