The preceding chapters have dealt with music native to the soil, with negro music, and with popular music in general. These several phases assumed by music in America are some-thing quite apart from our progress in the production and appreciation of art music.
It will be remembered that at the period when America received its first settlers England was undergoing a fierce struggle between the Royalists and the Puritans. The point of contention largely was religious, the Royalists upholding the Established Church and " Merrie " England, while the Puritans battled for the simplest form of worship and the most austere piety. Macaulay sums up the Puritanical views in the following paragraph :
" The dress, the deportment, the language, the studies, the amusements of this rigid sect were regulated on principles resembling those of the Pharisees, who, proud of their washed hands and broad phylacteries, taunted the Redeemer as a Sabbath-breaker and a wine-bibber. It was a sin to hang garlands on the May-pole, to drink a friend's health, to fly a hawk, to hunt a stag, to play at chess, to wear lovelocks, to put starch into a ruff, to touch the virginals, to read the Faerie Queene."
As a result of their success in the struggle the Puritans were enabled to place the ban on all matters appertaining to the arts and amusements of their time. Consequently it is seen that, as music was in ill repute in the mother country, conditions were not favorable for its growth in the colonies. True, the Virginian settlers were of Royalist stock, but the colonists in the northern part of the country were deeply imbued with the Puritan spirit. On account of the different views held in the two colonies, secular music came to have its place in the South while the North frowned on music of any description excepting the few psalm-tunes allowed by the sect. Indeed many in the North even held that it was sinful to sing at all, while instrumental music was looked upon as an invention of the devil. Art music in America, as in other countries, owes its development to the church ; and although the religious element for a long period was detrimental to the growth of art, the triumph which eventually was brought about came through the same medium.
It now is the purpose to discuss the various stages through which we have passed such as touch on our musical development from the artistic and aesthetic side. Each branch of the art, church music, oratorio, opera, orchestral music, etc. — will be taken up separately and its growth traced from its beginning to the present time.
It is a matter of interest to note that, so far as may be learned, the southern colonies played little or no part in our early struggle for music. This may be accounted for, how-ever, by the more liberal views held in the South, which precluded any cause for strife in reference to the matter. It was because of the seriousness of just such a struggle that the outcome meant more to the New Englanders than to their southern brethren. So, in tracing our musical development one must turn first to the Pilgrim and Puritan settlements of New England.
It was to a church reared in the wilderness that the Puritans, some eight years after the landing of the Pilgrims, carried their psalmody. The Puritans were not willing exiles from their native land, but left only under stress of circumstances. They were not influenced by commercial enterprise or ambition, but from the desire to make a home in a new country in which they would be free to worship God after their own manner. Milton designates these Puri-tan fathers " faithful and freeborn Englishmen and good Christians constrained to forsake their dearest home, their friends and kindred, whom nothing but the wide ocean and the savage deserts of America could hide and shelter from the fury of the bishops."
The music of the Puritans was entirely religious in character, and it is their psalmody which marks the commencement of our music development. There has been much controversy among music historians as to which psalm-books first were used by the early Puritans. From the data avail-able it appears probable that both Ainsworth's and Stern-hold and Hopkins' versions of the psalms were used. The tunes sung were taken from a collection published in England by Thos. Ravenscroft in 1621. It was the best book of its kind at that period and held its popularity for more than a hundred and fifty years. The notation in this book was arranged in four parts, each part written by itself and with the words beneath so that the same words actually were printed four times. There were twenty-three English, six Northern, seven Scottish, and five Welsh tunes. Most of the names, such as York, Durham, and Chester; Duke Street, Dundee, Glasgow and Martyrs ; Landoff, Bangor, St. David's, St. Asaph, Wrixham and Ludlow, were familiar tunes in church choirs for many years, and are still found, although in somewhat altered form, in the hymn-books used in our churches today. The excellent harmonizations in the Ravens-croft Psalter however were of little consequence to the early Puritans, for they made use only of the melodies.
In the preface to the Ravenscroft Psalter the author formulates the following instructions :
(I) That psalms of tribulation be sung with a low voice and in long measure :
(II) That psalms of Thanksgiving be sung with an indifferent voice, neither too loud nor too slow :
(III) That psalms of rejoicing be sung with a loud voice, and in a swift and jocund measure.
It is interesting to note that in this edition the tune familiarly known as " Old Hundred," and set to the One Hundredth Psalm, was designated " French Tune " and credited to J. Dowland, Doctor of Music. In most hymn-books this tune is ascribed to Martin Luther. While the latter may have originated the melody others, among them Dr. Dowland, harmonized it. Most authorities agree that " Old Hundred " was originally composed for the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Psalm in the Geneva Psalter and adapted by English Protestants to the One Hundredth Psalm about the year 1562. This tune was ascribed by Handel to Luther and by others to Claude Goudimel, a composer who met his death by assassination during the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Others attribute it to La Franc, a musician of Rouen, who is said to have compiled it from the Roman chants, while still others as persistently hark back to an old French love song for its origin. We probably shall never learn its true origin : it is sufficient here to know that it was sung in England, and that the Puritans brought it with them to America.
The few psalm-tunes used by the Puritans were of the simplest character, for they had been stripped of everything that might suggest the design of the devil in entrapping the godly Puritan into worldly thoughts -- otherwise, a love of music for its own sake. So he naturally shrank from any attempt to render the psalm-tune after any scientific fashion, preferring to sing the same according to his individual idea of propriety. It must have been a strange conglomeration of sound, this Puritan psalmody that first came to our shores. As Puritan influence had proven itself a stumbling-block to musical culture in England, so for many years it threatened the same disastrous effect upon the evolution of musical art in New England. From the older country there was the inherited mandate : " We allow the people to join in one voice in a psalm-tune, but not in tossing the psalm from one side to the other, with intermingling of organs." In other words there was to be no attempt at polyphonic or harmonic psalmody, nor any use of instruments.
The same prejudices inculcated under Puritan influence in England were cherished with deeper bitterness in the colonies, with the result that many sincere and worthy Christians maintained that it was wrong to sing at all, declaring that a Christian should make melody only in his heart. There were not a few who, while raising no objection to singing itself, really suffered from qualms of conscience regarding the setting of the psalms to music, and what is more, were brave enough to give expression to their convictions. How deeply rooted was this prejudice against the singing of psalms is shown in the following incident :
In 1656 the First Baptist Church of Newport, R. I., suffered a division : twenty-one members seceded and organized an anti-singing church. They gave as a reason for their secession that they " disapproved of psalmody." For more than one hundred years no singing was permitted in this church. It was not until 1765, after a long struggle, that by the vote of a small majority permission was obtained to sing one psalm at the commencement of each service, and even then many of the members remained outside until the offensive exercise was ended.
