Szenczi Molnár Albert: „Psalterium Ungaricum” – Isten énekelt igéje magyarul?

Abstract

Albert Szenci Molnár: Psalterium Ungaricum – Word of God sung in Hungarian? In 2017, the Hungarian Protestants celebrate the 410th anniversary of the Psalm Book of Albert Szenci Molnár, yet in the 500th jubilee of the Reformation, little attention has been given to this achievement. Considering the hymnal practices of our contemporary congregations, it is well worth analysing the state of the sung Psalms within our liturgy. The Psalm Book has an important literary, linguistic, and musical value, mainly because it is the first hymnal booklet comprised of the entirety of 150 Psalms edited with a clear paraphrased verse structure, printed in Hungarian. Should a congregation follow the pericope order in establishing the Bible verses that stand at the basis of the sermon, every chosen verse can easily be accompanied by an appropriate Geneva Psalm. Is it possible to establish a fixed place and function for the Psalms within the liturgy? What sort of auxiliary materials are at our disposal with regard to the choosing of the appropriate Genevan Psalm within a given liturgical frame? In what way is it possible to highlight the sermon aspect of the sung Geneva Psalms as edited in Hungarian language by Szenci especially in the case in which they are sung intermittently by a congregation and a choir? What type of new musical Psalm-arrangements have there been made? In what way is it possible to use these new adaptations, in order to bring the archaic texts and old melodies closer to the contemporary youth of the congregation? In the present study we give a brief overview of the role of the Psalms within the Christian liturgy, we present the history of the Psalm Book of Albert Szenci Molnár, and provide answers to these questions listed above.