GENEVAN 136 was first published in the 1562 edition of the Genevan Psalter. The 1564 harmonization by Claude Goudimel (PHH 6) originally placed the melody in the tenor. One of the shortest and brightest tunes from Geneva, this music may be sung responsorially (with a soloist for the narrative stanzas and everyone on the refrain parts, that is, the second half of each even-numbered stanza) or antiphonally (with two groups alternating on the narration, and everyone singing the refrain parts). The tune is in Mixolydian mode and properly ends on D. However, to modern ears D may need resolution to G, the opening chord. For that reason and because of the short tune and narrative style, do not hold the last chord. Instead, continue the rhythmic motion between verses without a pause, especially when singing antiphonally or responsorially. A song leader will help to keep the congregation moving along. MONKLAND (223), which is also associated with Psalm 136 and John Milton's versification in some other hymnals, is a useful alternate to GENEVAN 136.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
The music of Claude Goudimel (b. Besançon, France, c. 1505; d. Lyons, France, 1572) was first published in Paris, and by 1551 he was composing harmonizations for some Genevan psalm tunes-initially for use by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. He became a Calvinist in 1557 while living in the Huguenot community in Metz. When the complete Genevan Psalter with its unison melodies was published in 1562, Goudimel began to compose various polyphonic settings of all the Genevan tunes. He actually composed three complete harmonizations of the Genevan Psalter, usually with the tune in the tenor part: simple hymn-style settings (1564), slightly more complicated harmonizations (1565), and quite elaborate, motet-like settings (1565-1566). The vario… Go to person page >
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