U [C L

CHIEF EDITOR

L O U I S C . E L S O NN ew Eng land Conservatory of M usic

[72 Ten Volumes

Vol. I . A History of M us ic : P rim i tive,

Anci ent, M ed i eva l , and Modern E uro

peanVol. I I . A H i story of M usic : M usic in

Am eri ca ; Specia l Articl esVol. II I . G reat C om posersVol. IV . G rea t Composers (C ontinued)Vol. V . Re l ig i ous Musi c of th e W

'

orl dVo l . V I . Vocal Music and M usi cians : T heVocal Art ; Great Vocal i sts ; Fam ousSong s

Vol . VI I . T he O pen : History a nd G ui d eVol . VI II . T he T h eory o f Mus ic ; P iano

T echniqueVol. IX. Un ivers i ty D ict ionary of Musi c

and M usi ciansVol. X. Univers ity D ictionary of Mus i c

and Mus icians (Cont inued )

T/ze UN IVE RS ITY SOCIE TY

PUBLISHERS

Uopy righ t, P hotog raphische Gesellschaft. Perm is sion Berlin P hotog raph ic Co. , N , Y.

THE W O RLD FORGETT INGFrom th e Pain ting by G . von Hoesslin

UN IV E RS ITYM U S C A LENCYCLOP A

REL IGIOUS MUSIC

OF

THE W ORL D

H ym n—P la i n Song— Chan t— M ass

-Requ iem— M o t e t —Cho rale

A n th em —O ra to r i o— P as s i o n

By Ma l/y Em iflf fl t E d i tor ) , Exper ts , Spat ia l

Cm tr zézz tor f , i /z f /m/mg

REV . DAVID R. BRE ED,

AN N IE W . PAT TERSON ,

w. GARRE T T H O RD E R,

w . s . ROCKST RO, m

’

J .c

.GRIEVE

N IVE RS ITY SOC I E TY

N EW Y O RK

Copyr ig h t , 19 12

By TH E UN IVER S I TY S OC IETY In c .

Co pyr i gh t,1910

By TH E UN IVE R S I TY SOCI E TY In c .

C O N T E N T S

CHAPTER I

N ON -CHRI ST IAN HYMN S PAGEGre ek and Roman VVo rsh ip—Hin du S ongs—Buddhi smand B rahman i sm—Chin e s e Worsh ip—M ohamm e dans—Babylon ian s and As syr ian s—Hebrews

CHAPTER I I

AN C IENT J EW I SH H YM N S

Absence o f Form a l Re l igi ou s S ong—Im prov i s ed SongsTh e W i d en ing S tream— Sam u e l ’s System—Th e Booko f Psalm s—Th e Tem p le S erv ice—Later Hi storyUn iversa l Us e o f th e Psa lm s

CHAPTER I I I

HYMN S OF THE N EW TESTAMENTHebrew An tecedents—Songs of Hannah , Mary , and Zachar ias—Th e Gosp e l s S i l en t as to Sacred Song—Th eApos to l i c Age—Re ference s to Song in th e Reve lat ion .

CHAPTE R IV

LAT IN HYMN SE stab l i shm en t o f Hym n s i n Church S ervi ce—Five Ce l e

bra ted S equ ences— Pal e s tr i na’s Great H ym n i To tia sA n n i Include s A ll th e Fam ou s Pla in-chan t M e lod i es.

CHAPTER V

EARLY PROTESTANT HYM N SL uther’s German Hym nal , and th e D eve lopm en t o f th eChora l e by Johann S ebast ian Bach—Calvi n i s t Psal terI s su ed by Marot and B e l a—E ar ly E ngl i sh Hymn ody .

19

32

CONTENTS

CHAPTER VI

HYMN S OF W ATTS AND OTHERS PAGEP rej ud ice Overcom e by Watts— Hym n s o f His that w i l lL ive and Som e that wi l l Not—Browne, Pop e, Sam u e lW e s l ey, and Byrom

CHAPTE R VI I

EARLY METHODIST H YM N S

Charl e s W e s l ey’s “Hym n s and Sacre d Poem s and th e“Foundery Tune-Book —“ Harm on ia Sacra” by Bu ttsO ther W es l eyan Hym nal s and Five E xce l l en t Ru l e sfor Congregat i ona l S i ngi ng

CHAPTER V I I I

THE BEST H YM N SRu l e s by which Hym ns m ay be Teste d Th e Great Four—Thirty—two Great Hym n s in E ngl i sh as Approve dby th e Churches— Ind i spen sabl e Qua l i t i e s o f a Tru eHym n Summ e d Up . .

CHAPTER IX

GREAT H YM N -W R ITERSTop lady—W i l l iam s Grant P erronet Th e Tw o Ber

nards—Ken— Kebl e—N ewton—M ontgom ery—Marr i ottCh a rles and John W e s l ey—John Cenn ick 69

CHAPTER X

GREAT HYM N—W RITERS ( CONT INUED )Heber—Cowper—Char l otte E l iott—Sarah Fu l l er ( Flower )Adam s—Lyte—D oddr i dge , whos e Fam i l iar Hym n sare Poe t ica l Synop se s and App l icat i on s o f h is Serm on s .

CHAPTER XI

CH ILDREN’

S HYMN SSp ecial Provi s ion for Chi l dren ’s Worship made Late in

th e History o f th e Church—Cl em en s A l exandr i nu s—E xam p l e s from K en a nd Watts and W e s l ey—Increase in th e Number o f Wr i t ers—Better

CONTE NTS

CHAPTER XI I

CH ILDREN ’

S H YM N S ( CONT INUED ) m os:

A D epartm ent i n which Many Wom e n have E xce l l e dE qua l ly Good Contr ibu t ion s o f M en—Succes sfu lW

' ork of Mrs . Betham -E dwards—Som e Am er icanSunday-schoo l Hym n s

CHAPTE R XI I I

THE BEST H YM N -TUNESWords and Mu s i c m u s t b e Ri ght ly Mated—ThomasMace ’s Vi ews on thi s Subj ect—Re tent i on o f GoodTunes—Som e E ss en t ia l Pr incip l e s S tated by Rev .

Dav i d R. Bree d , D .D

CHAPTER XIV

P LA IN SONGPecu l iar i t i e s—D eve l opm ent—VVork

“of S S . Ambros e andGreg orw a ter Hi story o f Pla in Song

CHAPTER XV

THE CHANTNature of th e Chan t—Am bros ian a nd Gregor ian Form sAngl i can—M etr i ca l Chants

CHAPTER XVI

TH E MASSVen erabl e M e lodi e s o f th e Church Fi rs t Col l ected and

Rev i s ed by S S . Am brose and Gregory—Mu s ical Subd ivi sion s o i th e L i turgy— D eve l opm ent of ChurchMu 5 1c to th e Golden Age o f Pal e s tr ina.

CHAPTER XV I I

TH E MAS S ( CONTINUED )Th e Declineo i Po lyphon ic Mu s i c—Ru l e s for Performancein th e S i s t ine Chape l— Cerem on ial o f th e Sol em n Mas sD e scr i bed—D ramat ic E l em ents Introduced by Modern Com posers . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVI I I

THE REQUIE IVI PAGE

Works o f Pal e str i na and Vittor ia—O ther Fin e Mas s esfor th e D ead—Five M odern Requ i em s o f D eathl e ssRepu tat i on by M ozart , Cherub in i , B rahm s , and Verd iTh e Contras t i n S ty l e s Of Com pos i t i on

CHAPTER XIX

THE MOTETVar iat ion i n th e Polyphon ic S ty l e Due to Greater S im

p licity—Text E i ther from th e Office B ooks or Scr ipture—M odern . Mote ts Real ly Nothi ng M ore thanSacred Cantatas—P rofi table Pract ice for Polyphon i cS ingers .

CHAPTER XX

THE CHORALEOr i gin o f th e Choral e—I ts Rap i d Spread—Source s—F a

mous Chora l es—Organ Accom pan im en t

CHAPTER XXI

THE ANTHEMTh e Cu lm i nat ing Point o f R i tual Mu s ic in Angl icanChurches , i n which i t Takes th e Place of th e M otetLong L i s t o f E ngl i sh Com posers from E l i zabeth to

Victor ia, B roken on ly by th e Great Rebe l l i on

CHAPTE R XXI I

ORA TORIO AS AN ART-FORMDefin it ion s—Orator i o and Op era— S ecu lar and Sacred

D i s t inct i on o f Form s Orator i o Com pare d to a Cath ed ra I—Th e Highe s t Form of M u s i ca l Art

CHAPTER XXI I I

THE SACRED MUS ICAL DRAMAS tage and Pu lp i t—Anci en t Mu s ical Drama—E ar ly Chr i s

t ian ity an d th e S tage—Sacred Plays i n th e ChurchOu ts i d e o f th e Church—Th e M iracl e Play i n E ngland—M u s ic i n th e Sacred Plays .

CONTE NTS

CHAPTER XXIV

TH E BIRTH OF ORATOR IOP AGE

Th e Work o f San Fi l ippo de’ N er i—Th e Dawn o f Sacredand S ecu lar Dram at ic Mu s ic—Th e First Orator ioOpera

,Orat or i o

,an d Cantata Work—Th e Tragic

Rom ance of S trade l la—A l e s sandro Scar latt i as aCom poser of Sacre d Mu s ic—Orator io am ong th e Venet ian s—Th e Ado l e scence o f Orator io.

CHAPTER XXV

RELAT ION OF THE CHORALE AND THE PASS ION TOORATORIO

Lu ther and th e Choral e— First—fru i t s o f th e Lu theranChoral e—E ar ly Germ an Pas s i on Mu s ic—Bach—Th eMatthew Pas s i on—Th e John Pas s i on—Prote stan t i smand th e Orator io.

CHAPTER XXV I

THE ORATORIOS OF HANDELH is I tal ian , Germ an , and E ng lish Orator i o s I srae l in

E gy p t”—“Sau l”—Hande l i n I re land—“

Th e M es s iah”—O ther Great Orator ios o f H andel.

CHAPTER XXV I I

H AYDN’

s“CREAT ION” AND “

S EA SON s”— BEETHOVEN

’

S“M OUNT or OL IVES”

Influence of Th e M e s s iah”—Product ion o f Th e Creat ion”—Genera l Character i s t ics o f th i s Great Orator i o—How E ngland Influ enced Haydn—Hi s Hum or andD evot ion— Beau t i e s o f “

Th e Creat i on -Th e Choru s e s—Som e Favor i t e Solos— Haydn’s S easons”—Beeth oven

’

s“M ount o f O l ive s —Beethoven a Hero-Wor

sh ip er—Repre sentat ion o f a D ivin e Hero

CHAPTE R XXV I I I

ORATOR IO AND THE ROMAN CE COMPOSERSSpohr an d Schumann—A Viol i n i s t Com poser—“

Th e LastJudgm ent”—Profund ity o f th e Them e Calvary”“Th e Fa l l of Babyl on —Schumann , a Many-s i de dGen iu s—An E ngl i sh Poem an d th e Germ an Mu s ician—“Paradi s e and th e Per i” : a S trongly Imaginat iveTone-Picture—Th e Per i ’s Great Solo

CONTEN TS

CHAPTER XXIX

ORA TOR IOS OF MENDELSSOHN AND GOUNODA Fortunate Gen iu s—How S t . Pau l” Or igi nat ed—M en

dels soh n as a Contrapunti st—B r i e f Ana lys i s of“S t.

Pau l” —E ngl i sh Perform ance s o f “S t . Pau l” —E volut i on o f th e

“E l i jah”—B irm i ngham Perform ance

Som e Notabl e Feature s o f “E l i jah”—Influen ces that

l e d Gounod to Wr i t e h is Orator ios—“Th e Redemp

t ion and“M ors e t vi ta.

”

PAGE

CHAPTER XXX

ORA TOR IOS OF ENGL ISH COMPOSERSMus ica l Influ ences i n E ngland—Em in en t Br i t i sh Mu s ician s

o f th e D ay—Macken z i e’s “

Ros e Of Sharon”—O therL ivi ng B r i t i sh M u s icians— Bennett’s "Woman of

Sam ar ia —Macfa rren’

s“S t . John th e Bap t i s t” —Su l

l ivan and Sacre d Mu s ic—Hi s “Prodigal S on”—Orator i o in Am er ica—Th e Fu ture o f Orator i o .

CHAPTER XXXI

TH E PASS IONSo l em n Mu s i c for Holy W e ek a N ece ss i ty throughou tChr i sten dom— Dram at ic Form Adop t ed by S t . Gregory N a z ian z en i n th e Fourth Cen tury—Many Glor i on s Mu s ica l Vers ion s o f th e Gospe l Narrat ive sBach’s Matthew P as s ion.

RE L IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE

WORLD

CHAPTER I

NON—CHR I ST IAN H YM N S

Greek and Roman Worship—Hindu Songs—Buddhi sm andBrahm an i sm Chin es e Worsh ip —M ohamm e dan s—BabyIon ian s and As syr ian s—Hebrews .

HYMN S are to be found in the l i te ratu re Of nearly

every rel ig ion,but so far a s w e are ab le to j udge ,

save in the Hebrew and Chr i st ian,they have rare ly

been used as a constant and integral part o f worsh ip .

That hymns formed no part o f the worsh i p o f the

Greeks i s cl ear from the fact that thei r temples werenot const ru cted as p laces o f re l igiou s assembly or for

publ i c devotion,but as a she lte r for the image o f the

god ,and a habi tat ion for the de i ty supposed to be a t

tach ed to h i s image . They were gene ral ly confined

local i t i es , and hal f dark within on account o f the ab

s ence of a l l window—l igh t . Brigh t l igh t w a s not re

qu i red,as no rel igiou s Obse rvan ces ordinar i ly took

place in the temple .

“Greece never had a sacred book ,sh e never had any symbols , any sacerdotal caste , or

g an iz ed for the p res ervat ion o f dogmas . He r poet s

and her art i st s were her t rue theologian s .

2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Some smal l p lace was as s igned to hymns in the w or

sh ip Of Rome . “Many prayers and hymns were taken

up with the prai se o f the gods and salutat ions to them .

A rnob ius speaks O f morn ing serenades sung wi th an

accompan iment o f fi fes as a kind o f revei l le to the

s l eep ing gods,and o f an evening s alutation in wh i ch

leave was taken O f the dei ty,with the wishing him a

good night ’s rest .”

The conclus ion that we d raw from Max Muller’s

Hi story o f Sanskri t Li terature” i s that al though the

H indus had mu ch o f poetry both epi c and hymnic,yet

the hymns were ch i efly used for medi tat ion or for re

ci tal . “Women were not al lowed to l earn the sa cred

songs O f the Vedas,the knowledge o f which cons ti

tu ted on e of the p rincipal requi rements for a Brahman

be fore he w a s admitted to the per formance o f the

sacr ifices . As i t was necessary , however , for a hus

band to per form sacr ifice s together wi th hi s law fu l

w i fe, an d as pas sages of the hymns speak clearly of

man and wi fe as pe r forming sacr ifices in common,i t

w a s la i d down in the Sutras that the husband or the

p r i es t should at the sacrificing i tse l f make h i s w i fe

reci te those hymns whi ch were neces sary for the ceremony .

The Sam etri who had to s lay the sacr ifici al animals

l earned the hymns appointed by heart,and were a l

lowed on account of the difficul ty O f master ing the

euphon i c rules for reci tat ion,to mutte r them

,so that

no on e at a di stance cou ld hear or understand them .

Some part o f the sacr ifice had to be a ccompani ed by

songs , and hence another clas s o f pr i e sts arose whose

pa rti cu lar office i t was to act a s the choru s , whi ch was

more than a mere chanting . A thi rd clas s,the Hotri

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 3

pr i e sts,rec i ted certain hymns du r ing the sacrifice in

prai se O f the dei ti e s to whom any part i cu lar act o f the

sacr ificer w a s addressed . Thei r rec i tat i on w a s loud

and di st inct , and requ i red the most accurate knowledge

o f the ru les O f euphony .

The Rev . G. O . Newport , long a mi ss iona ry in India ,says

“ In Hindu worship , SO far a s I have seen i t in South

India—and I think i t i s much the same in th i s respectthroughout the whole country—there i s no periodi cgather ing O f the peop l e into the temp l e s for uni ted

rel igious servi ce . There i s no fixed hou r for assem

bling,nor i s there any regu la r p r i es t ly Observance or

ceremony at any s tated part o f the twenty—fou r hours .

Uni ted gather ings at stated hou rs and season s for reIig iou s service , as in ou r Ch ri s t ian worsh ip , are un

known . There cannot,the re fore

,be any congrega

tiona l s inging or musi cal per formance in the Western

sense in these temples . And yet s inging in connection

wi th the wor ship i s not al togethe r absent . On ann i

versa ry fe st iva l days and in p rocess ion s the re are a l

ways songs sung in honor O f the gods . The

p ri es ts j oin in,and the masse s Of the people too , ac

cording to thei r knowledge and mus ical ab i l i ty . I

bel i eve I am st ri ct ly accu rate when I say there i s noth

ing corresponding to our choi r or congregational sing

ing at the ordinary everyday religiou s Observances in

Hindu temp l e s . What i s done on fest ival occas ion s

would cor re spond largely to the s inging Of songs by

the choi r when marching at the head o f a Sunday

school process ion,and would have about as much O f re

lig iou s worsh ip in i t .“As to the subj ect-matter o f the songs thus used ,

4 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

so far a s my knowledge goes,i t consi s t s O f the names ,

t i t le s,ep i thets

,etc . , O f the gods in general , and O f that

god in parti cular in whose honor the fe st ival i s be ing

held . And when i t i s remembered tha t the var i ou s

names of on e S ingle god in the H indu Pantheon

amount to a thous and,i t wi l l be seen that a great dea l

o f song may be expended in th i s one di rect ion on ly .

But not the names only , the t radi t i onal acts and be

havior,the l i fe-scenes O f the gods

,are sung at l ength .

”

Buddhi sm w a s to Brahmani sm what Pu r i tani sm w a s

to Angl ican i sm . Like Puri tan i sm it la i d s tres s chi eflyon the ind ivi dua l

,but went far beyond i t s ince i t abol

ish ed the i dea o f church and worship . It s hymns , some

of whi ch are O f exceeding beauty ( i n thei r Engl i shd res s the thoughts but not the form are exh ib i ted ) ,were used on ly for pr ivate rec i tati on and edifica t ion .

Indeed,they have nei ther chu rches nor servi ce s i n

whi ch they could be sung .

James Legge,an authori ty on Chinese subj ects

,thus

shows the p l ace occupi ed by hymns i n the Con fu c ian

system“There i s no dogmati c teaching o f rel igion in the

Con fucian system ; and i t i s a consequence o f thi s that

W e find in i t no compos i t ions wh i ch we can proper ly

d es ignate as hymns,having a p lace and appl i cation O f

t he i r own , sung or chanted wi th or without in s tru

m ental accompaniment,in re l igiou s s e rvi ces .

“Yet the p rayers u sed in the worship O f God by

the sovereigns O f China,and by them and others in

the servi ces Of the ances tra l temple,have very much

o f the character O f hymns . We have the Book o f

Poetry , contain ing in al l 30 5 p i eces , wh i ch Con fuc iu s

is sa i d to have selected from ten t imes as many cu rrent

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

6 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

votion s O f the worsh ipers rose to a high pi tch O f ado ring reverence . They are al l rhymed, and in measure

somewhat i r regular . Y ou w i l l find them al l t rans lated

in the fi rs t o f my lectu res on‘The Rel ig ion O f Ch ina

,

’

publ i shed inS i r Wi l l i am Mu i r says that the service s O f the Mu s

su lm an s are confined ( apart from the sermon or ad

dress ) to rec i tat ions from the K oran and corre sponding invocations . They do not , s o far as my knowledge

extends,use hymns in the i r worsh ip . M any parts O f

the K oran are ( l ike the Psalms ) noth ing .but hymns .

They are not,however

,sung , but on ly repeated l ike the

other portions . The Pers i an Sufi s have many hymns ;but whethe r they u se them in div ine servi ce or not

,I

cannot sayI t may be sai d broadly that the anc i ent Semit i c

poetry cons i sted in a rhythm or assonance O f s imi lar orcontrasted ideas . Th i s i s u sual ly des ignated pa ral le l

i sm .

The anci ent Baby lonO—Assyr i an hymns a re i n many

instances t rans lat i ons from O lde r non—Semit i c! lays .

Many O f these hymns are merely formulae O f incanta

t ion O f whi ch numerous examples may be found inL enorm an t

’

s Chaldean Magi c But there are some

remarkable songs whi ch are O f a more exalted char

acte r , and though containing mythologi cal e lements ,nevertheles s express sp i r i tual and devout thought .Most O f thes e belong to a clas s cal led “Peni tenti a l

Psalms . Here i s an examp l e in Archibald HenrySayce ’s render ing :

My Lord , i n th e anger o f Hi s heart , h a s pun i shed m e ;God i n th e s trength of H is heart h a s taken m e ;I star, my m other, h a s s e i ze d upon m e and put m e to gr i e f.God , w h o knoweth that I knew not , h a s affl i cte d m e ;

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 7

I star, my m other, w h o knoweth that I knew not , h a s cau se ddarkness .

I prayed,and none take s m y han d

I wep t,and none he l d m y palm ;

I cry al oud , bu t there i s non e that W i l l hear m e ;I am i n darkn e ss and hi d ing, and dare not l ook up ,

Here w e Observe not only that paral le l i sm w hi ch char

acteriz es Hebrew poetry but al so a s trop li ic arrange

ment as c l ear ly marked as in the Psalter .

So far as the mater i al now avai lable enabl es u s to

form an Opinion,i t i s that hymns

,as an es senti al O f

worship,have been mos tly characte ri s t i c O f the Chri s

tian , and in les s degree O f i t s p rogeni tor , the Hebrewreligion .

I t i s to the Hebrew race that w e must turn to findthe tru e origin

~

Of hymnody . There the rel igious na

ture o f man assert s i t se l f— the re the inne r thought o f

hi s heart gets express ion . I t i s not s trange,there fore

,

that th i s race s o r i ch ly endowed with the rel igious e le

ment should have given to the world a noble concept ion

O f worship .

The Hebrew rel igion laid hold upon the personal i ty

and uni ty O f God , and we cannot fai l to ob serve thati t s hymnody becomes more tender as the idea of the

personal i ty O f God i s en larged by the recognit ion Of h i s

grac ious and lovabl e att ributes . As thi s peopl e un

doubtedly posses sed a nature di sposed to musi cal ex

p res s ion , i t i s not surpri s ing that we find among them

so spontaneou s and early a development O f worsh ip

song . I t i s in thi s Hebrew race that we find the true

r i se and onward flow of the r ive r of song .

CHAPTER I I

ANC IENT J EW I SH HYMN S

Abs ence Of Formal Re l i gi ou s Song—Im provi s e d Songs—Th eW i den ing S tream—Sam u e l’s System—Th e Book o f Psa lm s—Th e Tem p l e S erv ice—Later History—Un iversa l Use ofth e Psa lm s .

THE hymns O f the O l d Testament were , as we have

indicated,the spontaneous outflow O f the rel igiou s

nature . N O form o f worship requi r ing song was in st i

tuted by Moses . N O orde r O f S ingers i s included

among the Officer s o f the tabernac l e . Indeed , the ear

l i es t hi story O f the Hebrew race is p racti cal ly w ithout

song . As i t has been sai d,

“we read of al tar and p ray

e rs and accepted interces s ion s,and we feel sure that

those w h o walked in the l ight l ike Enoch or Abrahammust have had thei r hearts kindled wi th mus i c ; but

f rom the green earth ri s ing ou t Of the flood— f rom the

Shadow Of the great rock at Mamre,from the fountain s

and va l l eys and upland pastu res O f the Promi sed Land,

where the tents Of the Patr i archs rose amidst the i r

flocks— from the p ri sons and palace s O f Egypt we catchno sound O f sacred song .

”

But then,th i s i s a subj ect w i th which hi story d id

not con cern i t sel f— and w e must not i n fe r from th i s

S i l en ce the utte r absence o f song— for scatte red over

the earl i er hi story ther e are t races O f i t s p resen ce . The

firs t examp le s,as we Shou ld expect

,are Of a ve ry in

8

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 9

formal characte r —the p roduct O f some cri s i s in the l i f e

o f the individual or the nation . Improvi sed songs born

o f great occas ions , though to ou r colde r westerntempe rament almost imposs ible , are yet compara t ively

common among Eastern peop l e l ike the Hebrews , even

to th i s day . I t i s a common gi ft among the

The firs t Of such songs i s that Of M i r i am in celebrat ion

of the del ivery O f I s rae l from thei r Egypt ian pu rsuers“S ing ye to Jehovah , for he hath tr iumphed gloriou s

ly ,the horse and h i s r i der hath he th rown into the

sea but al though th i s i s the firs t recorded , i t i s almost

certain that i t w a s p receded by others , fo r be fore th i sw e read o f in st ruments Of music .

S in ce the two greate st fountain s o f song have eve rbeen love and re l igion , we m a y fee l su re that those w h o

had reached to the u se Of mus i cal in struments , however

rude,would employ them to accompany the word s o f

pas s ion or devotion wh i ch in exal ted moments wouldSpr ing to the i r l ip s . In Genes i s iv . 2 1 we are to ld that

Juba l “was the father o f al l su ch as handle the harp

and the p ipe,

” that i s,O f al l str ing and wind in stru

ments . Wh i l e in verse s 2 3 ,2 4 we have Lamech

’s song

to hi s wives— the fi rs t examp l e Of a song, though not a

! E dward Dowden records a str ik i ng i n stance O f th i s i n h i sl i fe o f She l l ey , when th e poet and h is wi fe in Pi sa l i s t ene d toth e im provi sat i on o f S i gnor Sg r icci , an I tal ian Of abou t 2 3years o f age . M em bers Of th e aud i ence i n scr i be d subj ects forpoetry on S l ip s o f paper that were thrown i nto a vas e fromwhich a boy drew one pap er at a t im e at random

,an d th e sub

ject was announced, on which th e I ta l ian poure d forth h is un

prem ed i tate d vers e . “ I t se em ed,

” says Mary She l l ey , not th ework Of a hum an m i n d

, but as i f h e were th e i n strum en tp layed upon by th e sup erhum an in sp i rat i on Of God .

” And i si t not tru e that th e highest poe try com e s , i n th e firs t i nstance ,as an im provi sat i on ? I s there n ot a very c l os e conn ect ion between insp irat ion and im prov i sat ion ?

I O REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

sacred one, in the pages o f Scr ip tu re , yet pos sess ing

many O f the featu re s o f l ater Semiti c poetry . Later on

we read in the account O f Laban ’s intervi ew with Jacob

Of“ songs

,with tabret and with harp” (Genesi s xxxi .

I t i s not at al l l ike ly that such a song as that of

M i ri am could have been uttered i f she had not p rev iously been accustomed to lyri c improvi sat ion . So

grand an outbu rst and so equal to i ts grand occas ion ,although doubtle ss touched and enlarged by the edi tor

o f the book wh i ch records i t , impl ie s not only ap t i tude

but exer c i s e ; whi le the fact that She l ed a p roces s ion of

women,w ho chanted a chorus to her song, shows that

songs had be fore th i s,i n the t ime O f the i r Egypt i an

captivi ty,been wedded to mus i c . Somewhat late r in

the hi story we find that when Moses retu rned from the

mount , he heard the people , w h o had made a cal f for

worsh ip,j oin ing aloud in a song to thei r newly fash

ioned god . I t i s cons idered by some al l but certain ‘

that the lawgiver himsel f w a s the author o f the 90 th

Psalm , wh i ch has been cal l ed the swan—song O fMoses . Th i s may have been the first contr ibut ion

the nucleu s— Of that wonder fu l col lect ion the Book o f

Psalms , into which were gathe red the noble st lyr i c u tterances O f widely seve red t imes .

We catch here and there in the sacred hi story

gl imps es o f the widening and deepen ing rive r o f song

to wh i ch thos e w e have mentioned were the fir st tr ibutary s treams . In the Book O f Numbers

,xxi . 1 7 , w e

have the song which I s rae l s ang,

“Spr ing up,O wel l .”

In the Book of Judges w e meet wi th the song o f Deb

orah and Barak , which was cast in a di st inctly metr ica l form , and sung with a musi ca l accompan iment

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD I I

another imp rovi sation by a prophetes s,that i s on e in

a measu re tra ined to musi c and song . But as the reIig iou s l i fe O f the nat ion grew deeper th i s kind o f im

p rov is ed song led the w ay to a school for the cu lt i

vation o f musi c and sacred u tte rance . Th i s was a

ch i e f funct ion O f the school s of the p rophets wh i chcame into su ch p rominence in the t ime O f Samuel .D ean S tanley says : “Whatever be the prec i se mean

ing Of the pe cul i ar word , wh i ch now came firs t into

use as the designation Of these compan i es,i t i s evi

dent that the i r immediate mi ss i on consi sted in utte r

ing re l igiou s hymns or songs , accompan i ed by musi

cal in struments,p saltery

,tab ret

,p ipe

,and harp

,and

cymbals . In them,as in th e few sol i tary instances

O f thei r predecessors,the characte r i st i c element w a s

that the s i l ent seer Of vi s ion s found an arti cu late

voi ce,gush ing forth i n a rhythmical flow

,wh i ch at

on ce r iveted the attent ion O f the h earer . These,or

such as the se,were the gi fts wh i ch under Samuel

were now organized,i f one may SO say , into a sy s

tem . From Ramah,the double height o f the w a tcn

men,they might be seen descending

,in a long l ine or

chain , which gave i t s name to thei r company , with

psaltery , harp , tab ret , pip e , and cymbals .

”

F rom th i s school unde r Samuel the p rophet , D avid ,the sweet S inger O f I s rael

,probably caugh t the inspi ra

t i on wh i ch a fterw ard found exp ress ion in the psalms

wh i ch form SO important a part O f the Psalter that

the book as a whole has been known as The Psalms

O f David .

” I t i s imposs ib le to s ay with certainty

what porti ons Of the Psalter we ow e to h is pen,prob

ably they are fewer than i s commonly supposed ; but

the impetu s he gave to sacred song i s indi cated by the

1 2 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

fact that though some porti ons o f the book be long to

an age earl i e r than hi s,and that the larger portion

came into being long afte r he had passed away,yet

the book as a whole goes unde r h i s name . The BookO f Psalms was doubtl ess thus ascr ibed j ust as the

Book of Proverbs w a s to h is son Solomon , because , as

Pro fes sor Cheyne s ays,

“ Solomon had become the

symbol O f p la in eth i cal ‘wi sdom,

’ j u s t as D av i d had

become the representative o f rel ig iou s lyr i c poetry .

But then a reputati on l ike th i s doe s not grow out O f

nothing . David not only contr ibuted to the songs O f

the people,but through h im the s ervice of song w a s

added to the ordinary worsh ip Of the sanctuary,and

made a fixed and integral par t O f the dai ly Offe r ing to

Jehovah . Be fore h i s t ime, i f ever connected with the

tabernac l e at al l,i t had been fi t fu l and occas ional

,de

pending to a large extent on i nd ividual enthusi asm .

For SO m igh ty an innovation no les s than a Davi d

w a s needed . The exqu i s i te r i chnes s O f vers e andmusi c SO dear to h im— ‘the calves O f the l ips ’ —tookthe p lace Of the costly Offerings O f animals . Hi s harpor gu itar was to h im what the wonder—working staff

was to Moses,the spear to Joshua

, or the sword toG i deon .

Thus sacred song found i ts w ay in to the regu la r

servi ces Of the temple,and the Psalms became the

l i tu rg i cal hymn—book O f the Jewi sh Chu rch . H OW

completely the union O f song and sacr ifice ( i n the nat ion a l worsh i p ) had been effected w a s made mani fest

at the dedi cati on O f the temp l e . In the account con

ta ined in 2 Chron i cle s v . 1 2 - 14 ,w e read : “Also the

Levi te s which were the S ingers,al l O f them

,even

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I 4 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

scholar Paul I saac H ershon,various other p salms

were sung,and sung SO loud that the i r voice could be

heard as far as Jeri cho , a di s tan ce O f about twelvem i le s . On such occas ions the youngsters o f the L evi tes were permitted to enter the hal l Of the sanctuary

in order to sp i ce with thei r fine ‘th in voi ces ’ the

rougher voi ces Of the elder Levi te s .”

“The same psalms that were sung in the temp l e

ar e now merely repeated by every orthodox Jew inhis dai ly morning p rayer . Having no temple

,the

p ri es t does not sacr ifice and the Levi te does n ot S ing !

Ichabod ! th e gl ory i s depar te d !How sha l l w e s ing th e Lord’s s ong i n a s trange land !”

The l ate r h i story natu ral ly tel l s on ly o f the speci al

occas ions in wh i ch the peop le broke into song,but

thes e s erve to confi rm the i dea that worsh ip th rough

song had become a habi t among the people . Ther e i s

the song O f Jehoshaphat and h i s army,the chant o f .

vi ctory sung in fai th be fore the batt l e , and i ts el f do ing

batt le s in that the Lord fought for those w ho t rus ted

h im,and they had nothing to do but div ide the spoi l

and retu rn to Jeru salem,with p sal ter i e s and harps and

t rumpets,i nto the hous e Of the Lord . There i s the

song O f Hezekiah,when he recove red from hi s S i ck

ness,and the psalm o f Jonah from the depth s o f the

sea ,made up from the memory O f other p salms sung

in happi er hours . There w a s many a song by the

w ater s O f Babylon,whispered low that the Oppres so rs

migh t not hear . The re w a s the song o f l iberated

I s rael,at the ded i cation O f the wal l O f the Holy Ci ty

( another W i tn es s to the customs o f the pas t ) , when the

S ingers sang aloud and they al l rej oi ced ; so that the

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF TH E WORLD 1 5

j oy o f Jeru salem was heard a fa r off.

” All these se rve

to Show how the lyri c sp i r i t p revai led among thepeople

,ready

,when touched by any deep emotion

,to

give rhythmic utterance to the i r p rayer and p ra i se .

I t i s wi th D avid,the m instre l k ing

,however

,that

the stream O f song sudden ly grows broad and deep .

Around h im the chorus begins to gather , wh i ch has

now grown to such a glori ou s mu lt itude . The Psalms

formed at once the j u st ification and insp i rat i on O f al l

the noble songs O f th e later h i s tory of I s rae l,to say

noth ing o f lyr i c notes,wh i ch are heard sounding

through the page s Of the p rophets . But most remark

able i s it , that when w e reach the New Testament w e

find no lyr i c book corre spond ing to the Psalter . There

are di st inct psalms,l ike the M ag n ifica t and N unc

D im i ttis,kindled from the lyri c fire O f the Hebrew

Psal te r,and h ints wh i ch ind i cate the presence O f the

lyri c g i ft in the Apostol i c Chu rch,but there i s no

Ch r is tia n psalte r i n the New Testament,and the rea

son is not fa r to seek . I t i s not that the lyri c fi re has

departed,but that the O ld Testament Psalte r has so

sounded the deepest notes o f the soul in j oy and sor

row,in darknes s and l ight

,that i t i s adequate to the

needs,not only Of Jewi sh , but Ch ri sti an hearts . Thus

i t was not for an age , but for al l t ime . Ju st a s theoctave i n musi c can express the lo ft ie st conception s O f

the composer s O f every age,f rom the s imple Gregorian

chant to the intr i cate musi c O f Beethoven,SO the

Psalte r , meeting the deepest needs o f the sou l , becomes

the fitting veh ic l e th rough wh i ch Ch r i st i an as wel l a s

Jewi sh feel ing can find express ion .

And so we find,as a matte r o f fact , that th rough

by far the greate r part Of the hi story O f the Chu rch the

16 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Psalms have formed i ts worsh ip-s ong ; they have had

a p lace in the se rvi ces o f every church o f Chr i stendom

where p ra i s e has been Offered . They have been sa i d

or sung in grand cathedral or l owly meeting—house, bywhi te—robed p r i es ts and p lain-clad Pur i tans . The

hearts o f Roman and G reek,Armenian and Angl i can ,

no less than Puri tan and Noncon formi st, have been

kindled into pra i se by the Ps alms Of Davi d and hi s

company . Edward I rv ing says : “From Whatever point

Of vi ew any Church hath contemplated the Scheme o f

i t s doctrin e,by whatever name they have though t good

to des ignate themselves,and howeve r b i tter ly Opposed

to each other in Church government or Observance o f

rules,you wi l l find them al l

,by harmonious consent

,

adopt ing the Psalms a s the outwa r d form by wh i ch

they Shal l exp re s s the inward fee l ings O f the Chr i s

t i an l i fe .

”

And even those w h o re fused to S ing the Psalms in

the form in wh i ch they are found in Scr ip tu re— w h o

deemed i t dangerous and even heret i cal SO to do— havesung them in metri ca l vers ions from which much O f

thei r glory had departed . Unti l qu i te recent ly there

were chu rche s whose only hymnal cons i s ted O f these

vers i ons . Thus the Psalms have been at once an in

spi rati on and a bondage : an insp i ra tion,i n that they

have kindled the fi re wh i ch has produ ced the hymnody

O f the enti re Church ; a ba ndag e, becau se by stereotyp

ing rel igious expres s ion they robbed the heart Of the

r ight to exp ress in i ts own words the fear s,the j oys

,

the hopes that the Divine Sp i r i t had kindled in the i r

souls . Had there been no Psalte r in the canon O fSc riptu re , the Church would have had no mode l fori t s song— no p lace at which to kindle i ts worship-fire ;

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 1 7

but, on the othe r hand , i t s worsh ip ing instinct would

have compel led i t to create a p salter Of i t s own, and

so there would have been an earl i e r and fu l ler de

v elOpm en t Of hymnody in the Church . The very gloryand per fect ion of the Psalte r made the Church for

long ages content with the p rov i s i on thus made for i t s

worsh ip,and SO i t d i scou raged al l who e lse would

have j oined the company Of the s ingers . And even

those who at last ventured to j o in the i r company,did

so t imidly,and ch i efly as adapter s O f the Psalms for

publ i c worsh ip . George Withe r,S i r Ph i l ip S i dney

and h i s S i ster belong to th i s clas s . Even when Dr

Watts began to wr i te,h i s hymns were used only as

supp l emental to the Vers ions ; indeed , a large part o f

hi s compos i ti ons are themselves metr ical renderings o f

the Psalms,though some Of them are SO al ive w i th h i s

pecul i ar geniu s as to dese rve rank as or iginal com

posi t ions .

M ighty indeed was the spe l l the Psalte r exerc i sed

over the Church,and righ tly SO

,for i t i s the heart

utterance Of the noble men Whose mi s s ion i t w a s to

g ive the world re l ig ion . And as w e have not out

grown the art O f Greece or the laws O f Rome , SO

nei ther have we outgrown the wor sh ip—song Of I s rael .Th i s i s SO deep and true that i t expresse s the longings

and pra i se even O f those w h o have sa t at the feet O f

Chr i s t and lea rned O f h im . And as in the most sacred

moment of h i s l i fe one O f thes e p salms served to ex

p res s h i s deepest feel ings,SO they have insp i red and

exp res sed the feel ings O f h i s fol lowers in al l a ftert ime .As h a s been wel l sa i d

,the Church has been s inging

thes e p salms ever S ince,and has not yet sung them

dry,

” and she w i l l gO on s inging them unti l s h e takes

I 8 REL IG IOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

up the new song in the heavenly c i ty . I t shou ld bef rankly admi tted that there are e lements in the Psalms

di s tinct ly Jewi sh,and expres s ive O f the fee l ing O f

earl i er days . There are imprecatory note s that are ou tOf harmony w i th the gent ler melody O f Chri st . Thes e

ought to be dropped as unsu i table to Ch ris tia n w or

sh ip but as a whole the Psalms form the noblest t reas

ury o f sacred song, and the i r in spi rat ion may be di s

cerned in every hymn that i s worthy O f a p lace in the

Church ’s worsh ip . Her hymnody can never be under

stood apart f rom the Psal ter , and i t wi l l be found that

those whose hearts are steeped the most deep ly there in

have given to the Church the songs that sh e wi l l notwi l l ingly let d i e .

CHAPTER I I I

HYMN S OF THE N EW TESTAMENT

Hebrew Anteceden ts— Songs o f Hannah, Mary , and Zachar ias—Th e Gospe l s S i l en t as to Sacre d Song—Th e Aposto l i cAge —Re ference s to Song i n th e Reve lat ion .

E turn next to the New Testament to di scover in

what relat ion sacred song stands to the p ract ice

and teach ing O f the Church founded by Jesu s and h isapostle s . !

Here at once we may natu ral ly expect that as

Ch r i st ian i ty arose among the Hebrew race,and d id

not break immediately wi th the past,ne ither ignore

the grand truths held by the fathers,because they

were truth s belonging to al l t ime,SO we must expect to

find some O f the Old methods Of worsh ip,some pres

ence Of the O ld lyr i c Spi ri t,Showing themselves

,and

thi s more especi al ly in the earl i er days o f i t s h i story .

I t cannot , there fore , be deemed wonder fu l , but

rathe r a th ing to be looked for,that when the hope o f

I s rae l neared fu lfillm en t— a hope to which the i r pol i t i

cal c i rcumstances caused them to cl ing with a very pas

s ion O f expectation,and wh i ch made eve ry l ine O f

p romi se in the O ld Testament thri l l w i th new meaning

! Th e Apocrypha, be l ongi ng to th e t im e between th e cl os eo f th e O l d Te stam en t and th e Open ing Of th e Chr i st ian era,con ta i n s s everal notabl e exam p l e s o f sacre d song, such asthos e o f Tob i t and Ju d i th and th e Bened ici te .

19

2 0 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

and author i ty— the sp i r i t o f sacred song descended

again , a s w e find i t d id upon those w ho were wai t ingand p raying for the “ consolat ion O f I sra el .”

Crit i cs,i ndeed

,have re fused to bel i eve that the M ag

n ifica t (Luke i . 46-

5 5 ) cou ld have Sprung f rom the l ip s

Of a s imple peasant Of Gal i lee ; they have sai d the song

i s too lo fty for SO lowly a source— forgett ing that some

o f the grandest st rain s O f former days came from

thos e l i tt le i f anyth ing superior i n stat ion ; such as

Hannah , to whos e song,“ the O ld Te stament M ag n ifi

ca t”

( I S am u el i i . 1 that Of Ma ry bear s cons ide rable resemblance .

But i f the lyri c sp i r i t O f wh i ch w e have Spoken w a s

a p ecul iar gi ft Of the Hebrew peop le,i f the power

to improvi se be a real i ty c lear ly di sce rnib le th rough

the i r h i s tory,su rely i t i s not wonder fu l that a Hebrew

ma i den,whose mind was kindled by a p rospect O f the

highest j oy to wh i ch Hebrew motherhood could a ttain ,a j oy for which every woman O f her nat ion had longed

,

the p romi se , the joy , tha t to her shou ld b e given thesu rpas s ing glory O f becoming the mother o f M es s i ah—that her heart Should b reak forth into song

,that her

rapture Should cal l forth a l l the poetry Of her natu re,

and cas t i t into the forms consecrated by the sacred

usages and ins t in cts o f her race . Thi s song,wh i ch re

peats the p romi ses o f the past w i th the a s su rance o f

a pre sent real i zat ion,i s a p re luding note that p repare s

for the great chorus O f Chri st i an song one day to be

heard , and whi ch wi l l repeat through the ages the

raptu re , the t rust , the prai se O f her words ,“My sou l

doth magni fy the Lord,and my Spi r i t doth rej oi ce i n

God my Saviour .”

He r song has scarcely died on her l ip s e re anothe r

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2 2 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

There can be l i tt le doubt that s inging formed a part

O f both the soc i al and publ ic worsh ip o f the apostol i c

age . The di sc ip l e s d i smi ssed by the ru le rs in Jeru

salem came to the i r ow n company and l i fted up the i r

voi ce with one accord in a song, partly the insp i rat ion

O f the moment,and part ly from the Book Of Psalms

(A cts iv . In the Ph i l ippian dungeon,Paul and

S i la s p rayed and sang p rai s es to God . Paul exhor t s

both the E phes i ans and Coloss i ans to the u se Of psalms

and hymns and spi r i tual songs .

Ligh t foot regards “psalms” as re fer r ing spec i al ly ,though not exclus ive ly , to the Psalms O f D avid , wh ich

would early form part Of the rel igiou s worship O f the

Ch r i st i an brotherhood .

“Hymns” would re fer to a

set form O f words or spontaneous effu s ions O f the

moment O f the Ch r i st i an s themselves,whi le the “ sp i ri t~

ual songs” would extend the p recept to al l forms o f

song p rovided they were sp i r i tual . Paul,in h i s Ep i s tl e

to the Corinth i ans,declare s that when they came to

gethe r each on e had a psalm ( 1 Cor inth i ans xiv . 2 6 )One Of the earl i es t descripti on s O f the Chr i st i an s

contain s the statement that “ they sang hymns to Chri s ta s God .

” But whether su ch hymns were psalms adap t

ed to the purpose and with a Ch ri st i an app l i cat ion,or

orig inal composi t i ons, w e do not know . There i s noth

ing in the record to decide th e quest ion . nor h a s any

hymn O f th e apos tol i c age come down to u s . The

th ree fold divis i on Of p salms and hymns and sp i r i tual

songs may indi cate that in addi ti on to the O ld Testa

ment Psalms other composi t ions d i st ingu i shed by the

t i tl es “hymns and “sp i r i tual songs” were u sed,but o f

thi s w e cannot be certain . The l ikel ihood i s that the

new Chr i s t ian feel ing found express i on in hymns o f a

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 3

s imple kind addressed to Chr i st . Some have main

ta ined that the rhythm i c pas sages wh i ch are found in

the E p i st les are parts o f hymns then in u se .

The princ ipal o f these ar e the fol low ing : Where

fore he sai th,Awake

,thou that S l eepest

,and ar i se from

the dead and Ch ris t Shal l Shine upon thee” (E phes i an s

v . And without controve rsy great i s the mystery

O f godl ines s ; He w h o w a s mani fe st ed in the fle sh,

j u stified in the spi ri t,seen o f angel s

,preached among

the nation s,bel i eved on in the world

,rece ived up in

glory” ( 1 Timothy i i i .“Who i s the bles sed and

only Potentate,the K ing o f kings

,and Lord o f lords

,

w ho only hath immortal i ty , dwel l ing in l igh t unap

p roa ch able ; Whom no man hath seen , nor can se e : to

whom be honor and power eternal . Amen” ( 1 T im

othy vi . 1 5 ,“Fai th fu l i s the saying : For i f w e di ed

with him , w e Shal l al so l ive wi th h im : i f w e endu re,w e

shal l al so reign wi th him : i f w e Shal l deny him,he

also wi l l deny us : i f we are fai thle s s , he abideth fa i th

fu l ; for he cannot deny himsel f”

( 2 Timothy i i . 1 1But i t i s not unl ikely that such pas sages are due to

impas si oned emotion wh i ch not un frequently r i ses to

rhythmi c utte ran ce , Wh i l e the pas sage in I Corinth i an s

xiv . 2 6 forms a c l ear ind i cat ion that the power to im

p rov i se , so apparent in the early h i s tory of I s rael , prevai led in the times o f the apostl es .

O f cours e these are utte rly un l ike hymns as w e

know them ; but i t must be remembered that i t i s al l

but certain that m etrica l compos i tions were not u sed

unti l about the fourth century . Indeed, so l ate as the

ninth centu ry W a la frid S t rabo warns u s that by hymnshe does not mean mere ly such metri cal hymns as thoseof Hilary , Ambrose, Prudent iu s , or Bede , but such

2 4 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

other act s o f prai s e as are offer ed in fi tt ing words and

w ith musica l sounds . Augustine lays down the same

rule— any compos i ti on o f a rhythmi c characte r,whether i n vers e or not, whi ch w a s capable Of being

sung,w a s reckoned a hymn . Looked at in the l igh t o f

this rule,the passages in the Epi st le s al ready quoted

seem l ikely to have been parts o f the ear l i est hymns o f

th e Church , for they have every qual i ty , s ave metri cal

form,

fitt ing them for such a use . The wel l—known

Gloria in E xcels is may serve a s a Specimen of the kind

o f compos i t ion fi rst o f al l u s ed as hymns in the ear ly

Chu rch .

The Glor ia in E xcels is w a s i n al l p robab i l i ty the

morning hymn of the Ch r i s t ian s O f early times,as the

P h o’

s i la ron p rese rved by S t . Basi l , wh i ch belongs tothe fi rs t or second centu ry

,was thei r hymn fo r evening

use . The latte r , though les s known , i s as beauti fu l ,perhaps i n a poeti c sense more beaut i fu l

,than the

former . I t has been effect ive ly rendered in Engli sh

by the fol lowing trans lat i on by K eble

Ha i l ! gladden i ng L ight, Of Hi s pure gl ory poure d,W h o i s th ’ Imm or ta l Father, heaven ly b l es t,Ho l i e s t o f Hol i e s—J e su s Chr i s t our Lord !

N ow we are com e to th e sun ’s hour o f re st,Th e l ights o f even ing round us sh ine ,W e hym n th e Father

, Son , an d Holy Sp ir i t D iv in e !

Worth i e s t art Thou at a l l t im e s to be sung,W i th undefi led tongue ,Son o f ou r God , G iver o f l i fe , a l on e !There fore i n a l l th e wor l d, Th y glor i e s , Lord , we ow n .

Thi s i s s t i l l the vesper hymn o f the Greek Church .

How such hymns arose w e know not .

“Whethe r

they sprang fi rs t to l ight in a burs t Of chora l song,l ik e

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 5

that inspi red hymn in the Acts ; or were bestowed

on the Church th rough the heavenly medi tat ion s o f

a sol i tary bel i eve r ; or gradual ly , l i ke a r ive r , by it s

t r ibutary st reams,ros e to what they are , we can per

hap s never know . We inc l ine,however

,to the id ea

that they were,i n the fi r st instance

,imp rovi sed songs ,

and in a fte rt ime brought to greater fini sh .

Thus the r iver wh i ch at fi rs t was but a t iny ri l l

b roadens and deepen s unt i l p rophecy describe s i t a s

becoming l ike the mighty waves o f the sea— “And I

heard as i t were the vo i ce of a great mu lt i tude , and

as the voi ce o f many waters,and as t he voi ce Of mighty

thunders saying Hal lelu j ah ! for the Lord ou r God , the

Almighty re ign eth . Let u s rej oi ce and be glad , and

l et us give the glory unto h im,for the marri age Of the

Lamb i s come .

“And I heard a vo i ce f rom heaven

as the voice O f many wate rs,and as the vo i ce o f a

great thunder,and the voi ce wh i ch I heard w as as the

v oice o f harpe rs harping w i th the i r harps , and they

sang , as i t were , a new song be fore the th rone .

”

The Revelat ion i s fu l l o f glowing re feren ces to song

as the h ighest express ion Of worsh iping feel ing,in

d ica t ing that , i n the futu re a s in the past , song i s to be

on e o f the nobl est med iums for the asc ript i on o f p rai se .

Do not the pi ctu re s in th i s book seem l ike glor ified

rep re sentati ons o f the temple at Jeru sal em and i t sworsh ip ; and do they not as such j u st i fy the i dea that

song was in Herod ’s temple,as i t had been in earl i er

t imes in Solomon’

s,a part o f i t s r i tua l ? SO vivi d a

pi ctu re O f chora l worsh ip would scarcely have ri s en in

a m ind that had not been accustomed to i t s earth ly

counterpart . Thus the temple worshi p may have given

form to the insp i rat ion which moved in the heart o f

2 6 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

the wri ter O f the Revelat ion and led him to embody

the though ts k indled in hi s mind by means o f symbol s

drawn there from in wh ich song forms SO consp i cuous

an e lement ; whi le i t i s not unworthy Of noti ce that a t

t imes he ri s es above th i s symboli sm and dec lare s,

“ I

saw no temple the rein,for the Lord God Almighty and

the Lamb a re the temp l e thereo f .”

CHAPTE R IV

LAT I N HYMN S

E stabl i shm en t o f Hym n s i n Church S erv ice—Five Ce l ebrate dS equ ences—Pa l e s tr i na’s Great H y mn i Totia s A nn i Inclu des A l l th e Fam ou s P la i n-chant M e l od i e s .

T w a s not unti l the latte r hal f o f the fourth centu ry

that the immense importance o f the hymn in

Chri sti an worsh ip became fu l ly unde rstood . St .

Ephrem o f E des s a made many valuab le contr ibution s

to the store O f hymn s al ready in use at that per iod . S t .Chrysostom zealou sly carr i ed on the work at Constanti

nop le , and S t . Ambrose at M i l an . The nobl est Latin

hymn we poss es s— Te D en ni la nda in ns— was long believ ed to be the j oint p roduct ion o f St . Ambrose and

S t . August ine . To S t . Ambrose , als o , i s due the honor

of having fi r st introdu ced the t rue metr i cal hymn into

the se rvi ce s o f the Weste rn Chu rch— for t he rhythm O f

the older example s w a s very d i s t in c t f rom actualmeter . H i s favori te spec i e s o f ve rse was i ambic dim

eter— the long measu re” O f E ngli sh hymnologywh i ch w a s l ong regarded as the normal mete r Of the

Latin hymn . St . G regory the Great fi r s t introduced

sapph i cs ; as in N octe s n rg en tes o ig iler nn s oni nes . Pru

dentin s wrote,with great eff ect

,t rochai c t et rameter

catalect i c— Cord e na tns ex P a ren tis an te m nnd i exor

diam ; and a l so u sed iambic t r imete r— O N a z a rene,

2 7

2 8 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

lnx Beth lem,v erbum P a tris ; and i ambic dimeter cata

lectic—Cu ltor D ei m em en to . One O f the earl i e s t in

s tances Of elegi ac ve rse is found in the

Crux bened icta n itet, Dom inu s qua carn e p ependit,A tqu e cruore suo vu ln era nos tra lavat

of Venan tiu s Fo rtunatu s . O ther mete rs came into

u se f rom time to time ; but , about the beginning Of

the tenth century,most o f these were for saken in fa

v or o f“p rose” ; that is to say

— paradoxi cal as the ex

p lanat ion may seem to the unin i t i ated— a style con

s i st ing o f regu lar l ines , contain ing an equal number o f

syl lable s,and O ften care fu l ly rhymed

,but governed ,

as to thei r rhythm,by accent i nstead o f quanti ty , and

there fore sett ing the laws O f c l as s i cal p ro sody at defi

an ce . Many o f the finest medi eval hymns are wri tten

in thi s beaut i fu l though barbarou s “Monki sh Latin ,”

espec i a l ly those intended to be sung at mas s a fte r the

Gradual and Tract ; in somuch that the te rms“ se

quence” and p rose have a lmos t come to be regarded

a s synonymous .

