,a ,practical ,discourse on some ,principles of ,hymn-,singing ,by ,robert ,bridges #aija ,price1 ,one ,shilling1 net ,a ,practical ,discourse on some ,principles of ,hymn-,singing ,by ,robert ,bridges ,reprinted from the ,journal of ,theological ,studies1 ,october1 #ahii ,oxford3 ,b4 ,h4 ,blackwell1 #ej #ea ,broad ,street ,london3 ,simpkin1 ,marshall1 ,hamilton1 ,kent ,co4 #aija ,the ,author's thanks are due to the ,editors of the ,journal of ,theological ,studies1 and to the ,publishers1 ,messrs4 ,macmillan1 for permission to reprint4 ,a ,,practical ,,discourse ,,on ,,some ,,principles ,,of ,,hymn-,,singing ,what ,st4 ,augustin says of the emotion which he felt on hearing the music in the ,portian basilica at ,milan in the year #chf has always seemed to me a good illustration of the relativity of musical expression2 ,i mean how much more its ethical significance depends on the musical experience of the hearer1 than on any special accomplishment or intrinsic development of the art4 ,knowing of what kind that music must have been and how few resources of expression it can have had1--being rudimental in form1 without suggestion of harmony1 and in its performance unskilful1 its probably nasal voice-production unmodified by any accompaniment1--one marvels at his description1 ',what tears ,i shed at ,thy hymns and canticles1 how acutely was my soul stirred by the voices and sweet music of ,thy ,church6 ,as those voices entered my ears1 truth distilled in my heart1 and thence divine affection welled up in a flood1 in tears o'erflowing1 and happy was ,i in those tears#a4' ,st4 ,augustin appears to have witnessed the beginnings of the great music of the ,western ,church4 ,it was the year of his baptism when1 he tells us1 singing was introduced at ,milan to cheer the ,catholics who had shut themselves up in the basilica with their bishop1 to defend him from the imperial violence3 ',it was then instituted that psalms and hymns should be sung1 after the manner of the ,eastern ,churches1 lest the folk in the weariness of their grief should altogether lose heart3 and from that day to this the custom has been retained2 many1 nay1 nearly all ,thy flocks1 in all regions of the world1 following the example#b4' ,what great emotional power ,st4 ,augustin attributed to ecclesiastical music1 and of what importance he thought it1 may be seen in the tenth book of the ,confessions3 he is there examining himself under the heads of the senses1 and after the sense of smell1 his chapter on the sense of hearing is as follows3 ',the lust of the ears entangled and enslaved me more firmly1 but ,thou hast loosened and set me free4 ,but even now ,i confess that ,i do yield a very little to the beauty of those sounds which are animated by ,thy eloquence1 when sung with a sweet and practised voice2 not1 indeed1 so far that ,i am limed and cannot fly off at pleasure#c3 and yield though ,i do1 yet these sweet sounds1 joined with the divine words which are their life1 cannot be admitted to my heart save to a place of some dignity1 and ,i hesitate to give them one as lofty as their claim#d4 ',for sometimes ,i seem to myself to be allowing them undue honour1 when ,i feel that our minds are really moved to a warmer devotion and more ardent piety by the holy words themselves when they are so sung than when they are not so sung2 and when ,i recognize that all the various moods of our spirit have their proper tones in speech and song1 by which they are1 through ,i know not what secret familiarity1 excited4 ,but the mere sensuous delight1 to which it is not fitting to resign the mind to be enervated thereby1 often deceives me1 whenever 7that is7 the delight of the senses does not so accompany the reason as to be cheerfully in submission thereto1 but1 having been admitted only for reason's sake1 then even attempts to go before and to lead4 ,thus ,i sin without knowing1 but afterwards ,i know4 ',then awhile1 from too immoderate caution against this deception1 ,i err on the side of too great severity2 and sometimes go so far as to wish that all the melody of the sweet chants which are used in the ,davidian psalter were utterly banished from my ears1 and from the ears of the ,church2 and that way seems to me safer which ,i remember often to have heard told of ,athanasius1 archbishop of ,alexandria1 that he would have the lector of the psalm intone it with but a slight modulation of voice1 so as to be more like one reading than one singing4 ,and yet1 when ,i remember my tears1 which ,i shed at the hearing of the song of ,thy ,church in the first days of my recovered faith1 and that now ,i still feel the same emotion1 and am moved not by the singing but by what is sung1 when it is sung with a liquid voice and in the most fitting modulation1 then 7,i say7 ,i acknowledge again the great utility of the institution4 ',thus ,i fluctuate between the peril of sensuous pleasure and the proof of wholesomeness1 and am more inclined 7though ,i would not offer an irrevocable judgement7 to approve of the use of singing in the ,church1 that1 by the pleasure of the ear1 weaker minds may rise to the emotion of piety4 ,yet when it happens to me to be more moved by the music than by the words that are sung ,i confess that ,i have sinned 7poenaliter peccare71 and it is then that ,i would rather not hear the singer#e4' ,what would ,st4 ,augustin have said could he have heard ,mozart's ,requiem1 or been present at some ,roman ,catholic cathedral where an eighteenth-century mass was performed1 a woman hired from the ,opera-,house whooping the ,benedictus from the western gallery8 ,it is possible that such music would not have had any ethical significance to him1 bad or good4 ,augustin lived before what we reckon the very beginnings of modern music1 with nothing to entice and delight his ears in the choir but the simplest ecclesiastical chant and hymn-tune sung in unison4 ,we are accustomed to an almost over-elaborated art1 which1 having won powers of expression in all directions1 has so squandered them that they are of little value3 and we may confidently say that the emotional power of our church music is not so great as that described by him #a1ejj years ago4 ,in fact if we feel at all out of sympathy with ,augustin's words1 it is because he seems to over-estimate the danger of the emotion#f4 ,there is something very strange and surprising in this state of things1 this contrast between the primitive ,church with its few simple melodies that ravished the educated hearer1 and our own full-blown institution with its hymn-book of some #fjj tunes1 which when it is opened fills the sensitive worshipper with dismay1 so that there are persons who would rather not go inside a church than subject themselves to the trial4 ,what is the matter8 ,what is it that is wrong with our hymnody8 ,even where there is not such rooted disgust as ,i have implied1 there is a growing conviction that some reform is needed in words or music1 or both4 ,assuming that the chief blame lies with the music 7as1 ,i think1 might easily be proved71 ,i propose to discuss the question of the music of our hymnody1 and ,i shall proceed on the basis of ,st4 ,augustin's principles3 ,i am sure that they would be endorsed by any pious church-goer who had considered the subject1 and they may be fairly formulated thus1 ,the music must express the words or sense3 it should not attract too much attention to itself3 it should be dignified3 and its reason and use is to heighten religious emotion4 ,one point calls for distinction3 ,augustin speaks of his emotion on hearing the hymns and canticles2 he writes as if he had had no more thought of taking part in the music himself1 than we have of joining in the anthem at a cathedral2 and this might lead to a misunderstanding2 for there is no doubt that these hymns were sung by the people3 the story is that the very soldiers who were sent to blockade the basilica1 happening to be themselves catholics1 joined their voices in the stanzas which ,st4 ,ambrose had specially composed to disconcert the ,arian enemy4 ,the ecstasy of listening to music1 and the enthusiasm of a crowd who are all singing or shouting the same hymn or song are emotions of quite different nature and value4 ,now1 neglecting the rare conditions under which these emotions may be combined1 we shall1 as we are speaking of hymns1 be concerned chiefly with the latter kind1 for all will agree that hymns are that part of the ,church music in which it is most desirable that the congregation should join3 and ,i believe that there would be less difference in practice if it were at all easy to obtain good congregational singing1 or even anything that is worthy of the name4 ,it seems perhaps a pity that nature should have arranged that where the people are musical 7as ,augustin appears to have been7 they would rather listen1 and where they are unmusical they would all rather sing4 ,speaking therefore of congregational hymn-singing1 and conceding1 as ,i think we must1 that the essential use of such music is to heighten emotion1 then1 this emotional quality being the sine qua non 7the music being of no use without it71 it follows that it is the primary consideration4 ,if we are to have music at all1 it must be such as will raise or heighten emotion2 and to define this we must ask1 ,whose emotion8 and ,what kind of emotion8 ,let us take this latter question first1 and inquire what emotions it is usual1 proper1 or possible to express by congregational singing of hymns4 ,william ,law1 in his ,serious ,call1 has an interesting1 ,i may say amusing1 chapter on the duty of all to sing1 whether they have any turn or inclination for it or no4 ,all should sing1 he says1 even though they dislike doing so2 