Congregational Song

Theme Passage

Romans 12:9-12

Congregational singing, when done well, is symbolic of what the Body of Christ should be. It's like a spiritual barometer. Churches that lack joy, understanding and participation probably lack spiritual vitality.

Hymns as Literature

I.Poetic Structures

A. Trinitarian--stanza 1 is about God the Father; 2 is about Christ; 3, the Spirit; 4 (if present) about all three. Be careful when choosing such hymns: don't capriciously pick and choose stanzas on the basis of time; you may inadvertently omit a Person of the Godhead (usually the Holy Spirit in verse 3).

B. Responsorial (or "call and response;" "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus," "Are You Washed in the Blood?")--a call and devotional; a question and answer. Know the structure: it will enhance the meaning...

C. There will be some kind of developmental structure (by subject, chronology, itemization, thesis-antithesis-synthesis)

1. Chronological (hymn #193: "One Day")

a) Incarnation (st.1)

b) Crucifixion (st.2)

c) Burial (st.3)

d) Resurrection (st.4)

e) Second Coming (st.5)

2. Personification (hymn #292: "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go")

3. Itemization (hymn #502: "Open My Eyes, That I May See")

4. Hegelian Dialectic (hymn #74: "O God, Our Help in Ages Past")

a) Chiasmus: subject A references are at the ends of the stanza, subject B references are adjacent

b) In Hebrew poetry there is not so much a rhyming of sound as of ideas

5. Litanies and Refrains

D. Rhyme Scheme

1. Pure rhyme--final vowel and consonants are exactly the same

2. Masculine/feminie rhymes--rhymes that do not agree in syllables

3. False rhyme

4. Consonant/vowel rhyme

5. Eye rhyme

E. Patterns

1. Cross rhyme (ABAB)

2. Rhyming couplets (AAB)

3. Blank verse--may be metrically limited, but will not try to rhyme (hard to remember; only the melody will help you remember)

F. Poetic meter--the pattern of rhythmic accent in the text

1. Iambic (stressed-unstressed)

2. Trochaic (unstressed-stressed)

3. Dactylic (stressed-unstressed-unstressed)

4. Anapestic (unstressed-unstressed-stressed)

5. Sometimes mixed meter (moving through several meters); more often simply modulates (from consistent use of one meter to consistent use of another). Usually has nothing to do with the tune.

6. A poetic foot is a number of "beats" in a verse (groups of stressed and unstressed syllables

G. Hymnic meter--counting the numbers of beats per verse

1. SM--Short Meter (6.6.8.6.)

2. LM--Long Meter (8.8.8.8.)

3. CM--Common Meter (8.6.8.6.)

4. Double (8.6.8.6.D. = 8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6.)

5. Note: In the 1991 Baptist Hymnal there is a large number of tunes categorized as "irregular"--that is, the meter changes from stanza to stanza; to the editors, "irregular" means that no other song in this hymnal has exactly the same ...

H. Why change tunes? We can often interchange lyrics with known tunes, but why?

1. We can change the exegesis of a text

2. Sometimes it helps to keep the subject of the text fresh

3. Often the character of the tune doesn't match that of the text

I. Poetic Devices

1. Alliteration--repetition of the same first letter or sound in a group of words (usually at least three)

2. Anadiplosis--using a word or idea at the end of one stanza in the beginning of the next

3. Anaphora--repetition of a word at the beginning of verses or parts of verses

4. Metaphor & Simile--words or phrases ordinarily meaning one thing used to suggest likeness (simile uses "like" or "as"

II. Congregational Song & Scripture

A. How can Scripture be used?

1. Direct quotation--a verse of scripture is quoted verbatim somewhere in the song

III. Sometimes quotation marks will be present to indicate that the enclosed words are drawn from some other source

1. Versification--putting scripture into poetic, rhythmic, and rhyming form

a) Easier to remember

b) Conforms scripture's structure to consistent usability with single melodies

2. Paraphrase--a loose interpretation of scripture that may modify the text somewhat extensively (Isaac Watts is the most predominant of lyricists)

3. Allusion--text alludes to a scripture; may refer, in a broad way, to some biblical doctrine (will not necessarily remind everyone of the same scripture)

4. Free poetry--no specific scripture is even alluded to, though it does refer to Christian doctrine (e.g.: gospel songs; "Fairest Lord Jesus")

B. Useful Sources

1. Judson Concordance to Hymns (Ref BV 305 .M3)

2. Catalogue of Choral Music Arranged in Biblical Order (Ref. ML 128 .C54 L4 1996)

3. Hymn & Scripture Selection Guide (Ref. BV 312 .S67 1993)

4. Hymn Tune Names (Ref. ML 3186 .M22)

5. Chevalier, C. U. J. Repertorium Hymnologium. Bruxelles, 1920-21. Published as appendices to the Analecta Bollandiana (6 vols.) Ref Z7838.L7 C5

6. Diehl, K. S. Hymns and Tunes: An Index. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1966. BV305 .D5 1966

7. Eskew, Harry, and Hugh McElrath. Sing With Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980. BV310 .E75

8. Eskew, Harry, and Hugh McElrath. Sing With Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology. 2nd ed. Nashville: Church Street Press, 1995. BV310.E75 1995

9. Eskew, Harry, David W. Music, and Paul A. Richardson. Singing Baptists: Studies in Baptist Hymnology in America. Nashville, TN: Church Street Press, 1994. ML3160.E84

10. Foote, Henry W. (comp.). American Unitarian Hymn Writers and Hymns. (Compiled for the Hymn Society of America for Publication in the Society's proposed Dictionary of American Hymnology.) Cambridge, Massachusetts: Henry W. Foote, 1959. BV455.A1 F6

11. Hopson, Hal H. The Creative Church Musician Series [vol. 1, Choirs, vol. 2, Descants, vol. 3, Handbells]. Carol Springs, IL: Hope Publishing Co., 1999. M2115.5.H66 C7 1999

12. Keith, Edmond D. Christian Hymnody. Nashville: Convention Press, 1956. ML3186 .K35

13. _____. Know Your Hymns (2 vol.) Nashville: Convention Press, 1966. ML3160 .K43

14. , and Gaye L. McGlothlen. Hymns We Sing. Nashville: Convention Press, 1960. ML3160 .K4

15. McCutchan, Robert Guy. The Congregation and the New Hymn. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, 1946. ML3869 .M22

16. Music, David W. Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1996. ML3000.M87 1996.

17. Osbeck, Kenneth W. 52 Hymn Stories Dramatized. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1992. BV315.O69

18. _____. 101 Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1982. ML3186 .O85 1982

19. _____. 101 More Hymn Stories. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1985.

