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Coverdale Translation and The English Cathedral Psalter


StephenFroggatt

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The English Cathedral Psalter is still in use today in English Cathedrals and large Churches - if you attend a traditional Evensong then you can virtually guarantee that the Psalms being chanted by the choir will be taken from it. The ECP uses the Coverdale Translation of the Psalms, and not the King James Version, which came later. Coverdale also provides the Scripture passages in the Book of Common Prayer. It is an important translation historically - how wonderful, then, to have it available within Accordance.

 

Psalm 46 from the (Coverdale) English Cathedral Psalter:

 

God is our | hope and | strength: a very | present | help in | trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the | earth be | moved ; and though the hills be carried into the | midst | of the | sea.

Though the waters thereof | rage and | swell: and the mountains shake at the | tempest | of the | same.

The rivers of the flood thereof, shall make glad the | city of | God: the holy place of the tabernacle | of the | most | Highest.

God is in the midst of her * therefore shall she not | be re- | -moved: God shall | help her and | that right | early.

The heathen make much ado and the | kingdoms are | moved: but God hath shewed his voice and the | earth shall | melt a- | -way.

The Lord of | Hosts is | with us: the God of | Jacob | is our | refuge.

O come hither and behold the works | of the | Lord: what destruction he hath | brought up- | -on the | earth.

He maketh wars to cease in | all the | world: he breaketh the bow, and knappeth the spear in sunder * and burneth the | chariots | in the | fire.

Be still then, and know that | I am | God: I will be exalted among the heathen * and I will be ex- | -alted | in the | earth.

The Lord of | Hosts is | with us: the God of | Jacob | is our | refuge.

Psalm 46 from the King James Version:

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

 

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For a very long time I have wished that Accordance would offer the entire 1662 Book of Common Prayer with the Coverdale Psalter. For those who know it, it is a very special translation indeed.

 

rari

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Like this?

 

post-5629-0-67646100-1360163448_thumb.png

 

We've got the 1662 BCP finished (still needs some minor edits) but are holding it to research a larger collection of resources and versions of the BCP.

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Wonderful news, Rick! Definite 'LIKE' :) for that! Looking forwards to hearing more about its eventual release. Thanks for such an encouraging response.

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YES!!!

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I would love to have the BCP in Accordance. Great idea, and thanks!

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What other versions of the BCP do you all use?

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The 1979 BCP of the Episcopal Church. I used it regularly when I was in seminary, less often now. But do still use it from time to time. I'd enjoy having it available in Accordance; I'd probably make more use of it if I had it in Accordance than I do now.

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I use the 1979 BCP daily and refer to the 1928 version regularly. All of this in addition to using the 1662 version which is of course the grandaddy. Not the first but the one from which later versions have come.

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1549!!! I don't "use" it, but it's definitely a wonderful (and the original) edition. Essential for work on the historical BCP. (IMHO)

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1979 is probably most widely used in the U.S. today.

 

England has a Book of Common Worship (2000 or so?) which is stellar. Would be great to have that, too. PDFs are already all available (freely). More on that resource here.

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Slightly off-topic, but The Church of England's Common Worship is not actually available for commercial re-selling. The pdfs are provided freely for individual liturgical use only, and with restrictions. Copyright in all content is held by The Archbishops' Council Of The Church Of England © 2000.

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Hi, Stephen,

 

I don't have time to read their liturgical copyright guide closely now, but what you say is right, although it looks like they'd entertain a written request and possible fee for commercial use--just that it can't be used that way without permission and paying a license? You may know better than I, though.

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Slightly off-topic, but The Church of England's Common Worship is not actually available for commercial re-selling. The pdfs are provided freely for individual liturgical use only, and with restrictions. Copyright in all content is held by The Archbishops' Council Of The Church Of England © 2000.

 

 

Hi, Stephen,

 

I don't have time to read their liturgical copyright guide closely now, but what you say is right, although it looks like they'd entertain a written request and possible fee for commercial use--just that it can't be used that way without permission and paying a license? You may know better than I, though.

 

We would never use anything posted online without researching any potential issues with rights, etc.

 

Thanks…

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Right-o. I probably wasn't clear in my reference to pdfs. What I meant to say was--there are already etexts available, so at least that part of the process would (theoretically?) make it easier for Accordance to move ahead with getting permission/license, etc. for the Book of Common Worship.



Rick, I know Accordance is often reluctant to ofter ETAs of modules, but is there a general timeframe and price range for when the BCP is coming? Also, would it be multiple years/versions (e.g., 1662/1928/1979) in one package?


Excited about this news. Thank you for working on it.

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Rick, I know Accordance is often reluctant to ofter ETAs of modules, but is there a general timeframe and price range for when the BCP is coming? Also, would it be multiple years/versions (e.g., 1662/1928/1979) in one package?

 

Excited about this news. Thank you for working on it.

 

As mentioned, the 1662 edition is basically done. But instead of releasing one version and having multiple people chime in on the version they prefer, we'd rather research this and release a collection. We've been doing that already and the comments in this thread also help. That said, I cannot give an exact date since we have more work to do on it, in addition to many other concurrent projects.