The S eqn en tia owes its name to i ts pos i t i on in the

mass ; i n wh ich i t appears a s the cont inuat ion , or s e

qu ence, of the long ser ie s O f ver ses and ant iphons in

terposed between the Epi st l e and the Gospel . In theM i ddl e Ages i t was cal led a prose ; because , though

wr i tten for the most part in rhymed Latin , and fre

quently wi th per fect un i formi ty o f rhythm ,the ca

dence o f i t s syl lab le s w a s gove rned , not , as in c las s i cal

poet ry,by quanti ty

,but by accent— a pecul i ar i ty whi ch

dep r ived i t o f al l c l aim to cons iderat ion a s verse o f

a ny kind . I ts int roduct i on into the Li tu rgy i s gener

a l ly supposed to date f rom the ninth or tenth centu ry .

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30 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

D ies I rce,wri tten du ring the latter hal f o f the twel fth

or beginn ing o f the thi rteenth centu ry , by Thomas o f

Celano,and sung in the Requ iem , o r mass for the

dead . In the t rip l e stanzas o f thi s wonder fu l poem the

rhymed Lati n of th e M i ddle Ages attained i t s highest

pe r fection ; and , though the S taba t M a ter i s frequently

s ai d to be second only to i t in beauty , the di stance be

tween the tw o i s very great . No Latin hymn has

p robably been so o ften t rans l ated .

The plain—chant melod i es adapted to the se five Se

quences , in the Gradual , diffe r f rom hymn melodi es

ch i efly in thei r continu i ty . Each melody i s founded,

i t i s true , upon certain fixed and wel l—marked phrase s ;but thes e phrase s are not mechan ical ly repeated

,as i n

the hymn,to each succes s ive stanza o f the poetry .

The authorship o f the p l ain-chant melodi es to which

these hymns were s ung i s ve ry unce rtain . I t seems

p robabl e that in many cases the wri te r of the words

was al so the compose r of the musi c to wh i ch they

were adap ted . A ri ch col l ect i on o f su ch original tunes

wi l l be found in the Vesp era le Rom a nnm and othe r

s imi la . office books . Probably the purest forms now

atta inab le a re those p resented in the Vespe ral s publish ed at Mechl i n in 1870 an d at Rat i sbon i n 1875 ; but

the d i s carded office books once used in parti cu la r

diocese s contain some pr i ce le s s t reasu res : fo r in stance ,the Sarum tune to S anctorum m eri tis i s one of the

most per fect M i xolydi an melodi es in exi s tence .

A fter the invention o f descant,thes e venerabl e hymn

tunes, or phrases sel ected from them , we re cons tant ly

used as Can ti ferm i for mas se s and motets . In theyear 1 589 Pa l e s tr i na tu rned them to s t i l l better ac

count in hi s great work enti tl ed Hymn i Totius A nni

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 3 1

a col l ect ion o f hymns for every fe st ival th roughout the

ecc l e s i as t i cal year,adm i rably t reated

,i n the polyphon i c

styl e,for th ree

,four

,five

,and s ix vo i ces

,and bearing

t races o f the great composer ’s best manne r on eve ry

page .

A few Latin hymns,such a s those to be found

among the works o f Hass le r,Tal l i s

,Byrd

,and some

other great compos e rs,have been set

,for fou r or more

voi ces,i n a s imi la r manne r ; but , as a whole , Pale s

t r ina ’s magn ificent I-Iym n a l s tands qu i te alone— too

great to admi t the poss ib i l i ty o f r ival ry . The del ight

w i th wh i ch i t was rece ived w a s unbounded . Ind eed,

long be fore the m iddl e o f the s i xteenth centu ry the

science o f hymnology had al ready begun to attract an

immense amount o f attent ion,i n w i dely d i ffe rent d i

recti on s . Hymns , or rathe r carol s,o f a somewhat

l ighte r characte r than those w e have been conside r ing,

had been sung , for ages past , between the scene s o f

the Myste r i es and M i rac l e Play s wh i ch form so consp icuou s a featu re in the re l ig iou s h i sto ry o f the M iddle Ages . Many o f the se—notab ly such as s et forth

the glad tid ings commemorated at Ch r i s tmast ide— became , f rom time to t ime , ext remely popu l a r , and ob

ta in ed a fi rm hold on the affecti ons o f r i ch and poo ra l ike .

CHAPTER V

EARLY PROTESTANT H YM N S

Lu ther’s Germ an Hym nal , and th e D eve l opm en t o f th e Ch ora l e by Johann S ebast ian Bach— Ca lv i n i s t Psal ter I s su e dby Marot and Be za—E ar ly E ngl i sh Hymnody.

W E LL knowing the effect o f song upon popu la r

fee l ing,and fu l ly app rec i at ing the beauty o f the

Latin hymns to wh i ch he had been accustomed from

hi s earl i e st youth,Luther tu rned the se c i rcumstances to

account by p roducing a vast amount o f Ge rman

Ki rchenl i eder,which

,adap ted to the most favori t e

melodi es o f the day,bot h sacred and secu lar

,and set

for fou r,five

,and S i x voi ce s (with the p l a in chant i n

the tenor ) , by Johannes Walthe r , we re fi rs t pub l i shed

at Wittenberg,i n 1 5 2 4 ,

and re i s su ed,i n the fol lowing

year,with a Speci a l p re face by Luthe r himse l f . In

numerabl e other works of a s imi lar d es c r ip ti on fol

lowed in rapi d succe ss i on . The vernacu lar hymn

found it s w ay more read i ly than eve r to the inmo s t

heart of the German peop l e . The Choral e w a s sung

far and wide ; and , at l as t , under the t reatment of

Johann Sebast i an Bach,i t s beauti e s we re developed

,

with a dep th o f in sigh t into i ts melodi c and harmoni c

re sou rce s wh i ch is not l ike ly ever to be su rpassed .

Even the S imp l e st s ett ings o f th i s great maste r bear

tokens o f a ce rtai n ind ivi dual i ty whi ch wi l l rende r

3 2

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 33

them household word s,i n the l and o f the i r bi rth , a s

long as true musi cal expres s i on shal l continue to be

va lued at i ts t rue worth ; and , perhap s , in the se gentl e

insp i rat ion s Bach spe aks more p l ainly to the oute r

world than in some cases whe re he h a s subj ected the

melody to more e laborate t reatment .

In France,the met ri cal p salms o f Clement Marot

and Theodore Beza w er e no l es s enthu si ast i cal ly re

ceiv ed than the hymns o f Luther in Ge rmany , though

thei r popu la ri ty was l e s s la sting . They were origi nal ly

sung to the most fam i l i a r di tt i e s o f the t ime , wh i ch

were adapted to them,p robably by Gui l laume Franc ,

in the Psalte r fi rs t publ i shed by Calvin at Geneva in

1 542 . In 1 56 1 Loui s Bou rgeo i s publ i shed a volume ,at Lyons

,contain ing eigh ty-th ree o f the se tunes

,set

for fou r,five

,and s ix voi ce s ; and in 1565 Adri an le

Roy printed,at Par i s

,an ent i re Psal te r

,in wh i ch the

melod i es were t reated a fter the manner o f motets by

Claude Goud im el. Th i s la st—named work w a s re

p rinted,in Hol land

,in 160 7 ; bu t Goud im el

’

s poly

phon i c settings were found too difficu lt fo r gene ral

u se , and were supplanted ,a fte r a t ime

,by some les s

e laborate arrangements— w i th the melody,as u sual

,

in the t enor— by Claud in le Jeune , whose col l ect i onwas publ i shed at Leyden in 1633 .

I t was no t to be supposed that the movement wh i ch

had spread thu s rap id ly in F rance and Germany would

be suffe red to pas s unheeded in England,whe re the

study o f the mad r igal had al ready b rough t part-s ing

ing to a h igh degree o f per fect i on . Here,as in France

,

the fi rst incent ive to popu lar hymnody seems to have

been the render ing o f the Psalms into ver se in the

mother tong ue . S tern h old’

s fi fty-one psalms fi r s t saw

34 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

the l ight i n 1 549 ; but“The Whole Booke o f P sa lm es

,

“by T . S tern h old , J . Hopkins,and othe rs

,

” did not ap

pear unt i l 1 562 ,when it w a s

“ imp rinted by John

Day,with ap t note s to S ing them withal” ; the

“apt

n ote s being S imp ly the melodi es , as sung in France

an d Germany , without bas s or any other part . In

1 563 D ay“ imprinted” “The Whol e Book of P sa lm es ,

i n fou re parts,

” harmoniz ed,i n the S imp l e s t

poss ib l e manner,by Thomas Tal l i s

,R i chard Br im le,

Will i am Parson s,Thomas Cau ston

, J . Hake , and

R i chard Edwards . Thi s w a s the fi rs t col l ect i on o f

hymn tunes eve r publ i shed in England for fou r voi ce s .

Nei the r Burney nor Hawkins s eems to have been aware

o f i t s exi s tence . A pe r fect copy i s,however

,p re

s erved in the l ib rary of Brasenose Col l ege , Ox ford ;and one , contain ing the mediu s and tenor parts only ,i n that o f the Bri ti sh Mus eum . I t w a s fol lowed

,i n

1 567 , by anothe r invaluab le volume , al so“ imprinted

,

”

bu t not publish ed,by John Day ; namely ,

“The fi rs t

Qu inquag en e”

o f Archbi shop Parker ’s metri cal ver

s i on o f the Psalms— a work whi ch has only been p rese rved through the medium o f a few cop i e s .At the end o f thi s p reciou s volume are found

,i n fou r

parts , e igh t tunes , s et , by Tal l i s , i n p lain counte rpoint ,wi th the melody in the teno r . Each o f these tunes i s

w ri tten in on e of the fir st eight modes ; the e ighth , or

hypomixolydian tune , being the wel l-known canon

now universal ly adapted to the words o f Bi shop Ken ’s

Evening Hymn . A larger col lect i on w a s publ i shed,

i n 1 579 , by Gu ilielm o Damon,whose harmony i s cl ear

and good , and— as i t a lways shou ld be when intendedfor congregationa l u se— ext remely s imp l e . In 1 59 1

anothe r col lect i on appeared,by the same author

,i n

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 3 5

tw o books , in the second o f wh i ch “ the h ighe st parts ingeth the Church tune ”— probably for the fi r s t time .

In 1 585 , s ix years be fore the publ i cat ion o f Damon ’ssecond work

,John Cosyn s had put forth s i xty psalms ,

with the tunes fir st p rinted by D ay ,set fo r five and

S i x voi ce s ; but by far the most important volume

wh i ch appeared be fore the c lo se o f the century w a s

the complete Psal te r printed by Thomas E ste in 1 594 ,

and containing tunes sk i l l fu l ly harmoniz ed,for fou r

vo i ces,by John Dowland

,E . Blancks

,E . Hoope r

, J .

Farmer,R . All i son

,G . K irbye ,

W . Cobbold,E . John

son , and G . F a rnaby—compose rs o f no mean reputa

tion,and general ly reckoned among the best o f the

pe r iod . A far in fe r io r volume was publ i shed,by John

Mundy,i n the same year ; and in 1 599 a col l ect i on

appeared,by Ri chard All i son

,with accompaniment s

“ to be p laid e upon the lute,orphar i on

,citterne

,or

base v ioll,several ly or together ” ; but al l the se works

were supe rseded in 162 1 by “The Whole Booke of

P sa lm es,ed i ted

,and in great part a rranged

,by

Thomas Ravenscro ft . Th i s famous volume contain s

settings , fo r fou r voi ces , o f the bes t German , French ,and Engl i sh tunes

, by Tal l i s , Dowland , Morley ,Ben

net , S tubbs , Fa rnaby ,the edi to r h ims el f

,and fou rteen

othe r noted musi ci an s o f the day . The melody , ac

cording to cu stom , i s a lways given to the tenor . The

counte rpo int throughou t i s admi rable,and every tune

may fai rly be regarded as a maste rpi ece . The bass

and tenor p roceed , fo r the most pa rt , nota con tra no

tam, wh i l e the t reb le and alto . though by no means

wri tten in a fiorid styl e,exh ibi t a l i t tl e more vari ety

of t reatment . The effect o f th i s ar rangement,when

the tenor i s sung by a large body o f vo i ces in uni son,

36 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

and the harmony by a select choi r,i s exceedingly im

pres s ive . The fines t tune in the col le ct ion i s JohnDow land

’

s setting o f th e 10 0 th Psalm .

A second ed it ion o f Rav en scro ft’

s Psa lte r was pub

lish ed i n 1633 . Wil liam and Hen ry Lawes s et the

Psalms o f M r . George Sandys , in three parts , i n

1648 . In 167 1 John Play ford p rinted h is“Psalms and

Hymns in solemn Mus icke o f fou re part s fol lowed,

i n 1677 , by hi s more wi de ly known Whol e Book o f

Psalms” for three voi ce s— a work the popu lar i ty o f

whi ch w a s S O extended , that , by the year 1 7 57 , i t had

run through no le ss than twenty edi t i on s . But these

l ate r works Show a lamentabl e det er io ration both o f

techni cal Ski l l and art i st i c fee l ing . Engl i sh hym nody

wa s not destin ed to remain for any l ength o f time in

the high s tate o f cu lt ivati on indi cated by the col l ee

ti on s o f Este and Ravenscro ft . S tep by step the deca

dence o f the hymn tune kep t pace wi th that o f the

madrigal,wh i ch had once don e s o much toward p re

par ing the way for it s more pe r fect development . Had

any hope o f a revival exi s ted , i t would have been di s

p elled by the G reat Rebe l l i on . The Res to rati on did

nothing toward the re su sc i tat ion o f the fai l ing art .The vigorou s treatment o f the O ld maste r s faded

gradual ly into vague inani ty . The tunes of Hayes ,Wainwright

,Carey

,Tan s

’

u r,and othe r more modern

write rs . are as fa r in fe rio r to those o f the i r p redeces

sors a s those o f the i r fol lowe rs a re to them .

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38 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

sion,maintained that the Church Shou ld not permi t the

introduct ion o f S inging into he r services . In some

churche s,however

,the obj ect i on lay not agains t s ing

ing,for the metr i cal Psalms were sung , but against the

S inging o f hymns . The re was a fee l ing that the l in e

must be drawn somewhe re,and so i t was d rawn at

hymns . The publ i cat ion o f various col lect ion s of

hymns by W . Barton du r ing the years between 1654

and 1688 ; the large sale o f Mason and Shepherd’s

hymns the i s su e o f a col l ect i on o f“Divine

Hymns,

” gathered f rom S ix authors , among whom

were J . Mason and R . Baxter i n 1694— s eem to point

to the probab i l i ty that hymns were u sed,at al l event s

in some churches ; but i t i s not dec i s ive . Such col

l ect ion s may have been chi efly u sed for reading, or

,

as in the ca se o f Matthew Henry ’s hymns for

S inging in the home . I f , howeve r , Dr . Gibbons i s to

be re l i ed on, hym ns must have been in u se in the clo s

ing years o f the s eventeenth centu ry,for he says : “M r .

John Morgan , a mini ster o f very respectabl e char

acte r , now l iving at Romsey , Hants , has sent me the

fo l lowing in format ion : ‘The occas ion o f the Doctor ’s

(Watts ) hymns w a s th i s,as I had the account f rom

hi s worthy fel low- l aborer and col l eague,the Rev . M r .

Pri ce , i n whose fami ly I dwelt above fi fty years ago .

The hymns wh i ch were sung at the D i s s enting Meet

ing at Southampton [the se were Barton’s ! were s o

l i t tl e to the gust of Mr . Watts , that he cou ld not for

bear complain ing o f them to hi s father . The fathe r

b i d him t ry what he cou ld do to mend the matt er . He

did,and had such succe s s in h i s fi rst es say

,

“Behold

the glori es of the Lamb ,” that a second hymn was

ea rnest ly des i red of him,and then a thi rd and fou rth

,

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 39

etc . ,t i l l

,i n p rocess o f t ime , there w a s su ch a number

o f them as to make up a volume .

’

Bu t the chu rch at

Southampton w a s exceptional ly l i be ra l in i ts Spi r i t .

When W a tts’

s hymns began to find thei r way into

favor,the more conservat ive regarded them , as Brad

bury a fterward d id as Wa tt s’

s IV/i im s .

” Whereas ,i n Ge rmany

,Luther S hymns were sung almost as soon

as they were p rodu ce I,i t was th i r ty or forty years

be fore those o f D r . Watts found the i r w ay into com

mon use ; and even then su spi ci on s o f he resy fastened

about the churches that adopted them . A S to the

hymnody o f the t ime,D r . W a tts

’

s l ines would surely

apply

O what a wretched land i s thi s,That y i e l d s u s no supp l i e s .

And i t was thi s pove rty which real ly gave b i rt h to our

mode rn hymnody,fo r

,i n the deepest sense , Dr . Watts

i s i ts founder . H is ver s ion s o f th e Psalms and h i s

original hymns supplanted al l p reviou s one s,and for

many a long year held und i s pu ted posses si on o f the

Noncon form i s t Church again st al l comers . Th i s i s athing unique in the h i s tory o f the Chu rch

,not even

paral le l ed by the case o f Charle s \Ves ley'

s hymns

among the Method i st s,s ince that col lecti on contained

hymns by both John and Charles Wesl ey,and a very

few from othe r wri ters,as wel l a s many trans lat ion s

from the German . E ven the Psal te r— the hymn-booko f the Jewi sh Church— does not fu rn i sh a paral le l

,

S ince that i s the p roduct,not only o f many autho rs

,

but o f many ages . Sc r iptu re i t se l f has come to u s

th rough many minds ; but for more than a century

Watts was the only hymni st o f the Independent sanc

40 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

tua ries ; so venerated were hi s hymns and p sa lms , that

in th i s very century there were p ersons w h o re fu sed toS ing any others , and actual ly sa t down i f any others

were given ou t . Thi s was both a gain and a loss— a

gain in that , through him , hymns became a part o f

d ivine worship ; a los s in that hi s p reém inence excluded

the hymns o f other wri ters,even those then in exi s t

ence by George Herbert,John M i l ton

,R i chard Bax

te r, John Mason , to say nothing o f those by wri ters

o f other lands , or the ancient hymns o f the Chu rch .

There are hymns by Watts that wi l l l ast as long as

the Church cont inues he r worsh ip-song, such as“ I ’l l

p rai s e my Maker with my breath,

” “Our God ,ou r

help in ages past,

” “When I survey the wondrou s

cros s ,” “Hear what the voice f rom heaven p roc laims ,

”

and othe rs bes ide s these . Some of W a tts’

s hymns ,however

,once sung in the Church cannot now be read

without a smi le . Take the fol lowing a s i l lu st rat ions .

Here is a verse from h is vers ion o f the 10 1 st Psa lm :

I’l l purge m y fam i ly around ,And m ake th e w icked fl e e ;So sha l l m y hou s e be ever foundA dwe l l ing fi t for Thee .

Here i s a ve rs e from Hymn 19 o f the second book :

He Spoke , and stra ight ou r hearts and bra in sIn a l l the i r m o t ion s rose ;Le t b lood ( sa i d H e ) flow roun d th e ve in s,And round th e ve in s i t flows .

Wa tts,responding to the cal l for hymn s , wro te too

much . No les s than 5 1 5 p salms and hymns are found

in the volume actual ly u sed in publ i c worsh ip , to say

noth ing o f hi s sacred lyr i cs . Those are the t ruest

fri ends to the memory o f D r . Watts who only include

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 4 1

the finest o f hi s hymns in the i r col lecti ons . I t i s a

va i n effort to t ry to keep al ive h is didact i c and in

ferior ones . They may be printed , but they wi l l not

be sung . The day o f rhymed prose i s over , even when

fathe red by great names . D r . Watts , with a modes ty

that i s rare,once sai d that Charl es Wesley ’s hymn on

“Wrest l ing Jacob” was worth al l he had eve r wr i tten .

Th i s w a s an exce ss o f modesty , but i t reveal s , per

haps,a fee l ing h i dden in h i s mind that he had wri tten

too much .

S imon B rowne ( 1680—1 732 ) was a contemporary

w i th Dr . wa tt s , and belongs to h i s school o f hymnwri t ing . He publ i shed

,i n 1 7 2 0 ,

Hymns and Sp i ri tual

Songs,i n Th ree Books

,des igned as a Supplement to

Dr . Watts . Tw o o f Browne’s hymns are wel l known

,

and st i l l hold a place in modern hymnals . The mos t

popular i s “Come,grac iou s Spi ri t

,heavenly dove

,

”

wh ich i s not w i thout mer i t ; the othe r i s“Lord

,at

Thy feet w e S inners l i e .

”

Alexander Pope ( 1688 w ho fi l l s so l a rge a

space in the poeti c l i te ratu re o f E ngland,u sed to be

reckoned among the hymn i s ts,on account o f what

has been cal led Pope'

s ode,

“V i tal s park o f heaven ly

flame .

” Th i s has been inc luded in many hymnals,and

w a s once a favori te at funeral service s . I t i s an imi

fat i ou o f a poem composed,du r ing h i s l as t hour s

,by

the Emperor Hadrian .

Samuel \Vesl ey,j un io r ( 1690 the elder

b rother o f John and Charl es Wesley,held aloo f

from the Method i s t movement,wh i ch began only five

years be fore h is death . He wrote “Poems on

Severa l Occas ions . To the last he adhered to the

Church o f England, a s did h i s b rothers , and was , in

42 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

deed, a High-chu rchman o f the type o f that age . His

best known hymn i s “The Lord o f Sabbath let u s

prai s e .

” Less known,but fai r ly good

,are h i s hymns

The morning flowers d i sp lay the i r sweets” and “Hai l !

Fathe r,whose creating cal l .”

John Byrom ( 169 1 remarkable for hi s s ei en

t ific a ttainments , belonged , i n some degree , to the

s chool of mysti cs , but was p robably kept f rom some

o f thei r excesses by hi s work in sci ence . Two of hi s

hymns,though greatly di ffer ing in styl e and substance

,

have a tta in ed to great popular i ty , and are sti l l widely

u sed . His hymn for Chr i s tmas day,

“Ch r i st i ans,

awake , sa lute the happy morn ,” i s very di st inct ive

,

and boldly lyri ca l ; whi le My sp i r i t longeth for Thee”

— as the reade r may observe— i s te rse i n expre ss ion

and tender i n fee l ing :

My Sp i r i t longeth for Thee,W i th in m y troubl e d breas t,Though I unworthy b eO f so D iv i n e a gue s t :

O f so D ivi n e a gue s tUnworthy though I be,Yet h a s my heart no re s tUn l e s s i t com e from Thee .

He has given u s very l i tt l e , but that l i tt l e i s very

good . Some o f hi s vers es ant i cipate and set forth

wi th great force the better theologi cal thought o f ou rown t ime . Thi s i s Speci al ly so i n hi s M edi tat i on forWednesday in Pass ion Week .

”

Robert Seagrave (born 1693 ) w rote about fi fty

hymns,in cluded in a col l ect ion p repared for h i s own

congregation at Lor imer ’s Hall i n 1742 . He i s re

membered chiefly by one of thes e ,“R i s e , my sou l , and

s tretch thy wings .

CHAPTER VI I

EARLY M ETHOD I ST H YM N S

Char l e s W e s l ey ’s Hym n s and Sacred Poem s and th e“Foundery Tune—Book"— "Harm on ia Sacra” by B u ttsO ther \Ve sley an Hym na l s and Five E xce l l en t Ru l e s fo rCongregat i ona l S i nging .

LL the great rel igiou s rev ival s o f modern t imes

have been very largely influen ced by musi c and

hymn-S inging,and the Method i s t rev ival o f the e igh

teen th century w a s no exception to the ru le . The work

done by the Wesleys in th i s d i rect i on corre sponds,to

some extent,wi th that done by Hu s s in Bohem i a and

Luthe r i n Germany in the i r day . Both Luthe r and

John Wes ley were not only very fond o f mu s i c,bu t

they al so recogni zed the importan ce o f mak ing chu rch

S inging congregat ional . Wesley , however , h a d not t he

natural mu si cal geniu s o f Luther,who h ad a g i f t fo r

compos i t i on,besides being an excel lent per former on

var i ou s musical in st ruments ; wh i l e Wes ley’s effort s

i n th i s d i rect ion were l imi ted to s imple pe r formances

on the flu te,and he had l i tt le knowledge o f the l aws

o f musi c . That he w a s deep ly influ enced by musi ci s evident from the many re ference s to i t in hi s “Jou r

n a ls,

” the most str iking being h i s expe ri ences in May ,

1 738 ,at the t ime o f h i s convers i on

,when he recorded

in fu l l the words of three anthems he heard at St .

Paul ’s,which seem to have accorded in a remarkable

43

44 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

manner with the inmost fee l ings of hi s mind . Thes eanthems were : “Out o f the deep have I cal led “Mysong shal l b e always o f the loving—kindnes s of the

Lord My soul tru ly wai teth st i l l upon God .

” I t i s

a lmos t impos s ib l e now to fix the authorsh ip o f thes eanthems , but the fi r st i s p robably by Henry Purce l l

.

When he was a boy Wesley had every opportuni tyo f becoming acquainted wi th the O ld Vers i on o f the

Psalms , both in the church at Epworth and al so in

h i s home ; for the dai ly les sons o f the young Wesleys always began and ended w ith the S inging o f a

psalm . He re fers i n a fte r- l i fe to the “ scandalou s dog

gerel o f S ternh old and Hopkins,al though on on e

occas ion he con fess es to having rece ived a ble s s ing “ ina manner I did not expect

,even by th e words o f

Thomas S tern h old .

” When he got to the Charte r

house he used the vers ion Spec i al ly p repared by Dr .

Patri ck . Wesley has not recorded hi s op in ion o f i t,

but i t never pas sed into general u se,and seems to

have been l i tt l e known . Nahum Tate,who wrote a

pamphlet on the s tat e o f psalmody at the beginning o f

the e ighteenth centu ry,s ays that when a b rother o f

Dr . Patri ck ’s i nt rodu ced th i s ver s ion into h i s hou se

hold for u se at fami ly p rayers,he not i ced that one

of the se rvant-maids who had a good voi ce d i d not

j oin in the S inging ; and being p res sed for a reason

sh e sai d to her mas te r,S i r

,i f you must needs know

the p lain truth o f the matte r,as long as you sung

Jesu s Ch r i st ’s p salms I sung along with ye ; but now

you s ing p salms of you r own invention ye may s ing

by you rse lves .

”

But no matter what vers i on might b e in use, th e

tunes for the Psalms were common to al l ; a nd a s the

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

46 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Th i s “ Foundery Tune—Book i s very interest ing in

many ways . Wesley ’s experi ence o f the old psalm

tunes led him to exc lude al l o f them except th ree fromh is book: Those he admi tted were the O ld 8 I st

,

”

O ld l 1 2 th, and O l d 1 13th

”: the fi r st because i t was

univer sal ly popu lar at the t ime,the s econd because i t

w a s real ly a German Chorale o f which he w a s ve ry

fond,wh i l e the last w a s als o a spec i a l favor i te o f h i s .

On the other hand,the newer psalm-tunes—m n am ely ,

those recent ly added in the va r ious ed i t ions and sup

p lem en ts o f Tate and Brady’s New Ve rs ion— readi ly

find a place inc luding Bur ford,

” “Hanover,

” “Bed

ford,and S t . Matthew .

” Then about e leven tunes

make the i r fir s t appearance in th i s book, on e o f wh i ch

,

“ I s l ington ,” remained a s tandard long-mete r tune for

a ll denominat ions for upward o f a century . O f the

remainde r o f the Foundery tunes, on e i s an adapta

t ion from the march in H ande l ’s opera o f “R i chard I,

”

and fou rteen are o f German origin .

Wesley became acquainted wi th the German chorales

through h i s as soci at i on wi th the Moravi an Brethren,

both on hi s j ou rney to Ameri ca and during h is vi s i t

to the variou s Moravian settl ement s in 1 738 . His fre

quent re fe rences to thei r mus i c Show h ow he app re

cia ted both the i r tunes an d thei r manne r o f s inging

them ; and i t i s , there fore , not su rp r i s ing that he in

troduced so l arge a p roport ion into hi s firs t tune—book .

The col l ect ion then in u se among the Brethren w a s

Frey ling h ausen’

s“Ge sangbuch

,

” and Wes ley ’s copy

i s s ti l l p res erved in the l ib rary o f the Wes l eyan Col

l ege at R ichmond S i x o f thes e chorales are known

in these days as Wincheste r New ,

” “Amsterdam,

”

“Resurrect i on (or“S t . I rene

,

” “O ld

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 47

l 1 2 th ,

” and “Ma rienbo-urn ” the last be ing very d i f

feren t from the or iginal . Amste rdam” has alwaysbeen ascr ibed to Nare s

,but incorrect ly

,as i t w a s in

u se al ready when Nare s was born . I rene i s cal led“Savannah” i n the Foundery book

,but the name w a s

changed unde r the fol low ing c i rcumstance s . A par ty

o f Morav i an em igrant s pas sed th rough London in

1 742 on the i r w ay to Amer i ca . Some o f them ascended

the gal lery o f S t . Paul ’s,and

,in fu l l Vi ew o f the w id e

panorama o f the c i ty,sang to th i s tune a hymn o f in

terces s ion to God for the teem ing popu lat ion below

them . They then p roceeded to the i r ves se l,the name

.o f wh i ch had been changed from the Ca th er in e S nowto the I ren e ( Peace ) , and Wesley changed the name

wh i ch he had orig inal ly given to th i s tune in commemorat ion o f th i s incident .

The “Foundery Tune—Book w a s one o f the wor st

p r inted books eve r i s sued from the p res s ; and not

only i s the p r inting i tsel f bad bu t the work i s fu l l o f

the most extraord inary m i stakes,such as w rong bars

and note s and impos sib le mus i cal ph rase s .Of cou rse al l these m i stakes ru in ed the s al e o f the

book , and no s econd ed i t ion was ever pr inted . I t i s

now very scarce , but a repr int was i s su ed in 1882,

wh ich w a s to be obtained unt i l recently,and was wel l

worth the two sh i l l ings asked for i t .

Toward the end o f 1746 the fi rs t book o f or iginal

tunes to Charles \Ves ley’

s hymns made i t s appearance

unde r the t i t l e o f “Hymns on the G reat Fest ival s, an d

Othe r Occasions Th i s el egantly bound and wel l

p rinted book was the work o f J . F . Lampe,a Ger

man w h o settl ed in England in 1 7 2 5 , when he w a s

about twenty-two year s o f age . He atta ined con

48 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

S iderable renown a s a bassoon p layer , and was a mem

ber o f the band tha t per formed Handel ’s operas .

Lampe al so wrote the music for several pantomimes

and comi c operas,and in col laborat i on with Henry

Carey ( composer o f a s l ib rett i st,he p ro

duced the bu rle sque Ope retta “The Dragon o f

W an tley ,whi ch had an extraord inary succes s . He

came under the influence o f the Wes leys in Novem

ber,1 745 , when John Wes l ey tel l s u s he Spent

“an

hou r wi th M r . Lampe,who had been a dei st for

many years,t i l l it '

p lea sed God to b ring h im to a

better mind . Lampe publ i shed h i s tunes at hi s own

expense , but Char le s Wesley te l l s us that they were

universal ly a dmi red , and there i s no doubt that many

o f them soon came into gene ral u se among M ethodi st s .

Out o f the twenty- fou r tunes , fi fteen are in the mino r

mode,and al l Show t race s o f the flori d style wh i ch

migh t be expected from an operati c composer i n thos e

days . One of the tunes,cons ide rab ly p runed down ,

s ti l l finds a p lace in most hymnal s under the name“Invi tat ion” or

“Devonshi re .

” Charl es Wesley p re

fixed ti t le s to many o f h i s hymns,and th i s tune was

set to one cal led “The Invitati on,

” “Come,S inne rs , to

the go spel feast .

For the next few years the tunes u sed by the Methodi s ts cons i sted o f those from the Foundery book and

many o f Lampe ’s,and the s tock was f requent ly added

to by original compos i ti ons and local melod i es that

John Wesley met wi th in hi s t rave l s ; whi le anothe r

and more doubt fu l sou rce w a s di scovered i n adapta

tion s and arrangements o f secu la r ai rs . Moreover,

the S i nging o f the M ethodi s ts was becoming noted,not

only for i t s heartines s,but for the a tt ract ive tun es

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 49

that were com ing into us e among them . A D r . John

Scott , in a tract wr i tten in 1 744 . acknowledged that“ the Method i s ts have got some o f the most melod iou s

tunes that eve r w e re composed for Church mus i c ;there i s great harmony in thei r s inging

,and i t i s very

enchanting .

”

At last the nece s s i ty for a new col l ect ion o f tune s

became p res s ing, and the work was undertaken by

Thomas Butts,who was not only a good mus i c i an bu t

al so a great fr i end o f both the \Ve sley s , whom he o ftenaccompan i ed in the i r t ravel s . F rom h i s hou se in Ratt

c l iff Row,off O ld S t reet

,he i s sued h i s “Harmoni a

Sacra .

” Th i s i s not only on e o f the best col le ct ions o f

hymn-tunes i s sued during the e ighteenth centu ry,but

also furni shes one o f the best examples o f th e period

o f the musi c engraver ’s a rt .

No names are put to the tunes i n th i s ed i t ion,though

they are found in the late r ones,but occas ional ly a

t i t l e i s g iven,wh i ch be longs to the hymn rather than

the tune For a nor do w e find

any clew to the composer or the sou rce from wh i ch

they are taken , except on e , wh ich i s headed“Psalm cl .

,

by K ing James .

”

I t i s imposs ib le now to t race the origin o f the myth

wh i ch makes that k ing the composer o f th i s tune,

wh i ch was for a long t ime very p opu la r u nde r thenames o f “New York ,

” “Ch imes, o r W h itton ’

s,

” the

last p robably being the actual composer ’s name.

Among the notab l e featu res o f the book are the a l

most tota l absence o f such tune s as the O ld 10 0 th”

and“S t . Anne

’

s ,” only fou r o f the old psalm—tunes

be ing inc luded , and the int roduct ion o f many adaptat i ons and arrangements .

5 0 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Many of the tunes in Bu tts’

s col l ect ion have a “Hal

lelujah r e frain,and a few repeat the last l ine ; but

there i s very l i tt l e o f the obj ect i onab le b reaking up

o f words and ph rases s o common toward the close

o f the centu ry .

Handel wrote h i s now l i ttl e-known oratorio Su

sanna ” in S ix weeks during 1 748, and in the fol lowing

year i t w a s per formed fou r t imes at Covent Garden .

One of the a i rs soon became immensely popular , and

was speedi ly manu factu red into a hymn-tune , and as

su ch finds a p l ace in “Harmonia Sacra .

” I t appeared

in this form as “Hal i fax” as late as 1849 . Several

other popula r ai r s were adapted,probably because a

wel l-known tune insured more hearty s inging ; for in

stance,Carey wrote a popular pat r iot i c song wit h

musi c to celeb rate Admi ral Vernon ’s r etu rn from tak

ing Porto Bel lo in 1 739 . Vernon ar rived off Porto

Bel lo November 2 0,bombarded the works next day

and took the place with the los s o f only seven men .

Carey’s song begins with these s ti r ring l ines

He com e s ! h e com e s ! th e hero com e s !Sound you r trum p ets , beat your drum s !From port to port l e t cannon s roarH i s welcom e to th e B r i t i sh shore .

The tune w a s a good one,and much too popu lar to be

negl ect ed , so Charles Wes ley paraph ras ed the mart ia lwords in the form o f a hymn on the Last Judgment

,

and thi s new setting of the s ecular melody was sung

hearti ly for upward o f hal f a centu ry .

O the r popu la r melod i es of the time wi l l be found

in“Harmoni a Sacra .

” One o f thes e i s “Cheshunt,

a dap ted from a song cal l ed “A Thought on a Sp r ingMorn ing,

”

the fi rst l ine being,How b r i sk the breath

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 5 1

o f morn ing blows . Here i t i s set to the once popu lar

hymn “The voi ce o f my Beloved sounds .” The song

is from a volume cal led the “Mus i cal Medley ,”

byHenry Holcombe

,a popula r compose r o f the t ime .

Anothe r o f h i s songs,known as “Arno

’

s Vale , w a s

turned into a hymn—tune and named “Guernsey . I t

occurs in th e “Gentleman ’s Magaz in e for 1 745 , and

w a s f requently rep r inted .

At least two adaptati on s from Arne ’s works occu r

And can I i n Sorrow l i e dow n ,

” f rom h i s opera

El iza” ; and“ In in fancy our hopes and fears , from

Artaxerxes .

Among the few tunes in the Harmoni a Sacra now

in use,bes i des those from the Foundery Tune-Book”

w e find “Hotham,

” and “R ingland

,

” wh i ch

i s real ly a German cho rale by Neande r

Wesley does not seem to have been al toge the r sati s

fied with the re su lt s o f h i s fri end ’s l abors,and in

1 76 1 he publ i shed hi s second tune -book under the t i t l e

o f “Sel ect Hymns with Tunes A nnext .

” The “Tunes

A nnext” have a separate t i t le—page

,with the in scr ip

ti on “Sacred M elody,

” by wh i ch name the col lect ion

i s known . In the p re face h e re fe r s to Butts ’s “Har

moni a Sacra” i n terms o f h igh commendat ion ; but he

says : “Tho’ i t i s exce l l ent in i ts k ind,i t i s not the

thing which I want . I want the peopl e cal l ed Metho

di st s to s ing t rue the tune s whi ch are i n common use

among them . I have been endeavor ing for more

than twenty years to p rocu re su ch a book as th i s . But

in vain . Maste rs o f musi c were above fol lowing any

di rect i on but the i r own . And I w a s dete rmined w h o

ever compi led th i s,Should fol low m y di recti on ; not

m ending our tunes but s ett ing them down nei the r bet

5 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

ter nor worse than they were . At length I have p re

vai l ed . The fol lowing col lect ion contains al l the tunes

wh i ch are in common use amongst u s .”

Wesley also Speci al ly emphas i ze s the fact that the

book “ i s smal l a s wel l a s the pr i ce” This would

be greatly to its a dvantage , for“Harmonia Sacra” w a s

pub li shed at 6s . 6d .

, 1os . 6d .

, and 1 5s ., and i t s s iz e

made i t su i table only fo r the desk,whi le “Sacr ed

Melody cou ld be carr i ed about in the pocket .

All the tunes in th i s book except e igh t a re found

in Harmonia Sacra,but no les s than S ixty o f those

in the l atte r book are omitted ( i nc luding many o f the

flori d ones ) , and al l the old p salm-tunes excep t the“O ld 1 1 2 th

” and “O l d i l 3th . John Wesley w a s eve r

parti a l to these two , and in re fe rring to the former

he once said to some of hi s Yo rkshi re fr i ends ,“I f you

want to hear fine psalmody you must go to Fu lneck

and hear the Moravians s ing ‘Think on Thy Son ’s so

bi tte r death .

’ The “O ld 1 13th” tune

,i n a s hort ened

form,was the last one he ever sang ; and on the day

be fore he d i ed he employed what l i ttle st rengt h he had

in S inging i t to “ I’l l p ra i s e my Maker whi le I ’ve

breath .

”

Many o f the tunes a l ready re ferred to are in thi s

book,and the new ones o f importance include “S ion

,

”

whi ch i s not by M ilg rov e , as the re stated .

Perhap s the most ext raordinary and uns ingable tune

i s the one cal l ed “Tombstone .

” A so-cal led poet of

smal l capabi l i t i e s wrote some verse s,of which the firs t

w i l l s erve as a sample :

Hark ! hark ! ’t i s a vo ice from th e tom b ;Com e , Lucy , i t cr i e s ; com e away,

Th e grave o f th y Col in h a s roomTo re s t the e be s i d e h is co l d c lay.

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54 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

promptly a ccepted as the tru th wi thout furthe r ques

t ion,unti l Maj or Crau ford

,an abl e invest igator , w ho

devoted mu ch t ime to the quest ion , showed conclu

s iv ely that“Helmsley” was an original tune by O l ivers ,

and w a s i n no way an a daptati on from any secu lar

sou rce whateve r .Some inte re st ing di rect ions for s inging are inserted

in some o f the copi es o f“Sacred M elody ,

” and i t

would be a very good th ing i f these we re read aloud

f rom time to t ime in al l chu rches and chape l s where

good congregationa l s inging i s a imed at :

I . Learn thes e Tunes be fore y ou l earn any o thers ; afterward l earn as m any as y ou p l eas e.I I . S i ng them exact ly as they are pr i nt e d here, w i thou ta l ter i ng or m end i ng them at a l l ; and i f y ou have l earn ed tos ing them otherwi se , un l earn i t as soon as y ou can .

I I I . S i ng A ll. S e e that y ou j o i n w i th th e congregat i on asfrequ ently as y ou can . Let not a s l i ght degre e o f weakne s sor wear i n e ss hinder y ou . I f i t i s a cros s to y ou , take i t up ,an d y ou wi l l find i t a bl e ss i ng.

IV. S ing lus tily and wi th a good courage . B eware o f S i nging as i f y ou were ha l f dead , or ha l f as l e ep ; bu t l i ft up yourvo ice w i th strength. Be n o m ore afra i d o f your vo ice now ,

nor m ore asham ed of i t s be i ng heard, than when y ou sung th esongs o f S a ta n .

V. S i ng m odes tly . Do n ot bawl , so as to be heard aboveor d i st inct from th e re s t o f th e congregat i on , that y ou m aynot destroy th e harm ony ; bu t s tr ive to un i te your voice s together, so as to m ake on e cl ear m e lodi ou s sou nd .

V I . S ing in Tim e . Whatever t im e i s sung be sure to ke epwi th i t . D o not run be fore nor stay beh in d i t ; bu t attendcl ose to th e l ead i ng vo ice s , and m ove therew i th as exact ly asy ou can ; a nd take care n ot to s i ng too s low . Thi s drawl i ngway natural ly s teal s on a l l w h o are lazy ; and i t i s h igh t im eto dr ive i t out from am ong us , and s ing a l l our tune s j u s t asqu i ck as w e d i d at first .VI I . Above al l S i ng sp ir i tua lly . Have an eye to God inevery word y ou s ing. A im at p l eas ing H im m ore than yours e l f

, o r any other creature . I n order to thi s attend str ict ly toth e s en se o f what y ou s i ng, and see that y ou r H ea r t i s not

carr i e d away wi th th e soun d , but offere d to God con ti nua l ly ;so shal l your s i ngi ng be such as th e L ord wi l l approve o f here,an d reward y ou when He com eth i n th e c l oud s o f heaven.

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 5 5

The name “Sacred M elody i s derived from the fact

that only the a i r o f each tune i s given ; but a fte r i t

had been in u se for many years Wes ley dec ided toi s sue a harmonized edi tion

,and in 1 78 1 appeared hi s

last tune-book . Thi s is known as“ Sacred Harmony ,

”

and contains the tunes arranged for tw o and thr ee

voices . I t a l so conta ins the hymns to each tune ; and

as th i s made i t a rathe r cumbrou s volume , a“ th in

ed i t i on was i s sued about 1 789 . The forme r , or th i ck“Sacred Harmony

,

” i s now very rare , but the latter

is sti l l to be met w i th“ Sacred Harmony contains some interesting addition s

,including “Leon i

,

” and some anthems,su ch as

“V i tal Spark” and “Denmark .

”

The story o f“Leon i ” i s as fol lows . Abou t th e year

1 770 Thomas O l ivers w a s attend ing a con ference at

Wesl ey ’s Chapel in C i ty Road,and on e F r iday even

ing he went to the Jewi sh synagogue in Aldgate,whe re

he heard a ve rs ion o f th e old Hebrew doxology usu

al ly Sung on the eve o f the Jew i sh Sabbath . The

leader o f the s inging at that t ime w a s Leoni,and

O l i ve rs,who was mu ch taken with the melody he had

heard , appl i ed to h im for a copy , and then wroteh is celebrated hymn to i t

,

“The God o f Abraham

p rai se ,” wh i ch i s real ly founded on the doxology re

fer red to . I t w a s then publ i shed in leaflet form,and

shortly a fter i t appeared in the “Gospel Magaz ine” o f

Apri l , 1 77 5 . The orig in o f thi s melody i s qu i te um

known , but i t i s doubt fu l i f i t i s mu ch olde r than th eeighteenth centu ry .

I t i s now necessary to go back a few year s in orde r

to see what mu s i cal p rov i s ion w a s made for \Vh itefie ld and h i s fol lowers a fte r he separated from Wes

5 6 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

ley . Wh i tefield took great interest in music , and he

te l l s uS that s oon a fte r he had begun p reach ing he

a s soci ated h imsel f w i th some young men w ho attended

h i s mini s trat ions , and w h o had formed themselves into

a S inging soc i ety . He used sometimes to p reach to

them during th ei r meet ings,and they in tu rn taught

him his “gamut,

” and ini ti ated h im into the myste ri e s

o f musi c . When in later years he moved to hi s newly

erected Tabe rnacle in Tottenham Court Road,he pre

pared a hymn-book for hi s fol lower s ’ u se , whi ch w a s

i s sued in 1 7 53 , and the year a fte r a companion tune

book w a s publ i shed cal led the “Divine Mus ical M i s

cellany .

” Thi s book i s now very scarce , but i t i s aninte res ting comp i l at i on

,as in i t many tunes a fte rward

used among the M ethod i st s general ly made the i r fi rs t

appearance . At the end o f the book a re some di a

logue” hymns,wh i ch used to be a featu re in the Tabe r

na cle S inging . The men and women occup i ed diffe r

ent s i des o f the chape l , and the se hymns were ar

ranged to be sung in d ialogue fashion,as may be

seen from the fol lowing b r i e f example,which i s as

good a s any that cou ld be selected for ou r pu rpose

Men : Te l l u s , O wom en , we wou l d knowWhi ther so fast ye m ove .

Wom en : W e ’re cal l e d to l eave th e wor l d be low,Are s eek i ng one above.

Ch orus : Ha l l e lu jah.

Mos t o f the hymns of thi s cla s s a re the compos i t i ono f John Cenn ick. N o othe r tune-book was i s sued

Speci al ly fo r the us e o f the Calvini st i c Methodi sts du r

ing the eighteenth centu ry,but seve ral co llect i on s o f

tunes , such a s those by Aa ron Wi l l iams,conta in on

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 5 7

the ti tle-page the statement that the tunes are in use

at the Tabernac l e among other p laces .

At least one pi rated” edi t ion o f Wesley ’s tune

books w a s i s sued , under the t i tl e o f“The Spi r i tual

Psalmodi st’s Companion

,

”1 7 7 2 .

CHAPTER V I I I

THE BEST HYM N S“

Ru l e s by which Hym ns m ay be Tested Th e Great FourThirty- two Great Hym n s i n E ngl i sh as Approve d by th eChurches— Ind i sp en sab l e Qua l i t i e s o f a Tru e Hym n

Summ e d Up .

BE FORE pas s ing to the examination of the hymnsthemselves we Should endeavor to fix upon a

s tandard by wh i ch they may be j udged and the i r com

p a ra tiv e rank determined .

I t i s general ly conceded that thi s s tandard cannot

be s u ch a s i s appl i ed to other clas ses of l i teratu re .

Hymnody i s unique . I t i s employed for one spec ifi c

pu rpose and mu st be j udged by ru les o f its own . So

wh i l e i t i s admitted that the canons o f l i terary c ri ti c i smmay have due weigh t

,and whi le room i s given for

the expres s i on o f competent au thori ty , the final a rbi te r

must be Ch r i s ti an u sage . What the Church gene ral ly

adopt s must be a good hymn,and the hymns that are

most general ly adopted must be the bes t hymns .

I t then becomes ou r duty to determine the qual i t i e spos ses sed by such hymns

,and w e shal l conclude that

accord ing to the degree in wh i ch a hymn exh ib i ts thes e

qual i ti es i t i s ent i t l ed to take rank .

But even so ,i t i s n ecess ary to exerci s e a j udi ci ou s

! This chap t e r i s u sed b y p e rm iss ion from Th e His to ry a n d th e Use ofHymns a n d Hymn Tunes , b y Dav i d R . Breed . D .D . Cop yrig ht b yF leming H . Rev ell Comp any .

5 8

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60 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

I .

“A ng lica n H ymnology . The subti tl e o f th i s book

i s “Being an account o f the 32 5 s tandard hymns o f

the highest meri t,according to the ve rdi ct o f the whole

Angl ican Chu rch .

”

A S to the method pu rsued,the author says he col

lected and col lated wi th much labor fi fty—two rep re

s en ta tiv e hymnal s u sed in the Church o f E ngland at

home and abroad . These inc luded hymnals o f the

Scott i s h Epi scopal,Ameri can

,and Colonial chu rche s

in communion with the Angl i can .

“The fi fty—two

were regarded as a commi ttee , each member o f wh i ch

could,as i t were

,give on e vote for each approved

hymn .

“Two thousand o f ou r best known hymns

have thu s been tested , and those that have obtained

most marks have been selected and c la ss ified on the

fol lowing princip le” : Hymns rece iv ing th i rty votes

and upward , firs t ra nk ; hymns re ce iv ing twenty votes

and upward , s econd rank ; hymns rece iving fi fteen

vote s and upward,th i rd rank ; hymns rece iv ing les s

than fi fteen vote s regarded as not gene ral ly app roved .

In th i s examinat ion not a S ingle hymn rece ived the

votes o f al l the hymnal s ! So that not on e i s greatby unan imou s consent . The author als o a dmi ts that

some hymns may not have obtained votes enough to

be enrol l ed in a high rank because o f thei r too recent

date . I t t akes from twenty to fi fty years fo r some

hymns to w in the i r way to favor .

Accord ing to the col lati on o f th i s autho r the fi rs trank hymns a re on e hundred and five in number .

Four of the se stand at the head of the l i st , greatly

di st ingu is hed in that they obtain fi fty-on e votes

w ith i n on e vote o f unanimi ty . They are there fore

frequently re fe rred to a s Th e Grea t F our . They a re

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 6 1

the fol lowing , though the actual order need not bep rese rved

,as al l obtained the same number o f votes :

1 . A ll pra i s e to Thee , m y God . th i s n ight — B i shop Ken .

2 . Hark ! th e heral d ange l s S ing — C. \Ves l ey .

3 . Lo ! He com e s w i th cl oud s de scend i ng .

—Cenn ick4 Rock o f Age s, c l eft for m e .

—Top lady .

S i x other hymns rece ived forty-n ine votes and

here added :

5 . Abi de wi th m e : fast fal l s th e even t i de .— Lyte .6. Awake , m y sou l , and wi th th e sun — B i shop K en .

7 . Jeru sal em th e gol den .

— Bernard-N ea l e .8. Jesu s , Lover o f m y sou l .— C. W

'

e s l ey .

9 . S un o f m y sou l , Thou Sav i our dear .— Kebl e .10 . Wh en I survey th e wondrou s cross .

2 . Th e N a tiona l Hym n-Boo le. Th i s i s an attempt

s im i l ar to that o f the “Angl ican Hymnology,

”

bu t ap

p l i ed to Ameri ca . The author se lect s the hymnarie s

o f the fol lowing denom inat ion s : Bapt i sts , Congrega

t iona lis ts , Epi scopal i an s , Lutherans , M ethod i s ts , Pres

by terian s , and Re formed , and some others— th i rty in

al l . F rom these a hymn-book i s comp i l ed . The au

thor,however

,includes no hymn

,whateve r i ts mer i t s

,

not found in the hymnal o f the Protestant Ep i scopal

Church .

Th i s i s somewhat more cathol i c in method than

that pursued in the “Angli can Hymnology,but i ts

u se fu lness fo r ou r purposes i s de stroyed by i t s p ecu

l i ar l imitat ion . The standard i s vi r tual ly the hymnal

o f the Ep i scopal Church,with other hymnal s corrobo

rating

3 . Th e Bes t Ch u rch H ym ns . The author o f th i s

book has col lated one hundred and seven hymn-books,

among which are included thos e of the two authors

62 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

above . He then take s e ighty per cent . as the propor

t i on of books i n wh i ch a hymn mus t be found to a t

tain the fi rs t rank . Th i s gives h im thi r ty—tw o hymnswh i ch may be cal l ed “the bes t Church hymns Thi s

makes an invaluab le l i tt le book— incomparably the best

o f i t s kind extant . The work has been done in the

Spi r i t o f broades t chari ty, with no ev idence of sec

ta rian i sm of any kind , and the resu lts embody th e

j udgment of our common Prote stant i sm . The author ,however

,exp res s es the same caution as that of the

“Angl i can Hymnology,

” that the re may be certain

fir st-rank hymns not inc luded in the l i st s imp ly be

cause they have not a s yet had time to find thei r way

into the col lect i ons . Thes e thi rty-tw o,however , a re

not l ike ly to be super seded . The l i s t i s as fol lows,the

number o f votes for each fol lowing . For purposes o f

c ompar i son the rank o f each hymn,a l so according to

the “Angl ican Hymnology,

” i s p la ced a fter the au

thor ’s name

Rock o f Age s, c l e ft for m e Top lady . A .H . 4.

When I survey th e wondrou s cros s Wat ts . A .H . 10 .

Jesu s , Lover of m y s ou l W e s l ey . A .H . 8.

A l l pra i s e to Thee , m y God , th i s n i ght Ken . A .H . 1 .

Je su s I m y cros s have taken Lyte . A .H . 2 87 .

Sun o f my sou l, Thou Sav iour dear Keb le. A .H . 9 .

Awake , my sou l , and w i th th e sun K en . A .H . 6.

Hark ! th e hera l d ange l s s i ng W e s l ey . A .H . 2 .

Abi de w i th m e : fast fa l l s th e even t i d e Lyte . A .H . 5 .

J eru sal em , m y happy hom e M ontgom ery . A .H . 16.

How swe et th e n am e o f Je su s soundsN ewton . A .H . 1 5 .

N earer, m y God to The e Adam s . A .H . 13 .

From Gre en land S icy m ounta i n s Heber. A .H . 17 .

Ou r God , our he lp i n ages past Watts . A .H . 19 .

J eru sal em th e go l d en B ernard-N ea l e . A .H . 7 .

L o ! He com e s w i th c l ouds de scend i ngCenn ick-W e s l ey . A .H . 3 .

Copyr i ght l i st. U sed by p erm i s s ion.

REL IG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 63

17 . Jesu s shal l re ign where’er th e sun Watts . A .H . 40 .

18. G l or i ou s thi ngs of the e are Spoken N ewton . A .H . 3 1 .

19 . Hark th e glad sound ! th e Savi our com e sDoddr i dge . A .H . 14.

2 0 . Com e , l e t u s j o i n our cheerfu l songs Wat ts . A .H . 30 .

2 1 . A l l ha i l th e power o f J e su s ’ nam e P erronet . A .H . 46 .

2 2 . Ha i l to th e Lord' s Ano i nted M on tgom ery . A .H . 2 6.

2 O worship th e King Grant . A .H . 3 2 .

2 4. Chr i s t th e Lord i s r i s en to-day \'Ves l ey . A .H . 37 .

2 5 . Gu i de m e , O Thou great J ehovah W i l l iam s . A .H . 58.

2 6. Ju st as I am , wi thou t on e p l ea E l l i ott . A .H . 64.

2 7 . God m ove s i n a m yster iou s way Cowp er. A .H . 49.

2 8. Je su s , th e very thought o f TheeBernard -Ca sw a ll. A .H . 59 .