and ,i think that what he affirms of private devotion applies with greater force to public worship4 ,it should satisfy the most ardent advocate of congregational singing1 and it goes certainly to the root of the matter4 ',it is so right and beneficial to devotion1 has so much effect upon our hearts1 that it may be insisted on as a common rule for all persons2 444 for singing is as much the proper use of a psalm as devout supplication is the proper use of a form of prayer3 and a psalm only read is very much like a prayer that is only looked over4444 ,if you were to tell a person that has such a song1 that he need not sing it1 that it was sufficient to peruse it1 he would wonder what you meant1 444 as if you were to tell him that he should only look at his food1 to see whether it was good1 but need not eat it4444 ,you will perhaps say that singing is a particular talent1 that belongs only to particular people1 and that you have neither voice nor ear for music4 ',if you had said that singing is a general talent1 and that people differ in that as they do in all other things1 you had said something much truer4 ',for how vastly people differ in the talent of thinking1 which is not only common to all men1 but seems to be the very essence of human nature3 444 yet no one desires to be excused from thought because he has not this talent in any fine degree4444 ',if a person were to forbear praying because he had an odd tone in his voice1 he would have as good an excuse as he that forbears from singing psalms because he has but little management of his voice4444 ',these songs make a sense 7of7 delight in ,god they awaken holy devotion3 they teach how to ask3 they kindle a holy flame4444 ',singing is the natural effect of ,,joy in the heart1 444 and it is also the natural means of raising ,,emotions ,,of ,,joy in the mind3 such ,,joy ,,and ,,thankfulness to ,god as is the highest perfection of a divine and holy life4' ,now though ,i cannot feel the force of all ,law's arguments nor easily bring myself to believe that a person who dislikes singing1 and has no ear for music1 will readily find any comfortable assistance to his private devotion from making efforts to hit off the notes of the scale2 yet ,i feel that ,law's position is in the main sound1 and that he has correctly specified the emotion most proper to that kind of uncultured singing which he describes3 and though congregational psalm-singing necessarily involves a greater musical capacity than that assumed in ,law's extreme case1 and may therefore have a wider field1 yet we may begin by laying down that ,,joy1 ,,praise1 and ,,thanksgiving give us the first main head of what is proper to be expressed1 and we may extend this head by adding ,,adoration and perhaps the involved emotions of ,,awe and ,,peace and even the attitude of ,,contemplation4 ,in such a subject as the classification of emotions as they may be expressed by music of one kind or another1 it is plainly impossible to make any definite tabulation with which all would agree4 ,the very names of the emotions will1 to different minds1 call up different associations of feeling4 ,if any agreement could be arrived at1 it would be at the expense of distinction2 and all that ,i can expect is to have my distinctions understood1 and in the main agreed with4 ,and as ,i am most ready to grant to the reader his right to a different opinion on any detail1 ,i beg of him the same toleration1 and that he will rather try to follow my meaning than dwell on discrepancies which may be due to a fault of expression1 or to a difference of meaning which he and ,i may attach to the same word4 ,with this apology in preamble1 ,i will attempt to make some classification of emotions as they seem to me to be the possible basis for musical expression in congregational singing4 ,we have already one class3 ,i would add a second1 to include all the hymns which exhibit the simple attitude of ,,prayer4 ,a third class ,i would put under the head of ,,faith4 ,examples of this class will no doubt often cross with those of the first class1 but they will specify themselves as ,,celebrations of events of various ,,commemoration1 introducing a distinct form1 namely ,,narration1 which is a very proper and effective form for general praise4 ,also this section will include all the hymns of ,,brotherhood and ,,fellowship1 and of ,,spiritual ,,conflict1 with the correlative invitatory and exhortatory songs1 as modified by what will be said later4 ,also1 lastly1 under this same head of ,faith1 the ,,doctrinal hymns1 and professions of creed whether sectarian or otherwise1 which1 if the definition be taken widely1 make a large and popular class1 well exemplified by the ,german hymns of the ,reformation1 or by those of our ,wesleyan revival2 strong with the united feeling of a small body1 asserting itself in the face of opposition3 concerning which we will not speak further1 except to recall the fact that this kind of enthusiasm was not absent from the causes which first introduced hymns into the ,western ,church4 ,i believe that this is a pretty full list of all the attitudes of mind that can be properly expressed by congregational singing2 and if we turn to other emotions which are made the subject of church hymns1 we shall1 ,i think1 see that they are all of them liable to suffer damage by being entrusted to the rough handling of general vociferation4 ,such will be all hymns of ,,divine ,,affection and ,,yearning2 all ,,laments and ,,consolations2 all descriptions of spiritual conditions which imply personal experience and feeling1 as ,,abasement1 ,,humiliation1 ,,contrition1 ,,repentance1 ,,resignation1 ,,self-,,devotion1 ,,conviction1 and ,,satisfaction4 ,here ,i feel that many readers will be inclined to dissent from what ,i say1 and as ,i shall not again recur to ,law1 ,i should like1 in order to show my meaning1 to call up his extreme example of an unmusical person singing in private devotion4 ,if one pictures such a case as he supposes1 is it not clear1 whether one imagines oneself the actor or the unwilling auditor1 that while such an exhibition of joy might perhaps pass1 yet a similar incompetent attempt to express any of the last-named emotions would be only ridiculous8 ,but between this single worshipper and the congregation the incompetence seems to me only a question of degree2 while in the far more considerable respect of the sincerity of the feeling in the hearts of those expressing it1 ,law's singer has every advantage2 indeed no objection on this score can be raised to him4 ,but now suppose for a moment that he has not the emotion at heart corresponding to his attempt at song1 and ,i think the differentiation of motives for congregational singing will seem justifiable4 ,all these last-named emotions1--which ,i have taken from congregational hymn-books1--and ,i suppose there may be more of them1--call for delicacy of treatment4 ,a ,lamentation1 for instance1 which might seem at first sight as if it would gain force by volume1 will1 if it is realistic or clumsy1 become unmanly1 almost so as to be ridiculous1 and certainly depressing to the spirit rather than purifying4 ,in fact while many of the subjects require beautiful expression1 they are also more properly used when offered as inspiring ideals2 and to assume them to be of common attainment or experience is to degrade them from their supreme sanctity4 ,but in thus ruling them unfit for general singing one must distinguish large miscellaneous congregations from small united bodies1 in which a more intimate emotion may be natural3 and as there is no exact line of distinction here1 so there is no objection to the occasional and partial intrusion of some of these more intimate subjects into congregational hymns4 ,to this first question then1 as to what emotions are fit to be expressed by congregational music1 the answer appears to be that the more general the singing1 the more general and simple should be the emotion and that the universally fitting themes are those of simple praise1 prayer1 or faith3 and we might inquire whether one fault of our modern hymn-books may not be their attempt to supply congregational music to unfitting themes4 ,to the next question1 ,whose emotion is this congregational music to excite or heighten8 the answer is plain3 ,it is the average man1 or one rather below the average1 the uneducated1 as ,st4 ,augustin says the weaker1 mind and that in ,england is1 at least artistically1 a narrow mind and a vulgar being4 ,and it may of course be alleged that the music in our hymn-books which is intolerable to the more sensitive minds was not put there for them1 but would justify itself in its supposed fitness for the lower classes4 ',what use1' the pastor would say to one who1 on the ground of tradition advocated the employment of the old plain-song and the ,ambrosian melodies1 ',what use to seek to attract such people as those in my cure with the ancient outlandish and stiff melodies that pleased folk a thousand years ago1 and which ,i cannot pretend to like myself8' ,or if his friend is a modern musician1 who is urging him to have nothing in his church but what would satisfy the highest artistic sense of the day1 his answer is the same3 he will tell you that it would be casting pearls before swine2 and that unless the music is 'tuney' and 'catchy' the people will not take to it4 ,and we cannot hastily dismiss these practical objections4 ,the very ,ambrosian music which is now so strange to modern ears was doubtless1 when ,st4 ,ambrose introduced it1 much akin to the secular music of the day1 if it was not directly borrowed from it3 and the history of hymn-music is a history of the adaptations of profane successes in the art