The Psalmist
The
Ministry of the Psalmist
The
psalmist, missing for a long time from the Roman liturgy,
has come back on the liturgical scene with the restoration
of the Responsorial Psalm. Here is how the General Instruction
of the roman Missal, article 67, presents it:
The
chanter of the psalms is to sing the psalm or other biblical
song between the readings. He should be trained in the
art of singing psalms and be able to speak clearly and
distinctly.
This
ministry of the cantor, like the one of the lector, is the
ministry of a Christopher,, Christ-bearer. In the
account of the last apparition of the risen Lord (Luke 24:44-45),
Jesus speaks to his disciples of that which has been written
about him in the psalms: there is therefore a revelation
of Jesus in the psalms. The cantor must be transparent enough
that the face of Jesus appears in each psalm that is sung:
face of glory in the psalms of the kingdom, face of pain
and sorrow in the lamentations, "Eucharist" face
in the psalms of thanksgiving, face of majesty and the radiance
in the royal psalms, face of contemplation in the psalms
of wisdom. What a wonderful vocation is that the the "Christ-bearer"
psalmist!
Performance
of the Psalm
The
psalm may be presented in the form of a poetic reading,
in the form of chanting or psalmody, or in the form of song
properly recited.
Poetic
Reading
We
say "poetic reading,"meaning a lyrical reading
in the manner of a poem. In reality, the psalter for Israel
is "the book of song and prayer of the post-Exilic
community. In like manner, for the Christian community it
is the book of song and prayer. It is important to perform
the Responsorial Psalm with a certain lyricism. A dull and
monotonous reading takes the freshness away from the beauty
of the psalm and does not allow the face of Jesus to shine
through.
The
organist might eventually support this reading with a very
discreet organ accompaniment, which would serve as background
music and as a musical link to the repetition of the antiphon.
Chanting
or Psalmody
Chanting
is the most common solution and it is incontestably suitable
for many psalms whose literary style is not well-defined.
It requires a soloist whose voice is beautiful enough to
be accepted by everyone and who is also sufficiently humble
to be forgotten by everyone.
The
role of soloist is always formidable. First of all, the
soloist must make himself "be forgiven" in some
way for presenting himself alone in front of the gathered
assembly, as if he were proposing to sing better than anyone
else. In order to gain this forgiveness, the psychological
factor is decisive. Clearly, a smiling and amiable soloist
whose voice is moderately beautiful is preferable to the
soloist with a superb voice but with a theatrical or ill-tempered
disposition.
Next,
the soloist must remember the importance of the Word of
God, must emphasize the voice of God and not that of the
soloist, must serve the Word of God and not first the music.
The soloist should use the music to offer the Word of God
to the community, as if on a golden platter.
Singing
Certain
psalms, which literary style classifies as hymns or psalms
of the kingdom, are presented like songs. It is proper then
to apply to them the principle: a song is only a song if
it is sung.
To
recite
Sing
to the Lord a new song,
sing to the Lord, all the earth,
sing it blessing his name . . .
or
even to chant the 96th Psalm in a droning psalmody would
be an error as weighty as to recite "Silent night,
holy night. All is calm, all is bright." It is, however,
such errors as these that are committed so often on Sundays.
A great challenge for creativity lies before us!
Participation of the Congregation
The participation of the congregation
is expressed by the antiphon (cf. the General Instruction
of the Roman Missal, article 36). It is normal that this
antiphon be sung.
The practice of many churches,
here again, is not always in harmony with that which is
desirable. how many antiphons would be able to cry out in
grief or despair for having been massacred by a mono chord
recitation! how many antiphons, on the other hand, having
been sung with joy, continue to jubilate in the hearts of
the faithful and thus make the Word of God rise to the surface
of memory! We usually underestimate the effectiveness of
these antiphons in calling to mind God's word. One does
not realize the strong evocative power of melody in the
domain of memory. Let us take the example of the grandmother
who on her deathbed, in the peace of her old age, was preparing
to meet the risen Christ. her son asks her, "Mom, you
are not worried?" And she answers with this antiphon
which expresses all of her confidence and love toward the
Lord who awaits her:
You are my shepherd, O Lord,
Nothing shall I want
Where you lead me!
The antiphon, this 23rd Psalm,
had become prayer. This testimony echoes that of John
Chrysostom on the subject of antiphons given centuries
ago. He explained:
if you sing: "As a doe
languishes after spring-water, thus languishes my soul
towards you, O living God" (Ps. 42), you conclude
a contract with God, you sign a contract with him, without
ink or paper. Your voice proclaims that you love him above
all, that you prefer nothing to him, that you burn with
love for him.
Let us not sing the refrains
from habit, but let us take them like a walking-stick.
Each verse is capable of teaching us much wisdom.
Even if you are poor, even
if you are too poor to buy books, even if you have books
and you do not have at command free time, remember at
least, with great care, the refrains of the psalms that
you have sung not one time, nor two or three times, but
so often, and you will get great consolation from them.
See then what an immense treasure refrains have opened
to us."
