05 September 2004

Old One-Hundredth?

This morning in church we sang "All People that on earth do dwell," which is, of course, a metrical versification of Psalm 100. The tune, to which Bishop Thomas Ken's doxology is often sung, finds its origin in the Genevan Psalter. Indeed, it is almost certainly the best-known of the Genevan melodies in the English-speaking world. What is less known is that the tune which goes by OLD ONE-HUNDREDTH in so many hymnals was originally Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter. Another, and to my mind, more compelling tune was used for Psalm 100. It was not until 1650, with the publication of the Scottish Psalter, that the Genevan tune for Psalm 134 was reassigned to Psalm 100.

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