20. _____. Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1990. BV340.O72 A42 1990

21. Parker, Alice. Creative Hymn-Singing: A Collection of Hymn Tunes and Texts With Notes on Their Origin, Idiom, and Performance, and Suggestions for Their Use in the Service. Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, Inc., 1976. ML3186 .P32

22. Reynolds, William J. Congregational Singing. Nashville: Convention Press, 1975. ML3160.R49 C66

23. _____. Songs of Glory: Stories of 300 Great Hymns and Gospel Songs. 1st ed. Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. BV315 .R49

24. _____. A Survey of Christian Hymnody. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1963. ML3186 .R5

25. Reynolds, William, and Milburn Price. A Survey of Christian Hymnody. 3rd ed. Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Co., 1987. ML3186 .R5 1987

26. _____, and David W. Music. A Survey of Christian Hymnody. 4th ed. Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Co., 1999. ML3186.R5 1999

27. Anything by Erik Router

C. Congregational Song and Doctrine

1. Heresy-truth out of balance

2. Our songs must be faithful to biblical truth because they shape our worldview and theology probably more than anything else

a) Sheer repetition

b) Links ideas, concepts, and teachings with feelings & emotions (most spiritual decisions are not based on intellectual processes)

c) Poetic devices and images deepen our insight and enrich (intensify) our understanding of not only the truth, but the meaning of the truth

(1) Our songs are confessions of our faith and declarations of our beliefs

(2) Singing is profession of what we believe, affirm, and will act on

d) See Eskew & McElrath

e) Most of what we hear only is lost within 48 hours

3. To have a balanced theology, we must sing songs that expose the major doctrines

a) The Trinity

b) Soteriology (doctrine of salvation)

c) Eschatology

d) Pneumatology (doctrine of the Holy Spirit)--by and large, evangelicals have an underdeveloped understanding

e) Evangelism

f) We function (or should) as "spiritual dieticians"--don't' be so concerned about making the people happy, be concerned with making them holy

g) We usually have a limited repertoire, and thus a limited number of doctrines

h) Historically, the songs were written to communicate the doctrines discovered by the theologians (many laypeople could not acquire scriptural truth any other way)

i) Used to combat heresy (Arianism)

j) Subjectivism is appropriate in worship, but when it predominates it becomes an unwholesome self-centeredness

k) There are some songs that, while theologically safe, are historically or factually inaccurate

l) Some songs have caused theology to suffer by choice of word and should be changed

4. In songleading, we help our congregations participate by:

a) Making sure the pastor is involved with enthusiasm

b) The joy of the music leader and other musicians (sing with as opposed to sing to)

c) Find different ways to involve people (all men's choir, etc.) to help them find their singing voice (self-image)

D. Hymn Tunes--"How does it sound?"

1. The tune is primarily the vehicle for the text, unifying the congregation in the expression of the text (as opposed to responsive reading)

2. Facilitates the congregation's understanding of the text (or detract from it)

3. Helps us retain the teaching of the text

4. We need to find tunes that are easy to sing (primarily, congregations are amateur singers; in this culture they don't really sing anywhere else)

a) No difficult intervals or ranges

b) Not too complicated

c) Not too fast or slow, and not to syncopated

5. Does the connotative implication of the tune match the innotative nature of the text? Tunes compatible with text intensify it

a) Music contributes to mood and emotion in the text

b) If there is an inappropriate mixture of tune and text, the message can be lost or made to suffer

6. Sing things not because they like them, but because they are holy and wholesome and help them to grow in Christ-likeness.

E. Analyzing a Song

1. Gospel Song Tunes

a) Slower harmonic rhythm, in part dictated by the regular rhythm; often causes the overall tempo to move a bit too quickly

b) Timbre elements like dotted rhythms, echo rhythms--help give unity

c) Usually a recurring refrain; some have a life of their own

d) Melodic--primarily diatonic in B, with some large leaps (especially in the refrain)

2. German Chorale Hymn

a) Often in Bar form (AAB[A']); "bar" not being "bar tunes"

b) Usually very simplistic rhythmically

c) Faster harmonic rhythms (frequent chord changes) tend to be performed more slowly

F. How Tunes Are Named

1. Composers

2. Towns of origin

3. First few words of texts originally associated with the tune

G. Evaluating Hymns--Criteria

1. Literary--the hymn is a poetic statement; is the song appropriate for the time in which it was created?

2. Historical

a) Experiential--what did the hymn mean to the person who wrote it? (Context)

b) Biographical--what did the hymn mean in the poet's life?

c) Psychological

3. Theological--what we sing needs to be scripturally and universally true, not something so individual as to have no broad comprehension (not too particular)

4. Liturgical--suitable for public worship

a) Not simply done for entertainment's sake

b) Focus is on God, not on us; it doesn't matter what we think or feel

5. Musical

6. "A hymn...is not really a good hymn until it has been well-written, well-chosen, and well-sung." (Erik Routley, Hymns and Human Life, 299)

a) Is it a good tune? Text? Tune and text combination?

b) Does it fit into the congregation singing it?

c) Does it invite everyone to sing it?

H. The Power of Hymn Singing

1. Active participation--if they aren't singing, it's not good congregational song; sometimes we need to introduce things over a period of time

a) Modeling--we need to be at the place for a while before we can expect a lot of response

b) Develop a choir/worship team that you rehearse the hymns with. They need to understand their primary role is to help the congregation sing, not just do special music.

c) In less formal gatherings, you can create teaching moments--talk about the value of congregational songs, histories of the hymns, etc. Don't do this in a worship service, or you'll destroy worship

d) Start where they are stylistically--get them comfortable with singing stuff they like/know, then move out from there

2. Repetition--sing songs frequently

3. Large percentage of time in each service

4. Association with music

5. et al: see syllabus, p. 55

I. Evaluating or Improving Hymn Singing

1. What is great hymn singing?

a) All of the congregation sings

b) The congregation sings a wide variety of good hymns--this means teaching new songs

c) The congregation sings with spiritual perception

(1) We may only know this by how people respond even after a service,

(2) That they are participating more

(3) Their lives are bearing fruit

d) The congregation sings musically

2. Ways to improve congregational singing

a) Have good leadership--not just the minister of music, but also:

(1) THE PASTOR

(a) If he doesn't participate enthusiastically, the congregation will not value it

(b) Does he use songs/hymns as examples in his sermons?

(2) Minister of Music--we need to put as much effort and enthusiasm in congregational singing as in our worship ensembles

(3) Choirs, praise teams, ensembles--need to understand that their role is first of all to lead the congregation in all aspects of worship (not just to do "special music"), modeling EVERYTHING for the congregation throughout the whole service (sermon note-taking, staying awake, etc.)

