Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-02-06
old-Time Church Singing.
By WILLIAM r. BLISS.
From the New yors Observer


Singing in New Enslsnd was. a.
fret, pracliced SO rudely that it fell
into derision. and punishman,s wer.
frequently inflicted for aspeakino con.
temptnously of singing psalms" In
public worship during the FIRST cen.
fury Of New England, there was moth.
ing that could be called . ssseryice a,
song;;" there was no band of singers
ITO make one sound to be heard in
Praising and thanking the Lord say.
Ing For He is good for His mercy
endureth forever" e Chronicles 5:lal
The Ebay Psalm Book was in y.n.
eral use for more than q hundred
years II was prepared By Richard
Mather, Thomas Weld, and John E,,o,
ministers, and the hrst edition was
printed at Cambridge III 1910. All.
though rude production. il was no
ruder than the musical ideas of tho
people The following version OF :
familiar psalm, copied literally from
It's pages, is the best specimen of the
contents OF the book, aud il corr,bo.
rates what lite authors, in their preface
cay of the whole, to wit:
III therefore the verses are NOT Al.
Wages so smooth and elegant as some
may desire or expect. let them onn.
slider that Gods Altar needs No, onr
pollshings. Ex. 40"
PsALSE lso.
The rivers on of Babilon
there when wee did sit downe.
lea even then wee mourned when
wee remeIabred Sion
Our harns wee did hang il amid.
upon the willow tree
Because there they that US away
led in captiyitee,
Requird OF Us a song and thus
askt mirth: as waste who laid.
Sing Us among Sions song.
unto us then they said.
Doctor Watts Hymns came into
use early in the last century; but the
New England minister's differed in
opinion as to what hymns might be
sung as sacred, aud what ought to be
discarded a. protane. Ia 1888, the
Boston ministers were greatly per-
picked about the propriety of singing
any "hymns Of mere human compos.
ure," as they called Their and Doc
tor Colman OF the Bratiie Street So.
ciety protested against using the
hymns of Doctor Watts, except such
as were pararhrases of the Psalms OF
Scripture,
There sas 10 correct knowledge of
sacred music in New England preyi.
Gus to The year 1920, or tnereabont
1t is said that, at this date, not more
than five tunes were in use; these
were called Hackney, York, Windsor,
Martyr, st. Mays; and the onls
identity which they preserved in the
different towns was the name. ST.
Marys, as sung near Boston was not
the st. Marys. which echoed In the
meeting houses on "the great river"
as the Connecticut was called and
neither OF them very closely resem.
bled that which delighted the people
IN we Governments of New Haven
with We Plantations in combination
Herewith. The tunes had been pre-
served only "by ear" and they finally
became SO corrupted that no two pen,
sons sang them alike
In 1921. Thomas Walter, OF Rox.
bury, Mass, published book entitled,
"The Grounds aud Rules Of Musick
Explained: or an Introduction to the
Singing by Note fitted to the Meanest
Capacity" The character of church
music, at that time, is thus described
in the preface of that book
"The tunes nov in use are misera-
bly, Tortured and twisiad- ead~s..a..--
ere6 in some churches into horrid
medley Of confused and iisorderly
noises. Our tunes are left to the
mercy OF every unskiilinl throat to
chop and alter, twist and change, nc
cording to their infinitely divers and
no less odd humors and fancies.''