Accompaniment
Psalms may be sung unaccompanied or accompanied by an organ or other instrument. Organists use a variety of registrations to mirror the changing mood of the words from verse to verse; but the organ should never be so loud that the words cannot be clearly heard. Organists may sometimes indulge in word-painting, using effects such as a deep pedal note on the word thunder, a harsh reed tone for 'darkness' contrasting with a mixture for 'light', or (more frivolously) applying the Zymbelstern to the phrases round about and fair ground. Psalm 102 may be the hardest to illustrate, including both a 'pelican of the wilderness' and an 'owl of the waste places'.
Read more about this topic: Anglican Chant