It is not clear just what brought about the first changes made in the versions of the psalms used in the New England colonies. The alterations probably were due to the strong desire to be rid of everything in any way appertaining to the Established Church in England. The New England Puritans wished to pattern their church and religious observances after the simplest and purest forms. With this end in view a committee of clergymen was appointed to prepare a version of the psalms suitable for public and private worship. This attempted reform was almost entirely literary in its aspect and barely touched on the musical side of the matter. It must not be supposed, however, that it was accomplished without opposition, for there were many who were opposed to any " meddling " with the psalms whatever.
The Bay Psalm Book — so named from its origin in the colony of Massachusetts Bay — afterward known as the New England Psalm Book and later as the New England Version of the Psalms, was the outcome of the work of the Rev. Thomas Welde, the Rev. John Eliot and the Rev. Richard Mather, the latter setting forth in the preface : " If therefore the verfes are not always fo fmooth and elegant as fome may defire or expect; let them confider that Gods Altar needs no pollifshings : (Ex. 20.) for wee have respected rather a plaine tranflation, than to fmooth our verfes with the fweetnes of any paraphrafe, and foe have attended Confcience rather than Elegance, fidelity rather than poetry, in tranflating the Hebrew words into englifh language, and Davids poetry into englifh meetre; that foe wee may fing in Sion the Lords fongs of prayfe ascending to his owne will; until hee take us from hence, and wipe away all our teares, and bid us enter into our mafters joye to fing eternall Halleluiahs."
The Bay Psalm Book is on record as the first book of importance published in the colonies, and in spite of its many typographical errors its publication meant much in the early days. Nevertheless, this psalter did not receive the spontaneous welcome it merited. Prejudice always is difficult to overcome, and the Psalms of David, according to the metrical version prepared by the New England clergy in 1640, set the churches in a state of dissension. This without doubt was the first of the congregational turmoils which since have beset the churches of all denominations in America when innovations arising from a spirit of progression have been suggested in regard to religious matters. The churches in Salem and its vicinity still clung to the Ainsworth Psalter, while the Plymouth Church, in which it first had been used, gave it preference for over fifty years after its competitor appeared.
In the Bay Psalm Book there were appended the few psalm-tunes then in use, but little employment was made of the music itself, for all singing at that time was done by rote. So great was the reverence in which the psalms were held that hats were doffed during the rendition as they would be during prayer. The early Puritans considered their few psalm-tunes to be as sacred as the words them-selves, and they were as little disposed in any way to alter or add to them as they were to make any change in the text. Singing in parts scarcely was known, and their ability to sing the eight or ten known tunes constituted their entire knowledge of music. The psalms were sung in rotation, and with the limited number of tunes in use (most of these being in common meter) the same ones often were heard several times during the day or even in the same service. It was similarly the case in family worship, at which it also was customary to sing the psalms.
In 1648 a new edition of the Bay Psalm Book was printed, and a few hymns or spiritual songs, as they were designated, were added. Many of the typographical errors appearing in the first edition were corrected, but the revised edition had to pass through the same wave of dissension as did its predecessor. In order to prepare the people for this edition the Reverend John Cotton, a man of progressive spirit, issued a treatise on the singing of the psalms, discussing the subject most ably and with considerable earnestness under the following significant
headings :
I. Touching the duty itself.
II. Touching the matter to be sung.
III. Touching the singers.
IV. Touching the manner of singing.
The doubts and fears which pressed upon the Puritan conscience at this time regarding the propriety of particular methods of singing in church were of no small consideration. How the psalms should be sung became a vital question, and Mr. Cotton now endeavored to elucidate many points touching on the matter which had led the churches to question:
(1) Whether it was proper for one to sing while others joined in spirit only, uniting in an audible Amen at the close of the tune : (2) whether women as well as men, or men alone should sing : (3) whether the unconverted — (pagans they designated them) — should join in the psalm tune : (4) whether it was lawful to sing psalms at all in tunes devised by man : (5) whether it was proper to learn new tunes which were uninspired.
In the treatise, published in tract form, which was distributed throughout the churches, Mr. Cotton set forth that the singing of psalms with a " lively voyce " is a " holy duty of God's worship now in the days of the New Testament;" that the Psalms of David having been " penned for Temple worship during the Pedagogy of the Old Testament " now in the days of the " New Testament, when God had promised to powre out his spirit upon all flesh, be carried on by personali spirituali gifts, whereby some one or other of the members of the church having received a Psalm by the enditement of the spirit," should sing the same " openly in the publique assembly of the church, and the rest of the bretheren say Amen to it at the close." Mr. Cotton also argued that " all should sing; with liberty for one to sing a psalm written by himself, while the church should respond Amen." In the latter part of the foregoing argument is found the first suggestion of a church solo in American religious assemblies.
The average Puritan felt that all melodies made by man were uninspired, in fact that they were a vain show of skill, therefore God could not take pleasure in praises offered in the melody made by sinful man. Mr. Cotton argued that, " Since God commandeth all men in distress to call upon him, and all men in their mirth to sing his praise, what is mortal, sinful man (Dust and Ashes) that he should forbid what God had commanded? " Mr. Cotton qualified his remarks by saying : " I can but marveile why you should put in the man of sinne, as having any hand at all in making the Melody." The arguments set forth carried such weight that the more progressive spirits sided with Mr. Cotton and those already supporting him, and efforts at improvement of congregational singing at once took shape.
The Bay Psalm Book passed into its third edition under the revision of Henry Dunster, President of Harvard College, and Richard Lyon of Cambridge University, England. Lyon added some additional hymns, which at the time was considered a most daring innovation. The third edition of this psalter, which was published in 1651, also was known as the first edition of the New England Psalm Book. This volume again and again was revised, until in 1744 it had reached its thirtieth edition, and not only was the favorite psalter in America but the churches of England and Scotland also gave it preference.
In 1698 the " Bay " or New England Psalm Book again underwent revision, this being the ninth time it had been subjected to such process, and was issued with the tunes of the psalms appended. This important edition was published for Michael Perry by A. Green and J. Allen of Boston, and without doubt was the first music published in America.
A reprint of a work bearing the title Psalms of David, fitted to the tunes used in Churches, which had been published in London in 1704, under the joint editorship of N. Brady, D.D., Chaplain in Ordinary, and N. Tate, Esq., poet-laureate to Her Majesty, appeared from the press of J. Allen of Boston in 1713, being the first American edition of this work. Its production no doubt proved an incentive to the New England clergy, who had ability in music, to compile similar works, for in 1715 the Rev. John Tufts published a work containing an introduction to the psalm-tunes, together with a collection of tunes in three parts. This is notable as the first collection of harmonized tunes issued in America.
Some five years later, Mr. Tufts put forward a more pretentious work which he designated in a preface " a very plain and easy introduction to the art of singing psalm-tunes, contrived in such a manner that the learner may attain the skill of singing them with the greatest ease and speed imaginable." In 1723 he brought out a collection of thirty-eight psalm-tunes in three parts —" treble, medias, and bass "— in which letters were used to indicate notes, this giving to the staff a clumsy and complicated appearance.