29 . Chi l dren o f th e heaven ly K ing Cen n ick . A .H . 5 5 .

30 . There i s a lan d o f pure de l ight Watts . A .H . 70 .

3 1 . Thou whos e alm i ghty word Marr i ot t . A .H . 2 9 .

32 . B r i e f l i fe i s here ou r port ion Bernard-N ea l e . A .H .2 2 .

Wh i l e the number s do not exact ly coinc ide they

Show a remarkable degree o f cor respondence . The

only surpri s ing d i sagreement i s w i th regard to Lyte’

s

hymn,

“Jesu s,I my cros s have taken

,

” wh i ch i s 5 i n

one l i st,and on ly 2 87 in the othe r , being there as

s igned to the “ th i rd rank . But i t wi l l be observed

that in the two l i st s there are seven hymns common

to the fi rst ten,fi fteen common to the fi rs t twenty

,and

twenty common to the ent i re l i st o f th i r ty—two .

Here,then

,we have someth ing upon wh i ch we can

depend and by wh i ch we may sa fely be guid ed . We

Shal l there fore recu r to the se l i st s as we pu rsue ou r

studie s o f the separate hymn s in the succeedingchapter s .

We now inqu i re,What a re the qual i t i es posse ss ed

by these hymns wh i ch have secu red thei r general adopt ion ? The answers to th i s quest i on by the comp i le r s

o f both l i st s ! are in substant i al agreement . Mr .

! “Angl ican H ym n o log (London ) i s by th e Rev . Jam e sK i ng , M .A . ; Th e Be st Chu rch Hym n s” ( Phi lade lphia) , byth e Rev . Lou i s F. Ben son, D .D .

64 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

K ing states them as fol lows : ( 1 ) te rse in thought

and express ion ; ( 2 ) scr iptu ral in phraseology ; (3 )cathol i c i n doctr ine ; (4 ) clothed in poeti c language .

Dr . Benson finds th e fol lowing,p re faced with a re

mark concerning the cathol i c i ty o f the Chu rch’s j udg

ment,i n that the w r i te rs rep resent so many d i fferent

rel igiou s bod i e s : ( 1 ) lyri cal qual i ty ; ( 2 ) l i terary ex

cellence ; ( 3 ) l i tu rgica l prop r i ety ; (4 ) reve rence ; ( 5 )Sp i r i tual real i ty .

The qual i t i es of the best hymns must be so s tated

as to be both inclus ive and exc lu s ive , and the re fore i tdoes not fu lfi l l al l ou r condi t ions to note s imply cer

tain featu re s o f those hymns wh i ch have been gener

a l ly adopted by the .Church .

The s tandard must be exp ressed in terms whi ch

sha l l a s certain ly rule out obj ect i onab le ve rse s as i t

ru les in acceptab le ones . The fol low ing may then be

given as cons ti tuting the indi spensable qual i t i e s o f a

t rue hymn :

1 . I t m us t be s cr ip tura l,both in s en tim en t and ex

pres s ion . Beyond al l qu estion th i s i s chi e f . The

hymn must be absolutely t rue to Scr iptu re . N or i s i t

enough that i t s thought i s not a violat i on o f Scr ip

tu re truth ; the ve ry form in wh ich that thought i s cast

must be j u st as t rue to the Scr ip tu re as the thought it

se l f . Othe rwi se we cannot be sa feguarded in the o f

fering of divin e prai s e .

The abst ract truth of Scr iptu re i s one thing ; the

sp i r i t o f Scriptu re— i ts tone and temper— i s qu i te an

othe r . But both must be p resent in a correct t ran

script i on o f scriptu ral thought . The naked t ruth may

be p rese rved whi l e i t s Spi r i t i s violated ; and on the

other hand , i t s sp i r i t may be p res ented whi le the stat e

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 65

ment of the t ruth i s inaccurate . We cannot certainlysave ou rselves from both er rors except by ins i sting on

fidel i ty in both sent iment and expres s ion .

“Sp i r itual real i ty” i s imperat ive ; but i t i s not

enough . Some poems that aspi r e to be hymns posses s

i t,that are nevertheles s t rivia l , mi santhrop ic , un ch a ri

table,or even vulgar . I t i s a very solemn respons ibi l i ty

wh i ch he accepts who undertakes to vo i ce the p rai se

o f the Almighty,and i t i s an almost equal ly solemn

on e wh i ch he assumes w ho invi tes othe rs to engage

in i t . No on e shou ld eve r venture to do ei the r w ho

does not keep c lose to the \Vord o f God .

I t i s not nece ssary , perhap s , to paraphrase con secu

t ive verses o f Scripture,a s has been done in the ver

s ions o f the Psalms , but noth ing shou ld be cal led ahymn

,and noth ing Shou l d ever be sung in ou r as

sem blies , wh ich i s not vir tual ly a paraph rase— and that

a very fai th fu l on e— o f Scriptu re passages,whethe r

they are immediate ly connected in the Holy Word or

not .I f

,now

,w e apply thi s rule to the hymns adopted in

the usage o f the Church , we shal l find that i t obtains .

Take the fi rs t great hymn as an example . Rock o f

Ages i s a sc riptu ral thought i n scr iptu ral fo rm . Howo ften i s Jehovah cal led a rock ! But in I sai ah xxv i . 4 ,

where the K ing James vers ion reads,

“ in the Lord

Jehovah i s eve rlast ing strength,the marg in has [in

the Lord Jehovah i s ! the rock o f ages .

” The Revi sed

Version h a s ,“ in Jehovah i s an everl ast ing rock

,

with “a rock o f ages” in the marg in . Toplady,

then , exhib i ted scholarship , poet ry , and pro found

devotion in s ei z ing the expres s i on as the theme o f h i s

song, and al l Chri stendom has responded . But as we

66 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

p roceed wi th the l ines of hi s hymn w e can ver i fy

them in l ike manner,and the student i s u rged to app ly

the ru le to other hymns .

Ou r psalm—s inging brethren a re r ight in general

p rincip les,though w e may deny thei r l imited appl i ca

tion ; and the se p rinc ip l e s shou ld contain the fir s t great,

inviolable element whereby the tru e hymn s hal l b e

dete rmined .

2 . Th e true hymn m us t be dev otiona l. In th i s i s

i ncluded p ro found reve rence and “ l i turgi cal p ropri

ety .

” Some other th ings are a l so inc luded in the

term . True devotion contemplates God in the variou srelati on s which he su stains towa rd hi s earth ly c rea

tu res . The true hymn must there fore have a motion

Godward . I t i s not exactly nece ssary that God s hou ld

be di rectly addressed— indeed,the expres s form o f

a ddres s may be otherwi s e—but God must be uppe rmost i n the thought even i f not parti cu lar ly con sp icu

ous in the express i on . The true hymn must tend to

ward God ; bring h im to mind ; exal t hi s name and

s eek h i s glory . Those which a re S imply in tro sp ect ive

,didacti c

,dogmatic

,sent imental

,egoti st i cal

,and

the l ike , are not hymns . The Phari see’s u tterances in

the temp l e , when he went up th i the r w i th the publ i

can,did not conta in a s ingle e l ement of praye r . Some

so-cal l ed hymns a re l ike it— they do not contain a

s ingle e lement o f p rai se .

Devotion i s als o worship fu l . A hymn must contain

nothing inconsi stent wi th th i s,noth ing that may not

p roperly be utte red in app roach ing the infin i te,ador

able God . Those wh i ch are coarse , i rreverent , t rifl ing,or calcu lated to form an unworthy image in the mind

shou ld be s evere ly exc luded from our worship .

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68 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

language certain ly adds to the meri t o f a hymn , but

i t i s not indi spensab l e . Some o f the great hymns a renot parti cu larly great a s poetry . Even Bi shop Ken ’s

Morn ing Hymn , ranking S ixth i n“Angl i can Hym

nology” and seventh i n “The Best Church Hymns

,

” i s

not very far removed above good p rose . But i t i snot thereby degraded in rank . At al l events

,i f w e

take these three qual i t i e s,scr iptu ral

,devotional

,lyr i

cal,a s exhibi ted in th e hymns general ly adopted by

the Church at large,we have a tes t suffi ci ently cr i t i cal

and comp rehens ive to app ly to a ll poeti c asp i rants for

hymnic honors .

CHAPTER IX

GREAT HYM N -W R ITERS

Top lady—W i l l iam s—Grant— P er ron e t—Th e Two BernardsKen—Kebl e— N ewton —~Montgom ery Marr i o tt Char l e sand John We s l ey— John Cenn ick.

HAVING thus determined the qual i t i e s inherent ina great hymn , let us p roceed to a consi derat ion o f

th e men— and women— whose sacred composi ti on s are

rated as the foremost in u se in Ameri ca , giving fi rs t

p l ace to the author s appearing in the l i st p repared for

Angli can Hymnology .

A UGUSTU S MONTAGUE TOPLADY,

1 740-78 .

— Au

thor o f“Rock o f Ages ,

” the most wi dely known and

the bes t-loved hymn in the Engl is h language . I t s

popu lar i ty,however

,i s due

,not to i ts poeti c mer i t s

,

but to i t s sp i ri tua l qual i t i es , as a lo fty , viv id expres s ion

o f t rus t in Chr i st . I t w a s orig inal ly publ i shed wi th

the t i t l e “A Living and Dy ing Prayer for the Holi estBel i ever in the World” ; and as a

“ l iving and dying

p rayer” i t has been o ften u sed . From a l i terary point

of V i ew i t i s open to cri t i ci sm,be ing ful l of m ixed

metaphors ; but when men are consc i ou s o f deep need ,“weak and weary

,helple s s and defiled ,

” when heart

condemns and cons c i ence accu se s , the se very meta

ph ors , with thei r combined suggest i on o f shelte r and

cleansing,are strangely rest ful .

69

70 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

The lea ding image of the hymn was probably takenf rom the margina l render ing of I saiah xxvi . 4 ,

re

fe rred to above ; but i t i s poss ib le that the autho r

may have had a l so i n mind such verse s as “I wi l l put

thee in a cl e ft o f the rock” (E xodus xxxi i i . E n

te r into the rock” ( I sai ah i i . and “They drank o f

that sp i ri tua l rock that fol lowed them : and that rock

w a s Ch r i s t” ( 1 Corinth i an s x . The hymn has

been subj ected to innumerab le emendat ion s , but in

most modern hymnals i t i s given as Top lady w rote

i t,with the except ion o f the second l ine o f the las t

vers e,where the original r uns

,

“When my eye-st rings

b reak in death,

” re fe rr ing to an old be l i e f that when

a person died,th e eye-str ings snapped .

Rock o f Ages” fir s t appeared in the Gospe l Maga

z in e” o f 1 776 ( o f which Toplady was then edi tor ) , at

the end of a curiou s arti cl e which , fol lowing one on

the National Debt, w a s enti t l ed Sp i r i tua l Improve

ment o f the foregoing . Th i s a rt i c le conta ined an

elaborate ca l cu la t i on as to the number o f a man ’s S ins,

the obj ect be ing to emphas i ze the absolute need o f an

a tonement . The hymn i s sai d to have been wri tten to

controvert the Wesleyan doct rine of pe r fection .

Would that al l weapons of controve rsy had a s happy

an i s sue ! For“Rock o f Ages” i s u sed as f ree ly to

day by the fol lowe rs of Wesley as by those of Top

lady himsel f, so i l lu st rat ing how the mood of worsh ip

makes for uni ty .

Toplady was born at Farnham,educated at Wes t

minste r School and Trini ty Col lege,Dubl in

,an d

brought to Chr i s t i an deci s i on .under the p reaching o f

an i l l i t e rat e evangel i s t in an I r i s h barn . Having taken

holy orders,he w a s appointed vi car o f Blagdon

,but

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 7 1

resigned the l iving when he found that the pre senta

t ion to i t h ad been purchased for him by fr i ends . He

never sough t a pari sh,but wai t ed for a cal l , holding

( as he wrote to h i s mothe r ) with the good man who

sa i d ,“A bel i ever neve r yet carved for h imsel f but he

cut hi s own fingers .” Most o f h i s min i s teri a l career

wa s spent at Broadhembury , Devon sh i re , but i n late rl i fe he found the cl imate di d not su i t him

,and went to

res id e in London,where

,fo r upward o f two years , he

preached in the Chape l o f the F rench Calvin i sts , i n

Lei ce ste r F i e ld s . Hi s D i a ry,which reveal s an act ive

and eager sp i r i tual l i fe,and h i s Lette rs

,wh ich in

elud e corresponden ce with Dr . Pri est ley and the

Countes s o f Huntingdon,are exceedingly inte rest ing

,

and dese rve to be bett er known .

He w a s a v igorous controvers i a l i st,ma intain ing the

Calvini s t i c pos i tion as against the Armin i an vi ew s o f

Wesley and h i s fol lower s wi th great vehemence . Par

ti san s in those days smote and did not spare . One

reads almost wi th amazement the angry epi thets Top

lady and Wesley al lowed themse lves to u s e o f each

othe r ; but the dust l i e s th i ck upon the i r tomes o f controv ersy , and both are remembered to—day not a s fie rce

polemics,but as fa i th fu l evangel i st s and s inge rs o f the

same sweet song,for John Wesl ey might qu i te wel l

h aVe written “Rock o f Ages ,” and Toplady “Thou

hidden love o f God .

The account o f Toplady’s la st i l lnes s i s ve ry moving .

H is death-bed w a s j ubi lant . “ I enj oy heaven al ready

in my soul ,” he sai d ;

“my prayer s are al l conve rtedinto prai se s .

Though best known as author o f Rock of Ages ,he w rote seve ral other hymns that a re sti l l in common

72 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

use ; among these are , Obj ect of my first desi re andYour harps

,ye trembl ing saints .

”

WILLIAM WILL IAM S,

1 7 1 7-

9 1 .

— Though o rdained

a deacon o f the Church o f E ngland , he never received

p r i es t’s orde rs,being f rowned upon by the eccle s ia st i

cal authori t i e s of h is day for associ at ing wi th Wh i te

field and other rev ival i sts . He labored ch i efly among

the Calvin i sti c Methodi s t s of Wales,where he w as

held in high e steem . At the request o f the Counte s s

of Huntingdon he p repared a smal l hymn-book for

the use o f W h itefield ’

s Orphan Homes in Ameri ca , in

which hi s beauti fu l mi s s i onary hymn “O ’e r those

gloomy hi l ls o f darkness ,” appeared . Guide me

,O

Thou great Jehovah !” i s an Engl i sh ve rs ion o f a hymnw r i t ten by Wi l l i ams in Welsh .

S IR ROBERT GRANT, 1 785- 1838 .

—In 182 6 MP . for

Inverness ; appointed l i eutenant-gove rnor o f Bombay

in 1834, a pos t whi ch he held unti l h i s death . S t r iking

te st imony was borne to the excel lence of h i s work as

g overnor and to hi s high Ch r i s ti an character at a

publ i c meeting o f the inhab itants o f Bombay, held to

arrange for a t r ibute to h i s memory,whi ch h a s taken

the form o f a medi cal col lege bear ing h i s name . Hi s

best-known hymns are : “O worsh ip the King” ;“S a

v iour,when in dust to Thee” ; and

“When gather ing

clouds around I vi ew .

”

E DW ARD P E RRON ET,1 7 2 6

-

92—Author of All hai l

the power o f Jesu s ’ name . Thi s hymn has been

mu ch altered . In the original vers i on the re are e ight

stanzas ;“h igh-born s eraphs

,

” the “morning stars o f

l ight ,” and the “hei rs o f David ’s l ine

,

” as wel l a s “S in

ners,martyrs ,

” and the “ seed o f I s rael ’s chosen

race , being cal led upon to c rown Jesu s“Lord o f a ll.

”

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 7 3

P erronet took a prominent part in the great evangel i

cal revival of the eighteenth century . He w a s brough t

up in the National Chu rch,but w a s keenly al ive to her

de fects,and wrote a sati re the reon , ent i t led

“The

M i te r ,”

so pungent that John Wesley demanded it s

supp res sion . He wo rked with Wesley for a t ime , but

be ing too sel f-wi l l ed to work harmoniously,he le ft the

Methodi sts to become a mini ste r o f the Countess o f

Hun t ing don’

s connect ion , and final ly pastor o f a smal l

Congregat ional church i n Canterbury .

ST . BERNARD,1 09 1

- 1 1 53 .

— A native o f Burgundy

and o f noble b i rth . Like hi s fathe r , who had fough t

in the firs t crusade,he wi shed to be a soldi er

,but

became a monk,as had been h i s p ious mothe r ’s w i sh

and prayer . Four o f h i s b rothers fol lowed him into

the cloi ste r,and he drew so many a fter h im by h i s a l

most magical fascinat ion that “mothers h id thei r sons,

wive s thei r husbands,companions the i r fri ends

,

” l es t

they Should fal l under h i s i nfluence . H is sel f-denial

w a s most rigorous ; he counted S l eep a s a los s,took

food only to keep h imsel f from fainting,and del ighted

in the mos t meni al office s .

But though nei ther loving nor seeking greatness,i t

w a s th ru st on him . The head of the Benedi ct ine

monastery at Ci teaux— Stephen Harding,an E ngli sh

man— di scerning hi s genius,sent h im forth w i th a

band of devotees to found a new monastery at Clai r

vaux, o f wh i ch he became the abbot . When ,

a fte r thedeath of Honoriu s I I , Chris tendom was divided be

tween two rival claimants for the papacy,S t . Ber

nard ’s advocacy final ly w on the tr ip l e c rown for Inno

cent I I . Hi s influence w a s further mani fested and

confirmed by hi s controversy wi th the famous Abelard,

74 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

and aga in by hi s succes s fu l o rganiz ing of the Second

crusade, t hough the terr ib le d i sas te r that overtook

thi s ente rp r i s e exposed h im i n the end to Sharp re

p roach . But none ever quest i oned the pu r i ty o f hi s

motive s and the absolute consi stency o f h i s l i fe .

Luther cal led him “the bes t monk that ever l ived .

“Jesus , the ve ry thought o f Thee ” ;“Jesu s , Thou

joy of loving hearts” ;“O Jesu

,K ing mos t wonde r fu l ,

”

a re t rans lat ion s from a long poem on the “Name of

Jesu s” by the great s tate sman—abbot,whom w e l ike to

p i cture turn ing from eccles ia s ti ca l and poli t i ca l tu rmoi lto pou r out hi s soul in fervent adora t ion of the Lord .

Anothe r BERNARD ( twel fth centu ry ) , somet imes

s tyled o f Morla ix ( the p lace o f hi s b i rth ) , sometimeso f Cluny ( the name of hi s monas tery ) , must be men

t ioned next . Nea l e, in hi s tr ibute to Keble , thu s dis

t ingu ish es the two

B ernard , M in stre l o f th e Cro s s ,A n d B ernard, wh o wi th hom e s ick V iew,Coun t i ng a l l other j oys but l o s s,J eru sal em th e go l d en drew .

Nothing i s known of thi s wri ter’s hi story save that

he w a s a monk o f the famous abbey of Cluny, nearMacon , the wealthies t and most influentia l monastery

in France .

“Bri e f l i fe is here our portion” ;“

Jerusal em the golden” ; The wor ld i s very evi l , a re f roma poem enti tl ed D e con temptu Mundi

,rendered into

Engl i sh a s“A Rhythm on the Celest i al Country” by

Neale,w h o expres se s hi s thank fulnes s tha t the Clu

n iac’

s vers es have been permitted to sola ce the death

beds o f so many o f God ’s se rvant s,and not seldom

to have supp l i ed them with the las t earthly language

of pra i s e .

” Few would imagine that those vis i ons o f

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

76 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

regard for K en’s worth by appointing him chap l ain to

the Princess Mary,wi fe of Will i am of O range ; and

when the s ee of Bath and Well s fel l vacant , he i s re

ported to have sai d : “Where i s the l i tt l e man who

wouldn ’t give poor Nel ly a lodging ? G ive i t to him .

”

Hi story has many records o f sp i r i tua l teachers com

pel l ing the re spect o f t i tl ed wor ld l ings .

Another in stance i l lu strat ive of the p reacher’s fear

les s honesty,and o f the king’s regard for h im ,

i s the

s aying att r ibuted to Charles,that he would g o and

hear l i tt le K en tel l h im o f hi s faults .”

Ken,however

,did not long retain hi s s ee . He of

fended James I I by re fus ing to read the Dec l arati on

of Indulgence,and Wil l i am I I I by re fu sing to take

the oath of a l l egiance, a s he had a l rea dy sworn a l

leg iance to James . For re fu sing to read the Decl ara

t i on he wa s sent to the Tower , but released a fte r

tr i al . For re fus ing to take the oath he w a s deprived

o f h i s bis hopr i c . On the death o f the b i shop appointed

in hi s room,Queen Anne des i red to restore him to the

see, but he pre ferred to rema in i n pr iva te l i fe .

D ead to a l l e l s e, al ive to God al on e ,Ken, th e confe s sor m eek , aban don s power,Palace, and m i t er, an d cathedra l thron e(A shrou d alon e re s erve d ) , and i t: th e bowerO f m e d i tat ion hal lows every hour.

For years Ken carr i ed hi s shroud abou t with him,

and put i t on with hi s own hands when tol d by h i sphys ician he had but a few hours to l ive .

I t i s interesting to note the development o f Ken

and Keble i n the matter of sacramental doctr ine,K en

becoming mo re Prote stant as he grew older,Kebl e

l e ss : for ins tance , i n the firs t edi t ion of Ken ’s “P rac

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 7 7

t i ce o f Divine Love —an expos i t ion o f the ChurchCate chi sm— these words occur : “Thou who ar t i n

heaven,art p resent on the altar . In later edi t ion s

th i s i s changed to,Thou who art in heaven art p res

ent throughout the whole sacramental act ion to every

devout receive r . In the ear l i er edi t i on s o f “The

Chr i sti an Year,

” the th i r teenth s tanza on “Gunpowder

Treason” ran thus

0 com e to our Commun ion Feast,There pre s ent i n th e heart,Not i n th e hands , th e E terna l Pr i e s tW i l l H i s tru e se l f im part.

On hi s death-bed Keb l e changed the not of theth i rd l ine into as .

Though K en l ived in days when i t was difficul t to

act a cons i stent part,he so bore himsel f that even

contemporar i e s wou ld p robably have subscribed toMacaulay’s t ribute that hi s character app roached as

near as human infirm i ty permits to the ideal p erfect ion o f Ch ri s ti an vi rtue . In on e o f Lord Beacons

field’

s l etters,he ment ions having met a F rench gent le

man w h o re fer red to K en as the Fe'

ne lon” o f England .

Dryden ’s t ribute i s warmer s ti l l,when he makes h im

( according to S i r John Hawkins ) the mode l o f hi sgood parson” i n the l ines

Lett ing down th e go l d en cha in from high,He drew h is aud i ence upwards to th e SkyAnd o ft wi th holy hym n s h e charm e d the i r ears(A m u s ic m ore m e l odiou s than th e Sphere s ) ;For Davi d l ef t h im

,when h e wen t to rest,

Hi s lyre : a n d after h im h e sang th e bes t.

He was bur i ed at sunri se in the chu rchyard of

Frome , under the eas t window of the chancel , and

78 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

the mourners sang at the grave hi s morning hymn .

Such i s the tradi ti on— but unver ified .

JOHN KEBLE,1 792

- 1866.

— The clos ing chapte r o f

Lockhart ’s “Li fe o f Scott” opens wi th these words“We read in Solomon ‘the heart knoweth i ts own bi t

terness,

’ and a wi se poet of ou r own t ime thus beaut i

ful ly expands the saying

W h y Shou l d we fa i n t , and fear to l ive alon e ,S ince a l l a l one , so Heaven h a s wi l l e d , we d i e .

N ot even th e t endere s t heart and next ou r own

Knows hal f th e reason s w h y we sm i l e and s igh.

In a footnote the name o f the wis e poet and the

volume that has immortal i zed h im a re given . To

many in Scotland , according to Prin c ipal Sh a irp ,thi s

w a s the earl i e st int imation of the exi s tence of John

Keble and “The Chr i st ian Year .”

K eble w a s the son o f a clergyman in G loucester

sh i re , and went st raight from home and hi s father’s

tu it i on to Ox fo rd . He took , when only e ighteen , what

was then counted a ra re di st inct ion,double first—clas s

honors . Among hi s ea rl i e st f r i ends were Arnold,a f

terw a rd o f Rugby,Lord Coler i dge

, an d later,when

he became a F el low o f O ri e l , Whately , Pusey , and

Newman , but so Shy and unassuming w a s he that

Newman wrote of him he was “mo re l ike an under

graduate than fi rs t man in Ox ford .

”

In 183 1 he w a s elected p ro fes sor o f poetry,hi s

l ectu res being del ive red in Lat in,as wa s the cus tom

ti l l Matthew Arnold rebe l led . He was off ered severa l

appointment s in the Church,but decl in ed them

,not

wi shing to leave hi s father,but on h i s fathe r ’s death

he accepted the V i carage o f Hursley,offe red him for

the second time by an old pup i l . Hurs ley,separated

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 79

by a few mi les of character i st i cal ly E ngl i sh downsfrom hi stori c Wincheste r

,i s an i deal v i l l age w i th an

ideal Vi carage and What i s now— thanks to K eble and“The Chr i st i an Year”— an ideal country church . HereKeble spent the rest o f h i s l i fe , no fu rthe r offer o f

p re fe rment,i t would seem , having ever been made

to h im— and i t w a s never sough t . He w a s happi ly

marri ed to a lady whom he u sed to Speak of play

ful ly as “h is consc i ence , hi s memory , and h i s common

sense,

” and “ in death they were not divided ,” h i s w i fe

fol lowing him to the grave a fte r S ix weeks .

Th i s shy ,modest

,homely

,unambit iou s man

,who

made humi l i ty the on e great study o f h i s l i fe,

” had a

strong st rain in h im and was an acknowledged potency

in a coter i e that has l e ft i ts mark on E ngl i sh h i story

and on a l l the chu rches . In much he w a s ch i ldl ike ,but then “a man is never so much a man a s when he

becomes a l i tt le chi ld .

”

All who knew Keble loved h im,and one such wrote

What I th ink remarkable was not how many people

loved him, or how much they loved h im ,

but that

eve rybody seemed to love with the very best kind o f

love o f wh i ch they were capabl e . I t was l ike loving

goodnes s i t se l f . Perhaps the explanat ion o f th i s

wonder fu l charm i s to be found in h i s ow n beaut i fu l

l i nes , wh i ch te l l o f how h i s l i fe was h i d wi th Ch r i s tin God :

I am weaker than a chi ld,

And Thou art m ore than m other dear ;W i thou t The e heaven were bu t a wi l d ;How ca n I l ive wi thou t Thee here ?

He wrote and ed i ted a good deal, bu t undoubtedly

th e work as soci ated wi th h is name i s “The Chr i st ian

80 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Year,publ i shed in 182 7 , a volume o f refined and

lo fty vers e des igned as a poeti cal companion to theEngli sh Prayer—Book . His own wi sh w a s to delay

publ i cation unt i l a f ter h i s death,and go on improv

ing i t ; but fr i ends who had seen some o f the poems

urged that they should be given to the world at once,

Arnold o f Rugby declaring ,“Noth ing equal to them

exi s ts in ou r language .

” He might have wi ths tood

hi s fri ends,but for hi s father ’s sake

,w ho wi shed to see

i t publ i shed be fore he di ed,

“Th e Ch ri sti an Year” w a s

given to the world .

“ I t wi l l be st i l l-born,I know very

wel l ; but i t i s on ly i n obedi ence to my father’s wi shes

that I publ i sh i t,and that i s some comfort

,

”so K eb le

sai d to h i s fri end and pup i l I saac Wi l l i ams,as he met

him one day at the door o f the p rinting—office ; but ins tead it took the world by sto rm . The p rofit s o f the

volume were Spent in restor ing the church at Hursley .

I t i s told of Wil l i am Wi lber force that on e day in hi s

old ag e he and hi s fou r gi fted sons , p l anning a hol iday

together , agreed that each of them should bring to the

meet ing-p l ace fixed upon some new book whi ch might

be read aloud to the rest ; when they met i t was found

that each o f the five had brought the s ame book“The Chr i s tian Year .” K eble himsel f neve r cared to

Speak o f i t,partly becau se o f hi s innate modesty ,

partly becau se he looked on poet ry as someth ing

sacred,something sacramental . As S t . Paul fel t about

p reach ing,he held that the t rue poet sang because

he cou ld not help i t , because necess i ty was lai d on

him .

K eble’

s best known hymns are : Sun o f my sou l“New every morning i s the love The voi ce that

b reathed o’e r Eden” ;“There i s a book

,who runs may

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 8 1

read” ;“Lord

,i n Thy name Thy servant s p lead

,

” and“Hai l

,gladden ing Light”

JOHN NEWTON,1 72 5

- 180 7 .

—Hi s ep i taph,wr i tten by

himsel f,contain s these l ine s

JOH N NEW TON , Cl erk , once an i nfi de l and l ibert i n e , a servan to f s lave s i n Afr ica, was by th e r ich m ercy o f ou r Lord andSavi ou r Je su s Chr i s t pre serve d , re store d , pardoned and appoin ted to preach th e fa i th h e h a d l ong laboure d to destroy .

Hi s caree r,there fore

,r es embles that o f Augustine

in i l lu st rat ing “grace abound ing to the ch i e f o f s in

ners . ” Two good women help ed h im : h i s mother by

her teach ing and p raye rs,though She d i ed when he

was only seven,and M ary Cat lett

,w h o became h i s

w i fe . At el even years o f age h i s fathe r took h im to

sea,where he served both i n the Merchant and Royal

Navy . F rom the latte r he deserted . \Vhen caught,

he was flogged and degraded from the rank o f mid

Sh ipman to that o f a common s ai lor . But even when

serving be fore the mast he read h i s Horace,and in a

S lave plantati on on the Gold Coast s tudi ed h i s Eucl id,

drawing diagrams on the sand .

Nor w a s he wholly ind i ffe rent to rel igion . He tel l s

u s h imsel f that he took up and lai d as ide a rel igiou s

p ro fess ion three or four t imes be fore he was s ixteen

But the reading o f Sh a ftesbu ry’

s“Character i sti cs

and the influence o f a companion made an utte r Skept i co f h im

,ti l l the study o f Thomas a K em p i s

’

s“ Imita

tion ,” en forced by a terrib le expe ri ence at sea

,when

death stared him in the face,brought h im back to the

fa i th wh i ch he kept thence fo rth,

“not di sobedi ent tothe heavenly vi sion .

After hi s convers i on he engaged for a t ime in the

slave trade,apparently without any feeling o f i t s in

82 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

congrui ty,publ i c op in ion having not ye t been educated

to a s ense of the in iqu i ty o f the t rade . S t range to

s ay , the chi e f instrument in that education—Will iamWilber force—owed hi s rel igi ous impres s ion s to New

ton .

After s ix years a s a s lave r he found work on Sho re,

came under the influen ce of Wesley and Whitefield,

and had h i s though t s tu rned to the mini stry . The

Archbi shop o f York looked a skance at a candidate for

holy orders with such a record behind h im , but in

the end he was ordained by the B i shop o f Lincoln a s

Curate o f O lney,Bucks .

Here he labored for e ighteen yea rs w i th unti r ing

zeal . The famous O lney hymns,from hi s own and

Cowper’s pens,were wri tten in great part for p rayer

meetings held in the “Great House,

” l ent for the

pu rpose by the Earl o f Dartmouth .

The last years o f h i s l i fe were spent a s rector o f

S t . Mary Woolnoth,London

,where he w a s bur i ed .

Hi s geniu s and hi s devot ion,togethe r w ith hi s

st range l i fe hi story,made him a di s tinct power in the

evange li ca l revival of the period,and he was greatly

renowned as a Prote stant di rector o f consc i ences . Be

s i de s Wi lber force,Thomas Scott

,the commentato r,

w as hi s son i n the fai th,and

'

Hannah More hi s fr i end .

But the most romanti c of hi s fr i endship s w a s tha t

with Cowper,to whom for many years he was as a

Jonathan “st rengthening hi s hand in God,

” though

perhap s i t had been bette r for the tender,s en si t ive

poet had hi s f ri end’s theology been sunni e r,with more

o f the divine Father i n i t and l ess o f. the Judge . New

ton ’s hymns reveal a l i fe not only earnest but ter r ib ly

anxious . Few of them are frankly j oyous . Hi s m use

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84 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Hi s poems brough t him cons iderabl e popu la r i ty ,e speci al ly hi s Wanderer of Switzer land ,

” wh i ch con

tain s on e of his most fini shed p roduct ions , TheGrave .

” The Edinburgh Revi ew,indeed

,c ri t i ci s ed i t

scath ingly,but “Blackwood” favorably

,wh i l e Byron

wrote o f i t admi ringly . But he di d not take himsel f

s erious ly as a poet . Asked once,

“Which o f your

poems wi l l l ive ?” he repl i ed,

“None,S i r

,nothing ex

cept pe rhaps a few o f my hymns .” He w a s a shrewd

cr i ti c o f othe rs as wel l a s o f h imsel f,and may be sai d

i n h is Ch r i st i an Psalmi st” to have lai d the bas i s o f

modern sc i entific hymnology,when he di scus se s wi th

no l i ttl e in s ight and sagac i ty , and with per fect im

part i al i ty,the characte r i st i cs o f the great Engl i sh

hymn-writ e rs w ho had p receded him . He i s general ly

kindly,but can be sarcast i c

,as in the fol lowing por

t rai t of a hymn-wri ter at work , for whi ch many might

have sa t :“They have begun apparently wi th the only idea i n

thei r mind a t the t ime ; anothe r w ith l i ttl e re lat ionship

to the forme r has been forced upon them by a refrac

tory rhyme ; a thi rd , because necessary to eke out a

ver se ; a fou rth , to begin on e ; and so on .

”

To do Montgome ry j us t i ce,thi s c leve r descr ip ti on

does not apply to himsel f . We find in hi s hymns on e

central c reative thought , shap ing for i t se l f melodiou s

utte rance , and with every detai l subo rdinate to its

harmoniou s pre senta ti on .

” Hi s p rose wri tings and

hi s longer poems a re o ften rhetor i cal,but hi s hymn

language i s S imp l e , almost seve re . Take in i l lu st ra

t ion the fami l i a r “Hai l to the Lord ’s Anointed” ;“For

eve r with the Lo rd” ;“Acco rding to Thy graciou s

wo rd” ;“Pou r ou t Thy Spi r i t f rom on high .

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 85

Always in sympathy with ph i l anthropi c and re

lig ious movements , Montgomery occup i ed h imsel fgreatly in hi s later years wi th thei r p romotion

,dying

in a ripe old age amid universa l token s o f esteem from

hi s fe l low-townsmen,among whom he had l ived and

worked and sung,and w ho knew that h i s l i fe and h i s

hymns had made on e musi c .

JOHN MARR IOTT,

I 780- I 82 5 .

—When hi s elder

b rother told the then Dean o f Ch ri s t Church,who

w a s somewhat o f a charact er , that he had a younger

brother coming up to matri cu late,w h o

,he hoped

,m igh t

be admitted to the col l ege , the old man’s an swer w a s

,

G lad o f i t . Like the b reed .

” The younger b rothe rdid not d i sappoint the dean , for he p roved a di s

t ing u ish ed s tudent , taking first-c l ass honors . He a f

terw a rd became tutor i n the fami ly o f the Duke o f

Buccleuch,where he m ade ' th e acquaintance o f S i r

Walter Scott, w h o dedi cated to the young E ngl i sh

clergyman the second canto o f“M armion The dedi

cation concludes w i th an al lus ion to h i s contr ibution s

to the “M inst rel sy o f the Scotti sh Borde r” :

Marr iott, th y harp , on I s i s strung,To many a Border them e h a s rung.

Hi s s ti rr ing m i s s i onary hymn,Thou whose a l

mighty word,was writ ten about 18 13 , but not pub

lish ed unti l a fter h i s death i n 182 5 .

CHARLES WESLEY,1 70 7

-88 ; JOHN WESLEY , 170 3

9 1 .

—W e take the b rother s togethe r,for

,though i t i s

wi th Char le s we have ch i efly to do,John al so wrote

and t ranslated hymns,and power fu l ly influenced the

cou rse of Engl i sh hymnology by h i s work as a hymnal

edito r,and by hi s s t renuous advocacy of the u se o f

hymns in publ i c worship .

86 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

O f al l those w h o have a dmoni shed” the Chu rch

wi t h hymns the fi rs t p l ace in respect o f quanti ty must

be given to Char les Wesley,as he i s credi ted wi th

having wri tten more than S i x thou sand,whi le the

brothe rs together p ubl i shed some fi fty books and book

l et s of hymns , i ncluding a very rema rkabl e ser i es on

the Lord ’s Supper . The marvel i s that having wri t

ten so much he wrote,on the whole , so wel l .

Some o f h i s composi t ions are no doubt poor enough,

for though h i s brothe r made bold to say in the p re face

to on e o f thei r hymn-books ,“ In these hymns there

i s no doggrel [s ic! no feebl e explet ives

nothing turgid or bombast no words wi thoutmean ing

,othe r c r i t ics w i l l ha rdly be so generou s .

But i f he has given u s chaff as wel l a s w heat , t in se l

as wel l a s gold , his wheat i s o f the finest,hi s gold o f

the purest . The apostl e ’s phrase,

“admoni sh ing wi th

hymns,

” i s Speci al ly appl i cabl e to hi s work . O ften he

sang , l ike K eble , a s the bi rds S ing, becaus e they must,or a s S t . Paul preached

,because neces s i ty w a s l aid

upon him ; but more o ften st i l l he wrote wi th didacti c

a im,making h i s hymns an appendi x to hi s se rmons

— a gather ing up into vers e o f the i r central t ruth .

What one has w ri tten of John Wes ley a s hymn—book

editor appl i e s equal ly to Charles : “He saw that hymns

might be u sed not only for rai s ing devot ion,but al so

for inst ruct ing and estab l i sh ing the fai th o f hi s d iscip leS

— in short,a kind of creed in ve rse ,

” “a body o f

expe rimental and p ract i cal d iv inity .

”

The brothe rs were born at Epworth,nea r Lincoln

,

where the i r father w a s rector . Thei r mothe r,a no

tab le di sc ip l inar ian who taught he r chi ldren to cry

so ftly,was of inexhaustib l e pati ence . Her husband

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88 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

la tion s f rom the p en o f John (who knew German ,Charles d i d not ) , as , for example , that beaut i fu l rendering of one o f the sa i nt ly mysti c Ters teeg en

’

s com

pos i t ions,

“Thou hidden love o f God ,”a hymn whose

tea ching recal l s S t . Augustine’s memorable words ,

“Thou hast made u S for Thysel f , and our heart i s

rest l e ss t i l l i t res t in Thee .

” But Cha r l es ’s debt toMoravi an hymns w a s rathe r that o f in sp i rat ion . Mos t

o f h i s hymns a re brigh t and sunny . His creed w a s

S imp l e and clear . He saw l i fe steadi ly and saw i t

whole . The re i s no trace in hi s poetry o f the weary,

wi st fu l,modern mood with i ts haunting sense o f in

soluble mystery . He rested in what w a s revealed . He

knew the height s of fai th but not the dep ths o f doubt .Charle s Wesley

,whi le loyal ly a i d ing and ful ly sym

p a th i z ing with hi s brothe r i n h is great work of evan

g eliz a tion ,did not app rove hi s act ion where i t in

volved depa rtu re from the recogni zed p r incip le s of

the Chu rch o f England , a s when he began to“o rda in”

hi s preachers . F or h imse l f he was re solved to di e a she had l ived in the communion o f the Church of

England,and to be bu r i e d in the graveya rd of h is

par i sh chu rch .

The “Chu rch Hymnary conta in s twenty-one hymnsfrom Cha rl es Wes ley ’s pen , but the greatnes s of our

d ebt i s apparent only when w e weigh as wel l as count .

How ma imed the hymn-book would be that l e ft out“Ha rk ! the he ra l d angel s S ing” “Come , Thou long-ex

pected Jesu s”

:“Love divine , a l l loves excel l ing

”

;“O

for a heart to pra i s e my God” ;“Chr is t

,whose glory

fi l l s the Ski es” ;“Gentl e Jesu s , meek an d mild” ;

“Ha i l

the day tha t s ee s Him r i s e” ;“O l ove d ivine , how sweet

Thou art !”and

“

Jesus , Lover of my soul , of which

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 89

Henry Ward Beeche r s aid,I would rather have wri t

ten that hymn than to have the fame of al l the kings

that ever sat upon the earth !

Wes ley deal s wi th various phase s o f the Chri st ian

l i fe,and with var i ou s aspects o f Ch ri sti an doctrine .

He sings o f the b i rth , o f the death , and o f the r i s ing

of Chr i st and o f the g i ft o f the Holy Ghos t . He cal l s

to p rai se,to s erv i ce , to confl i ct , to submi ss ion , to

trust,but no theme so fi red his muse as the love o f

Chri st . All he wrote migh t be termed one great fugue ,with Cowper ’s l ines as typ i cal melody

Redeem i ng love h a s be en my theme,A nd shal l b e t i l l I d i e .

Thes e l ines we re Cowper ’s ideal ; Wesley rea l ized i t .JOHN CE N N ICK

,17 18

-

55 .

—After a fr ivolous youth

he came under deep convi ct i on of s in whi l e walk

ing a long Cheaps ide,London

,which i s sued

,a fte r

many weary months of Spi r i tual anxi ety, in hi s con

vers ion . For a t ime he w a s assoc i ated wi th John Wes

ley in hi s work , then wi th Wh i t efield , but latterly

j oined the Moravian Breth ren,with whom he had

heredi tary t i es,being the grandson of a Bohemian

re fugee . He composed “Chi ld ren of the heavenlyK ing

,

” and was part author o f“L O ! He comes wi th

clouds descending .

” The wel l-known grace be fore

meat beginning,“Be present at our tabl e , Lord ,

” and

that for a fte r meat,We bless Thee , Lord ! for thi s

our food,” ar e a l so from hi s p en .

CHAPTER X

GREAT HYM N-W R ITERS ( CONT INUED )

Heber—Cowp er—Char l ot te E l i ott—Sarah Fu l l er (Flower )Adam s—Lyte—D oddr i dge , whos e Fam i l iar Hym n s arePoet ica l Synop s e s and App l icat i on s of Hi s S erm ons .

E GIN AL D HEBER,

1783—182 6 .

— H e w on thep r i z e for Engli sh verse at Ox ford by a poem

ent i t l ed “Pales tin e , one o f the few priz e poems that

have l ived .

“Ch r i stopher North cal led i t “a fl ight as

upon an angel ’s wing over the Holy Land .

” Heber

read i t in h i s Ox ford rooms to young Walte r Scott ,w h o pointed ou t that he had omitted a s t riking ci rcum

stance in hi s account o f the bu i ld ing of the temple ,namely

,that no tool s were u sed in i t s erecti on ; where

upon Hebe r at once added the l ines

No hamm er fe l l , no pon derou s axe s rung,L i k e som e tal l palm th e m yst i c fabr i c Sprung,Maj e s t ic s i l ence !

In 180 7 he became vi car o f Hodnet n ear Crewe,

where he was great ly beloved— “kneel ing o ften at

s ick-bed s at the r i sk of hi s l i f e ; where there w a s

st ri fe , the peacemaker where there w a s want,the free

giver .” Heber had fine l i terary gi fts ; he w rote for the

Quarter ly ,” and edi ted the works o f Jeremy Taylor .

In 18 1 5 he was appointed Bampton Lectu rer , and in

182 3 Bishop o f Calcutta ,with a l l India

,Ceylon

,and

90

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REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 9 1

Austral i a for dioces e . Hi s epi scopate was brie f , for

he di ed a fter th ree years ’ work,but i t w a s br i l l i ant ,

and lasted long enough to Show that he pos ses sed greatj udgment and admin i st rat ive capac i ty , as wel l a s en

thuS Ia sm and boundl es s energy .

i

H e w as gay , witty,

yet o f deep , unaffected p i ety ; one o f the most lov

able o f men,making friends eas i ly— los ing them only

by death . Heber d id much to en cou rage the free u se

of hymns in the Church o f England , and was one o f

the first to arrange them in a ser i e s to su i t the se rvi ces

o f the Chr i st ian Year, Henry Hart M i lman help ing

him . Be fore h is t ime the Method i st s and Indepen

dents had almos t a monopoly o f hymn-s inging .

Hi s hymns are grace fu l and melodiou s , though o ften

r i cher in imagery and more rhetori cal than a severe

taste approves . He may be sai d to have inaugurated

the more flowing measures o f the l ate r hymnody .

Many of hi s hymns were original ly set to Scott i sh

ai rs . “Holy,holy

,holy

,Lord God Alm igh ty i s the

state l i es t o f them a l l . I t i s based on the great rhythm

o f the Apocalyp se (Revelati on iv . and has the s im

p licity and the dign i ty o f the best an c i ent exampl es . I thas noth ing o f the subj ective e lement in i t

,but i s pu re

adorat ion . I t i s sai d that Tennyson cons idered thi s

hymn one o f the finest ever wri tten . I t s hold on the

affect i ons has been greatly s trengt hened by i ts havingbeen wedded to Dykes

’

s nobl e tune Ni coca”—so named

because o f the dogmati c note by wh i ch the hymn i s

marked,especi al ly in the last l in es o f verses 1 and 4 .

The fir s t great m is s iona ry hymn w a s“Jesu s shal l

re ign ,

” by Isaac Watts . From G reenland’s i cy

mounta ins” ranks second,and was w r i tten exactly a

hundred years later,and fi r st sung on Wh i t sunday ,

9 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

18 19 . I t w a s composed a t Wrexham at the request o fHeber ’s father-in - l aw

,Dr . Sh ip ley , Dean o f St .

Asaph’s . Heber w a s to give a lectu re on the Sunday

evening , but the dean w a s to preach at the mi ss ionary

se rvi ce i n the morning . On the Satu rday,being asked

by h is father—in—l aw to“wri te someth ing for them to

s ing in the morn ing,he went to anothe r part o f the

room and set to work . In a Short t ime , when the

dean inqui red,What have you written he read ove r

the fi rs t three ve rse s . “That wi l l do ,

” sai d the dean .

“N o,

no,the sen se i s not comp l ete

,

” repl i ed Heber ,and S i t t ing down again , he added the fourth vers e ,Wa ft

,wa ft

,ye w inds .”

The touching funera l hymn,He i s gone to the

grave,

”w a s composed a fte r the death of h i s fir s t ch i ld

— a los s wh i ch he keenly felt . After hi s own death,

one w ho loved h im took up the same strain , and wrote

these stanzas

Thou art gon e to th e grave ! and whi l e nat i on s b em oan the eW h o drank from th y l ip s th e glad t i d i ngs o f p eace ;

Y et grat e fu l , they st i l l in the i r heart Shal l e n throne the e ,A nd n e’er sha l l thy nam e from the ir m em ory ceas e .

Thou art gon e to th e grave , but th y work shal l not p er i sh,That work which th e sp ir i t o f wi sdom hath bl e st ;H i s m i ght shal l support i t, His m ercy shal l cher i sh,H is l ove m ake i t prosp er th o’ thou ar t at re s t.

In a ddi t ion to those a l ready mentioned , notab l e

hymns from Heber ’s p en a re :“B r ighte st and bes t o f

the sons of the morn ing” ; Lord o f mercy and o f

might” ; By cool S iloam’

s Sha dy ri l l “The Son o f

God goes forth to w a r .

”

W ILL IAM COW PER,

173 1-I 8oo .

—Dryden ’s l in e,

Great wi t s a re su re to madnes s near al l i ed , h a s

pas sed into a proverb,but Cowpe r was not an i l lu st ra

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94 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

He was educated a t Westmins ter School . One of hi s

companions w a s Wa rren Hastings , to whom he ad

d ressed some kindly l in es when great ora tors were

c rying fo r vengeance on him as the opp res so r o f

India . On leaving school he entered a sol i c i tor’s o f

fice, where he had as fe l low-clerk the future Lord

Thur low . Cowper,recogni z ing hi s powers

,said to

him one day ,“Thurlow

,I am nobody

,and Shal l a l

ways be nobody , and you wi l l be Lord Chancel lor .

Y ou sha l l p rovide for me when you are !” Thurlow

smi led and said,

“ I su rely wi l l ! ” The p rophecy w a s

fulfi l led,but n ot the promi se . When l i tt le over thi r ty

Cowper had the offe r of an appointment a s cl erk to

the House o f Lords , but i t involved an examinat ion ,the d read o f which brough t on hi s firs t atta ck o f in

sani ty .

Re ference has been made to hi s many fr i ends .Among these were the Unw in s , with whom he l ived

for more than thi rty years ; Lady Austen , to whose‘

sugges t ion we ow e The Task an d the inimi tab le“John G i lp i n” ; h is cousin , La dy Hesketh, to whose

s i ster Theodora he had at one t ime been engaged ; and

John Newton,from whom for twelve years he w a s

scarce ly eve r twelve hou rs apart . Thi s was the happ i

e st per i od o f the poet ’s l i fe . The O lney hymns , h owever , whi ch he wrote in coOp era tion with Newton ,a re evi den ce that hi s fr i end ’s s tern theology w a s dan

g erous for a man o f Cowper ’s temperament , and

tended to aggravate the gloom of hi s despondent

moods . Had Wesley been h i s Spi r i tual counselo r,his

hymns and l i fe migh t have been brighte r . As i t i s,

hi s hymns are most ly p l aint ive , and never give us

the i dea o f on e S inging out o f pure gladness , a s those

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 95

o f Watts and Wes ley o ften do E ven in what i s per

hap s h i s brigh tes t st rain,Sometimes a l ight su r

p ri ses , the re is a subconsciou snes s o f sadness , the

poet,as i t were , s inging h imsel f out o f doubt into

trust . We have the same minor note in “Far f rom

the world,O Lord

,I flee ,

” and in “O for a close r

wa lk wi th God !” with i t s s ad remini scence :

What p eace fu l hours I once en j oyed ,How swee t the ir m em ory st i l l !

But they have l e ft an aching voi dTh e wor l d can never fi l l,

whil e the lovel i es t o f al l h i s hymns,Hark

,my sou l !

i t i s the Lord,

” has the wai l :

Lord,i t i s m y chi e f com p la i nt

That m y l ove i s weak and fai n t.

But no doubt i t i s th i s very plaint ivenes s that gives h i s

hymns the i r Spel l,espec i al ly ove r minds more sensi t ive

to the Shadows than to the b r igh tnes s o f l i fe . The

hymn wh i ch contain s the ve rse wh i ch has cheered so

many a sad s oul,

Y e fearfu l sa i n ts , fre sh courage take,Th e cl ou ds ye so m uch dreadAre b ig w i th m ercy

,and shal l break

In b l e ss i ngs on your head,

i s,s trange to say ,

connected w ith one of hi s own darkest moods , having been wri tten in the twi l ight o f de

parting reason .

” One would fain record that therew a s l igh t at evening t ime : the end

,however

,came in

a mood o f “fixed despai r” that found trag i c express ion

in h i s las t poem,

“The Cas taway .

” But a r elat ive who

loved h im wel l says “that from the moment that h i s

Sp i r i t pas sed unti l the coffin was clos ed,the exp res s ion

into whi ch hi s countenance had settl ed was that o f

96 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

ca lmness and composu re,mingled a s i t were wi th holy

su rp ri se .

CHARLOTTE ELL IOTT,1 789—187 1 . A lover of na

tu re,a love r o f soul s

,a l over of Chri st .” The love

o f Chr i s t wh i ch bu rned so b right ly in M i s s E ll iott ’s

own Sp ir i t She was p riv i leged to kindle in many other s

by her beauti fu l hymns . More than a thousand let

te rs,i t i s sai d

,we re found in he r reposi to ri e s a fter

her death,giving thanks for l ight and bless ing re

ceiv ed f rom “Just a s I am .

” Among t ributes that

have been publ i shed i s one of grea t interest,wh i ch tel l s

how i t had com forted the poet Wordsworth’s daughte r

on he r dea th-bed . I t firs t app eared in “The Inval id ’s

Hymn—Book,

” a revi sed edi t i on o f a l i tt le volume

original ly p repared by a M i s s Kiernan . After i t s pub

lica tion,a young la dy was so much s t ruck by i t sh e

had i t p rinted wi thout the author ’s knowledge in the

form o f a l eaflet a nd widely ci rcu lated . A copy o f

thi s leaflet came into the hands o f M i s s El l i ott’s doctor

, wh o brought i t to he r one day ,and s ai d

,qui te un

consciou s that hi s p at i ent h ad w r i tten i t , I am su re

th i s w i l l p l ea s e you .

” The seventh ve rse w a s a late r

a ddi t ion,but a good one .

“ I t carr i e s the sou l a lo ft as

upon a sunbeam .

”

M i s s El l iott’s reputati on rests chi efly on thi s hymn,

but scarcely le s s beaut i fu l and help ful a re’

two others,

My God an d Father,whi le I s t ray” an d

“Ch ri s t ian,

seek not yet repose .

” Well might M i s s H averg a l say

o f her fri end ,“ I t i s an hono r from God to have had

i t given he r to w r i t e what she has w r i tten .

”

M i s s El l iott w a s the granddaughter of the Rev .

Henry Venn,author o f “The Comp lete Duty of Man ,

”

and am ong he r ea rly f ri ends were Mrs . Fry and E d

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98 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

l i fe the poet re ferred to her as a very remarkable

person,whi le hi s biographer declares tha t i f any

woman insp i red ‘Pau l ine’ i t w a s s he .

”

Mrs . Adams

w rote severa l hymns,ma rked by pure devotional fee l

ing and great l i tera ry gra ce . One o f the most beaut i

ful,

He sen de th sun , He sendeth shower,A l ike they’re n e ed fu l for th e flower,

w a s sung ove r her gra ve .

Mrs . Adams w a s a Uni tar ian , but few of the m il

l i ons w ho love and S ing her hymns would know it .

He r hymn “Neare r,my God

,to Thee” i s ba sed on

Ja cob ’s vi si on a t Bethel . I t s ets forth with happy em

phas i s the pures t an d lo fti e s t of a l l a sp i rat ions , but

wi se ly recogn i ze s tha t what somet imes seems to hin

de r may be made to help .

“Pa rt i n Peace” i s taken

f rom a drama ti c poem of great beauty and intense

feel ing,founded on the s tory o f a Chr i s t ian martyr ,

Vivia Perpetua,w ho w a s put to dea th in the beg inning

o f the th i rd century in Ca rthage . I t i s sung fi rst by

Perpetua and a l i tt l e company o f Chr i s t ian s meeting in

a cave sepu lcher , j u st a fte r they have hea rd that the

edi ct had been i s sued for the i r a r rest,an d then again

in p ri son a fte r pa rtaking o f the Lo rd ’s Suppe r on the

n ight be fore thei r ma rtyrdom .

HENRY FRAN C I S LYTE,

1 793- 1847 .

