Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-100).

Songs of Praise is a setting of four passages from the Psalms for soprano and chamber orchestra. The text is taken from Psalms 96, 114, 55, and 116 of the New American Standard Version, with each psalm scored as a separate movement. The duration of the work is approximately seventeen and one-half minutes. The instrumentation includes soprano, oboe, strings, and a percussion section of four players incorporating fourteen different instruments. The musical language employed is largely tonal, consisting generally of shifting tonal emphases achieved by exploiting the pitch relationships of traditional tonality. The movements are contrasting in character, according to the text, but generally of the same style. The vocal line predominates throughout spanning two octaves and a minor third from an A below middle C to a high C above the treble clef.

M.A. / The time between the rhyming of the Psalms in 1936 and the subsequent rhyming thereof in 2001 is approximately 70 years. From 1936 to 2001 society has undergone drastic change. Such societal change normally influences language use and structure and brings about incremental and subtle changes in the language, resulting in new meaning being given to words and phrases in the new societal context. Such changes are mostly found in the lexicon of the relevant language. The lexicon is the medium of transmitting meaning, and if the meaning of the lexical item has changed in subsequent generations to the extent that the speakers of one generation do not understand the previous generation, it has become indicative of extensive modification of the language. The singing of the Psalms is historically associated with the accuracy of meaning transmitted by the Scripture by means of user-friendly language usage. Standardised use of language is always linked to aging and closely linked to the progress of time. The renewing of an aging language is important for subsequent generations to facilitate meaningful interpretative singing of the Psalms. However, the renewal of the religious register of the Psalms should always meet the rigorous test of accuracy to the Scripture as Calvin laid it down as a primary prerequisite during the Reformation. Because of the aging of language, as is the case with Afrikaans, the 1936 rhyming of the Psalms was done to facilitate the changes in the normal use of the language and to bring it closer to the la nguage then in use. In this way the standardisation of the language used in the rhyming of the Psalms was established, in accordance with the normal use of standard Afrikaans. During the past 70 odd years the religious register of Afrikaans aged again and resulted in the need for a new rhyming of the Psalms in accordance with the changed register of the language. This resulted in the 2001 rhyming of the Psalms and other Scripture-related hymns, attempting to bridge the gap between the register of formal religion and contemporary language. Using the DE-method, the psalmographer eliminated lexical items with a low frequency of use from the religious register as understanding of and access to these items by the user of the Psalm have become limited. Lexical items with a high frequency of use were selected and these words have moved into the current religious register. Changes in a language are subject to social forces and tensions. The forces of the changing modern society have led to the need to establish a new rhyme to the Psalms. Thus the formal reformative religious register was removed from the Psalms and replaced by the 2001 rhyme, which is representative of current language usage. The use of the new register is successful in the effective transfer of meaning as the essence of the Scripture was retained. Notwithstanding the loss of the archaic expressions of the 1936 rhyme in the 2001 version, the presence and expansion of meaning of core information is very much evident in the 2001 rhyme. By elimination of the great amount of archaic lexical expressions from the 1936 rhyme from the 2001 version, a clear movement in the reformative religious register of Afrikaans was executed. The social influence of the unsatisfactory acquisition of lexical items by the younger generation, pushing out the older form from the register, is very much evident in the register of the Psalms. The 2001 rhyme accelerates the process of elimination of such archaic und inaccessible lexical items from the register. The empirical study indicates the fact that many such archaic forms are already passive in especially the older generation and that active use of such archaic items has disappeared. The study furthermore indicates that Afrikaans contains enough synonyms to facilitate an effective transfer of meaning in such a new rhyme. These synonyms are established and standardised lexical items functioning as common language since the new translation of the Bible in Afrikaans (1983). The changes in language are subject to linguistic forces. Simplification is the most prominent linguistic force that manifests itself in the 2001 rhyme of the Psalms. Simplification makes it easier to understand the core content of the psalms and makes it accessible to all speakers of Afrikaans. Simplification is not only the decrease of lexical items in the language but includes adding difficult or expanded forms that bring balance to the process of change in the language. This adds value to the lexicon, as the items chosen for the rhyme are taken from the language register in its current form. The process is also in a sense held back by the fact that some items from the 1936 rhyme are still used in the 2001 version, putting a constraint on the development of the relevant lexicon. The modification of a language through simplification is mainly the result of reduction and expansion. The skills of the psalmographer resulted in both expansion and reduction as linguistic elements being present in the 2001 rhyme. The empirical study has shown tha t the psalmographer has not used the available synonyms. Instead, the psalmographer has used a total new approach by using a selection of techniques in the 2001 rhyme. These techniques focus on a tight use of specific rhyme patterns evident in the Psalms and its concomitant language usage resulting in extending the understanding of the psalms by the reader. This has also led to the effective communication by means of the reformative religious register. The psalmographer succeeded in creating a unique psa lm register and treasure. By virtue of their imbedded sacral element religious registers are strongly preservative factors preventing the acceptance and change of common language. Acceptance of the 2001 rhyme has already taken place as the rhyme is based on sound Scriptural principles, convincing the reformist reader of the Psalms of its truthfulness and credibility. The use of the accepted common language as already manifested in the new translation of the Bible (1983) also contributes to the acceptance of the 2001 rhyme. This is further reinforced by the appearance of common language usage in authoritative dictionaries presenting such lexicon items as standardised Afrikaans in a rapidly changing society. Intense language transformation is present in the Afrikaans lexicon. Observing the presence of intense change in the most conservative register of a language, that of religion emphasises the intensity of the social and linguistic powers at work in Afrikaans.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of Iowa. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 1, p. 166-[173]).

