In October 2013, I attended my first choir rehearsal at an Anglican church in Edmonton, Alberta. I joined with no knowledge of the Anglican faith, being a lapsed Roman Catholic who had been attending (and was married in) a United church. At that pivotal moment, I was exposed to the rich and varied musical heritage of Anglicanism, which has profoundly impacted me and my music. However, despite the wealth of glorious hymns and anthems, it was undeniably the harmonized chant, with its endless possibilities and abstract simplicity, which inspired me the greatest. This book, Modern Psalter, is the culmination of a fifteen-month effort to compose 150 Anglican psalm chants in my own contemporary musical language. What began as a personal experiment with little forethought became a project of personal growth, both in music and in faith. Throughout the three sets of chants, I hear a definitive stylistic progression, moving away from a reliance on shocking harmonies and towards more emotionally complex ideas. Although some of the chants written in this book can be at times heavy-handed and clumsy, I feel there are also moments of elegance and grace which would be of great spiritual benefit in a liturgical setting. In the index to this book, I have paired each psalm with an appropriate chant. This is only one potential arrangement, as this Psalter can and should be used in any desired arrangement and for any religious purpose. Since many of the chants betray their supposed key and enter harmonically distant (and theoretically obtuse) territory, organ accompaniment may be necessary – but it is always the pure intonation of an unaccompanied choir which is most desired.