—Bo rn at E dnam , Scotland , but of Engl i sh parentage . Educa ted

in I re land , he entered the mini s t ry o f the Church o f

England in 18 1 5 .

An experi ence at the death-bed o f a brother cle rgy

man in 18 18 l ed h im to look a t l i fe and i ts i s su es

w i th a different eye than be fore,and to study the

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 99

Bible and preach in another manner than he had

p reviou sly done .

”

The greater part of hi s mini s ter i a l caree r was spent

as incumbent o f Lower Brixham,a fi sh ing vi l lage on

the D evonsh i re coas t , where Wi l l i am o f Orange landed

in 1688 . Here for twenty-fiv e year s , though far from

robust,he labored devoted ly as a min is te r o f Chr i s t

,

winning by hi s fai th fu lness the deep love and rever

ence o f h i s s imp l e flock ; here , too , he“made hymns

for hi s l i ttle ones , and hymns for hi s hardy fi shermen,

and hymns for sufferers l ike himsel f

In a poem enti t led “Declining Days Lyte w rote

M ight vers e o f m i n e i nsp ireOne v irtuou s a im ,

one high re solve im partL ight in one droop i ng sou l a hal l owed fire ,Or b i nd one broken heart,

D eath wou l d be sweeter th en ,M ore ca lm m y s lum ber

’neath th e s i l en t sodM i ght I thu s l ive to b l e s s my fe l l ow-m en ,

Or glor i fy m y God .

Th i s p iou s wish w a s real i z ed in hi s Abide wi th me .

In September,1847 , be fore going to winter i n Nice , he

determined to preach to h i s people once again,though

hi s fami ly t r i ed to d i s suade h im . He preached on the

Holy Communion “amid the b reath l es s attent ion o f

hi s hearer s ,” and then ass is ted at the ce leb rati on o f

the Sacrament . In the even ing o f the same day he

p laced in the hands o f a near and dear re lative the

l i ttl e hymn ‘Abide wi th me,

’ with an ai r o f h i s own

composing adapted to the words . ” I t has p roved a“ song that may not di e .

” I t has helped to b ind not

one , but many a “broken heart . ” He neve r re

tu rned from Ni ce , but di ed and was bur i ed there .When he fel t the end approaching

,he asked that a

1 0 0 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

clergyman might be sent for . The cl ergyman w h o

came w a s Henry M anning , then Archdeacon o f Ch ich

este r in the Church o f E ngland , a fte rw ard Cardinal

o f Rome . L yTe publ i shed several volumes o f verse,

one o f w h i ch dr ew from “Ch r i s topher North ” i nB lackw ood” the cri t i c i sm

,That i s the r igh t kind of

rel igi ous poetry , i t s s tyl e and Spi ri t reminding one

somet imes of lVord sw orth,s omet imes o f Crabbe .

He ough t to g ive u s another volume .

”

Most o f h i s hymns in common use are taken from

h i s metr i cal ver s ion of the Psal ter , ent i t l ed“ Spi ri t of

the Psalms .” They are not an exact r ende ring,but

rather a paraph rase .

“O that the Lord’

s salvation i s

founded on Psalm xiv .

“God of mercy,God o f

grace,

”on P sahn lxvi i . ; Pleasant ar e Thy cou rts

above,

on Psalm lxxxiv . ; Prai se , my sou l , the K ing

o f heaven on Psalm ci i i “ Sweet i s the so lemn voi ce

that cal l s,

on Psalm cxxn .

“Jesu s,I my cross have

taken”

i s anothe r o f L yTe'

s compos i t i on s,though i t

w a s i n u se for nearly ten years be fore i t w a s kn own

to be h i s .P H IL IP DODDRLDGE

,1 70 2

-

5 1 .

— Born i n London,but

ever to be grate fu l ly remembered by Scotchmen as the

origi nal author o f the 2 d Paraph ras e , though i t was a l

tered by others . Had the last s tanza,however

,been

l e ft as he w rote i t,the Scott i sh i deal of Chr i s t ian

l iberal i ty migh t have been highe r :

To Thee as to ou r Covenant GodW

’

e’l l ou r who l e s e lve s re s ign ,

And coun t that n ot ou r ten th al oneBut a l l w e have i s th in e .

Of the 39th Paraphrase Lord Selborn e wri te s : A

more sweet,vigorou s

,and pe r fect compos i t ion i s not

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10 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

same ci rcle s hi s “Fami ly Expos i tor w a s the favor i te

commenta ry . He died in Li sbon,whither he had

gone in sea rch of hea l th,and where hi s grave i s st i l l

to be s een .

His hymns were for the most part wr i tten a s a

poet i ca l synop s i s and app l i ca t ion o f hi s s ermons .

These fi rs t l ine s are famil ia r to a l l : “Ye servants of

the Lord” ;“O happy day , that fixed my choi ce” ;

“Founta in o f good , to own Thy love”

;“My God , and

i s Thy table Sp read ?

For an account of Am er i can hym n s and hymn-wr i t ers , th ereader i s re ferred to “

Th e Hi story o f Mus ic in Amer ica ,”

Chap ter IV, in th e pre s ent s er i e s .

CHAPTER XI

CH ILDREN ’

S HYM N S

Sp ecia l Prov i s i on for Chi l dren’s Worship made Late i n th eH istory o f th e Church—Clem en s A l exandr i nu s—E xam p l e sfrom Ken and Watts and W e s l ey—Increas e i n th e N um

ber o f Wr i t ers—Be tter Hym ns .

T was late in the h i s tory o f the Church be fore any

speci al provi s i on w a s deemed neces sary for ch i l

d ren ’s worship . I t was p robably thought sufficient

to admi t them to the Church by the r i te s o f bap

t ism and confi rmation , and i f they sang at al l , they

had to be content wi th the provi s i on made for the i re lders . The only ancient hymn for ch i ld ren ex i st ing

i s that o f Clemens Alexandrinus , quoted be low in Dr .Dexter ’s trans lat ion . I t wi l l be s een from the vers e

quoted that thi s i s a hymn on beh a lf o f chi ldren ,rather than one to be sung by them .

Shepherd o f t ender you th,Gu i d i ng, i n l ove and tru th,Through dev i ou s ways :

Chr i s t, our tr ium phant K i ng,W e com e Thy nam e to S ing ,And here ou r chi ldren br i ng,

To Shou t Th y pra i s e .

That chi ldren sang hymns i s c l ea r from the story of

the seven boys w h o sang “G lo ri a,laus

, et honor” be

fo re th e'

Em peror Loui s , and so obtained S t . Theodulp h

’

s l iberati on from pr i son , but i t may be doubted10 3

10 4 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Whethe r any beyond the smal les t provi s ion w a s made

o f verses sui ted to the i r young minds . Even of the

ear ly carol s , none seem to have been compos ed for

the young . Indeed , i t i s pretty c lea r from the ti t l e

to the 1 560 edi ti on o f S ternh old and Hopkin s,that

, a t

that t ime,ordinary hymns were considered su i tabl e

enough for ch i ldren . The fol lowing extract shows

thi s - of tha t vers ion i t says : “Very much to be u sed

o f a l l sorts o f people p r ivately , for thei r godly s olace

and com fort ; la iy ing aparte a l l ungodly songs and ba l

l ade s , which tend only to the nouri shing of vi ce and

co rrup ting of youth .

” Here and there a hymn may

be found for ch i ld ren in the seventeenth century i n the

w r i t ings o f Withe r , Herr ick , and Jeremy Taylor , but

even these do not seem to have been intended for u se

in public worship . Good B i shop K en’s three hymns,

now so wel l known , were wri tten for us e in Win

chester Col lege,and a re a lmost equal ly su i ted for

a dults and for the young . In the beginning o f the

e ighteenth centu ry Bi shop George H ickes gives in“The Li tt le Office for two or more Young Ladi e s un

de r the same Governess” a t ranslat ion o f Bernard ’s

Je su du lci s Memoria,

”for us e at any t ime . Thi s

shows pretty c l ear ly what the idea s o f thos e t imes

were on thi s matter . To a ll i ntents and purposes,no

spec i a l p rov i s i on w a s made for chi ldren unti l Dr .

Watts publ i shed his Divine and Moral Songs,so

that he i s the fi rs t founder o f the choi r o f the chi l

d ren as wel l a s that o f the i r elders . The ded i cati on

s eems to Show that he was led to w r i t e such hymns

for the use of the ch i ld ren o f S i r Thomas Abney,to

whose hous e he went for a Short v i s i t and rema in ed

for the re st o f hi s l i fe , never wear ing out hi s w el

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10 6 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

in chi ldren’

s hymn-books o f our own t ime . The following i s a quotati on from one o f the bes t

0 Thou , be fore whos e Father’s faceTh e chi ldren ’s ange l s stan d

,

Gran t m e, a he lp l e s s chi l d, th e graceThat Thy ange l ic band

May watch my ways and guard my be d,A nd m i n i st er to m e,

Ti l l I in death Shal l bow my head,A nd g o to l ive w i th The e .

Happy th e ch i l dre n wh o are gon eTo Jesu s Chr i s t i n p eace ,

W ho s tand aroun d H i s gl or ious throne,Clad in Hi s r i ghteou sn e s s .

Char l e s Wesley attempted,in 1763 , to make p ro

vi s ion for chi ld ren ’s song, by the publ i ca t ion o f hi s“Hymns for Chi ldren ,

” but wi th l i ttl e succes s,S ince

he sta rted wi th the w rong idea,a ttemp t ing to l i ft ch i l

d ren up to the l evel of adul ts , merely adap t ing hi s

composi ti ons to them by S imp l i ci ty o f di ct ion . Only

one hymn from thi s sou rce ever ga i ned any popu la r i ty .

I t begin s :

Gen t le Jesus, m e ek and m i l d,Look upon a l i t t l e chi l d ;Pi ty my S im p l i ci ty,Suffer m e to com e to Thee .

Up to thi s t ime the idea preva i l ed that t he same

author could provide a col lect ion of hymns for chi l

d ren a s wel l a s for a dults,and that i f he could do th e

one h e cou ld a l so do the other . But now the i dea be

gan to dawn that a hymn-book , l ike the p rayer-book

and the Bib le,requi red vari ety in its authorship . One

o f the ea r l i es t collections contained on e hundred and

four hymns,made up o f forty- fou r by Dr . Watts

,

thi r ty-fiv e of the O lney hymns , two by Dr . Hawker,

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 10 7

the edi tor,and a few by othe r wri te rs . Th i s may

serve a s a sample of the sort o f th ing that w a s thendone . But i t w a s not t i l l women , with the i r deeper

in s ight into and tenderer sympathy with ch i l d l i fe , en

tered on th i s fie ld,that anyth ing l ike adequate or su i t

able p rovi s ion w a s made for chi ldren’

s song . The

new era dawned in 18 10,when Ann and Jane Taylor

i s sued the i r “Hymns for In fant M inds . ” These th rew

in to the Shade al l p revious one s for ch i ld ren save thebest by Dr . Watts , and for many years were the ch i e f

favor i tes . Like Dr . W a tts’

s,many o f them look

rather poor by the s i de of the s t i l l finer work o f ou r

day,but they mark a di s tinct step in advance o f a l l

that preceded,and the fol lowing sti l l hold

,and are

l ike ly to hold , thei r ground . By Ann Taylor,a fte r

ward Mrs . G i lbe rt ( 1 782“Great God

,and

wi l t Thou condescend,

” “God is i n heaven,can He

hear ,” “Jesu s w ho l ived above the Sky ,

” “The God o f

heaven i s p leased to s ee,and “A Captain forth to

battl e went ,” perhap s rather more o f a poem than a

hymn , but wh i ch shou ld be bette r known ; wh i le byJane Taylor ( 1783- 182 4 ) there are :

“When dai ly I

knee l down to p ray,

” “Jesus Chri s t,my Lord and

Saviou r ,” “Love and kindnes s we must measure .

Perhaps most popu lar o f al l i s “Good David,whose

p salms have so o ften been sung to whi ch o f theS i s te rs th i s i s due i s not known wi th certainty .

Jane Taylor g ives th i s account o f her own method o fwri t ing her chi ld ren ’s hymns : “ I th ink I have some

idea of what a chi ld ’s hymn ought to be ; and when I

commenced the task , i t w a s with the p resumptuous de

terminat ion that nothing should fal l Short o f the standa rd I had formed in my mind . In orde r to do thi s

,my

10 8 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

method was to Shut my eyes and imagine the pres ence

of some pretty l i tt l e mortal , and then endeavo r to

catch,a s i t were

,the very language i t wou ld us e on

the subj ect be fore me . I f i n any instances I have

succeeded,to thi s l i tt l e imaginary being I Shou ld a t

tr ibute my success,and I have fa i led so frequent ly ,

becaus e so frequ ently I w a s compel l ed to s ay ,

‘Now

you may go ,my dear ; I Sha l l fini sh thi s hymn my

se l f . ’ I t i s rathe r a cu r i ou s thing that the hymns

wri tten by Helen,daughte r o f Mart in Taylor and

ni ece o f Ann an d Jane Taylor,which were publ i shed

unde r the t i t le s o f “The Sabbath Bel l” and “M i s s i on

ary Hymns,though in some s enses equa l to

,and pe r

hap s finer than,he r better known aunts ’

,shou ld have

a lmost es caped not ice . They seem to rea ch a highe r

l i te rary standard,to be more p i ctu re sque

,and to be

mo re fi l l ed wi th the wider thoughts of rel igion thatnow p reva i l . Here a re two ve rses of one of the finest

mis s i onary hymns ever w r i tten for chi ldren

There i s j oy above th e Ski e sI f a s i nner, only one,

L i fts to The e,O Lord, h i s eyes ;

And Th y ho ly w i l l i s done .E arth and heave n w i l l happy beWhen al l nat i on s worsh ip Thee.

I f we l ive to see tho se days ,L ive to hear th e holy songs ,

How wi l l better hym n s o f prai s ePas s in m u s ic from our tongues !Happ i er chi l dren we sha l l b eWhen Thy glory we sha l l see.

A hymn whi ch i s a lmost equa l begins

Oh , l e t u s al l be glad and s ing ,L ik e ange l s i n th e sky,

W i th al l ou r heart s to God our K ingHosanna l et u s cry !

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1 1 0 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Many wri ters now ess ayed the task of p rovi ding

chi ldren with hymns , but none with ve ry great suc

ce s s— John Burton,Dorothy Ann Thrupp

, J . Cawood ,and others who belonged to the Evangel i ca l school .

The l eaders o f the Tractar i an movement fe l t the need

o f hymns embodying thei r doctrine,and an attemp t

was mad e in “The Ch i ld ’s Chr i st i an Year ( 184 1 ) to

meet the want,but th i s

,though a p l easant book for

reading,was utt er ly unsui tabl e for u se in s chool s . I t s

ch i e f cont ributor s,John K eble

,Joseph Ansti ce

,I saac

Wi l l i ams , and John Hen ry Newman,di d not pos ses s

the gi fts for such a work . A rea l ly popu lar hymn forchi ld ren cannot be named f rom any member o f the

High Church party unt i l 1848 , when Mrs . Ceci l

Frances Alexander put forth her “Hymns for Chi l

d ren ,” whi ch at once created a new school , and be

came its mode l . She saw that hymns for ch i ldren

shou ld not only be in p l ain language,but that they

Should be p i ctu resque,patheti c

,and not confined to

the severe meter s whi ch had so long held posse s s ion o f

th e field . Be fore her there i s no wri ter , s ave Thomas

Rawson Taylor, w h o ful ly real i zed thi s . Her hymns

a re too wel l known to need quotation . The bes t are :

Once in royal D avid ’s c i ty” ;“Every morning th e red

sun”— to whi ch Mr . Mos s

’

s tt,

une “S t . S i las , i s one

o f the most exqu i s i te sett ings for a chi ldr en ’s hymn

eve r p rodu ced ;“We are but l i tt l e chi ld ren weak” ;

“All th ings b right and beauti fu l . One l i ttl e known,

and not i ncluded in her publ i shed books , i s the fo l lowing, of which w e give three verses

Once i n th e town o f Bethl ehem ,

Far away across th e s ea,There was la i d a l i tt l e Baby,On a Virgin m other’s kn ee.

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

0 Sav iour ! gen tl e Sav i our !Hear Th y l i tt l e chi l dren s ing,

Th e God o f ou r sa lvat i on ,Th e Chi l d that i s our K ing.

I t was not a s tate ly pa laceWhere that l i tt l e Baby lay,W i th ta l l s ervants to at tend H im ,

A nd red guards to keep th e way .O Sav i our ! gen t l e Sav i our ! etc.

But th e oxen stood around H im ,

In a s tabl e, l ow and d imIn th e wor l d He h a d create dThere was not a room fo r H im !

O Sav i our ! gent l e Savi our ! etc.

Esther Wiglesworth , w h o belongs to the same

sch ool o f re l igiou s thought , has produced some fine

hymns for ch i ldren,wh i ch deserve to be more widely

known . The fol lowing ve rse may be taken as an i l lus

frationGod s et s a st i l l sm al l voiceD eep every sou l w i thi n ;I t g u ideth to th e r ight,A nd w a rn eth u s o f s i n .

CHAPTER XI I

CH ILDREN’

S HYMN S ( CONT INUED )

A D epartm en t in which Many Wom en have E xce l l e d—E qua lly Good Contr i bu t i on s o f M en—Succe ss fu l Work o f Mrs.B etham—E dwards—Som e Am er ican Sunday-schoo l Hym ns .

AMONG women hymni sts , w e have Mary Lundi e

Duncan ( 18 14 the authores s of on e of the

best known o f ch i ld ren ’s hymns ,“Jesu s

,tender Shep

herd,hea r me

,

” wh i ch w a s i nc luded in her t iny book“Rhymes for My Chi ldren .

” Thi s i s probably more

frequent ly u sed as a l i tt l e ch i ld’s evening p rayer than

any other hymn .

Dorothy Ann Thrupp ( 1 779-1847 ) i s rememberedby one hymn , whi ch used to be a great favori te wi th

l i tt l e chi ldren,

“A li tt l e Ship w a s on the sea .

”

Anne Shepherd, n e

'

e H ou ld itch ( 1809 wrote

a l i tt l e book,

“Hymns adap ted for the Comprehension

of In fant M inds ,” in which w a s i ncluded “Around the

throne o f God in heaven ,” whi ch

,when chi ld ren sung

m ore a bout heaven , w a s a great favor i te . I t i s very

lyr i c and effective .

Elizabeth S tra fford ’

s hymns a re wel l adap ted , i n

thei r s ent iment,for chi ld ren

,but they lack p i ctu resque

nes s and melody,and so have neve r become popu lar .

Perhap s the best i s the one whi ch opens1 1 2

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1 14 REL IGIOUS IVIUSIC OF THE WORLD

Among ma l e autho rs w e have

John Henley ( 1800 a mini s ter of the Wes

l eyan Chu rch,w rote “Ch i ldren o f Jerusa l em ,

” a

hymn singular ly cr i sp and effect ive,and great ly l iked

by chi ldren .

James Edmeston ( 179 1-1867 ) w rote hymns for chi ld ren , of whi ch the bes t known i s “Littl e TravelersZ i onwards .” In England i t i s now made to commence

wi th the second verse ,“Who are they whos e l i ttl e feet .

”

I t i s sung in Sunday-school s here .

Andrew Young (born formerly head mastero f Ma dras Col lege

,i n the Univers i ty of S t . Andrews ,

i s the author of the very b right and , on the Whole ,heal thy hymn on heaven

,The re i s a happy land .

”

The story o f the origin of thi s hymn i s interesting .

One of the songs which the Indian pa lanquin—bearer ssang w a s set t o Engl i s h words , i t s bu rden being“There i s a happy land

,where car e ’s unknown .

” Thi s

song wa s sung one evening by a l ady in Edinbu rgh ,and heard by Young . Being much touched by the

beauty of the mus1c and of the opening idea of the

words , he wa s led to wri te the exqui s i te hymn“There

i s a happy land , far, far away,”to su i t the m usi c .

John Bu rton ( 180 3-77 ) w rote“Saviou r

,whi le my

heart i s t ender,

on e of the most sweet and gra ce fu l

hymns o f consecra tion for the young . To another

author o f the same name ( 1 773-182 2 ) we owe the most

popular chi ld ren ’s hymn on the B ible , beginning“Holy

Bib le,Book Divine .

Of the hymns by Mrs . S h ep cote, whose Hymns

for In fant Chi ld ren” are wel l su it ed to those fo r whom

they were w r i tt en,the bes t i s probably that begin

n ing

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 1 1 5

Je su s, ho ly , un defi led ,L i s ten to a l i t t l e ch i l d ;Thou h a s sen t th e glor iou s l ight,Chas i ng far th e s i l en t n i ght.

Emi ly E . S . Ell iot i s the authores s of two hymns

which are poeti c and original in form . Both o f them

are on the bi rth o f Ch ri s t , and ar e deservedly popular .

They Shou ld be in eve ry col lect i on for chi ldren’s use .

They are the hymns beginn ing

There cam e a l i t t l e Chi l d to earthLong ag o !

Thou d i dst l eave Thy thron e and Th y k ingly crownWhen Thou earn e s t to earth for m e .

Jemima Luke (born 18 13 ) i s the authoress of thewel l-known hymn

,wh i ch dese rves to be reckoned

clas s i c,

“ I think when I read that sweet story o f old ,and which makes u s wonder that She n eve r fol lowed

i t up by the p roduct ion o f othe rs . I t w a s wri tten in a

s tage-coach for a vi l lage school near P ound s ford Park,

Bath , where the wri te r’s fathe r res i ded .

M rs . H . P . Hawkins,one of the edi tors o f The

Home Hymn Book ,” whi ch

,both for i t s words and

thei r mus i ca l s etting,deserves ve ry high p rai se

,has

wri tten severa l hymns for ch i ldren,a l l o f whi ch a re

tender and beaut i fu l in a very h igh degree .To Jeannette Threl fa l l ( 182 1 -80 ) w e owe one o f

the finest o f ou r hymns fo r ch i ld ren,wh i ch has eve ry

characte r i s t i c need ful fo r such a compos i ti on

Hosanna ! loud hosanna !Th e l i tt l e chi ldren sangThrough p i l lared cou rt a nd t em p leTh e l ove ly anthem rang ;

1 16 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

To Je su s , w h o h a d b l e ss ed them ,

Close fo l de d to H i s breast,Th e chi l dren sang the i r p ra i s e s

,

Th e s im p l e s t and th e best.

Sarah Doudn ey (bo rn 1842 ) i s better known by hers tor i e s than he r hymns

,but the latte r dese rve

, and

wi l l probably secu re, a l arger place in col lect ions for

ch i l dren than they have a s yet rece ived,a s m ay be

j udged from the fol lowing ( publ i shed in 187 1 )F or a l l Th y care we b l e s s Thee,O Father, God o f m i ght !

For go l den hours o f m orn ing,And qu i e t hours o f n ight ;Thin e i s th e a rm that shi e l d s u sWhen danger threatens n igh,

A nd Thin e th e hand that y i e l d s usR ich gi fts o f earth and Sky .

John El le rton ( 182 6-93 ) has done excel lent workin thi s depar tment . The fol lowing hymn i s as rema rk

able for i t s lyr i c as i t s p ra ct i cal tone :

Day by day we magn i fy Thee ,When ou r hym ns i n schoo l we ra ise ;

Da i ly work begun an d ende dW i th th e da i ly vo ice o f pra ise.

Will iam Wa l sham H ow ( 182 3-97 ) w rote some fin e

hymns for chi ldren . The fol lowing,w r i tten by Bi shop

How , i s equa l to those o f Ann and Jane Taylor ,and touched wi th an a l together tendere r Sp i r i t

,which i s

so character i s t i c of the theology o f thi s day :

I t “ is a th i ng m o s t wonderfu l ,A lm os t too won derfu l to be ,That God’s ow n S on shou l d com e from heaven,A n d d i e to save a chi l d l i ke m e.

Thoma s Benson Pol lock , of Bi rmingham ( 1836deserves mention as the author o f a number of

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1 18 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Sab ine Bar ing-Gould (born vi car of Lew

Trenchard,to whom w e ow e the fine render ing from

the Dani sh o f Ingem ann’

s hymn,Th rough the n igh t

o f doubt and sorrow ,

” and w h o i s the author o f “On

ward,Ch r i s ti an soldi e rs

,march ing as to war , a l so

wrote an even ing hymn for ch i l dren,r emarkable for

i t s S imp l i ci ty and p ictu resquenes s ,“N ow the day i s

over .” I t i s on e of the finest chi ldren ’s hymns for that

season in the language .

Albe rt M id lane (born 182 5 ) w rote many hymns ,most o f which do not r i s e above mediocr i ty ; but on e ,“There ’s a f ri end for l i ttl e ch i ldren

,

” has atta ined

great popu lar i ty,and i s inc luded in most chi ld ren ’s

hymnals . I t has the p i ctu re squenes s and melody which

are so vita l to a good hymn for the young .

Some o f Will iam Chatterton Dix ’s hymns are p r i z ed

by ch i l dren , and one , wri tten specia l ly for them , i s

s ingular ly beauti fu l :

In our work, a nd in our p lay,Jesu , be Thou ever n ear,Guard i ng, gu i d i ng, a l l th e day,Keep i ng in Thy holy fear.

Franci s Turner Palgrave ( 182 4—97 ) wrote some ofthe best hymns for ch i ldren in the language

, among

which may be named “Thou that once on mother ’s

knee,and a morning hymn

,which Shou ld be bette r

known than i t i s

O God , wh o, when th e n ight was deep .

Among hymns by anonymous wri ters,mention

shou ld b e made o f the fol lowing : “Littl e chi ldren,

wake and l i s ten,

” “The fields are a ll w hite ,” and “Oh ,

what can l i tt l e hands do ?”

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 1 19

Perhap s the only hymn ( i f that word be u sed in i t sp roper s ense ) for ch i ldren by one o f the great Eng

l i sh poets i s the fol lowing, by Samuel Taylor Coler idge

,which i s very S impl e and beaut i ful :

E re on my bed m y l im bs I lay ,God gran t m e grace m y prayers to say ;O God , pre serve m y m other cl earIn strength and heal th for many a year.

An d O pre s erve m y father too,

A nd m ay I pay h im reverence due ;A nd m ay I m y best thoughts em p loyTo be m y paren ts

’ hop e and j oy .

And now, 0 Lord, to m e im partAn i nnocen t and grate fu l hear t,That after m y last s l eep I m ay

Awake to Th y e ternal day .

No greate r succe ss has been reached in hymn-w ri ting for ch i ld ren than by Mat i lda Barbara Betham

Edwards (born 1836 )— widely known by her works

of fict ion—e speci al ly in the fol lowing vers es

God m ake m y l i fe a l i tt l e l ightW i th in th e wor l d to gl ow ;A l i tt l e flam e that burne th br ight,Wherever I m ay go .

God m ake m y l i fe a l i tt l e flower,That giveth j oy to al l ,Content to b loom i n nat ive bower

,

A l though th e p lace be sm al l .

Less known,but equal ly beaut i ful

,i s thi s evening

hymn from her pen

Th e l i t t l e b irds now s eek the ir nes t ;Th e baby s l e ep s on m other’s breas t ;Thou give s t a l l Th y chi l dren re st,God o f th e weary .

Of the numerous excel l ent hymns for chi ld ren wri tten by American authors

,e spec i al ly hymns commonly

1 2 0 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

used in Sunday-school s,w e present a few ty p ical ex

amples .

Horatio R i chmond Palmer ( 1834 born inSherbu rne

,N . Y .

,was a mus ical compose r and pub

lish er and a wri te r o f hymns . His “Song Queen has

had a sale of over cop i es . The fol lowing Sun

day-school hymn , o f which he composed both wordsand musi c , i s w idely known

Y i e l d not to tem p tat ion ,

For y i e l d ing i s s i n ;E ach vi ctory wi l l he lp y ouSom e other to w in .

Fight m an fu l ly onward,Dark pas s ion s subdu e ;Look ever to J e su s ,He wi l l carry y ou through.

George Cooper (born in New Yo rk , 1840 ) i s author

o f the hymn usual ly recogni zed by i ts re frain,

“Whi l e

the davs a re going by .

” We give the fi rs t o f i ts three

stanzas

There are l on e ly hearts to cher i shWhi l e th e days are go ing by .

There are weary sou l s w h o p er i shWhi l e th e days are go ing by.Up ! then , tru s ty heart s a nd tru e,Though th e day com e s , n ight com es , too ;Oh , th e good we a l l m ay doWhi l e th e days are go i ng by !

Fanny Crosby (Mrs . Frances Jane Van Alstyne,

born in Southeas t , N . Y . , a wri te r o f many

hymns and s ongs , became bl ind when only S i x weeks

old , but he r wri t ings have aided the sp i r i tual s igh t of

men and women and have guided l i tt l e chi ldren in the

path o f l i fe . We rep r int the first s tanza of on e o f her

Sunday-school hymns

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1 2 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

The mini ster s truck ou t a t once wi th the melodyand words

When He com eth, when He com eth

—and s cores of the poor hal f—fare multi tude j oined

voice s w ith him . Many probab ly recogniz ed the music

o f the old glee , and some had hea rd the sweet ai r p layed

in the church-steep les a t home . Othe r voices ch imed

in,ma l e and female

,ca tching the a ir

, and sometimes

the words— they were so easy and so many times re

p ea ted— and the volume of song increa sed , ti l l the S ing

ing mini ster s tood in the mids t of an inte rnat ional con

cert, the most novel that he eve r l ed .

“He tri ed other songs in s imi lar vi s i t s during the

res t o f the voyage wi th some success , but the‘Jewe l

Hymn ’ w a s the favori te ; and by the t ime port w a s in

s ight the whole crowd o f emigrants had i t by heart .“The steamer landed at Quebec

,and when the t rain s ,

fi l l ed with the new arrival s,rol l ed away

,the s ong w a s

swel l ing from near ly every car

When He com eth, when He com e th,To make up Hi s j ewe l s.

The composer o f the tune—with al l the patr iot i c and

sacred maste rp iece s s tanding to h i s cred i t— never

r eaped a richer t riumph than he shared wi th h i s poet

partne r that day , when‘Preciou s Jewels ’ came back

to them from over the sea . More than th i s,there w a s

mis sionary joy for them both that the i r tune fu l work

had done s ometh ing to hal low the homes of a l i en set

tlers with a n American Chri st ian p salm .

”

Mary Loui se R i l ey (Mrs . Albe rt Smith,born a t

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Brighton,Monroe county

,N . Y .

,1843 ) wrote

hymn beginning

Let u s gather up th e sunbeam sLy ing a l l a l ong our path ;Let us ke ep th e wheat and rose s

,

Cast ing ou t th e thorns and chaff.

Phi l ip Pau l Bl is s ( 1838 born at Clea rfield ,P a .

,

w a s wel l known for h i s work in the evangel i s ti c field

and as the wri ter o f popu la r hymns . I t i s related that

one day, when he had heard the chorus ,“Oh

,how I

love Jesu s , he sai d to h imsel f ,“ I have sung long

enough o f my poor love to Ch r i st and now I wi l l s ing

o f Hi s love for me . Then he wrote and set to mus i c :

I am so glad that our Father i n heavenTe l l s o f Hi s l ove i n th e book He h a s givenW onderfu l things i n th e B ible I s ee ,Thi s i s th e deare st— that J e su s love s m e .

CHAPTER X I I I

TH E BEST HYM N-TUNES

Words an d Mu s ic m u s t be R ightly Mat ed—Thomas Mace’sVi ews on th i s Subj ect—Reten t i on o f Good Tune s—Som eE ssent ial Pr i ncip l e s S tate d by Rev . Davi d R. Bre ed, D .D .

ACCORDING to the August in ian defini t ion

,a hymn

imp l i e s mus ic .

“ I f thou p ra i ses t God and s ing est

not,thou utteres t no hymn .

” Happy the hymn that

ear ly finds i t s mate , an d i n i ts mate a helpmeet— a musi

cal s ett ing that commends i t to the popular ear . There

are hymns o f rare beauty that have neve r found the i r

way into favor a s veh i cl e s of pra i s e for lack o f ap

p rop ria te mus i cal inte rp retati on ; on the othe r hand

there a re hymns such a s“O Love tha t w i l t not l et m e

go” ;“Ha rk ! the herald angel s S ing , which ow e not a

l i tt l e of thei r universa l accep tance to the fact that the

lyr i c poet’s a lter eg o has se t noble mus i c to hi s golden

words . Instances might even be given , were i t not in

v id ious , of hymns di st in ct ly mediocre,hymns by no

means golden , that a re everywhere sung because some

musi cian o f geniu s has given them voi ce .

Gene ral ly speaking, hymns to be mus i cal ly effectivemust have tunes wri tten for them ,

and that by some

one who takes note o f thei r sp i r i t,the i r character

,thei r

message,and not s imply of the i r meter . But nothing

could be better sa i d on thi s subj ect than was sa i d more1 24

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1 2 6 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

tune wri tten for i t by S i r A rthu r Seymou r Su l l ivan in

s tr i ct accordance wi th the rule s j ust quoted f rom“Mus i ck ’s Monument .

When a hymn i s once wel l su i ted wi th a tune ther e

Should be nei ther separation nor divorce , i t s whole

devot ional influen ce being o ften lost by an arbi t ra ry

change . When , however , a hymn i s sung every day , as

i s the ca se wi th the Te B eam and the M ag n ifica t i n

many chu rches,a change o f tune may be exped ient to

avoid monotony ; but for hymns that are only in oc

ca s ional u se one good tune i s best .Tastes

,of course

,wi l l d iffe r as to what i s best , al ike

in hymns and tunes , but in the end the genera l voi ce

wi l l be found confirming the verd i ct o f reverent cul

ture and holding by what i s d ignified,s o lemn

,and de

von t . There have been hymns ( and tunes ) that qui ckly attained a su rp ri s ing popu lar i ty and a fte r a few

years pas sed into obl iv ion . They were t rue utterances

for thei r day,perhap s

,and expres sed the mood o f thei r

generati on ; but , e i ther becau se the mood w a s spas

modi c , or becau s e they were too highly strung or were

d est i tute of real poeti c feel ing or barren o f thought ,when tested by t ime and the calmer moods o f the

Church,they were found to lack those elements whi ch

are ess enti a l to the materi al s o f pe rmanent p rai se . On

the whole i t may be taken for granted that in hymns

and tunes those are the best that su rvive .

In h i s admi rabl e and very help fu l book,The Hi s

tory and U se o f Hymns and Hymn-Tunes ( F l em ing

H . Revel l Company ) , Rev . Davi d R . Breed , D .D .,tel l s

u s that “ the best tunes may be dete rmined by usage ,but u sage must be defined in thi s case , as i t has been

in the ca s e of our hymns , by re ference to thos e hym

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 1 2 7

na ls whi ch have been compi led by competent author

i ty,indorsed by lead ing denom inat ions , and used in

the stated worship o f regu larly organized congrega

t ions . ” In the absence o f such a determinat ion h i ther

to,Dr . Breed observes that “we may note the dri f t o f

s ent iment as indicated in the k inds o f tunes wh i ch are

the more and more di scountenanced and in the kinds

which are the more and more indor sed by accred i ted

compi le rs .

In the same excel l ent work Dr . Breed shows that

i n the advance made in the u se o f hymn-tunes the

fugue-tune,once so mu ch i n favor , has wel l-nigh di s

appeared f rom hymnal s ; that , o ften in the face of

s t rong obj ect ion,new tunes a re substi tuted for old

favori te s,such changes somet imes leading to advantage

and final acceptance ; that changes have been made in

tunes,somet imes with r eal improvement ; that simp ler

tunes have replaced tunes “contain ing unusual inter

val s” ; and that“ tune s with too great a range for the

average voi ce have been di sca rded .

” Then th i s di s

cr iminating wri te r adds the fo l lowing “ s imp le rul es ”

for the cho ice and s ing ing o f hymn-tunes :

1 . Tunes m us t be s ing able .

Some l i ttl e tra ining ought to be expected in every

congregation . The best tunes ar e seldom maste red by

hearing them a coup l e of t imes . Both the p leasu re

and the profi t o f worship are enhanced in the attemptto render a worthy compos i ti on . But tunes that can

neve r be sung except by trained musi c i ans ought not

to be announced from the pulp i t . I f they are em

braced in a col lect ion,l et them be r elegated to the u se

o f the cho i r .

2 . Tunes sh ou ld be s elected .

1 2 8 REL IG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

Our col lecti ons a ll embrace too many— both hymns

and tunes . I t i s a lmost as v iciou s to p ropose five

hundred to a congregation as i t was for lorn in the old

Scotch days to be reduced to s ix . Every wi s e l eader—in pulp i t and choi r— Shou ld have an idea o f what

con sti tutes a su i tab l e repertoi re . I t'

should be large

enough to avoid too f requent repeti ti ons o f the same

tune in publ i c worsh ip an d to g ive needed var i ety , and

i t should be smal l enough to be thorough ly fami l ia r

i z ed by a congregation .

3 . Tunes sh ou ld be adap ted to th e hym ns .

Sometimes the min i s te r wi l l need expert advi ce in

thi s matte r . O ftentimes the accent o f the hymn and

tune do not coincide— the beat comes in the w rong

p lace . Thus a tune,excel lent in i t sel f

,may seem

wretched because o f i t s lack of a dap tat ion . Some

t imes al so a good tune for one hymn i s a poor tune

for another . I t i s no su re S ign that i t su i t s the hymn

that the compi le r has p laced i t on the same page .

Upon a certain occasi on Dodd r idg e’

s hymn beginning“Ye se rvants o f the Lord” was announced I t i s

set i n the “Pre sbyter i an Hymnal” to “Laban,

on the

oppos i te page . On the same page,howeve r

,i s found

a new copyright tune,

“Sold i er s o f Ch r i st,written

for Wesley ’s hymn beginning with these words . Both

tunes are short meter tunes ; both are wri tt en in com

m on t ime . They might seem to be interchangeable .

Yet when the lea der re j ect ed “Laban” and started“Sold i ers o f Chri st

,

” the effect was s imply horrib le .

When asked w hy he se lected thi s tune , he answered ,“Because i t i s a bette r tune . There i s no ques t ion

ing hi s j udgment— it is the better tune ; but i t i s not

better for thi s hymn .

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130 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

by the average voi ce,and even such tunes as continue

for s evera l notes on the extremes should be ba rred .

We have many exce l l ent hymn-tunes der ived f romold folk-songs

,ba l lad-tunes

,and operas ; and so long

as they do not suggest improper s cenes and a s soc i a

t i on s they are unobj ect ionabl e . Yet w e a l l b el i eve that

there i s a diff e rence between sa cred and secu la r musi c

and every devout wo rship er wi l l i ns i s t upon maintain

ing i t . What ru le,then

,can be given in th i s matte r ?

Very much— indeed a lmost everyth ing— depends

upon trea tm ent . Into thi s a number of elements may

ente r,such a s the key , the t ime , and the l ike . A tune

which has a sacred character i n one key may some

times have a di st inct ly secu lar characte r in anothe r ;and the re fore the leader Shou ld be cautious i n trans

pos ing,a s he i s somet imes temp ted to do . In l ike

manner,a tune sung or p layed in fas t t ime may be a

j ig,which in s low t ime i s a se r i ou s melody . There a re

certain tunes in some books which make excel l ent

dance musi c by such easy manipu lat ion . The reverse

al so m ay be a ccompl i shed and dance musi c be trans

formed into the se r iou s .

No a rbi tra ry rul es can be given . A fter a ll, a sanct i

fied taste i s the only a rbi ter— a ta s te which set s the

spi r i t of pure worship above a ll e ls e ; a s an ctifica tion

i n wh i ch the sense of the tru ly beaut i fu l i s norma l ly

developed .

For an accoun t o f ear ly Am er ican hym n-tun e com pos ers ,th e reader i s re ferre d to th e hi s tory of

“Mu s ic in Am er ica,”

Chap ter I I I,in thi s s er i e s .

CHAPTER XIV

PLA IN SONG

Pecu l iar i t i e s—D eve lopm ent—Work o f S S . Am brose andGregory—Later Hi story o f Pla in Song .

THE o r igin o f p lain song, or p lain chant , as i t i s al so

cal led— the only kind o f Church musi c the u se ofw h i ch has eve r been formal ly p rescr ibed by ecc le s iast i

cal author i ty— has given ri se to much di scuss ion and

many dive rs e theori e s . On one point , howeve r , al l

author i t i es are agreed ; namely , that i t exh ib i ts p e

cu lia rities which can be detected in no other kind o f

musi c whatever ; pecu l i ar i t i e s so marked that they can

scarcely fai l to attract the attent ion o f the most super

ficia l heare r , and so constant that we find no difficultyin t racing them through every succes s ive s tage o f de

v elopm en t from the beginning of the Chr i s t i an era to

the present t ime .

Turning to the hi s tory o f thi s development , we findthat for nearly four hundred years a fter its in troduc

t ion into the services o f the Church pla in song w a s

t ransmitted from age to age by ora l t radi t ion only .

Afte r the conve rs ion o f Constantine , when Ch ri st i an

i ty became the establ i shed rel igion of the Empi re , andthe Church w a s no longer compel led to worsh ip in theCatacombs

,s chool s o f S inging were establ i shed for pre

s erving the old t radi t ions , and insur ing a uni form1 3 1

1 32 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

m ethod o f s inging . A school o f thi s descr ip t ion w a s

founded at Rome,ear ly i n the fou rth century

,by S t .

Sylveste r , an d much good wo rk resu l ted f rom the establishm en t o f th i s and S imi lar inst i tut i on s i n other

p l ace s . Boys were a dmi tted into them a t a ve ry early

age,and instructed in a ll that i t was neces sary for a

devout chori ste r to know,and by thi s means the p r imi

t ive melodi es were passed on f rom mouth to mouth

with a s l i tt l e dange r a s might be of unauthor ized cor

ruption . But o ra l t radit ion i s at best but an uncertain

gui de ; an d in p roces s o f t ime the nece s s i ty for some

s a fe method of t ransmi ss ion began to exci te ser i ou s

attention .

The fi rs t a ttemp t to reduce the t ra di t iona l melodi es

to a definite system w a s made toward the c los e o f the

fou rth centu ry,by S t . Ambros e, Bi shop of M i l an

( died who,taking the p rax i s of the Easte rn

Church a s hi s model,p romulgated a ser i es o f regula

ti on s which enabled hi s cle rgy to s ing the p salms , can

fi el es , and hymns o f the d ivine office with a fa r

greate r amount o f p rec i s ion an d pu r i ty than had

hi ther to been attainab l e . I t i s d ifficu l t now to deter

mine the exact natu re o f the work effected by thi s

l earned bi shop,though i t seems tol erably certain that

w e a re i ndebted to h im for a defin i te e luci dat ion o f the

fou r a uthent i c modes,i n which a l on e a ll the most an

c i ent melodi es a re w r i tten . He i s a l so c redi ted wi th

having fi r s t int roduced into the West ern Church the

cus tom o f antiphonal s inging, i n whi ch the psa lms a re

divided,vers e by ver se

,between two a l te rnate choi r s

,

in cont radi s t inct i on to the re sponsori al method,t i l l then

prevalent in I ta ly,whe rein the enti re choi r responded

to the voice of a s ingle cho ri ster . Anothe r account ,

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1 34 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

i ntroduced into the system those fou r p laga l m odes ,wh i ch conduce so ma teria l ly to i ts comp l eteness

,and

place the Gregor ian chant so far above the Ambrosianin the s ca l e o f e stheti c per fect ion .

For many centu r i es a fte r the dea th of S t . Gregory

the “Ant iph onarium

” was rega rded as the author i ty to

which a l l other office books must o f necess ity con form .

I t w a s i ntroduced into England in the year 596 , by S t .

August ine , or Austin,w ho not only brought i t wi th

him , but b rought a l so Roman chor i sters to tea ch the

p rope r method o f s inging i t . The Empe ro r Cha r le

magne ( died 8 14 ) commanded i t s u se in the Ga l l i canChurch ; and i t soon found i ts w ay into every diocese in

Chr i s tendom . Nevertheles s,the work o f corrup ti on

cou ld not be ent i re ly prevented . In the year I 32 3 Pope

John I I found i t n eces sary to i ssue the famous bu l l

D octa s anctorum,in order to rest ra in the s ingers of hi s

t ime from int roducing innovations which certa in ly de

stroyed the pur i ty o f the anci ent melody . Ca rdina l

Wolsey comp la ined o f the pract i ce o f s inging vot ivema s se s “cum Cantu fra cto seu d ivi so . Loca l “uses”

were a dop ted in a lmos t every dioce se in Eu rope . Pa r i s,

Aix-la-Chape l le , York , Sa rum ,Here ford

,and a hun

dred others,had ea ch thei r own pecul ia r office books ,

many of them conta in ing melodies of undeniabl e

beauty , but a l l d iffer ing more or l es s from the only

author i tat ive n orm .

Afte r the revi s i on of the Li tu rgy by the Counci l o f

Trent,a vigorous a ttemp t w a s made to remove thi s

crying evi l . In the year 1 576 Pope G regory XI I I

commanded Pa l e s t r i na to do the best he cou ld towa rd

restor ing the enti re system of p lain song to i t s or igina l

pu r i ty . The difficul ty of the task was so great that

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 135

the “Pr incep s Mus icae l e ft i t unfini shed at the t imeof hi s death ; but , with the as s i stance of hi s fr i endGuidetti , he accompl i shed enough to render hi s inabi l i ty to carry ou t the enti re scheme a matter for end

les s regret . Under hi s super intendence,Gu idett i pub

li shed several important works a long the l ines marked

out,and these were fol lowed by others f rom able

hands,al l of whi ch have been imp roved upon in mod

ern times .

Pope Pius IX empowered the Sacred Congregat iono f R i te s to subj ect the ent i re ser i es of office books to a

s earch ing revi s ion,and to publ i sh them under the di

rect sanction o f the Holy See . In fu rtherance o f thi s

proj ect the fir st edi ti on o f the Gradual was publ ished ,in 187 1 , and that o f the Vesperal in 187 5 . Othe r edi

t ions soon fol lowed,and w e bel i eve the se ri e s of vol

umes i s now comp l ete . A compari son o f thei r contents

with those o f the Mech l in seri e s i s extremely inte res t

ing,and wel l exh i bi t s the d ifference between a melody

corrupted by local u se and the se l fsame s tra in re

stored to a bette r authenti cated form .

We have already seen that p la in song was introduced

into England by S t . August ine in the year 596 . That

i t flouri shed vigorous ly there i s p roved by abundant

ev idence ; but the difference observabl e between the

Sarum,York

,and Here ford office books p roves that

the Engl i sh cle rgy were far f rom adop t ing a uni form

use . N o sooner was the old rel igion abol i shed by lawthan the Li tany was printed in London

,with the

anc i ent p lain-song melody adapted to Engl i sh words .

This work w a s publ i shed by G ra fton , the K ing’s p r int

e r,on June 16, 1 544 ; and s ix years later , in 1 5 50 ,

John Ma rbecke publ i shed h is famous“Booke o f Com

136 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

m on P ra ier , noted , i n which p la in-song melodi es,

pr inted in the square-headed G regori an Character,are

a dapted to the Angl ic i zed office s o f “Matt in s,

” “E uen

Song,

” “The Communion,

” and The Communion

when there i s a Bu ria ll,” with so pe r fect an app recia

t i on of the t rue feel ing o f p l ain song , that one can only

wonder a t the ingenu i ty wi th wh i ch i t i s not merely

trans lated into a new language,but so wel l fi tted to

the exigencie s o f the “vulgar tongue” that the words

a nd mus ic migh t wel l be suppos ed to have Sprung into

exi s tence together .

Excep t du ring the per i od of the Grea t Rebel l ion ,Ma rbecke

’

s adaption o f p lain song to the Angli can

r i tual has been in cons tant u se in Engl i sh cathedrals

from the time o f its fi rs t publ i cat i on to the p re sent

d ay . Between the death o f Charles I and the Restora

t i on,a ll musi c worthy o f the name was banished from

the rel igiou s s ervi ce s o f the Angli can Chu rch ; but ,a fte r the a cces s ion o f Charle s I I , the p ra cti ce o f S ing

ing the p la in-song ve rs i cl e s and responses was at once

resumed,but the G regor ian tones to the p salms fel l

i nto ent i re d i suse,giving p lace in time to a fo rm of

melody of a very differen t kind , known a s the “doubl e

chant Thi s substi tute for the time—honored inflect ion s of the more anc i en t s tyle reigned with undi sputed

sway , both i n Engl i sh cathedral s and pari sh churches,

unti l long a fter the beginning o f the nineteenth cen

tury ; but great changes have S ince been made , and“Gregori an s

” now form the chi e f attract ion at almost

every “choi r fe st ival” in England,are sung wi th en

thus ia sm i n innumerabl e pari s h chu rche s,

an d fre

qu ently heard even in cathedral s . They are a l so to

some extent in p resent u se in the Protestant Ep i scopal

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CHAPTER XV

THE CHANT

Nature o f th e Chant— Am bros ian and Gregor ian Form sAngl ican—M e tr i ca l Chants .

SPEAK ING i n a genera l s ens e

,to chan t i s to S ing . In

a more l imit ed sense i t i s to s ing certain words ac

cording to the s tyle r equ i red by mus ical laws or eccle

s ia s t ica l rule and cus tom ; and what i s thus per formed

i s s tyled a chant and chant ing . Practi cal ly , the wordchant i s now used for short melodie s sung to p salms

and cant i cl es i n Church servi ces,whether Roman

Cathol i c,Angl i can

,Protestan t Ep i s copal

,or others .

The chant i s more or l e s s a combinat ion of mea su red

and unmeasu red mus i c ; that i s to s ay ,whi le one por

t i on o f i t must be per formed i n a certain rhythmica l

o rder , another porti on i s sung wi thout any fixed suc

ce s s i on or r elat ion o f a ccent,and i s al togethe r rhythm

les s .

The earl i es t form o f chant, the Ambros i an , w a s

modified and supers eded in what is ca l led the Grego

r i an . Th i s chant i s a lmost enti re ly wi thout rhythm .

At al l events,i f i t does poss es s any rhythmi c fee l ing

,

i t i s so vague and SO variable , that the Gregorian chan t

might , without much in j us ti ce , be sai d to be al togethe r

lacking in fixed form . S t i l l i t has part s or p i eces , each

having i t s own pu rpose , and a ll occupying di s tinct re la1 38

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149 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

the musi c i s sung . In pas s ing from one part of thechant to another there i s a lways an accent . For ex

amp l e , in pass ing from the intonat ion there i s an ac

cent on the firs t syl lab l e of the reci ting note : any

number of syl lables may be sung to thi s note,accord

ing to the length of the ver se ; and in pas s ing to th e

fi rs t inflected note there i s another accent . The inflected note s themse lve s are a ccented according to theirnumber, and as the words may demand .

We now come to the more commonly known Angl i

can chant . For a con si derab le t ime be fore the Angli can

chant , in i t s pre sent fixed form ,came to be establ i shed ,

the re h ad been a gradua l mold ing and modi fying

o f some of the Gregor ian tones into a more m od

e rn and fixed form . I t might be sa fe to say that the

Angl i can chan t came into use wi th the Re forma t ion .

I t d i d not,however

,supersede the Gregor i an chant for

some time a fte rward,i f i ndeed i t can be sa i d to have

done so enti re ly yet . At all event s,Angl i can chants

,

or,to be more preci se

,Angl i can chant fo rms , have

long been much more extens ively emp loyed than th e

Gregor ian . The Angl i can Chant i s most melodious and

p l ea sing, whi le i t s fixed and unchanging form makes i t

rea di ly apprecia ted,and r enders i t especia l ly su i tabl e

for congrega t iona l purposes .

The Angli can chant i s o f two o rdinary kinds—thes ingle chant and the double chant ; the only diffe rence

between them is tha t a doub l e chant i s j ust l ike two

s ingle chant s j o ined in succe ss ion . A single chant i s

sung to on e vers e of the Psa lms ; a doubl e chant takes

in two ver se s . Qua d rup l e chants have even occa s ion

a l ly been t r i ed ( thes e , o f course, wi l l i nclude fou r

succe ss ive ve rse s ) ; but thei r length i s ap t to lead to

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 14 1

some con fus ion : at al l events , they are not popu lar .

I t has been supposed that the Angli can chant took

i ts form from the old common-measu re p salm-tune ,whi ch

,unl ike our common meter of to-day , cons i sted

o f two Short l ines o f fours , one of S ix, two of fours ,and one o f s ix,

with a l ong note at the beginning and

the end of each l ine . Thi s , then , gives us a tune o f

s ix sect ions , o f which, i f we take the fi rs t and the last ,we have a S i ngle chant ; or, taking any two Short sec

t ions,and the two long sections , w e have a double

chant

Each secti on of the chant corresponds to ha l f a vers e

o f the p sa lm . Each s ect ion begin s w ith a reci t ing note

an d ends with a caden ce . To the reci t ing note so many

syl lab les are monotoned from on e up to any number,

according to the length o f the hal f-ve rs e . Speakingroughly , the last three syl lable s in the fi rs t ha l f of

the verse,and the last five in the second hal f

,are le f t

for the inflected notes . There i s f requently,however

,

an alterati on o f th i s arrangement requ i red,according

to the s ense and the expres s i on o f the words .

I t wi l l be eas i ly understood that the sect ion s of the

chant are not equal - on e contain s three measu res and

the next four . There i s thus apparently a want of

balance which . i t might be though t , would di sp l eas e

the ear . But , i n l i s ten ing to a chant , there is no effect

o f lop si dednes s experi enced— the balance of the s ec

t ions seems to be qui te per fect . Th i s i s , doubtles s ,owing to the influen ce o f the reci t ing notes wh i ch

,by

the i r be ing lengt hened indefini te ly and i r regular ly ,throw the ear ou t o f calcu lati on : o r i t may be that

the one reci ting note running into the other dece ive s

the l i s tener,and he mental ly ekes ou t the short s ect ion

142 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

with a note from the long one ; and that equa l ba lanci ng o f the p i eces in a compos i ti on for which the minda lways craves is a tta ined .

The ch i e f points o f s imi lar i ty between the Gregor i anand the Angl i can chant a re : fi rs t and most di st inct ly ,the rec i t ing note ; s econd , the inflection s , which , how

eve r,have not fixed succes s ion in the former

,whi l e in

the latter they have .

The re are other modern chant forms to be'

met wi th ;namely

,wha t are sometimes ca l l ed metr i ca l chants .

The most fami l iar of thes e i s , perhaps , Troy te’

s chantf requently sung to the hymn Abide with m e .

” But

met r i ca l chanting i s something o f a misnome r,or a

para dox : chant ing must contain some e lement o f um

measu red reci tat i on— thi s i s i t s cha racter i s ti c featu re .

In s inging a chant to metr i ca l words in which a ll the

ve rses a re a l ike , the re must be p retty much the same

recurring measu rement in every vers e ; so that the

var i ed reci tat ion , for whi ch a chant i s speci al ly in

tended , cannot take p lace . A metri cal chant then i ss imp ly a pecu l ia r form of p salm-tune .

