April Monthly Musical Offering: Psalm 23 | Rodgers Instruments

APRIL MONTHLY MUSIC OFFERING

Springtime and the Easter season conjure up images of flowers, verdant fields, and renewed life. The fourth Sunday after Easter is often associated with the reading of Psalm 23, the text of which emphasizes these same pastoral themes. Some more contemporary services may feature an alternate paraphrase of the text in a song or as a theme of meditation, and its lines have long been used for comfort in difficult times. For this reason, it is also sometimes heard at funerals.

This April, Rodgers shares a short prelude by Charles Wood and a paraphrase of Psalm 23 by Joseph Addition. Wood based this music on the hymn tune Surrey, which is used for a hymn version of Psalm 23 by Henry Carey referred to as “The Good Shepherd.” Carey borrows from Addition’s beautiful paraphrase for his hymn. The text is shared here and can be used as an alternative to the traditional recited psalm, or it can be featured as a reading or a source of meditation paired with this piece in a service.

PERFORMANCE NOTES

Accentuate the phrasing of the left hand- this is important because the texture of the piece can become monotonous and without distinctive phrases, the music becomes flat. The left hand moves in parallel 3rds, so anytime there is a jump of a 3rd, there can be a short breathe as the note repeats. The phrasing is built into the motion of the harmony!

Allow the melody to breathe! It’s easy for the right hand to play everything legato, but if there is no place for a flautist or soloist to breathe, the music will feel forced and unnatural. Repeated notes and jumps of an octave are good places to start inserting small pauses for breaths.

Try using this piece as a duet with a solo musician playing the melody. It can make a beautiful springtime Voluntary and its easy melody provides a way for students or young people to participate in special musical numbers.

Bonus Tip: Rodgers organs include additional onboard voices beyond the standard stops, found in both an Orchestral Library and Organ library. This recording was made on a Rodgers 239, featuring the Harmonic Flute in the Organ Library playing the role of the shepherd’s flute.

THE LORD MY PASTURE SHALL PREPARE

by Joseph Addison

The Lord my pasture shall prepare
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noonday walks He shall attend
And all my midnight hours defend.

When in the sultry glebe I faint
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary, wandering steps He leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious lonely wilds, I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile;
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.

Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For Thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid
And guide me through the dreadful shade.