Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-27

ey~Av (
 may be pending before the senate, and re-
 ferred to said committee and report there
 on to the senate at it's session on Tuesday, March 31, 1891.
 THE SENATORS LIKE THE NEW PLAN, Senator Shumway, in support of his res olution, said he did not believe that one- quarter of the members of the senate would vote for any matter now pending. Now if
 we could have g bill supported by the re- port of a committee we might agree and | finally settle the matter we have been dis
 cussing these many weeks. Senator Pierce, dem., of the Fourth hope also this resolution will pass, as it
 looks as if we were getting down to busi-
 ness, and we can much better do something effective in this way than any other l Senators Holden, dem., of the Seventh, Seymour, rep, of the Thirteenth, Clark, :, rep, of the Twenty first, Mead, rep, of
 the Twelfth, and Davis, rep., of the | Eighteenth, favored the measure and it | was put on it's passage and unanimously
 carried, being the first matter passed by a l unanimous vote of the senators since the l first day of the session.
 1 President Read then appointed Senators Shumway, rep, of the Sixteenth, Clark, {, ! rep., of the Twenty first, Seymour, dem, of the Thirteenth, and Thayer, dem, of the Tenth, were appointed as this commit ! tee.
 All bills, including the Seymour bill, was referred to this committee, and the
 senate adjourned until Tuesday at Il a. m. NORTH HAVEN ANNALS. Continuation of the Interesting His- tory of St. Johns Church-A Word About the Early Chofrs and Choir Singing-T1tus Frost's Memorable Choir - Chants and Chanting A sharp Warfare Between the sold Hundred 5 and the Fusueing Stngers.''
 NUMBER 68. Prepared by Rev. William Lusk jr1 From 1790 to the beginning of the pres ont century the music of St. Johns church continued under the direction of Titus Frost, assisted by John G. Futile, Abra- Seiley, Isaac G. Stiles, Isaac Sackett and Ebenezer Pierpont. In 1799, the year Washington was inaugurated, the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal | church adopted the revised Book of Com mon Prayer. Bound with that book and authorized for use were one hundred and fifty psalms in metre and seventy-seven hymns, two hymns for Christmas, one for Good Friday, two for Easter. three for whitsunday, three for holy communion, one for burial and fourteen miscellaneous hymns. Most of these hymns were famil- jar, and are still familiar hymns, although the psalms in metre continued to be pre- ferred and were sung to what were consid- cred dignifed tunes, the Episcopal singers being known as the "Old Hundred Sing CTS, in distinction from the sFueueinp Singers"
 According to Gould's History of Church Music in America, no native American had attempted to compose single tune until about ITO. This distinction was reserved for William Billings, a poor boy, by occu- patton tanner. He was born in Boston in 1747 and died in 1900. He was the
 father father? ot American compositions, choirs, public singing schools and concerts. His various productions, mingling religion, patriotism and amusement swept the country for thirty or forty years, and were powerful instrument in exciting the spirit of liberty in meeting house and camp. Of course all this music and all popular repeating tunes" were excluded from Titus Frost's choir. Consequently very few of the younger people were in sy"Patny With hlm or at any time in
 his choir, although he was only twenty
 four when he took charge of the choir in l715. The general character of all the
 early choir singing can be imagined by the
 way the parts were distributed. The men
 sang the leading part, the treble, and the
 women sang the upper staff, the tenor
 From necessity some men took the hum
 bier part of some kind of irregular bass
 Occaslonally, from necessity, some women
 @ sang some kind of irregular under part
 Cnolr sins1ng was at first decidedly zig
 gag affair. Music written in four parts came into use in St. Johns church in con nection with Titus Frosts remarkable choir of 1788. Bishop Seabury
 paid special attention to this mat
 ter of music ,and in the parish records the
 factis recorded that certain women sang the
 "trel le' in the choir of 17S8 As the tfather
 of music" in St. Johns church, there fore the name of Titus Frost will ever be memorable name. He died in 1898 at the age of seventy-nine, when the present Ezra Stiles had charge of the music. He was buried in Montowese cemetery.
 In 1895, on account of the physical in- ability of Titus Frost, Zophar Jacobs was chosen to succeed him. At this time. be- tween 1802-6, the first movement was made in this country toward chanting by the Rev. William A. Smith, principal of the Episcopal academy at Cheshire, assisted by the Rev. Reuben Ives of Cheshire, who off ciated here every third Sunday between 1799 and 1907. The Rev MT. Smiths pub licatien of chants was between 1602-6 and in 1911 and in 1816. But the first book of chants used here was "Wainwight's chants for the Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer Boston in 1919. A copy first used is in possession of Ezra Stiles. There are many now living in town who we'll remember Mir. Jacobs musical voice. He continued to have charge of the music until 1897, as- sisted by Cooper Blakeslee, Isaac c. Stiles, Isaac Blakeslee, Oliver Todd. Elisaph Hull, and in 1920 bv the present Ezra Stiles. then sixteen years of age. That year Mir. Stiles intro duced into the choir the first musical in strument, after the 'spitch pipe," tenor vol. MT. Jacobs was conservative in | music, representing the school of "Old | Hundred singers. At the beginning of ! this century sharp warfare prevailed be- | tween the "Old Hundred" and the "Fn- gueing" singers and general decadence of | music resulted.
 As an illustration of the fun at last made | of the "Fugueing singers'' by the conser- l vatives, of whom Josiah Todd and Ezra Stiles became the leaders, the following VIII serve as an illustration. Elam Ives | of Hamden, brother of the late William Ives of New Haven, composed the follow ing, set to the tune of New Durham in Benham's collection.
 They bored a hole in Rodgers nose
 And put string therein;
 They took him to the sawmill brook
 And there they soused him in"
 The trebble sousing him in, then the alto, hen the tenor, then the bass, then the full ,horus. This was sung by groups all over North Haven and Hamden.
 In the year 1877 special effort was made to improve the music. A general subscription was made to employ teacher. 4 MT. Wilson of Hamden was employed. Inc next year Sebray Munson of East Haven. The next year Asahel Benham of His collection of music vas used The next year John Barker 'f Wallingford. His father, Colonel Barker, .Mned slave by the name of "Cato." " hen Cato died he left his little property Q St: Paups church, Wallingford, and the parish leased it for 999 years. From that Cato" the present Charles Cato Pratt. a of St. Johns church, is de-