Much atten tion h a s been di rected in recent years

toward the rende ring o f the p salms in thei r pu re and

n atu ra l form ; an d the chanting of the p ros e p s alms

has now come to be regarded in many chu rches as an

integra l pa rt of congregational musi c . P rose chanting

perhap s p res ent s greater difficulty to the congregat ion,

owing to the unrhythmi ca l par t o f the chant ( the rec i

ta tion ) , and consequent ly the pos i t ion of the accent ,varying in ea ch ve rs e . Most of the pre j ud i ce wh i chst i l l exi s t s again st chanting wi l l probab ly be found

owing to the tendency to chant too fast,and to con

ve rt that part o f the vers e which has to be sung to the

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CHAPTER XVI

THE MASS

Venerab l e M e lod i e s o f th e Church Firs t Co l l ecte d and Revi s e dby S S . Am bros e a nd Gregory—Mu s ica l Subdiv i s i on s o fth e L i turgy—D eve l opm en t o f Church Mu s i c to th e Go l denAge o f Pal e s tr ina.

ROM the beginnings of Chr i s t ianity i t w a s the

custom to s ing port i ons o f the euchar i s t i c servi ce

to sol emn and impress ive musi c , and ou r word“mass”

i s der ived from the ph rase “ I te mi s sa est” Depart !

the a s sembly i s chanted by the deacon im

medi ately be fore the service ends .Conce rn ing the sou rce whence th i s mus i c w a s or igi

na l ly der ived,w e know but very l i tt l e . All that can be

said wi th any degree o f certainty i s that , a fte r having

long been cons ecrated by tradi t i onal u se to the servi ce

o f re l igion , the oldes t forms of i t w i th whi ch w e a re

a cquainted were col l ected togethe r , revi sed , and sy s

tem a t ica lly a rranged , fi rs t by S t . Ambros e , and a fte r

ward,more compl ete ly

,by S t . G regory the G reat

,to

Whose labors we are ma in ly indebted for the i r t rans

m i ss i on to ou r ow n day in the pages o f the Roman

Gradual . Under the name o f plain-chant the vener

abl e melodi es thu s p rese rved to u s are s t i l l sung, con

s tan tly ,i n the Pontifica l Chapel , and the cathed ra l s of

most Contin enta l d ioceses . I t i s worthy o f rema rk tha t

the specia l character i s t i c s o f tha t style are more or l e s s144

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 145

p l ainly d i scern ible in al l mus i c wri tten for the Church

dur ing a thousand years at least a fter the compi lat ion

o f S t . Gregory’s great work .

E ach s eparate porti on o f the mas s w a s an c i ently sung

to i ts ow n p roper tune ; diffe rent tunes be ing appo inted

for different s easons and fest ival s . After the inv ent ion o f counterpoint , composer s del igh ted in weaving

these and othe r old p la in—chant melod i e s into poly

phoni c mas ses for two,four

,s ix

,e ight

,twelve

, or even

forty voi ce s ; and thus arose those marve lous schools

o f eccles i ast i cal mus i c wh ich , gradual ly advanc ing inexcel lence

,exh ib i ted during the latte r hal f o f the s ix

teen th century a development o f art the estheti c pe rfection o f wh i ch has neve r s ince been equaled . The

porti ons o f the servi ce s e lected for th i s method o f

t reatment were the K y rie, the Gloria ,the Credo

,the

S anctus,the B en ed ictus

,and the A g nus D ei ; wh i ch

s ix movements cons ti tu ted— and s ti l l const i tute— the

musi cal compos i t i on usual ly call ed the mass . A singleplain-chant melody— in techni cal language

,a Can to

ferm o —served,fo r the most part

,as a common theme

for the whole ; and from th i s the ent i re work general ly

de r ived i t s name— as Mis s a “Ven i sp on s a Ch ris ti

”

;

M is s a Tu es P e trus”

; M is sa“I s te confess or . The

Ca n to ferm o,however

,was not always a sacred one .

Sometimes— though not very o ften du r ing the best

period s o f art— it w a s taken from the re frain o f some

popular song ; as in the case o f the famous M is sa“L

’

h omm e a rm é,

” founded upon an old F rench love

song— a sub j ect wh i ch Josquin de P res , Palest r ina , andmany other great composer s have t reated w i th wonder

fu l ingenuity . More rare ly,an or iginal theme wa s

se l ected ; and the work was then cal led M is sa s ine nom

146 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

ine,

or M iss a brev is , or M is sa a d F ug am ,or ad

Ca nones,as the case , might be ; or named , a fte r the

mode in wh i ch i t was composed,M is s a P r im i Ton i,

M is s a Qua rti Toni, M iss a Octav i Ton i ; o r even fromthe number o f voi ces employed

,a s M is sa Qua tuor

Vocum . In s ome few instan ce s—general ly ve ry fine

ones— an ent i re mass was based upon the S ix sounds

o f the hexachord,and enti t led M is s a u t

,re

,m i

, fa , s ol,la

,or M iss a s up er Voces Mus ica les .

Among the earl i es t mas ses of thi s descr ipt ion,o f

whi ch per fect an d . in tellig ible copi es have been p re

se rved to u s,are those by Du fay

,Dunstable , Binchoi s ,

and ce rtain contemporaneous wri ter s,whose works

characte ri z e the Fi rs t Epoch o f real ly pract i ca l importan ce i n the hi s tory o f figured mu si c— an epoch

intensely interest ing to the cri t ic,a s a l ready exhibi t ing

the fi rm estab l i s hment o f an enti re ly new style,con

fes sedly founded upon novel p r incip les , yet depending,for i t s mate ri al s

,upon the oldes t subj ect s in exi stence ,

an d i t se l f dest ined to pass through two centu r i es and a

ha l f o f gradual but per fectly legi timate development .

Du fay,who may fai rly be regarded as the typi ca l

composer of th i s primi t ive school , w a s a tenor S inger i nthe Pon tifical Chapel

,somewhere about the years 1430

to 1450 . His mass es , and thos e o f the bes t o-f his contempor a r i es

,though hard and unmelodious

,are fu l l of

earnest purpos e,and exhib i t much cont rapuntal ski l l ,

combined,sometimes

,with ingen ious fugal treatment .

Wr i tten exclus ive ly i n the anc i ent ecc l e s i a st i cal modes ,they mani fest a marked pre fe rence for Do r ian , P h rygian

,Lydi an

,and M i xolydian forms , with a ve ry spar

ing u se of thei r E ol ian and Ionian congene rs . These

m odes are u sed somet imes at the i r t rue p i tch ; some

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148 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

long and shor t syl lab les . The verba l text,indeed

, wa s

given in a very incomp l ete form ; the word K y ri e, or

S anctus , w r i t ten at the beginning of a movement , be inggenera l ly rega rded as a suffici ent indi ca t i on o f the com

pose r’s meaning . In thi s,and other kindred matte rs ,

the confidence repos ed in the s inge r’s intel l igence wa s

unbounded— a not unnatu ra l ci rcumstance,i n an age in

which the compos er himsel f w a s almos t a lways a S ing er

in the choi r for wh ich h e wrote .

Even at this remote per iod the several movements o f

the mass began gradual ly to mold themselves into cer

ta i n defini te forms,wh i ch were long in reach ing per tee

t i on,but

,having once obtained general accep tance

,re

mained for more than a centu ry and a hal f sub stanti al ly

unchanged . The usual p lan of the K y r ie w a s a contra

puntal el aboration o f a p l ain-chant melody . The

Glor ia ,di s t ingu i shed by a more modest d i sp l ay of fugal

ingenu i ty and a more cu rs ive rende ring o f the words,

w a s general ly d ivi ded into tw o parts,the Qu i tollis

being t reated as a s eparate movement . The Credo,wri tten in a S imi la r s tyle

,was al so subj ected to the

same method of subdivi s ion,a s econd movement being

usual ly introdu ced at the words “E t inca rna tus es t,

”

or“Crucifixus ,

” and,f requent ly

,a thi rd , at

“E t in

S piri tum S a nctum .

” The des ign o f the S a nctus , though

more highly developed,w a s not unl ike that of the

K y rie ; the P len i s un t cwli” be ing sometimes

,and the

Os a nna a lmost a lways , t reated separately . The Ben e

dictus was a l lotted , i n most cases , to two , th ree , or fou r

solo voi ces ; and f r equently assumed th e form o f a

canon,fol lowed by a chora l Os anna . In the A g nus D ei

—general ly d ivi ded into tw o di st inct movements— thecomposer loved to exh ib it the utmost re sou rces o f his

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 149

ski l l ; hence , i n the great maj or i ty o f in stan ce s,the

second movement was wri tten e i ther in canon or in

very complex fugu e , and not in frequ ent ly for a

greate r number o f vo i ces than the res t o f the mass .

The best-known composers o f the Second E poch

were Okeghem , Hobrecht , Caron,Gaspar

,the

brothe rs De F ev in , and some other s o f the i r s chool ,most o f whom flouri shed between the years 1430

and 1480 . A s a gene ral ru l e,the se w ri te rs labored

les s z ealou sly for the cu lt ivat ion of a pure and

melod ious style than for the advancement of con

t rapun ta l ingenu i ty . For the sober fugal periods o f

thei r p redecessor s they subst i tuted the le ss e la st i c kind

of imi tat ion , wh ich w a s then cal led st ri ct o r perpetual

fugue,but a fterward obtained the name o f canon ;

carrying thei r pass ion fo r th i s style o f compos i tion to

su ch ext ravagant lengt h s , that too many o f thei r works

des cended to the level o f mere learned enigmas .

Okeghem,espec ial ly

,was devoted to th i s part i cular

phase o f art,for the sake o f wh i ch he w a s ready to

sacr i fice much excel lence o f a far more substant ial

kind . Provided he could su cceed in invent ing a canonsuffic i en tly comp l ex to pu zz le h i s breth ren and admi tof an indefini t e number o f solut ions

,he ca red l i ttl e

whethe r i t w a s melod ious or the reverse . To such

canons he did not s crupl e to s et the most solemn

words of the mass . Yet h i s gen iu s was certa inly o f

a very h igh orde r ; and when he cared to lay as ide

the se extravagance s he p roved himse l f capable o f producing works far super ior to those o f any contemporary write r .

The Th i rd Epoch w a s rendered remarkable by the

appearance o f a maste r whos e fame was dest ined to

1 5 0 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

eclips e that of a ll hi s predeces sor s , and even to cast

the reputat ion of hi s teacher , Okeghem , into the

shade . Josqu in de P res,a s inge r i n the Pont ifical

Chape l f rom 147 1 to 1484,and a fte rward m a i tre de

ch ap elle to Lou i s XI I , was undoubtedly for very

many yea rs the most popular composer as wel l as the

greates t and most learned musi ci an in Chr i stendom .

And h i s honors were fai r ly earned . The wealth o f

ingenu i ty and contr ivance d i sp layed in s ome o f hi s

mas ses i s t ru ly wonder ful,and i s rendered none the

les s so by i t s as soc i at ion wi th a vivac i ty pecu li arly hi s

own,and an intel l igence and f reedom o f manner fa r

i n advance o f the a g e i n which he l ived . Unhapp i ly ,thes e high qual i ti e s ar e marred by a want o f reverence

which wou ld seem to have been the wi tty gen iu s ’s be

s ett ing s in . When free from th i s de fect,hi s style i s

a dmi rab le . On examin ing h i s mas se s one i s a lte rnate

ly su rp r i s ed by passages fu l l o f unexpected dignity

and concei t s o f almost inconce ivab le quain tnes s

flashe s o f humor the p res ence o f wh i ch,i n a volume

o f Church musi c,cannot be too deep ly regretted

,

though they are real ly no more than pas s ing indi cat ion s o f the genial tempe r o f a man whose greatnes s

w a s far too r eal to be affected,e i ther on e way or the

other,by a natu ra l l ight—heartednes s whi ch wou ld not

a lways submi t to control .

Of the numerous composer s who flou ri shed du ring

th e Fou rth Epoch— that i s to say,dur ing the fi rs t hal f

o f the s ixteenth centu ry—a l arge p roporti on a imed a t

nothing higher than a s ervi le imitat ion o f the s t i l l

i dol i zed Josquin ; and, a s i s u sual under such ci rcum

stan ce s, succeeded in rep roducing hi s fault s much

m ore frequently than hi s vi rtues . There were,h ow

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1 5 2 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

ln the motet or the madriga l . Men o f real gen ius

fostered the wi ldes t abuse s . Even Pie rr e de la Rue

w h o s eems to have made i t a point o f consc i ence to

ecl ips e , i f poss ible , the fame o f Josquin ’s ingenu i ty

w rote hi s M i s s a “

O s a lu ta ris H os tia” i n one l ine

throughout ; l eaving th ree out o f the fou r voi ce s to

fol low the S ingle part in str i ct canon .

I t i s easy to imag ine the dep ths o f inan i ty acces s ib l eto an ambi ti ous compos er

,i n h i s attempts to constru ct

such a canon a s thi s,without a spark o f Pier re de la

Rue ’s genius to gu ide him on h i s w ay . Su ch a ttempts

were made , eve ry day ; and had i t not been that good

men and true wer e at work,beneath the sur face

,con

scien tiou sly p reparing the way for a bette r s tate of

th ings,art wou ld soon have been in a sor ry p l ight . As

i t w a s,notwi ths tanding al l thes e extravagances

,i t w a s

making real progress . The dawn o f a br ighter day

w a s very near at hand ; and the exces ses o f the unwi s e

only s erved to has ten i ts appearance .

The Fi fth Epoch,extending from the year 1 565 to

the s econd decade o f the fol lowing century,and j u stly

ca l led “The Golden Age o f E cc l e s i ast i cal Mus i c,

” owes

its celeb ri ty enti re ly to the influence o f on e grave

earnest-minded man,whos e transcendent gen iu s

,a l

ways devoted to the nobles t purposes,and always

gu ided by sound and reasonable p rincip les,has w on

for him a p l ace,not only on the h ighest p i nnacle o f

fame,but al so in the inmos t heart s o f a ll t rue lovers

of the trues t art .

The abuses to wh ich w e have j u s t al luded became ,i n p rocess o f t ime

,s o i nto lerab l e

,that the Counc i l o f

Trent found i t nece ssary to condemn them,in no

measured terms . In the year I 564 Pope Piu s IV com

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 1 5 3

mis s ioned e igh t card inal s to see that certain decree s

o f the counc i l we re duly car r i ed out . After muchcare fu l del iberat ion the members o f th i s comm i ss ion

had almost dete rm ined to forbi d the u se o f any poly

phon i c musi c whateve r in the serv i ces o f the Church ;but

,ch i efly th rough the influence o f Card inal Vitel

l ozzo Vitelloz z i and St . Carlo Borromeo,they were in

duced to su spend thei r j udgment,unti l Pal estr ina

,then

maestro di capel la o f S t . Mari a Maggio re , should have

p roved,i f he could

,the poss ib i l i ty o f produc ing mu s i c

o f a more devot ional character and bette r adapted to

the word s o f the mass and the true purpose s o f rel i

gion than that then in general u se . In answer to th i schal lenge

,the great compose r submi tted to the comm i s

s ion ers three masse s,upon one o f wh i ch— firs t sung in

the S i s t ine Chapel,June 19 ,

1 565 ,and S ince known as

the M is s a P apce M'

a rcelli— the card inal s immedi ate ly

fixed,as embodying the s tyle in wh i ch al l futu re

Church mus i c should be composed . I t would be d iffi

cult to conce i ve a more pe r fect model . In dep th o f

thought,intensi ty o f expressi on

,and al l the h i gher

qual i ti e s wh ich d i s t ingu i sh the work o f the maste r

from that o f the pedant,the M is s a P apce M a rcelli i s

universal ly admitted to be unapp roachable ; wh i l e , even

when regarded as a monument o f mere mechanical

ski l l , i t s tand s absolu tely unrival ed . Yet,except in the

employment o f the Hypoion i an mode— a tonal i ty

gene ral ly avoided by the olde r composers— it depends

for its eff ect upon the introdu ct ion o f no new element

whatever,e i ther o f const ru ct ion o r o f form . Avoi d ing

a l l Show o f empty pedantry,and care fu l ly conceal ing

the consummate art with wh i ch the involuti ons o f‘i t s

per iods are conducted,i t freely u ses al l the old con

1 5 4 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

t riv ances o f fugue , and , i n the second A g nus D ei,o f

close ly interwoven canon ; but a lways as a means to

ward ‘the attainment o f a certain end— neve r in p lace

of the end i tse l f . And th i s enti re subj ugat ion o f ar

fi st i c power to the demands o f express ion i s,perhaps ,

i t s most p rominent characte ri st i c . I t pervades i t

throughout,from the fir st note to the las t . Take , for

in s tance,the Ch r is te eleis on

,i n whi ch each voi ce

,as i t

ente rs,seems to p lead more earnestly than i ts p redeces

5 0 1 for mercy .

I t is imposs ib le,whi le l i stening to thes e touchingly

beaut i fu l harmoni e s , to bestow even a pas sing though t

upon the textu re o f the parts by which they a re p ro

duced ; yet the qui et grace o f the theme , and the c lose

nes s o f the imi tat i on to which i t i s subj ected , evince a

command o f techn i cal resources which Handel alone

could have hi dden,with equal succes s

,beneath the

appearance o f such ext reme s imp l i c i ty . I ts s ix voi ces

sop rano,alto

,two tenors o f exact ly equal compas s ,

and two bass es matched wi th s imi lar n i cety— are so

art fu l ly grouped as constantly to produce the effect o f

two or more antiphonal choi rs . I t s s tyle is solemn and

devotional throughout,but by no means defic i ent in

fi re when the sense o f the words demands i t . Ba in i

truly ca l l s the K y r ie devout ; the Glor ia , animated ; the

Credo,maj est i c ; the S an ctus , angel i c ; and the A g nus

D ei,p rayer fu l . Palestr ina w rote many more ma s ses

,o f

the highes t degree o f excel lence ; but none— not even

A s sumpta es tM a ria—so nea r ly app roach ing pe r fect i on,

in eve ry re spect,as thi s . He i s known to have p ro

duced, at the l east , ninety-five , of whi ch forty—three

were pr inted du ring hi s l i fet ime, an d th i r ty-nine more

W i thin s even years a fter hi s dea th ; whi le thi rteen ar e

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CHAPTER XVI I

TH E MASS ( CONT INUED )

Th e D ecl in e o f Polyphon ic Mu s ic—Ru l e s for Performance inth e S i s t i n e Chap e l—Cerem on ia l o f th e So l em n Mas s Descr i b e d—D ramat ic E l em ents In troduced by Modern Compos ers .

THE S i xth Epoch w a s one o f universa l decadence .

In obed ience to the exigenci e s o f a l aw with the

ope rat ion o f wh i ch the a rt-h i s tor i an i s on ly too fami l

i ar,the glori es o f the Golden Age h ad no soone r

reached thei r fu l l matur i ty than they began to Show

s igns o f incip i en t decay . The bold,unp repa red di s

cords o f Monteverde and the rap i d r i s e o f in stru

menta l mus i c were a l ike fata l to the p rogres s

o f the polyphoni c school s . Monteverde,i t i s t rue

,

only employed hi s newly invented harmon ie s in

s ecu lar musi c ; but what revolu tion i s t ever yet

succeeded in control l ing the cou rse o f the stone hehad once set i n motion ? O ther composers s oon dragged

the unwonted d i s sonances into the servi ce o f the

Chu rch ; and , beyond a ll doubt , the unp repared seventh

sounded the death—kne l l o f the polyphoni c mas s . The

ba r r i e r between the tr i ed and the untr i ed once b roken

down,the laws o f counterpoin t were no longer hel d

sacred . The old path s we’

re forsaken ; and those w h o

e s sayed to walk in the new wandered vaguely , hither

a nd th i ther , in s earch of an i deal , as yet but very im1 56

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 1 5 7

pe r fect ly conce ived,in pursu i t of whi ch they labored

on ,through many weary years

,chee red by very imade

quate r esu l ts,and l i tt l e d reaming o f the effect the i r

work w a s fated to exercis e upon generati on s o f mus i

cian s then unborn . A long and dreary period suc

ceeded ,during wh i ch no work o f any last ing reputation

was p roduced ; fo r the mas se s o f Cari ss im i , Colonna ,and the best o f the i r contemporaries

,though wri tten in

solemn earnes t,and interest ing enough when regarded

a s attempts at a new style , bear no comparis on with the

compos i t ions o f the p receding epoch ; wh i l e those ar

ranged by Benevol i ( 160 2 -72 ) and the admi re rs of

hi s school, for comb inat ion s o f fou r , s ix,

eigh t,and

even twelve di stinct choi r s,were forgotten

,w i th the

occas ion s for whi ch they were cal led into exi stence .

Art w a s pass ing through a t rans i t ional phase,which

must needs be l e f t to work out i ts own dest iny in i ts

ow n way . The few fai th fu l soul s who sti l l c lung to the

t rad i ti ons o f the past were unable to uphold i t s honors ;and with Gregor io Al legri

,i n 1652 ,

the “School o fPalestrina ” di ed ou t . Yet not without hope o f revival .The laws wh i ch regu lated the composi t ion o f the poly

phoni c mas s are as inte l l igible to-day as they were th ree

hundred year s ago ; and i t needs but the fi re o f l iving

gen iu s to bring them once more into act ive operat ion,

re in forced by al l the addi ti onal authori ty wi th wh i ch

the advan cement o f modern sci ence h a s from time to

invested them .

Be fore qu itt ing th i s part o f ou r subj ect for the

consi derati on o f th e late r school s,i t i s nece s sary that

we Should off er a few remarks upon the true man

ner o f s ing ing mas ses,such as those o f wh i ch we

have b ri efly sketched the h i s tory ; and , thanks to the

1 5 8 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

t radi t ion s handed down from generat ion to generati on

by the Pontifical Choi r, we are ab l e to do so with a s

l i tt l e danger of mis inte rp ret ing the i deas o f Pales

t rina or A nerio as w e Shou ld incur in dea l ing wi th

thos e o f M endel s sohn or S terndale Bennett .In the fi r s t p l ace , i t i s a mi stake to suppos e that

a very large body o f voi ce s i s ab solutely indi spensabl e

to the su cces s fu l rende r ing,even of very great works .

On ordina ry occas ions no more than thi rty-two s ingers

were p res en t in the S i s t in e Chapel— e ight Sop ranos , andan equal number o f a ltos

,tenors

,and bas s es ; though ,

on very h igh fest ival s , thei r number was sometimesnearly doubled . The vocal s t rengt h must , o f cou rs e ,be p roporti oned to the s i ze o f the bui lding in which

i t i s to be exerci s ed ; but , whether i t be great or sma l l ,i t mu st on no account be supplemented by any kindo f in st rumental accompaniment whateve r . Every pos

s ib le gradat ion o f tone,from the so fte st imaginabl e

wh i sper to the loudes t for te attainab l e wi thou t s t rain

ing the voi ce,wi l l be brought into constant requi s i ti on .

Though wri tten,always

,e i the r wi th a p lai n s ignatu re

or with a s ingl e flat a fte r the c le f,the musi c m ay be

sung a t any pi tch mos t conveni ent to the choi r . The

t ime should be beaten in hal f—notes ; except in the cas eo f 3

- 1, in which thre e whole notes mus t be counted

in each bar . The tempo— o f which no indi cati on i s

ever given in the old part-books— wi l l vary,i n d i f

feren t movements,from about F : 50 to F : 1 2 0 . On

thi s point,a s wel l a s on the subj ect o f pia nos and

fortes,and the a s s ignment o f ce rtain passage s to sol o

voi ce s or semi-choru s,the leader must tru st enti rely

to the di cta tes o f hi s ow n j udgment . He wi l l,h ow

ever,find the few s imp l e ru les to which we a re abou t

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160 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

to s ing, S ince the tru e pos i t ions of t he cres cendi and

d im inuendi can scarce ly be mi staken .

Whi le the choi r are s inging these three movements,

the ce leb rant , a ttended by the deacon and subdeacon,

ascends the a lta r,and

,having incensed i t

,repeats the

words o f the introi t and K y rie, i n a voi ce audib le

to himsel f and his mini ster s a lone . On the cessat i on

o f the musi c he intones,in a loud voi ce

,the words

Gloria in excels is D eo,to a short pla in-chant melody

,

varying with the natu re of the diffe rent fe stiva l s,and

given,i n ful l , both in the M i s sa l and i n the G ra dua l .

Thi s intonat i on,which m ay be taken at any p i tch con

formabl e to that of the ma s s , i s not rep ea ted by the

choi r,whi ch takes up the stra i n a t E t in terra pan .

The fi rs t movement of the Gloria i s , i n most ca se s ,a very j ubi lant one (P : 1 0 0 but the words

adoramus te and J es u Ch r is te must a lways be sung

s lowly and so ft ly (F 50 and sometimes the

Gra tias ag imus,a s far a s g loriam tuam

,i s taken a

sha de S lowe r than the gene ra l t ime , i n acco rdance

wi th the sp i r i t of the rub r i c , which di rects tha t atthese s eve ra l point s the ce leb rant and mini s ter s sha l l

uncover t he i r heads,in token o f a dorati on . A fte r

the word P a tr is a pau se i s ma de . The Qu i tollis i s

then sung, a dag io (F 56 with r i tardandi a t

m is erere n obis and s us cipe depreca tionem nos tram .

At the Quon iam tu s olus the origina l qu i ck t ime i s re

sumed,an d carr i ed on

,with ever-in creas ing sp i r i t , to

the end o f the movement ; excep t tha t the words J esu

Ch ris te a re again de l ivered s lowly and so ftly , as be

fore . The provi s i on ma de , i n the M issa P apw Ma r

celli, for the int roducti on o f these characte r i s t i c

changes o f tempo i s ve ry st r i king .

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 161

The celebrant now rec i te s the col lect s fo r the day ;the subdeacon s ings the E p i s tle

,in a k ind o f monotone

,

with certa in fixed inflexion s ; the choi r s ings the p lain

chant Gradual , fol lowed by the Tract , or Sequence ,according to the natu re o f the fest ival ; and the deacon

s ings the Gospe l , to i ts own pecu l i ar tone . I f there

be a sermon , i t fol lows next in order ; i f not , the Gospel

i s immediate ly fol lowed by the Creed .

The words Credo in unum D eum are intoned,by

the celeb rant,to a few simpl e notes o f p la in chant

,

which never vary,except in p i tch

,and wh i ch are to

be found both in the Gradua l and in the M i s sal . The

choi r continue,P a trem om n ipoten tem

,in a moderate

al leg ro, more state ly than that o f the Gloria (F 96

and marked by the c losest poss ible attention to

the Sp i r i t o f the text . A ri ta rdando takes p lace at E t

in unum D om inum ; and the words J es um Ch ris tum

ar e sung as s lowly and as so ftly a s in the Gloria (F

50 The qui cker t ime i s resumed at F ili am D ei ;

and a grand forte may general ly be introduced , withadvantage

,at D eum d e D eo

,and cont inued as far as

fa cta sun t— as in Palestr ina ’s M is s a“A s sumpta es t

M a ria,and many othe rs . After the words d e ca

’lis

a long pause takes p lace,wh i l e the congregat i on kneel .

The E t inca rna tus es t then fol lows , i n the form o f a

so ft and solemn a dag io 54 interrupted,

a fter foe tus es t,by another pause

,long enough to en

able the peop l e to r i se from thei r knees in s i lence .

The Crucifixus i s al so a slow movement ; the retu rnto the or ig inal a lleg ro be ing de fe rred unti l th e E t

res urrexi t . In the M is s a P apce M a rcelli,and many

other ve ry fine ones,th i s part o f the Cr ed o i s wri tten

for fou r solo voi ces ; but the neces s i ty for an accelera

162 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

tion of the time at the E t resurrexi t i s very strongly

marked . In the beaut i fu l M iss a brev is a l rea dy men

t ioned,the bas ses lead off the E t res urrexi t

,in qui ck

t ime , wh i l e the soprano and al to a re sti l l engaged in

fini sh ing a r i tarda ndo— a ve ry difficu l t though by no

means uncommon point,whi ch can only be overcome

by very care fu l p ract i ce .

Another change o f t ime i s somet imes demanded,at

E t in Spiri tum S anctum ; but , more gene ral ly , the a l

leg ro cont inues to the end o f the movement , inte rrup ted on ly a t the wo rds s im ul a dora tur

,which are

a lways sung a dag io and p ianiss im o,whi le the cele

b rant and mini s te r s uncover their heads .

The Credo i s immediately fo l lowed by the p la i n

chant Ofi er tor ium for the day ; but a s th i s i s too Short

to fi l l up the time occup i ed by the celeb rant in incen s

ing the oblat ions and saying, s ecreto, certain appointed

praye rs,i t i s u sual ly supplemented ei ther by a motet

or by a grand vo luntary on the organ . Thi s i s fol

l owed by the vers i cl e and response cal led the S u rs um

cord a,an d the proper Pre face , at the end of which a

bel l i s rung,an d the S anctus i s taken up by the choi r .

The S anctus i s inva riably a la rg o, of pecu l iar

solemnity (12 56 Sometimes,as i n Pales

trina ’s very early mas s Vir tu te m ag na , the P len i sun t

cwli i s set for solo voi ces . Somet imes i t i s sung in

chorus,but in a qu icker movement

,as in the same

compose r ’s M is s a P apa; M a rcelli and AZtern a Ch ris ti

m unera— involving, i n the last-named mass , a d iffi

culty o f the same kind a s tha t whi ch we have a l ready

pointed ou t i n the E t res urrexi t o f the M is s a brev is .

The Os a nna , though frequently Sp i r i t ed , must neve r be

a noi sy m ovement . In the M issa brev is, so o ften

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164 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

sung by the celebrant and choi r,without the ass i s tance

o f a deacon and subdeacon , and wi thout the use o f

i ncen se , i t ca l led a M is sa can ta ta,or sung mas s . L ow

ma s s i s s a i d by the celeb rant a lone,a ttended by a

s ingle serve r . According to str i ct u sage,no mus i c

whatever i s a dmi ss ib le at low mass ; but in French

and German vi l lage churches,and even in those o f

I taly,i t i s not unusual to hear the congregat ion s s ing

hymns , or l i tan ie s , app rop r ia te to the occa s i on , though

not forming part of the servi ce . Under no ci rcum

stances can the duti e s prope r to the choi r, a t high mas s ,

be t rans ferred to the general congregat ion .

I t i s sca rce ly necessary to s ay tha t the mus i c of

every ma s s worth s inging wi l l natu ra l ly demand a

Style of t rea tment pecu l i ar to i tse l f ; espec ial ly w i th

regard to the temp i o f i t s different movements . A

modern ed i to r t el l s u s tha t more than four bars o f

Pa l es t r ina should never be sung, cont inuous ly , i n the

same t ime . Th i s i s, o f cou rse , an exaggerat ion .

Neverthel es s,immense var i ety o f exp res s ion is indi s

pensab le . Everyth ing depend s upon i t ; and though

the leade r w i l l not always find i t easy to deci de upon

the bes t method,a l i t tl e care fu l a t tent i on to the points

we have mentioned wi l l,i n most ca ses

,enabl e him to

p rodu ce re su lt s very different f rom any that a re a t

ta inable by the hard , dry manner wh i ch i s too o ften

supposed to be inseparable from the pe r formance of

anci ent figured mus i c .

Our narrat ive was inte rrupted a t a t rans i t iona l

per iod,when the grand old medieva l s ty l e w a s gra du

a l ly dying ou t , and a newe r one courageous ly strug

gl ing into ex i s ten ce,in the fa ce of difficul t i e s whi ch

s omet imes seemed insu rmountable . We re sume i t,

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 165

a f ter the death o f the last representative o f the old

re’

g im e,Gregor io Allegri

,in the year 1652 .

The most remarkable compose rs o f the per i od which

we shal l de s ignate as the Seventh E poch in th e hi story of the vocal mas s— compri s ing the latte r part o f

the s eventeenth century and the earl i e r years o f the

eighteenth— we re,Ales sandro Scarlatti

,Leo

,and

Durante : men whose pos i ti on in the ch roni c le s o f art

i s rendered somewhat anomalous,though none the

le s s honorab le,by the ind i sputable fact that they al l

enterta ined a since re affect ion for the older school ,wh i l e laboring with al l thei r migh t for the advance

ment o f the newer . I t was undoubtedly to thei r love

for the maste rs o f the s ixteenth centu ry that they

owed the digni ty o f style wh ich con sti tute s the ch ie f

meri t o f the i r compos i t ions for the Church ; but the i r

real work lay in the di recti on o f inst rumental aecom

pan im en t,for wh i ch Durante

,e spec i al ly

,di d more

than any other wri te r o f the per iod . H is geniu s was ,indeed

,a ve ry except ional one . Wh i l e others were

content w i th caut iously fee l ing thei r way in some n ew

and untr i ed di rect ion , he boldly started off with a

s tyle o f h is own ,wh i ch gave an extraord inary im

pulse to the p rogress o f art , and impress ed i t s character so s t rongly upon the p roduct ions o f h i s fol low

ers that he has been not un frequent ly regarded a s the

founder o f the modern I ta l i an school . Whatever

Op inion may be ente rtained on that point,i t is certain

that the s impli ci ty of hi s melod i e s tended , in no smal l

degree,to the encou ragement o f those graces which

now s eem inseparab le from I ta l i an art ; wh i l e i t i s

equal ly undeniab le that the style o f the cantata,wh i ch

he, no less than Alessand ro Scarlatt i , held in the h igh

1 66 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

est e st imat i on,exe rci s ed an i rre si st ib le influence ove r

the futur e o f the mas s .

The Eigh th Epoch i s represented by one s ingl e work,

o f su ch giganti c proport ions,and so except ional a

characte r , that i t i s imposs ib le ei ther to clas s i t wi thany other or to tra ce i t s pedigre e through any o f the

school s o f which w e have hi the rto spoken . The

art i st i c s tatu s of Johann Sebast i an Bach ’s mas s in Bminor— produced in the yea r 1733

—only becomes

intel l igib le when we consider i t a s the natu ra lresul t of pr incip l es inher i ted through a l ong l ine of

masters,w h o bequeathed thei r mus i cal acqui rements ,

from fa the r to son,a s other men bequeath thei r

r i ches : pr i ncip l e s upon which rest the ve ry foun da

t i on s o f the later German schools . Bearing thi s i n

mind,we are not surp r i sed at finding i t fr ee from

a l l t race of the olde r eccle sia st i cal t radi t ions . To

compa re i t w i th Pa l e s t r ina’s M is sa P apa M a rcelli

even were such a pervers ion of cri t i ci sm pos s ib l e

would be as un fa i r, to e i ther s ide , as an a ttemp t

to j udge the mas te rp i eces of Remb randt by thes tandard of F ra Angel i co . The two works ar e not

even coinci dent i n intention— for i t i s a lmost impos s ib le

to bel i eve that the one w e a re now consi der ing can

eve r have been se r iou s ly intended for use a s a Chu rch

servi ce . Unfitted for tha t pu rpos e as much by it s

exce ss ive length as by the exuberant elaborat ion o f i t s

s tyl e and the ove rwhelming difficu l ty of i ts execut ion ,i t can on ly be cons i stently regarded a s an ora tor i o

so rega rded,i t may be sa fely t ru st ed to hold i ts own ,

s i de by s i de wi th the greates t works of the kind that

have eve r been produced,i n any country or in any

age. I t s master ly and exhaust ively deve loped fugues ;

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168 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

as sac red cantatas . Or iginating,beyond al l doubt

,

with Durante ; t reated wi th infini te tendernes s by

Pergoles i and Jom elli ; endowed with a wealth of

graces by th e geniu s o f Haydn and Mozart ; and sti l l

further intens ified by the imaginative power o f Beethov en and Cherubin i— thei r s tyle has s teadi ly kep t

pace , s tep by step , with the progres s o f modern musi c ;borrowing elast i c i ty from the freedom o f i t s melodi es ,and richnes s from the vari ety o f i t s instrumentation ;clothing i tse l f in new an d unexpected forms o f

beauty , a t every tu rn ; yet neve r aiming at the ex

p res s i on of a higher kind of beauty than that per

taining to earth ly things,or ventu ring to utter the lan

guage o f devot ion in p re ference to that o f pas s ion .

In the masses o f th i s era we fi rs t find the indivi dual i ty

of the compose r enti rely dominating ove r that o f the

school— i f, i ndeed , a s chool can be sa i d to exi s t , at al l ,i n an a g e i n whi ch eve ry composer i s l e ft free to fol

l ow the d i ctates o f hi s own un fettered tast e . I t i s im

poss ib l e to avoi d recogniz ing,in Haydn ’s masses , the

wel l—known feature s o f “The Creation and“The Sea

sons or , i n those o f Mozart, the character i st i c fea

tures o f hi s mos t del ight ful opera s . Who but the

composer of “D ov e s ono i bei m om en ti

,

”or the finales

to “Don G i ovanni” and the “Flauto M agi co,

” could

ever have imagined the A g nus D ei o f the Fi rs t Mas s ,or the Gloria of the Second ? S ti l l more st r iking

i s the ident i ty o f though t wh i ch ass imi late s Beeth ov en

’

s M i s s a s olem n is to some o f the greatest o f h is

s ecu lar works ; notwi th standing the i r s ingular free

dom from a ll trace o f manneri sm . Mozart makes

h imsel f known by th e refinement o f hi s del i ci ous

phra ses ; Beethoven , by th e dep th of hi s dramat i c in

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE lVORL D 169

s t inct— a t alent wh i ch he neve r turned to such goodaccount as when working in the absence o f stage a c

ces sories . We are al l fami l i ar wi th that touch ingep i sode in the “Battle Symphony ,

” wherein the one

sol i ta ry fi fer st rive s to ral ly h is scatte red comrades by

playing M a lbroug h s’

en v a-t-en g uerre— a feat wh i ch

,

by reason o f the th i rs t and exhaustion consequent

upon h i s wound,he can only accompl i sh i n a m inor

key . No less touch ing , though i nfin i te ly more terr ible ,i s that wonder fu l pas sage o f drums and trumpets i n

the D ona n obis pa cem o f the mass in D ,intended to

bring the b less ings o f peace into st rongest poss ible

re l i e f,by contras ting them with the hor rors o f war .

Whether or not the peace to which ou r attention

i s thus forcibly di rected be real ly that al luded to in

the text,i n no wi se affect s the power o f the pas

sage . All that Beethoven intended to express was his

ow n interp retati on o f the words ; and i t is i n hi s owns trong language

,and not in that o f the school s

,that

he expres ses i t . Cherubin i makes equal u se o f the

d ramati c e lement ; more espec i a l ly in h i s magnificent

Requ iem M ass i n D minor , h i s grand mass in the samekey

,and h i s famous mass in A

,wri tten for the corona

t ion o f Char les X . ; but a lways in a way so pecu l i ar ly

hi s ow n,that the touch o f h i s master hand stands

eve rywhere con fe ssed . In al l thes e great works,and

innumerabl e others,by Weber

,Schube rt

,Hummel

,

Niedermeyer,Ros s in i

,and Gounod

,we find the d ra

mati c form o f exp ress i on enti rely superseding the de

vot iona l ; uncompromi s ing real i sm tr iumph ing overthe i deal i sm o f the older schools ; the personal feel ings

and experi ences o f the maste rs overriding the abstract

sense of the text . Thi s ci rcums tance makes it ex

1 70 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

trem ely difficu lt to ass ign to these cr eat ion s o f genius

a t rue esthet i c pos i t ion in the wor ld of art . Church

servi ce s in name,they have certa in ly fai l ed

,notw ith

s tanding thei r univer sa l ly a cknowledged beauti es,in

secu ring for themselves a l as ting home in the Chu rch .

That thei r u se has b een tol erated,rather than encou r

aged, in Rome i tse l f , i s p roved by the s ignificant fact

that not on e s ingl e note of any on e of them has ever

once been heard wi thin the wa l l s o f the S i s t ine Chape l .

And the reason i s obvious . They cas t eccles iast i cal

t radi t i on to the winds ; and , subst i tut ing for i t the

ever—varying sentiment o f indiv idua l minds,p resen t

no firm bas i s for the e laboration of a defini te Churchstyl e wh i ch

,l ike that of the s i xteenth centu ry

,Shal l

p rove i t s excel len ce by i t s stabi l i ty . Yet , i n the mids t

o f the d ivers i ty whi ch na tu ral ly ensues from thi s want

o f a common i deal,i t i s in st ructive to noti ce one bond

o f union between the older mas ter s and the new ,so

s t rongly marked that i t cannot pos s ib ly be the resu l t

of an a cci dental coinci dence . Thei r agreement in the

genera l di s tr ibution of thei r movements i s most re

markable . We sti l l constantly find the K y rie p re

sented to u s i n three s eparate d ivi s i ons . The Qu i tollisand E t inca rna tus es t are cons tantly int roduced i n the

form o f solemn adagios . The same Os a nna i s a lmos t

always made to serve,a s in the M issa papa M a rcelli

,

as a con c lu s i on both to the S a nctus and to the Bene

dictus . And in thi s v i tal i ty o f typ i ca l form we find a

convincing p roo f— if one be neces sary— tha t the b road

es theti c pr incip l es o f a rt a re immutabl e,and caleu

lated to su rvive,through an indefin ite per iod

,the

vi ci ss i tudes o f techni ca l t reatment in widely diff er ingschool s .

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C o untesv Met rop olitan Mu seum of A rt .

A MUS ICAL CARD INALFrom t h e P a i nt i ng by T . Robert-Fleury

CHAPTER XVI I I

TH E REQU I EM

Works o f Pal e str i na and Vi ttor ia— O ther Fin e Mas se s forth e D ead— Five M odern Requ i em s o f D eathl e s s Reputat i on by Mo zart, Cherub i n i , Brahm s , and Verd i—Th e Contras t in S ty l e s o f Com pos i t i on .

ASOLEMN mas s o f requ iem i s sung annual ly in

Roman Cathol i c churches on All Sou ls ’ day,No

v ember 2,in commemoration o f al l the fai th fu l de

parted,and on other occasions , as funeral s ervi ces ,

ann iversari es , etc .The requi em takes i t s name from the firs t word o f

the int roi t— “Requi em aeternam dona ei s,Domine .

When set to musi c i t natu ral ly ar ranges i tse l f innine p rincipal sect i ons : ( 1 ) The Intro i t—Requ iem

a ternam ; ( 2 ) the K y rie ; ( 3 ) the Gradual and Tract—Requ iem a ternam and A bs olv e, D om ine ; (4 ) theSequence

,or Prose—D ies i ra ; 5 ) the Offertor ium

D om ine J es u Ch ris ti ; (6 ) the S a nctus ; ( 7 ) the Ben e

d ictus ; (8 ) the A g nus D ei ; and (9 ) the Comm un io

L ux a terna . To thes e are somet imes added ( 10 ) theRe sponsorium

,L i bera m e

,which

,though not an in

teg ra l portion o f the mass , immediately fol lows i t on

al l solemn occas ion s ; and ( 1 1 ) the Lect io—Ta det a nim am m eam

,o f wh i ch we posses s at least one example

o f great hi stori cal inte res t .

The p l ain-chant melodi es adapted to the nine d i1 7 1

1 7 2 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

vi s ion s of the mass wi l l b e found in the G radual,to

gether wi th that p roper for the responsor ium . The

lect io , wh i ch rea l ly belongs to a diffe rent se rvi ce,

has no p rope r melody,but i s sung to the ord inary

Tonus L ectionis . The enti re se r i e s o f melodi es i so f rare beauty ; and produces so solemn an effect

,

when'

sung in uni son by a large body o f grave equal

voi ce s , that mos t o f the great polyphoni c composers

have employed i ts ph rase s more freely than usual,in

the i r requ i em masse s,e i ther as Ca n ti ferm i

,or i n the

form o f un i sonou s passage s i nte rposed between the

harmoniz ed porti on s of the work . Compos i t i on s o f

thi s kind are not ve ry numerou s ; but most o f the ex

amp l e s we posses s must be c las sed among the most

pe r fect p roduct i on s o f the i r re spect ive author s .

Pale st rina ’s M is s a pro D efunctis , fo r five voi ces,

fi rs t p r inted at Rome in 1 59 1 , is , unhapp i ly , ve ry in

complete,consi s ting only of the K y rie, the Ofier

torium,the S a nctus

,the Bened ictus

,and the A g nus

D ei . We must not , however, suppose that the com

poser le f t h i s work unfini shed . I t was clear ly his

intention that the rema i n ing movement s shou ld b e

sung,i n a ccordance wi th a custom sti l l common a t

Roman funera l s,i n uni sonou s p la in chant ; and , a s a

fi tting conclus ion to the whole , he has le ft u s two

s ettings o f the L ibera m e,i n both o f wh i ch the

Gregori an melody i s t reated wi th an indescr ibab le in

ten s i ty o f pathos .Next in importance to Pa l e st r ina’s requi em i s a very

grand one,for s ix voi ces

,composed by Vittor ia , for

the funera l o f the Emp re s s Mar ia ,widow of Maxi

mi li an I I . Thi s fine work— undoubtedly the grea tes t

t r iumph o f Vittor ia’s geniu s— compr i se s a l l the chi e f

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1 74 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

myster i e s wh i ch rende r i t s carcely le s s interesting to

the general reade r than the musi c i tse l f i s to the stu

dent . Thanks to the attent ion drawn to i t by recent

wri te rs,the nar rative i s now so wel l known that i t i s

needle ss to do more than al lude to those portions o f

i t whi ch tend to ass i s t the cr i t i c in h i s analysi s o f the

compos i t ion . I ts out l in e i s s imp le enough . In the

month o f July,1 79 1 , Mozart w a s commi s s i oned to

w r i te a requ i em by a myster iou s-l ook ing indivi dual ,whom

,i n the weaknes s consequent upon h i s fai l ing

health and long—continued anxi ety , he mi stook for a

v i s i tant f rom the othe r world . I t i s now wel l known

that the “ S t range r” was real ly a certain Her r Leut

geb,steward to Count W a lseg g , a nobl eman res i ding

at S tuppach, w h o ,

having lately los t hi s w i fe,proposed

to honor her memory by foi st ing upon the wor ld,as

hi s own compos i t ion,the fines t funeral mass hi s money

cou ld p rocu re . This,howeve r

,did not tran sp i re unt i l

long a fter Mozart ’s death . Suspect ing no di shonor

ab le intention ou the part o f h i s v i s i to r,he accepted

the commi ss i on ; and st rove to execute i t , with a zeal

so far beyond his s t rength,that

,worn ou t with over

work and anxi et ie s , and tormented by the i dea that

he w a s wri t ing the musi c for hi s own funeral,he

di ed wh i l e the manu scrip t remained unfini shed . Hi s

widow , fearing that s he might be compel l ed to re fund

the money al ready paid for the work in advan ce,de

term ined to furn i sh the “S t ranger” wi th a pe r fect

copy , at any r i sk ; and , in the hope o f accomp l i sh ing

thi s desperate pu rpose , int ru sted the manuscrip t to the

Ho fkapel lmei s te r, Joseph von E ybler , and a fterwardto Franz Xavi e r S ii ssm ay er , for completi on . Von

E ybler , a fte r a few weak attempts,gave up the ta sk

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 1 7 5

in despai r . S ii s sm ay er was more fortunate . He had

watched the p rogress o f the requiem th rough eachsuccessive stage of i t s development . Mozart had

p layed i t s var ious movements to h im on the p i ano forte,

had sung them with h im over and over again,and had

even imparted to h im hi s lates t ideas on the subj ect

only a few hours be fore h i s death . S ii s sm ay er wasan accompl i shed musi ci an

,int imate ly acqua inted with

Mozart ’s method o f work ing ; and i t wou ld have beenhard i f

,a fte r hav ing been thu s unreservedly admit ted

into the dying composer ’s confiden ce,he had been un

able to fi l l up h i s unfin i shed Sketche s w ith suffic i en t

clos enes s of imi tat ion to set the w idow’s fears of de

tect ion at rest . He did , i n fact , p lace i n her hands acomplete requ i em

,wh i ch Count W a lseg g accepted , in

the fu l l be l i e f that i t was in Mozart ’s handwrit ing

th roughout . The R equ iem and K y rie were real ly

wri tten by Mozart ; but the remainder w a s sk i l l fu l ly

Cop i ed f rom Sketches— now general ly known as the“U rsch ri ften —wh i ch

,everywhe re more or l e s s un

finished,were care fu l ly fi l l ed in

,as n ear ly as poss ib le

in accordance wi th the composer ’s or iginal intention .

The widow kep t a copy o f thi s manuscr ipt , and late r

sold i t to M es s rs . Bre i tkop f Harte ! , o f Leipz ig

,w ho printed i t

,i n fu l l s core

,i n 180 0 . But

,not

w i thstand ing the secrecy with wh i ch the affa i r had

been conducted,rumors were al ready afloat caleu

lated to throw grave doubts upon the authentic i ty of

the work . S ii s sm ayer , in rep ly to a communi cat ionaddres sed to h im by M es srs . Brei tkop f H éi rtel

, l ai d

claim to the comp l etion of the Requ iem ,K y rie,

D ies ira,and D om in e—o f which he sai d that Mo

zart had “ ful ly comp l eted the fou r vocal parts , and

1 76 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

the fundamenta l bas s , with the figur ing,but on ly here

and the re ind ica ted the m otiv i for the instrumenta

t ion —and as serted that the S anctus , Bened ictus , andA g nus D ei were enti re ly composed by himsel f . Thi s

bold statement , however , did not set the di spute at

rest . I t was many times revived,with more or l e ss

acerbi ty unt i l,in 182 5 , Gott fr i ed Webe r brought m a t

ters to a cl imax by publ i shing a vi ru lent a t ta ck upon

the requi em , wh i ch he denounced as a l together uh

wo rthy of Mozart , and attr ibuted a lmost enti rely to

S ii s sm ayer . To.

fol low the ensu ing cont roversy

through i t s endles s ramificat i ons would fa r exceed ou r

p resent l imi ts . Suffice i t to say that we a re now in

pos ses s ion o f a ll the evi dence,documentary or othe r

wi se , which seems a t a ll l ike ly to be b rought forward

on ei ther s ide . With the as s i stance o f Moza rt’s widow

( then Madame v on Nis sen ) , Johann And ré, o f Offen

bach , pub l i shed , in 182 6, a new edi t ion of the s core ,based upon that p revious ly p r inted by Me s s rs . Brei t

kop f 81 Harte l , but corrected , by care fu l compa r i son ,in the presence of the Abbé S tadler

,with that or ig i

nal ly furn i shed to Count Wa lsegg ,and m arked on the

Abbé’s author i ty,with the lette rs “M .

” and S .

” to

d i st ingui sh the part s composed by Mozart from those

added by S iis sm ay er .

Next in importance to Mozart’s immorta l work

are the two great requ i em mas se s o f Cherubin i . The

fi r s t o f thes e , i n C minor , w a s written for the anni

versa ry o f the death o f King Lou i s XVI ( January 2 1 ,and fi rst sung

,on that occa s ion , at the Abbey

Chu rch of Sa int—Deni s , i n 18 17 ; a fte r which i t was

not again hea rd unti l Feb ruary 14 ,182 0 ,

when i t w a s

repeated,in the same chu rch

,a t the funera l of the Due

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1 78 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

rea l i ty, a sac red cantata , composed to words se lected

from Holy Scr ip tur e , i n i l lu st rat i on of the j oys of the

bles sed and the glor i e s o f the l i fe to come . I t p re fe r s

no cla im to be cons i dered a s a rel igious s ervi ce,in

any s ense of the word ; and must , there fore , be eri t i

ci sed, l ike the great mas s o f Sebast i an Bach

,as a

shorter form o f orator io . So cons i dered,i t i s wo rthy

o f a ll prai s e ; and exh ib i t s , throughout , a s tr ik ing

o rigina l i ty,very far removed f rom the eccentr i ci ty

whi ch sometimes pass e s under that name,an d too fre

quent ly cons i st s in the p re sentat ion of forms re j ected

by older composers by reason of thei r uglin es s . Th e

genera l s tyle i s nei the r dramati c nor sensuou s ly de

s c ript ive ; but , i n h i s des i re to shadow fo rth the glo r i es

of a higher state of exi s tence , the compose r has

ava i l ed himsel f o f a l l the l atest re sources o f modern

mus i c,i nc luding the most comp l i cated orchest ral ef

feets and choral pas sages o f a lmost unconquerabl e

d ifficu lty . In the fi rs t movement,an i ndescr ibable

r i chnes s of tone i s p roduced by the ski l l fu l manage

ment of the str inged band , f rom which the v iol in s a re

a l together excluded . In the funeral march a s trange

departu re from recognized Custom i s introduced,in

the use of t r ip l e t ime,wh ich the composer has com

p elled to serve hi s purpose so comp l etely that the

measu red t ramp o f a vas t p roces sion i s as cl ear ly de

scr ibed and as strongly forced upon the heare r’s a t

tent ion as i t could poss ib ly have been by the ordinary

means . The next divi s ion o f the work introduces two

choral fugues,founded upon subj ects which each em

brace a compas s o f e leven note s , and differ , i n many

very impor tant points , both o f constructi on and t reat

ment,from the m otiv i emp l oyed by other adepts in

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 1 79

th i s parti cular style of compos i t ion . The cres cendo

wh i ch separates thes e two movements i s , at the sametime

, one of the most beaut i fu l and one o f the mostfear fu l ly difficu lt pas sages in the enti re work . N o . 4

i s an exqu i s i tely melod ious s low movement,in tr ip le

t ime ; and N o . 5 , an equal ly attract ive Soprano solo

and chorus . No . 6 i s a very important s ecti on o f the

work,compri s ing seve ra l d i stinct movement s

,and de

scr ibing,with thr i l l ing power

,the aw fu l events con

nected with the re su rrect ion o f the dead . Here,too

,

the fugal t reatment i s very pecul i ar ; the strongly char

a cterist ic minor second in the subj ect being most um

expectedly represented by a maj or s econd in the an

swer . The finale,N o . 7 , con cludes w ith a lovely

remini scence o f the fi rst movement,and brings the

work to an end with a calm pathos wh i ch i s the more

effect ive from its marked contrast wi th the stormy

and exc i t ed movement s by wh i ch i t i s preceded .

I t is impos s ib le to study th i s important compos i t ion

in a t ruly impart i a l sp i r i t wi thout arr iving at the con

elu sion that i t s numerou s unusu al featu res are int ro

duced,not for the sake o f s ingu lar i ty , but wi th an

honest des i re to p roduce certain effects wh i ch un

doubted ly are p roducib le when the chorus and or

ch estra are equal to the inte rpretati on o f the author ’s

ideas . The poss ib i l i ty o f b ringing together a suffi

cien tly capabl e orchestra and chorus has al ready been

ful ly demonst rated in Germany and other countri es .

The Deutsches Requ i em” was fi r s t produced atBremen

,on Good Friday

,1868 .