Five years before there had appeared a work which, with a little more forethought in its method of compilation, might have won for it a general and lasting popularity, for it was the most pretentious rendition of the psalms that yet had been made in America. Cotton Mather's "Psalte rium Americana " is the work in question. While in this work each psalm was printed like prose and could be. read or sung as such, a certain division of the words had the effect of changing them into something akin to lyrical verse. Sixteen pages of hymns or Scriptural subjects were added to the psalms, but there was not a note of music in the whole work. One scarcely can understand the reason for this omission as Dr. Mather, its compiler, was one of the strong advocates of singing, and he, as well as his contemporaries, felt the need of a variety of tunes and persistently endeavored to arouse in the people a spirit of enterprise in music. It was an excellent work so far as the arrangement of the text was concerned but it lacked the vital breath — tunes.
Contemporary with Tufts and Mather was Thomas Walter, a clergyman of Roxbury, Mass., who issued, in 1721, a work with the following title : The Grounds of Music Explained. Or an Introduction to the Art of Singing by Note ; Fitted to the meanest Capacities. This was our first American musical work in which the notes were grouped by bars. Previous to this time the tunes had been rendered by each individual according to his own idea, and one can readily imagine the confusion of sounds heard in the rendering of the psalm-tunes when scarcely two of the congregation sang the same tune to the same stanza, and when no one made any effort to keep either in time or in tune with his neighbor. Mr. Walter likened this singing to " five hundred tunes roared out at the same time with often one or two words apart," and he admitted that he himself often was guilty of " pausing twice in one note to take breath."
If a new tune were introduced in fifty years it became a great event, for the whole church had to pass upon it to render a decision, and frequently it was necessary to put it to a parish vote. It was no easy matter to reconcile the congregation to such an innovation as learning to sing the psalms and hymns in time and in tune, and above all by note. All kinds of excuses were framed to oppose the introduction of new tunes in the churches and many of them prove how bitter was the sentiment against any innovation. But the ministers were firm, yet tolerant, and they met all objections either by persuasion from the pulpit or by issuing tracts on the subject.
The Rev. Thomas Symmes, a graduate of Harvard, was one of the active participators in the struggle to improve the music in the churches. He diplomatically met the advocates of the " old method " by urging that " what is now called the usual way, in opposition to singing by note, is but a defective imitation of the regular way," adding : " Your usual way of singing is but of yesterday, an upstart novelty, a deviation from the regular, which is the only Scriptural good old way of singing; much older than our fathers' grandfathers. The beauty and harmony of singing consists very much in a just timing and tuning of the notes; every singer keeping the exact pitch the tune is set in, according to the part he sings. Now you may remember that in our congregation we used frequently to have some people singing a note or two after the rest had done, and you commonly strike the notes, not together, but one after another, one being half way through the second note before his neighbor is done with the first."
An idea of the general prejudice prevailing at the time against learning to sing by note may be gained from a perusal of the files of the New England Courant. In its issue of Sept. 16, 1725, the following notice appears : " Last week a Council of Churches was held at the south part of Braintree, to regulate the disorders occasioned by regular singing in that place, Mr. Niles, the minister, having suspended seven or eight members of the church for persisting in their singing by rule." The following statement also appears : " If we once begin to sing by note, the next thing will be to pray by rule, and preach by rule."
As a general thing, however, the clergy took a decided stand for better music in their respective churches. They did their utmost to further singing by note by exhorting and pleading from the pulpit and by means of tracts which they circulated among the people. In order to conciliate both parties many congregations adopted the plan of singing by note, that is with an attempt at keeping together, and in the usual way, on alternate Sabbaths.
From the diary of Samuel Sewall may be gained a good idea as to the manner in which the singing in the churches was conducted about the time that the Tufts, the Tate and Brady, the Mather, the Walter, and other psalters came into existence. It was customary at this time for the deacon or minister to read each line of the psalm or hymn before it was sung by the congregation. The first settlers had not practised this manner of singing, but it had become generally adopted owing either to the scarcity of books or to the inability of some to read. One readily can understand the difficulty of retaining the pitch under such circumstances. It also must be remembered that there were no instruments in use in the churches at that time. Mr. Sewall was precentor of his church for over twenty years, and under date of Feb. 2, 1718, he writes : " In the morning I set York tune, and in the 2d going over the gallery carried it irresistably to St. David's, which discouraged me very much. I spake earnestly to Mr. White to set it in the After-noon, but he declines it. p. m. The tune went well." Again, on " Lord's Day " Feb. 23, 1718, he writes : " Mr. Fox-croft preaches. I set York tune and the congregation went out of it into St. David's in the very 2d going over. They did the same three weeks before. This is the second sign. This seems to me an intimation and call for me to resign the Praecentor's place to a better Voice. I have through the divine Longsuffering and favour done it for twenty-four years, and now God by his Providence seems to call me off ; my voice being enfeebled. I spake to Mr. White earnestly to set it in the Afternoon, but he declined it. After the Exercises . . . I laid this matter before them, told them how long I had set the Tune ; Mr. Prince said, Do it six years longer. I persisted and said that Mr. White or Mr. Franklin might do it very well. The return of the gallery where Mr. Franklin sat was a place very Convenient for it."
On February 27 of the same year Mr. Sewall again notes : " I told Mr. White, Next Sabbath was in a Spring Month, he must then set the Tune. I set now Litchfield to a good key." On March 2 he again tells in the following quaint language of his anxiety in regard to the leadership of the singing : " I told Mr. White the elders desired him, he must set the Tune, he disabled himself, as if he had a cold. But when the Psalm was appointed, I forebore to do it, and rose up and turn'd to him, and he set York Tune to a very good key. I thank'd him for restoring York Tune to its Station with so much Authority and Honor: I saw 'twas Convenient that I had resigned, being for the benefit of the Congregation."
By the middle of the Eighteenth Century interest in church music was thoroughly aroused, as evidenced by the ever increasing number of musical publications. In 1737 Benjamin Franklin issued an edition of Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns, which passed into its second edition twenty years later. Dr. Watts' Songs and Hymns for Children also was published in America and became very popular with the youth of the country. In 1725 Rev. John Bernard of Marblehead edited a book of psalms and hymns which contained some fifty tunes in three-part harmony.
There was published in England, by William Tansur in 1754, a collection of music entitled the Royal Harmony. It contained hymns, anthems, and canons, arranged in from two to seven parts, and it became exceedingly popular. A copy of Tansur's book was brought to America and republished at Newburyport, Mass., two years after its publication in England. Following this collection by Tansur came a similar work by T. Williams, entitled New Harmony of Zion, also published in London and republished at Newburyport in 1769. These two works ultimately were combined in one and was generally liked by the New England singers, who now began to meet together to try this new and fascinating music. The publication of the combined work created an interest in music never before felt in this country. On account of its containing music written in a fugal style Tansur & Williams' volume is of special interest, for this style of music played an important part in our early musical development. The fugal setting of the Thirty-fourth Psalm was the forerunner of all subsequent music of that character.
