Lakewood Sound

Meters, Levels and Loudness, Oh My!

David — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:04:12 +0000

Recently, a colleague at a Central American television station wrote asking about levels. Here is his question:

In the on-going process of trying to professionalize the operations here at the station, I am tackling the issue of QC on our audio levels. We frequently transmit distorted, saturated audio, but the reasons for it are harder to nail down than I wish they were. (more…)

How Hymns are Selected for Worship at Holy Trinity

David — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:33:16 +0000

Hymn selection begins with the scripture lessons for the day as prescribed by the lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer. (more…)

Why Do We Chant the Psalms?

David — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:26:39 +0000

Simply put, we are told to do so in the scriptures, first in 1 Chronicles (depending on translation), Psalm 95 and 105. Later, St. Paul tell us to sing Psalms in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. And there are other passages in both Old an New Testaments. The Psalter (the book of Psalms) was the “hymnal” of ancient Israel, used in worship in temple and synagogue. The Psalms were written not simply as poetry, but were intended, by the authors, to be sung, usually with instrumental accompaniment, and perhaps even interludes.

Of course, we do not know exactly what the music sounded like. The Christian church has used may different forms of music over the centuries. Chant (as opposed to singing) seems to work particularly well with Western languages, since it lets the poetry flow naturally, without imposing Western rhythmic patterns. At Holy Trinity, we use a modified form of Anglican chant.