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diff --git a/43208-0.txt b/43208-0.txt index 842cc99..f6cd19a 100644 --- a/43208-0.txt +++ b/43208-0.txt @@ -1,26 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Music in the History of the Western Church, by -Edward Dickinson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Music in the History of the Western Church - -Author: Edward Dickinson - -Release Date: July 13, 2013 [EBook #43208] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43208 *** Produced by Stephen Hutcheson @@ -10979,357 +10957,4 @@ Kelly, 1850. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Music in the History of the Western Church - -Author: Edward Dickinson - -Release Date: July 13, 2013 [EBook #43208] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - - - - - - - - - MUSIC IN THE HISTORY - OF THE WESTERN CHURCH - - - _WITH AN INTRODUCTION - ON RELIGIOUS MUSIC AMONG PRIMITIVE AND - ANCIENT PEOPLES_ - - BY - EDWARD DICKINSON - _Professor of the History of Music, in the Conservatory of Music, - Oberlin College_ - - HASKELL HOUSE PUBLISHERS Ltd. - _Publishers of Scarce Scholarly Books_ - NEW YORK. N.Y. 20012 - 1969 - - First Published 1902 - - HASKELL HOUSE PUBLISHERS Ltd. - _Publishers of Scarce Scholarly Books_ - 280 LAFAYETTE STREET - NEW YORK. N.Y. 10012 - - Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-25286 - Standard Book Number 8383-0301-3 - Printed in the United States of America - - - - - PREFACE - - -The practical administration of music in public worship is one of the -most interesting of the secondary problems with which the Christian -Church has been called upon to deal. Song has proved such a universal -necessity in worship that it may almost be said, no music no Church. The -endless diversity of musical forms and styles involves the perennial -question, How shall music contribute most effectually to the ends which -church worship has in view without renouncing those attributes upon which -its freedom as fine art depends? - -The present volume is an attempt to show how this problem has been -treated by different confessions and in different nations and times; how -music, in issuing from the bosom of the Church, has been moulded under -the influence of varying ideals of devotion, liturgic usages, national -temperaments, and types and methods of expression current in secular art. -It is the author's chief purpose and hope to arouse in the minds of -ministers and non-professional lovers of music, as well as of church -musicians, an interest in this branch of art such as they cannot feel so -long as its history is unknown to them. A knowledge of history always -tends to promote humility and reverence, and to check the spread of -capricious perversions of judgment. Even a feeble sense of the grandeur -and beauty of the forms which ecclesiastical music has taken, and the -vital relation which it has always held in organized worship, will serve -to convince a devoted servant of the Church that its proper -administration is as much a matter of concern to-day as it ever has been -in the past. - -A few of the chapters in this work have appeared in somewhat modified -form in the _American Catholic Quarterly Review_, the _Bibliotheca -Sacra_, and _Music_. The author acknowledges the permission given by the -editors of these magazines to use this material in its present form. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - Chapter Page - I. Primitive and Ancient Religious Music 1 - II. Ritual and Song in the Early Christian Church 36 - III. The Liturgy of the Catholic Church 70 - IV. The Ritual Chant of the Catholic Church 92 - V. The Development of Mediaeval Chorus Music 129 - VI. The Modern Musical Mass 182 - VII. The Rise of the Lutheran Hymnody 223 - VIII. Rise of the German Cantata and Passion 268 - IX. The Culmination of German Protestant Music: Johann - Sebastian Bach 283 - X. The Musical System of the Church of England 323 - XI. Congregational Song in England and America 358 - XII. Problems of Church Music in America 390 - Bibliography 411 - Index 417 - - - - - MUSIC IN THE HISTORY - OF THE - WESTERN CHURCH - - - - - CHAPTER I - PRIMITIVE AND ANCIENT RELIGIOUS MUSIC - - -Leon Gautier, in opening his history of the epic poetry of France, -ascribes the primitive poetic utterance of mankind to a religious -impulse. "Represent to yourselves," he says, "the first man at the moment -when he issues from the hand of God, when his vision rests for the first -time upon his new empire. Imagine, if it be possible, the exceeding -vividness of his impressions when the magnificence of the world is -reflected in the mirror of his soul. Intoxicated, almost mad with -admiration, gratitude, and love, he raises his eyes to heaven, not -satisfied with the spectacle of the earth; then discovering God in the -heavens, and attributing to him all the honor of this magnificence and of -the harmonies of creation, he opens his mouth, the first stammerings of -speech escape his lips--he speaks; ah, no, he sings, and the first song -of the lord of creation will be a hymn to God his creator." - -If the language of poetical extravagance may be admitted into serious -historical composition, we may accept this theatrical picture as an -allegorized image of a truth. Although we speak no longer of a "first -man," and although we have the best reasons to suppose that the earliest -vocal efforts of our anthropoid progenitors were a softly modulated love -call or a strident battle cry rather than a _sursum corda_; yet taking -for our point of departure that stage in human development when art -properly begins, when the unpremeditated responses to simple sensation -are supplemented by the more stable and organized expression of a soul -life become self-conscious, then we certainly do find that the earliest -attempts at song are occasioned by motives that must in strictness be -called religious. The savage is a very religious being. In all the -relations of his simple life he is hedged about by a stiff code of -regulations whose sanction depends upon his recognition of the presence -of invisible powers and his duties to them. He divines a mysterious -presence as pervasive as the atmosphere he breathes, which takes in his -childish fancy diverse shapes, as of ghosts, deified ancestors, -anthropomorphic gods, embodied influences of sun and cloud. In whatever -guise these conceptions may clothe themselves, he experiences a feeling -of awe which sometimes appears as abject fear, sometimes as reverence and -love. The emotions which the primitive man feels under the pressure of -these ideas are the most profound and persistent of which he is capable, -and as they involve notions which are held in common by all the members -of the tribe (for there are no sceptics or nonconformists in the savage -community), they are formulated in elaborate schemes of ceremony. The -religious sentiment inevitably seeks expression in the assembly--"the -means," as Professor Brinton says, "by which that most potent agent in -religious life, collective suggestion, is brought to bear upon the -mind"--the liturgy, the festival, and the sacrifice.[1] By virtue of -certain laws of the human mind which are evident everywhere, in the -highest civilized condition as in the savage, the religious emotion, -intensified by collective suggestion in the assembly, will find -expression not in the ordinary manner of thought communication, but in -those rhythmic and inflected movements and cadences which are the natural -outlet of strong mental excitement when thrown back upon itself. These -gestures and vocal inflections become regulated and systematized in order -that they may be permanently retained, and serve in their reaction to -stimulate anew the mental states by which they were occasioned. Singing, -dancing, and pantomime compose the means by which uncivilized man -throughout the world gives expression to his controlling ideas. The -needed uniformity in movement and accent is most easily effected by -rhythmical beats; and as these beats are more distinctly heard, and also -blend more agreeably with the tones of the voice if they are musical -sounds, a rude form of instrumental music arises. Here we have elements -of public religious ceremony as they exist in the most highly organized -and spiritualized worships,--the assemblage, where common motives produce -common action and react to produce a common mood, the ritual with its -instrumental music, and the resulting sense on the part of the -participant of detachment from material interests and of personal -communion with the unseen powers. - -The symbolic dance and the choral chant are among the most primitive, -probably the most primitive, forms of art. Out of their union came music, -poetry, and dramatic action. Sculpture, painting, and architecture were -stimulated if not actually created under the same auspices. "The -festival," says Prof. Baldwin Brown, "creates the artist."[2] Festivals -among primitive races, as among ancient cultured peoples, are all -distinctly religious. Singing and dancing are inseparable. Vocal music is -a sort of chant, adopted because of its nerve-exciting property, and also -for the sake of enabling a mass of participants to utter the words in -unison where intelligible words are used. A separation of caste between -priesthood and laity is effected in very early times. The ritual becomes -a form of magical incantation; the utterance of the wizard, prophet, or -priest consists of phrases of mysterious meaning or incoherent -ejaculations. - -The prime feature in the earlier forms of worship is the dance. It held -also a prominent place in the rites of the ancient cultured nations, and -lingers in dim reminiscence in the processions and altar ceremonies of -modern liturgical worship. Its function was as important as that of music -in the modern Church, and its effect was in many ways closely analogous. -When connected with worship, the dance is employed to produce that -condition of mental exhilaration which accompanies the expenditure of -surplus physical energy, or as a mode of symbolic, semi-dramatic -expression of definite religious ideas. "The audible and visible -manifestations of joy," says Herbert Spencer, "which culminate in singing -and dancing, have their roots in instinctive actions like those of lively -children who, on seeing in the distance some indulgent relative, run up -to him, joining one another in screams of delight and breaking their run -with leaps; and when, instead of an indulgent relative met by joyful -children, we have a conquering chief or king met by groups of his people, -there will almost certainly occur saltatory and vocal expressions of -elated feeling, and these must become by implication signs of respect and -loyalty,--ascriptions of worth which, raised to a higher power, become -worship."