to the uses of the ,church4 ,nor do ,i see that it can ever be otherwise1 for the highest music demands a supernatural material2 so that it would seem an equal folly for musicians to neglect the unique opportunity which religion offers them1 and for religion to refuse the best productions of human art4 ,and we must also remember that the art of the time1 whether it be bad or good1 has a much more living relation to the generation which is producing it1 and exerts a more powerful influence upon it1 than the art of any time that is past and gone4 ,it is the same in all aspects of life3 it is the book of the day1 the hero or statesman of the hour1 the newest hope1 the latest flash of scientific light1 which attracts the people4 ,and it must be1 on the face of it1 true that any artist who becomes widely popular must have hit off1 ',i know not by what secret familiarity1' the exact fashion or caprice of the current taste of his own generation4 ,and this is so true that it must be admitted that it is not always the uneducated man only whose taste is hit off4 ,in the obituary notices of such men as ,gladstone and ,tennyson the gossip will inform us1 rightly or wrongly1 that their 'favourite hymn#g' was1 not one of the great masterpieces of the world1--which1 alas1 it is only too likely that in their long lives they never heard1--but some tune of the day3 as if in the minds of men whose lives appealed strongly to their age there must be something delicately responsive to the exact ripple of the common taste and fashion of their generation4 ,all this makes a strong case3 and it would seem1 since our hymn-music is to stir the emotions of the vulgar1 that it must itself be both vulgar and modern2 and that1 in the interest of the weaker mind1 we must renounce all ancient tradition and the maxims of art1 in order to be in touch with the music-halls4 ,this is impossibly absurd2 and unless there is some flaw in our argument1 the fault must lie in the premisses2 we have omitted some necessary qualification4 ,the qualification which we neglected is this1 that the music must be dignified1 and suitable to the meaning2 and we should only have wasted words in ignoring what we knew all along1 if we had not1 by so doing1 brought this qualification into its vital prominence1 and at the same time exposed the position of those who neglect it1 and the real reason of the mean condition of our church music4 ,the use of undignified music for sacred purposes may perhaps be justified in exceptional cases1 which must be left to the judgement of those who consider all things lawful that they may save some4 ,but if from the mission service this licence should creep into the special service1 and then invade every act of public worship1 it must be met with an edict of unscrupulous exclusion4 ,not that it can be truly described as thus having crept in in our time4 ,it is always creeping1 it has flourished in special habitats for four or five hundred years1 and before then there is the history of ,palestrina's great reform of like abuses4 ,if in our time in ,england we differ in any respect for the worse1 it is rather in the universal prevalence of a mild form of the degradation1 which is perhaps more degrading than the occasional exceptional abuses of a more flagrant kind1 which cannot hide their scandal but bring their own condemnation4 ,there is indeed no extreme from which this abuse has shrunk2 perhaps the worst form of it is the setting of sacred hymns to popular airs1 which are associated in the minds of the singers with secular1 or even comic and amatory words#h3 of which it is impossible to give examples1 because the extreme instances are blasphemies unfit to be quoted2 and it is only these which could convey an adequate idea of the licence#i ,the essence of the practice appears to be the production of a familiar excitement1 with the intention of diverting it into a religious channel4 ,but1 even in the absence of secular or profane association1 congregational singing1 when provoked by undignified music1 such as may be found in plenty in our modern hymn-books1 may be maintained without the presence of religious feeling1 out of mere high spirits1 or as we say1 'in fun1' and may easily give rise to mockery4 ,i have witnessed examples enough in proof of this1 but if ,i gave them it might be thought that ,i wished to amuse profane readers#aj4 ,and though such extreme disasters may be exceptional outbursts1 yet they are always but just beneath the surface1 and are the inevitable outcome of the use of unworthy means4 ,the cause of such a choice of means must be either an artistic incapacity to distinguish1 or a want of faith in the power of religious emotion when unaided by profane adjuncts4 ,what would ,st4 ,augustin have ruled here1 or thought of the confusion of ideas1 which1 being satisfied with any expression1 mistakes one emotion for another8 ,the practical question now arises4 ,we know the need2 how is it to be supplied8 ,we require music which will reach the emotions of uneducated people1 and in which they will delight to join1 and in which it shall be easy to join3 and it must be dignified and not secular4 ,if we condemn and reject the music which the professional church-musicians have supplied with some popular success to meet the need1 what is there to take its place8 ,of what music is our hymn-book to be constructed1 which shall be at once dignified1 sacred1 and popular8 ,the answer is very simple3 it is this1 ,dignified ,melody4 ,good melody is never out of fashion2 and as it is by all confession the seal of high musical genius1 so it is that form of music which is universally intelligible and in the best sense popular2 and we have a rich legacy of it4 ,what we want is that our hymn-books should contain a collection of the best ecclesiastical and sacred hymn-melodies1 and nothing but these1 instead of having but a modicum of these1 for the most part mauled and illset1 among a crowd of contributions of an altogether inferior kind2 the whole collection being often such that if an ill-natured critic were to assert that the compilers had degraded and limited the old music in order to set off their own1 it would be difficult to meet him with a logical refutation4 ,the shortest and most practical way of treating this subject will be to give some account of the sources from which the music of such a hymn-book as ,i propose would be drawn4 ,i will take these in their chronological order4 ,first in order of time are the ,plain-song melodies4 ,i have already stated the ordinary objection to these tunes1 that they are stiff and out of date4 ,now it may be likely enough that they will never be so universally popular in our country as the fine melodies invented on the modern harmonic system1 yet the idea that they are not popular in character1 and that modern people will not sing them1 is a mistake2 there is plenty of evidence on this point4 ,nor must we judge them by the incompetent1 and ,i confess somewhat revolting aspect in which they were offered to us by the ,anglo-gregorianists of thirty years ago1 a presentment which has gone far to ruin their reputation2 they are better understood now1 and may be heard here and there sung as they should be4 ,they are of great artistic merit and beauty2 and instead of considering them a priori as uncongenial on the ground of antiquity1 we should rather be thinking of them that they were invented at a time when unison singing was cultivated in the highest perfection1 so much so that a large number of these tunes are1 on account of their elaborate and advanced rhythm1 not only far above the most intelligent taste of the minds with which we have to deal1 but are also so difficult of execution that there are few trained choirs in the country that could render them well4 ,to the simpler tunes1 however1 these objections do not apply3 in fact there are only two objections that can be urged against them1 and both of these will be found on examination to be advantages4 ,the first objection is that they are not in the modern scale4 ,now as this objection is only felt by persons who have cramped their musical intelligence by an insufficient technical education1 and cannot believe that music is music unless they are modulating in and out of some key by means of a sharp seventh2--and as the nature of the ecclesiastical modes is too long a subject1 and too abstruse for a paper of this sort1 even if ,i were competent to discuss it2--,i shall therefore content myself by stating that the ecclesiastical modes have1 for melodic purposes 7which is all that we are considering71 advantages over the modern scale1 by which they are so surpassed in harmonic opportunities4 ,even such a thoroughgoing admirer of the modern system as ,sir ,hubert ,parry writes on this subject1 that it 'is now quite obvious that for melodic purposes such modes as the ,doric and ,phrygian were infinitely 7sic7 preferable to the ,ionic1' i4e4 to our modern major keys#aa4 ,and it will be evident to every one how much music has of late years sought its charm in modal forms1 under the guise of national character4 ,the second objection is their free rhythm4 ,they are not written in barred time1 and cannot without injury be reduced to it4 ,as this question affects also other classes of hymns1 ,i will here say all that ,i have to say1 or have space to say1 about the rhythm of hymn-tunes2 confining my remarks generally to the proper dignified rhythms4 ,in all modern musical grammars it is stated that there are virtually only two kinds of time4 ,the time-beat goes either by twos or some multiple of two1 or by threes or some multiple of three1 and the accent recurs at regular intervals of time1 and is marked by dividing off