The Genevan Psalter, also known as the Huguenot Psalter, is a 1539 metrical psalter in French created under the supervision of John Calvin for liturgical use by the Reformed churches of the city of Geneva in the sixteenth century.
Background
Before the Protestant Reformation a select group of performers generally sang the psalms during church services, not the entire congregation. John Calvin believed that the entire congregation should participate in praising God in the worship service, and already in his Institutes of the Christian Religion of 1536 he speaks of the importance of singing psalms. In the articles for the organization of the church and its worship in Geneva, dated January 16, 1537, Calvin writes: "it is a thing most expedient for the edification of the church to sing some psalms in the form of public prayers by which one prays to God or sings His praises so that the hearts of all may be roused and stimulated to make similar prayers and to render similar praises and thanks to God with a common love." For this reason he wanted to create a songbook of hymns based on the psalms in the belief that in this form these biblical texts would become more easily accessible to people.
After being forced to leave Geneva in 1538, Calvin settled in Strasbourg, where he joined the Huguenot congregation and also led numerous worship services. It was in Strasbourg that he became familiar with the German versification of the psalms prepared by Martin Luther and others. Calvin shared these songs with his French congregation and also wrote some metrical versifications for them himself. Considering his own versions of the psalms not to be of sufficient quality, he turned to the French court poet Clément Marot, who had already versified most of the psalms in French during the first part of the sixteenth century.
Editions
1539 edition
In 1539 the first edition of Calvin's psalter was published. It bore the title "Aulcuns Pseaulmes et cantiques mys en chant" (Some rhymed Psalms and Hymns to be sung) and contained 18 psalms and hymns set to music, including 12 versifications of Marot (1, 2, 3, 15, 32, 51, 103, 114, 115, 130, 137, 143), six psalms of Calvin (25, 36, 46, 91, 113, 138), the ten commandments, the Song of Simeon and the Apostles' Creed. Most of the melodies therein were familiar tunes used in the German church in Strasbourg (Strasburg) at that time. Some were apparently composed by Wolfgang Dachstein or Matthias Greiter.
1542 edition
In 1541 Calvin returned to Geneva, where he published a new psalter in 1542. Guillaume Franc, cantor and music teacher there, contributed numerous tunes for this edition including those for Psalms 6, 8, 19, 22, 24 (this tune was also used for Psalms 62, 95 and 111), and 38. The collection was titled "Les Pseaumes mis en rime francoise par Clément Marot et Théodore de Béze".
1543 edition
Clément Marot moved to Geneva in 1543, where he created rhymed versions of another 19 psalms and the Song of Simeon. Although Calvin wanted him to complete the job, he left the city and went to Turin, where he died in the fall of 1544. His work was continued by Théodore de Bèze. The 1543 edition bore the title La Forme des Prieres et Chantz ecclesiastiques. There was an argument with the City Council concerning its publication because of the presence in it of a rhymed version of the Angelical salutation. The melodies for the new psalms were composed by Guillaume Franc.
1551 edition
Containing 83 psalms, this psalter appeared under the title Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (Eighty-three Psalms of David). In addition to the 49 psalms translated by Marot, this edition features 34 psalms with the text translated by de Bèze. The new collection was published in Geneva by Jean Crispin in the fall of 1551. The supervising composer was Loys Bourgeois. It is not exactly clear how many of the melodies he actually composed, but it is generally assumed that most of the new additions were from his hand. This includes the first version of the hymn tune known as the "Old 100th", nowadays common as a setting for Psalm 100 ("All people that on earth do dwell") in this edition, however, this tune is associated with Psalm 134 (Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum).
1562 edition
Finally in 1562 a complete psalter was issued with rhymed versions of all 150 psalms. Some of the earlier melodies were replaced. The last 40 melodies are ascribed to a certain Maistre Pierre, probably Pierre Davantès. Many of the lyrics were updated or replaced and all of them were written by Marot and de Bèze.