 

I hope this helps…

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Yes, that's helpful. Thanks!

 

Accordance doesn't have hymnals, right? Silly question, I know--there's probably no way to display music. I've seen a couple of hymn resources (with just lyrics).

 

But I ask because while we're on Episcopal/Anglican resources, the 1982 Hymnal would be fun to have... even if words only with an index and ability to search by hymn heading, title number, lyrics, etc.

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Yes, that's helpful. Thanks!

 

Accordance doesn't have hymnals, right? Silly question, I know--there's probably no way to display music. I've seen a couple of hymn resources (with just lyrics).

 

But I ask because while we're on Episcopal/Anglican resources, the 1982 Hymnal would be fun to have... even if words only with an index and ability to search by hymn heading, title number, lyrics, etc.

Not Accordance, of course, but have you looked at hymnary.org for this kind of thing?

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Those are all great, Joel, and have been on my wish list for some time. I'm probably going to break down and purchase the $49 Basic Group on Primary 9 pretty soon, since it contains all of those.

 

I was asking specifically about the 1982 Hymnal, which has quite a good selection of hymns (more than what's currently in Accordance). Talking about the BCP made me think of it, since it's another staple resource for Episcopal worship.

 

Lorinda, yes--a great site! Oremus is also helpful. The more I use Accordance (and even the more I use other Bible softwares) the more I am consistently impressed with the layout, functionality, diverse search fields, etc. So having the full 1982 Hymnal integrated into Accordance would be great... but probably not a huge market for it, and probably not something serious church musicians (e.g., organists) would make use of for lyrics alone. But I'd buy it! :)

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Alongside the BCP, the other Anglican staple has always been "Hymns Ancient and Modern" (first published 1891, revised several times). My copy of BCP has Hymns A&M at the back, yet still the whole fits in its little slipcase which is less than 2.5 x 8.5 x 12.5 cm. The full list of hymns in this particular edition (with texts) is provided on the Oremus Hymnal website.

 

According to the new Hymns A&M Website:

There are three books in the 'splendid trilogy with which the Anglican Church has endowed the English-speaking world'.* The 1662 Book of Common Prayer possessed statutory authority and clergymen had to use it in their religious services or they faced ejection from the church and the label of dissenter. The Authorised Version of the Bible, first published in 1661 at the behest of King James I, 'Translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by his majesty's special command' is 'appointed to be read in churches'.


And then there is the hymn book, Hymns Ancient and Modern.

There is a story that George V once attended divine service on board one of the ships of the Royal Navy and was handed a copy of a hymn book but it wasn't the one he was expecting. 'I never authorised this' he exclaimed looking at the copy of The English Hymnal. Apparently, some tact was needed to explain to the King that he had never been called upon to authorise any hymn book. The book he'd been expecting to use, Hymns Ancient and Modern, had been part of his family's devotional experience since its first publication in 1861. It was the hymn book used at the funeral service of Albert, Prince Consort in St Paul's Cathedral in December of that year. It had been in use in the Royal Chapel at Windsor since his grandmother Queen Victoria 'took a fancy to some special hymn tunes in Hymns Ancient and Modern.' ** His mother Alexandra, then Princess of Wales, had given him and all his siblings a copy of Hymns Ancient and Modern on their confirmation. And a special souvenir edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern had been published in 1911 to commemorate his coronation.

It's no wonder that George V thought that Hymns Ancient and Modern was authorised by royal decree. However, the book's status and sales of over 150 million copies in the 150 years of its existence owed nothing to royal intervention or official endorsement from the Church of England. Instead, Hymns Ancient and Modern has reached near ubiquity in parish churches and its iconic status as the establishment hymn book on its own merits as a hymn book that worked for most of the people, most of the time. It was created by hard-working Victorian clergymen who knew the value of devotional music and wanted their congregations to have the best. Hymns Ancient and Modern was not ordered into existence by a King anxious for control or a committee seeking uniformity. Rather, it was a book that was created in a spirit of collaboration by men and women who understood the power of hymnody and wanted to use it to improve congregational worship for everybody. The founders of Hymns Ancient and Modern created a book that became a national institution.

 

*Stanley Thomas Bindoff, Tudor England

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I use the Trinity hymnal for my personal worship and would love to have that resource in Accordance. But even more, I'd love to have the music as well - perhaps as images in the modules which can be clicked and enlarged / viewed full screen? Then I would be able to do searches based on Scripture or English content or meter or author and that'd be pretty cool.

 

But as for the Book of Common Prayer, I'd like to see the 1662 and the 1928 versions as well as the 1979.

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Regarding the BCP, I would vote firmly for the 1662, but request again the English Cathedral Psalter, ideally with those glorious associated music chants as image files.

ECP is currently online here.

If it's one or the other then obviously it's a vote for BCP since the Coverdale Translation of the Psalms is within.

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Thanks for all the feedback here; very helpful.

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