From Philadelphia, in 1761, came the most pretentious of musical publications of its time, when James Lyon issued his Urania. This book contained not only a collection of psalms, hymns and anthems but had twelve pages devoted to instructions. The success of Urania undoubtedly was instrumental in encouraging others to produce works of a similar nature. One may form a fair judgment of the status of music at different periods of our musical life by scanning the pages of the various publications appearing from year to year. The fact that twelve pages of instructions was included in Lyon's work points to a desire on the part of the public for something of this character.
Josiah Flagg published in 1764, at Boston, a collection of one hundred and sixteen tunes and two anthems. This was a decided innovation upon all preceding works as it contained a variety of music from " Old Hundred," to a popular march entitled " March of Richard the Third." Most of the vocal selections were written in four parts, the melody being given to the tenor voice. Flagg had borrowed largely from Tansur and Williams and others, giving credit in his preface as follows : " We are obliged to the other side of the Atlantic chiefly for our tunes." Then the author feels impelled to apologize to the public for setting before them a " new collection at a time when there were already so many among us, there having been two or three within the past fifty years."
Flagg's work is of import apart from its musical significance, and the author is found congratulating himself upon the fact that he is under no obligation to " the other side of the Atlantic " for his paper even if he is for the music, since the former was the first manufactured in America for this purpose. The plates were engraved by Paul Revere — later the hero of the midnight ride — who also published and issued the work.
In 1764, Daniel Bayley of Newburyport, Mass., edited two volumes which were designated "A new and complete Introduction to the grounds and rules of music, in two books." The first volume really was little more than an elaborated edition of Walter's work, and the second volume was borrowed largely from Tansur's Royal Harmony. Three editions of this work were published within a year, which would intimate that there was more interest in music than formerly. The introductory page to this volume states that there were " tunes from the most approved masters." It is rather unfortunate that Bayley did not place on record the names of the individual composers; had he done so the chances are that something of American origin might be found among these early compositions.
It was in New England in the early days that the real struggle for the very existence of music itself was fought. Owing to the religious views of the Puritan settlers, conditions in New England were different from those in the other American colonies. On account of the absence of any great controversy over music elsewhere in the country there is little or no record of musical conditions in the early days outside of the New England settlements. In New York and Charleston the singing of psalms and hymns in the churches was generally accepted without controversy, and by the time Philadelphia, Annapolis, Baltimore and other pioneer American cities had come into being the crisis of the struggle had passed. The influx of Dutch, German, Swedish and Moravian immigrants, who brought with them their own music, did not affect appreciably the status of music in this country; for these colonists usually kept to themselves and, owing to the distance between settlements, for some years had little intercourse with each other.
Such further struggle as there was took place in New England and was occasioned by the opposition to the more progressive element who wished again to advance the cause of church music by abolishing the custom of " lining out " the psalms. Still later another controversy arose relative to the introduction of organs in the churches. The prejudice against instrumental music of any kind continued for many years, in the most remote districts lasting beyond the middle of the Nineteenth Century. The opposite stands taken by those in favor of doing away with the reading of the lines and their opponents long were detrimental to the cause of church music and caused Boston and its vicinity to lag somewhat behind Charleston, Philadelphia and New York. As the incoming English settlers belonging to the Episcopal Church became more numerous throughout the country the churches which they established were among the first to accept the more liberal views regarding church music. It was in the churches of this denomination that the first organs also were installed.
The leading factor in the betterment of psalmody was the advent of the singing master and the singing school. Through the influence of the singing school choirs came into existence, and with the choirs the abolition of the " lining out " process naturally followed. An instance of the tenacity with which the older members of the congregations held their views in the matter of reading the lines of the psalms is culled from the History of Worcester. On Aug. 5, 1779, it was voted : " That the singers sit in the front of the gallery, and that those gentlemen who have hitherto sat in the front seats in said gallery, have a right to sit in the front and second seats below, and that said singers have said seats appropriated to said use." " Voted, that said singers be requested to take said seats and carry on the singing in public worship."
" Voted, that the mode of singing in the congregation here be without reading the psalms line by line to be sung."
" The Sabbath after the adoption of these votes, after the hymn had been read by the minister, the aged and venerable Deacon Chamberlain, unwilling to desert the custom of his fathers, rose and read the first line according to the usual practise. The singers, prepared to carry the alteration into effect, proceeded without pausing at the conclusion. The white haired officer of the church with full power of his voice read on till the louder notes of the collected body overpowered the attempts to resist the progress of the improvement and the deacon, deeply mortified at the triumph of the musical reformation, seized his hat and retired from the meeting house in tears. His conduct was censured by the church and he was for a time deprived of its communion for absenting himself from the public services of the Sabbath."
Singing schools, or something akin to them, were organized early in the Eighteenth Century at the time when the New England churches were in such turmoil over the matter of congregational singing. In a tract written by Rev. Thomas Symmes in 1723 in favor of better singing in the churches he makes reply to his opponents who denounced those who were " spending too much time in singing " and " staying out at nights disorderly." From this it is seen that concerted efforts then were being made to learn to sing. In the announcement of one of the early singing masters he states that he is prepared to teach " the new version of the psalms with all the tunes, both of particular and common measure."
The efforts of the first singing masters in America undoubtedly were directed toward instruction in psalmody.
As the size and number of their classes gradually increased, improved congregational singing was the result. The formation of choirs naturally followed, with special seats being set apart for them. At first these bodies of singers merely took the place of the " tune setters " and served to lead the singing of the congregations. At a later date the choirs assumed very much the same position as those of today, acting not only as aids in carrying the psalm-tunes and hymns but also performing anthems and other choral pieces without the assistance, or rather the hindrance, of the congregations.
Each choir had its leader, who set the pitch and time of the tune or composition to be sung. In the early psalm-books containing the tunes directions were printed as to the pitch to be fixed on for each tune. When the compass of the notes was but five or six above the first it was stated that a high pitch should be tallen when the compass ex-tended to eight or nine notes above the first, the tune should be pitched low. It must be remembered that in the early days no instruments were in use in the churches. The pitch pipe came as the first aid to the choir leader. Its introduction counted for much and served to insure a convenient pitch for each tune. At the time when there was absolutely nothing except the not always infallible judgment of the precentor in fixing the key it may be imagined how haphazard was the task. Following the introduction of the pitch pipe came the tuning fork; then the cello, followed by the flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and violin ; and finally the organ.
