GENEVAN 6

Composer: Louis Bourgeois

Louis Bourgeois (b. Paris, France, c. 1510; d. Paris, 1561). In both his early and later years Bourgeois wrote French songs to entertain the rich, but in the history of church music he is known especially for his contribution to the Genevan Psalter. Apparently moving to Geneva in 1541, the same year John Calvin returned to Geneva from Strasbourg, Bourgeois served as cantor and master of the choristers at both St. Pierre and St. Gervais, which is to say he was music director there under the pastoral leadership of Calvin. Bourgeois used the choristers to teach the new psalm tunes to the congregation. The extent of Bourgeois's involvement in the Genevan Psalter is a matter of scholar­ly debate. Calvin had published several partial psalter… Go to person page >

Tune Information

Title: GENEVAN 6
Composer: Louis Bourgeois (1549)
Meter: 7.7.6 D
Incipit: 11177 13235 57654
Key: e minor
Source: Genevan Psalter, 1542;Genevan 6
Copyright: Public Domain

Texts

No Longer, Lord, Despise Me

LORD, Chasten Not in Anger

LORD, chasten not in anger,
nor in your wrath rebuke me.
Give me your healing word.
My soul and body languish;
I wait for you in anguish.
How long, how long, O LORD?

Go to text page...

O Food to Pilgrims Given

Notes

GENEVAN 6 was composed or adapted to be sung to Clement Marot's versification of Psalm 6 in the 1542 edition of the Genevan Psalter. This tune is one of the few in the Genevan Psalter to include a melisma, a syllable set to more than one note. Howard Slenk (PHH 3) harmonized the tune in 1985 for the Psalter Hymnal. The alternate harmonization with the melody in the tenor was composed by Claude Goudimel in 1564 as part of a collection of simple four-part settings of all the Genevan tunes. This setting is especially appropriate for choirs or for men's voices. A slow tempo is appropriate for this penitential psalm. The change in mood and address calls for a change in registration between stanzas 3 and 4.

The music of Claude Goudimel (b. Besan\,:on, France, c. 1505; d. Lyons, France, 1572) was first published in Paris, and by 1551 he was composing harmonizations for some Genevan psalm tunes-initially for use by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. He became a Calvinist in 1557 while living in the Huguenot community in Metz. When the complete Genevan Psalter with its unison melodies was published in 1562, Goudimel began to compose various polyphonic settings of all the Genevan tunes. He actually composed three complete harmonizations of the Genevan Psalter, usually with the tune in the tenor part: simple hymn-style settings (1564), slightly more complicated harmonizations (1565), and quite elaborate, motet-like settings (1565-1566). The various Goudimel settings became popular throughout Calvinist Europe, both for domestic singing and later for use as organ harmonizations in church. Goudimel was one of the victims of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots, which occurred throughout France.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

Timeline

Arrangements

Organ Solo

  • Organ Music for the Communion Service
    Composer/Editors Paul G. Bunjes; Jan Bender
    Published By: Concordia Publishing House (1956) pp. 18-19
  • Suite on Sixteenth Century Hymn Tunes: For Organ
    Composer/Editor George Frederick McKay
    Published By: The H. W. Gray Company, Inc. (1950) pp. 1

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #4813
Text: O Food of Men Wayfaring
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #6
Text: LORD, Chasten Not in Anger

Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)
FlexScoreAudio

Lift Up Your Hearts #409

Audio

Psalms for All Seasons #6A

Psalms for All Seasons #6C

Text InfoTune InfoScoreAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #6

Audio

Small Church Music #1412

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #4813

Include 6 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us