(4) Accompanists

(a) Should be treated well and encouraged

(b) Share with them what you want to do in advance

(d) A "co-minister" of music

(e) Attitude and spirit--performers or worship leaders?

b) Ongoing education

(1) Introduce a new hymn once a month (or more often)

(2) Develop a hymn playing class

(3) Get the accompanists to give lessons; get the church to subsidize piano students

(4) Give information about the songs being sung

(5) Include hymnals & hymnology training opportunities (make personal ownership of a hymnal desirable)

(6) Encourage hymn memorization

(7) Encourage private ownership of hymnals

(8) Find out what songs/hymns the congregation likes most; talk about background and teaching topics; stick in a new one in the middle

c) Musical activities

(1) Use lots of different hymns--keep a record

(2) Sing hymns in meaningful ways

(3) Have congregational rehearsals before the service

(4) Promote hymn festivals & hymn sings

(5) Dramatize hymns

(6) Choose hymns that are singable

(7) Be creative with keys, tempos, and accompaniments appropriate to the acoustics of the sanctuary and the hymns themselves

(8) Encourage people to write hymn texts themselves; collaborate with musical-types to help them write a complete hymn--it will be your very own music

IV. The History of Hymns

A. Influences on Christian Songs

1. Christianity was born within a Jewish environment--we were Jews before we were Christians

2. In the early church, synagogue worship was the main event

3. Psalm singing was the expression of worship and simpler than what was done in the temple

4. The temple was in the hands of professionals

5. Original Jewish music: cantillation (structured melodic formulas used for the reciting of scripture and prayer)

6. Music was always subservient to text

7. Sometimes used at home before meals, family get-togethers, etc.

8. Influenced all aspects of Jewish life

9. The Psalms are the single most important source of church music history

a) Were done with instrumental accompaniment

b) Used standard melodies known at the time

10. Old Testament Canticles--a scriptural text similar to a psalm but not actually in the book of Psalms

a) Moses' psalm

b) The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 2)

c) Prayer of Hannah (1 Samuel 2)--from which Mary's Magnificat borrows

d) Hymn of Habakkuk (ch. 3)

e) Song of Jonah (ch. 2)

f) Hezekia (Is. 38)

g) Some Apocrypha hymns

11. N.T. Canticles

a) Magnificat

b) Nunc Dimmitis

c) Song of Simeon

12. Hymn-like structures in the N.T.

a) Philippians 2

b) 1 Corinthians 9 (?)

B. Early Christian Song

1. Greek Hymnody (Hellenistic)

a) Early Christian song was born into a Greek culture; hence, Greek language

b) Latin slowly begins replacing Greek starting in 4^th century

c) From 5^th century, papal power increases and imperial power decreases

d) Latin Vulgate replaces the Greek Septuagint (6^th century)

e) Antiphonal singing introduced in Antioch

f) AD 330: Constantine moves seat of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople)

g) AD 367: Council of Laodicea

(1) Congregational singing and playing of instruments prohibited, probably because of heresies and pagan associations

(2) Only Scripture is fit for any kind of singing (precursor of Calvin's philosophy); therefore there aren't many hymns of personal experience

h) Important sources of Greek hymnody

(1) Clement of Alexandria (c. 170-220)--the father of ???

(2) Synesius of Cyrene (c. 375-414)

(3) Liturgy of St. James (@ Jerusalem Church)--"Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"

2. Byzantine Hymnody--the beginnings of a divided empire and divided church

a) Roman Catholic church develops in Rome; Eastern Orthodox in the East

b) Greatest contribution of the Eastern Church to Christian Song was Byzantine hymnody

(1) Troparia

(a) Developed in 4^th & 5^th centuries

(b) Short prayers spoken between psalm readings

(2) Kantakion--6^th century

(a) A poem of about 20 verses of consistent structure & a refrain

(b) Highly stylized--beginning letters of verses often formed acrostics

(3) Kanon--8^th century; like stories (perhaps even novels)--certainly devotional

(a) Extended poems of 8 or 9 odes, each with its own stanzas

(b) Often based on canticles

(d) Andrew of Crete--his Great Kanon and 250 penetential stanzas

(e) John of Damascus

(i) Compiled & codified the Byzantine hymnody

(ii) His "Day of Resurrection" is from first ode in the Golden Kanon; sung at midnight of Easter morning)

(iii) Considered most significant of Greek hymnists (counterpart to Gregory the Great of Roman church)

c) Many Greek hymns are not translated into English until the 19^th century

(1) Objective in nature

(2) Few references to personal experience or response

(3) Conceived liturgically--part of the public worship; give emphasis to Scripture lessons (in a sense, a lectionary)

(4) Purpose was to emphasize biblical truth

3. Latin Hymnody

a) For the first three centuries the absence of song is attributed to persecution

(1) Until the Edict of Milan in 313, which gave complete tolerance to Christianity--under Constantine

(2) Theodocious later makes Christianity compulsory)

b) Much was written in response to theological controversy--Arian controversy

(1) Named for Arius (c. 250-336)

(2) Taught that Christ was a derived creature, not a divine One

(3) Orthodox Christians wrote hymns to combat Arianism

c) Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310-66)

(1) Known as the "Hammer of the Arians"--wrote much music that opposed Arianism

(2) Wrote lots of songs trinitarian in structure

d) Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (340-97)

(1) Antiphonal singing becomes a pattern of songs

(2) Simple, easy to sing; combated heresies like Arianism

(3) Syllabic in meter; developed the sense of long meter

(4) "Ambrosian" describes pieces of his period, not that he actually composed them

(5) See RPM hymn 10 (p. 174)

e) Niceta (c.335-414)

(1) Missionary bishop

(2) Probable author of the Te Deum laudamus; most famous hymn of the Western Church

f) Office Hymns

(1) Should be sung, tied very closely to scripture

(2) Forms of doxologies

(3) Extra-biblical texts

g) Aurelius Prudentius, the "first Christian Poet"

(1) Spanish lawyer

(2) Wrote the Cathemerinon ("universal time"--our devotion should be constant)

(3) See RPM, hymn 7 (p. 171)--"Of the Father's Love Begotten"

(a) Originally nine stanzas, and titled "Of the Father's Heart Begotten;" syllabus, Project 8 (p. 85)

(b) Music associated with it came much later (13^th century)

h) St. Patrick (c. 372-466)

(1) Missionary to Ireland

(2) Wrote an extended hymn text "Lorica" (often called the "breastplate hymn")

(3) Still in use in churches on the British Isles

i) Charactersitics

(1) Classic in structure

(2) No rhyme, but specific forms and meters

(3) Mostly creedal in nature, used in the struggle against heresies

j) Dark Ages--hymns were used to promote the Gospel as well as to promote Christianity

(1) Fortunatus wrote lots of hymns ("The Royal Banners Forward Go," for example)

(2) Theodulph of Orleans

(a) Originally connected with Charlemagne

(b) Wrote text "All Glory, Laud, and Honor"--RPM, #8, p. 172--for Palm Sunday

(3) Sequences

(a) Ornaments to the Mass

(b) Used primarily in the Office and Jubilus

(d) Catholic church had to eventually "eliminate" them because many were at best irrelevant and at worst heretical

(i) Victimae Pascali Laudamus--Easter hymn festival

(ii) Dies Irae--used in the Requiem

(iii) Veni Sancti Spiritus--Pentecost

(iv) Laude Sion--

(v) Stabat Mater--Good Friday

k) Middle Ages--many songs came from the monasteries

(1) Peter Avelard (1079-1142)--theologian, philosopher, and teacher in France (RPM, #12, p. 175)

(2) Bernard of Clairvaux

(a) Founder and aBot of monastery

(b) "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts," and "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" [RPM, #13 & 14, pp. 176-7])

(3) Bernard of Cluny (RPM #15, p.178)

(4) Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)--best-known hymnist of this period

(a) "All Creatures of Our God and King"--from the Canticle of the Sun, the first canticle in Italian