The first heard relative to the introduction of an organ in an American church was in 1704, when the matter was brought before the vestry of Trinity Church, New York. While the first proposition did not materialize, its influence was felt some five years later, when it was thought desirable to have a " set of organs." In discussing ways and means by which to meet the expenses of the same we find this placid resolution : " What we cannot afford ourselves, we shall leave to God Almighty's good providence." It is probable that the committee was forced to take refuge in the latter alternative, for no real contributions were made toward procuring this much talked of instrument until 1739. The organ finally was constructed and installed by Johann Gottlob Klemm of Philadelphia in 1741.
In the meantime, Thomas Brattle of Boston, a man of artistic instincts, had made provision in his will for an imported organ to be set up in the Battle Square Church of that city. The liberal and broad-minded donor evidently had realized that there might be some opposition regarding the acceptance of the gift, so in a businesslike manner he had attached a proviso that the offer be accepted within a year after his death. In the event of its non-acceptance by the trustees of this particular church, which was of the Congregational denomination, the gift was to be offered to King's Chapel, which was the Boston representative of the Church of England. Mr. Brattle also stipulated that an organist should be procured, a " sober person to play skilfully thereon with a loud noise." The Puritans were scandalized to think that one of their own church should propose such an outrageous innovation to their sedate form of worship, and the vote, " We do not think it proper to use the same in the public worship of God," fully expresses the sentiment of the opposing element, whose obduracy also decided the fate of the instrument.
While the trustees of Trinity Church, New York, still were deliberating on building an organ, Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island, had received the gift of an instrument from Dean — afterward Bishop — Berkley. This church was considered one of the finest timbered structures in America, and from its belfry, crested by a gracefully proportioned spire, a mellow toned bell, the gift of Queen Anne, summoned the colonists to worship. It was in this church that the second organ in New England was set up, an organ which for many years held rank as the best in
America. Its workmanship in every detail was of the highest quality. The case was of English oak and was of very handsome design. It was nearly fifteen feet in height, eight feet in width, and eight feet in depth. Its front presented twenty-three gilded pipes, and a crown sup-ported by two miters adorned its top.
The clerk was an important official of the Episcopal Church at this period. He read out the hymns and psalms, led the singing, and performed many other duties in his official capacity. Frequently he and the organist disagreed over the manner in which the tune should be sung, or in the choice of the particular tune itself. Trinity Church, Newport, with its fine organ, did not escape the trials of its sister churches, for organ, organist and clerk formed a trio to be reckoned with. Thus it came that in 1753 John Grelca, clerk, was dismissed from Trinity Church because he refused to sing the tunes played by the organist at the morning service.
An interesting anecdote is related of John L. Berkenhead, known as " the blind organist," who was appointed to Trinity Church, Newport, in 1796. Dr. Berkenhead was playing the hymn tune when he was interrupted by Joseph Dyer, the clerk, calling loudly "Berkenhead, you are playing the wrong tune ! " The organist immediately stopped his playing and most emphatically told the clerk that he was a liar. The congregation naturally was greatly shocked at this unseemly conduct, and the vestry in considering the continued engagement of Berkenhead added the proviso, " during good behavior and punctual attendance."
As already has been noted, it was in the Episcopal churches of America that the first organs were installed, and it was in these same churches that music first assumed any recognized place apart from the singing of the psalms and hymns. The installation of organ after organ called for persons qualified to perform on the same, and as there were few or none of the colonists with the necessary endowments and preparation, organists were imported from England to fill the positions thus created. It is to these men that we owe our first introduction to church music such as was produced in the English cathedrals. Among the most prominent of these early organists were Edward Enstone, William Tuckey, Theodore Pachelbel, Benjamin Yarnold, James Bremner, Raynor Taylor and Benjamin Carr. In addition to their organ playing these men con-ducted schools " for the improvement of psalmody ; " they gave lessons on various instruments and in dancing, and some of them sold musical merchandise as well.
Through the influence of the singing schools choirs came to be formed about the middle of the Eighteenth Century. As always the case, much opposition was shown to the innovation, but through the efforts of those who had the desire for better church music at heart and on account of the general interest taken in singing, choirs came to be generally adopted. But even in the churches where choirs had been formed the " lining out " process was for some years not altogether given up. William Billings, one of our first composers and apostles of reform in church singing, put forward an argument against the custom which must have had its effect. He stated : " As all now have books and all can read, 'tis insulting to have the lines read in this way, for it is practically saying, ` We are men of letters, and you, ignorant creatures.' " Billings also is said to have been the first to introduce the " viol," or cello, as an aid to the singing of the choir.
The adoption of the choir system became general about the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. It was in New England, of course, that the conflict in regard to the matter was most pronounced, the New Englanders thus keeping up their record for conservatism concerning changes in anything relating to the church. The History of Rowley states that in 1765 the parish voted that " those who had learned the art of singing may have the liberty to sit in the front gallery." The singers did not take the " liberty " however, as they objected to singing after the clerk's reading. In 1780 it is recorded that the parish requested Jonathan Chaplin, Jr., and Lieutenant Spafford " to assist Deacon Spafford in Raising the tune in the Meeting house." Five years later the parish desired " the singers, both male and female to sit in the gallery, and will allow them to sing once upon each Lord's Day without reading by the Deacon."
The leaders of these parish choirs either were chosen by the town or church or occupied the position by common consent. When choirs first were introduced the leader was expected to sound the key-note and then to give the pitch successively to the other parts, all this without the aid of any instrument. He also was expected to beat time in some conspicuous way. The part sung by the choir leaders was what now is known as the soprano or air but which then was designated the tenor. Usually the choir sounded the chord before singing. They sang without the aid of notes, the music having been memorized previously, either at the singing school or in the home.
During the early period of the choir system the music of necessity was of the simplest possible kind, such as psalm-tunes and hymns. The use thus made of this class of music called out many collections, and by the last of the Eighteenth Century at least sixty books, largely composed of sacred selections with a few secular pieces added, had appeared in New England alone. After the singing schools and choirs had become firmly established a new era of church music began. This was the age of the fuguing pieces of Billings and other American composers of his time.
There seems to have been considerable confusion in the minds of our early composers as to what constituted a fugue, for they were in the habit of designating any composition written in contrapuntal style a " fuge." A quantity of music of this type was introduced from England and became exceedingly popular with the singing schools.
From the singing schools it was adopted by the choirs and thus came to take the place previously occupied by the more simple hymn-tunes. The fuguing music seems to have. made a profound impression when it first came into use, and William Billings is found voicing its praises in the following extravagant terms : " It has more than twenty times the power of the old slow tunes ; each part straining for mastery and victory, the audience entertained and de-lighted, their minds surpassingly agitated and extremely fluctuated, sometimes declaring for one part, and some. times for another. Now the solemn bass demands their attention, next the manly tenor now, the lofty counter now, the volatile treble. Now here — now there, now here again. O, ecstatic ! Rush on, you sons of harmony ! "
It is seen that such music was not calculated to inspire any deeply religious feeling — in fact quite the reverse, for many of these fuguing choruses were decidedly secular in character and were very much out of place in the services of the church. Their long continued popularity no doubt was due to their value as show pieces. They were sung from beginning to end without any attempt at expression, each part trying to outdo the other in vigor and in volume. According to the custom of the time the air, then termed the tenor, and the bass were sung by the men; the true tenor part, which then was known as the treble was sung by the women; while the alto or counter was taken either by the men falsetto or by women and boys.