Thesis (M.M.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / For SATB chorus (up to SSSAAATTTBBB), with flute, clarinet in B♭, horn, bassoon and piano. Document formatted into pages; contains 1 score (vi, 39 p.) Includes bibliographical references.

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF SELECTED JAZZ SETTINGS OF PSALMS COMPOSED BETWEEN 1958-2012 Rocky DeWayne Hardymon, D.M.A. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013 Chair: Esther R. Crookshank A trend in U. S. Protestant and Catholic churches that has gained popularity over recent decades is the use of jazz music as a means of expression in worship. The purpose of this study was to compile an analytical guide to select available jazz settings of the Psalms, published and unpublished. The methodology began with a systematic search for psalm settings fitting the chronological parameters in online databases and Christian jazz websites. Chapter 2 presents a reception history from primary sources of jazz in the church and U.S. society within the larger context of relationships between arts and the church since the Enlightenment. Primary sources include interviews with composers, correspondence, published interviews, contemporaneous newspaper reviews, and composers' liner or program notes. Search results yielded a list of 168 pieces by sixty-one composers composed between 1958 and 2012. Of these, twenty-eight psalm settings by 24 composers were selected for analysis, 19 with text and nine instrumental settings. Chapter 3 contains biographical sketches of the composers and examines their philosophies. All but two composers were from the United States, with two European. Analysis of the psalms in Chapters 4 and 5 focused on textual and musical forms, text-music relationships in the context of the psalmic genre, and distinctive musical traits associated with particular jazz styles, which ranged from art song, rock, bossa nova, blues, and free jazz to hybrid subtypes such as jazz/rock and gospel/pop. Instrumental psalms represented eight styles including lyrical ballad, gospel fusion shuffle, Afro-Cuban swing, and post-modern bop. The conclusions summarize the significance of jazz psalms within the broader history of sacred jazz, demographic data on the jazz composers, and performance considerations for jazz psalms. Included are four appendices: 1) a list of the select jazz psalms and their composers; 2) a complete list of the 61 jazz composers and 168 psalms found; 3) a list of all 168 Psalm settings found in numerical order; 4) a list of churches in North America that regularly offer jazz music.

Psalm 23 is a sacred work in four movements, written for women's chorus (SSAA), a tenor solo and a chamber ensemble consisting of flute, oboe, trumpet, percussion, timpani, and string quartet. It is designed to be performed as a portion of a church service or in concert. The text, Psalm 23 from the Bible is sung in Chinese, and the verses of the Psalm are arranged as follows: Movement 1, Verse 1, General musical characteristics: pastoral; Movement 2, Verses 2-3, General musical characteristics: peaceful; Movement 3, Verses 4-5, General musical characteristics: agitated; Movement 4, Verse 6, General musical characteristics: majestic. The form, tonal structure and harmony of each movement are influenced by the characteristics of an original synthetic scale.

Though perhaps we shall never know the music to which these religious lyrics were written, the poems have never ceased to be the source of inspiration for the spirits of men since they were first sung. Each psalm seems to have an underlying purpose with a personal message for each reader. In the Book one can find a reply to every sort of question, for the Psalms are filled with expressions of emotion brought about by all human experience. The collection of these 150 songs or psalms makes up what is known as the Hebrew hymn-book or the Book of Psalms.