The three hundred year span of time from 1640 to 1940 saw the development of great variety in congregational singing throughout America. Beginning with the Psalters of the first colonists, Americans contributed widely varying styles of songs and hymns, culminating with the popular and influential gospel song.
In the mid-sixteenth century, the Huguenot settlers brought their French metrical psalms and psalm tunes with them to South Carolina and Florida. In the early years of the seventeenth century, the settlers of Jamestown carried their “Sternhold and Hopkins” with them, singing the tunes of the 1592 Este Psalter. Following this, the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620; they sang from the familiar Ainsworth Psalter of 1612 along with its accompanying thirty-nine tunes. But it was left to the Puritans, who settled around Boston, to produce their own Psalter, the first book printed in America. That book, The Whole Booke of Psalms Faithfully Translated in English Metre, came to be commonly called the Bay Psalm Book. From its appearance in 1640 until the printing of the first music edition in 1698, the tunes to be sung were borrowed from the Ravenscroft Psalter. When the music edition finally became available, it contained only 12 tunes, chiefly in one meter (common meter), taken from the eleventh edition (1687) of Playford’s Introduction to the Skill of Music.
As the repertoire of psalm tunes dwindled, the practice of “lining out” the psalms by the cantor became more and more tedious and confusing. The deacon or precentor appointed to line out the psalm would read the first line of the psalm or would sing the first phrase of the psalm tune. This was repeated by the members of the congregation before the leader gave out the second line and so forth. Over a period of time, the tempo of the singing would become excessively slow. In order to keep the congregation attentive during lengthy periods of psalm-singing, the precentor would add some additional notes, thus ornamenting the melody. The result was that psalm-singing became chaotic. One of the early reformers, the Rev. Thomas Walter, described congregational psalm-singing in this manner: Our tunes are left to the Mercy of every unskillful Throat to chop and alter, to twist and change, according to their infinitely divers and no less Odd Humours and Fancies. I have myself paused twice in one note to take breath. No two Men in the Congregation quaver alike or together, it sounds in the Ears of a Good Judge like five hundred different Tunes roared out at the same Time, with perpetual Interfearings with one another. (Edward S. Ninde, The Story of The American Hymn [New York: Abingdon Press, 1921], 76)
Intent on correcting the situation, Walter published a book of music instruction, The Grounds and Rules of Musick Explained, in 1721, one year after the printing of the Rev. Thomas Symmes’s pamphlet, The Reasonableness of Regular Singing or Singing by Note. By these means, the two enlightened ministers proposed a “shocking” new way of congregational singing that necessitated musical instruction. The “old way” of singing by rote without music was about to be changed. This change, however, did not come without considerable resistance, even though interest in the new method was particularly high in urban centers. From this growing interest in learning to sing by note rather than by rote, numerous singing schools were begun in the middle of the eighteenth century. The psalm tunes used in those music classes were printed in oblong tune books, with each tune printed in three or four parts with one stanza of the text. Additionally, the books contained some longer anthems at the back of the book and instructions for reading music at the front of the book.
The first significant book of this kind was James Lyon’s (1735–1794) Urania (1761). This collection was the first to feature some fuging tunes, along with the expected psalm tunes, hymn tunes, and anthems. The fuging tunes had two homophonic chordal sections separated by a central polyphonic section in which the various voice parts, imitating each other, began at different times. The best-known singing teacher/composer of the time was William Billings (1746–1800) who published his first tune book, The New England Psalm Singer, in 1770. The other volumes which followed this important work provided material for the singing schools, which he successfully conducted in the areas in and around Boston.
Oliver Holden (1765–1844) composed the earliest American tune still in common usage. His hymn tune, coronation, which was printed in his Union Harmony in 1793, is still associated with the stirring text “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.”
Moravian Hymns
The year was 1735. The group numbered only twenty-six. But on their way to Savannah, Georgia, the Moravians aboard the Simmonds gave clear testimony to their faith in the singing of their hymns. John Wesley, a fellow passenger, was deeply impressed. Drawn to them, he began his study of German and the first of his attempts at translating their German chorales into English. These actually became the first English hymns to be written and published in America. They appeared in his Charlestown Collection of 1737.
