English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth Century (original) (raw)
Related papers
From psalmody to hymnody : the establishment of printed hymnbooks within hymn singing communities
2001
The aim of this study is to discuss developments in the presentation and singing of hymns from the minimal involvement of late eighteenth century congregations to the full participation expected in the late twentieth century. One source of important musical, social and cultural details illustrating developments in hymnody is found in a range of representative novels. This information is corroborated by other written accounts such as diaries, census material and church records. Early on in the research three handwritten part-books were discovered, dating from 1837 to 1911. This primary source material is vital in the discussion concerning changes in hymn and psalm tunes, and provides substantive evidence that such part-books are forerunners of published hymnbooks. Furthermore a direct link is established between local manuscripts and fictional writing as the provenance of the earliest part-book is traced to the family of novelist Flora Thompson. Further developments in hymnody are seen in the examination of children's hymns. A case study is presented of the flourishing tradition of hymn singing at Bicester Methodist Sunday School. One innovation was the formation of a harmonica band, and detailed notebooks and concert plans reveal the range of the band's sacred and secular programme. A fieldwork survey was conducted to investigate the hymn singing preferences of regular worshippers from five Christian denominations in Bicester. Whilst the responses reveal few differences between the groups, there is compelling evidence that the popularity of certain published hymnbooks has led to a common ownership of hymns, enabling them to be enjoyed both in and out of worship. This study therefore reveals the clear line of development from psalmody to hymnody, from handwritten manuscripts to published hymnbooks. The social context in which both texts and tunes are considered provides a clear illustration of the importance of hymns to the singing population. FROM PSALMODY TO HYMNODY: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIN'T'ED HYMNBOOKS WITHIN HYMN SINGING COMMUN[TVES. TABLE OF CONTENTS CIJAPTER ONE-INTRODUCTION "'" l\. ims ofthc research. V Definition of terms. V Brief history oi' psalmody. "'" IntrodLtction to the rural choirband. V The importance of personal recollection of hymn singing by novelists. V The introduction of Hvrnns Ancient and Modern. V Introduction to handwritten manuscripts. V 1-[vmnbooks for children. V Introduction to the Anniversary hymns at Bicesler Methodist Church. VI {ymn singing in the community and the Red Rhythmics harmonica hand. """ F ieldwork survey. CIIAP'TER T'WQ-METHODOLOGY V '1he collection of the data. o Secondary source material, including novels and accounts of hymn singing. o Primary source material, including handwrittcr, manuscript hooks, hymn sheets from Bicester Methodist Church, personal papers from members of Bicester Methodist Church. o Fieldwork: questionnaire distributed and responses analysed. "'" Analysis of the data. "'" Presentation of the data. CHAPTER THREE-THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HYMNS AND HYMN SINGING AS THEY ARE REPRESENTED IN LITERATURE. V Novelists' use of hymns to establish traits of character. V Early novels-Tobias Smollett. V Oral tradition in hymn singing-Thomas Hardy. V Differences between Anglican and Methodist hymn singing-George Eliot. V Hymns tailored to suit the context of the novel-George Eliot. V Performance of hymns in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as illustrated by novelists including George Eliot, Charlotte Bronte, Washington Irving and Thomas Hardy. V Differences between the romance of novelists and the reality of diarists: Holland, Skinner and Woodforde. V The transition from handwritten, local compositions to the introduction of the hymnbook as discussed by novelists such as George Eliot. V Changes in the Anglican Church as a result of the Oxford Movement as seen in the work of Samuel Butler. V The ousting of the choirband as seen in the work of Samuel Butler, Thomas Hardy. V The treatment of hymns by children's novelists, and a child's perception of the introduction and use of the hymnbook as seen in the work of Laura Ingalls Wilder. V The use of hymns to illustrate situations on which religion has little or no bearing as seen in the work of Howard Spring, Barbara Pym. V The importance of hymn singing in a modem way of life as seen in the work of Mary Sheepshank. V The most recent developments in hymn singing in church and community as seen in the work of Mary Sheepshank, Diana Saville.