Church music in America received a decided setback on account of the prevalence for so many years of this fuguing. Those of the congregation who were unlearned in music were unable to participate in the singing, and the choirs thus appropriated the entire tonal service unto themselves. Not that it always was smooth sailing for the choristers however, for it is related that the Rev. Dr. Bellamy on one occasion turned to the choir and re.
marked : " You must try again, for it is impossible to preach after such singing." Because the singing in the church devolved entirely upon them some of the choirs became arrogant, and at times refused to sing. At one of the New England churches just such an occurrence is recorded. The officiating clergyman in some way had offended the singers and they consequently declined to take part in the service. Finally they were brought to see the error of their ways by the pastor reading the hymn :
Let those refuse to sing
Who never knew our God!
But children of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad.
Relative to the behavior of the choirs during the service there early is record of an undesirable feature which unfortunately has not yet been entirely eliminated. " The result of my observations," writes a pastor early in the Nineteenth Century, " is that there is a great lack of devotion (not to say of common good breeding) in choirs of all denominations. Especially is this manifested by smiling and whispering, and looking over the tune-book in the time of the sermon." Again another writer states : "I boarded when very young with a family in the South, the head of which was the organist in the church. Not being attached to any church or form, I sometimes attended divine service with him and for convenience sat in the organ loft . . . The loft was railed in and furnished with substantial thick, crimson curtains which, when drawn, were sufficient to exclude vulgar eyes from the hallowed interior. It was customary when the excellent ritual of devotion was gone through and the rector had named the text, for the singers to draw the curtain around them, and read or sleep, as it suited them best. In very warm weather they also took care to be supplied with refreshments, and thus the tedious half hour allotted to the sermon was pretty easily consumed without much weariness. I recollect that on a very warm Sabbath afternoon the singers had watermelon and lemonade wherewith to console themselves, and it happened that one of the gentlemen in handing a slice of the melon to a lady singer, overset the pitcher of lemonade. This might not have been of much consequence had the floor of the organ loft been liquor tight. But there were many chinks in it and the lemonade trickled through quite freely down into the broad aisle, to the discomfiture of the rector and such of his congregation as were wakeful enough to notice passing events."
The music sung by our early choirs usually was of a low order, being without much intrinsic merit and badly arranged. Owing to the then prevailing prejudice against everything English the better class of church music generally was thrust aside and was to be heard only in the churches of the Episcopal denomination. As the first American composers almost entirely lacked the necessary preparation it may be judged that their compositions were not of high order. Many unwarranted and grotesque liberties also were taken by the singers, such as " singing flat with a nasal twang, straining the voice to an unnatural pitch, introducing continued drawls and tasteless ornaments, trilling on each syllable, running a third above the written note." Thus it is seen that at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century there was much chance for improvement in the matter of church music.
It will be remembered that the first controversy regarding music in the churches was as to whether any singing whatsoever should be countenanced. When finally this was decided in the affirmative the next question that arose was as to the manner of singing — whether singing should be by rule and note or otherwise. After much discussion this also was carried and there was a lull for a time until the advisability of the adoption of the choir system and the doing away with the " lining out " of the psalms and hymns again caused discord. Once more the reformers came out victorious, but their very success eventually became a stumbling block through the class of music which they elected to sing. So finally, on account of the choir abuses, about the year 1790 the question of doing away altogether with the music in the services of the church again arose. Thus at the close of the Eighteenth Century church music in America was in sorry straits; but again it was destined to arise purified and strengthened.
When the reaction against the fuguing pieces of Billings and his school became evident the reformers could do naught else but turn back to the hymn and psalm-tunes of their forefathers. Because of the renewed interest shown in the old hymnody many new collections made up of music of this class began to appear. Among the first of these was a collection of Sacred Dirges, Hymns and Anthems published by Isaiah Thomas and E. T. Andrews in 1800. The following year Timothy Swan brought out his New England Harmony. This was a book of one hundred and four pages and it contained among other original compositions the well known tunes " China," " Pownal " and " Poland," which are still in vogue. Following this, William Cooper and Jonathan Huntington published in 1804 The Beauties of Church Music and Sure Guide to the Art of Singing.
In 1805 three publications appeared : The Christian Harmony by Jeremiah Ingalls ; The Salem Collection by Cushing and Appleton of Salem, and The Delights of Harmony or Norfolk Compiler by Stephen Jenks. The latter collection is described on the title-page as " A new collection of psalm-tunes, hymns and anthems, with a variety of set pieces from the most approved American and European authors, likewise the necessary rules of psalmody made easy." In 1806 Abijah Forbush produced The Psalmodists Assistant which included one hundred and eight original melodies.
In 1807 Prof. John Hubbard of Dartmouth College delivered an essay on music before the Middlesex Musical Society. This lecture evinces a high degree of acquaintance with the aesthetics of music, and in it Professor Hubbard bewails the fruitfulness of ambitious dulness. He says : "Almost every pedant after learning the eight notes, has commenced author. With a genius sterile as the deserts of Arabia, he has attempted to rival the great masters of music. On the leaden wings of dulness he has attempted to soar into those regions of science never penetrated by real genius. From such distempered imaginations no regular productions can be expected. The unhappy writers, after torturing every note in the octave have fallen into oblivion and have generally outlived their insignificant works."
In an address delivered before the Handel Society at Dartmouth College in 1809 Francis Brown assails the prevailing style of church music and explains its shortcomings by saying that " The greater part of those in our country who have undertaken to write music have been ignorant of its nature. Their pieces have little variety and little meaning. . . As they are written without meaning, they are performed without expression. . . . Another very serious fault in the greater part of American music denominated sacred, is that its movements and air are calculated rather to provoke levity than to kindle devotion."
Brown claims for American musical talent as much merit as he attaches to that of the European authors, but he says : "Our best musicians, instead of being awakened to exertion by a call for splendid talents, have been discouraged by the increasing prevalence of a corrupt taste." He traces this evil to the following causes : First, the passion for novelty; second, the antipathy of the higher classes, more particularly of the ladies, to taking part in the music of the sanctuary; third, the lack of attention to the character and qualifications of the instructors.
