Psalm pokutny (51) jego wydźwięk tekstowy i muzyczny w polskich śpiewach religijnych
The Text and Musical Overtone of Penitential Psalm no. 51 in Polish Religious Songs

Summary/Abstract: In the reservoir of prayers and church songs, Psalm 51, briefly titled The Miserere Psalm or „Prayer of Repentance”, has the role of being the most important and popular penitential psalm. Among the many translations of this psalm special meaning was given by the poetic paraphrase of Franciszek Karpiński, which begins with the verse: Bądź mi litościw, Boże nieskończony („Have mercy on me, O God”). In the last two centuries many melodies were composed for this translation. The melody, published for the first time in 1878 in Kraków in the Spiewniczek of Rev. Jan Siedlecki, gained a prominent place in songbooks and in oral tradition. Since then, this melody has, with minor changes, been consistently reprinted several times up to the present. The free translation of The Miserere Psalm was also used for a few other songs of penitential character. Among them are psalm songs which in structure and melodic pattern are based on Gregorian psalm tones. The main theological value of the teaching contained in Psalm 51 consists not only in its penitential character. This Psalm also expresses a trustful prayer for forgiveness and beseeches God's help in conversion.

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