At about the same time, many witnessed the beginnings of the Great Awakening. An early leader in the movement, Jonathan Edwards, was pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was in 1739, during the first visit of George Whitefield to America, that the itinerant evangelist demonstrated his keen support for the hymns of Watts by using them to accompany his preaching. Later, Benjamin Franklin and others published Watts’s Psalms and Hymns, which went through fifty editions within fifty years.
Church of England parishioners in America continued to use the “Old Version” of the Psalter along with the “New Version” by Tate and Brady, often having a copy bound to their Book of Common Prayer. Meanwhile, within the Presbyterian church, the “Great Psalmody Controversy” over singing on the “Old Side” from the Psalters of Rous and Barton, or on the “New Side” from the “New Version,” or Watts, caused great division.
After the pioneer settlements on the frontier were affected by the Great Revival of 1800 (which had its beginning in Logan County, Kentucky), outdoor meetings and extended camp meetings grew in popularity among the Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. At these meetings, the simple repetitive style of the song was taught by rote, because most of the audience, both black and white, could not read music. However, they enthusiastically sang their songs day and night. Thus, a new folk hymnody emerged. Songs of repentance, death, and judgment as found in Joshua Smith’s collection Divine Hymns or Spiritual Songs were similar to selections found in Samuel Holyoke’s (1762–1820) The Christian Harmonist (1804) and Jeremiah Ingall’s (1764–1828) Christian Harmony (1805).
The “shaped note” tunes which appeared in William Smith and William Little’s book, The Easy Instructor (1809), used various symbols for the fa, sol, la, and mi degrees of the scale: a right angle triangle for fa, a circle for sol, a square for la, and a diamond shape for mi. Between the introduction of Davisson’s Kentucky Harmony in 1816 and the year 1850, about thirty-eight tune books were printed, the majority of them being used in the Southern states.
The two most popular books of this period were The Southern Harmony (1835) by William Walker (1809–1875) and The Sacred Harp (1844) by B. F. White (1800–1879) and co-editor E. J. King. From such books came the folk hymn tunes of contemporary hymnbooks: foundation (“How Firm A Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord”), beach spring (“Come All Christians, Be Committed”), land of rest (“Jerusalem, My Happy Home”), holy manna (“Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”), promised land (“On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand”) and restoration (“Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy”).
Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason (1792–1872) single-handedly exerted the greatest influence on congregational singing in American churches in the early nineteenth century. One of the most outstanding American musicians of his day, he first settled in Boston in 1827 where he developed the choir of the Bowdoin Street Church that gained national recognition. While at the church, he also conducted music classes for children, publishing The Juvenile Psalmist and The Child’s Introduction to Sacred Music (1829) for them. Then, in 1832, he founded the Boston Academy of Music. By 1838 he had gained approval to teach vocal music in the Boston public schools. His efforts at promoting music education led to the establishment of the first music institutes for the training of music teachers. He was truly the great pioneer of music education. He was also very eager to improve congregational singing in the churches. By fashioning tunes from European sources, he provided churches everywhere with a different, more sophisticated style of congregational song. Most Christians are familiar with his adaptations, including Antioch (“Joy to the World”), Atzmon (“O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”), and Hamburg (“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”).
Throughout much of the same century many Mennonite, Moravian, and Lutheran congregations continued to use their own repertoire of German hymns and chorales. At the same time, various denominations developed distinctive hymnbooks in English, promoting their preferred song forms. In particular, the Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, and Congregationalists retained a large number of English hymns by Watts, Charles Wesley, Newton, and Cowper.
The Gospel Song
Several significant developments in the middle of the nineteenth century resulted in the birth and development of a uniquely American congregational song form, the gospel song.
One such development was the beginning and growth of the Sunday school movement. The idea of Sunday school was first introduced by the Methodists following the Revolutionary War. The lack of public schools had created a pressing need for instruction in reading and writing, a need that was met by the Sunday schools. Instructional materials for these schools were later published by the American Sunday School Union, which was founded in 1824.
