The title of this disc is explained by Vladimir Ivanoff
in the booklet. “Jews,
Christians and Muslims sing and listen to the same songs
of lament and joy, confessions of sin, hymns of praise and
adoration. In this project of the King's Singers and Sarband,
psalm settings by composers from three religions give an
example of how psalms can be a source of spirituality, a
political instrument, a link between tradition and modernity
and, above all, a bridge connecting human beings.”
This statement should be taken with a grain of salt. The Psalms
may indeed be something all three religions share, but the way
they see them is rather different. The Old Testament, which
the Book of Psalms is part of, is held in high esteem by
Muslims, but for them it doesn't have the same status as
it has in the Jewish faith. And the Christians see a connection
between the Psalms of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ,
which is reflected by the addition of a doxology to the Psalms: “Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost”.
Therefore considering the Book of Psalms as a bridge between
the three religions seems a little exaggerated.
But this project is very interesting nonetheless, in particular as
far as the connection between the Psalms and Islam is concerned.
All the Psalm settings on this disc are in some way or another
connected to the developments in the 16th and
17th centuries in Europe.
Both centuries were dominated by religious conflicts, in particular
between Catholicism and Protestantism. The spreading of the
Reformation and the attempts of the Roman Catholic Church
to preserve or restore its dominant position in Europe resulted
in a series of wars. It was the Peace of Utrecht of 1713
which marked the end of that sequence of wars inspired by
the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism. This
conflict also had consequences for the Jews. One of the aims
of the Counter-Reformation was to separate Christians and
Jews. These attempts were not always successful, and around
1600 some Italian courts showed interest in Jewish thinking
and appointed Jewish musicians at their courts. One of them
was Salomone Rossi, who became a violinist at the Gonzaga
court in Mantua. It was his aim to bring the music of the
synagogue more in line with the contemporary style of composing.
His collection of Psalms, Hashirim
asher lish'lomo, published in 1622, was an attempt to write music for the synagogue
in polyphonic style. But there was much resistance from within
Jewish circles. One of the arguments was that polyphony was
something for specialists, whereas the singing of Psalms
in the synagogue should be part of the congregation. It wasn't
only the resistance from within, but also the political developments
that brought Rossi's attempts to an end. Italy was invaded
by Emperor Ferdinand of Austria, and Mantua was hit by the
plague in 1628. Many Jews were banned from the city.
The view that Psalms should be sung by the congregation was
shared by the Calvinist wing of Protestantism. In circles
of the
French Protestants – the Huguenots - poets and musicians
worked at a rhymed version of the 150 Psalms, set to relatively
simple melodies which the congregation would be able to sing.
This collection, completed in Geneva in 1562, and therefore
called the 'Genevan Psalter' (or the 'Huguenot Psalter'),
came into use in Calvinist communities in France, Switzerland
and – with Dutch rhymed verses - in the Low Countries. Some
composers of fame used the melodies to write compositions
in the traditional polyphonic style. One of them was Claude
Goudimel, another Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. The latter's
religious conviction is still something of a mystery. Even
if he always remained Catholic by heart – as is sometimes
argued – he joined the Reformed Church if only to be able
to play as organist in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. His polyphonic
settings were not meant to be sung in the Calvinist Church
in the Netherlands, but rather at the homes of the aristocracy
and in their social gatherings.
The melodies of the Genevan Psalter also spread through Germany
and Poland, although they never received the status they
had
in the countries dominated by Calvinism. But it is due to
the fact that these melodies were known in Poland that they
found their way to the Ottoman empire. A young Polish composer,
Wojciech Bobowski (1610-1675), was enslaved by Crimean Tatars
and sold to the court of Mehmed IV of Constantinople. During
his reign the Ottoman empire experienced a golden era in
music. In Constantinople Bobowski received an education and
converted to Islam. He changed his name to Ali Ufkî, and
received an important position at the Sultan's court, as
musician, treasurer and interpreter. He translated an Anglican
catechism in Ottoman and wrote a Latin explanation of Islam.
He also compiled a small collection of Psalms for which he
made use of melodies from the Genevan Psalter, which he adapted
to the Turkish modal system.
The Psalm melodies performed with instruments from the Middle East
by the ensemble Sarband is the most interesting and intriguing
part of this disc. It is peculiar that the performance of
the Genevan Psalm settings by Sarband isn't as weird as one
perhaps would expect. In fact, when they are sung by Mustafa
Doģan Dikmen one gets a strong
sense of authenticity. That is not the case, though, when
the King's Singers sing the Psalm melodies to the accompaniment
of Sarband's instruments. They just don't fit, as the sound
of the King's Singers is very West European. From a historical
point of view this combination is certainly not tenable.
But I wholeheartedly recommend this disc, which is one of the most
original and interesting which I have heard of late. It pays
attention to the Genevan Psalter, which has been unjustly
neglected by the recording industry. And by shedding light
on the connection between the Psalter and the Ottoman culture
it adds something to our knowledge of the relationship between
East and West in musical history.
Johan van Veen
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The King's
Singers: David Hurley; Robin Tyson (alto); Paul Phoenix (tenor);
Philip Lawson; Christopher Gabbitas (baritone);
Stephen Connolly (bass) 