the music into bars of equal length4 ,nothing is more important for a beginner to learn1 and yet from the point of view of rhythm nothing could be more inadequate4 ,rhythm is infinite4 ,these regular times are no doubt the most important fundamental entities of it1 and may even lie undiscoverably at the root of all varieties of rhythm whatsoever1 and further they may be the only possible or permissible rhythms for a modern composer to use1 but yet the absolute dominion which they now enjoy over all music lies rather in their practical necessity and convenience 7since it is only by attending to them that the elaboration of modern harmonic music is possible71 than in the undesirability 7in itself7 or unmusical character of melody which ignores them4 ,in the matter of hymn-melodies an unbarred rhythm has very decided advantages over a barred rhythm4 ,in the former the melody has its own way1 and dances at liberty with the voice and sense2 in barred time it has its accents squared out beforehand1 and makes steadily for its predetermined beat1 plumping down1 as one may say1 on the first note of every bar whether it will or no4 ,sing to any one a ,plain-song melody1 ,ad coenam ,agni for instance1 once or twice1 and then ,croft's #adhth ,psalm#ab4 ,croft will be undeniably fine and impressive1 but he provokes a smile3 his tune is like a diagram beside a flower4 ,now in this matter of rhythm our hymn-book compilers1 since the seventeenth century1 have done us a vast injury4 ,they have reduced all hymns to the common times4 ,their procedure was1 ,i suppose1 dictated by some argument such as this3 ',the people must have what they can understand3 they only understand the simple two and three time3 ergo we must reduce all the tunes to these measures4' ,or again1 ',it will be easier for them to have all the tunes as much alike as possible3 therefore let us make them all alike1 and write them all in equal minims4' ,both these ideas are absolutely wrong4 ,a hymn-tune1 which they hastily assume to be the commonest and lowest form of music1 actually possesses liberties coveted by other music#ac4 ,it is a short melody1 committed to memory1 and frequently repeated3 there is no reason why it should submit to any of the time-conveniences of orchestral music3 there is no reason why its rhythm should not be completely free2 nor is there any a priori necessity why any one tune should be exactly like another in rhythm4 ,it will be learned by the ear 7most often in childhood71 be known and loved for its own sake1 and blended in the heart with the words which interpret it3 and this advantage was instinctively felt by those of our early church composers who1 already understanding something of the value of barred music1 yet deliberately avoided cramping the rhythms of their hymn-tunes by too great subservience to it#ad4 ,one of the first duties therefore which we owe to hymn-melodies is the restoration of their free and original rhythms1 keeping them as varied as possible3 the ,plain-song melodies must be left unbarred and be taught as free rhythms1 and all other fine tunes which are worth using should be preserved in their original rhythm2 because free rhythm is better1 and its variety is good1 and because the attraction of a hymn-melody lies in its individual character and expression1 and not at all in its time-likeness to other tunes4 ,this last idea has been a chief cause in the degradation of our hymns4 ,i may conclude then that the best of these simpler ,plain-song tunes are very fit for congregational use4 ,they should be offered as pure melody in free rhythm and sung in unison3 their accompaniment must not be entrusted to a modern grammarian4 ,it is well also to use most of them in their ,english form1 the ,old ,sarum ,use as it is called2 which happily preserves to us a national tradition1 in the opinion of some experts older and more correct than any known on the continent2 and if the differences in our ,english version are not due to purity of tradition1 they will have another and almost greater interest1 as venerable records of the genius of our national taste4 ,these ,plain-song tunes have probably a long future before them2 since1 apart from their merit1 they are indissolubly associated with the most ancient ,latin hymns1 some of which are the very best hymns of the ,church4 ,the next class of tunes#ae is that of the ,reformation hymns1 ,english1 ,french1 and ,german1 dating from about #aeej to some way on in the seventeenth century4 ,the chief ,english group is known as ,sternhold and ,hopkins' ,psalter1 which was mostly of eight-line tunes4 ,this book was virtually put together in ,geneva about #aefj1 and antiquarians make much of it4 ,if stripped1 however1 of its stolen plumes and later additions it is really an almost worthless affair1 the true history of it being as follows4 ,a ,french musician named ,louis ,bourgeois1 whom ,calvin brought with him to ,geneva in #aeda1 turned out to be an extraordinary genius in melody2 he remained at ,geneva about fifteen years1 and in that time compiled a ,psalter of eighty-five tunes1 almost all of which are of great merit1 and many of the very highest excellence4 ,the splendour of his work1 which was merely appreciated as useful at the time1 was soon obscured1 for immediately on his leaving ,geneva1 the ,french ,psalter was completed by inferior hands1 whose work1 being mixed in with his1 lowered the average of the whole book enormously1 and ,bourgeois' work was never distinguished until1 quite lately1 the period of his office was investigated and compared with the succeeding editions of his book4 ,now the ,english refugees compiled their ',sternhold and ,hopkins' at ,geneva1 in imitation of the ,french1 during the time of ,bourgeois' residence1 and took over a number of the ,french tunes2 though they mauled these most unmercifully to bring them down to the measure of their doggerel psalms1 yet even after this barbarous treatment ,bourgeois' spoilt tunes were still far better than what they made for themselves1 and sufficient not only to float their book into credit1 but to kindle the confused enthusiasm of subsequent ,english antiquarians1 whose blind leadership has had some half-hearted following4 ,but if these ,french tunes1 and those which are pieced in imitation of ,bourgeois1 be extracted from this ,english ,psalter1 then1 with one or two exceptions1 there will remain hardly anything of value#af4 ,to leave the ,english tunes for a moment and continue the subject1 we shall practically exhaust the ,french branch of this class by saying that our duty by them is to use a great number of ,bourgeois' tunes1 restoring their original form4 ,they are masterpieces which have remained popular on the continent from the first2 thoroughly congenial to our national taste1 and the best that can be imagined for solemn congregational singing of the kind which we might expect in ,england4 ,the difficulty is the same that beset the old original psalter-makers1 i4e4 to find words to suit their varied measures4 ,but this must be done#ag4 ,these tunes in dignity1 solemnity1 pathos1 and melodic solidity leave nothing to desire4 ,the ,english eight-line tunes of ,sternhold and ,hopkins we may then1 with one or two exceptions1 dismiss to neglect2 but among the four-line 'common' tunes which gradually ousted them1 there are about a dozen of high merit3 these being popular still at the present day require no notice1 except to #cb insist that they should be well harmonized in the manner of their date1 and generally have the long initials and finals of all their lines observed4 ,they are much finer than any one would guess from their usual dull presentment4 ,their manner1 as loved and praised by ,burns1 is excellent1 and there is no call to alter it#ah4 ,contemporary with this group there is a legacy of a dozen and more fine tunes composed by ,tallis and ,orlando ,gibbons1 the neglect or treatment of which is equally disgraceful to all concerned4 ,as for the ,german tunes of the ,reformation1 attempts to introduce the ,german church-chorales into anything like general use in ,england have never1 so far as ,i know1 been successful1 owing1 ,i suppose1 to a difference in the melodic sense of the two nations4 ,but some few of them are really popular1 and more would be if they were properly presented with suitable words2 and it should not be a difficult task to provide words even more suitable and kind than the original ,german1 which seldom observes an intelligent1 dignified and consistent mood4 ,these chorales should be sung very slow indeed1 and will admit of much accompaniment4 ,bach's settings1 when not too elaborate or of impossible compass in the parts1 may be well used where the choir is numerically strong4 ,he has made these chorales peculiarly his own1 and1 in accepting his interpretation of them1 we are only acquiescing in a universal judgement1 while we make an exception in favour of genius2 for as a general rule 7which will of course apply to those chorales which we do not use in ,bach's version71 all the music of this ,reformation period must be harmonized strictly in the vocal counterpoint which prevailed at the end of the sixteenth century2 since that is not only its proper musical interpretation1 but it is also the ecclesiastical style par excellence1 the field of which may reasonably be extended1 but by no means contracted4 ,it is suitable both for simple and elaborate settings1 for hymns of praise or of the more intimate ideal emotions1 and in a resonant building a choir of six voices can produce complete effects with it4 ,the broad1 sonorous swell of its harmonious intervals floods the air with peaceful power1 very unlike the broken sea of ,bach's