The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-08
AMERICAN HYMNoLoGY.
It is Time That We Had Better Music
 of the Religious Kind.

An English authority on hymnology, Rev. Garrett Horder, has published a little book containing a collection of American hymns, including. of course, those which he considers the finest in our literature. It is rather a curious fact that this collection includes very, very few of the hymns which one usually hears sung; and yet it is far better lit erature than the average hymn-book. If all the poems in that collection could be set to appropriate music, We should have hymnal to be proud of.
 It is time that American musicians and the churches of America should do their part in this thing. Our poets have al- ready done theirs. There is hardly an American poet of note who has not writ ten at least one religious poem of high order, which, If set to appropriate and attractive music, would bscorne q popu- lar expression of religious feeling. There Is no earthly reason why a hymn should not be good literature; and yet the fact remains that in this country in this day and generation, it usually Is not. Many Of our popular hymns have not even the merit of being, like popular songs of secular sort the natural expression of genuine feeling.
 The fact is that the certain songbooks. industriCusly touted by their authors and publishers. have simply debauched our religious music. From q literary and "lu- sical point of view there is scarcely any thing too bad to say about these collec- tions. and the only reason why hair-rais- ing things have not been said about them thus far is that there has been a dell cacy about wounding the feelings of peo- pie who presumably might find comfort in their cgregious imagery and hop skip and jump music. The plain truth is. how ever, that the congre ga.ions which sing this stuff do it because they have nnth- ing better to sing just at hand. This abuse of the artistic instinct of the peo- pie is a serious matter. Millions of chill dren arc growing up. who hear little or no serious music except that in Sunday School; and 1t is not small injury which Is done them when. instead of the beall-
 tiful and pathetic folk-songs of their an cestors. or the sincere. if solemn. music
 of old hymns. they are taught only tho | digging tunes of "No. 2.'' No. f." and | No. c." Most appropriate It Is. too. that I books so thoroughly commercial and sec | ular in their atmosphere should be num-
 bered instead of named.
 The result of this villainous training un- | der the gttise of religious teaching Is | two-fold. The child has to unlearn all l appreciation of real harmony. Tor noDodN 1 can have two standards of art at one anu | the same time-and in learning to esti- l mate these tunes at ther true value he
 runs the risk of not only seeing the false | and tawdry character of the sentiment 1 with which they are associated but los ] ing all reverence for religion.
 | It is time that cultivated church mem, ] bers should think about this problem aud
 SC" if something cannot hr done toward i making popular a hook of hymns wE.. shall be real poetry and music aHG tha'
 before a false ideal has gotten such a hold on the imagination of the peopl, that it prevents the acceptance of bet
 ter one.