In what other publication of this kind have you so distinct and full an account of scriptural Christianity? Such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical? So strong cautions against the most plausible errors, particularly those that are now most prevalent? And so clear directions for making our calling and election sure, for perfecting holiness in the fear of God? […] This book is in effect a little body of experimental and practical divinity. 1 How fitting that these words, taken from John Wesley's "Preface" to his 1780 Collection of Hymns, ascribe the title of "practical divinity" -in today's theological parlance, "practical theology" -to a body of work so practical as a hymnal by a pastoral theologian so practical as Wesley. Indeed, Wesley has been regarded as a prototypical "practical theologian" for the ways in which he wove together deep theological reflection and analysis with activities that met human need in a particular time and location -all under the same impetus of being formed in love to Christ-likeness.
Reflections on the Hymnody in ELW
Dialog-a Journal of Theology, 2008
Abstract: This article discusses the author's experiences on the ELW hymnody editorial team. The theologically and musically trained team considered a wide variety of hymns seeking to balance the needs of the church with the realities of the size limits of a printed volume, in order to produce a work that is able to serve the church well in diverse contexts.
This is the introductory chapter of my PhD dissertation The Hymn as a Musical Topic in the Age of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (Northwestern University, 2018)
The Songs We Sing: A Textual Analysis of Popular Congregational Songs of the 20th and 21st Century
Ecclesial Practices , 2019
Contemporary worship songs have been the subject of criticism over their lyrical quality. Objective assessment of the veracity of the criticisms has been difficult to achieve. This research seeks to address this issue by performing a textual analysis of the most popular hymns of the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary popular worship songs and comparing the results. The research concludes that although there are differences in the lyrical content they are not crucial and that both contemporary worship songs and traditional hymns should find a home in congregational song.
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: Assessing the Debate
The New Testament contains very little explicit information concerning singing in Christian churches, and yet debate about what kind of songs may be sung in worship is perhaps one of the most controversial matters facing churches today. For this reason, participants on all sides of contemporary worship debates look to two parallel NT passages as fodder for their views: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Of particular note in interpretations of these passages are the three musical terms Paul employs: ψαλμοῖς (psalmois), ὕμνοις (hymnois), and ᾠδαῖς (ōdais). What these terms exactly mean has been a matter of disagreement since the church fathers, and worship warriors frequently use dogmatic, and often unsupported , assertions concerning their meaning to defend their arguments. The purpose of this paper is to examine popular and scholarly discussions of the terms in these passages to determine, if possible, their exact meaning and what implications for contemporary practice may be drawn therefrom. The grammatical construction of the phrases in both Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are nearly identical, 2 and thus I will treat discussions of the meaning of these terms without distinction between the two appearances. I will survey only recent treatments of these texts for two reasons. First, recent discussions will reflect the most current scholarship in biblical studies. Second, contemporary scholars will take into account and interact with any relevant older scholarship, so there is little need to specifically explore the older treatments. By examining the arguments for the predominant views of the meaning of these terms, I will show that ψαλμοῖς, ὕμνοις, and ᾠδαῖς in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 should not be taken as clearly defined categories of congregational song but should rather be seen as overlapping near synonyms.
Bulletin of the Hymn Society of Great Britain, Nos 272 & 273, Volume 20, 2012
It is claimed that the classic English hymn can have no place in the Mass of the Roman Rite? But there exists time honoured precedence for the use of metrical hymns, and the Ordinary Form allows for this officially in the rubrics. But instead of supplanting the integral Proper of the Mass with either classic hymnody or modern liturgical songs, it would be possible to complement it with hymns in a liturgical way. The body of metrical hymnody stands as a kind of Proper in its own right. Judicious selection from it and knowing how to set it to the Eucharistic liturgy alongside the Proper of the Mass constitutes a science. This is part of the patrimony of the Anglican tradition with its long tradition of music at Eucharistic worship in the vernacular that can be offered to Catholic celebrations by the Ordinariates. Furthermore, the corporate singing of metrical hymns is not only a deep-rooted tradition within English-speaking Christianity that offers an exchange of gifts and spiritual ecumenism if rightly received and applied, it can also be a means to realising the objective of participation actuosa - the faithful's active participation together in the action of the Eucharistic liturgy.
Many believe that hymns are not poetry at all. This is not only due to the fact that they are created mostly in the bosom of churches and monasteries by clerics (for the purpose of using them at services or for other purposes, as monks, priests, and secular people could read them on certain holidays or any other day and there have been rare cases, when secular people created hymns and the church adopted it). Like hagiography, there are certain specificities in writing hymns.