(5) St. Thomas Aquinas

l) Laudi spirituali--Non-liturgical (or extra-liturgical) songs--developed outside the church

m) Carols (13^th-14^th centuries)

(1) Used more than one language (vernacular and Latin combination)

(2) Easter carols as well as Christmas carols

(3) "O Come, O Come, Emannuel"--Advent

(4) "My God, I Love Thee" (set by Jan Marshall for "My Eternal King")

4. Contributions of Latin Hymnody

a) Creedal in nature

b) Many born in a monastic environment; hence, more devotional and personal

c) Many are liturgical and meant to be performed in the Mass

d) Some are carol-like--there is a folk-song element

C. Lutheran Chorale

1. Introduction

a) German hymnody surpasses all others in wealth

b) Hymn: a popular religious lyric in praise to God, to be sung by the congregation in public worship

c) Latin hymns weren't used by everyone because not everyone understood them

d) Some 100,000 German hymns by hundreds of authors

2. The Significance of Martin Luther

a) Theologian

(1) One of the great Reformers, but not the first one (Huss, Wycliffe, etc.)

(2) Translates the Bible into the vernacular

(3) Restored congregational singing to the people

(4) Gave the people "the Bible so that God might speak directly to them; the hymnal so that they might directly answer Him in their songs"

(5) Wrote about 37 hymns--established the modern German language by unifying the many Germanic peoples under a single language

(6) Expressed profound scriptural teaching in a simple, straightforward manner

(7) May have written a few melodies

b) Hymns

(1) "Out of the depths I cry to Thee" (RPM, #22)--a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 130

(2) "A mighty fortress is our God" (RPM #21)

(a) Often referred to the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation"

(b) A paraphrase of Psalm 46

(3) Luther did not, of course, write all "Lutheran" hymns, but he was the inspiration (or type) for other German hymn writers

3. Early Writers, Texts, Tunes

a) Writers

(1) Justus Jonas (1493-1555), Hans Sachs (1494-1576), Nikolas Hermann (1485-1561)

(2) Philipp Nicolai (1556-1608)

(a) "Wachet auf" (RPM 24, 25), the "king of chorales"

(b) "Wie sch�n leuchtet" (RPM 26), the "queen of chorales"

b) Sources of early texts & tunes

(1) Many from the Catholic church, translated and adapted into German (Maccaronic hymns--mixed languages in a given song)

(2) Secular folk songs with Christian texts

c) Musical characteristics

(1) Repetition of a line

(2) The Bar form (AAB) (occasionally chorales won't follow this)

(3) Descending lines

(4) A preference for the Ionian mode (as we move to major/minor concept)

d) Early collections

(1) Achtliederbuch (1524)--only text and melody (if at all); first German hymnal

(2) Gesangbuchlein (1524)--meant more for the choir

(3) Geistliche Lieder (1529)--published by Joseph Klug; first occurrence as far we know of "A Mighty Fortress"

4. Popularity of Congregational Singing

a) Developed slowly; there was not much harmonic singing, and did not gain prominence until the end of the 16^th century

b) Only the choirs were capable of singing in polyphony; congregational song was homophonic

(1) Homophony became prominent at the end of the 16^th century

(2) Funfzig geistliche Lieder und Psalmen (1586)--by Oleander (?)

(a) The first hymnal designed for both congregation and choir

(b) Would become the pattern for later hymnals

c) Important hymn tune composers

(1) Hans Hassler (1562-1612)--composed the Passion Chorale (1601), RPM 14

(2) Melchior Teschner (1584-1635)--composed a setting of St. Theodulph, RPM 8

(3) Michael Praetorius (1571-1635)--composed "Es ist ein ros'" in 1609, RPM 27

5. Seventeenth Century

a) Characteristics

(1) More devotional, personal expressions

(2) Thirty-Years War was influential on the period

b) Significant characters

(1) Martin Rinkart (1586-1649)--important hymnwriter

(a) "Now Thank We All Our God", 1636; some regard it as the "German Te Deum"

(i) St. 1--thanksgiving

(ii) St. 2--prayer of petition

(iii) St. 3--a kind of Gloria Patri

(b) Choral singer at St. Thomas church in Leipzigg

(2) Paul Gerhardt (1607-76)

(a) Wrote 123 hymns, including "Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me" (BH '91, 123) and "Give to the Winds Your Fears" (RPM 28)

(b) Lutheran pastor in Berlin, Neuben

(d) Relational, more subjective (egocentric)

(3) Johann Cruger (1598-1662)

(a) St. Nicholas Church in Berlin

(b) Praxis Pietatis Melica (1644)--most popular hymnal of its time; would continue to be published for almost 100 years

6. Pietism (at the end of the 17^th century)

a) Characteristics

(1) takes the developing subjectivity to an extreme, to encourage a more spiritual devotion in the whole life

(2) Developed as a reaction to the formality and "dry scholasticism" of Lutheranism (itself a reaction to the formality of the Catholic Church)

(3) Ministry of the laity

(4) An emphasis on the practical of Christianity, not just the theology

(5) An emphasis on preaching

b) Johann Freylinghausen's Gesangbuch (1704) had some 1600 texts and tunes; considered the leading hymnist of the Pietistic movement

c) Joachim Neander (1650-80)--composer

(1) "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" (RPM 38) (the tune LOBE DEN HERREN predates the text); some archaic terms ("aye") and idiomatic expressions

(2) "God Himself Is With Us"--makes a good introit

(3) Not all German churches were Lutheran; some were Reformed, some Moravian, etc.

d) Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756)

(1) Reacted to the Pietists and Moravians; more of a conservative Lutheran

(2) Recognized as the originator of the church cantata

(3) Wrote some 650 hymns, including "Christ Receiveth Sinful Men" (BH 91, 563)

e) Congregational singing declines in 18^th century

(1) Objective hymns of praise gave way to personal, pietistic expressions

(2) Instrumental music takes on a more important role (including organists)

7. J. S. Bach

a) Congregational singing was not very important to Bach, and even in his time; in fact, only minor interest in the chorale, since it was for the congregation

b) Choirs provided most of the singing

c) Bach chorales--made many of the songs of his day "squared-off"

d) Pietism is replaced by Rationalism in the last half of the 18^th century

8. Hymnody outside the Lutheran tradition

a) Moravian hymnody

(1) Goes back to John Huss (1450, when he was burned at the stake)

(2) Bohemian Brethren developed hymnals before Luther

(3) Kirchenges�nge (1566)--hymnal; contained "Mit freuden Zart" ("Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above", BH 91, 20)

(4) Zinzendorf--a contemporary of Bach and the Wesleys; archbishop of the Moravians and a count who protected the Brethren at Herrenbund

b) Anabaptists

(1) An offshoot of Zwingli (though persecuted by Zwinglians)

(2) Only adult baptism counted

(3) Ausbund (1565)--text-only hymnbook, with many about martyrdom

c) Moravians & Anabaptists would become Mennonites

Scale of Radical, Liberal to Conservatism (regarding Hymnody/Psalmody)