chromatics1 which1 to produce anything like an equal effect of sound1 needs to be powerfully excited4 ,it is necessary to insist strongly on one caution1 viz4 that grammar is not style1 and settings which avoid modernisms are not for that reason a fair presentation of the old manner4 ,nothing is less like a fine work of art than its incompetent imitation4 ,and this practically exhausts1 as far as ,i am aware1 the material which this period provides4 ,the next class will be made up of our ,restoration hymns1 by ,jeremy ,clark1 ,croft1 and others who added to the succeeding editions of the metrical ,psalms4 ,if there are not many in this class1 yet the few are good2 and ,clark must be regarded as the inventor of the modern ,english hymn-tune1 regarded1 that is1 as a pure melody in the scale with harmonic interpretation of instrumental rather than true vocal suggestion4 ,his tunes are pathetic1 melodious1 and of truly national and popular character1 the best of them almost unaccountably free from the indefinable secular taint that such qualities are apt to introduce1 and which the bad following of his example did very quickly introduce in the hands of less sensitive artists4 ,they are suitable for evening services4 ,after this time there followed in ,england1 in the wake of ,handel1 a degradation of style which is now completely discredited4 ,diatonic flow1 with tediously orthodox modulation1 overburdened with conventional graces1 describe these innumerable and indistinguishable productions4 ,and just as the old tunes were related to the motets and madrigals1 so are these to the verse-anthems and glees of their time4 ,these weak ditties1 in the admired manner of ,lord ,mornington1 were typically performed by the genteel pupils of the local musician1 who1 gathered round him beneath the laughing cherubs of the organ case1 warbled by abundant candlelight to their respectful audience with a graceful execution that rivalled the weekday performances of ,celia's ,arbour and the ,spotted ,snakes4 ,good tunes may be written at any time1 for style is independent of fashion2 but there are very few exceptions to the complete and unregretted disappearance of all the tunes of this date4 ,we have then nothing left for us to do but to review the material which the revival of music in the last fifty years has given us in the way of hymns4 ,this last group divides naturally into two main heads2 first the restoration of old hymns of all kinds1 with their plain1 severer manner1 in reaction against the abused graces2 and secondly the appearance of a vast quantity of new hymns4 ,concerning the restoration of the old hymns1 we cannot be too grateful to those who pointed the right way1 and1 according to their knowledge and the opportunities of the taste of their day1 did the best that they could4 ,but1 as our remarks under the heads of ,plain-song and ,reformation hymns will show1 this knowledge1 taste1 and opportunity were insufficient1 and all their work requires to be done afresh4 ,we are therefore left to the examination of the modern hymns4 ,in place of this somewhat invidious task1 ,i propose to make a few remarks on the general question of the introduction of modern harmony into ecclesiastical music1 with reference of course to hymns only4 ,it cannot escape the attention of any one that the modern church music has for one chief differentiation the profuse employment of pathetic chords1 the effect of which is often disastrous to the feelings4 ,comparing a modern hymn-tune in this style with some fine setting of an old tune in the diatonic ecclesiastical manner1 one might attribute the superiority of the old music entirely to its harmonic system2 but ,i think this would be wrong4 ,it is a characteristic of all early art to be impersonal#ai4 ,as long as an art is growing1 artists are engaged in rivalry to develop the new inventions in a scientific manner1 and individual personality is not called out4 ,with the exhaustion of the means in the attainment of perfection a new stage is reached1 in which individual expression is prominent1 and seems to take the place of the scientific impersonal interest which aimed at nothing but beauty3 so that the chief distinction between early and late art is that the former is impersonal1 the latter personal4 ,turning now to the subject of ecclesiastical music1 and comparing thus ,palestrina with ,beethoven or ,mozart1 is it not at once apparent that ,palestrina has this distinct advantage1 namely1 that he seems not to interfere at all with1 or add anything to1 the sacred words8 ,his early musical art is impersonal1 what the musicians call 'pure music'2 and if he is setting the phrases of the ,liturgy or ,holy ,scriptures1 we are not aware of any adjunct2 it seems rather as if the sacred words had suddenly become musical4 ,not so with ,mozart or ,beethoven2 we may prefer their music1 but it has interfered with the sacred words1 it has1 in fact1 added a personality4 ,it must of course be conceded that this gives a very strong if not logically an almost unassailable position to those who would confine sacred music to the ecclesiastical style4 ,but it seems to me ridiculous to suppose that genius cannot use all good means with reserve and dignity2 and if the modern church music will not stand comparison in respect of dignity and solemnity with the old1 the fault must rather lie in the manner in which the new means are used1 than in the means themselves2 nor would ,i myself concede that there is no place in church for music which is tinged with a human personality2 ,i should be rather inclined to reckon the great musicians among the prophets1 and to sympathize with any one who might prefer the personality of ,beethoven 7as revealed in his works7 to that of a good many canonized seers4 ,what is logical is that we should be careful as to what personality we admit1 and see that the modern means are used with reserve4 ,now if we examine our modern hymn-tunes1 do we find any sign of that reserve of means which we should expect of genius1 or any style which we could attribute to the personality of a genius8 ,let any one in doubt try the following experiment3 copy out some 'favourite tune' in the 'admired manner' of the present day1 and show it to some musician who may happen not to know it1 and ask him if it is not by ,brahms2 then see how he will receive any further remarks that you may make to him on the subject of music4 ,these new tunes are in fact1 for the most part1 the indistinguishable products of a school given over to certain mannerisms1 and might be produced ad libitum1 as indeed they are2 just as were the tunes of the ,lord ,mornington school before described3 and though the composers and compilers of these modern tunes would be the first to deride the exploded fashion1 their own fashion is more foolish1 and promises to be as fugitive#bj4 ,i have said very little in this essay on the words of hymns4 ,i will venture to add one or two judgements here4 ,first1 that in the ,plain-song period1 words and music seem pretty equal and well matched4 ,secondly1 that in the ,reformation period1 and for some time onwards1 the musicians did far better than the sacred poets1 and have left us a remainder of admirable music1 for which it is our duty to find words4 ,thirdly1 that the excuse which some musicians have offered for the sentimentality of their modern tunes1 namely1 that the words are so sentimental1 is not without point as a criticism of modern hymn-words1 but is of no value whatever as a defence of their practice4 ,the interpretative power of music is exceedingly great1 and can force almost any words 7as far as their sentiment is concerned7 into a good channel4 ,and if music be introduced at all into public worship it must be most jealously and scrupulously guarded4 ,it is a confusion of thought to suppose that because--as ,st4 ,augustin would tell us--it is not a vital matter to religion whether it employ music or not1 therefore it can be of little consequence what sort of music is used3 and the attitude of indifference towards it1 which has seemed to me to be almost a point of correct ecclesiastical manners1 must be the expression of a convinced despair1 which1 in the present state of things1 need not surprise4 ,devout persons are naturally afraid of secular ideals1 and shrink from the notion of art intruding into the sanctuary2 and1 especially if they have never learned music1 they will share ,st4 ,augustin's jealousy of it2 and it is the more difficult to remove their objections1 when what they are innocently suffering in the name of art curdles the artist's blood with horror1 and keeps him away from church4 ,the artist too1 to whom we might look for help1 is the rara avis in terris1 and1 in regard to his sympathy with the clergy1 would often be thought by them to deserve the rest of the hexameter2 but it is really to his credit that he is loth to meddle with church music4 ,its social vexations1 its eye to the market1 its truckling to vulgar taste and ready subservience to a dominant fashion1 which can never 7except under the rarest combination of circumstances7 be good2--all this is more than enough to hold him off4 ,where then is the appeal8 ,quis custodiet8 ,the unwillingness of the clergy#ba to know anything about music might be got over if the music could be set on a proper basis2 and in the present lack of authority and avowed principles1 it would be well if such of our cathedral precentors and organists as have the matter at heart would consult and work together with the purpose of instructing pastors and people by the exhibition of what is good4 ,this is what we might expect of our religious musical foundations1 which are justifying the standing condemnation