# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Saint Anne's Tune

From volume 3 of the work.
​SAINT ANNE'S TUNE. This well-known tune, in accordance with a practice of which there are several examples, was constructed by the addition of a new continuation to a fragment of an older melody. A seven-part motet of Palestrina's, published in May 1569, leads off in the first treble with this phrase
identical with the first phrase of St. Anne's; after which the resemblance ceases. The entire first strain of the tune is said to be traceable to a French chanson of the 16th century. It was adopted by J. S. Bach as the subject of an organ fugue, known in England as 'St. Anne's fugue' a misleading title, as, except in the identity of its subject with the first strain of St. Anne's, the fugue has no connection with the hymn-tune. As early as 1638 the same strain was employed by Henry Lawes as the commencement of the tunes set by him to the 9th and 136th Psalms in Sandys's 'Paraphrase upon the Psalmes of David.'
St. Anne's tune, under that name, is first found in 'A Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms,' sixth edition, much enlarged, 1708. Dr. Croft's name is not mentioned in the work, but he is believed to have been the musical editor of this edition of the Supplement; the name of the tune is probably derived from that of the parish, St. Anne's, Westminster, of which he was then organist, and the tune itself is directly ascribed to him by his contemporaries, viz. Philip Hart in 'Melodies proper to be sung to any of y$^e$ Versions of y$^e$ Psalms of David,' cir. 1716, and John Church in his 'Introduction to Psalmody,' 1723. The tune appears in the 'Supplement' in the following form:—
Psalm xlii. St. Anne's Tune.
That this arrangement is by Croft cannot be doubted.
Of late years some doubt has been thrown on the authorship of the tune from its having been found in Abraham Barber's 'Book of Psalm Tunes,' a Yorkshire collection, of which the license bears date Feb. 14, 1687, when Croft was but ten years of age. Here the tune appears under the name of 'Leeds' and is ascribed to 'Mr. Denby,' whose name some editors of hymnals have too hastily substituted for that of Croft. The edition, however, of Barber's Psalms which contains the tune is the seventh, dated 1715, or seven years after the publication of the 'Supplement' already mentioned. This edition contains, besides tunes for Canticles, Psalms, etc., 28 hymn-tunes arranged in four parts, with the melody in the tenor. Of these tunes three only have a composer's name prefixed, and these three, which bear the names of northern towns ('Leverpool,' 'Hallifax,' and 'Leeds'), are all ascribed to 'Mr. Denby.' It may be observed that while the melody of 'Leeds' is identical with that of St. Anne's in the 'Supplement,' the modulation at the end of the 3rd strain is different.
​ The supposition, however, that 'Leeds' was originally in Barber's Psalm-book has been disproved by the recent discovery of a copy of an early edition of the collection, which from the evidence of the preface appears to be either the third or fourth, and to have been published about 1696. The title-page is unfortunately missing. This volume, a smaller book than the edition of 1715. contains but twelve hymn-tunes arranged in two parts, and neither the tune in question nor Denby's name occurs in it. Until therefore an edition of Barber's Psalms is found, containing 'Leeds,' and of earlier date than 1708, Denby must be regarded as merely the author of a rearrangement of Croft's tune.
[ G. A. C. ]
* ↑ The 'Old Hundredth' psalm tune is another instance. Its first strain is the commencemeut of several distinct tunes.
* ↑ The preface speaks of 'former editions,' and adds—'since the Psalmes in metre are this last year much refin'd as to the English by some good grave Divine Persons who hath only left out all the old words and made the meter good English.' The preface to the seventh edition is a different one.