GENEVAN 150

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 >

GENEVAN 150 was first published in the 1562 edition of the Genevan Psalter. Dale Grotenhuis (PHH 4) harmonized the tune in 1985. Demonstrating how well they were in tune with the musical changes of the mid-sixteenth century, the Genevan musicians chose the Ionian mode (major) for this great doxology of the psalms. GENEVAN 150 is a majestic tune featuring some melodic repetitions and brisk rhythms. Like Psalm 149, this music requires joyful singing in parts and the participation of many instruments beyond full organ, but it should not be rushed.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988