In 1809 Joel Harmon, Jr., of Northampton, Mass., published the Columbia Sacred Minstrel, a book of some eighty pages, containing original compositions in three, four, five and six parts. Hannon had endeavored to eliminate from his collection all compositions in which levity had supplanted dignity, and in his preface he states : " It is with pleasure that the author discovers that fuguing music is generally disapproved of by almost every person of correct taste." Three years later than Harmon's production Brown, Mitchell and Holt of Boston brought out Templi Carmina or Songs of the Temple, which afterward was called the Bridgewater Collection. This was a book of three hundred and fifty pages of music taken from English sources, and it became extremely popular. It was the most important publication of its time and was recommended by the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston. Another work of note which made its appearance about this time was the Village Harmony or Youth's Assistant to Sacred Music. This book was of about the same size as the Bridgewater Collection, and its popularity is attested to by its having passed through seventeen editions.
A book of Chants Adapted to the Hymns in the Morning and Evening Service in the Protestant Episcopal Church was issued in 1819 by Jonathan M. Wainwright of Hartford, Conn. The preface to the work states : "Metrical music is but a modern invention and adds nothing to true devotion and the worship of God; the conceit of versifying the psalms, though it seems in some degree to unite the peculiar advantages of the anthem and chant, in no less degree excludes the excellence and effects of both." The first heard of chanting in New England was in St. Michael's Church at Marblehead, Mass. In a letter dated Dec. 24. 1787, the rector, Rev. Thos. F. Oliver, writes : " As to-morrow is Xmas we intend to introduce chanting into our church." It is quite probable, however, that chanting had been used to some extent in the Episcopal churches in other parts of the country previous to this time.
During the early years of the Nineteenth Century, in addition to the attempted reform touching on the singing and music in the churches, a controversy also was waging over the use of instruments. The old Puritan admonition, taken from the Scripture, " I will not hear the melody of the viols "
(Amos 5-23) again was cited; but in spite of all opposition the use of instruments became general. Another point of contention among the musicians themselves was the proper disposition of parts among the singers. It was suggested by the singing masters of better taste that the air, which previously had been sung by the men, be given to the women. This was held by some to be an interference with the rights of man and contrary to Scripture. It was agitated for some years and finally was put into practise by Andrew Law about the year 1825.
The singing of solos and duets also came to be practised about this time. Formerly it had been the custom for all the voices attached to each part to keep on wherever they found notes. If a solo passage occurred it was marked " pia," or soft, no matter what might be the character of the words. It took some time before either male or female singers could decide to make the attempt at solo singing, and when finally they did they often were sneered at as being immodest.
One of the best known among the early choirs was that connected with the Park Street Church in Boston. In spite of the conservative tenets held by this body, which indeed were so severe that it refused to use an organ until well on in the Nineteenth Century, the singing of the Park Street choir was of a high order. Gen. H. K. Oliver, the composer of the well-known tune " Federal St.," gives some interesting reminiscences relative to this choir. He states : " From 1810 to 1814, the writer, a Boston lad, having a high soprano voice, was a singing boy, with two or three others, in the choir of Park Street Church, a choir consisting of some fifty singers and deservedly renowned for its admirable rendering of church music, ignoring the prevalent fugue-tunes of the day, and giving the more appropriate and correct hymn-tunes and anthems of the best English composers. Out of this choir came many of the original members of the Handel and Haydn Society. There was no organ at Park Street, the accompaniment of their singing being given by a flute, a bassoon and a violoncello. At that remote date very few musical instruments of any sort were to be found in private houses. In the entire population of Boston, of some six thousand families, not fifty pianos could be found."
The first genuine reform in church music in America was due to the efforts of three men: Thomas Hastings (1787-1872), Nathaniel Gould (1789-1854) and Lowell Mason (1792-1872). To these three do we owe the chief credit for first placing church music on a proper basis. At the period of their early manhood psalmody and hymnody were just emerging from the deleterious influence of the Billings school, and the churches were reverting to the hymn-tunes sung in earlier times. These pioneer reformers to some extent encouraged this process, but they also brought forward original compositions and arrangements of airs taken from the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and other of the masters, thus augmenting the rather small repertory possible at the time. Their efforts were in the line of music suitable for congregational singing rather than of that for the choir. With them music was looked upon not so much as an art but as a factor subservient to religious purposes. It is certain that Hastings and Gould, and to some extent Mason, hardly were able to realize that music might serve the double end of art and religion. While Mason was somewhat shackled by his religious views, his attitude toward music was much more liberal than either of his contemporaries. So far-reaching have been the results of his labors that he justly has been termed " the father of church music in America."
Thomas Hastings began his career as a singing master. He taught for some years in the vicinity of his home in Connecticut, later changing the field of his labors to New York State. The scope of his usefulness was limited by his extreme views relative to the place. of music in religious devotion. His one idea was that its mission lay in the furtherance of gospel teachings to the total exclusion of any inherent artistic merit. In spite of his narrow views, however, he did much to promote correct singing of the music then in use in the churches and supplied as well new and original work of real merit. Hastings published many collections of psalm tunes and books of elementary instruction, and he also was the author of versification which indicates more than ordinary talent in that branch of literary musical endeavor. In 1832 he settled in New York and the balance of his life was devoted to the improvement of church choirs according to his light.
The career of Nathaniel D. Gould was similar to that of Hastings, both of these men leading the lives of the singing masters of their age. In addition to his work in connection with the various singing schools, Gould composed and adapted many psalm and hymn-tunes ; he also compiled several collections of church music and instruction books as well as a History of Church Music in America which was published in 1853. Probably his most noteworthy achievement was in connection with the juvenile singing classes which he established. Of his work in this field he states : " The writer is constrained to say that, if he had any one thing more than another that he can look back upon with satisfaction during a long life, it is the fact that he was the first to introduce the teaching of children to sing." His first juvenile schools were in Boston, Cambridge, and Charlestown in the year 1824.
The effect of what Lowell Mason accomplished in his labors for church music in America hardly can be over-estimated. Judged in the light of today the work itself was not on a high artistic plane, but when referred to the period in which it was performed it is found that Mason was far in advance of his time. Taking his place as a laborer in the field of musical endeavor, he found matters in a bad shape. The music itself was of a low order and illy arranged; and in addition, it commonly was rendered with no attempt at giving expression to the context of the words. In both of these spheres Lowell Mason worked a marked change. First of all he brought forward good singable music correctly and fittingly harmonized and he further saw to it that it was properly sung. His first compilation, The Boston Handel & Haydn Collection of Music, was published in 1822 under the auspices of the Society. This work included adaptations of music taken from various sources as well as many original compositions. It won an immense success and received creditable comment from the German theorist, Moritz Hauptmann. So popular did it become that it passed through seventeen editions and was generally adopted by church choirs and singing societies throughout the country.
Mason's works were the first of their kind in America which were respectable from a musical standpoint. Many of his tunes are still sung in our churches and the compositions of later writers in the same field largely are patterned on the same lines. The marks of expression always are natural and appropriate to the sentiment of the words and they thus call attention to the spirit of the text. In all phases of church music Lowell Mason was indefatigable in his efforts toward improvement. As author, teacher, lecturer, organist, director and composer he was equally prominent, and his name acts as the connecting link between the time of Billings and the present. Following Mason came his pupils and associates among the most: prominent of which were Henry K. Oliver, Geo. J. Webb, Wm. B. Bradbury, Geo. F. Root, Isaac B. Woodbury, W. F. Sherwin and Horatio R. Palmer. None of these men, however, has exerted the same power for reform as did Lowell Mason.