Liberal -- -- -- -- -- Conservative
Churches: Zwingli Calvin Luther Catholic
(Anabaptists)
Worship style: Psalmody Hymnody
No choirs Choirs

D. Psalmody--singing in prose form of native Hebrew and native to Jewish and early Christian worship; as we move through history the vernacular begins to take over

1. Originally sung as chant (since it did not rhyme)

2. What are the differences between Gregorian and Anglican chant?

a) Anglican is in English; Gregorian is in Latin

b) Anglican chant is not as modal as Gregorian

c) Gregorian chant is monophonic; Anglican is homophonic

3. Martin Bucer (1491-1551) and the Strasbourg Reformation--felt that only metrical versions of Scripture in German were fit for singing (completed in 1538)

4. John Calvin (Geneva)--visits Strasbourg in 1538

a) Recognized the value of Christian song to nourish church piety and worship (since the people largely were illiterate); used it disciple, train, and teach

b) Was convicted that only Scripture in the vernacular be employed in the worship service

c) Was against organs, choirs, and any composed by a person (especially with singing in worship)

d) Philosophy of music: simplicity & modesty--desire was to return to the practice of the primitive church

e) Origins of metrical psalms: pattern inherited from trouveres and troubadors

f) TULIP

(1) Total depravity of man--no one is righteous

(2) Unmerited grace--we cannot do anything to earn or deserve God's grace

(3) Limited atonement--Christ only died for those who would be saved (the elect); atonement is not universal

(4) Irresistible grace--one cannot resist God's grace if among the elect (Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield--two examples)

(5) Perseverance of the Saints--those who are saved cannot lose salvation

g) No indication that Calvin was a poet; he enlisted the efforts of talented French poets

(1) Clement Marot--a poet in the court of Francis I

(a) Had already done some versifications of the Psalms before even meeting Calvin

(b) Fled to Geneva for sanctuary

(2) Theodore de Beze

(a) Began working with Calvin in 1548

(b) By 1562 had complete all 150 psalms for publication (also the year the Genevan and English psalters were completed)

(3) Louis Borugeois--Cantor for St. Peter's Church in Geneva

h) Genevan Psalter (1562)--the entire French psalter (all 150)

(1) 125 tunes (most are proper; that is, they can only be sung with one text)

(2) 110 different meters (much more complex than in English)

(3) Settings are almost entirely syllabic

(4) In 1562 alone there are 25 editions (printings); over the next 100 years almost 100 (to 1685)

(5) Moved throughout all Christendom and was translated into several different languages (from the French)

i) Psalters contained all 150 psalms, but also may contain:

(1) The Ten Commandments

(2) The Lord's Prayer

(3) The Creed

j) Polyphonic Settings--were never used in worship (too much like a choir); Calvin believed only in unison singing in public corporate worship, but was okay with it in the home

k) Gudamel & Lejeune (a Hugenot)

5. Myles Coverdale

a) Published Ghostly Psalms and Spiritual Songs (1531)

b) Based somewhat on the Wittenberg writings of Luther

c) Published his own translation of the Bible into English

6. Looked for a while that the English church would follow the Lutheran church, but eventually the Reformation took place and clergy started looking toward Calvin et al.

7. Prohibited the Psalter in 1546 and had them burned

8. Sternhold works up a bunch of psalms until he dies; Hopins takes over and, combined with Sternhold's work create a single default English psalter (other English psalters are merely reorganizations of this book)

9. When Mary ascends to the throne in 1553, many Protestants (pastured by John Knox) go into exile at Geneva to avoid persecution, and begin to integrate Sternhold & Hopkins with Calvin's work and other new writings (most texts in common meter). This psalter now becomes the default psalter

10. There are two other historically singnificant Psalters

a) Archbishop Parker's Psalter (1560)--has nine tunes composed by Thomas Tallis, a world-class composer (composed the Tallis Canon, #449 in BH 91)

b) Estee's Psalter (1592)

(1) Tunes are designated by specific names for the first time

(2) The first with four-part harmony on opposite pages in one book

(3) Some tunes are harmonized by John Dowland, John Farmer, George Kirby

11. Basic texts will remain the same until the "new version" (Tate & Brady) comes out in 1696 (originally had no tunes)

a) The old version (before 1600) went through 78 different editions, with different names attached

b) The Scots, also keen on psalmody because of John Knox, whose kirk (church) is Reformed, develop their own (and better) psalter

(1) Used some of the English psalter

(2) The 1564 psalter has 105 tunes (melodies only)

(3) A rich heritage of the Scottish psalter (1635)

c) The new version was never as popular as the old version

d) Queen Elizabeth frowned on the French tunes for the English psalms, calling them "Genevan gigues"

E. English Hymnody

1. Background

a) Just because most of the churches are limited to Psalms (both the State church and Reformed) does not mean there were no hymns or folk songs

b) The Moravians also influenced English hymnodies (in 1501 they came up with the first European hymnal)

c) First English Bibles were translated by Wycliffe in 1382; Tyndale did an English NT in 1535; in 1539 the Great English Bible; in 1611 the KJV

d) The Day Psalter (1562)--the "completion of the English psalter"

2. Early hymn writers (before they were "politically correct") who wrote out of expression of personal devotion

a) George Wither (1588-1667)

(1) In 1623 wrote the earliest attempt at an English hymnal after Coverdale, Hymns and Songs of the Church

(2) This collection is distinctive in that it contains 16 tunes by (then) famous composer Orlando GiBens

b) George Herbert (1593-1633)

(1) An orator at Trinity University in Cambridge; considered one of the "saintliest" of characters in church history

(2) His mother knew people like John Donne, John Bull, William Byrd; he would be associated himself later with Francis Bacon

(3) He was ordained a priest in 1630

(4) After his death in 1633, there was a collection of his poems, published as a hymnbook called The Temple

(a) 169 poems that were devotional texts for private readings

(b) John Wesley included 47 of these poems in his own collection of hymnals

(c) Become great inspiration for Ralph Vaughan Williams for such works as "Let All the Word in Every Corner Sing" and Five Mystical Songs

c) John Milton (1603-74)--author of Paradise Lost; also wrote some hymns

d) Samuel Crossman (c. 1624-84)

e) Thomas Ken (1637-1711)--wrote Doxology (a song of praise to the Trinity)

f) Benjamin Keach (1640--1704)

(1) Pastor of the Particular Baptist church in Southkirk

(2) In his study of God's Word discovered that Jesus "sang a hymn" after His supper with His disciples, so he wrote a hymn (or hymns) to sing after the Lord's Supper in his church, starting in 1674; considered heretical early on, but by 1691 hymn singing had become a weekly practice

(3) Born during a leap year as an Anglican, but became a Baptist at age 15

(4) Trained as a tailor

(5) Wrote some 45 books and pamphlets, many of them related to the controversy of singing in specific times

(6) Wrote very sub-standard hymns (we don't even have any more)

3. Isaac Watts (1674--1748)

a) Background

(1) Congregationalist

(2) "Short, frail, sickly child," and contracted smallpox at age 9

(3) Although he was not very active physically, he was very smart--learned Latin by age 13