[3] Illustrations of such motives in the sacred dance are found -in the festive procession of women, led by Miriam, after the overthrow of -the Egyptians, the dance of David before the ark, and the dance of the -boy Sophocles around the trophies of Salamis. But the sacred dance is by -no means confined to the discharge of physical energy under the -promptings of joy. The funeral dance is one of the most frequent of such -observances, and dread of divine wrath and the hope of propitiation by -means of rites pleasing to the offended power form a frequent occasion -for rhythmic evolution and violent bodily demonstration. - -Far more commonly, however, does the sacred dance assume a representative -character and become a rudimentary drama, either imitative or emblematic. -It depicts the doings of the gods, often under the supposition that the -divinities are aided by the sympathetic efforts of their devotees. -Certain mysteries, known only to the initiated, are symbolized in bodily -movement. The fact that the dance was symbolic and instructive, like the -sacrificial rite itself, enables us to understand why dancing should have -held such prominence in the worship of nations so grave and intelligent -as the Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks. Representations of religious -processions and dances are found upon the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. -The Egyptian peasant, when gathering his harvest, sacrificed the first -fruits, and danced to testify his thankfulness to the gods. The priests -represented in their dances the course of the stars and scenes from the -histories of Osiris and Isis. The dance of the Israelites in the desert -around the golden calf was probably a reproduction of features of the -Egyptian Apis worship. The myths of many ancient nations represent the -gods as dancing, and supposed imitations of such august examples had a -place in the ceremonies devoted to their honor. The dance was always an -index of the higher or lower nature of the religious conceptions which -fostered it. Among the purer and more elevated worships it was full of -grace and dignity. In the sensuous cults of Phoenicia and Lydia, and -among the later Greek votaries of Cybele and Dionysus, the dance -reflected the fears and passions that issued in bloody, obscene, and -frenzied rites, and degenerated into almost incredible spectacles of -wantonness and riot. - -It was among the Greeks, however, that the religious dance developed its -highest possibilities of expressiveness and beauty, and became raised to -the dignity of a fine art. The admiration of the Greeks for the human -form, their unceasing effort to develop its symmetry, strength, and -grace, led them early to perceive that it was in itself an efficient -means for the expression of the soul, and that its movements and -attitudes could work sympathetically upon the fancy. The dance was -therefore cultivated as a coequal with music and poetry; educators -inculcated it as indispensable to the higher discipline of youth; it was -commended by philosophers and celebrated by poets. It held a prominent -place in the public games, in processions and celebrations, in the -mysteries, and in public religious ceremonies. Every form of worship, -from the frantic orgies of the drunken devotees of Dionysus to the pure -and tranquil adoration offered to Phoebus Apollo, consisted to a large -extent of dancing. Andrew Lang's remark in regard to the connection -between dancing and religious solemnity among savages would apply also to -the Hellenic sacred dance, that "to dance this or that means to be -acquainted with this or that myth, which is represented in a dance or -_ballet d'action_."[4] Among the favorite subjects for pantomimic -representation, united with choral singing, were the combat between -Apollo and the dragon and the sorrows of Dionysus, the commemoration of -the latter forming the origin of the splendid Athenian drama. The ancient -dance, it must be remembered, had as its motive the expression of a wide -range of emotion, and could be employed to symbolize sentiments of -wonder, love, and gratitude. Regularly ordered movements, often -accompanied by gesture, could well have a place in religious ceremony, as -the gods and their relations to mankind were then conceived; and -moreover, at a time when music was in a crude state, rhythmic evolutions -and expressive gestures, refined and moderated by the exquisite sense of -proportion native to the Greek mind, undoubtedly had a solemnizing effect -upon the participants and beholders not unlike that of music in modern -Christian worship. Cultivated as an art under the name of _orchestik_, -the mimic dance reached a degree of elegance and emotional significance -to which modern times afford no proper parallel. It was not unworthy of -the place it held in the society of poetry and music, with which