Shortly a fte r Rossin i ’s death (November 13 ,

Verdi suggested that the I tal i an composers shou ld com

bine to wri te a requi em as a t ribute to the memory of

180 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

the great deceased ; the requ i em to be per formed at

the cathed ral o f Bologna eve ry hundredth year, on the

centenary o f Ross in i’

s death , and nowhere e l se and on

no othe r occas ion whateve r . The p roj ect was immed ia tely accep ted , and the thi rteen numbers o f the work ,the form and tonal i ty of each o f which h ad been previ

ou sly determined , were di s tr ibuted a s fol lows :

1 . Requ iem aete rnam (G minor ) , Buz z ola .

2 . Dies i rae ( C minor ) , Ba z z in i .

3 . Tuba m irum (E l? minor ) , Ped rotti .

4 . Quid sum miser (A !) maj o r ) , Cagnoni .

5 . Recordare ( F maj or ) , R i cc i .6 . Ing em isco (A mino r ) , M in i .

7 . Con futa tis (D maj or ) , Bouch enon .

8 . L a crym osa (G maj or , C minor ) , Coccia .

9 . Domine Jesu ( C maj or ) , Ga spar i .

I o . Sanctus (D l’ maj or ) , P lantan ia .

1 1 . Agnus Dei ( F maj or ) , Pet rel la .

1 2 . Lux a tern a (A l? maj or ) , Mabellin i .

13 . Libera me ( C minor ) , Verdi .

The severa l numbe rs were du ly s et to mus ic and

sent i n , but , a s might have been expected,when pe r

formed in an uninte rrup ted succe ss i on they were

found to want the uni ty and uni formi ty o f styl e that

i s the s ine qua non o f a work o f art ; and though every

one had done hi s best , there were too many diff eren t

degree s o f meri t in the several parts ; so that , without

ass igning any pos i t ive rea son , the matte r was dropped ,and a fte r a whi l e each numbe r wa s sent ba ck to i t s

author . But Alberto Ma z z uea to ,o f M i l an , w ho had

fi rs t s een the comp l ete wo rk , w a s so much struck by

Verdi ’s “Libera me” a s to wri te him a l ette r s tat ing the

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182 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

al l b ranches o f ar t there i s on e that must n eces sa r i ly

be in accordance wi th the feel ings o f the mult i tude,

and that i s rel igiou s art ; and on that ground w e think

that Verd i w a s j u s tified in sett ing the requ i em to

musi c i n a s tyl e that i s a lmost enti re ly popular .Whethe r i t was poss ib le for him

, or wi l l be poss ib le

for others to do bette r whi le fol lowing the same track,

we wi l l ingly leave the musi c cr i t i c s to decide .

CHAPTER XIX

THE MOTET

Var iat ion in th e Polyphon ic S ty l e Due to Greater S im p l i ci tyText E i ther from th e Office Books or Scr ip ture—ModernM otets Rea l ly Noth ing M ore than Sacre d Can tatasProfi tab l e Pract ice for Polyphon ic S ingers .

N modern usage the word motet i s rest ri cted tomusi c intended to be sung at h igh mass , e i ther as a

subst i tute for, or immed i ate ly a fter , the p la in—chan t

offe rtor ium for the day . A s a ru le the text i s chosen

from the office books or from Scripture .

Th i s definit ion,however

,extends no further than

the convent ional meaning o f the word . I t s origin involves some very grave etymologi cal difficulti e s

,im

measu rably increased by the vari ed mode o f spel l ing

adopted by ear ly wr i ter s . For in stance,the form m o

tulu s can s carcely fa i l to suggest a co rrupti on of m o

dulus— a canti lena , or melody ; and , in support of th i sderivat ion

,w e may remind ou r readers that i n th e

thi rteenth and fou rteenth centu ri es,and even earl i e r

,

the terms m otetus and m otellus were constant ly ap

p l i ed to the voice-part a fterward cal led m ed ius or a l

tus . On the other hand , the idea that the t ru e etymon

i s supp l i ed by the I tal i an word m ottetto,diminutive of

m otto, and equivalent to the French m ot,or bon m ot

,

a j es t , derive s some color from the fact that i t w a s

unquest ionably app l i ed , in the firs t in stance,to a cer

1 83

184 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

tain kind o f p ro fane musi c,which

,in the thi rteenth

centu ry,was severely censu red by the Chu rch

,in com

mon wi th the rond ellus,anothe r kind o f popu la r

melody,and the conductus

,a speci es of s ecu la r song,

i n whi ch the subj ect in the tenor was or iginal,and

sugges ted the other parts , a fter the manner o f the

g u ida o f a canon . Again , i t i s j us t pos s ib le that the

vary ing orthography to wh i ch w e have al luded may,

origina l ly,have involved some rea l d i st inct i on no

longer recognizab l e . But in oppos it ion to thi s v iew i t

may be u rged that the charge o f l i centiou snes s w a s

brough t again st the motet unde r al l i t s synonyms ,though eccles i ast i cal composers cont inued to use i ts

themes as Ca n ti ferm i as long as the polyphoni c

s chool s remained in exi s tence— to which ci rcumstan ce

the word most probably owes i t s p re sent convent ional

s ign ification .

The earl i e s t pur ely eccl es i as t i cal motets of whichany certain record remain s to u s are those o f Phi l ippu s

de Vitr iaeo,whose “Ars com p os ition i s de Motet i s ,

”

p res erved in the Paris Lib rary,i s bel i eved to have been

wri tten between the years 1 2 90 and 13 10 . Mor ley

te l l s u s that the motets o f th i s author were for some

t ime o f al l other s best esteemed and most u sed in the

Chu rch .

” Some othe rs,s carce ly les s anc i ent , ar e

pr inted in Gerbert ’s great wo rk “De Cantu et musi ca

sacra” —rude att empts at tw o-part harmony,intense ly

inte rest ing as h i s tori cal records,but intolerable to cu l

t iva ted ear s .

Ve ry diffe rent from these ear ly efforts are the pro

duction s o f the pe riod whi ch,i n ou r chapter s on the

mas s , w e have des ignated as the Fi rs t Epoch o f p rae

t ical importance in the hi s to ry o f polyphoni c musi c—a

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186 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

we find a cons i s tency o f des ign,combined wi th a mas

s ive breadth of styl e , for wh i ch we s earch in vain incontemporary masses .

The compos it i on s o f the Thi rd Epoch exhibi t al l

the mer i t s not i ceab l e in those o f the Fi rs t and Second,

en r i ched by more extended harmoni c resou rce s,and

a far greater amount o f techni cal ski l l . I t w a s dur

ing thi s per iod,comp ri s ing the last two decades of

the fi fteenth century and the fi rs t two o f the S i x

teenth ,that the great mas ters o f the Flemi sh school

,

exci ted to enthus iasm by the matchles s geniu s o f Jos

quin de Pres , made those rapi d a dvances toward perfect ion which

,for a t ime

,p laced them far above the

mus i ci an s o f any other country in Europe,and gained

for them an influence which w a s everywhere a cknow l

edged with respect , and eve rywhere used for pure andnoble ends . The motets bequeathed to u s by thes e

ea rnest—minded men are,with scarce ly any excep t ion

,

constructed upon a Can to ferm o,suppl i ed by some

fragment of grave p la i n chant , or suggested by the

s t rains of some wel l-known secu lar melody . Some

t imes thi s s imple theme i s sung by the tenor,or some

other p ri ncipal voi ce , ent i re ly in longs and breves ,whi le othe r voi ces accompany i t in flori d counte r

point,with every imaginab le var i e ty o f imi tat ion and

devi ce . Somet imes i t i s taken up by the several voices

in tu rn,a fter the manner o f a fugue or canon , with

out the support o f the continuous part , whi ch i s only

i ntroduced in broken phras es , with long res t s between

them . When,as i s frequently the case , the motet con

s is ts o f two movements—a P a rs prima and P a rs

s ecunda— the Ca n to ferm o i s s om et .m es sung by the

tenor,

fi rst i n the ordina ry w ay ,and then backward ,

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 187

i n retrograde imitat ion,ca ncriz ans . In th i s , and other

cases,i t i s frequently prefixed to the compos it ion on

a smal l detached stave,and thus forms a t rue m otto

to the work,to the imi tat ions o f wh i ch i t suppl i e s a

veri table key,and in the course o f wh i ch i t i s a lways

t reated in the same genera l w ay . But s ide by si de

with th i s homogene i ty o f mechanical con stru ct ion wefind an infinite var i ety o f ind ividual express i on . Freed

from the pedant i c t rammels wh i ch at one per iod exer

ci sed so unhealthy an influence upon the mass,the

composer o f the motet fe l t bound to g ive h i s whol e

attent ion to a care fu l render ing o f the words , in st ead

o f wast ing it,as he would certainly have done unde r

other c i rcumstances,upon the concoct i on o f some

astounding invers ion or i nscrutab le canon . Hence,the

characte r o f the text frequently offe rs a tole rably sa fe

cri ter i on as to the style o f work ; and we are thu s en

abl ed to divide the motets , not o f th i s epoch only , buto f the p receding and fol lowing periods al so

,into

several d is tinct c la ss es,each marked by some p ecu

lia rity o f more or l es s importance .

Nowhere,perhaps

,do we find more real feel ing than

in the numerous motet s founded on pas sages selected

from the Gospel s,such as Jacobus Va et ’s “

E g res su s

Jesu s,Jahn Gero ’s r enderings o f the parabl e o f the

Phari s ee and the Publ i can,and othe rs o f s im i la r in

tent ion . The treatment o f thes e subj ect s,though ex

h ibit ing no trace of the dramati c el ement,i s h ighly

characteri st i c , and shows a deep app rec i at ion o f the

sense o f the sacred text,embracing every vari ety of

express ion , f rom the t riumphant p rai se s o f the M ag

n ifica t to the deep sadness o f the Pas si on o f ou r Lo rd .

The oldest known examp l e o f the former subj ect,

188 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

t rea ted in the motet style,i s a M ag nifica t for three

voices , by Du fay . One of the earl i es t render ings ofthe la tte r i s Obrecht ’s “Pa s s i o D . N . J . C . secundumMatth aeum ,

” a work ful l of the deepest pathos,com

bined with some very ingen ious part-wri t ing.

Sca rcely le s s beauti fu l i s the late r “Pa ss i o secundum

Ma rcum,by Johannes Ga llicu lus ; and L oy set Com

pére h a s l e f t u s a col lecti on of Pass ion motets of extraord ina ry beauty .

The Book of Canti c le s was a l so a fru it fu l sou rce

o f i nsp i ra t ion . Among the fines t specimens extant are

three by Johannes de L ynburg ia ( John o f Limburg )-“Surge p rop era ,

” “Pulcra es anima mea,and “De

scende in hortum meum”

; Du fay’s “Anima mea l ique

facta e st” ; a fine s ett ing o f th e same words,by En r i co

I saac ; Anton ius de F ev in’

s“Descende in hortum

m eum and , among othe rs , by Cra en ,Ga spar

,Josqu in

d e Pres , and the best of the i r compat riot s, a rema rk

ab ly beaut i fu l rendering of“Quam pu lcra es anima

mea , for grave equa l voi ces,by Mouton .

A host o f beaut i fu l motets were w r i t ten in hono r

of Our Lady , and a l l in a styl e o f pecu l i ar ly de l i cate

beauty ; such a s Du fay’s Sa lve Vi rgo ,

” “Alma Re

dem p toris ,” “Ave Regina

,and “Flos florum

,fons

am orum”

; Bra sa rt’

s Ave Mar ia Binchoi s ’s “Bea ta

Dei gen itr i x” ; A rcadelt’

s“Ave Mari a” ; s everal by

Brum el and L oyset Compere and a large number by

Josquin de P res,i ncluding the beaut i fu l l i tt le

“Av e

vera vi rgin i tas .”

The Lamenta t i ons of Jeremia h have fu rni shed the

text of i nnume rabl e beaut i fu l movement s in the

motet style,by Joannes Tinctor , Hyka ert , Ga spar,

Pie rre de la Rue,Agr i cola

,and , above a l l , Carpen

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190 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

the Officium Defunctorum as impre s s ive as pos s ib le ;and

,a cting up to thei r l ight

,endeavored to add to i t s

solemni ty by the int roduct ion o f di scords which were

utte r ly forb idden in org anum of the o rdinary kind .

Hence arose the dol e fu l s train anci ently ca l l ed“L itan iae m ortuorum di scordante s .”

The di rge o f Josqu in de P res in memory of hi s

departed fr i end and tutor Okeghem i s founded on

the p la in-chant melody o f Requi em aeternam ,

” whi ch

i s sung in breves an d semibreves by the tenor, to theor iginal Latin wo rds

,whi le the fou r othe r voi ces s ing

a flori d counte rpoin t to some French vers es , beginning“Nymphes des hoi r

,Déess e s des fontaines . I t was

p rinted at Antwerp in 1 544 ; and pre sents so many

difficu l ti e s to the wou ld-be i nterp rete r , that Bu rney de

clare s himsel f a shamed to con fess how much t ime

and medi tat i on i t cos t him . The s imp le harmoni es o f

the perorat i on,

“Requi esca t in pace,

”a re touchingly

beaut i ful .

The ear l i e st pr inted cop i e s of the motets w e have

descr i bed were given to the wor l d by Ot taviano dei

Pet rucci , who publ i shed a volume,at Veni ce

,i n 1 50 2 ,

ca l l ed “Motette,A . nume ro t rentatre” ; another , i n

1 50 3 , cal led“Motetti de pa s s i on i , a thi rd , in 1 504 ,

ca l l ed “Motetti , c . a fou rth , i n 1 50 5 ,“Motetti

l ib ro qua rto” : and,i n the same yea r

,a book , for five

voi ces,

“Motetti e cinque l ibro p r imo ,” which

,notw ith

s tanding the promi se imp li ed in i t s t i t le, w a s not fol

lowed by the appearance o f a companion volume . In

1 5 1 1 the i nventor o f p r inted mus i c removed to Fos

sombrone ; where , between the years 1 5 14 and 1 5 19 ,

he publ i shed four more volumes o f motets,known

,

from a figure engraved on the t i t le-page,as the Motetti

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 19 1

del la Corona . In 1 538 Anton io Ga rdano publ i shed , atVenice

,a col l ect ion , cal l ed— al so from a figure on i ts

t i tl e-page—“Motetti del Frutto .

” Thes e were p i rated,at

Ferrara,under the name o f “Motetti del la Sc im i a

,

” w i ththe figure o f an ape devour ing a f rui t ; whe reupon

Ga rdano i s sued a new volume , with the figure o f a

l ion and bear devouring an ape . Between the years

1 5 2 7 and 1 536 n ineteen s imi lar volumes were i s sued ,in Pari s

,by Pierre A tta ignan t ; and many more were

printed,in the s ame c i ty

,by Adrian le Roy and Rober t

Bal lard . These col l ect ions,contain ing innumerable

works by a l l the great composers o f the earl i er periods,

are o f p r i ce les s worth . O f some o f P etrucci’

s only

on e copy is known to exi st , and that , unhapp i ly , in

comp l ete . The l ibrary of the Bri t i sh Museum pos

se sse s h i s Second,Th i rd

,and Fourth Books o f “Motetti

del la Corona , bes ides h i s F i rs t and Thi rd Books o f

Josquin ’s masses,and the Fi r s t o f Ga rdano

’

s“Motetti

del Frutto” ; and th i s , taking into considerat i on thesp l endid cond i ti on o f the copi es

,must be regarded a s a

very r i ch col lect ion indeed .

During the Fou rth Epoch— embrac ing the interva l

between the death o f Josquin de Pres,in 1 5 2 1 , and

the p roduct ion o f the M is s a P apa M a rcelli,in 1 565

the development o f the motet co incided so c lose ly w i th

that o f the mas s that i t seems neces sary to add but

very l i tt le to th e chapters al ready g iven upon that sub

j cet . The contemporaneous p rogres s o f the madriga ld id

,indeed

,exerc i s e a health i e r influence upon the

former than i t could poss ibly have done in p resence

o f the more recond it e int ri caci es common to the latte r ;but ce rtain abuses crept into both . The evi l habi t o fmixing together ir re levant words increased to such an

192 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

extent that among the cu r i os i t i es pres erved in the

l ibrary o f the S i s t in e Chapel w e find motets i n which

every one of the five voi ces i s made to i l lu st rate a di f

feren t text throughout . In thi s re spect,i f not in

othe rs,an equa l amount o f deter i orat ion was observ

able in both s tyle s .The Fi fth Epoch— ext end ing f rom the year 1 565 to

the beginning o f the fol lowing centu ry— wi tnes s ed the

sudden a dvance o f both branches o f a rt to absolute

per fect ion ; for Palest rina , the br ightest geniu s of the

age,was equal ly great in both

,and has le ft u s m otets

a s unapp roachable in thei r beauty as the M is s a P apa

M a rcelli . The p rol ific powe r o f thi s del ight fu l com

pose r was no les s remarkable than the pu r i ty o f h i s

s tyle . The seven books o f motets p r inted du ring hi s

l i fet ime contain two hund red and two compos i t i ons ,for four , five

, s ix,s even

,and eight voi ces

,among

which may be found numerous examp l es o f a l l the di f

feren t cla sse s we have descr ib ed . About a hundred

others , includ ing th i rteen for twelve voices , are p re

se rved,in manuscript , i n the Vat i can Lib rary , and

among the archives of the Pontifica l Chapel , the Late r

an Bas i l i ca,S t . Ma r ia i n Va l l i cel la

,and the Col legium

Romanum ; and there i s good reason to bel i eve that

many were los t through the carelessness of the ma es

tro’s son , Igino . Beginning in 1862 ,Mes s rs . B rei tkop f

H ii rtel, of Leipz ig, have comp l e ted the publ i cat ion

o f Pa l estr ina’s works,which a re thus ma de avai lable

for s tudents and gene ra l rea de rs interested in the pro

duct ion s of thi s admi rable master .Pa l e str ina ’s grea tes t contempora r i es i n the Roman

school were Vi ttor ia, w hose motets a re s econd on ly

i n importance to hi s own,Mora le s , Fe li ce and F ran

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194 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

the seventeenth centu ry,wa s one o f sad decadence .

The unprepared d i ssonances int roduced by Monteverde sapped the ve ry foundat ions o f the polyphoni c

school s,an d i nvolved the motet , the mass , an d the

ma driga l in a common ruin . Men l ike Claudio Ca sci o

l in i and G regor i o Al legri d id thei r best to save the

grand old manne r ; but a fter the middl e of the centu ry

no compose r di d i t fu l l j u st i ce .

The Seventh Epoch inaugurated a new s tyle . Du r

i ng the latte r ha l f o f the seventeenth centu ry in stru

menta l mus i c made a rap i d advance ; and motets wi th

i nstrumenta l accompaniments we re subst i tu ted for

thos e sung by voi ce s a l one . In these,the old eccl es ia s

t i ca l modes were natu ra l ly abandoned in favor o f the

modern tona l i ty ; an d as t ime p rogres sed ; AlessandroScar la tt i

,L eo ,

Durante,Pergoles i

,and othe r m en of

nea r ly equa l reputation , produced rea l ly grea t works

in the new manner , and thu s prepa red the w ay for

s ti l l gr ea ter ones .

The chi e f glor i es o f the Eighth Epoch we re con

fined to Ge rmany, whe re Re inha rd Kei ser , the Bach

fami ly—with Johann Chri stoph and Johann Sebastianat i t s head—Graun , and Has s e clothed the motet innew and beauti fu l forms which we re tu rned to ex

cellent account by Homi lia s and Rol le,Wol f

,Hil l er

,

Fasch, and Schicht . The motet s w r i tten by J . S . Bach

are too wel l known to need a wo rd of descr ip t ion

known wel l enough to be unive rsa l ly recogniz ed as art ist ic crea t i on s o f the highest order

,qu i te unapp roach

able in the i r own pecul ia r s tyl e . With Handel ’s m o

tet s few musi cian s were fami l iar unti l,in the la st cen

tu ry,the German Handel Soci ety res cued them f rom

obl iv ion . These compos i t ions a re ext raordinar i ly

RELIG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 195

beauti fu l,

fi l led wi th the youth fu l freshness o f the

composer ’s early manner . Bes ides a “Salve Regina,

”

the manuscrip t of which i s p re served in the Royal

Lib rary at Buckingham Palace,we pos se ss a

“L auda te pueri ,

” in D,used as an int rodu ction to the

U trecht Jubi late ; another in F ,a D i xi t Dominu s

,a

“Nis i Dominus,

” and,bes t o f al l

,a lovely S ilete venti

,

”

for soprano solo , with accompaniments for a str ingedband , two oboes , and tw o bassoons the last movement

o f which ,“Dulc i s amor

,Jesu care

,was introdu ced in

“I s rael in Egypt,

”on i t s second revival

,in 1 7 56 ,

adap ted to the words “Hope,a pu re and las ting t reas

u re .

O f the N inth , or Modern E poch , w e have bu t l i ttl e

to say . The so-cal led motets o f the las t century haveno real claim to any othe r t i t le than that o f sacredcantatas . They were

,i t is t rue

,original ly intended to

be sung at high mass ; but the“In sanae et yanac cu rac

of Haydn,the “ Splendente te D eu s” o f Mozart , and

the “O salutar i s o f Cherubin i , exqui s i tely beauti fu l as

they are,when regarded simply a s mus i c have so l i ttl e

in common with the motet in its typ i cal fo rm that on e

can scarcely unde rstand h ow the name ever came to be

bestowed upon them . The motets o f Mendel ssohn ,again , have bu t l i ttl e affin ity with these— indeed , they

can scarcely be said to have any ; fo r , i n Spi te o f the

date s at which they were produced , they may more

fai r ly be clas sed wi th the great works o f the Eighth

Epoch,to wh i ch thei r style very c lo sely ass imi late s

them . We need scarcely re fer to hi s th ree motets for

t reble voices,written for the Convent o f Trini ta de

’

Monti , at Rome . a s gems o f modern art .

All that w e have sa i d in a forme r chap te r on the

196 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

trad i tional manner of s inging the polyphoni c mass app l i e s w ith equal fo rce to the motet . I t wi l l need an

equal amount o f exp res s ion and an equa l var i ety of

color ing ; and as i ts pos i tion in the se rvi ce i s anter ior

to the Elevat ion of the Host,a vigorous for te wi l l not

be ou t of p lace, when the sense of the words demands

i t . I t would scarce ly be pos s ib le to find more p rofit

able s tudie s for the practi ce o f polyphoni c S inging than

the best motets o f the best per iod .

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1 98 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

w a s the most important early col lect ion , and h ad a

p re face by Luther h imse l f . A grea t number of col l ee

t i ons appeared about the same time in variou s parts o f

Germany,and col l ect i ons continued to appear t i l l the

latter part o f the s eventeenth century, when , from po

litica l a s wel l as rel igiou s ci r cumstances , the st ream o f

p roduction became s luggi sh,and i t soon stopped a l to

gethe r .

The sou rces of the chorales were var iou s ; great

numbers were original,but many were adap ted from

the old Church tunes , and some wer e f rom a l together

secu lar sources . For instance,the chora l e “Der Du

bi st dre i” i s from the anci ent “O beata lux Trin i tati s” ;and Alle in Gott in de r HOh ’ se i Ehr

,

” which Mendels

sohn u ses in a modified form in “S t . Paul,i s a l so

ba sed upon a hymn o f the Roman Church . On the

other hand “Herr Chr i s t der e inig’ Gott ’s Sohn”

i s taken f rom a secular tune,

“Ich hOrt ’ e in Fraulein

klagen” ; and“Herz l i ch thut mich ver langen

,which

a ppears s evera l t imes in Bach’s “Mat thaus-Pa s s i on”

for in stance to the words “O Haup t vol l B lut und

Wunden”—i s taken from a secu lar tune,

“Me in Gem ii th

i s t mi r v erw irret .

”

O f many of the choral es i t i s d ifficul t to fix the

origin . That gene ral ly known to us a s Luther ’s Hymn

(“Es i s t gewi ss l i ch” ) cannot wi th probabi l i ty be att rib

u ted to him :

and there i s s ome doubt as to whetherthe famous Ein ’ fe ste Bu rg ,

” wh i ch M eyerbee r took

as the text o f“The Huguenots

,

” and Mende l ssohn

used in hi s “Re formation” symphony,Wagner i n hi s

K a i s e r Marseh ,” and Bach in va r iou s ways in hi s

canta ta to the same words,i s rea l ly by the great t e

former .

REL IG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 199

The most p rol ific compose r of chora le s w a s Johann

Crii g er , who wa s born some time a fter Luther’s death .

One o f h is ,“Nun danket a l l e Gott ” is bes t known

from its u se by Mendel s sohn in hi s Lobgesang .

”

The chora l e wh i ch Mendels sohn u ses in St . Paul,

at the death o f S tephen , i s by Georg Neumark , w ho

also w rote the original words to i t . In the p re face to

Bennet t and Goldschmidt’s “Choral e Book for Eng

land” thi s tune i s said to have been so popula r that in

the course o f a centu ry a fter i t s firs t appearance no

l es s than fou r hundred hymns had been wri tten to i t .

A very famous col lect ion o f tunes was publ i shed in

Par i s i n 1 565 by Claude Goud im el. Mos t of thes e

soon found thei r way into the German col lecti ons , and

became natu ral i zed . Among them was the tune known

a s the “O ld Hundredth .

” I ts fir s t appea ran ce seems to

have been in a French trans lat i on of the Psalms wi th

musi c by Marot and Beza , publ i shed at Lyons in 1 563 .

Many o f the tunes in Goud im el’

s col lecti on were from

secu lar sources .

The custom of accompanying chorale s on the organ ,and o f p laying and w r i t ing what were cal led figured

chorales , caused great str i des to be made in the de

v elopm ent of harmony and counterpoint , a nd a l so in

the art of p laying the organ ; so that by the latter parto f the seventeenth century Germany posse ssed the

finest s chool of organi st s in Eu rope, one a l so not l ike ly

to be su rpas sed in modern t imes .

CHAPTER XXI

THE ANTHEM

The Cu lm inat ing Po int o f R i tua l Mu s i c in Angl ican Churche s ,in which i t Take s th e Place o f th e Mo te t—Long L i s t ofE ngl i sh Com pos ers from E l i zabe th to Victor ia, B rokenon ly by th e Great Rebe l l ion.

THE anthem i s to the Angl i can Chu rch what the

m otet has a lways been to the Roman Ca thol i c,excep t tha t i t h a s acqui red even greater mus i ca l im

po rtance . A me re ca ta logue of modern anthems and

the i r composers would fi l l a cons iderabl e volume,and

i t must suffice to trace the hi s tory of thi s form o f

sacred composi ti on,and re fe r by name only to the best

works of the bes t ma ste rs .The i dea of respons ive s inging

,choi r an swer ing to

choi r,or cho i r to p r i es t , s eems inherent in the term

“antiphon,

” and w a s former ly conveyed by i t ; but thi s

a s a necessary e lement h a s di sappea red in our

m ore Angl i cized synonym “anthem . Thi s word

a fte r unde rgoing seve ra l changes in i t s Anglo-Saxon

and Early-Engl i sh forms , readi ly tra ceable in Chaucerand those w r i te rs w h o p receded and fol lowed him ,

and

subsequently used by Shakespeare , M i l ton , a nd others—has at length acqu i red a meaning equa l ly di s t inct iveand widely accep ted . I t now signifies a musi ca l com

pos i t ion , or sa cred motet , u sua l ly se t to ver ses of the

Psalms , or other porti ons o f Scr ip tu re, or the l i tu rgy ,2 0 0

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2 0 2 REL IG IOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

speci es o f compos i ti on,and i s perhap s the highest and

most i ndividua l point which h a s been reached by Engl i sh compose rs .

The recogn it ion of the anthem as a s tated part o fdiv ine servi ce da te s from early in El izabeth’s reign ;when we re i ssued the Queen ’s Inj unct ion s

,granting

permi s s ion for the u se of“a hymn or such l ike song in

chu rches .” A few years late r the wo rd “anthem”

ap

pear s in the s econd edi t i on o f Day’s choral col l ect ion,

ent i t l ed “Certa i n Note s set forth in fou r and five Pa rt s

to be sung at the Morn ing and Even ing Praye r and

Communion and at the la s t revi s i on of the PrayerBook in 1662 the word appeared in tha t rub r i c whi ch

ass ign s to the anthem the pos i t ion i t now occupi e s in

Matin s and Evensong . Only on e year later than the

publ i cat ion of the “ Inj unctions” S t rype give s p robably

the ear l i es t reco rd o f i t s actual u se,at the Chapel

Royal on mid-Lent Sunday , 1 560:“And

,Servi ce con

cluded,a good Anthem w a s sung . (The prayers a t

tha t t ime ended wi th the thi rd col l ect . ) Excep ting

dur ing the Great Rebel l i on , when musi c w a s bani shedand organs and choi r-books dest royed , the anthem h a s

ever S ince he ld i ts p l ace i n chora l s e rvi ce . At the

pre sent day , so far f rom there being any p rospect o f

i t s wi thd rawa l,there seems to exi s t a n increas ing love

for thi s specia l fo rm of sacred a rt , a s wel l a s an ea r

nes t des i re to inves t i t s pe r fo rmance always , and par

t icula rly on fes tiva l s , with a l l atta inabl e comp l ete

nes s and dign ity .

Ever s ince the Re fo rmat ion anthems have been com

posed by wel l-n igh a ll the eminent ma s te rs that Great

Br i ta in h a s produced , from Tye and hi s contempo

rar i e s onward to G ibbons , Pu rcel l , Boyce , Attwood ,

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2 9 4 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

S t . Ambrose i nt roduced them into the cathed ra l service

at M i lan . Later on ,some rude form o f o rgan began to

be used ; but only to play the p l a in song in un i son or

octaves wi th the voices,as i s n ow o ften done wi th a

serpent or oph i cle ide in French choi r s . I t s eems to be

beyond doubt that the u se of some kind of in strum en

tal accompaniment . i n chu rches p receded that o f the

o rgan . During ou r Fi rs t Per iod i t wou ld seem that an

thems when pe r fo rmed with any addit i on to the voi ces

of the choir were a lways a ccompani ed by such bow in

strum en ts as then rep resented the in fant orchest ra .

“Apt fo r viol s and voice s” i s a common exp res s i on on

the ti t le-pages of musi cal publ i cati ons o f th i s age . Thestr inged—in st rument parts were a lways in uni son with

the voi ces,and had no separate and i ndependent func

tion,except that o f fi l l ing up the harmony during vocal

“ rests ,”

or occas ional ly in a few bar s o f bri e f sym

phony . Be fore the Re storation,according to Dr . R im

bault , vers es” i n the anthems “were accompani ed

with viol s,the organ being u sed only in the fu l l part s .

The smal l organs o f thi s per iod were commonly porta ble ; a fact whi ch seems to indi ca te that such in stru

mental aid as was employed to support the s ingers was

p l aced in close proximi ty to them : an a rrangement sonatu ral , as wel l a s des i rab le , that i t i s su rp r i s ing to findi t eve r departed from in the p re sent day .

SECOND PER IOD,

1650- 1 72 o .

—Pelham Hum frey,

Wise , Blow , Henry Purce l l , Cro ft , Weldon , Jerem i ah

Clarke . Such great changes in the style and mann ero f anthem-writ ing are observabl e in al l that i s here ind ica ted

, that a new era in the a rt may be sai d to have

begun . Traceable,in the fi rst ins tance

,to the taste

and fancy o f Hum frey and hi s t rain ing under Lul l i,

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 0 5

t h i s w a s st i l l more largely due to the renowned Purcel l

,whos e powerful gen ius towers alo ft

,not only

among h i s contemporar i es, bu t i n the annal s o f al l fa

mous men . Th e compos i t i ons o f thi s per iod are mostly

di st ingu i shed by nove lty of p lan and deta i l,care fu l

and expres s ive t reatment o f the text,daring har

monies,and flow ing ease in the voi ce parts ; wh i l e oc

ca s iona lly the very depths o f pathos s eem . to have beensounded . The fol low ing may be ment i oned as spec i

mens o f the above master s : Hear , O heavens” and

“O Lord my God,

” Humfrey ; Prepare ye the w ay

and “Awake,awake

,put on thy st rength ,

” W i se ; I

was in the Spi ri t” and “ I beheld,and lo ! ” Blow ; O

give thanks,

” “O God ,Thou hast cast u s out

,

” and“O Lord God o f Hosts

,Purcel l ;

“God i s gone up,

Cry aloud and shout” ( from“O Lord

,I wi l l p rai se

and “Hear my prayer,O Lord

,Cro ft ;

“ In

Thee,O Lord” and “Hear my crying

,

” Weldon ; and“I wil l love Thee ’ and “O Lord God o f my salvat ion

,

Clarke . Wh i l e al l these pi ece s are more or les s excel

lent,s everal o f them can only be descr ibed in the l an

guage o f unreserved eu logy . A s the “ fu l l ” anthemw a s most in vogue in the former period

,s o i n th i s the

“vers e” and “ solo” anthem grew into favor . I t seems

to have been reserved for Purcel l,h imsel f th rough l i fe

a “most di stingui shed singer,

” to b ring to pe r fect ion

the ai rs and graces o f the “solo anthem .

During th i s period in strumental mus i c began to as

sume new and ind ividual importance,and to exerci s e

vast influence upon the general progress o f the art .Apart from the frequent employment o f inst rumental

accompaniments by anthem composers,the effect o f

such addi t ions to the pu rely vocal e lement upon the i r

2 0 6 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

style and manner o f w r i t ing i s clearly t raceable from

the time o f Pelham Hum frey downward .

Some inter est ing noti ces of thi s important change and

o f the gene ral per formance o f anthems in the Chape l

Royal may be gleaned from the diari es o f Pepys a nd

Evelyn . To quote a few : Pepys , speaking o f Chri s tma s

day there in 1662 ,says

,The Sermon done

, a good an

them followed wi th y ia lls,and the K ing came down to

receive the Sacrament .” Unde r the da te November 2 2 ,

1663 ,recording hi s attendance at the chapel

,the

wri ter says : “The anthem w a s good a fte r se rmon,be

i ng the fi fty -firs t p sa lm e , made for five voi ces by one

o f Captain Cooke’s boys

,a pretty boy ,

and they say

there are fou r or five o f them that can do a s much .

And he re I fi rs t pe rce ived that the King i s a l i ttl e

mus ical,and kep t good t ime wi th hi s hand a l l a long

the anthem . Evelyn,on December 2 1 , 1663 , men

tions hi s vi s i t to the chapel,and records i t in the fol

lowing important passage : “One o f hi s Ma j esty ’s

chaplains p reached ; a fter which , i n stead of the an

c i ent , grave , and sol emn wind mus i c accompanying

the organ,w a s i ntroduced a concer t o f twenty—fou r

vi ol in s between every pause,a fter the French fan ta sti

cal l ight way,bette r sui t ing a tavern , or p layhou se

,

than a chu rch . Th i s was the firs t t ime of change , andnow w e no more heard the com et whi ch gave l i fe to

the organ ; that inst rument qui t e le ft off in which the

Engli s h were so ski l l fu l l”

The deve lopment o f the S impl e s tr inged quartet o fChar le s the Second ’s royal band w a s rap i d and im

portant . Purcel l himsel f wrote trumpet pa rts to hi s

cel ebrated “Te Deum ,

” and in 1755 Boyce added haut

boys , bas soons , and d rums to the score . Handel ’s

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2 0 8 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

rep resents but impe r fect ly the p roductive powers of the

old—Engl i sh school . I t i s p robable that many hundreds

o f such p i eces have been i rretr i evab ly los t, ei ther by the

sacri legiou s hand o f the spoi le r or the culpable neglect

o f a mean pars imony . O f the seventy-on e anthems

w ri tten by B low,and S i xty by Boyce

,as compose rs to

the Chapel Roya l,how few remain , or at least a re a c

ces s ib le ! And,to glance farther back

,where a re the

mi ss ing outpour ings o f the geniu s o f Or lando Gi bbons ,or the numerous “composu re s” o f a ll h i s fe rt i le p rede

ces sors ? The p r incipa l t reasu res actual ly p rese rved to

us a re contained , for the most part , i n Day’s col le e

t ion,a l ready ment ioned , Barna rd

’s “Chu rch Mus i c ,”

the volumes o f Tomkins,Pu rcel l

,Cro ft , Greene , a nd

Boyce,the col lect i on s of Boyce , Arnold , and Page in

p rint,and o f Aldrich

,Hawkins

,and Tudw ay i n

manuscr ip t,that o f the twenty-two anthems o f the

ma dr igal ian era,edi ted by Dr . R imbault for the Mus i

cal Antiquari an Soci ety,and S i r Freder i ck Ouseley

’

s

edi t i on of G ibbons a l r eady ment ioned .

Foremost among al l fore ign contr ibut ion s to the

Engl i sh school o f Chu rch mus i c must be p laced the

twe lve anthems w r i tten by Hande l fo r hi s p r ince ly

pat ron the Duke o f Chandos . S tanding apar t f rom

any s imi lar p roduction s composed on Engli sh s oi l to

t ext s from the Engl i sh Bib le and for the chapel o f an

Engl i s h nobleman,these works o f England

’s great

a dopted son may j ustly be cla imed a s part o f he r r i ch

inher i tance o f sacred art . Belonging to a clas s su i ted

for Speci al occasions are the funeral and co rona t ion

anthems o f the same maste r . These , together with

Mendel s sohn ’s s tately yet moving p sa lms and anthems—some of them a l so composed to Engli sh words—may

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 2 0 9

be legit imate ly adopted as precious add i t ions to the

nat ive store o f choral mus ic .

Widely different from such genuine compos i t ions

are those adaptations,in the fir st instance from Han

de l by Bond,and late r on f rom masses and othe r

works,wh i ch have found the i r way into use in Eng

land . Whether in the se we regard the appl i cation o f

s t range words to musi c fi rs t insp i red by other and

widely different s ent iments,or cons ider the aff ront

to art involved in thus cutt ing and hacking the handi

work o f a deceased maste r ( even in h i s l igh tes t mood )for the sake o f pretty ph rases or showy pas sages

,

such adaptations are radi cal ly bad and repugnant to

a ll healthy inst inct s and t rue p r inc iples o f feel ing and

taste .

Concern ing the choice o f the anthem the s ame cl er

i cal and high authori ty be fore quoted remarks that“ i t ough t to be a matte r of del iberate and rel igious

study” ; and being a“prescr ibed part o f the se rvi ce

,

every not ion o f eccles iasti ca l p ropri ety di ctate s that

i t should ha rmon i ze wi th some port ion o f the se rvi ceo f the day .

” Dr . Jebb further says that at each o f the

particular s easons o f the year i t would be wel l to havea fixed canon a s to the anthems f rom which a select ion

shou ld invariably be made .

” Thes e Opin ions carry

convict i on wi th them , and there fore need no en forcement .

In counterpoint and its concomitants,the great

works o f former ages wi l l scarce ly ever be equaled,

st i l l l e s s su rpas sed . Yet,whi le the E ngl i sh Chu rch

can reckon among recent wri ters S . S . Wesley,whose

anthems , whethe r for original i ty , beauty , or fo rce,

would do honor to any school or country,together

2 10 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

with the genia l and expre s s ive styl e of S i r John Gos s ,and the faci l e yet mas te r ly a rt o f S i r Frederick Ouseley

,not to mention wel l-known l iving men , England

may be wel l content wi th the present fortune o f the

anthem , a s wel l a s hope ful for i ts futu re .

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2 1 2 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

ideal in st ruments and mes sengers o f divin i ty . The i r

st ruggles,thei r t riumphs

,are those o f high and nobl e

sou l s . The st ra in s wi th which the compose r expres se s

thei r emotions,the i r fee l ings

,must thus a im at the

frees t and most i dea l pe r fect ion . The chorus ,fo rming on e o f the most important factors i n the

oratorio,not se ldom concent ra te s i n i t se l f al l the rays

o f the centra l i dea o f the compose r’s sacred , dramati c

exp res s ion and in spi rat ion . The purely sentimenta l ,the rea l i s t i c pas s iona te— the reflex o f human l i fe in i ts

continua l confl i cts and st ruggles,and the necessary

ba s i s of opera— do not find such a consp i cuous p lace in

the ora tor i o .

”

When cont ra sting the drama t i c and ep i c power s

which respect ive ly d i s t ingui sh the two greates t of

musi cal art—forms— opera an d orator io—f rom each

other,Will i am S . Rockstro wri tes as fol lows : D ra

mati c exp ress i on necess ar i ly presupposes the p resence

o f the a ctor,who descr ibe s h i s ow n emotion s in hi s

ow n words . Ep i c powe r i s enti re ly subj ect ive . I t s

office is so to act upon the heare r’s imaginat ion a s to

p r esent to h ima s er i es of p i ctu res— whether of natu ralscenery , o f hi s tor i ca l events , or even o f dramat i c scenes

enacted out of s ight—sufficien tly vivi d to give him a

c l ea r i d ea o f the s i tuati on intended to be descr ibed .

Now,i f i n ‘Deepe r and deeper s t i l l ’ Handel h a s given

u s a convincing p roo f o f hi s powe r a s a dramat i s t , i t i s

equa l ly ce rta in that , i n the Flute Symphony to‘Angel

lat i che Cantate ’ i n ‘R ina ldo,

’ the Pastora l Symphonyin ‘The M es s ia h ,

’

and the Dead March i n ‘Saul,

’ he has

shown himse l f no l e s s succe ss ful a s a tone-pa inter .The pe r fect i on o f these wonder fu l p i cture s m ay be

tested by the enti re absence of the neces s i ty for scen i c

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 1 3

acces sories to give them thei r fu l l fo rce . WhenSims Reeves d eclaims ‘

D eepe r and deeper st i l l ’ in

ord inary evening dress , he Speaks as di rect ly to our

hearts,and portrays Jeph th a

’

s agony o f sou l qu i te as

truly, as he could pos s ibly do were he d re ss ed in the

robes o f an I s rae li t i sh j udge . The value l i es in

the musi c i tse l f ; the on ly condi t i on need ful for i tssu ccess i s that i t shou ld be wel l per formed .

”

Again,i n comparing opera with orator io mus ic

,the

secu lar as opposed to the sacred element in mus ic has

been the sub j ect o f f requent and var i ed d i scus sion .

The l i te rary text i s not always re spons ib le for the

solemn,exh i l a rat ing

,pathet i c

, or enl iven ing sentiment s

wh i ch musi c, pe

-r s e,o ften awakens . The as soc i at ion

o f certain words , say some , with certa in musical

phrases , gives to those phrase s a characte r s acred or

the reverse . Other s dec lare that the sp eed,o r rate ,

o f per formance h a s so mu ch to do wi th the gene ral

characte r o f the m u s ic that a dance tune,p layed s low

ly ,may be metamorphosed into a hymn-tune

,and

vice versa .

The story i s on record of a certain young or

g an is t w ho had a part i a l i ty for arranging W ag n eri

an operati c excerpt s and playing them as offe rtory

voluntari es . The musi c chosen gave no offense unti l

i t came to the c l e rgyman ’s ca rs that hi s congregati on

were regaled on Sunday to musi c original ly wri tten

for the stage . The young musi ci an was repr imanded

fo r hi s want o f devotional s ense a s to what w a s be

coming and appropri ate for per formance at d ivine

s e rv i ce . Feel ing somewhat nett l ed , th e Wagner i andetermined to have h i s revenge . Accordingly

,the fol

l owing Sunday,a sta i d body o f worsh i pe rs were not

2 14 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

a l i tt le amazed to hear , dur ing col lect ion , what sounded

very l ike a l ively dance tune . After service the or

gan is t was peremptori ly summoned to the vestry .

“You wi l l p l ease to unde rstand

,sai d the pasto r

with seve ri ty,that , i f you wi sh to reta in you r pos i t ion

as di recto r o f the mus i c of th i s chu rch , we cannot have

fr i vo lou s or secular organ select i on s p layed du ring

servi ce .

”

“ I qui te under stand that, s ir , w a s the rep ly

,but

forgive me i f I deny having t ransgres sed to—day . The

voluntary you di sapproved o f was an improvi sa t ion onan old hymn-tune

,my apology for p laying i t a t a b r i sk

speed being that i t was origina l ly so in tended to be

rendered, a s the hymn-melody was a dapted from a st i l l

o lder dance .

A somewhat s imi la r S i tuati on i s narrated of the

organi s t w ho ,being rep roved for p laying “ l ive ly”

voluntari e s in chu rch , improvi sed on a popu lar music

hal l d i tty taken at “di rge” pace,and was comp l imented

a fte rward upon the solemni ty and app rop r i ateness o f

hi s sel ect ion by thos e w h o did not know the sou rce

from which i t was drawn . But such “t ri cks” upon

the part o f musi c ians are nei ther legi t imate nor in good

taste . The speed o f per formance doubtles s affects

the chara cte r o f the musi c rend e red ; but“qu i ck musi c

i s by no m eans a lways o f a fr ivolou s characte r w itness

the energy and earnestness of some o f the mos t rapid

and flori d o f Johann Sebast ian Ba ch ’s organ fugue s .

Mus i c has been descr ibed as “ the language of the

emoti ons Even as our emotion s a re swayed by

human pas s ion or the divine affla tu s , so wi l l the music

which emanates from a gi fted composer ’s emoti ona l

tone-sense di sclose , i f w e could but d iagnose i t ac

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2 16 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

ship . Whether i n choral or fugue form , the orator io

chorus should have an art i st i c value of i t s own ,a s a

p i ece of polyphoni c wri t ing, which i s not looked for

in the corresponding ope rati c choral numbe r .

We may there fore best descr ibe the d i st inct ion be

tween ope ra and oratori o by obse rving that d ramati c

or emotiona l s entiment in the sa cred work i s exp ressed

more o ften collectiv ely ; wherea s i n the secular work

the thread o f the narrative , s tory, or main i dea i s

gene ral ly le ft to ind iv idua l expos i t ion . The in troduc

t ion of a chain o f choruses— such a s we find in Han

de l ’s “ I s rael in Egypt,

” for examp l e— find s no paral le l

in opera . The whole construct ion o f the sacred d rama

i s indeed opposed to pe rsonal i ty or i ndiv i dual i sm,save

in an i dea l i zed s ense . Thus in “El i j ah” we s ee rather

the mes senger o f Divini ty than the man ; whereas , in a

work l ike “Tannh éiuser, the man and the woman ar e

the cente r-p ivot s a round which revolve the intere st

and a ction o f the whol e . The t reatment of the operai s , i n sho rt , lyri cal , a s contrasted w i th the choral de

v elopm en t o f the orator io .

I f,a s i s general ly a l lowed

,chorus work i s the highes t

achievement o f t he expert compose r , the oratorio givesmost scope for the disp l ay o f the greates t mus i cal gi fts

and erudi t ion . That few have succeeded in invest ing

th i s superb art—form with las ting interest i s attes tedby the fact that we posses s

,compared wi th other

clas se s o f compos i t ion,so few real ly grea t oratorios .

The oratori o has been ap t ly compared to a cathed ral .The fanc i fu l though t seems to have struck manyauthors , p robably independent ly o f each other . Thusw e have i t f rom the German ph i losopher Sche l l ing ;the French wri ter Mm e . de S tael ( in

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 1 7

and the I ri sh novel i s t Frank F rank fort Moore p res entsthe i dea in “A Nest o f Linnets . ” A character i n th i s

book,M rs . Ab ingdon , a charm ing act re ss , thus speaks

o f the composer o f“The Me ss iah” : “Oh , I can only

th ink of Handel a s a bu i lder o f cathedral s . E very

orator io that he composed seems to me comparable only

to a great cathedral,gloriou s wi th in and wi thout

,mas

s ive in i ts st ructure,and here and there a sp i re taper

ing up to heaven i t sel f,and yet wi th countle ss co lumns

made beaut i fu l wi th the fines t carving . I f the

musi c o f ‘Mes s iah ’ were to be frozen be fore ou r eyes ,would i t not stand be fore u s in the form o f S t . Paul ’s ?”

To fol low out th i s pleas ing concept ion , on e m igh tperhaps add that the sacred edifice o f the o ratorio has

for i ts foundation and paving,the orchestra ; for i t s

masonry,pi l la rs

,and lo fty roo f

,the chorus work ;

wh i l e the stor i ed W indows r ich ly dight,the marbl e

pulpi t , altar , and font , rep res ent the solo or solo-con

certed numbers , each a gem o f tone—construct ive art,

beauti fu l to the ear a s the arch i tectu ral featu res named

del igh t and astoni sh the eye . Just as the cathedra l i s

one o f the highes t t riumph s of the des igne r'

s and bu i ld

e r’s art,so the orator io i s in the front rank of al l that

i s noble and exalted in the output o f the creative musi

ei an . As the cathed ral s form the “ S ights worth see ing”

o f great ci ti es , so the study and the per formances oforatorios offe r opportuni t i e s for cultu re

,experi ence

,

and widening o f musi cal though t to the student— ama

feur and pro fes s ional mus i c i an— wh i ch cannot be sur

passed . The stabi l i ty o f fi rs t-clas s oratori o musi c is

proved in the most conclus ive way by the fami l i ari tyo f al l clas se s o f heare rs wi th such works as Hand el ’s“Mes s i ah” and Mendels sohn ’s “Eli j ah . The mult i

2 18 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

p l i cat ion of great works l ike these is no more looked

for than w e would look for many great cathedral s in

the same towns . I f anything went to prove the value

o f the “Book o f Books , i t would be the fact that the

grand musi c o f the best orator i os , being wedded to

imperi shabl e words,partakes o f that imperi shabi l i ty

,

and seems never to grow stale or ou t o f date . The

imm or ta li ty o f foremost orato r i o mu si c i s that wh i ch ,to thought fu l minds , makes one real ize the infini te

pos s ibi l i t i e s o f the divine art . Musi c can charm us a t

a ll t imes wi th s train s exhi larating , j oyous , tender ,p la int ive , pathet i c, an d medi tat ive ; i t can thri l l the

emotion s or soothe angry or franti c pass i on ; bes t of al l

i t can rais e the sou l from earth to heaven,a s when

,

for instance , we l i sten to that pu re and beauti fu l

melody ,“I know that my Redeeme r l iveth

,or that

re st fu l Sacred song, so rep l ete wi th com for t for many

a ching hea r ts,

“O re st in the Lord , wai t pa t i en tly for

him ; and he Sha l l give thee thine heart’s des i re .

”

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2 2 0 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

c rep t into the body o f the per formance i t sel f . From

such beginn ings arose the i dea of the sa cred musi ca l

drama,to be subsequently f reed f rom the trammels o f

action,and i dea l i zed in the form o f the oratorio .

The idea of as soci at ing musi c with the drama fi r st

came into art i st i c p rominence among the anci ent

G reeks . Although the exact natu re o f the mus i c l inked

with the works o f ZE schy lu s , Sophocle s , and Eu r ip i de s

i s sh rouded in ob scur i ty,we may conj ectu re that i t

was ma in ly chora l or,as has been sugges ted with some

p laus ib i l i ty,the actors intoned thei r parts . The Romans

cop i ed the Greeks in the i r d rama s a s i n othe r th ings ;but the copy , under the bruta l i ty and s ensual i ty of im

per ial Rome , soon degenerated into a parody , or rather

a coa rs e cari catu re o f the or igina l ; and i t i s certa in

that the accompanying mus i c,be ing a ssociated wi th

unwholesome su rroundings,Sha red the degradat i on

of the text to whi ch i t w a s wedded . In time,Roman

drama became thoroughly obnoxious to al l moral sen se ,and the earnest-minded saw that , i f any pu r ificat i on o f

the stage w a s to be a ttemp ted , i t w a s necessa ry to re

vert to Greek mode l s .

I t is cur iou s to rea d that the fi rs t attemp t towa rd the

regenerat ion o f the drama was the p roducti on o f a

Pass ion Play ( the Pas si on of Chr i s t and the Sor rows

o f the Bles sed Vi rgin ) , att r ibuted , perhap s e rroneously , to S t . Gregory N a z ian z en ( fou rth century ) . Thi s

curiou s work i s sai d to have been constructed clos ely

upon the l ines of Greek tragedy,save that there were

no lyr i cal choruses . I t i s part i cu lar ly interest ing to

the class i ca l s cholar,a s i t contain s seve ra l hundred

l ines o f Eurip i des not found e lsewhere .

Thu s ear ly di d the suffe r ings and death o f the

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 2 2 1

Redeemer afford a grand theme for the pur ification

and exaltat ion o f a debased art- form . In th i s d ramat i z ing o f the story o f the Saviour ’s sel f-sa cr ifice

,de

yout minds o f the day saw al so a ready and effect ivemeans o f impress ing the theme and doct r ine o fChr i s t ian i ty upon an unlearned and ignorant mult i tude .

Church r i tua l m ight solemniz e and overawe fo r the

moment ; bu t there w a s someth ing to be memorized and

talked about in the vi sual representati on o f the su f

fering s of the Man of Sor rows . Thus the ve ry means

that had h i therto been used as a tool o f l i cent iousnes s,

now,i n the hands o f the mini ste rs o f the new rel igion

,

became a migh ty factor in the moral enl igh tenment

and instruct ion o f the peop l e . I t i s even recorded

that a learned nun of Saxony wrote s i x p lays a fter

the design o f those o f the comi c poet Terence,in order

to Show that “mu ch better comed i es [than h i s ! might

be wri tten to inculcate st rict moral and rel igiou s teach

ing .

” A scene,supposed to be humorous

,in one o f her

p lays re late s how a number o f holy : women,being

imp ri soned in the ki tchens of h is palace by a wicked

Roman governor , by devot ing themselves to p rayerdive rted thei r captor ’s obnoxious attent ion s from them

selves,and caused him

,i n a fi t o f madness

,to make

love instead to the pots and pans in h i s scull ery !

Bri efly trac ing the h i s tory o f re l igiou s drama from

i ts firs t indi cations,w e find , i n the th i rteenth centu ry ,

S t . Franc i s o f Assi si rep resenting at h i s fore st a ltar

the scene o f the Nativi ty— a young g i rl , with a baby

in her arms,taking the part o f the Vi rgin and Ch i ld

,

S t . Joseph al so be ing personated , and the m is e en

s cen e including the introdu ct ion o f a l ive ox and ass .At Chri stmas t ime i t w a s early customary for the

2 2 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

shepherds to come into Rome from Ambru z z i and p ipebe fore p i ctu res of the Vi rgin . The German peasants

al so used formerly to go round thei r vi l lages on Chri st

mas eve in the gu i se o f the Three K ings from the Eas t .

From su ch p rimit ive cu stoms w e doubtles s have the

origin o f the sa cred drama .