(4) Converted at age 14

(5) Became pastor of Park ?? Congregation

(6) Never married (though he did propose with poetess Elizabeth Singer); spent the last years of his life living in the home of ?? Abney

(7) Wrote 52 works on varying subjects

(8) Got his degree at University of Edinborough

b) Philosophy

(1) Because of his dissension of Anglicanism, was denied admission to Cambridge and Oxford; ironically, some of his books were used at both schools as textbooks

(2) Believed the song of the church should express the thoughts and feelings of those who sang, and they should express the gospel of the New Testament

(3) Isaac Watts felt the Psalms were insufficient to give the true picture of Messiah

(4) Paraphrased all 150 psalms

(5) His poetry

(a) Poetry is rather simple--he wrote to help the "common man"

(b) They were "sensuous" (in that they appealed to the senses, not in the modern distorted understanding of the word)

(6) Essentially was bringing psalmody and hymnody together--a bridge, so to speak

(7) Argued that versification of the psalms changes them so much that they are no longer inspired anymore anyway, so why not write new ones (hymns)?

c) Collections

(1) In the 1707 Hymns and Spiritual Songs, he included over 200 songs

(2) In 1717 wrote Psalms of David Imitated--Chrisitianized paraphrases of the psalms (he called them metrical versions of the psalms, even though we don't read them that way anymore; they're too paraphrased)

(3) Many of his hymns were in common meters and metrical forms

(4) Wrote 600-700 hymns, and his best stuff was written in his 20's, before he became a minister; today 1 of every 40 is still being sung today

(5) Very often wrote a hymn to go with one of his sermons

d) Songs

(1) "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"

(2) "How Firm a Foundation"

(3) "When I Can Read My Title Clear"

F. Wesleyan Hymnody--John (1703-91) & Charles (1707-88) Wesley

1. Social Background

a) Anglican Church was returned to power with the Restoration in 1662

b) Deplorable social conditions throughout England

c) A brutal penal code and prison system; at one point there were over 160 offenses that could have an adult or child being hung

d) A high percentage of child deaths

e) Rampant drunkenness

2. Suzanne Wesley--the mother

a) "The best preparation I know of for suffering is a precise performance of present duty"--Suzanne Wesley

b) The philosophical founder of Methodism

c) Her spiritual and personal devotion appealed to her children

3. John Wesley--the "founder" of Methodism

a) Affected by the Moravians and the vitality of their hymn singing so much that he began translated some of them (some 70 of them)

b) On his way to Charleston (Georgia, in 1735) he began compiling what was basically the first hymnbook in America (1747); contained about 70 hymns, some his, some from Tate & Brady

c) Preached over 40,000 sermons; traveled 250,000 miles on horseback; over 100,000 people were converted in his ministry; an Anglican to the end (Methodists were a part of the Anglican church until both John & Charles died)

d) Functioned as the publisher and editor of his brother's hymns (he contributed only about a dozen himself)

4. Charles Wesley--the "poet" of Methodism

a) Estimated that he wrote about 10,000 poems and hymns; this amounts to 10 lines of poetry a day for 50 years

b) Charles had to leave the colonies in 1736 because of illness; came back in 1738

5. Both of them...

a) Attended Christ Church at Oxford, where they established the "Holy Club" and earned the title "Methodists"

b) Were "converted" (by their definition) in 1738 upon influence by Moravians; John translated some of the songs they were singing (from German)

c) Strongly encouraged congregational singing; John even wrote on how to do it and what to think while singing

d) Were Armenians; believed in general atonement, and their hymns can easily be used to define a systematic theology of their beliefs

G. The Great Evangelical Revival in England (which would bleed over into the States)

1. George Whitfield

a) Also Anglican, but unlike John & Charles was Calvinistic in theology

b) Joins with Jonathan Edwards upon arriving in the Colonies

c) Whitfield modified some of the Wesley hymns to fit his theology

d) Belonged to the "Holy Club" with the Wesleys

2. William Williams

a) Welsh hymnist; wrote over 800 hymns

b) Often referred to as "the Welsh Watts"

c) Composed "Hyfrydol" (huh-VROO-thul) and "Cwm Rhondda" (cvuhm RON thuh)

3. Lady Selena Huntington

a) Part of the aristocracy (obviously)

b) Built chapels for and protected many itinerate preachers who couldn't get installed in Anglican churches

c) Provided venue, protection, and financial support

4. Edward Perronet--wrote "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" lyrics and tunes

5. John Rippon

a) Wrote the last two stanzas of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"

b) Worked up the only extant publishing of "How Firm a Foundation"

c) Classified Watts' hymns (the collection is known as Rippon-Watts

d) Editor of The Baptist Register (the Baptist newspaper for England)

e) His hymnals unified singing among Baptist churches in England and helped establish the liturgy for many of the churches

H. Hymn Singing in the Church of England (late 1700s)

1. Hymn singing was unauthorized by the Church

a) It took years for hymn singing to be accepted in the church

b) It was permissible at prayer meetings and gatherings at taverns & homes

2. Publication by Madan (1760), Conyers (1767), and Toplady (1776, a contemporary of the Wesleys; wrote "Rock of Ages")--had limited popularity and use

3. Olney Hymns (1779)--became the most important evangelical hymnal among Anglicans

a) Intended for prayer meetings, not communion or Sunday services

b) John Newton (1725-1807)--evangelist; becomes an Anglican priest in Olney, with a very dynamic and effective

(1) Part of the evangelical revival being fueled by the Wesleys

(2) Newton's hymns

(a) Amazing Grace

(b) Day of Judgment, Day of Wonders

c) William Cowper (1731-1800)--an associate of Newton's; includes 280 of Newton's hymns, 68 of his own

(1) Had mental illness--bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts

(2) Cowper's Hymns

(a) God Moves in Mysterious Ways

(b) There Is a Fountain

d) The Anglican church finally gives in to this "hymn movement" in 1820

4. Thomas Cotterill's A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship

a) Authorized by the Archbishop of York

b) There were some 40 hymnbooks published, but this is the only one authorized by the Anglican church

I. The 19^th Century

1. The Romantic Movement-- The change in the musical arts always seems to come last, after visual or language arts have changed. The Romantic period is no different

a) Characteristics--Lyric descriptions of emotion; you can see this in some hymns:

b) Reginald Heber

(1) Over half the hymns in his hymnal are his own

(2) Included:

(a) "Holy, Holy, Holy"

(b) "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" (the first true missionary hymn after Watts' "Jesus Shall Reign")

c) James Montgomery (1771-1854)

(1) Routley calls him the greatest lay hymn writer

(2) Wrote:

(a) "Angels from the Realms of Glory"

(b) "Go to Dark Gethsemane"

(d) "Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire"

d) Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871)--Became in invalid in 1821; wrote "Just As I Am" in 1834--poignant, eh? (used as the invitation to all Billy Graham's invitations)

e) Thomas Kelly (1769-1854)

(1) Routley believes his hymn "The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns" is the greatest English hymn

(2) "Look, Ye Saints, the Sight is Glorious"