of utilitarian economists so long as the stipendiaries are content indolently to follow the fortuitous traditions of the books that lie in the choir1 supplemented by the penny-a-sheet music of the common shops4 ,in the ,universities1 too1 it should be impossible for an undergraduate not to gain acquaintance with good ecclesiastical music1 and this is not ensured by an occasional rare performance of half a dozen old masterpieces which are preserved in heartless compliment to antiquity4 ,it is to such bodies that we must first look for help and guidance to give our church music artistic importance3 for let no one think that the church can put the artistic question on one side4 ,there is no escape from art2 art is only the best that man can do1 and his second1 third1 fourth or fifth best are only worse efforts in the same direction1 and in proportion as they fall short of the best the more plainly betray their artificiality4 ,to refuse the best for the sake of something inferior of the same kind can never be a policy2 it is rather an uncorrected bad habit1 that can only be excused by ignorance2 and ignorance on the question of music is every day becoming less excusable2 and the growing interest and intelligence which all classes are now showing should force on religion a better appreciation of her most potent ally4 ,music being the universal expression of the mysterious and supernatural1 the best that man has ever attained to1 is capable of uniting in common devotion minds that are only separated by creeds1 and it comforts our hope with a brighter promise of unity than any logic offers4 ,and if we consider and ask ourselves what sort of music we should wish to hear on entering a church1 we should surely1 in describing our ideal1 say first of all that it must be something different from what is heard elsewhere2 that it should be a sacred music1 devoted to its purpose1 a music whose peace should still passion1 whose dignity should strengthen our faith1 whose unquestioned beauty should find a home in our hearts1 to cheer us in life and death2 a music worthy of the fair temples in which we meet1 and of the holy words of our liturgy2 a music whose expression of the mystery of things unseen never allowed any trifling motive to ruffle the sanctity of its reserve4 ,what power for good such a music would have6 ,now such a music our ,church has got1 and does not use2 we are content to have our hymn-manuals stuffed with the sort of music which1 merging the distinction between sacred and profane1 seems designed to make the worldly man feel at home1 rather than to reveal to him something of the life beyond his knowledge2 compositions full of cheap emotional effects and bad experiments made to be cast aside1 the works of the purveyors of marketable fashion1 always pleased with themselves1 and always to be derided by the succeeding generation4 ,example is better than precept2 and my own venture as a compiler of a hymn-book has made it possible for me to say much that otherwise ,i should not have said4 ,in ,the ,yattendon ,hymnal1 printed by ,mr4 ,horace ,hart at the ,clarendon ,press1 ,oxford1 and to be had of ,mr4 ,frowde1 price #bjs41 will be found a hundred hymns with their music1 chosen for a village choir4 ,the music in this book will show what sort of a hymnal might be made on my principles1 while the notes at the end of the volume will illustrate almost every point in this essay which requires illustration1 besides many others4 ,as a complement to this essay and for advertisement of the ,hymnal ,i here give the prefaces of that book1 which are as follows3-- #a;,confess4 ix4 #f4 #b;,ibid4 ix4 #g4 #c,this is perhaps rather a quality proper to the sensation4 #d';,et vix eis praebeo congruentem locum4' which might only mean ',i cannot find the right place for them4' #e;,confess4 x4 #ac4 #f,st4 ,augustin does not allow that a vague emotion can be religious2 it must be directed4 ,few would agree to this4 #g;,i assume 'favourite hymn' to mean a sung hymn4 ,the interest of the record must lie in its being of a heightened emotion of the same kind as that described by ,st4 ,augustin in his own case1 ,what tears ,i shed1 c4 #h;,it was not an uncommon practice on the ,continent 7say from #aedj to #ahdj71 to print books of hymns to be sung to the current secular airs2 and the names or first lines of these airs were set above the hymn-words as the musical direction4 ,m4 ,douen1 in his ,clment ,marot et le ,psautier ,huguenot1 vol4 i1 ch4 #bb1 has given an account of some of these books2 and any one who wishes to follow this branch of the subject may read his chapter4 ,he does not notice the later ,italian ,laude ,spirituali1 which might have supplied incredible monsters to his museum4 #i;,besides1 the main fault of these books1 from which we should have to quote1 is the association of the music1 and this is really an accident1 the question before us being the character of the music2 so that we should require musical illustration1 for though the common distinction between sacred and secular music is in the main just1 yet the line cannot be drawn at the original intention1 or historical origin of the music3 the true differentiation lies in the character of the music1 the associated sentiment being liable to change4 ,if we were to banish from our hymn-books all the tunes which we know to have a secular origin1 we should have to part with some of the most sacred and solemn compositions2 and where would the purist obtain any assurance that the tunes which he retained had a better title8 ,in the sixteenth century1 when so many fine hymn-melodies were written1 a musician was working in the approved manner if he adapted a secular melody1 or at least borrowed a well-known opening phrase3 and since the melodies of that time were composed mainly in conjunct movement1 such initial similarities were unavoidable2 for one may safely say that it very soon became impossible1 under such restrictions1 to invent a good opening phrase which had not been used before4 ,the secular airs1 too1 of that time were often as fit for sacred as profane use2 and if ,i had to find a worthy melody for a good new hymn1 ,i should seek more hopefully among them than in the sacred music of our own century4 #aj;,i may give the following experience without offence4 ,when ,i was an undergraduate there was a song from a comic opera by ,offenbach so much in favour as to be de rigueur at festive meetings4 ,now there was at the same time a counterpart of this song popular at evensong in the churches3 it was sung to ',hark1 hark1 my soul4' ,i believe it is called ,l'encens des fleurs4 ,they seemed to me both equally nauseating3 it was certainly an accident that determined which should be sung at worship and which at wine4 #aa,the ,art of ,music1 by ,c ,hubert ,h4 ,parry4 ,london1 #ahic1 #ast edit4 p4 #dh4 #ab;,and give ,croft the advantage of his original rhythm1 not the mis-statement in ,hymns ,ancient and ,modern1 ,no4 #dad4 #ac;,it would be very damaging to my desire to convince1 if ,i should seem to deny that the mistaken practice of these hymn-book compilers was based on the solid ground of secular common-sense4 ,if anything is true of rhythm it is this1 that the common mind likes common rhythms1 such as the march or waltz1 whereas elaboration of rhythm appeals to a trained mind or artistic faculty4 ,i should say that the popularity of common rhythms is due to the shortness of human life1 and that if men were to live to be #cjj years old they would weary of the sort of music which ,robert ,browning describes so well-- ',there 's no keeping one's haunches still1 ,there 's no such pleasure in life4' ,but hymn-melodies must not be put on that level4 ,it is desirable to have in church something different from what goes on outside1 and 7as ,i say in the text7 a hymn-tune need not appeal to the lowest understanding on first hearing4 ,the simple free rhythms1 too1 are perfectly natural2 they were free-born4 #ad;,i need only instance ,orlando ,gibbons' tune called ',angels4' ,the original is a most ingenious combination of rhythms2 and its masterly beauty could not be guessed from the inane form into which it is degraded in ,hymns ,ancient and ,modern1 ,no4 #h4 #ae;,i omit1 for want of space1 mention of the late ,plain-song melodies 7which would give a good many excellent tunes72 and1 for want of knowledge1 the ,italian tunes4 #af;,comparing the ,english with the ,french ,genevan ,psalter1 ,i do not think my judgement is too severe on our own4 ,it had a few fine tunes original to it2 best of all the cxxxvii 7degraded in ,hymns ,ancient and ,modern74 ,this is of such exceptional beauty that ,i believe it must have been written by ,bourgeois for ,whittingham4 ,next perhaps is lxxvii 7called #hast in ,h4 ,a4 ,m471 the original of which1 in ,day1 #aeff1 is a fine tune1 degraded already in ,este1 #aeib1 which version ,h4 ,a4 ,m4 follows3 it is said to have come from ,geneva4 ,besides these1 xxv and xliv1 which are the only other tunes from this source in ,h4 ,a4 ,m41 are very favourable examples1 and ,i do not think that they will rescue the book4 ,nor can ,i believe that these old ,english ,d4,c4,m4 tunes were ever much used4 ,they are too much alike for many of them to have been committed to memory1 while all the editions which ,i happen to have seen are full of misprints1 and the four-line tunes which drove them out were early in the field1 and increased rapidly4 #ag,when one turns the pages of that most depressing of all books ever compiled by the groaning creature1 ,julian's hymn-dictionary1 and sees the thousands of carefully tabulated ,english hymns1 by far the greater number of them not only pitiable as efforts of human intelligence1 but