Chanting the Psalms: A Practical Guide with Instructional CD

Our adult faith formation team was doing a study of the Psalms. On our last session, I used the materials in this book to try chanting them. It was an incredibly powerful experience. I'd done chanting on my own with the book, but corporate chant was an entirely different experience. I was amazed at what we were able to do in just one session; we started with the monotone and then worked in increments up to singing in fourths. A few people in the group would be considered "musical", but the group as a whole was definitely not. Nonetheless, we sounded good and were more in tune than any Sunday Service, possibly because we were really listening to one another. Bourgeault's small steps and "this is for everyone" stance made the experience accessible to everyone. It was a new and powerful way to experience the Psalms, and a great counterpart to our more academic study.Update: A little over a year later, and with a different mix of people, we again "chanted the psalms" as part of a Lenten prayer retreat. We were just as successful, and the results were just as powerful. We even gave it a try (with a mix of those who had and had not done it) as part of evening prayer before a committee meeting. Not quite as successful, but everyone was intrigued and we decided to do it again next month.

If you are a Christian in the traditional sense then many parts of this book may offend you. A large portion of the book reads like an apologetic for New Age religious syncretism.For an Episcopal priest, or anyone else for that matter, to refer to God as "the G word", state that believing that Christ is the Messiah is responsible for the Holocaust, etc can't fail to offend many Christians. Attempting to make up for the irresponsible and tragic use of Christianity in the past by unscrupulous people by offending modern Christians and diminishing traditional Christian beliefs seems misguided.On a practical note. I think that newcomers to chanting might be confused, more than helped, by this book. There are too many options, none of which are discussed in enough detail to be really helpful. And there were a few glaring errors. The one that springs to mind right away was assigning the clef in Gregorian chant to "middle C". It's not - it's "Do" (as in Do, Re, Me, etc). Gregorian notation shows the interval between notes, not the tone. One of the beauties of Gregorian notation is that you can assign any note as the "Do" tone to accommodate any choir or voice. If your interest is in Gregorian chant there are other, much better, books for learning it than this one.The book does have it's good parts. It is good at giving an overview of various forms of chant. This would be helpful for those that are interested in chant but don't know what kind of chant they would be most drawn to. However, the information on each type of chant is very limited so you would need to get additional sources no matter which chant type you choose. And there is a good amount of information on resources for further study, etc.Basically I think that if you are comfortable with the theology presented (or can ignore it to get to the relevant chant info) then the book may be of interest. If you are already familiar with chant types then the book's usefulness would be limited (perhaps only for the resources listed). If you are trying to learn Gregorian chant then you need to look elsewhere.

This book and CD set is excellent for beginner instruction in chant. I was expecting strictly Christian material and was a little put off by the "Multi-faith", politically correct, one-world propaganda but the actual chant information and the cd were great. I was able to go right out and buy the type of chant cd's I had learned about and preferred, and jump right into a great time with God. I would buy it again.

This book is well-written and inspiring. Better still, it's nicely balanced so that there's something to be gained from it no matter what your previous level of experience and knowledge of music is. The author gives good insights into why chanting is useful to spiritual practice, how to choose a translation of the Psalms to work with, and introductions to several basic styles of chant, all of which are demonstrated on the accompanying CD. There is more than enough information given to start your own practice of chanting, and it leaves you excited to begin.

Ignore negative criticism of this book. It has changed the way I pray and has allowed the meaning of the psalms to explode before me. My prayer life that has always tended toward the contemplative side has only become more so since learning how simple chanting can be. This book has made clear why chant and psalmody is vital for Christians. Once you start chanting the psalms, suddenly it is hard simply to read them again. Cynthia Bourgeault has given me a gift for which I can not thank her enough.

This book fills a needed spot for me. It is everything that it's title promises, being very practical and very good at guiding the reader to whatever level of involvment you want.The material on the history of Gregorian Chant satisfied my curiosity about that. I chose not to bother with the details of that form of notation, but there is enough in the book to make a good start at learning how to read it.The CD is all that is promised, being of good quality.

Love the simplicity of the narrative and the Chant included. We are going to be using some of them here during our regular Prayer sessions. Thankyou.

This little book is down to earth practicality for heavenly offerings of the chant. The author is not a professional singer, but a normal human with a normal voice. Easily read and applied! The copy I purchased was missing the CD, but I was able to check the cd out at the library.

PRAYER

a lovely if somewhat expensive book. The chapters about the psalms as prayer and the added demention that singing them can add to your prayer life are suffused with enthusiasm and the joy of an obvious "user". The "how to" sections are clear and the CD is straight forward. The "why to" sections are beautifully written and passionate.

So disappointed... book looks amazing, but the cd is absent. I don’t read music so can’t do much without cd. :( was so looking forward to this.

A wonderful book and a great way to move deeper into your faith.

What I read so far suggests that it is really a group book. It doesn't seem to be for individuals