(3) Wrote about 800 hymns

f) Robert Grant (1779-1838)--"O Worship the King"

g) Surge in interest in teaching sightsinging

2. England before the Oxford Movement

a) The worldliness and stagnation of the clergy (church was getting tax money from the state); not a lot of spirituality in the churches

b) Hostility of the church to social and political reform, including tax (repeal of corn laws), slave trading, restructuring of Parliament, and the taking of communion from an Anglican clergyman to hold office

c) The opposition of the Church to any change in its privileged position (like taxes on non-Anglicans), especially in Ireland

d) By 1800, fully 25% of England's population were "acknowledged dissenters"

3. The Oxford Movement (1833)--initially known as "the Tractarian Movement"

a) John Keable's "The Church Year" is the Magna Carta of this movement, but his "Aside Sermons" in 1833, a church on apostasy

b) Concerns

(1) Alarmed by the Evangelical revivals, pulling people away from the Anglican base

(2) Sought to reform the church and purify its practice, and to go back to the ideals prior to the Reformation movement

(3) Wanted a strong congregational song to balance the "abuses" of the revivalistic hymn

c) Called the "tractarian movement" because of the tracts printed to promote the beliefs

d) They were looking for some kind of apostolic succession, swinging back to a more Roman style of worship

e) John Henry Newman (1801-90)--an Anglican minister who goes so far as to become a Catholic bishop

f) As a High Anglican Movement, to look at the past raise the quality of present church music

g) Translators

(1) John Mason Neale (1818-66)--translated Medieval hymns and sequences from the Greek and Latin

(2) Edward Caswall (1814-78)

(3) Catherine Winkworth (1827-78)--German translator

h) Victorian hymnwriters--wrote in a "high-church" kind of mentality

(1) Henry Alford--"Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"

(2) Henry Williams Baker (1821-77)

(3) Etc.

(4) William Walsham How--"For All the Saints"

(5) Godfrey Thring--"Crown Him with Many Crowns"

(6) Walter Smith--"Immortal, Invisible"

(7) Samuel Stone--"The Church's One Foundation"

(8) Robert Grant--"O Worship the King"

(9) Folliett Pierpoint--"For the Beauty of the Earth"

(10) John Dykes' NICEA (tune to "Holy, Holy, Holy")

i) Hymns Ancient and Modern (1860-61)--the result of the Oxford Movement

(1) Became a national hymnal (thought the Anglican church does not have an official hymnal)

(2) 1860--text; 1861--text & music, a practice that will cause some "permanent marriages"

(3) All subsequent hymnals for a while will follow this style and format

j) In 1871 it is possible to get an Oxford degree without being an Anglican

k) Non-Anglican (Evangelical) Hymnody, like D.L. Moody & Ira Sankey

J. The 20^th Century

1. The English Hymnal, 1906--Percy Dearmer & Ralph Vaughan Williams, editors

a) All the music in Hymns Ancient and Modern was copyrighted--no one else was allowed to use

b) Their goal was to have the finest quality of text and music possible

c) The first Anglican hymnal to include hymns that embrace social gospel and liberal theology (that is, to minister to the whole person; beyond witnessing)

d) Included several new hymns

2. Many hymnals in England are all printed by the same company and are more expensive

3. The century can be divided into three sections:

a) A period of Protest & Change (1900-55)

(1) A hymnic revival takes place to rejuvenate the Victorian song

(2) Important composers trying to improve on Victorian texts & tunes

(a) Hubart Parry

(b) C.V. Stanford--wrote ENGELBERG

(d) Ralph Vaughan Williams--probably greatest composer of his generation

(e) Martin & Geoffrey Shaw

b) Innovation & Crisis (1955-70)

(1) Geoffrey Beaumont

(a) Seeks to contextualize church music and singing, esp. to young people

(b) Comes out with the 1956 "folk Mass"

(2) Sydney Carter (b. 1915)

(a) Journalist, songwriter, and master of modern satire

(b) Wrote "The Lord of the Dance" (set to SIMPLE GIFTS), "It Was on a Friday Morning"

c) Post-1970 Revival and Opportunity

(1) The "New English Renaissance," 1969-75)

(2) Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000)

(a) Methodist journalist

(b) Didn't write any hymns until he was 66

(3) Fred Kaan

(a) United Reform minister

(b) Makes some people uneasy because he brings some strange themes into worship ("God of Earth and Outer Space," for example)

(4) Brian Wren

(a) Also a United Reform minister

(b) As theological as Green and as abrasive as Kaan

(c) Caught up in inclusive language; believes gender and sexual metaphors for God are inappropriate (wrote the book Captured by Gender)

(d) BH '91, #173, 370, 562

(5) Timothy Dudley-Smith

(a) Anglican bishop of Thedford in England; very well-known here on campus

(b) Very widely published; his hymns appear in more than 100 different hymnals

(d) 7 hymns in the BH '91 (#154, 207, 81, 268)

(e) Lift Every Heart--a mini-philosophy of song, many of his hymns (up to a certain date), notes on them (publication dates, changes, etc.); 36 New Hymns, 1981-1987

(6) Graham Kendrick--"Shine, Jesus, Shine," "Amazing Love," "Come, See the Beauty of the Lord"

V. American Hymnody

A. 16^th-18^th Centuries

1. First instances among the Indians

a) Huguenots (1562-65)

b) Sir Francis Drake brought some songs with him

2. Psalmody--dominant here because that's what they were singing in England

a) Jamestown colony was singing out of the Old Version and Este's Psalter

b) The Pilgrims at Plymouth, MA used Ainsworth Psalter

c) The Bay Psalm Book

(1) The first book of any kind published in the U.S. (1640)

(2) Originally had no tunes printed in it at all

(3) Several ministers supplied the psalm versions

(4) Eventually became The New England Psalm Book

3. Many attempts to improve psalm singing

a) Few books contained tunes; as in England, they "lined out"--one person would sing a stanza, and the congregation would repeat it

b) John Tuft wrote Introduction to Singing of Psalm Tunes (c.1721)--Often attached to or bound with the Bay Psalm Book

c) Thomas Walter's Grounds and Rules of Music Explained (1721)--sing by note rather than rote

4. Early American singing schools (after 1750)

a) Came over from England; there were tune books for metrical psalms & hymns

b) Some fuguing tunes & anthems by the first native composers of hymn tunes

c) James Lyon's Urania (1761)--the earliest such songbook; contained Watts' "Rejoice, the Lord is King"

d) William Billings (1746-1800), The New England Psalm Singer (1770)

(1) Published 5 additional tune books

(2) Taught in 5 singing schools in Boston

5. Immigrants and Influences

a) Mennonites in Germantown (1683) used the Ausband

b) John Wesley's Charleston Collection (1737)

6. Hymn Singing of the Great Awakening

a) Jonathan Edwards (1703-58)

b) George Whitefield (1714-70), who brings some of Watts' and the Wesleys' hymns

c) There was still a matter of some using the "Old Version" and others the "New Version;" the Revolutionary War and the "cultural lag" kept things from England out of the States