absolutely worthless as vocal material for melodic treatment1 one wishes that all this effort had been directed to supply a real want4 ,e4 g4 the two ,wesleys between them wrote thirteen octavo volumes1 of some #djj pages each1 full of closely printed hymns4 ,one must wish that ,charles ,wesley at least 7who showed in a few instances how well he could do7 had1 instead of reeling off all this stuff1 concentrated his efforts to produce only what should be worthy of his talents and useful to posterity4 #ah;,if old tunes are modernized out of a fine rhythm1 a curious result would be likely to come about2 viz4 that modern tunes might be written in the old rhythm for the sake of novelty1 while the old were being sung in the more modern way for the sake of uniformity4 #ai,this fact is of course generally recognized4 ,the explanation in the text is one which was elaborately illustrated by the ,slade ,professor at ,oxford1 in his last course of lectures on painting4 #bj,there is one point which ,i cannot pass over4 ,it has become the practice in modern books to put marks of musical expression to the words1 directing the congregation when to sing loud or soft4 ,this implies a habit of congregational performance the description of which would make a companion picture to the organ gallery of #ahcj4 ,it seems to me a practice of inconceivable degradation3 one asks in trembling if it is to be extended to the ,psalms4 ,it is just as if the congregation were school-children singing to please a musical inspector1 and he a stupid one4 #ba;,it must be due to unwillingness that comparatively so few of our clergy can take their part in the service when it is musical4 ,village schoolmasters tell me that two hours a week is sufficient in a few months to bring all the children up to a standard of time and tune and reading at sight that would suffice a minor canon4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,yattendon ,,hymnal ,among the old melodies which it is the chief object of this book to restore to use1 some will be found which will be quite new to the public1 while others will be familiar though in a somewhat different form2 and since the sources whence all the tunes are taken are well known1 and have been already largely drawn upon by the compilers of ,psalters and ,hymnals1 any melody which is new in this book may be considered as having been hitherto overlooked or rejected1 while in the alternative case it is to be understood that the original cast of the melody has at some former time been altered 7frequently to suit the ,english common metre to which it was not at first conformable71 and is now restored4 ,the plain-song tunes1 of which an account is given in the preface to the notes1 and the few other old tunes which do not fall into either of the two above-mentioned classes1 were included for the sake of their settings4 ,with respect to the vocal settings in four parts it may be said that1 in the numerous cases in which such settings were not added by the composer of the melody1 the editors have done their best to supply the want in a suitable manner1 and with some attempt towards the particular qualities of workmanship upon which much of the beauty of the old vocal counterpoint depends2 and this latter aim has also governed the composition of the six tunes not derived from old sources which have been included in the work4 ,this book is offered in no antiquarian spirit4 ,the greater number of these old tunes are1 without question1 of an excellence which sets them above either the enhancement or the ruin of ,time1 and at present when so much attention is given to music it is to be desired that such masterpieces should not be hidden away from the public1 or only put forth in a corrupt and degraded form4 ,the excellence of a nation in music can have no other basis than the education and practice of the people2 and the quality of the music which is most universally sung must largely determine the public taste for good or ill4 ,since such information as might be looked for in an introduction is given in the notes at the end of the volume1 there is nothing to add here but a list of the sources and composers in order of date1 which should in the eyes of musicians go far to justify this attempt4 ,,synopsis ,,of ,,the ,,music ,,in ,,order ,,of ,,date ,,plain-,,song ,,melodies1 ,sarum use1 nine1 ,nos4 #bi4 #cj4 #ca4 #cb4 #dg4 #dh4 #di4 #ge4 #hf4 ,ambrosian1 two1 ,nos4 #ia4 #ajj4 ,later plain-song1 two1 ,nos4 #dd4 #de4 ,,heinrich ,,isaac1 #adij1 one tune1 ,nos4 #hb #hc4 ,from the ,strasbourg ,psalter1 before #aedj1 two1 ,nos4 #cg4 #gb4 ,german of same date1 one1 ,no4 #af4 ,,louis ,,bourgeois1 #aeej1 thirteen1 ,nos4 #c4 #ai4 #bj4 #bg4 #eh4 #fd4 #fg4 #gj4 #gd4 #gg4 #gi #hj4 #hh4 #ii see #ff #hd4 ,,christopher ,,tye1 #aeej1 one1 ,no4 #ae4 ,from ,crespin's ,psalters1 circ4 #aefj1 three1 ,nos4 #da4 #hd4 #hi4 ,,thomas ,,tallis1 #aefj1 seven1 ,nos4 #b4 #ad4 #ed #ee4 #ei4 #fh4 #gh4 #ih4 ,from the ,french ,genevan ,psalter1 after #aefj1 one1 ,no4 #ib4 ,a setting by ,,claude ,,goudimel1 #aefe1 ,no4 #hh4 ,english1 #afth cent1 four1 ,nos4 #ci4 #ec4 #ff4 #hg4 ,two settings by ,,geo4 ,,kirby1 #aeib1 ,nos4 #ci4 #ec4 ,a setting by ,j4 ,farmer1 #aeib1 ,no4 #hg4 ,a setting by ,rd4 ,,allison1 #aeii1 ,no4 #hd4 ,italian1 #afth cent41 one1 ,no4 #a4 ,,hans ,,leonhard ,,hassler1 #afjj1 one1 ,no4 #fb4 ,,thos4 ,,campion1 #afac1 one1 ,no4 #cf4 ,,orlando ,,gibbons1 #afbc1 eight1 ,nos4 #bc4 #bd4 #be4 #bh4 #ce4 #ch4 #ef4 #id4 ,,henry ,,lawes1 #afch1 one1 ,no4 #gc4 ,,johann ,,crueger1 #afdj1 four1 ,nos4 #da4 #eg4 #ic4 #ig4 ,english ,scotch1 #afjj-afej1 seven1 ,nos4 #aj4 #dj4 #ej4 #ea4 #fj4 #fc4 #ga4 ,german1 #agth cent1 two1 ,nos4 #fi4 #ij4 ,,jeremy ,,clark1 #agjj1 nine1 ,nos4 #e4 #f4 #g4 #h4 #i4 #ba4 #fa4 #ha4 #ie4 ,,william ,,croft1 #agaj1 four1 ,nos4 #cd4 #dc4 #eb4 #gf4 ,english1 #ahth cent41 four1 ,nos4 #ab4 #bf4 #cc4 #fe4 ,j4,s4,,bach1 eight settings1 mostly of earlier melodies1 ,nos4 #ac4 #eg4 #fb4 #hj4 #hc4 #he4 #ij4 #ig4 ,seven new tunes by ,h4 ,e4 ,w41 ,nos4 #d4 #aa4 #ag4 #ah4 #bb4 #df4 #if4 ,,note ',the seven tunes by ,tallis are all transcripts of his original four-part compositions4 ,only two of these tunes are in the common books2 one of them ,the ,ordinal is always reset1 the other ,canon1 which is usually sung to ,bp4 ,ken's evening hymn1 is completely altered1 the canon being put in a different position and the harmony changed4 ,this tune is ,i believe correctly edited for the first time in the ,y4 ,h4 and it is now thus sung at ,wells ,cathedral4 ',of the eight tunes by ,orlando ,gibbons1 two only 7and these altered both in rhythm and harmony7 appear in the common books4 ,all ,gibbons' tunes are given in the ,y4 ,h4 with his own bass1 the inner parts being supplied4 ',there is a complete list of the music in the word-book of the ,yattendon ,hymnal1 which is published by ,mr4 ,blackwell of ,broad ,street1 ,oxford1 and may be bought for #as4 #f;d4' ,,the ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,notes ,the origin of this book was my attempt1 when precentor of a village choir1 to provide better settings of the hymns than those in use4 ,when ,i gave up my office1 ,i printed the first twenty-five hymns for the convenience of the choir1 and also for the sake of the tunes by ,jeremy ,clark1 which ,i had been at some pains to restore1 and for the preservation of the tunes composed on our behalf by ,professor ,wooldridge4 ,my choice of music had so far been limited to tunes1 for which suitable words were to be found in ,hymns ,ancient ,modern2 but by the time that these first tunes were printed1 ,i determined to continue the book free of this restriction1 and1 from whatever source1 to provide words for tunes which ,i had hitherto been unable to use4 ,i then became aware of a real cause for the absence of most of these tunes from the common hymnals3 there were no words of any kind to which they could be sung4 ,having already translated some of the old ,latin hymns for their proper melodies1 ,i was thence led on to the more difficult task of supplying the greater need of these other tunes2 the result being that over forty of these hundred hymns have english words newly written by myself4 ,almost all of these new hymns are in some sense translations1 for even where an original hymn could not be followed in its entirety1 as an old ,latin hymn generally may be1 there was usually a foundation to begin upon1 and ,i never failed to find the music conditioning1 dictating1 or inspiring the remainder4 ,i did not willingly engage in this1 nor until ,i had searched word-books of all kinds2 a fruitless labour1 unless for the hope begotten thereof that my practice in versifying and my love for music may together have created something of at least relative value4 ,the unusual method which ,i was constrained to follow1 that is of writing words to suit existing music1 has its advantages4 ,in some cases1 as will be seen in the notes to the hymns1 the musician1 out of despair or even contempt for the doggrel offered to him1 has composed a fine tune quite independent of the words to which it was dedicated#bb1 and such tunes have been silent ever since they were composed3 while even when a melody has been actually inspired by a particular hymn1 the attention of the composer to the first stanza has not infrequently set up a hirmos1 or at least a musical scheme of feeling1 which1 not having been in the mind of the writer of the words1 is not carried out in his other stanzas#bc3 indeed1 as every one must have observed1 the words of hymns have too often been written with insufficient attention to the conditions which a repetition of any music to every stanza must impose4 ,to get rid of such discrepancies between words