Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-25
MORRIS EARLE
On tho Revised Hymnat

NOV that the campaign is over and the
~ revised hymnal is published and has been
installed in many churches throughout thc
country. Philadelphia should be given que
idea. according to Morris Earle, OF the firm
OF Williams, Brown & Earle, optical and
drawing supplies, and secretary Of the joint
commission appointed by the genera, con-
vention OF the Protestant Episcopal Church
for the revision of the hymnal.
Two attributes of the revised volume, in
the opinion of Mr.. Earle, are the STANDARDS
set by the music and by the poetry, both OF
hymnas. Especial care was taken with the
music, for, according to Mr.. Earle. music
Is the best influence for unity of all creeds
and all denominations.
''In 1907 says Mr.. Earle in retrospect,
"the idea Of the revised hymnal first took
root coming, as so many good movements
come, up from the people and not from the
inner organization of the church itself. Inc
Church Club Of Philadelphia was leader
in the movement, which spread to thirty or
forty other clubs Of q similar nature in as
many other cities.
"Committees appointed by these clubs took
the matter under consideration, raising the
money necessary for incidental expenses.
This interest III the matter. which stared
among the De"Die. carried it into the con-
yenti0n az 1910 in Cincinnati by means Of
memorials from the different church clubs
throughout the country.
Further Proof OF Peoples Action
1.-THE program under which the revision
was undertaken from that time on included,
primarily. the reports OF reviews by COM
mittceS appointed by bishops in their var
ious diOccScs, again showing that this was
an action coming from the people. Fifty
eight out Of sixty five dioceScs made complete
and exhaustive reports as to hymns to be re-
tancd from the old hymnGl and included in
the new hymnGl. New material was sought
in words and music from all over the United
States and by reference to all new hymnalS
Of many denominations and creeds in this
country, Canada and England, because
-hymnhls form "A unity in religion of the
thoughts Of devotion common to all beliefs.
so the campaign went forward until the
convention Of 1913, when the formal commits
sion on the, revision Of the hymnal was ap
pointed as follows Bishop Cortland White
head, 5. i. D., chairman; Bishops G. Mott
Williams, Thomas F. Davies, William +.
Faber, the ReyS. James W. Ashton, Charles
l.. Sa, t"ry and Hubert W. Wells, DR.. Miles
Farrow. Roland s. Morris, Robert G. Pruvn
and myself. The Rev. Frank Damrosch. Jr,,
was later elected by the joint commission
itself
"Of the committee appointed in 1910 the
Bishop of Albany, the late Dr. William
CroSwell Doaue, vas the chairman.
This comm misSon pushed ahead the work
Of revision and reported to the convention of
mitted BY them was practically the same az
the revised hymnal which finally was pub
lished and is now being used. The features
of the revised volume included the eimine-
tion OF more than 200 hymns which had been
found, after careful investigation, to be little
or never used, and the addition of 12G
hymns collected from other sources because
Of their merits. There were 500 hymns in
the collection. arranged in the order of the
prayer book, all signed and dated, Another
interesting feature was the inclusion of
many new hymns by American authors, as
we'll as numerous ones whose keynote was
brotherhood or service or national spirit.
and some fine outstanding examples Of
l. ancient hymnOlOgy never previously used
This volume, submitted in the form Of
report to the 1916 convention, was passed.
with instructions TO put il to music and then
bring it back before the general convention
Of 1910 at Detroit, which accented il as n
whole and authorized its publication.
Music Carefully Planned
"The music Of the revised hymnal is one
OF its most. carefully planned features, and
one to which we gave not only our undivided
attention but in order to be sure Of the tech
nical perfection Of our work brought in mus
ical experts 10 assist us.
"On the technical committee which was
Gppointcd by our joint commission were
such persons as the late Prof. Horatio
Parker. Mus. Doc, Oxford University; the
professor of music in Yale University, Prof
| W. II. Hall. Of Columbia; Prot. +. g. Lut
| kin, Of Chicago University; Miles Farrow
Mus. Doc. OF the Cathedral of st. John
| the Divine, New York: Or. T. Tertius
| Noble, of New York city DR.. Wallace Good
| rich. Of the Boston Conservatory of Music
| And Canon Winfred Douglas, famous for
| ks,study In the field of church music
1 These men met once week for A year
for discussion Of the music In the new