7. Camp-Meeting Songs (Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists)

a) Brought on by the Great Revival (1800) in Kentucky

(1) Very emotional, great deal of ferfor

(2) Characterized by "strange spiritual phenomena"

(3) Very prominent in the South

(4) Many tunes from this movement are included in The Sacred Harp

b) White spirituals--WARRINGTON (BH91, 18), PROMISED LAND (BH91, 521)

c) Negro spirituals (plantation melodies)

8. Folk hymnody--both a written and oral tradition

a) John Wyeth's Repository--one of the largest such book

b) George Pullen Jackson (1874-1953)--well-known for tracing the secular or white folk song melodies

c) Shape-note hymnody is part of this folk hymnody; such tune books as:

(1) Kentucky Harmony (1816)

(2) Missouri Harmony (1820-57)

(3) Southern Harmony (1835-54)

(4) The Sacred Harp (1844-present)

d) Many of these folk melodies, white or black, are black-note scales (pentatonic), with lots of open fourths and fifths in harmonies (LENNOX [fuguing tune], WYNDHAM, CORONATION, KEDRON, MORNING SONG, NETTLETON [1813], NEW BRITAIN, WONDROUS LOVE, FOUNDATION, HOLY MANNA, WEDLOCK, PISGAH

9. Early 19^th Century Developments

a) Lowell Mason (1792-1872)

(1) Fine music educator; music education had been a significant issue in church ministries for a long time already

(2) Pioneer of introducing music training into the public school system, esp. in Boston (1827)

(3) Established the Boston Academy of Music in 1832; became known as the "Father of Music Education"

(4) Very much attracted to a European model and classical orientation to music and music ed.; very apparent in his tunes, such as ANTIOCH (BH91--87), AZMON (11, 216), BETHAN (458); OLIVET (416), HAMBURG (144)

b) Thomas Hastings, a contemporary of Mason's who lived in NYC--Known for his texts, written and edited ("Come, ye disconsolate," BH91--67) and tunes (TOPLADY, 342; ORTONVILLE, 219)

B. American Hymnody, 19-20^th Centuries

1. Characteristics

a) Hymnals produced in the 19^th century indicated by the spreading of the Gospel across the continent, esp. Shaker tunes, some Mormon hymns (albeit with altered text)

b) Most denominations are in transition from use of metrical psalmody to the development of their own hymnwriters

c) Many 19^th century American hymns re nationalistic and patriotic in nature

d) Very mission-minded (had been world-wide, but really caught on here)

e) Most hymns limited to Christmas and Easter w/regard to Church year

f) Lots of songs that address the afterlife

g) Mostly written by clergy (though some women & laymen)

h) Gospel Song--one of the most important developments

2. Emergence

a) Issue of slavery led to major splits of main denominations--Methodists, Baptists

b) Other influences--Sunday School movement and YMCA movement

c) The Second Great Awakening & Depression Panic at early 20^th century

d) Expansion of American frontier

3. Sunday School Songs

a) "Gospel Hymnody" emerged in this period along with gospel songs; more associated with the Sunday School movement (Mason, Hastings, esp. William Bradbury)

b) William Bradbury

(1) Student of Lowell Mason

(2) Most instrumental in Sunday School movement; one of the first composer in this idiom whose works are still performed

(3) "Jesus Loves Me" (BH91--344, in 1862) "He Leadeth Me" (52, 1864), WOODWORTH (307), SOLID ROCK (406)

(4) Established Bigelow & Main (publishing company)

c) Robert Lowry

(1) Baptist pastor who succeeded Bradbury as editor of Sunday School Songbooks

(2) "Shall We Gather at the River," HANSON PLACE (518)

(3) "I Need Thee Every Hour," NEED (450)

(4) "Something for Jesus," SOMETHING FOR JESUS (617)

d) William Doane

(1) Very important tune composer--wrote some 2200 hymn tunes and many settings of Fanny Crosby's texts

(2) 308, 280, 290, 4, etc.

e) Fanny Crosby--probably the culminating figure of this era

(1) Most prolific writer of song texts--some 8,000

(2) Blind after 6 weeks old

(3) Never wrote anything by hand but her name; did not even use Braille. Most transmission was oral

(4) She would compose texts in her minds at night then dictate to her secretary the next morning

(5) Made no financial gain from her works

(6) Bigelow & Main was her primary publisher; paid her about $2 per hymn

(7) "Pass Me Not," 308 (an allusion to Blind Bartamaus); "Praise Him!" 227; 559, "Rescue the Perishing;" 280, "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross;" 334, "Blessed Assurance;" 62, "All the Way My Savior Leads Me;" 4, "To God Be the Glory;" 290, "I Am Thine, O Lord;" 122, "Tell Me the Story of Jesus;" 531, "Redeemed;" 316, "Jesus Is Tenderly Calling;" 340, "He Hideth My Soul" (an allusion to Moses' passing by God in the rock)

(8) Often wrote under pen names and pseudonyms out of modesty

4. Moody-Sankey Era--(really Bliss & Sankey) published a song book of personal devotion called Gospel Songs

a) Started here in the States, but they went to England

b) Moody said his preaching was greatly influenced by Sankey's singing; was a great orator, though not very literate

c) Philip Bliss--Moody's first music director but died in a train wreck

d) Daniel Whittle wrote texts, (337, 415, 467), McGranahan wrote the tunes

e) George SteBins (1846-1945)

(1) We have his library here at SWBTS

(2) CALLING TODAY, 316; FRIEND, 183; ADELAIDE, 294

5. Characteristics

a) Great contribution to Christian song

b) Simple expressions of Christian experience and salvation

c) Because they were written in a popular musical style, there was a great appeal to the masses--they very much resembled the popular styles of the day

d) Caused a lot of upheaval as many of these songs were trying to be inserted into the churches

e) These songs were meant for evangelical purposes, not to replace the extant hymnody

f) Almost always taught the refrains, as they almost all have one

g) Very slow harmonic rhythm

h) Texts could be described as lighter, not deep doctrinal speaking; lack a lyric or poetic beauty, and doctrinal strength compared with other songs

6. Early 20^th Century--initially very little influence on the hymnal, and then all of a sudden start appearing, along with the gospel quartets (later to gospel families and "get-togethers")

a) Stamps Baxter quartets ("barber shop") and singing conventions

b) Charles Alexander

(1) Most famous of evangelistic singers of early 20^th century

(2) Easiest to connect with conducting congregational song

c) Homer Rodeheaver

(1) Became Billy Sunday's song leader

(2) Used a lot of solo-oriented stuff

(3) Was criticized for using "secular-sounding gospel songs," but he said his stuff was meant to "bridge the gap" to people who were not necessarily ingrained in Christian hymnody

C. Significant Song Sources

1. Lewis Benson, D.Div.--The English Hymn

2. Paul Schilling--The Faith We Sing

3. The Hymn (The Hymn Society of the United States and Canada)

a) Carl Daw--current editor

b) Terry York--"Hymns in Periodic Literature"

c) Published quarterly

d) Provides info on new hymnals and how to acquire them

4. Fred Bock--Hymns for the Family of God

5. Donald Hustad--The Singing Church, The Worshiping Church