A DIRECTOR OF MUSIC LOOKS AT THE PSALMS

FORTHCOMING 2025

A Director of Music Looks at the Psalms is a sequel to my earlier books on the Psalms, The Songs of Ascents (2015) and The Message of the Psalter (1997). In it, I take a few further steps in unearthing how the Psalms really sounded when they were sung. This covers the evidence for their rhythm, their call-and-response or antiphonal singing, their instrumentation, their melody lines, their use of simple harmony, and much, much more.

Yet I’ve never been one for the compartmentalization of knowledge, so there’s more here than just the archaeomusicology of the Psalms. It is also, by turns, theological, historical, liturgical, devotional, prophetical, personal, and encouraging. With reflections on twelve favourite psalms, it is Psalms scholarship with a human touch. If you enjoyed my other books, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this one too.

The Lost Music of the Psalms
The Music of the Bible
The Temple Orchestra
The Secret of the Psalms