Marot, Clement; Theodorus Beza; Claude Goudimel.

Les Pseavmes Mis en Rime Francoise [Huguenot Psalms].

A Delf: par Bruyn H. Schinckel, 1602. The Psalms with musical accompaniment in four parts, Superius, Tenor, Contra., Bassus. With an interesting pencil inscription on the ffep- "Marot & Beza's Huguenot Psalm Book- When this book was printed- Henry IV was King of France. Elizabeth Queen of England. Philip 3d King of Spain. The Dutch, with Maurice of Nassau son of William the Silent, as General, at war with Spain. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. Henry IV died in 1610. Philip 2d died in 1598."

In 1598, Henry IV, king of France had issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted a large measure of religious liberty to his Protestant subjects, the Huguenots. They were also granted full civil rights, including access to education. At the same time, the king himself converted from Huguenot Calvinism to Roman Catholicism and brought an end to the violent Wars of Religion that began in 1562. It was a time when the French could in safety choose Protestantism, a time when translating & publishing a Protestant tome such as this into French was welcomed. The fact that it includes music in four parts, is most interesting to any singer of sacred music.

32mo, 4 3/4 x 3 1/8", text block just over 1" thick. The psalms with music take up 3/4 of the book; a table of psalms listed alphabetically; la Forme des Prieres Ecclesiastiques; la Forme d'Administrer le Baptesme; La Maniere de Celebrer la Cene; the same for le Mariage; Des Articles de la Foy; Les Dix Commandememens; D'Oraison; De la Par. de Dieu; Des Sacremens; Prieres; La Maniere d'Interroguer les enfans qu'on veut recevoir a la sancte Cene...; Confession de Foy. Rebound ca. 1860 in half calf, marbled boards and endpapers, text uniformly trimmed with some slight loss at the top and all edges stained red. Nicely respined in brown calf with gilt title and date.

A translation from the introduction to the 2019 edition by Droz: "The chanting of the psalms was not an invention of the Reformation, but in the 16th century it was no longer reserved for convents and chapters, monks and clerics. It is the whole of the believing community which gives heart and voice to raise its psalms to God, first in Wittenberg, in Strasbourg then in Geneva and in reformed France. A sound rood screen has fallen. Between 1531 and 1561, an identity monument was developed which still commands admiration: the versified paraphrase of the one hundred and fifty Psalms which will assert itself as the Huguenot Psalter. Clément Marot, then Théodore de Bèze are the authors at work: the first is the greatest poet of French expression of the 16th century before Ronsard, the second, one of the greatest neo-Latin poets of the same ardent century."

OCLC: 64873653 cites 3 copies in Holland. Item #27945

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