and music is advantageous to both1 and although this treatment cannot of course be applied to english hymns1--which it is not allowable to alter1 except in cases of glaring unfitness or absurdity1 such as would if uncorrected cause the neglect of a good hymn#bd1--yet1 where the hymn has to be translated from a foreign language1 some reconstruction is generally inevitable1 and it can follow no better aim than that of the mutual enforcement of words and music4 ,and the words owe a courtesy to the music2 for if a balance be struck between the words and music of hymns1 it will be found to be heavily in favour of the musicians1 whose fine work has been unscrupulously altered and reduced to dullness by english compilers1 with the object of conforming it in rhythm to words that are unworthy of any music whatever4 ,the chief offenders here are the protestant reformers1 whose metrical psalms1 which the melodies were tortured to fit1 exhibit greater futility than one would look for even in men who could thus wantonly spoil fine music#be4 ,the form and size of the book were determined by the type1 chosen because it was the only one that ,i could find of any beauty2 and ,i wished that my book should in this respect give an example1 and be worthy both of the music and its sacred use#bf4 ,moreover a book from which two or three singers can read is more convenient in the choir than a multiplicity of small books2 and the music being in full score1 its intention cannot be mistaken3 for it must be understood that most of these tunes are set in the manner proper for voices1 but unsuitable for the piano or other keyed instrument2 and the book is intended to encourage unaccompanied singing4 ,a choir that cannot sing unaccompanied cannot sing at all2 and this is not an uncommon condition in our churches1 where choirs with varying success accompany the organ4 ,a proper manner of sustained singing1 and the true artistic pleasure that should govern it1 will never be obtained until these conditions are reversed4 ,there is one novelty which ,i am responsible for introducing1 namely the four-part vocal settings of certain early plain-song melodies4 ,the later plain-song tunes1 such as ,no4 #dd1 are1 ,i suppose#bg1 as fit for this treatment as any other tunes of the same date2 but in the case of the earlier melodies1 which were composed before the invention of any complete system of harmony1 it is generally agreed that they should be sung in unison1 in fact the more elaborate of them cannot be sung otherwise4 ,to give four-part settings of any of these early tunes calls therefore for an explanation1 which ,i will give as briefly as possible4 ,when these tunes are sung1 they are usually accompanied1 and this implies a harmonic treatment4 ,now the best harmonic treatment which they can have is the ,palestrinal1 because that was the earliest complete system1 and therefore the nearest to their time1 and also because we may rely on the truth of its interpretation of the modes for the reason that ,palestrina had never heard any music that was not modal4 ,a modern musician1 if he attempts to go back beyond ,palestrina1 must draw on his imagination1 and while his aim must be to produce something artistically and technically less perfect than ,palestrina's system1 his work1 when it is done1 will carry neither authority nor conviction4 ,if then we take ,palestrina's harmonic interpretation of the modes1 it seems to me that there can be no objection to giving vocal parts to the simpler hymns4 ,if it is preferred to sing them in unison1 the modal settings will be a guide to the accompanist4 ,but it is my opinion that such settings as ,i offer will really please1 and they may possibly do something to bring these tunes1 which have a unique1 unmatchable beauty1 into favour with choirs that dislike the effort and waste of unison singing4 ,these settings offer no difficulty of execution all2 that is necessary is that the under voices should know the melody3 and though this is not generally thought requisite in a modern hymn1 it is asking nothing extra of a choir that would sing the plain-song tunes2 for even if they are sung in unison1 they must first be known by heart 7otherwise their rhythmical freedom1 which defies notation1 and is indispensable to their beauty1 cannot be approached71 and when once a choir has got thus far1 the under parts1 being phrased with the melody1 will easily follow it4 ,an explanation of the notation of these settings is given in the note to ,hymn #bi4 ,congregational singing of hymns is much to be desired2 but1 though difficult to obtain1 it is not permissible to provoke it by undignified music4 ,its only sound musical basis is good melody3 good melodies should therefore be offered to the people1 such as it has been the object of this book to bring together2 and they should have as much freedom and variety of rhythm as possible4 ,if some of the good melodies are1 owing to their wide compass or other difficulty1 unfit for congregational singing1 this is an advantage2 because neither are all hymn-words equally suitable4 ,most of the words in this book are suitable for congregational singing2 some are not4 ,a hymn-book which is intended entirely for congregational use must be faulty in one of two ways2 either it will offer for congregational singing hymns whose sacred and intimate character is profaned by such a treatment1 or it will have to omit some of the most beautiful hymns in the language3 but congregations differ much1 not only with regard to the music in which they are capable of joining1 but also as to the sort of words which best express their religious emotion4 ,in the following notes the left-hand side of the page is given to the words1 the right to the music of each hymn3 in the latter column will be found full information as to the text of the music1 the source whence it is derived1 c41 together with a careful account of every departure that has been made from the originals4 ,it is hoped that this will not only be of general interest1 but that it may inspire confidence in the text of the book1 and ensure the reception which its authority demands4 ,for the text of the music1 and all the statements in the notes1 ,i am responsible2 excepting those portions of the notes which are therein assigned to their proper authorities1 and in these ,i am responsible for the correctness of the quotations and references1 in which ,i have done my best to secure accuracy4 ,i owe much to the kindness of ,mr4 ,w4 ,barclay ,squire at the ,british ,museum2 ,i have also to thank ,mr4 ,godfrey ,arkwright for the loan of some rare books1 and ,dr4 ,chas4 ,wood of ,cambridge for two settings and occasional reading of music proofs2 in which latter task ,i gratefully record the help of ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,liddle and ,dr4 ,percy ,buck4 ,to ,mr4 ,miles ,birket ,foster ,i owe the three trios by ,jeremy ,clark1 and to the ,revs4 ,w4 ,h4 ,frere and ,g4 ,h4 ,palmer the text of the plain-song melodies1 and the information concerning them which is given in the following notes3 it is due to the generosity with which they put their learning and judgement at my disposal that ,i am able to offer these tunes with the same confidence as the rest of the book4 ,professor ,wooldridge1 having co-operated with me throughout1 has allowed his name to appear on the title page4 #bb,no4 #bh is a good example of this4 ,see also ,no4 #ih4 #bc,no4 #eg is a good example4 ,the line ,du bist mein1 und ich bin dein1 corresponds in stanza #b with ,wenn die ,welt in ,trmmer fallt1 and in stanza #d with ,elend1 ,noth1 ,kreuz1 ,schmach und ,tod4 ,again in ,no4 #gg the opening phrase1 ,mon ,dieu1 mon ,dieu1 of the twenty-second psalm needs music which conditions the other stanzas severely4 ,again the weak apologetic latter half of the ,german hymn ,herzliebster ,jesu1 ,no4 #db1 is irreconcilably out of the key with the pathetic grief of the beginning4 ,cases in which caesuras and grammatical breaks are inconsistent are numberless4 #bd,see note to ,hymn #ij4 ,other english hymns altered for practical purposes in this book are ,nos4 #ai1 #ce1 #ea1 last verse of #eb1 #ff1 #id1 and #if4 #be;,i give illustrations of these words in notes to ,hymns #bg1 #ed1 #eh1 #fc1 #fh1 #hd1 and #ih4 #bf,the cheapness is not the direct cause of the ugliness of our common hymn-books1 nor is their ugliness the cause of their cheapness4 ,if many copies of a book are sold1 they can be sold cheaply2 if only a few1 then the initial expense1 which is much the same whether the book be beautiful or ugly1 must be shared between those few buyers and the author4 ,but thus it comes about indirectly for cheapness to be the cause of meanness and ugliness1 because in a larger market there is greater indifference to artistic excellence of all kinds1 and from habit a preference for what is inferior4 ,in a large edition this book could be sold as cheaply as another4 #bg;,i state here once for all that in musical matters ,i offer my opinion with becoming humility4 ,,advertisement ,,the ,,yattendon ,,hymnal4 ,edited by ,robert ,bridges and ,professor ,h4 ,ellis ,wooldridge4 ,containing #ajj hymns and #d voice-parts4 ,printed at the ,oxford ,university ,press1 #ahii4 ,may be obtained of ,henry ,frowde1 ,oxford ,warehouse1 ,amen ,corner1 ,london1 ,e4,c41 or through any bookseller4 ,price1 #dto boards1 #a4 ,a few copies of the ,folio1 price #d1 are still to be had4 ,,the ,,word-,,book ,,of ,,the ,,yattendon ,,hymnal1 ,which contains a full list of the music1 and is called1 ,,the ,,small ,,hymn-,,book1 may be had of ,b4 ,h4 ,blackwell1 ,broad ,street1 ,oxford1 or through any bookseller4 ,price #as4 #f;d4 ,oxford3 ,horace ,hart1 ,printer to the ,university