The Sunday school hymns of William B. Bradbury (1816–1868) became the amazing success story of sacred popular song. A member of Lowell Mason’s Bowdoin Street Church choir and a student of Mason at the Boston Academy of Music, Bradbury became organist at the Baptist Tabernacle in New York City where he conducted free singing classes for young people and where he was instrumental in having music instruction introduced into the public schools. He supplied the music to Charlotte Elliott’s text, “Just As I Am,” and the simple melody for “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Today his music for the text “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less Than Jesus’ Blood” is well known still, as is the attractive melody he wrote for the words, “Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us.” Two other equally well-known melodies are settings for “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and “He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought.”
The second important development was the founding of the Young Men’s Christian Association in England in 1844 and the establishment of a branch in Boston in 1851. By 1870, the annual conventions of the Y.M.C.A. attracted thousands of young men who were caught up in the spirited singing, many of the songs being selected from Bradbury’s 1867 Y.M.C.A. collection.
Third, about 1857, in the midst of desperate economic conditions, a widespread movement of evangelical revivalism erupted. Daily interdenominational noonday prayer meetings in churches and theaters became commonplace.
The fourth development of great significance was the Civil War, during which the soldier’s hymnbook was used extensively. Nothing could have been more stirring than the singing of patriotic songs and hymns by a large group of men.
Finally, the influence of the “Singing Pilgrim,” Philip Phillips (1834–1895), must not be overlooked. At the age of twenty-one years this singer, composer, and publisher was on the road singing the simple songs of his own composition, accompanying himself on the reed organ, and selling copies of his music at every stop. And although his travels took him around the world, he became best known in America, especially for his exceptionally popular “services of song.”
Another very influential musician was Philip Bliss (1838–1876). It was 1857 when Bliss attended a music convention led by the famous teacher and composer Bradbury. This experience prompted the young Bliss to enter a music education institute. Following his studies, he became a music teacher and, later still, a representative for the Chicago music publishing company Root and Cady, for whom he gave concerts and organized conventions. In 1869 he met Dwight L. Moody, who persuaded him to leave his job and serve as soloist and song leader for Major D. W. Whittle. Bliss was one of the first major leaders in the creation and use of gospel songs. Widely recognized as an outstanding leader in music education and as a promoter of gospel songs at musical conventions, by the 1870s he was associated with the John Church music company of Cincinnati, the company which published his Gospel Songs in 1874. A number of his songs may be found in some contemporary hymnals. The Worshiping Church, for example, has four: (1) “Hallelujah! What a Savior,” (2) “Wonderful Words of Life,” (3) “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” (text only), and (4) “It Is Well With My Soul” (music only).
Meanwhile, Ira D. Sankey was a song leader and soloist for Dwight L. Moody, beginning this work in 1870, after he had led music in Sunday School, the Young Men’s Christian Association, and for the soldiers in the Civil War. While on his first trip to England with evangelist Moody, he used both Philip Phillips’ Hallowed Songs (1865) and his own collection of songs, which he kept in a scrapbook. The demand for these new songs in manuscript form became so great that the English publisher R. C. Morgan volunteered to print a pamphlet of twenty-three songs in 1873. The first five hundred copies were sold in a day. This special collection, Sacred Songs and Solos, passed through several editions and was enlarged to twelve hundred selections. So great was the demand for these popular songs that over eighty million copies were sold within fifty years.
Back in Chicago Sankey was successful in arranging a merger of his collection with the 1874 Gospel Songs collection of the singer/composer Bliss. This joint venture, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs was published in 1875. Subsequently, five editions were printed between 1876 and 1891. Finally, the entire series was published in one volume in 1894 as Gospel Hymns, Nos. 1–6, Complete. It included a total of 739 hymns.
Although during his lifetime his texts and music for “Faith is the Victory,” “Hiding in Thee,” “A Shelter in the Time of Storm,” “The Ninety and Nine,” and “Under His Wings I Am Safely Abiding” became well known, only one of Sankey’s songs, “Trusting Jesus” (music only), is to be found in the modern hymnal, The Worshiping Church (1990).