At fi rs t the sacred plays , or Scriptu ral scenes , we reenacted only in the churches . Easter in particu lar

w a s s olemnized with imp re s sive and real i st i c cere

moni es . A S may be imagined , thes e rep re sentations

soon became ve ry popu lar , and att racted enormous

congregat ions . A speci al se rvi ce in Rouen was that

o f unvei l i ng the crucifix. So l a rge a body o f w or

sh ip ers thronged for admi s s i on to wi tness thi s spectac l e

that , in 13 16, an archbi shop o f Worms found i t n eces

sary to ordain that the r i te should be enacted wi th

c los ed doors,and be fore the p r i e st s only . From a

very inte res t ing manuscrip t o f the thi rteenth century

w e gather the fol lowing account o f the mode o f per

form ance o f a Latin p l ay on the Re surrection : Three

p r i e sts,robed a s the three Marys

,so lemnly walk up

the chu rch to where a grave had been prepared,S inging

a lamenta t ion for the death o f the Good Shepherd . At

the grave i s s tat i oned an eccles i as t i c arrayed as an

angel , miter on head , and palm in le ft hand , with

branch o f candlesti cks on the r ight . Othe r p ri e st s pe r

sona ted SS . Peter and John , and One arrayed in the

l ikeness o f a gardener .” Monks,garbed as angel s

,

i nvi te the congrega t ion to s ee the emp ty grave,and the

cerecloth i s held up to vi ew . At thi s j unctu re theHoly Women “answer one another wi th outbur st s o f

joy . The next s tage di rect ion en j oin s him “who a fore

was the gardene r to come in the l ikenes s of the Lo rd,”

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2 2 4 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

to him , makes amends to the sa int for the desecra tiono f hi s image and becomes a convert to Chr i s t ian ity .

In thi s play i t i s a l so curiou s to note that there is a

re frain in old French . So did the secular e lement continua lly creep in , unt i l a t l ength comi c inter ludes were

int roduced in wh i ch the Devi l,the o ften much—abused

clown o f the sacred drama , became the most popu larpersonage o f the pr esentati on .

The churches soon became too sma l l to accomm o

date the vas t c rowds that a ssembled wi thin them to

wi tnes s the specia l p lays enacted at fest iva l t imes .

From the chu rch the a rena of acti on w a s removed to

the chu rchyard . Thi s resu lted in the desecrat ion o f

grave s and eventual ly open Space s i n or near the great

towns,s t reet-corner s and market—p l ace s were avai led

o f for the holding o f these hal f-solemn , ha l f-ludicrou s

mummeri es . Once the M i racl e Play passed outs ide

the p recincts of the chu rch, l aymen took the part s

hi therto fi l l ed by cle ri cal acto rs ; and great bands o f

per fo rmer s,wh i ch included wandering j uggler s ,

mountebanks,an d p robab ly a l so min st rel s

,fo rmed

themse lves into gu i lds and companie s,and made a

regular bus ine s s of p er fo rming in the open on the

occas ion o f a ll the grea t Chu rch feasts and holydays

The s tage used was a high wooden scaffold , with two ,

or sometime s three , stor i es . The topmost represented

heaven ; the middle , earth ; and the lower , hel l . Some

t imes the unde r porti on was uti l i zed a s a kind o f

dress ing-room for the pe r formers,whi le the h igher

landings were devoted to the act ion . The costuming

appears to have b een more glar ing than app rop r i ate or

reverent i al . The most sacred pe rsonages were a rrayed

in the most absu rd garb s . Thus God was pres ented

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 2 5

with a white coat and gi lded face . The D ev i l w a s in

variab ly accompani ed by a caudal appendage . Th e

fees expended upon the dress,meat

,and drink o f the

per formers,as preserved in the old chroni cl e s

,make

quaint reading .

At length these rep resentat ions—once they pas sedfrom out the sanct i ty and re serve o f the Church andcle rgy— degene rated into orgie s . B ibl i cal t ruths were

sti l l i nculcated,but the manner in wh i ch th i s w a s

’

done

was so i rreverent , and the most solemn sub j ects weremingled wi th the coarsest j est ing and buffoonery to

such an extent,that the more earnest-m inded o f the

communi ty became di sgu sted,and effort s were made

to put a stop altogethe r to a practi ce wh i ch permittedsuch abuses .

The fi rs t M i racl e Plays p roduced in England date

back to the t imes o f Will i am Ru fus . The taste for

thes e per formances soon sp read th rough the country .

In London , in 1378 ,the chori ster s of S t . Paul

’s p rayed

for the suppres s ion o f per formance s by “ i nexper t

peopl e,

” wh i ch shows that in the wi desp read popu lari ty o f the rep res entat ions keen r ival ry as wel l a s in

competence and Sham had to be contended with .

In England the reign of the M i racl e Play may be

rough ly computed to have extended from the time o fChaucer to that o f Shakespeare . The final per form

ance at York took p lace in 1 579 ,when Shakespeare

was a lad o f fi fteen ; ten years subsequent ly Newcastl e

saw the last o f the sacred mummers ; Cheste r pat ron iz ed sacred p l ays unti l the end o f the s ixteenth cen

tu ry ; and in Beverl ey w e hear o f thei r being per

formed in 1604 . The fash i on and publ i c taste for the

rep resentat ions final ly seem to have di ed out with the

2 2 6 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

demi se o f Elizabeth . Thus the fou rteenth centu ry sawthe rel igiou s drama at i ts he igh t

,the fi fteenth centu ry

w i tness ed its decay , and the s i xteenth i t s death . The

cu stom sti l l l ingers among the peasants of Oberam

m erg au ,in Bavari a

,where eve ry ten years the th r i l l

ing per formance o f the famous Pas sion Play attra cts

crowds o f Spectators from al l part s o f the world . In

pa s s ing , i t may h e remarked that the so-cal l ed Moral i ty

d iffered only f rom the M i racle Play p roper in that i t

d ea l t w ith Scr iptu ral dogma rathe r than incident .The int roduction of musi c into these sacred dramas

i s o f part i cu lar in terest when tracing the events which

preceded the p roduct ion o f the fi rs t orator i o . In the

Mys tere de Je sus ,”

a B reton sacred d rama of Her

sar t de la Villem a rque (p roduced be fore

scen e iv o f the second part ,“La resurrect ion ,

we

read that Le Témoin ( the wi tness ) i s d i rected to

s ing th e wo rds o f the Angel— “Jesu s , qu e vou s cher

chez,n ’est poin t i ci , etc . In The Sacrifice of I saac ,

”

an old Engli sh rel igiou s p lay , w e find the qua in t stage

d i recti on—“To chee r themselves , they s ing a catch .

”

In the Mora l i ty “The Caste l l of Perseverance ,” there

i s an exhortat ion to “Pipe up [mu ! s i c and instances

l ike th i s cou ld be mult ip l i ed .

In on e case the very tune sung on a specific occa si on

h a s come down to u s . We re fer to the celeb rated

Hymn of the A SS .

” At the “Donkey ’s Fest ival ,”

a

somewha t r id i cu lou s r i te he ld to commemorate the

fl ight into Egypt o f Joseph with Mary and the Holy

Chi ld,a donkey was solemnly led into chu rch capar i

Son ed i n the gown o f a monk . Occasional ly i t w a s

r i dden by a young gi r l , with a babe or dol l in her a rms ,

to repre sent the Vi rgin and Chi ld . As the process ion

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CHAPTER XXIV

THE B IRTH OF ORATOR IO

Th e Work o f San Fi l ippo de’ N er i—Th e Dawn o f Sacre dand S ecu lar D ram at ic Mu s ic— Th e Fi rs t Orator i o—Opera,Orator i o

,and Can tata Work—Th e Tragic Rom ance of

S trade l la—A l e ssandro Scar latt i as a Com poser o f Sacre dMu s ic— Orator i o am ong th e Ven et ian s—Th e Adol e scenceo f Orator i o .

IN the preceding chapte rs w e have seen the tendencyo f the human mind towa rd a real i s t i c— p i cto ria l and

dramati c— demonstration o f man ’s be l i e fs and emo

tions . I t was re se rved for the devout in s ight of S an

Fi l ippo de ’ Neri,a Florentine w h o w a s admi tted to the

Roman p r iesthood in 1 56 1 , to s t rike a happy mean between the severi ty o f Chu rch mu sical r i tual and the

abuses whi ch had c rep t into the s em isecula r rep resenta

t ions o f sacred drama . Shortly a fter h i s consecration .

Neri founded a congregat ion o f clergy a t Rome,whose

gather ings he endeavored to make inst ruct ive and a t

t ract ive . Sacred songs,hymns , and psalm-s inging in

tersp ersed h is exhortations , and he in st i tu ted the ren

dering o f sacr ed p lays . A S the d rama was mountedin the vestibul e or vest ry o f th e chapel— general ly

cal led the oratory— whithe r p ri es t an d congregation

adj ourned be fore an d a fte r the s ermon,the term

oratorio came to be appl ie d to the per formances themselves .

The doings o f the Congrega t ion o f the Oratory na t

2 2 8

REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 2 2 9

u ra lly attracted the attention o f poets and musi ci ans ;and i t w a s re served for a woman , the gi fted Laura

Gu id iccion i , to wri te the l ib retto o f the fi rs t work

wh ich rece ived the regular ti tl e of oratorio . Th i s

sacred drama w as enti tl ed “Rappr esentazione d ian ima e di corpo

,

” and was constructed somewhat

a fter the fash ion o f the then very popula r Mora l i t i es ,being rathe r al legor ical. and doctr inal than des cr ip t ive

o f a Scr iptural incident . The mus i c o f th i s fi r st ora

tor io was composed by Emi l i o de l Caval i er i (bornabout

The p r incipal characte r s were Time,Li fe

,the

World,Pleasu re

,the Intel l ect

,the Soul

,the Body

,two

Youths, w h o reci ted the p rologue , and the Chorus .

The orchest ra,cons i st ing o f five instruments

,w a s hid

den from view,but the characte rs were d i rected to

car ry inst ruments in thei r hands and p retend to a c

company thei r voices a t the p roper t imes . Complete

and cu riou s d i recti ons were given for per formance .

The most astoni shing d i rect ion i s that in which the

int roduction o f the bal let i s sanct ioned wi th al l s e r i

ou sn es s ! Th i s i s the more remarkable as Caval i e ri’s

work w a s wri tten to be rendered in the oratory o f the

new chu rch of Neri , Santa Mari a in Vall icel l a . The

fash i on of the times , however , for br inging the l igh tand even comi c e lement into the sacred p lays o f that

epoch , i s to be remembe red ; and i t m igh t al so be re

marked , i n pass ing, that the sacred dance i s not inseparable from rel igiou s r i tual

,K ing Davi d himse l f

having danced be for e the ark o f the Lord .

Thi s fi rs t orator io coming ou t at the same t ime

( 160 0 ) as Jacopo Per i’s “

E uridice ,” the fi rs t opera

,

marks the commencement o f an epoch dest ined to bea r

2 30 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

luxuriant fru i t in the departments of both sacred and

secu lar drama . At the start there was l i t tl e difference ,save that o f subj ect-matter , between the two great

art-forms . The new s t i lo reci tat ivo (or vocal decla

mation ) , which Peri claimed to have invented uponthe tradi t ions o f G reek dramati c intonat ion , was at

once uti l i zed in orator i o ; and in al l mus i cal cons t ruet ive effect s— overtu re

,ar i a

,chorus

,etc—opera and

o ra tor io advan ced at the beginning upon s imi lar l ine s .With Gi acomo Car i ss imi ( 1604 who became

famous as a wri te r o f s acred cantatas , oratorio seems

to have taken the fi r st s tep toward i deal i sm as op

posed to the real i sm o f opera . The cantata was es

sen tially i ntended to be s ung rathe r than acted . The

text to which cantata mus i c i s set i s , or should be ,lyr i ca l rather than ep i c or d rama t i c in character . I t

w a s the t rend toward contemplat ion rathe r than

demonstrati on— a t rai t w e recogn ize firs t,perhap s

,in

the cantatas and ora tor i os o f Caris s imi —that suggested

the throwing of a deeper and more ser iou s musici an

ship into the compos i t ion of orator i o work . Th i s resulted i n the production o f that di s t ingu i shing feature

o f a l l the greatest o rator i os,st rong and scholarly

chorus work For hi s o rator io s Caris s imi chose such

subj ect s as Jeph th a ,” “Solomon ’s Judgment

,

” “Bel

s h a z z a r ,” “David and Jonathan

,

” etc . His rec i tat ives

and choruses are part i cu lar ly fine .

O f I tal i an composers o f orator i o wh o were influenced by the examp l e of Car i s s imi

,doubt les s the two

mos t important were Ale ssandro S trade l la (born

about 1645 ) and Alessandro Scarlatt i ( 1659S tra del la ’s l i fe—story was a romanti c i f pa theti c one .

He h ad eloped wi th a young lady, Hortens ia , the be

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2 32 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

style which for near ly a centu ry reta ined a high p lace

in the musi ca l wor ld .

” The o rato r ios a tt r ibuted to

Sca r latt i are : I dolor i d i Ma r ia ,

” “ I ! Ma rt i ro d i Santa

Teodos ia,” “S an Fi l ippo de’ Neri , and

“Pas s i o Domin i

nost r i J esu Chr i s t i s ecundum Joh annem .

” The lat ter

work especia l ly deserves attent ion as be ing a prede

ces sor o f the pas s i on ora tor ios of Johann S eba s tian

Bach . S evera l contemporaries of Sca r latt i w rote ora

torios , some of which,had we space, might wel l b e

noti ced here .

Almost unde r the heading o f orator i o work come

the sett ings o f the Psa lms by Benedet to Marcel lo

( 1686 on e of the greates t musi ca l and pol i t i ca l

lum inari es o f the Veni ce o f hi s day . Marce l lo w a s a

nob leman by bi rth and pos i t ion ; yet i t speaks much

for the e s teem with wh i ch musi c w a s then regarded ,seeing that a man h ighly p laced a s he made a ser i ou s

s tudy o f the art,and des i r ed to be regarded as a p ro

fes s ion a l musi cian . The works r e fer red to are par

t icu la rly i nte re st ing, a s Marcel lo therein util i zes a s

themes severa l w el l-known Jewish synagogal melodi es .The fa ct that sacred , i n p lace o f s ecu lar

,tunes are

a dap ted,s eems a fores hadowing of the subsequent

o rato ri o t reatment of the Protes tant cho ral e (or hymn

tune ) in the compos i t ions of Ba ch an d Mende ls sohn .

Thu s gra dual ly,from the fus ion o f many ingredi ents

and unde r a va s t va ri ety of su rroundings,we begin

to s ee modern o ratori o take shape . Al l musi ca l influences

, being b rought to bear upon rel igiou s thought ,were ins trumental to the forthcoming of sacred mus i

cal drama i n its highes t and nob le st s ense . Thi s height

wa s rea ched ma in ly through the work of g reat German composers .

CHAPTER XXV

RELAT ION OF THE CHORALE A N D TH E PASS ION TO

ORATOR IO

Lu ther and th e Chora l e—Fi rst-fru i t s of th e Lu theran Chora l eE ar ly Germ an Pas s i on Mu s ic—Bach—Th e Matthew Pass i on—Th e John Pass ion—Prote s tan ti sm and th e Orator i o .

W ITH the Lutheran Re formation , the popu lari ty o fa new musi ca l form , the chorale , d i d much to in

fluence the sacred compos i t ions o f German musi c i an s .Long a fter hi s own soul—emanc ip ation had been at

ta ined— when , in mounting S t . Pete r’s s tai rcase at

Rome as an act o f penance , a d ivine voi ce seemed to

wh i sper in h i s ear ,“The j ust shal l l ive by fai th”

Luther found the chorale one of the gr eate st of ex

h ila ra ting influences upon the minds o f the people

whom he sough t to elevate and instruct . And i t w a s

th i s ve ry Luthe ran chorale,upon its being introduced

with al l the most expert devi ces o f musi cianship i ntothe oratorios of Bach and Mendel s sohn, that gave to

orator io , when t ran splanted from Italy to Germany , al l

the maj esty , grandeu r , and intens i ty wh i ch char

acter iz e th i s noblest o f al l outcomes o f mus ical art .Being h imsel f an enthu si ast i c mus i c i an

,and pos

se ss ing not only a fine voice but the composer ’s instinct

, Luthe r conceived the idea o f writ ing hymns in

the vernacu la r ; and th ese , with the help o f hi s p rofes s iona l f ri end Wa l ther . he had the sati s fact ion of

2 33

2 34 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

see ing a r ranged to strong flowing melodi es which could

be eas i ly taken up and memoriz ed by a la rge body

of peopl e .

The chorale a l so made i t s influence fel t in

nea r ly al l the highe r departments o f German sacred

musi c o f the epoch that fol lowed . Parti cu lar ly was

thi s so i n the great example s of pass ion musi c which

p receded the noble s t o f al l pass ion oratorios,that ac

cording to S t . Ma tthew by J . S . Bach . Among the

p redeces so rs of Bach in thi s form of musi c were Hein

r i ch S ch ii tz ( 1 585“ the fa ther o f German

mus i c,

” Johann Sebast ian i (born and Re inha rd

Kei ser ( 1674Th rough the s trong popular element o f the P rotes

tant choral e, the earnes t and sol emn reci tat ives o f

Sch ii tz and S ebast i an i , and the in fus ion o f a certa in

dramat i c el ement into the sacred narrative o f Chr i s t’s

suffer ings and death by Kei ser and hi s l ib rett i s t, ora

torio form,t ransp lanted from I taly to Germany

,grad

ua lly as sumed e lements o f construct ion wh i ch were

dest ined to be evolved and glorified to the h ighest de

gree by two of the greates t o f the tone-poets , J . S .

Ba ch and G . F . Handel . To Ba ch himse l f i t was res erved to give to the world , i n hi s pass ion orator i os ,work tha t h a s hi therto been unsu rpassed for dign ity

,

grandeu r,dep th

,and devotiona l exp res s ion .

Ba ch’s famous Ma tthew Pa s s i on was p roduced forthe fi rs t t ime on the even ing of Good Friday

,1 72 9 ,

in

the S t . Thomas Chu rch , Leipz ig, the se rmon coming

between th e two pa rt s a fter the manner of Ner i ’s p rocedu re at Rome .

The Ma t thew Pas si on i s wr itten for two comp l ete

choi rs,ea ch accompan ied by separa te orchestra and

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2 36 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Thus w e se e h ow Protestanti sm ,with i t s d i s tinctly

human badge o f the peop l e ’s sacred song, or chora le ,added the fini shing touch o f s ol id i ty , universal i ty , and

grandeu r to the sacred ed ifice o f the oratori o . I t was

a s i f , through the n ewly e rected cathed ra l o f nobl est

tone- forms,the grand voice of the organ pea l ed forth

for the fi r s t t ime,fi l l ing eve ry nook and crevice wi th

glorified sound , the mus i c ascending, i n wave upon

wave of vib rat ing a ir,to the highest p innacle and

dome , and shaking even the “ s tor i ed windows” with

the throbbings o f i t s mighty peda l p ipes .

CHAPTER XXV I

THE ORATOR IOS OF HANDEL

His I ta l ian,Germ an , and E ngl i sh Orator i o s I srae l in

E gyp t” Sau l”—Hande l i n I re lan d—“

Th e M es s iahO ther Great Orator i o s o f Hande l .

OR detai l s o f the l i f e and genera l works o f GeorgeF rederick Hande l ( 1685 as wel l a s for

those relating to several other great oratorio composer s

to be spoken o f here , the reader i s re fer red to the

biograph i cal secti on o f thi s ser i e s .

Handel w rote two I ta l ian orator ios and one Ge rman

orator i o be fore w r i t ing any o f ’ hi s seventeen E ngl i s h

works in that form . H e fir s t went f rom Ge rmany,h i s

native l and,to England in 1 7 10 , and there he remained

p racti cal ly for the res t o f h i s l i fe .

Among Handel ’s Engl i sh oratorios are h i s greates t

works,and o f some o f the more important o f them

w e wi l l now speak .

Afte r wri ting numerous works for the stage,and

produ c ing the oratorios “E sther” “

D eborah

and Athal i a” as wel l as a var iety o f

other compos i tions,Handel , worn out wi th l abor and

bus iness troubles , withdrew from England to the Cont inen t to recru i t h i s exhausted energi es . On h is retu rn

from the Continent , restored in consti tution and spi r i ts ,he b rought out h i s “ I s rae l in E gypt

,

” wri tten in the

marvelously short space o f twenty-seven days . But i t2 3 7

2 38 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

met wi th a very indifferent recept ion from the publ i c ;and ,

when repeated,the composer found i t neces sary to

introduce I ta l i an solos between the mas sive choruse s

in order to induce an audi ence to s it ou t a second per

form ance ! The grandeu r o f the doubl e chorus es in

thi s noble work i s unquest ionably unsurpas sed in ora

tor io mus i c .

Our reade rs,i f they are not al ready fami l iar with

them,are r ecommended to examine sti ch wonder fu l

numbers a s the “Hai ls tone choru s,the magnificent

fugal chorus “He led them through the deep,

” and the

great bu rs ts o f j ubi lati on,

“I wi l l s ing unto the Lo rd”

and Thy r ight hand,O Lord .

” The maj esty of these

choral number s pe rhap s appeal s to us i n i ts fu l l fo rce

only when rende red by s ingers numbering thou sands,

and where there i s ample Space for unl imited volume

o f sound . In “ I s rae l in Egyp t” also occu rs the noted

duet “The Lord i s a man o f war ,” now usual ly and

most app ropr ia tely rende red a s a two-part chorus for

ma l e voi ces .

Fol low ing upon I s rae l came the fine Orator i oSaul

,

” the many beauti fu l numbers o f whi ch the space

at ou r command does not permit u s to Speci fy . We

cordial ly agree wi th Frede ri ck Crow e st that Jonathan’s

a ri a,S in not

,O K ing

,

”is an espec i al ly impres s ive

number, and that the t reatment o f the

“ in fe rnal musi c”

i s ve ry str iking and wonder fu l . But Sau l ,” the Dead

March in which i s almost al l of the work wherewith

the publ i c i s now widely fami l i ar , met wi th l i t tl e bette r

fate than that o f “ I s rael .

Then arr ived a cri s i s in the l i fe of Handel , and with

i t an event wh i ch wi l l ever s tand ou t l ike a bea con

l ight in the hi s tory of the wor ld ’s mus ic . We re fe r to

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2 40 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

cathedra l s inge rs o f the town . An amusing anecdote

(whi ch , though o ften quoted , wi l l bear repeti t i on here )is narrated in connect ion wi th th i s

“ trying through” o f“The M es s i ah” parts by the Che ste r choi r . Among the

vocal i s ts was one Janson , w h o had a very good voi ce .

When i t came to reading “And wi th his s t r ipe s,

” the

good man fa i led seve ral t imes to interp ret h i s part cor

rectly . Handel , w ho was part icular ly sens i t ive to a

wrong note,and w h o was i ra scib le o ften to an acute

degree— hi s wig, in part i cula r , being pertu rbed to an

alarming extent— when his ear was offended,lost h i s

temper and exc l aimed in broken E ngl i sh : “Y ou schoun

trel ! Ti t y ou not del l me dat you cou ld s ing at soite“Yes

,S i r, w a s the rep ly o f the mortified S inger

,

“and

so I can ; but not at firs t s ig h t .

”

Handel w a s more than fou r months a res i dent o f

Dubl in be fo re “The Mes s i ah” was p roduced,Apri l 1 3 ,

1 742 . During that pe riod he gave seri e s o f con certs,

cons i s t ing ma in ly o f hi s ow n works,and a ll thes e we re

mos t heart i ly and enthus i a st i cal ly pat roni zed and en

j oyed by the warm—hearted I r i sh peop le,for whom

Handel always exp res s ed the highe st esteem . At

length the rehearsal of “The Mes s i ah,

” to whi ch t icket

purchaser s were admi tted,took place . Thi s was on

Thursday , Apri l 8 , 1 742 . The Mus i c Hal l w a s crowded

w i t h the e'

li te o f the c i ty , and the intense st enthus ia sm

p revai led . The work was a l lowed by the greatest

j udges to be the fines t compos i t ion o f musi c that everw a s heard .

” The fi rs t publ i c pe r fo rmance ca l l ed forth

universal exp ress ion s o f wonde r and de l ight . In this

fir s t per formance o f the “king o f oratorios,the choi r

was composed o f boys and men from the cathedra l s

o f Chri st ’s and S t . Patr i ck ’s .

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 4 1

The sacred words o f “The M es s iah” text had beenarranged for Handel by Charle s Jenn en s , a h igh ly

connected and g i fted gent leman between whom and

the compos er much inte rest ing corre spondence took

place .

I t was only natural that the I ri sh publ i c shou ld des i r e

a repeti ti on per formance of thi s nob l e work . Th i s was

accorded to them on June 3 , in the memorable year

named . Thi s was Handel ’s las t pe r formance in Ire

land . In cou rs e o f t ime he returned to London , where

he passed the latte r part o f h i s days in honor and a f

flu en ce .

“The Mes s i ah w a s heard for the fi rst t ime in L on

don on March 2 3 , 1 743 . The succes s and app rec i ati on

accorded to the great work was in stantaneous . TheK ing (George I I ) , w h o w a s p resent at th i s fi rst Lon

don per forman ce,i s sa i d to have r i sen to hi s feet dur

ing the s inging of the “Hal le lu j ah Chorus ” ; a customs ince usual ly fol lowed

,not only on account o f the ex

ample thus set , but al so from the innate feel ing o f a

large assemblage that such homage is fitt ing to the

maj esty o f Handel ’s work .

A few passages in “The Mes s iah may be remarked

upon . Perhaps noth ing w a s eve r conce ived in al l

musi c more beauti fu l than the rei terated maj or chords

wh i ch succeed the wai l ing minor o f the overtu re in the

introductory symphony to “Com fort ye my peopl e .

”

They speak the com fort long be fore the word i s

sung . Nearly the whol e o f the fi rst part is solemnly

p rOph et ic, though not wi thout descript ive tou ches— as

in “Thus sai th the Lord” and The people that walked

in darknes s”— working gradual ly up to the t remendous

cl imax at the words “Wonder ful ! Counselo r !” After

2 42 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

thi s,w e have a pi ctu re such as no one short o f

Raphael could have di sp l ayed upon canvas , in troduced

by the “Pastoral Symphony ,” and terminating with

G lory to God i n the h ighest .” In th i s chorus the

trumpets a re hea rd for the fi rs t t ime— and without

thei r natural bass,the drums

,which Handel cons idered

ou t o f p lace in an anthem sung by the“heavenly host .

Then fol lows a burst o f i r repre s s ib le joy ,i n the br i l

l i ant a r ia “Rej oi ce great ly” ; and then the p ropheti c

com for t again,in “He shal l feed hi s flock” an d

“His

yoke i s easy .

”

The second part differs enti r e ly from thi s . I t be

gins by ca l l ing upon u s to “Behold the Lamb of God

and then paints the agony o f the Pass ion,not in i t s

separate detai l s,but as one great and indivi s ible sor

row,which i s t reated wi th a tenderness of feel ing

such a s i s nowhere e l se to be found ; beginning with

the unapp roachabl e pathos o f He was despi s ed ,” and

b ringing the sad reci tal to a conclu s ion wi th the no

l e s s touching strain s of “Behold an d see .

” The com

pose r has been a ccu sed o f having taken too l ow a vi ew

of on e part i cula r pas sage in thi s part o f the orator i o .

I t ha s been sai d that in “All we l ike sheep” he has de

s cr ibed the wander ings of actua l s heep , and not the

backs l i dings o f human s inners . The truth i s , he h a s

gone far more deeply in to the matter than the cr i ti csw ho have ventured to find fau lt wi th him . Rebel l i on

against God i s an act o f egregious fol ly , a s well a s of

wickedness . More men s in from mere thoughtles snes s

than del ib erate and in tentiona l d i s obedi ence . Hande lh a s looked a t the case in both l ight s . In the fi rst par to f the chorus he has shown u s what thoughtl es s s inne rs

do ; in the las t fou rteen bars he de scr ibes the fata l con

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2 44 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

marvelous ly rap i d succe ss i on “Joseph ,“Bel shazzar

,

“Hercules,

” “Occas ional O rator io ,Judas Maccabaeus ,

” “Joshua ,” “ Solomon ,

” “Su

sanna ,” “Theodora” (Handel

’s favori te ) , and Jeph

tha”— it i s not poss ib le , i n the space at ou r di sposal , to

speak in detai l . These are noble works,mass ive

,im

p res s ive,and wor thy o f more frequent hearings than

they obtain . We have dwelt upon “The Mes s i ah” in

part i cu lar,as i ts unchal l enged pos i t ion as the chi e f o f

o ratorios deserves that attention . I t i s too wel l known

to need further comment as to its contents,the many

glor i ou s numbers that compos e i t be ing a s fami l i a r

as the s acred text i ts e l f to nearly every sect ion o f the

communi ty .

Next to The M es s i ah,pe rhaps Judas Macca

ba us” i s the most frequently heard of a ll Handel ’s

other orator ios to-day . The chorus work o f Judas” i s

part i cu lar ly popu lar w i th chora l soci et i e s,la rge and

smal l , the tune fu l“Se e the conquering hero comes ,

and such dramati c numbers as “We hear the p l eas ing ,d read ful cal l

,

” which fol lows the Jewi sh l eader’s s t i r

r ing solo “Sound an a l arm ,

” affording admi rable ef

feets a t a minimum o f difficu lty in the rendi ti on . Some

o f the a r i as in “Juda s a re also remarkably fine, and

w r i t ten in the t rue Hande l i an sp i r i t ; for ins tan ce ,“From mighty kings , giving ful l scope for the di sp lay

o f a cultured flori d soprano . All Handel ’s orato r i os

might indeed have obtained wide r fami l i a r i ty than

they have done had i t not been that they were s o over

shadowed and ecl ip s ed by the su rpass ing magnificence

and un iversa l i ty o f“The M es s i ah” that they might

ap t ly be compared to mar igolds su rrounding a sun

flower, beaut i fu l in themselves , but in s ignificant when

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 45

matched wi th the giant growth . Truly the great

tone-cathedral of Handel’s “Mes s i ah” i s an erec

tion o f wh i ch al l the nation s o f th e world may w el l

be prou d , and for wh i ch humani ty must be forever

grate fu l .

CHAPTER XXVI I

HAYDN’S CREAT ION A N D SEASON S — BEETHOVEN’S“M OUNT OF OL IVES

”

Influence o f Th e M e s s iah —Product i on o f Th e Creat i onGeneral Character i s t ics o f th i s Great Orator io—How E ngland Influ enced Haydn— Hi s Hum or and D evot i onB eau t i e s of “

Th e Creat i on —Th e Choru s es— Som e Favori te So los—Haydn ’s “S eason s” —B eethoven’s “Mount o f

O l ive s” —B eethoven a Hero-Worship er— Repre s en tat i on o fa D ivi n e Hero.

OW wide and wonder fu l indeed has been the influence of Handel

’s “M ess i ah” wi l l perhaps never

be fu l ly computed . I t appea l s to men and women o f

a ll c las ses and grades o f soci al and intel lectual s tand

ing ; i t furn i shes the most app rop r i ate and impres s ive

Chri stmas an d Easter sacred mus i c ; i t i s a s tandard

work for mus i cal soci et i e s and a l l great choral organi

z a t ion s ; i t suppl i es unsu rpa s sabl e and indi spensable

items for the repertoi res o f a l l great s ingers ; last ly , as

m ora l e l evato r,sp i r i tua l comforter— the so lace o f h u

m an sorrow and the st rengthene r o f Chr i st i an fa i th“The M es s iah” undoubted ly wi elds a power tha t i s im

measu rable .

Perhaps no grea te r tangib le resu l t of thi s noble

maste rpi ece cou ld be named than that i t w a s the in

sp i ra t ion whi ch u rged Joseph Haydn ( 1732 -1809 ) to

the composi t ion o f hi s famous ora to r i o The Crea

t ion .

” Having l i stened in England to h is great prede2 46

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2 48 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

fi rst have our attent ion . The enti re o ratorio i s per

meated wi th those personal character i s t i cs whi ch made

Haydn,the man

,beloved by hi s ci rcl e and contem

pora r ies . There in i s the expert and consci enti ous

musi c i anship wh i ch the compose r fough t so hard to oh

tain du r ing the early days of h i s poverty and d ifficu l

t i es there in i s the innate happy—heartedness o f a gentl e

and sympatheti c being ; therein i s , moreove r , al l that

devout t rus t in the ' goodnes s o f the Almighty whi ch

ne ithe r adve rs i ty nor world ly prospe ri ty cou ld shake .

I f we add that i n the in strumental symphon ies and

accompaniments of “The Crea tion” we find the r icher

modern color ing in orchest rati on whi ch was a fterward

to reach such wondrous contras t and bl ending o f tone

t ints unde r the hand o f Beethoven , we di scover some

thing that makes Haydn ’s ma ster oratorio a unique

p rodu ct ion even when placed S i de by s ide wi th Handel ’s

Me ss i ah .

” The diffe ring effect s whi ch the tw o works

p roduce upon us may best be described by the var i ed

feel ings arous ed when we look at a smi ling count ry

landscape,adorned w ith the flowe ring hedge rows of

May or early June , the noonday sun flooding al l w i th a

mel low and golden grandeu r or when w e contemp l ate ,almost wi th awe

,the p r imeval forest

,the snow—capped

mountain-range, or the migh ty

,immeasu rab le ocean

stretching to the fa r hori zon, or b reaking i ts b i l lows

upon a s tubborn rock-bound shore . The ru ral beauty

o f Haydn ’s mus i c i s,indeed

,s tr iking when compared

wi th the mass ive grandeu r o f Handel ’s works .The c i rcumstances and su rroundings in which The

Creati on” w a s composed we re s ignificant . The com

poser w a s within fou r or five years o f hi s s eventi eth

bi rthday when he s et himsel f to hi s great task . Be

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 2 49

h ind him were the expe ri en ce s and tr iumphs wonth rough hi s masse s

,symphon i e s

,and quartets ; nor w a s

th i s h is fir s t t rial o f orator io form ; for , in 1 785 , hehad penned h is sett ing o f

“The Seven Words o f Our

Saviou r on the Cross .

” When he w a s wri t ing The

Creat ion” he found h imsel f in what may be cal ledideal ci rcumstance s for the evolut ion o f the best work .

He had j u st retu rned from h is second vi s i t to Eng

land ; and , as a resu l t o f the fame and emolument which

fel l to hi s lot the re,he w a s enabled to sett le down in a

reti red suburb o f Vienna,whe re he cou ld compose

withou t molestati on and free from al l anxi ety and

worry . His su cces s fu l v i si ts to London had al so

wrough t a marvelous change in h i s appreci ative nature,

and had brough t h im,even upon the border s o f h i s

th reescore years and ten,i nto a s tate o f art i st i c rej u

v en escen ce The enthus i ast i c plaud i ts o f the Engl i sh

peop l e kindled and kept bu rn ing in h i s b reast a Spi r i t

o f consc i ou s strength wh i ch he knew not he possessed ,or knowing

, w a s unaware o f i t s true worth .

Added to thes e th ings,the humor o f the genial

composer , be ing no longe r rep ressed by any untowardc i rcumstance

,reached

,in h i s l atte r days

,i t s h ighest

a rt i st i c development . O ratorio form could not , o f

cou rse,be suppos ed to give any opportuni ty to the

“ fathe r o f humorous tone-poet ry” ; neverthe les s , i n theroaring o f the l ion

,and the grote sque grunt o f the

double bassoon where the ground is descr ibed as“ trod”

by the “heavy beast s,we see a gl impse o f ingeni ous

com i cal i ty in su ch mimi cry that makes even the most

as tute o f musi cal cri t i cs smi le . Turn ing from the

lud i crous to the subl ime,l ike Handel a s he descended

the vale of years,Haydn

,eve r deeply re l igiou s and

2 5 0 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

fervently rel i ant upon God for hi s in sp i rat i on,w a s

more than ever devout and ful ly imbued with the most

p i ou s aims and motives when he wrote h i s “Creation .

”

The int rodu ct i on,the “Rep re sentat ion o f Chaos ,

”is

a wonder fu l p i ece o f tone—paint ing . The clar ine t

a rpeggi,bl ending wi th approp r i ate s craps on oboes and

horns,i nvari ably st rike the l i stener . The seeth ing o f

a great mass o f i nst ruments,del i cate flute pas sages

being mingled wi th occasional tutt i , and the continuou s

a l ternation s of for te and p i ano , fi l l ou r minds wi th a

va gue sense o f matter in i ts p rimeval,hal f-molten

,

formless s tate . Then succeeds a pi ece o f descript ive

reci tat ive for Raphae l (bas s ) , fol lowed by a p ian is

s imo re i te rati on on the s tr ings as the choru s whi spers

o f“ the Spi ri t” that “moved upon the face o f the

wa te rs . ” What a -s t roke o f gen iu s i s there in the staecato chora l phrase ( unaccompani ed )

“Let there be

l ight,

” fol lowed by the p i zz i cato chord on the s tr ings

whi ch ushers in the grand C maj or common chord ,taken forti s s imo in the accompan iment

,at the word

“ l ight,i n the phrase “And the re was l ight !” Very

t ranqu i l and beauti fu l i s the flute—colored solo for Uri e l

( tenor ) wh i ch fol lows :“N ow vani sh be fore the holy

beams”— a s t rong contras t to the dramati c choral

( fugued ) pas sage which succeeds , r emarkabl e for thechromati ci sm of both i t s voi ce parts and a ccompan i

ment ,“Despai r ing

,cu rs ing rage .

” One can almos t

imagi ne the fel l downwa rd s op o f the di sobedi ent

angel s a s they “S ink in the deep abys s . M ingled wi th

the tumult— indeed,developed as i t were from it

comes that wel l-known tender l i tt l e pa s sage on th e

viol ins leading into the tune fu l chora l phra se “A new

c reated wo rld sp rings up a t God ’s command . And

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Copyrig h t, P hotog raph iscli e Ge sellscha ft . P erm i ssmu Berlin P hotog raph ic Co. , N . Y.

SUNDAY MORN INGFrom th e Pain t ing by Wa lthe r Firle

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 5 1

so we migh t go righ t through the work,speci fying

f resh beautie s at every point ; but i t i s only poss ible

now to l inge r bri efly upon some of the p rincipal choruses and solos .

S tart ing with the choruses,The heavens are tel l ing

s tands p reém in en t . The S imp l i c i ty and yet expert

musi ciansh i p of i ts st ru ctu re i s remarkable . I t starts

a lmost as i f i t were a choral e . Later on we find imi

tafi on and fuga l development taxed to the uttermost

and yet there i s never a sense o f con fus ion or complex

i ty , neve r a fee l ing that the composer i s d i sp l aying hi s

learning at the r i s k of being m i sunderstood . Noth ing,

perhap s,can be named finer than the grand protrae

tion,once the dominant pedal i s announced some th i rty

eigh t bars from the close, o f toni c harmony . Yet al l

i s carri ed ou t so cons i stent ly that the ea r i s neve r con

sc i ous of unres t : there i s rather a feel ing that we are

gradual ly borne on,step by step

,to a glor iou s cadence

,

fi rm and st rong,as the glory o f the Lord” i s di sp layed

in the firm am en t . O ther admi rab l e choral numbers

are the j ub i lant and melodious “Awake the harp” ; the

second ,“Ach i eved i s the glorious work , with i t s tune

ful doubl e fugue ; and the more involved but scholarly

final choral number,S ing to the Lord

,ye voi ces al l .

The flor i d t ri o and chorus,The Lord i s great ,

” i s a l so

noteworthy for i t s neat balance o f sol i and chorus

parts ; and a ve ry popular favori te i s the s olo ( Soprano )and chorus

,

“The marvelous work,

” in wh i ch the oboe

p lays such an important part i n the accompan iment .“The Creat ion” i s part i cu lar ly ri ch in descr iptive

solo numbers . No soprano cons iders he r edu cat ion

complete w i thou t a study o f “W i th verdu re clad,

” anar ia altered three times be fore Haydn w a s qu i te

2 5 2 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

sati sfied wi th i t . S tudent s w i l l note that thi s fine

melody i s real ly wri tten in str i ct sonata form , having

a fi rs t and second subj ect , a middle phras e , and a r e

peat . “On mighty pens ,” with i t s s t r ikingly descrip

t ive orchest rat ion,gives a faci l e t reb le good oppor

tun ity for di splay o f al l-round ab i l i ty .

“ In nat ive

worth supp l i e s the tenor wi th a worthy number ; and“Rol l ing in foaming bi l lows , with the l iqu id re f ra inSo ftly pu r l ing

,

” affords a good ba s s fu l l scope for

the exerci se o f h i s specific powers . I t w i l l be not i ced

that the contra lto i s not catered for . One cannot help

w i shing that Haydn had rep resented Eve ’s womanly

sympathy through the medium o f a second t rebl e : theso lo porti on s for the newly created man and woman

are scarcely a t such a high leve l as the work that p re

cedes

In The Seasons Haydn gives us another di st inct

exp res s i on o f himsel f . Handel could no more have

wri tten “The Creat ion than Haydn cou ld have wri t

ten “I s rae l in Egypt” ; nor cou ld any on e but Haydn

have written “The Seasons” —another work ful l o fdel i c i ou s imagery

,and

,i f more secular i n i t s cha racte r

than.

“The Creat ion , only j u st so much so a s w a s

neces sary in o rder to b r ing the musi c into c loser ha r

mony with the subj ect . The words o f thi s o rator i ow ere a l so comp i l ed by Freih err van Sw ieten

, w h o ,de

l ighted wi th the succes s o f“The Creat i on

,

” took

Thomson ’s wel l-known poem a s the bas i s o f a some

what S imi lar work , and per suaded Haydn to under

take the compos i t i on,though he h imsel f fel t unwi l l ing

to tru st hi s then mani fest ly fai l ing powers . The re

su l t found Van Sw ieten to be in the r ight . Haydn

soon ove rcame hi s d iffidence , entered enthu s ias t i ca l ly

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2 34 REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD

o f the weaknes s which w a s soon to become so pain

ful ly apparent .

The next work that arres ts ou r attention i s Bee

th ov en’

s“Mount o f O l ives ,

”h i s on e orator i o . I t w a s

mainly wri tten in the vi l lage o f Hetzendor f,nea r

Vienna,wh i ther Ludwig van Beethoven ( 1770 - 182 7 )

had gon e to spend the summer o f 180 1 ; but the work

had been thought ou t a cons iderabl e t ime be fore . I t

is wel l known how fond the great compose r was o f

the country : i n the open ai r came to him hi s noble st

insp i rat ion s . Tha t he shou ld have tu rned to ora tor io

a t thi s per i od h a s a pa theti c s ign ificance when we

recol lect that i t was about thi s t ime tha t hi s dea fnes s

w a s beginning seriou sly to troub le him . Wel l can one

imagine the lonely th inke r,hiding behind hi s eccentri

ci ty and gruffn es s such a wealth o f nobi l i ty and fee l

ing, wander ing abou t the ru ral d i str i ct o f SchOnbrunn ,

near Hetzendor f,note-book in hand

,p i ctu r ing to him

sel f the suffe r ing of the Man of Sorrows in the Gar

den o f Gethsemane , a s he hims el f ( the compose r )faced the coming o f a calami ty that might we l l be

reckoned,for such as he , a l iving death .

The words o f The Mount of O l ive s had been

given to Beethoven by Huber,and a ccording to the

composer they had been w r i tten in fourteen days . The

work w a s not heard in publ i c unti l Ap r i l 5 , 180 3 , when

i t was produced at the “Thea ter an der Wien .

”I t

s eems to have been very wel l received : indeed , so

exce l lent w a s the imp res s ion made tha t i t was per

formed fou r t imes during tha t yea r by independent

parti e s . S i r George Smart was the fi rs t to i nt roduce

th e work to London . He per fo rmed i t on Februa ry

2 5 , 18 14, among h is Lenten ora tor i o s given a t D ru ry

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 5 5

Lane,the Engli sh vers ion probably being made by

Arnold,manager of the K ing

’s Theate r . Other ve r

s ions were made by Thomas O l iphant and Bartholo

mew ; but the one usua l ly fo l lowed i s that by the Rev .

J . Troutbeck , which was written for the Leeds Festi

val . The “Engedi ” text was wri tten by Dr . Hudson ,o f Dublin , i n 1842 ,

D avi d in the Wi ldernes s being sub

s t i tuted for Chri s t in the Garden o f Gethsemane , ow

ing to the re l igiou s scruples o f some who see sacr i lege

in any s inger personating the rOle o f the Saviou r .Beethoven ’s sense o f hero—worsh ip— even when hi s

own st range personal i ty was the obj ect— cannot fa i l to

str ike those w ho have care fu lly studi ed the records o f

hi s l i fe—hi story . In “The Mount o f O l ives” h ow vivi dly we see the hero o f Nazareth s tand forth . What asou l-st ruggl e -a mighty “wrest l ing in p rayer”— i sthat pathet i c reci tat ive and ari a Meine S eel e ist

ersch ii ttert”

(My sou l i s Shaken ) , with wh i ch, fol lowing the introduct ion , the work opens ! I t i s a grand

appea l from tri ed humani ty to the Fatherhood o f theAlmighty . Very bright

,angel i c in i t s j ub i lance and

bri l l i ance— an ar ia only pos s ible fo r a very flexible,

bravura sop rano voi ce— i s the fine “P rei sst, p reisst des

E rlOsers Gii te”

(Prai se , prai se the Saviou r’s good

nes s ) , wh i ch succeeds , in tensified by the strong chora l

number that fol lows— “O Hei l euch , ih r E rlOs ten !

”

(All hai l , ye ransomed ) . Inspi red by such heavenly

consolati on,the divine he ro nerves himsel f to face the

final pangs— “Willkommen,Tod !

”

(Welcome , Death ) ,and the dramati c reci tat ive rings forth

,

“Da ich amK reuze zum Hei l de r Menschen blutend ste rbe” (WhenI on the cross to the saving o f mankind bleed ing d i e ) .

The vivi d choruses for the Roman soldi e rs and di sc i

2 56 REL IG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

p l es,which come next

,a re conceived wi th a dramat i c

power that thr i l l s u s ; and throughout a l l we are im

pres sed wi th the heroi c s truggle of pu r i ty and t ruth

agains t w rong— the hero,Chr i s t

,forgiving hi s per se

cu tors , and retu rn ing love for hate . Final ly comes

the “Ha l l e lu j ah” chorus . Compari son wi th Hande l’

s

famous Ha l l e lu j ah” i s impos s ib l e on account of the

a bsolute ly d iffe rent method s of t reatment o f s imi la r

subj ect—matte r by the two great composers . S tudent s

o f form wi l l note the free , but master ly , handl ing o f

the im ita tory and fugued part s o f th i s chorus . The

s impl i ci ty o f the di atoni c themes ut i l i z ed i s a l so re

markable . That the whole i s deep ly impre s s ive no

l i s tene r can deny ; the only reason for the in fr equency

of i t s p er formance in church and els ewhere be ing, per

hap s,owing to the high p i tch , in some port ion s , o f the

soprano voi ce parts . The enti re work res embles,i n

length,the sacred cantata rather than the o ra tor i o ;

yet , a s the orator i o characte r i st i cs a re a l l the re , the

ti t l e i s thoroughly l egi t imate .

Had Beethoven wri tten another orator io in h i s r ipe r—" thi rd”—pe r iod , the world might have had a maste rp i ece of dep th and intens i ty , hinted a t , but unde r the

constra in t of Chu rch r i tua l,i n hi s imp res s ive m as s es .

“The Mount o f O l ive s” s tands,however

,a lmost un ique

in i t s humaniz ing of a divine hero . I t i s a m a r

velous,i f dar ing

,concep t ion of the man Chr i s t Jesu s .

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2 5 8 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

ment o f orator io,and qui te apart from any contrast o f

the specific ch romati c talen t o f the gi fted v iol ini s t

composer, or the vivi d romanti ci sm o f a tone painte r

o f so many parts as Robert Schumann . Divers e as the

two are in styl e and concept ion , i t i s , however , worth

noting that both have l e ft specimen s o f creative workin wel l—nigh every department o f musi cal art .

That the infini te enharmoni c poss ib i l i t i e s o f the vio

l in appealed to Spohr,the s ens i tive vi rtuoso

,and im

p elled him in h is compos i t ions to inces sant modu lat ion ,s eems as certain a s that the p iano forte , with i t s fixed

gamut o f equal temperament , u rged Schumann , i n

order to obtain the intense color ing he desi red,to seek

for s trong key change and daring intr i cac i e s of

rhythm . The p roducts o f two such minds in any one

department,though vastly diffe r ing from each other

,

were bound to be al ike in on e r espect— they would

offe r genre p i ctures o f mus i cal i diosyncras i es that

wou ld scarcely create a wide ci rc le o f imi tators . So

the works we are about to re fe r to s tand alone , rather

as exper iments in nove l t reatment o f a fami l i ar sub

j cet than models to be cop i ed or fol lowed by ambi ti ou s

composer s .Taking Spohr ’s two p r inc ipal orator i os firs t

,The

Last Judgment” and “Calvary ,” we are b rought face to

face with the work o f a c reat ive art i s t who had al ready

w on h i s fame as a great executant . When he made

hi s fi rs t appearances i n Leipz ig,Dresden

,and Berl in

as a solo viol in i s t,the p re s s was enthu si ast i c a s to h i s

Ski l l as a vi rtuoso . Even then he had begun to com

pose,h i s beaut i fu l vi ol in con certos being among the

i tems o f hi s repertoi r e— numbers whi ch evoked en

thus ia stic admi rati on . These works were the prede

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 5 9

ces sors of output in a lmost every form o f compos i ti on— sym phony , ope ra , and oratorio . Spohr ’s l i fe w a s

,

indeed,a long and ac tive one ; and , both a s execut ive

arti s t and composer , he must be p laced in the fir s t rank

o f great musi ci ans . Although not w i thout h is troubles ,st i l l

,compared wi th the tri a l s and l i fe-st ruggles of so

many others of the great maste rs , Spoh r’s c i rcum

stances were such as to pe rmi t h im the fu l l and j oyou s

exerci s e of hi s d i s t inguis hed talents , both as per former

and creative musi ci an . He was al ready a compose r

o f some fame,having wr i t ten h i s operas “

F aust ,”

“Zem ire und Azor ,

” “Jessonda,and hi s D flat sym

phony,be fore he turned h i s attention to orator io work .

“Die letzten Dinge ,” known under i t s Engl i sh ti tle

as “The Last Judgment,

”

w a s firs t heard at the Rhen

i sh Festiva l of 182 6 . We here see Spohr at h i s best ;h is s tyl e

,more conspi cuous for its individuali ty than

that o f any other compose r of h i s t ime,ful ly deve l

oped ; hi s exper i ence matu red by long and unbroken

fami li ari ty wi th the orchest ra,under c i rcumstances

scarcely les s favorab le than those wh i ch exerc i sed so

happy an effect upon the ar t-l i fe o f Haydn ; and h i s

genius free to lead him where i t would . I t led h im ,

i n th i s case,to attempt the i l lu stration of mysteri e s

wh i ch might wel l have appal l ed a les s bold sp i ri t than

hi s . But the re can be no doubt that the subj ect pres ented a pecul i ar at traction for him . There i s in a ll

hi s musi c—e ven in hi s most j oyous s train s— an unde r

cur rent of un fathomable depth which seems continually s tr iving to lead the hearer away f rom the external

aspect of things,i n order to show him a hi dden mean

ing not to be reveal ed to the thoughtles s l i stener .The valu e o f such a qua li ty as th i s in “Die le tz ten

2 60 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Ding e was inca l culable . Spohr’s fami l iar i ty wi th the

p ro foundest s ecrets of the chroma t i c and enha rmoni c

gene ra,which had by thi s t ime become a second nature

to h im ,afforded h im a cce s s to regions of mus ica l ex

pre ss ion as yet unexp lor ed ; and he ente red them , not

wi th the t imidi ty of a p i oneer , but with the certa in ty

of a fini shed ma ster . His refined taste p recluded the

poss ib i l i ty o f an inharmonious p rogres s ion ; yet he

dared modulat ions which,i n l es s ski l l fu l hands , would

have been excruciat ing . In the space of hal f a bar

he may take u s mi l e s from the key in which we start

ed ; but the j ou rney i s per fo rmed so smoothly tha t w e

s carcely know we have per formed i t . The qual i ty one

most mi ss e s in hi s mus i c i s that o f sternnes s ; yet in“Die letz ten Dinge” w e a re not without indi cations

even o f that .

This great o rator i o , the name of whi ch l i tera l ly

s ignifies “The las t th ings,

” i s not wel l ent it l ed “The

Las t Judgm ent .” In fact,the Engl i sh t i t l e i s a ve ry

un fortunate one ; for bes ide s being a gros s m is tran s

l at ion , i t gives a ve ry fa l s e i dea both o f the s cop e and

the intention o f the work . The words are se lected,

for the most part , from thos e part s o f the Apoca lyp se

whi ch descr ibe the ter rib le s igns and portents to be

s ent,he rea f te r, as precu rsor s o f the consumma tion o f

a l l things . Drama t i c t rea tment would mani fes tly have

been an insu l t to the solemni ty o f such a subj ect . Spohr

has not even ventu red to look upon i t a s a sacred ep i c .

Hi s in terp reta ti on i s pu rely contemp la t ive . He fi rs t

s tr ives to l ead our thoughts a s far as poss ib le beyond

the reach of a l l exte rna l impre s s ion s ; and then , with

the i rres i st ibl e force o f that oratory whi ch far ex

ceeds in power the rhetor i c o f words , i nvi tes u s to

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2 62 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

p an im en t br ings in stant ly be fore u s the b i r th o f th e

Lamb whose Incarnat ion formed the fi rs t s tep in the

great Sacrifice we are contemp l at ing . I t i s l ike a

gl imp s e of the Van E ycks ’ marvelous p i ctu re in the

cathedra l at Ghent . The tumultuous horror o f the

chorus “Dest royed i s Babylon the mighty” i s i ncreased

a thousand fold by the f reez ing lul l du r ing wh i ch “ the

sea gives up i t s dead .

” And when the hor ror i s ove r ,and we have fel t rather than heard i ts thunders dying

away in the d i stance , and have l earned , f rom the voice

of the angel , that“All i s fu lfi l l ed

,

” and Babylon no

m ore, the w rath fu l sounds , al ready nearly inaudible ,cont inue to fade th rough a sti l l so fte r p i an i s s imo

,unti l

they lead u s into the opening st rains o f the ineffably

beauti fu l quartet “Blessed are the dead,wh i ch forms

the culminating point o f the whol e . There i s nothing

in the oratorio more str i king than thi s t ru ly subl imeconcept ion . Spoh r himsel f evidently fel t thi s

,and in

tended that it should be so ; for he attempts nothing

more . Hen ce forward , al l i s peace ; and even the bold

chorus “Great and wonder ful,

” with i ts fine fugal w r i t

ing and beauti fu l contrasts , di es away , at las t , into a

p i an i s s imo .

