Psalter and Psepper

Every Sunday we recite/chant/sing a selection from the Book of Psalms from the Bible. In ancient times, the Book of Psalms was often bound as a separate volume and became known as The Psalter. These ancient Psalters were often richly decorated and used to teach people how to read. These 150 Psalms, credited to David among others, are also collected in a section of our Book of Common Prayer also called The Psalter, which caused me no end of hilarity when I was in confirmation class. "And so where is the Psepper?!"

The BCP directs us to recite the Psalms in several ways. Written for chanting or singing, they can also be recited aloud. And then they can be
chanted, sung or recited in several ways. The first is direct recitation, in which the psalm is read aloud in unison, much like a prayer. Two more ways of reading a psalm are antiphonal recitation and responsive recitation. Antiphonal recitation is when the recitation or signing of verses alternates between the choir and congregation, or one side of the church and the other. Responsive recitation is when a leader or cantor reads or sings alternate verses with the congregation.  In responsorial recitation, the verses are sung by the choir or cantor.  After a group of verses, a refrain is sung by the congregation. The refrain is usually drawn from one of the verses. We use this method here at St. Timothy's. Apparently this method is becoming more and more popular.

If you look at the Psalms in the Book of Common Prayer Psalter, you will notice Latin phrases before each psalm. These phrases are the first words of each psalm and serve as a kind of title for each psalm.  Psalm 23 is known as Dominos regit me.  The psalm appointed for each Sunday rotates throughout the year according to the lectionary.