Before Mason's death, in 1872, music had assumed practically the place it occupies in the church today. But there is one name, that of Dudley Buck, which must be mentioned on account of the excellent work he performed in the production of suitable choir music. Mason's efforts largely were directed in the line of music for the congregation, while on the other hand Buck confined himself principally to choir music. He has written many anthems, motets and services which are found in the repertory of almost every church choir. Mr. Buck was one of our first properly qualified church musicians, and the efforts he exerted as organist, conductor and composer have been of lasting benefit. There are many other workers in the same field who well deserve mention in this connection but who, on account of their special performances in other directions, are noted else-where in this volume.
A special feature of church music in America is the establishment of boy choirs. This idea has been carried out principally in the Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches and never has obtained a firm hold in those of other denominations. In the great majority of Episcopal churches and in an ever-increasing number of those of the Roman Catholic denomination, especially since the recent Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius X. the surpliced choir of men and boys has been generally adopted. The first person to take a step in this direction was Rev. Francis Hawks, D.D., of St. Paul's College, Flushing, L. I., about the year 1839. The opposition was so marked, however, that the custom of putting the college choir into surplices was dropped for the time, but the use of the boys' voices in the service was continued under the guidance of Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg. In 1845 Dr. Muhlenberg removed to the Church of the Holy Communion in New York where he installed a boy choir (without surplices) which rendered the entire musical service.
The feasibility of boys' voices for choir use thus having been demonstrated, it was not long before other churches, in which special attention was paid to liturgical matters, adopted the vested choir. Among the first to do so was the Church of the Advent in Boston. In 1856 a full choir of men and boys was installed under the direction of Dr. Henry Stephen Cutler, who had made a special study of the subject in the English cathedrals. Here services and anthems of the best type were produced, and the Advent choir reached the high level it has maintained for so many years. In course of time Dr. Cutler was offered the post of organist and choirmaster at Trinity Church, New York, which position he accepted with the understanding that a vested choir should shortly be established. Nevertheless, the matter was delayed for some time, and it was not until the Prince of Wales visited New York and attended Trinity Church that the choir appeared in surplices. Since that time the vested choir has been a feature of the services there.
It was long, however, before the movement gained much headway, for there was a strong prejudice to be over-come. For some years there were but two places in New York where vested choirs were to be seen, at Trinity and in the Madison Street Mission Chapel. From these two sources emanated the movement which since has resulted in the formation of choirs of men and boys throughout the country. It was not until the idea obtained a firm hold in the West that its possibilities were recognized. The first vested choir in that part of the country was formed at Racine College in Wisconsin. Shortly after, in 1867, a similar choir, under the direction of Rev. J. H. Knowles, was installed in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Chicago. Since then the growth of the movement has been remarkable. In the Episcopal churches it corresponds with a similar movement in the Roman Catholic communions the result of the Cecilian Society whose object is to secure for the liturgy of the church a dignified and reverent rendering and the use of strictly appropriate music.
There are no data available as to the number of surpliced choirs in the United States today, but wherever adopted they have proved to be generally satisfactory and it is indeed rare that a church reverts to a quartet or mixed choir. The most pronounced drawback has been the absence of suitable altos and the scarcity of competent choirmasters, In the English choirs the alto part usually is strengthened by men's voices trained to sing falsetto, and the result is most gratifying; but in this country we seem to have no such voices. The inadequate remuneration offered by the majority of churches has steadily militated against the taking up of this special line of musical endeavor by men who otherwise would be glad to qualify themselves for such work Many special benefits accrue to the boy singers through their choir connections, for they early become proficient sight readers and gain a familiarity with the best class of church music. The average size of the boy choir in America is about thirty-five voices. Twenty-four is about the smallest number of singers desirable, while there now are several vested choirs in this country numbering from fifty to seventy-five active members. Among the most noted of such choirs are those connected with the Cathedral of the Incarnation at Garden City, L. I., Emmanuel Church in Boston and Grace Church in Chicago. These and similar choirs sing only music of the highest grade, such as anthems by Barnby, Tours, Dyke, Smart, and Sullivan, as well as oratorio choruses, services, and masses.
Undoubtedly the best music heard in American churches today is to be found in those of the Episcopal and Roman Catholic communions. In the churches of these two denominations where it has been found inexpedient to adopt the vested choir of men and boys similar efforts nevertheless have been put forth for the best church music. It has been much easier, however, for these churches than for those of other persuasions owing to the authoritative traditions inherited from the mother country. But in the non-liturgic churches of America conditions have not been favorable for the development of any standard of taste. The make-up of the choir largely rests with the ministers and individual congregations, while the style of music sung usually is left in the hands of the choir leader or music committee. The result is that there is too much diversity of effort. This is unfortunate inasmuch as it has not been conducive to the elevation of church music at the same rate at which other lines of musical endeavor have progressed. There is no doubt that the American churches have fallen far behind in the general trend of music culture. Such a state of affairs can be remedied only when the religious bodies come to realize that if the worshipers hear the music of the masters without, they will not be content with that of lesser merit within the church doors.
There is urgent necessity for improvement both in the music of the congregation and in that of the choir. If the church powers could but realize the need for betterment they would see that much good could be done by the adoption of hymn-books in which the style and arrangement of the tunes is in keeping with the dignity of worship. Another pressing need is the general distribution throughout the edifice of books containing the musical settings of each hymn, The majority of worshipers now are able to read music to some extent, and it seems strange that this simple change is so long in being brought about when undoubtedly it would prove efficacious in improving congregational singing.
As regards choir music the necessity for correction and progress equally is eminent. The question of what is the most satisfactory form of choir — whether solo, quartet, or chorus — largely is dependent on the individual communion. It has been found that churches having a chorus choir usually have the best congregational singing. Wherever expedient, the adoption of a combination choir of solo, quartet and chorus seems to be most suitable in every way, for it allows of adequate presentation of almost every species of church music. Without the aid of a chorus, quartet singing in the church never is wholly satisfactory, for of necessity it lacks the dignity and grandeur naturally associated with the worship of God. Apart from the choir itself, it is to be hoped that more noteworthy advancement in the class of music sung will be made in the future than has been the case in the past, and that all music of a trivial nature will be banished to the place it rightfully belongs. It is pleasing to know that in many individual cases a high standard of music is maintained, but the improvement could be and should be effected through the governing bodies of the various denominations. Until some such step is taken, progress in this direction will be haphazard and uncertain. The liturgic churches of America are far in advance of those of a non-liturgic character, and they will maintain their musical supremacy until a wider and deeper interest be taken in the subject by the latter bodies.