! Spohr wrote no other orato rio , a fter thi s , unt i l 1833 ,wh en , l iving at Cas se l he composed and supe r intended

the per formance o f Des Hei lands letzte S tunden,

a work whi ch fi rs t became known in England under

the ti t le of “The Crucifixion,

” and,a t a later per i od ,

unde r tha t of Calvary . Some o f the cho rus es in thi s

are character i z ed by a tendernes s to which thei r ebro

m ati c s t ructu re l ends an inexpres s ib l e charm ; and the

whol e work i s pervaded by a solemn beauty whi ch

l eads u s deep ly to regre t tha t i t shou ld be so ra rely

REL IGIOUS MUS IC OF THE WORLD 2 63

per formed in publ ic . Calvary , indeed,i s fu l l of

beaut i fu l and p la int ive melody . We see i t in the theme

o f the opening chorus,

“Gen tl e night , O descend the

solo for Mary,fol lowed by the chorus o f d i s cip les

,

“Though al l thy fri ends prove fa i th l es s” ; Peter’s

touch ing ai r,Tears o f sorrow

,shame

,and angu i sh” ;

and the exqu i s i te open ing theme o f the chorus “ In th i s

dread hour o f death” ; to ment ion only a few o f many

excerpts that might be quoted . Spohr ’s “Calvary

may well be cons i dered a melod iou s and most del i catelyharmoniz ed pas s ion orator io ; l es s p ro found and mas

terly than Bach’s works ; le ss s t rong and heroi c only

than Beethoven’s “Mount o f O l ives .“Calvary” was fol lowed , some years l ate r , by The

Fal l o f Babylon,

”a work o f greater proport ions , which ,

on Ju ly 2 1,1843, the composer h imsel f d i rected , for

th e firs t time,at Exeter Hal l

,London

,by Spec i al iny i

ta t ion o f the Sacred Harmoni c Soc i ety , on wh i ch oc

cas ion the effect p roduced by the open ing bars o f the

chorus,The l ion roused f rom slumber i s spr ing ing

,

”

w a s one wh i ch those who were fortunate enough to

hear i t could not eas i ly forget . Spoh r,i ndeed

,was a

model conductor,and somet imes e lect r ified h i s audi

ence by a single s troke of h i s baton , though neve r witha rude or unwelcome Shock .

In thi s work , some cri ti cs te l l u s , the musi c i s s carcely grand or stern enough fo r the maj esty and solem

mi ty of the subj ects dea lt w i th . There i s too much

sweetness and melody where power and dramat i c in

ten si ty would be more in keep ing w i th the requ i re

ments o f the subj ect—matter .

Turning to “Paradis e and the Peri,the work o f

Robert Schumann ( 18 10 we find a very different

2 64 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

typ e of musi ca l gen ius mani fested . Commencing withp iano fo rte compos i t ions

,Schumann tu rned h i s atten

t ion to song-wri t ing upon the occas ion of hi s happy

marr i age wi th Cla ra Wieck at the age of thi rty ; an d

la te r on we find him engrossed by the un fathomable

beauti es of orches tra l mus i c , which a fforded hi s in

ten se and emotional temperament the wealth o f color

ing he des i red . His B flat symphony was the main

p rodu ct of thi s per iod , which w a s a l so marked by the

composi t ion o f some of hi s fines t p i ece s o f chamber

musi c ; and a fter the se w e reach the notable year 1843 ,when (December 4 ) Leipz ig saw the fi rs t per fo rmance

o f“Paradi s e and the Peri ,

” the compose r h imsel f con

duct ing . The work w a s mos t enthusi ast i cal ly rece ived ;so much so that a repet i t i on pe r formance of i t w a s

held the fol low ing week,and later on in the same

month i t was heard in the Opera House at D resden .

Schumann himsel f s eems to have been part i cu lar ly

att racted by the subj ect of “Para di se and the Per i .

Moore ’s imagery and musi c o f poeti cal expres s ion ( in“Lal la Rookh” ) appealed power ful ly to hi s ow n imagi

nat ion,and offered him opportuni ty for the var i ety

o f tone-color ing that he des i red . In a le tter to a

fri end , a fter hi s work was fini shed,the compos er says :

A so ft voi ce w i th in me kept saying whi le I wrote,

‘I t i s not in va in that thou art wri t ing ! ’ On June2 7 , 1844, Schumann wrote to Mosch eles

,saying that

,

with the fu ll support of Mendels sohn,he hoped to

vi s i t England and conduct parts of hi s Pa radi se an dthe Peri” there , whi ch,

” he said,

“had,as i t were

,

sprung from Engl i sh soi l and was one o f the sweete st

flowers o f Engl i sh verse . The proj ect o f an Engl i sh

tour seems , however , to have fal len th rough , owing to

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2 66 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

Hour i s,

“Wreathe ye the s teps to great All ah’s throne,

depends more upon i t s cons i st ent development o f

Moore ’s poet i c idea than upon any choral cl imax o f

s t r iking effect . Therein w e s ee,as i f through the

clouds,the flower- l aden groups o f sp i r i t s

,happy and

bles sed in an innocence that knows nei ther earth-bo rn

sor row n or pass ion,and w ho

,as they s ing the i r paean

o f joy a n d devotion,

float now neare r,now farther

away,unti l

,a t l ast the final vocal phrase fal l s p ian is

s imo on the ear : Joy’s c rystal fountain flow eth for

those w h o wai t on the Lord .

”

Advert ing aga in to the cr i t i ci sm that the vocal parts

in the “Per i ” are to a great extent t rying to the voice

and inc l ined to be monotonou s,one i n s tance wi l l su f

flee to quote in evidence again st thi s ve rdi ct . Takethe Peri ’s s olo

Y et w i l l I no t stay , but cons tan t ly ,From pol e to po l e W i thou t re st I ’l l wan der.

There i s a sweep , a vigor , and a dete rminati on about

th i s numbe r wh i ch,when wel l i nte rpreted by a strong

drama t i c Sop rano , i s fu l l of fasc ination and sp i r i t .The setting o f the word s

And though th e j ewe l guarded be ,Fas t though th e gran i te rocks m ay bin d i t,I wi l l , I m u st y et sure ly find i t,

i s fu l l o f a musica l energy which cannot but impres s .

The fina l caden ce i s a ls o such tha t therein a good solo

i s t may find a worthy d i sp lay for her powe rs .Many port ion s of thi s fine work

,i f ana lyzed

thought fu l ly , wou ld di s clos e structu ra l beauty and de

s ign . The ep i thet “p ro fane ,” as app l i ed to the one

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 67

sacred drama— i f w e may so cal l i t— o f Schumann

migh t be misunderstood by one w h o fai led to rememberthat “p ro fane” here means “ secu lar . In fact

,the te rm

secular i s al ready recogniz ed as describ ing th i s type

o f orato r io, o f wh i ch Schumann may be conside red as

the founder .

CHAPTER XXIX

ORATOR IOS OF MENDELSSOHN A N D GOUNOD

A Fortunat e Gen iu s—How S t . Pau l Or i ginat ed—M en de l ssohn as a Con trapun t i s t—Br i e f Analys i s o f “S t. Pau l”

E ngl i sh Perform ance s o f“S t . Pau l”—E vo lu t i on .o f th e

“E l i jah” B irm i ngham Perform ance Som e Notabl eFeature s o f

“E l i jah”—Influen ces that l e d Gounod to

Wr i t e h i s Orator ios—“Th e Redem p t ion and

“Mors et

v i ta.”

URIN G the fi rst hal f of the n ineteenth century

no sta r shone wi th such b ri l l i an ce i n the musi cal

hor i zon as Fe l ix M endel s sohn-Bartholdy ( 180 9Gen iu s

,uni ted to a charming pe rsonal i ty

,and fostered

from bi rth by a l l that favorab l e ci rcumstance,indi

v i dua l ap tness , and the love and devotion o f beloved

ones cou ld bestow,off ers a combinat ion of fortunate

happenings and su r roundings whi ch se ldom fal l s to thelot of mortal s . The wonder was that hi s “ luck” did

not spoi l Mendels sohn, or make him les s wi l l ing to

work . He w a s ever the true a rt i s t— never sat isfied

w ith anything but the bes t— eve r st riv ing to attain to

the highes t i deal s and give to the world the nobl est

output of h i s exe rt ions . Su ch was the man w h o w a s

dest ined to erect the great tone-cathedral s “S t . Pau l”

and“Eli j ah

,

” the former more s tr i ct ly in the oratoriovein than the la tter

,but “Eli j ah sti l l r emain ing a fine

examp l e o f a popu lar o rator i o .

The ci rcumstances wh i ch led to the compos i t i on of

2 68

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2 70 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

book upon S t . Paul, on the plea that cho rales were an

anachroni sm . Mendel s sohn was there fore compel l ed

to fa l l back upon h i s own re sou rce s ; but the se se ldom

fa i l ed him . With h i s c los e and rever ent knowledge o f

the Bible and the as s i s tance o f h i s f r i ends F ii rs t and

Schubring,h e soon put together the text o f “S t . Paul .

The March o f 1834 s aw the musi cal part o f the task

commenced . Two years sub sequently , at the begin

n ing o f 1836,“S t . Paul” w a s a fa i t a ccompli . Owing

to the i l lnes s o f S ch elbe , the di rector of the C'

acilien

Verein at Frank for t , the work was not fi rs t p roduced

at the l atter p lace,but upon the occas ion o f the Lower

Rhine Festival o f 1836 at Dus se ldor f . The enthus i asm

evoked w a s very marked .

An examination o f the work it se l f d i scloses mus i

cian sh ip and beauty o f con cep ti on and const ru ct i on

dec i dedly Mendel ssohn ian . There in i s al l the sym

metry and des ign,the del i c iou s yet never enervating

melody,and the clear and smooth harmonizat ion o f

the tone—painter o f the concert overtures . But there i s

someth ing more . We have spoken o f the influence o f

J . S . Bach on the compose r . In “S t . Paul ,” espec i a l ly

in the t reatment o f the chora l e s , we see the tr i umph

o f modern cons tru ctive ski l l in the weaving together

o f sol i d , ma in ly diaton i c, ha rmony . In hi s fou r-part

unaccompani ed w r i ting no on e has so nearly ap

p roa ch ed h i s great model a s Mendels sohn Even in

the s imp l e and touching three-pa rt number To thee ,O Lord

,I yi e ld my sp i r i t

,

” i f the sternnes s o f the elder

master i s Wanting, the re i s the sweetnes s and powerinseparable from the tone—combina ti ons of the younger .M endel s sohn must ever remind u s of Bach a s he might

have been und er the i rres i st ible charm o f Moza rt ’s

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 7 1

melody . I f any one pos ses sed th e ski l l o f beaut i fying

counterpoin t,i t wa s Mendels sohn . We are power fu l ly

struck with th i s in the inter ludes and accompaniments

to h i s choral es ; s ee , for instance ,“O thou , the t rue and

only l igh t,

” in “ S t . Paul .”

No number o f S t . Paul i s wi thout i ts own intr ins i c

beauty . We can , however , in pass ing, re fer only to

a few o f the sal ient points o f the oratorio . The d ig n i

fied choral opening,announced by the bas s in stru

ments o f the orche stra , gives the keynote , a s i t we re,

to the enti re work . Therein we s ee the stead fastnes s

and grandeu r upon wh i ch the Ch ri s ti an fai th i s found

cd— the sacr ifice of flesh and s el f for love o f others .Then comes the S t . S tephen ep i sode

,vividly ind ica ted

rather than d ramati z ed . Afterward we have the pu re

and lovely ar ia “Je ru salem,with i t s del i cately scored

accompaniment for wood-wind,horns

,and st rings

,

without the str ident voi ce o f the oboe . There are the

wonder fu l choruse s “Take h im away” and “ Ston e him

to death .

” We are deep ly moved as we l i sten,and

cannot but admi re the i rrep roachabl e good taste o fMendels sohn wh ich makes th i s enti re opening portion

o f hi s o ratorio a kind o f prologue to the fi rst ent ry o f

the de fender o f the fai th o f I s rae l at the fine bass solo“Consume them all . ” Almost l ike the voice o f an

ange l there comes the lovely contral to f ragment Butthe Lord i s mind ful o f h i s own .

”

Full and sati s fying in i ts vocal and inst rumental ci

feet s i s the noble chorus “O great i s the depth,

” wh i ch

forms a conclus ion to the fi rs t par t o f the oratorio .

M endel ssohn himse l f i s sai d to have been part icular ly

fond o f the sweetly flowing theme of “How lovely are

the mes senger s .

” A sl igh t flavor o f the pagan ele

2 72 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

ment— a fte rward so power ful ly used in the Baa l

choruses of “Eli j ah”— i s effect ively int roduced in the

cho rus “O be gra ciou s,ye immorta l s ” The wel l-wri t

ten cavatina for tenor, Be thou fai th ful unto death ,and the final chorus wi th its b righ t fuga l s econd part ,Bless thou the Lo rd , O my soul , are other notab le

excerpt s from a work which w e would gladly hear

o ftener in i t s enti rety .

“S t . Paul” w a s pe r formed for the fi rs t t ime in Eng

land a t Liverpool on October 3 , 1836 ; and was heard

in Septembe r o f the fol lowing year , rende red by the

Sacred Harmoni c Soci ety at Exete r Hal l , London ;being given a l i ttle more than a week la te r ( September

2 0,1837 ) at the B i rmingham Fest ival . Upon the firs t

of these occas ions Mendels sohn was among the aud i

ence,and had thus an opportun ity o f being a l i st ene r ,

for the firs t t ime apart from condu cting dut ie s,to hi s

work . He records o f the event in h is pr i vate di ary

that he found i t “ve ry inte res t ing Later on ,the suc

ce ss o f Mendel s sohn ’s app earance in the t r ip l e rOle o f

compose r,conductor

,and executant (p iani s t and or

g an is t ) w a s phenomenal .

To enter into anyth ing l ike comp le te deta i l w i th re

gard to “Eli j ah” would requ i re a di sp roportiona te

space in the pres ent work . From the composer ’s p r i

vate j ou rnal we dis cove r that he w a s di scu s s ing an

orator io text on the grea t Jewi sh p rophet wi th K l inge

mann on the occas ion o f hi s London vi s i t o f 1837 .

Upon hi s retu rn to Leipz ig Mendel s sohn was,for some

few yea rs,ma i n ly taken up with othe r work . In 1839

we once more find h im busy ove r the “Eli j ah subj ect ,the i dea o f whi ch had been suggested to him by that

s tr ik ing pa ssage in 1 K ings xix . 1 1“Behold

,the Lord

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2 74 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

work than S t . Pau l” ; it i s great i n a d iffe rent w ay .

In one respect,the main i dea i s the same as that

treated in “S t . Paul” —the triumph of t ruth ove r false

hood . In both orator ios the ins t rument by which th i s

t ri umph i s accompl i shed i s a Heaven-commi s sioned

teacher,whose influen ce i s d i st inctly percep t ib l e

th roughout the enti re work ; only , i n“E l i j ah” the per

son a lity o f thi s teacher i s more frequently b rought

be fore u s than in “ S t . Paul ,” where we are so fre

quent ly made to feel hi s influence wi thout actual ly

s ee ing him . As a natu ral cons equence , the l ate r ora

tor i o i s much more dramat i c in st ructu re than the

ear l i e r one . The characte r o f the p rophet i s d rawn

wi th minute attention to the p ecu l i ar t rai ts by whi ch

i t i s d i st ingui shed in the Scr iptu re narrat ive ; and the

s cenes in which he stands forth as the p r incipa l figu re

ar e painted wi th in ten se desc r ip t ive powe r . Eight

such scenes are b rought most p rominently into the

fo reground : fou r in the fi rs t part— the prophecy o f

the d rought , the ra i s ing o f the widow ’s son ,the sacr i

fice on Mount Carmel , and the coming o f the rai n ;and four in the s econd part— the persecution o f Eli j ah

by Jezebel , the p rophet’s soj ou rn in the des e rt

,with

a ll i t s aw ful revelati on s of a lmighty power , hi s retu rn

to hi s peop l e an d sub sequent departu re i n the fiery

char i ot , and the magnificent conclu sion which teaches

u s the deep s ignificat ion o f the whol e .

The reci tati ve i n whi ch the open ing prophecy is an

nounced , p la ced before the overtu re which so vivi dlydescr ibes i t s t err i bl e effects

,i s a grand concep t ion ,

s carce ly exceeded in d ramat i c force by any subsequentpas sage , and immeasurably enhanced by the fou r solemu chords with whi ch the bras s inst ruments prelude

REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 7 5

the fi rs t words o f the terr ible denunc i at ion . The desp a iring ph rases o f the overture lead so natural ly into

the cry o f the wai l ing people,

“Help,Lord ! the har

vest i s ove r,the summer days are gone

,that w e can

not but bel i eve the whole chain o f movements to have

been the resu lt o f the same individual idea,the grad

ual deve lopment o f wh i ch finds cons i stent exp re ss i on

in Obad i ah’s exhortati on to repentan ce— clothed in the

lovely tenor a i r,

“ I f wi th al l your hearts”— and the

noble chain o f movements,beginning wi th Yet doth

the Lord,

” wh ich forms the c l imax o f th i s d ivi s ion o f

the subj ect .

In the next p i ctu re we find E l i j ah by the brook

Che ri th,

” whence,a fter having been com forted by

the sooth ing stra ins o f the double quartet “He Shal l

give h is ange ls charge over thee ,” he i s summoned

to Z arephath,to the hou s e o f th e widow

,the rai s ing

o f whose son i s painted in tender accents wh i ch find

the i r fi tt ing response,not

, a s the careles s hearer might

have expected,i n a chorale— fo r the chorale be longs

exclu s ively to the Ch ri sti an d i spensat ion,and th i s is

p reém in en tly a Jewish oratorio— but in the contem

p la tiv e chorus B le ss ed are the men w h o fear h im ,

”

whi ch brings the scene to so app rop riate and wel l

consi dered a conc lu s ion . Then fol lows the sacrifice ,i n whi ch the thorough ly worldly yet neve r t rivi al

s trains sung by the Baal—worsh ipers are so s t r ikingly

contrasted wi th Eli j ah ’s subl ime prayer,

“Lord God o f

Abraham,the so fte r h a rm on ics o f

“Cast thy burdenupon the Lord

,

” and the descent o f the fi re and con se

quent recognit ion o f the true God —a t remendousscene

,which reache s i t s c l imax i n the dest ru ction o f

the p rophets o f Baal, and nee ds al l the resou rces , b

'oth

2 76 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

choral and in strumental,that the o rche st ra can affo rd ,

for i ts effic i ent rep resentat ion . How thes e resource s

are used wi l l be best unde rs tood by those w h o have

not on ly heard but studi ed the oratorio,and endeavored

to inte rp ret i t i n the spi r i t in wh i ch i t was composed .

But th i s i s not th e cu lminat ing poin t o f the firs t

part . Afte r the beaut i fu l al to song “W oe unto them ,

”

we again meet the p rophet on Mount Carmel,to watch

wi th him for the coming rain,unti l the o rchestra a c

tua lly s h ow s us the“ l i tt le cloud” ari s ing “

out of the

sea ,l i ke a man ’s hand ,

” and the storm bursts over u s

i n welcome tor rents,b ringing salvat ion to the famine

s tr i cken peop l e,w ho

,in toxi cated with wonder and

del ight,uni t e i n the thri l l ing chorus “Thanks be to

God,wh i ch i s so placed as to b ring out i t s stronges t

point s to the bes t advantage,whi l e i t de rive s addit ional

effect f rom the ski l l w i th whi ch i t i s fi tted into i t s

important po s i t ion,where i t forms so per fect a com

p l ement to the almost despa i r i ng cry for me rcy wi th

wh i ch the orator i o began .

The second pa rt opens wi th the sop rano solo I am

he that com forte th,

” fol lowed by the qu ite exceptional

chorus “Be not a frai d,

” in which so many diffe rent

emotion s are port rayed by the maste r hand wh i ch

makes them a l l s ubservi ent to a common end . Afte r

thi s,we are b rought face to face wi th the ha te fu l Jeze

bel,w ho comes be fore u s , i n al l he r meanness and

dece i t a nd t reachery , to inci te the peop l e again st the

p rophet whose praye rs have saved them , and so to

compas s hi s des t ruct ion . The reci tat ive in whi ch Oba

dia h counsel s the see r to fly from pe rsecution i s

s t rangely beauti fu l,and introduces u s to one o f the

most impres s ive p i ctu re s tha t have ever been a t

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2 78 RELIGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

w e should p robably have had a th i rd oratorio f rom hi s

pen— “Chri stus ” —upon fragments of wh i ch he w a s

busy up to close upon the t ime o f h i s death . Thus

might we have had a grand tr i logy o f Bib l i cal he roes ,th e great Hebrew prophet

,Paul the Jewi sh convert

and apostl e o f the Gent i le s,and Chr i s t himse l f

,i n

whos e p rais e some o f the nobles t mus i c has been wr i t

ten .

I t i s qu i te pos s ib le that he might have p rodu ced a

work more per fect than ei ther “S t . Paul” or“Eli j ah .

”

But w e dare not gri eve for the los s o f i t . For su rely,

i f i t be true, a s one o f the most j udi c i ou s of modern

German cri t ics has said,that the ul t imate pu rpose o f

the oratorio i s “nei ther to min i s ter to ou r senses,nor

to afford u s what w e ordina r i ly unders tand by the

wo rds ‘p leasu re ’ and ‘enterta inment,

’ but to elevate ou r

soul s,to pu ri fy ou r l ive s

,and

,so far as art can con

duce to such an end , to strengthen ou r fai th and our

devotion toward God — su rely i f thi s b e the l egi timate

a im o f the great art- fo rm w e are cons idering,no

write r,ancient o r modern

,has ever st riven more ear

n es tly to atta in i t than did M endel s sohn , and the effort s

o f very few indeed have been bless ed wi th an equal

measure o f su cces s .

Concerning the wo rk o f the famous French com

p oser Char le s Francoi s Gounod ( 18 18 a s a wr i te r

o f orator ios , much might be sai d , but w e must be con

tent with a few pas s ing remarks . After “Faust” had

b rought him name and fame,we find h im ever tu rning

hi s attention to sacred mus i c . He h ad a lways been a

great admi re r o f Schumann,and notably o f Berl ioz ;

nor did Wagner ’s early s e rmons on operat i c re form

shake the art wor ld w ithout cau s ing Gounod to think .

RELIGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 79

That the p roducti ons o f these men influenced the refiect ive and keenly analyti cal mind of the French com

pose r, wh o was eve r more o f a student and a though t

fu l reclus e than a man of the wor ld , who can doubt ?

As early as 1868 Gounod i s sa id to have sketched out“The Redemption” ; but the work was not finished

unti l 188 1 . I t was p roduced at the B i rmingham Fes

t iv a l o f 1882 , and was heard in Pari s May 2 2,1886 .

S ince then i t has become widely popu lar and has figu red i n the repertoi re o f al l choral soci et i e s of im

portance . I t was fol lowed by a second great sacred

work ,“Mors et vi ta ,

” cal l ed a tet ralogy ,f rom i ts be ing

la i d out in four parts . Th i s l as t composi t ion , ful l o f

maj est i c and melod ious repres entat ive themes,

” and

surpass ingly beauti fu l and refined in orche strati on

l ike i ts immed iate predecesso r,

“The Redemption”

first obtained a hearing in E ngland,having been p ro

duced at the B i rmingham Festival of 1885 . Though

i t i s o ften to be heard,e i the r a s a whole or in part ,

i t has not,perhaps , yet obtained the fu l l recogni ti on

i t dese rves as a score o f remarkable re l igious though tand str iking music i anship .

Conce rning “The Redempt ion, a s al so with regard

to the gen iu s o f i t s author , there a re many var ied opin

ions . In h i s work Gounod makes a bold innovat ion in

almost enti rely di s carding the polyphoni c and fugal

chorus o f hi s p redecesso rs in orator io work . His

rec i tat ives are most del i cately and taste fu l ly colored

by the instrumental accompan iment,and doubtless in

thi s,as in h i s constant u se of the L ei tm otiv

,the com

poser was much under the spel l o f Wagner . The beau

ti fu l “Redemption ” theme

,wh i ch serves a s p r incipal

mater i al o f the open ing o f the symphony of the firs t

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chorus,The earth i s my pos ses s ion , i s a p i ece o f

lu sciou s melody which l ingers in the m em ory with a

st range cl inging power . We meet i t frequently

throughout the work— where the Angel ha i l s Ma ry as“Gra t ia p l ena

” —where the Saviou r prays ,“Pa rdon

the i r s in,my Fa ther

”— whe re the dying th i e f i s com

forted w ith the words “To-day sha l t thou be w i th me

in para di se”—! where the r i s en Redeemer add res ses the

holy women wi th “All ha i l ! Bles s ed are ye women

and notably , l ike a great paean of tr iumph , whe re i t i s

int roduced forti s s imo in the orchestra a t the close o f

the grand cho rus “Un fold,ye po rta l s eve rlas t ing .

”

S trong numbers in the work— numbers we can mem

or i z e wi th strange pers i stency,so v ivid ly do the i r sym

metry and melody appeal to u s —are the thr i l l ing“March to Calvary , with the chora l introduction o f

the old Chu rch hymn “Vexi l la Regi s” ; Mary’s lovely

and touching solo wi th ha rp accompaniment ,“Whi le

my watch I am keep i ng the exqu i s i te chora l e “For

u s the Chr i st,

” with i ts r i ch melodi c coda at the wo rds“Fa i th unswerving

,holy Hope

,that unconquered re

mained , heavenly Love , ever young ; fo r them thanks

do we ra i s e .

”

So far the fi rs t pa rt . The s econd par t of the ora

tor i o , based on the d ivine subj ects of the re su rrecti on

and the a scens ion,is fu l l o f touches o f i nexpres s ib l e

cha rm . As day dawns on the fi rs t re su rrect ion morn,

how beauti fu l i s that rhythmi c a l l egretto on muted

s tr ings , usher ing in the app roach o f the three Marys tothe sepulcher ! How dramati c the scenes tha t fol low

scene s by the tomb and in the Sanhedr in whi ch we cana lmos t p i ctu re a s being ena cted be fo re u s when we

close our eyes and let the mus i c speak to the emotiona l

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CHAPTER XXX

ORATOR IOS OF ENGL I SH COMPOSERS

Mus ical Influ ence s i n E ngland—Em i n en t B r i t i sh Mu s ician s ofth e D ay

—Macken z i e ’s “Rose o f Sharon”—O ther L ivi ng

B r i t i sh Mu s i cian s—B en nett’s Wom an o f Samar ia”

Macfa rren’

s“S t . John th e Bap t i s t”—Su l l ivan and Sacre d

Mu s ic—Hi s Prod iga l S on —Orator io in Am er ica—Th eFu ture o f Orator io.

HE rep roa ch i s o ften utte red that there i s no grea t

school o f Engl i sh compose rs . According to the

vi ews of Engl i sh w r i ters , i t would be more j ust to say

that i n former t imes no fai r opportun i ty was given

to nat ive ta lent fo r the deve lopment o f such a school .

But Great B ri tain and I reland have not been wi thout

honor i n the annal s of mus i ca l a chi evement . In the

ma drigal , glee , anthem ,and Chu rch servi ce they have

had many noted names ; and the ba l la d operas o f Ba l f e

and Wallace st i l l exerci s e an apparently undimin i shed

populari ty throughout the Uni ted K ingdom . In a le s s

ob trus ive,i f none the les s eff ectua l w ay ,

B r i t i sh

mus i cal art,especi al ly s ince the middle o f the n ine

teen th centu ry,has made i tse l f fel t in variou s depart

ments of l i fe and through numerou s channel s o f in

fluence and use fu lnes s . Great musi c-s chool s , musi ca l

gu i ld s,cathed ra l choi rs , l arge chora l soc i e ti es , nat iona l

in s t i tut i ons and fes t iva l s— a l l the se agenci es a re doing

much for the sp read of musi ca l knowledge and the

dev elopment and encou ragement of ta l ent in that part2 82

RELIG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 83

o f the world . And Great B ri ta in is proud o f eminent

mus ic i ans to-day, whose works are sol id and worthyof the land that produces them . Among names o f

honor we may mention S i r W i l l i am Sterndale Bennett

( 18 16 S i r George A . Ma cfa rren ( 18 13 S i r

John S ta iner ( 1840 S i r Robert P . S tewart

( 182 5 and preeminently,pe rhaps

,S i r Arthu r Sey

mour Sul l ivan ( 1842 O f l iving mus ic i ans i t i snot always conven ient to speak ; but th ree names may

be fi tting ly given here , respective ly repre sent ing the

th ree s i s te r countr i es consti tut ing the Bri t i sh school

England , I re land , and Scotland . We re fer to S i r C .

Hubert H . Parry,S i r Charle s Vi l l i e r s S tan ford

,and

S i r Alexande r C . Mackenz i e . S i r Hubert Parry’s

Judi th” ( Bi rmingham Fest ival , 1888 ) i s a w ork o f

scholarsh ip worthy the d igni ty and cu ltu re o f the p rin

cip a l o f the Royal Col lege o f Mus i c . S i r C . V . S tan

ford has done much admi rab le work in al l th e lo ft i es t

b ranche s o f compos i t ion , as wel l as in unearth ing many

valuabl e folk—songs of h i s country . Upon the per

form ance o f h is fine work “The Th ree Holy Ch i ldren”

(B i rmingham F est ival,1885 ) in Dubl in , by the Dubl in

Mus ical Soc i ety , a p ro found impres s ion o f the com

poser’

s mus ici ansh i p was conveyed,the abl e and dra

mati c orches trat ion , as the mas te rly e ight-part wri t

ing, be ing part i cu larly effect ive A work o f even

greate r importance i s the composer 5 Eden,in wh i ch

the many features o f in te re st deserve the study o f al l

mus i cal asp i rants .

Foremost as champ i on of the Renai s sance o f

Bri ti sh mus i c comes S i r Alexander C . Mackenz i e,

p rinc ipal o f the Royal Academy o f Mus i c . H is“Ros e

o f Sharon (No rwich Festival , 1884 ) i s a d ramati c

2 84 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

o rato ri o,founded on the Song o f Solomon , which has

had many success fu l per formances .

O f Engl i sh oratorio compos i t ion by ear l i e r and now

departed mus i ci ans one or two instances must suffice

for p re s ent analys i s and comment . S tart ing wi th the

compos i t ions o f S i r Wi l l i am S te rndal e Bennett , we find

in that eminent composer a refinement and arti st i c

del i cacy of colo ring which pe rhap s appeal rathe r to

the cu ltu red mus ician than to the ordinary l i stene r .

H is orator io,

“The Woman o f Sama ri a ,”w a s fi rs t

hea rd at the B i rmingham Festival i n 1867 . Thi s

scholar ly compos i t ion has a notable in troductory move

ment,in which the chorale and i ts accompaniment are

w r i tten in diffe rent temp i,and the whole shows t race s

o f the composer ’s devotion to t he methods o f J . S .

Bach . I t cannot be sai d that thi s fine work i s popu lar,

in the sen se o f appeal ing to al l c las s e s o f l i s teners ; but

the score wi l l we l l repay the study expended upon i t

by thought fu l mus i ci an s .

In S i r Geo rge A . Ma cfa rren we meet wi th an Eng

l i sh musi ci an o f ra re capaci ty and astoni sh ing fert i l i ty

o f mus i cal invention . He tri ed hi s hand at a lmost al l

kinds of compos i ti on , and as author , edi to r , and lec

tu rer he obtained a pos i t i on o f high respect in the mu si

cal wo r ld a s a man o f the widest cultu re and erudi ti on,

a s wel l a s o f marked c reative ab i l i ty . His fi rs t orator i o

,S t . John the Bapti s t

,

” i s perhaps the bes t known

o f the four w r i tten by him . I t was original ly w r i t ten

for per formance at the Three Choi rs” Fest ival held a tG louce ster i n 1872 . Owing par tly to the fact tha t the

cathedral authori t i es obj ected to the S inging in sacred

p recincts o f the secular ai r I re j oi ce in my youth,

i t was not given and to the B r i s to l Fest iva l Committee

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2 86 REL IGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

sca l e at the words “He was a bu rning and a shining

l igh t,is pa rt i cu lar ly tel l ing, and i s inten s ified by the

inve rs ion of the subj ect towa rd the close .

“ S t . John the Bap t i s t” w a s fol lowed by The Resu r

rect i on ,” “Joseph ,

”

and “King David . O f the fou r,

probably the firs t d i sp lays the best work . I t des e rvesto be more frequent ly p l aced in the p rogrammes o f

orator i o soci et i e s than hi therto i t has been .

Anothe r contempora ry Engl i sh composer,S i r Ed

ward Elga r , has w r i tt en two orator ios of h igh meri t '

“The Ligh t o f Li fe” ( 1896 ) and“The Dream o f

Geron tius”

No Engl i sh musi ci an has w on hi s w ay so wide ly

wi th the publ i c a s the late S i r Arthu r Seymour Sul l i

van . Thi s populari ty w a s no doubt , i n a great meas

u re , due to the success of hi s many comi c operas ; but ,even h ad the se neve r been written

,the composer ’s un

surpa s s ed song “The Lost Chord,

” and the wonde r fu l

hymn “Onward,Chri st i an Sold i ers

,

” would have eu

deared hi s memory to that l arge section o f l i s tene rs

which i s ma in ly drawn by beauti fu l an d rhythmic

melody . In the higher realms o f art,Su l l ivan h a s l e ft

u s his grand opera “ Ivanhoe,

”and the favor i te canta ta ,

The Golden Legend .

” Ea rly in h is ca re er sac red

musi c h ad undoubtedly a tt racted him . When a boy in

the choi r of the Chapel Royal , he had w r i tten severa l

anthems, one o f which ,

“O I srae l , is publ i shed , and

is a wonder fu l compos i t ion for the mere ch i ld he w a s

then,in 1855 .

In 1869 Sul l ivan’s fi r st o rator i o

,The Prodiga l Son ,

w a s per formed a t the Worces ter Festival , S ims Reeves

taking the teno r pa rt . In 1873 app eared“The Light

o f the World ,” a rema rkably fine work , whi ch, no

RELIG IOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 2 87

doubt,would be o ftener per formed , in hi s own coun

try a t l eas t , but for scrupu lous fee l ings which Bri t i sh

audiences evince toward the impersonation o f the

Saviour,or the too vivi d musi cal rep resentat ion of h i s

suffer ings, on a concert p l at form . The Leeds Festival

o f 1880 wi tnessed the per formance o f “The Martyr

o f Antioch ,” written to M i lman ’s p lay on that sub

ject . Th i s imp ress ive work i s des cr ibed as being “be

tween an oratorio and a cantata .

” Las tly,th e publ ic

have rece ived wi th eve r-i ncreas ing approbat ion the

beauti fu l cantata whi ch takes fo r i ts text the subj ectmatte r o f Long fel low ’s “Golden Legend . I t was

brought ou t and conducted by the compose r at the

Leeds Festiva l o f 1886 . I f Schumann ’s “Paradi se

and the Per i” i s to be cal led a secu lar oratorio,the same

te rm may be appl i ed to Sul l ivan ’s “Golden Legend .

”

The work i s,in real i ty

, on e o f the finest al l egor ie s o fthe Ch r i st ian re l igion that has ever been penned .

The earl i es t o f Sul l i van ’s sacred compos i tion s,the

short oratorio “The Prod igal Son,was written be

fore Sul l ivan had completed h i s twenty-seventh year .“ I t i s a remarkable fact

,as Su l l ivan h imsel f ob

served in h i s p re face,that the parable o f the Prodigal

Son shou ld never be fore have been chosen as the texto f a s acred musi cal compos i ti on . The story i s so nat

u ra l and patheti c,and forms S0 complete a whole ; i t s

le s son i s so thoroughly Ch r i s t i an ; the characte rs ,though few

,are so per fectly contrasted ; and the op

portun ity for the employment o f‘local colo r’ i s so ob

v iou s , that i t i s indeed astoni sh ing to find the sub j ect

s o long ove rlooked . The only d rawback i s the short

nes s o f the narrat ive,and the consequent neces s i ty for

fi l l ing i t out with mater ia l drawn from elsewhere .

2 88 RELIG IOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

In the p res ent case thi s h a s been done as spar ingly

a s poss ible , and enti rely from the Scr ip tu re s . In so

doing,the Prodiga l himsel f h a s been conceived , not

as of a natu ra l ly b rut i sh and depraved d i spos i t ion

a vi ew taken by many commentators w i th apparently

l i ttl e knowledge o f human natu re , and no recol lecti on

o f thei r own youth ful impu ls es ; but rather as a buoy

ant , re s t le s s you th , t i red o f the monotony o f home , and

anxious to s ee what lay beyond the narrow confines of

hi s father’s farm,going forth in the confidence o f h is

own s imp l i ci ty and a rdor , and led gradual ly away into

fo l l i e s and s ins which , a t the outset , would have been

a s dis taste fu l as they were str ange to him .

Turn ing to the musi c i tse l f , w e find that the melo

d ious t reatment o f the introduction is fu l l o f charm , as

much from its s impl i c i ty o f s tructu re as the flow of i t s

rhythm . A bright chorus “There i s joy i n the p res

ence of the angel s o f God ,opens the work , the ini ti al

phra se being given to the sopranos . Afte r a fou r

pa rt cho ra l introduct ion , a b ri skly moving fugue sub

ject empha s izes the words“Like a s a fathe r p i ti eth hi s

own chi ldr en . Then fol low tenor and bass solos,ful l

o f melody an d es s ent ia l ly vocal,for the Prodigal and

h is fa ther respectively . Characte ri s ti c o f the revel ry

imp l i ed is the tenor so lo and chorus “Let u s eat anddr i nk .

” A rea l ly beauti fu l song fo r contralto sho rt ly

fol lows : “Love not the wo rld .

” Thi s i s perhaps the

mos t popu lar number of the work,and i s frequently

hea rd at sacred concert s . A sho rt bu t very lovely

number i s the ar ia for soprano ,“O that thou hadst

hearkened to my commandments . The home-retu rn

ing o f the Prodiga l is then graphi ca l ly descr ibed,and

some excel lent , i f not part i cu larly pro found, voca l con

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2 90 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

liberty in the matter of chorda l progres s i on , and have

trodden the thre shold o f the inexh au stible m ine of the

o rches tral co loring of the futu re . In many ca s es the

o ra tor i o i s a d ram a w i th ou t a ction,j us t

,perhap s , as

Wagner ’s ‘Pars i fa l ’ i s an ora tor i o w i th a l l the added

real i sm of stage acces sory . Wil l the secu lar once mo re

give o f i t s bes t to inten s i fy and make more human to

u s the sacred ? Wil l pulp i t and stage again be com

b in ed,a s was the case in the Mystery and M i racl e

Plays o f yore, and i s s ti l l an observance , peri odi ca l ly ,a t Oberammergau ?

“That w e a re t reading upon the borders of a great

change in the higher musi ca l forms s eems evident to

the thought fu l ob serve r . Wagne r can scarce ly have

sa i d the last word in opera . Wh i l e Handel ’s ‘Mes s iah’

and M endel s sohn ’s ‘Eli j ah’ mark , each, a glor i ous

achi evement , i t wou ld be p resumptuou s to say that

e i ther bars the path to fu rther advancement in the

h igher realms o f musica l thought . I f Wagner ingra fted

sp i r i tua l things upon the d ramati c t ree,may we not

look for a future creator o f tone-forms who may sti l l

fu rthe r h um a n iz e orator i o ?“To peer farther in to the myste r i e s that eve r tend to

l ink flesh wi th spi r i t wou ld be,perhaps

,sacr i l ege at

pres ent . For the sou l ’s complete emancipat ion— when

sure ly musi c,in i t s mos t exal ted forms

,wi l l be fu l ly

app reci ab l e by a ll— w e must only wai t for that day

when the b l ind sha l l have vi s ion , and the dea f hear ing .

N0 longe r then shal l we see ‘through a glass da rkly ,’

but ‘face to face ’ ; and to the musi ci an no promi se

concern ing the rest i tut ion o f a ll things s eems so re

markable a s the p rophecy whi ch declares that , i n those

days,

‘the tongue of the dumb sha l l s ing .

’

CHAPTER XXXI

THE PASS ION

So l em n Mus ic for Ho ly W eek a N ece ss i ty throughou tChr i s tendom—D ramat ic Form Adop ted by S t . GregoryN a z ian z en i n th e Fourth Cen tury -Many G lor ious Mu s ica lVers i on s o f th e Gosp e l Narrat ive s—Bach’s “MatthewPas s ion .

”

IN every age and in every part of Chr i s tendom the

h i s tor i c chu rches have fe l t the need of speci al musi c

for the chap ters o f the Gospel wh i ch reci t e the Pas sion

o f Chri s t .

S t . Gregory N a z ian z en, who flou r i shed between the

years 330 and 390 ,seems to have been the fir st eccle

s ia st ic w ho entertained the idea o f s ett ing forth theh i s tory of the Pas sion in a dramati c form . He treated

i t as the Greek poet s tr eated the i r traged i es,adapti ng

the di alogue to a ce rta in sort o f chanted reci tati on,

and inter spers ing i t w i th chorus es di sposed l ike those

o f ZE schy lus and Sophocles . I t i s mu ch to be regret

ted that we no longer posses s the musi c to which th i s

ear ly ve rs i on w a s sung ; for a care fu l examination o f

even the smal le st f ragments o f i t would set many

vexed questi on s at rest . But al l we know i s that thesacred drama rea l ly w a s sung throughout .In the Western Church the oldest known Cantus

P a s s ion is” i s a solemn p la in-chant melody , the d ate o f

whi ch i t i s absolute ly imposs ib le to as ce rta in . As

there can be no doubt tha t i t w a s , i n the fi rst in stance,

2 9 1

2 92 RELIG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

transmitted from gene rati on to generati on by t ra di t ion

only,i t i s qu i te poss ibl e that i t m ay have undergone

changes i n early t imes ; but so much care was taken

in the s i xteenth centu ry to re store i t to i t s pr i st in e

pu ri ty,tha t we may fa i r ly accep t as genu ine the ve r

s ion which,a t the ins tance o f Pope S i xtu s V . ,

Gu i

dett i publ i shed a t Rome in the yea r 1586, unde r the

t i t l e o f “Cantus eccl es ia st i cu s P a s s ion is Domini nostr i

Jesu Chri s t i s ecundum Ma tth aeum ,Marcum ,

L ucam ,

et Joannem”— S t . Matthew ’s ve rs ion being appointed

for the mass o f Palm Sunday , S t . Mark’s for that o f

the Tuesday in Holy Week S t . Luke ’s for tha t o fthe Wednesday

,and S t . John s for Good Fr i day .

Certainly s ince the beginning of the thi rteenth cen

tu ry,and probably from a much ea r l i e r per iod

,i t has

been the custom to s ing the musi c o f the Pa s s ion in

the fol lowing manner . The text i s d ivi ded between

three eccl es i ast i cs—cal led the “deacon s o f the P a s

s i on”—o ne o f whom chants the words spoken by our

Lord , another , the na r rat ive of the Evangel i s t , and

the thi rd,the exclamations utte red by the Apos tles

,

the crowd,and others whose conversat i on i s recorded

in the Gospel . In most mi s sa l s , and othe r office

books,the part of the fi rs t deacon i s indi cated by a

c ros s ; that of the second by the letter C . ( for Ch ro

h is ta ) , and tha t o f the thi rd by S . ( for S ynag og a ) .

Sometimes,howeve r

,the fir s t part i s marked by the

G reek l etter X . ( for Ch ris tus ) , the second by E . ( forE v ang elism) , and the th i rd by T . ( for Turbo ) . Less

frequent forms a re , a cros s for Ch ris tus , C . for Can

tor,and S . for S u ccen tor ; or S . for 'S a loa tor

,E . for

E v ang elism,and Ch . for Ch orus . Fina l ly , we occas i on

al ly find the part of our Lord marked B . for Bassus ;

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2 94 RELIGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

indeed sehr zahme But w e must remem

ber that there was noth ing whateve r i n common between the purely devot ional musi c o f the polyphoni c

school and that o f the “Reform irte K i rche to whi ch

M ende l ssohn w a s attached . So l i tt l e d i d he sympa

th i z e wi th i t,that

,a s he h imsel f has tol d us

,he could

not even endu re i ts constant alte rnation o f reci tat i on

and cadence in an ordinary p salm -tone . He longed

for a mo re fie ry reading of the story ; and would havehad i ts aw fu l s cenes portrayed w i th al l the descr ipt ive

energy p rope r to an oratorio . But such an exhibi t ion

as thi s wou ld have been mani fest ly ou t o f place in a

Holy Week servi ce . Moreove r,the evangel i s ts them

selves treat the subj ect in an ep i c and not a dramati c

fo rm ; and the treatment requi red by the two forms

i s es s ential ly different . M endels sohn would have em

bodi ed the words “Cruci fy him ! cruci fy h im ! ” in a

raging chorus,l ike hi s own

“S tone him to death .

Vittoria s et s them be fo re u s as they would have been

reported by a weeping na r rato r, ove rwhelmed with

sorrow at the i r cruelty ; a nar rato r whose tone would

have been al l the more tear fu l i n p roporti on to the

s incer i ty of hi s affl i cti on . Surely th i s i s the w ay

i n which they should be sung to u s in Holy Week .

The obj ect of s inging the Passi on i s , to l ead men to

medi tate upon it ; not to divert thei r minds by a d ra

mati c representati on . And in thi s sen se Vi ttor ia has

succeeded to per fect ion .

Francesco Su r i ano al so b rought out a polyphoni c

render ing o f the exclamat ions o f the crowd,with har

monie s which were certainly very beauti fu l,though

they lack the deep feel ing wh i ch forms the most

noti ceabl e featu re in Vittor ia ’s sett ings,and

,doubtless

RELIGIOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD 2 95

for that reason,have never atta ined an equa l degree

of celeb r i ty . V i ttor i a’s “Pass ion” was first pr inted at

Rome by Alessandro Ga rdano in 1 585 . The enti re

work o f Suriano wi l l be found in P roske’

s“Mus ica

Divina,

”v ol. iv .

But i t was not only wi th a vi ew to i t s introduction

into an eccles i ast ical functi on that the story o f ou r

Lord ’s Pass ion was set to musi c . We find i t in the

M iddle Ages selected a s a cons tant and never-t i r ing

theme for those Myste ri es and M i rac l e Plays by means

o f whi ch the hi story o f the Chri st i an fai th w a s d is

s eminated among the p eople be fore they were abl e to

read i t for themse lves . Some valuab le rel i cs o f themusic adapted to these anci ent vers i ons o f the story

are st i l l p rese rved to u s . Fontenel l e speaks o f a“Mystery o f the Passion ” p roduced by a certain b i shop

o f Angers in the m i ddle o f the fi fteenth century,wi th

so much musi c o f a real ly d ramati c characte r that i t

migh t a lmost be described as a lyri c drama . In th i s

p r imitive work we fi rst find the germ o f an idea wh ich

Mendel s sohn h a s us ed with st r iking effect in h i s orator io “S t . Paul .” Afte r the bapt i sm o f ou r Saviou r

,

God the Fathe r speaks ; and i t i s recommended that

Hi s words “ Shou ld be pronounced ve ry audibly and d is

t inctly by three voi ces at once , treb le , alto , and bass ,al l wel l in tune ; and in th i s harmony the whole s cene

which fol lows shou ld be sun ’f.

” Here then w e have

the fir s t i dea o f the Pass ion O ratorio,wh i ch

,how

ever , w a s not developed d i rect ly from it , but fol lowed a

somewhat ci rcu i tou s cours e,adopt ing certa in charac

ter ist ics pecu l i ar to the Myste ry,together with certa in

others belonging to the eccle s i as t i cal “Cantus Pass ion i s

, already descr ibed , and mingl ing thes e di st inct

2 96 REL IG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

though not di scordant e lements in su ch a manner as to

p roduce eventual ly a fo rm of art t he wonder fu l beauty

o f wh i ch has rendered i t immortal .In the year 1 573 a German vers ion o f the Passion

w a s printed at Wittenberg,with musi c for the rec i ta

t i on and choru ses— int rodu cto ry and fina l— in fou r

parts . Ba rtholomau s Gese enlarged upon th i s p lan ,and p rodu ced

,i n 1 588 , a work in whi ch Ch ri s t

’s words

are s et for fou r voi ce s,those o f the crowd for five

,

those o f S t . Peter and Pont iu s Pi lat e fo r three,and

those of the maidse rvant for two . In the next century Heinri ch S ch ii tz set to musi c the s eve ral nar ra

t iv es o f each o f the fou r evange l i st s,making extens ive

u se o f the melodi e s o f the innumerabl e chorale s which

were,at that pe riod

,more popu lar in Germany than

any other kind o f sacred mu si c,and ski l l fu l ly working

them up into ve ry elaborate chorus e s . He did not ,however

,ventu re enti rely to exc lude the eccle s i as t i cal

p l ain chant . In h is work, a s in a ll t hose that had

preceded i t,the venerab l e melody was st i l l re tained in

those porti on s o f the narrative whi ch were adapted to

s imp l e reci tat ive— or a t l east in those sung by the

evange l i st— the chora l e being only int roduced in the

harmoni z ed passages . But in 1672 Johann Sebas t i an i

made a bolde r exper iment,an d produced at KOn ig s

berg a“Passi on” i n which the reci tat ive s were s et en

t irely to original mus i c , and f rom that t ime forward

German composers,ent i rely throwing off thei r a lleg i

ance to eccle s i ast i ca l t rad i ti on,s t ruck ou t new path s

for themse lves and suffered thei r geniu s to lead them

where i t wou ld .

The Teutoni c i dea o f the Passion s Mus ik w a s now

ful ly developed,an d i t on ly remained for the great

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2 98 REL IGIOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD

und sterbende Jes u s,se t by Kei se r in 1 7 1 2 ,

by Hande l

and Telemann in 17 16, and by Matheson in 1 7 18 .

These a re a ll fine works,fu l l of fervor, and abounding

in new ideas an d i nst rumenta l pa s sages o f grea t or igi~

na lity . They were a l l wri tten in thorough earnest,and

,

as a natura l consequence , exhib i t a great a dvan ce both

in con structi on and s tyle . Moreove r,they were a ll

wri tten in the true German manner,though wi th so

much indivi dual fee l ing that no trace o f p lagiari sm is

di scernible in any on e o f them . Thes e high qua l i t i es

we re thorough ly appreci ated by the i r German audi

tors ; and thus i t was that they p repared the w ay , fi r s t ,for the grand “Tod Jesu

,composed by Graun a t Ber

l in i n 1 755 , and then for the st i l l greater p roduction o f

Sebast ian Bach,whose “Pa s s i on acco rding to S t . Mat

thew” has come to be universal ly rega rded as wi thout

doubt the subl imes t wo rk o f the kind that eve r wa s

w r i tten .

The idea o f s etting the hi story o f the Pas s ion to

the grandest p os s ib le musi c , i n such a manner as to

combine the exact words o f the Gospel nar rative wi th

finely deve loped choruses,medi tat ive pas sages l ike the

S oliloquico fir st u sed by Kei se r,an d chorale s , sung, not

by the choi r a lone,but by the choi r i n fou r-pa rt h a r

mony and by the congregat ion in uni son,w a s fi r st

sugges ted to Bach by the wel l known preache r Solo

m on D ey ling . Thi s zealous Lutheran hoped , by bring

ing forwa rd such a work at Le ipzig, to counteract in

some measu re the effect p roduced by the eccl es i ast ical“Cantu s

-

P a s s ion is ,” whi ch w a s then sung a t Dresden

under the di rect i on o f Has se , by the fines t I tal ian

s inge rs that cou ld be p rocu red . Ba ch entered warmly

into the scheme . The poeti ca l port i on o f the work

RELIG IOUS M USIC OF THE WORLD 2 99

was suppl i ed , unde r the di rect ion o f Dey ling ,by

Chr i s t ian Friedri ch Henri c i (under the p seudonym o f

Bach s et the whole to musi c ; and on the

evening o f Good Fr i day, 1 72 9,the work was per

formed for the firs t t ime in S t . Thomas ’s Chu rch,

Leipzig, a s ermon being preached between the two

parts into which i t i s d ivided,in accordance wi th the

example set by the orator i ans at the Church o f St .Maria in Val l i cel la at Rome .

“D ie gross e Pas s ion nach Matthau s

,as i t i s called

in Germany,i s wri tten on a g iganti c scale for two com

p lete choi rs , each accompan i ed by a separate orchest ra

and an organ . I ts choruse s , o ften w r i tten in eigh t real

part s , are sometimes used to carry on the d ramaticact i on in the word s u ttered by the crowd or the

Apostle s,and somet imes offe r a commentary upon the

narrative,l ike the choru ses o f a Greek tragedy . In

the former clas s o f movements,the dramati c e lement

i s occas ional ly b rought out with tel l ing effect , as in

the re i te rat ion o f the Apos tl es ’ quest ion ,“Lord

,i s i t

I ?” The finest example s o f the second clas s are the in

troductory double chorus , in 1 2 8 t ime , the fiery move

ment wh i ch fol lows the duet for SOp rano and alto near

the end o f the fir s t part,and the exqu i s i te ly beauti ful

“Farewel l” to the crucified Savi our wh i ch conc ludes

the whole . The part o f the Evangel i s t i s al lotted to a

tenor vo i ce,and i s care fu l ly re str i cted to the narrative

port ion o f the words . The moment any characte r in the

solemn drama i s made to speak in his ow n words , those

words are committed to anothe r s inger,even though

they should involve but a single e j aculat ion . Almost

al l the ai rs are formed upon the model o f the S oli

loquiw a l ready ment ioned ; and most o f them a re sung

30 0 RELIG IOUS MUSIC OF THE WORLD

by The Daugh te r o f Z i on . The choral es a re sup

pos ed to exp res s the voi ce o f the whole Chr i s t i an

Chu rch,and a re there fore so arranged a s to fal l wi thin

the power o f an o rdinary German congregation , to the

s eve ra l membe rs o f which eve ry tune would natural ly

be fami l ia r . The styl e in whi ch they a re ha rmoniz ed

i s le s s s imple,by fa r , than that adopted by Graun in

h is“Tod Je su” ; but as the melod ie s are a lways sung in

Germany very s lowly , the pas s ing note s sung by the

choi r an d p l ayed by the organ serve rathe r to help and

support the uni sonous congregati onal part than to di s

tu rb i t,and the effect p roduced by th i s mode of per

form ance can s carcely be conce ived by those who havenot a ctual ly heard i t . The maste r ly treatment o f thes e

old popular tunes undoubtedly individual i z es the work

more st rongly than any l ea rning or i ngenu i ty cou ld

pos sib ly do ; but , i n another point , the Matthau s

Pass i on stands a lone above the grea tes t German works

o f the per iod . I t s in strumentati on i s,i n i ts own pe

cu lia r s tyl e,in imi tabl e . I t i s a lways w r i tten in rea l

parts— frequently in ve ry many . Yet i t i s made to

p roduce endles s va r i et i e s o f effect . N ot , i ndeed , in a

s ingl e movement ; for most o f the movements exh ib i t

the same treatment throughout . But the ins t rumenta l

contra st s between cont iguous movements are a rranged

with a dmi rable ski l l . Perhap s the most beaut i fu l in

stance of thi s occu rs in an a ir,a ccompanied by two

oboi da ca ccia and a solo flute .

In thi s grea t work the German form o f Pas s i on s

Mus ik cu lminated ; and in thi s i t may fa i rly be sa i d to

have pa s sed away ; for s ince the death o f Ba ch no one

h a s s e r iou sly attempted ei ther to t read in hi s st eps or

to s tr i ke out a new idea l fitted for thi s pecu l iar speci e s

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