The efforts of the two compilers, Bliss and Sankey, and their two publishers, the John Church Company and Biglow and Main, proved to be immensely successful. Furthermore, a large number of men and women as well as music publishers became involved in the writing and composing of gospel songs, promoting the sales of countless other volumes.
Sankey was not only known to Phillips and Bliss, he was also, as the president of Biglow and Main, the publisher of gospel songs by James McGranahan (1840–1907), George C. Stebbins (1846–1945), and George F. Root (1820–1895).
The most familiar music of McGranahan today is set to the Daniel W. Whittle texts, “I Know Not Why God’s Wondrous Grace” and “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing”, and Phillip P. Bliss’s “I Will Sing of My Redeemer.”
The music of Stebbins that has become the most beloved includes the tunes written for Adelaide A. Pollard’s “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” William T. Sleeper’s “Out of My Bondage, Sorrow and Night,” and William D. Longstaff’s “Take Time To Be Holy.” The work of George F. Root is represented by the music of “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
Later, the texts of the blind poetess Fanny Crosby (1820–1915) became most prominent. A prolific writer, she stored many texts in her mind and dictated them at various times to a secretary. Her amazing output of 9,000 poems rivals that of the famous Charles Wesley. With the kind and supportive friendship of her publisher, Ira D. Sankey, she made weekly contributions that were immediately set to music.
The nine selections by Fanny Crosby to be found in The Worshiping Church focus on Jesus and our redemption and life in him: “Praise Him! Praise Him!” with music by Chester G. Allen; “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” with music by John R. Sweney; “Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!” with music by William J. Kirkpatrick, but here set to the tune Ada by Aubrey L. Butler; “Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine” with music by Phoebe P. Knapp; “To God be the Glory,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “Rescue the Perishing”—all with music again by William H. Doane; and “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me” with music by Robert Lowry.
These and other gospel songs possess several distinctive characteristics which made them functional pieces for mass evangelism. The very content of the text was the simple gospel story of the experience of sin and God’s grace and redemption through Christ, the pleading Savior. The words used were readily understood, often using metaphors from everyday life. Also, there were many repetitions of phrases in the text. The music was often in two parts with a lyric melody and spirited rhythm. The combination of an engaging melody, lively pulse, and simple harmonies made these songs ideal for group singing. At times the verses were sung by a soloist or the choir and the refrain sung by all present from memory.
Multitudes found these subjective testimonials inspiring and thus encouraged their use in worship services. With a focus textually upon salvation, these songs found a sympathetic ear in all those seeking an individual Christian experience. Others considered them inappropriate for corporate worship services. Thus, another period of division took place.
The Twentieth Century
During the first half of the twentieth century, many denominational hymnbooks became both scholarly and ecumenical. For instance, the Episcopal hymnal of 1916 was followed by the music edition in 1918, edited by Canon Winfred Douglas (1867–1944). An authority on Gregorian music, Douglas crowned his achievements with The Hymnal 1940, for which he also served as music editor.
Another distinguished expert on hymns was the Presbyterian minister Louis Benson (1855–1930). Editor of several hymnals, he contributed significantly to the study of hymnology through his definitive work The English Hymn: Its Development and Use in Worship.
The two branches of American Methodism, the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, had published separate hymnals in the late nineteenth century but combined their endeavors in 1905 with the help of music editor Peter Lutkin (1858–1931). Another united effort of three Methodist groups took place in 1935. The editor was the distinguished hymnologist Robert G. Cutchan (1877–1958).
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) produced a high-quality book, The Hymnal 1933, which reflected the expert assistance of music editor Clarence Dickinson (1873–1969).
In 1941 the joint effort of the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist Church resulted in Christian Worship. The Southern Baptist had their own hymnal in The Broadman Hymnal of 1940, compiled by B. B. McKinney.
From this period also come the hymns of such writers as Julia Cady Cory (1882–1963)—“We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator”; Frank Mason North (1850–1935)—“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life”; and Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1964)—“God of Grace and God of Glory.”
In addition to the above, the important efforts of the leaders of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, which began in 1922, have encouraged the writing of new texts and music and the enthusiastic singing of many forms of congregational song throughout the United States and Canada.