it -combined to form that composite art which filled so high a station in -Greek culture in the golden age. - -The Hellenic dance, both religious and theatric, was adopted by the -Romans, but, like so much that was noble in Greek art, only to be -degraded in the transfer. It passed over into the Christian Church, like -many other ceremonial practices of heathenism, but modified and by no -means of general observance. It appeared on occasions of thanksgiving and -celebrations of important events in the Church's history. The priest -would often lead the dance around the altar on Sundays and festal days. -The Christians sometimes gathered about the church doors at night and -danced and sang songs. There is nothing in these facts derogatory to the -piety of the early Christians. They simply expressed their joy according -to the universal fashion of the age; and especially on those occasions -which, as for instance Christmas, were adaptations of old pagan -festivals, they naturally imitated many of the time-honored observances. -The Christian dance, however, finally degenerated; certain features, such -as the nocturnal festivities, gave rise to scandal; the church -authorities began to condemn them, and the rising spirit of asceticism -drove them into disfavor. The dance was a dangerous reminder of the -heathen worship with all its abominations; and since many pagan beliefs -and customs, with attendant immoralities, lingered for centuries as a -seductive snare to the weaker brethren, the Church bestirred itself to -eliminate all perilous associations from religious ceremony and to arouse -a love for an absorbed and spiritual worship. During the Middle Age, and -even in comparatively recent times in Spain and Spanish America, we find -survivals of the ancient religious dance in the Christian Church, but in -the more enlightened countries it has practically ceased to exist. The -Christian religion is more truly joyful than the Greek; yet the Christian -devotee, even in his most confident moments, no longer feels inclined to -give vent to his happiness in physical movements, for there is mingled -with his rapture a sentiment of awe and submission which bids him adore -but be still. Religious processions are frequent in Christian countries, -but the participants do not, like the Egyptians and Greeks, dance as they -go. We find even in ancient times isolated opinions that public dancing -is indecorous. Only in a naive and childlike stage of society will -dancing as a feature of worship seem appropriate and innocent. As -reflection increases, the unrestrained and conspicuous manifestation of -feeling in shouts and violent bodily movements is deemed unworthy; a more -spiritual conception of the nature of the heavenly power and man's -relation to it requires that forms of worship should become more refined -and moderate. Even the secular dance has lost much of its ancient dignity -from somewhat similar reasons, partly also because the differentiation -and high development of music, taking the place of dancing as a social -art, has relegated the latter to the realm of things outgrown, which no -longer minister to man's intellectual necessities. - -As we turn to the subject of music in ancient religious rites, we find -that where the dance had already reached a high degree of artistic -development, music was still in dependent infancy. The only promise of -its splendid future was in the reverence already accorded to it, and the -universality of its use in prayer and praise. On its vocal side it was -used to add solemnity to the words of the officiating priest, forming the -intonation, or ecclesiastical accent, which has been an inseparable -feature of liturgical worship in all periods. So far as the people had a -share in religious functions, vocal music was employed by them in hymns -to the gods, or in responsive refrains. In its instrumental form it was -used to assist the singers to preserve the correct pitch and rhythm, to -regulate the steps of the dance, or, in an independent capacity, to act -upon the nerves of the worshipers and increase their sense of awe in the -presence of the deity. It is the nervous excitement produced by certain -kinds of musical performance that accounts for the fact that -incantations, exorcisms, and the ceremonies of demon worship among -savages and barbarians are accompanied by harsh-sounding instruments; -that tortures, executions, and human sacrifices, such as those of the -ancient Phoenicians and Mexicans, were attended by the clamor of drums, -trumpets, and cymbals. Even in the Hebrew temple service the blasts of -horns and trumpets could have had no other purpose than that of -intensifying emotions of awe and dread. - -Still another office of music in ancient ceremony, perhaps still more -valued, was that of suggesting definite ideas by means of an associated -symbolism. In certain occult observances, such as those of the Egyptians -and Hindus, relationships were imagined between instruments or melodies -and religious or moral conceptions, so that the melody or random tone of -the instrument indicated to the initiate the associated principle, and -thus came to have an imputed sanctity of its own. This symbolism could be -employed to recall to the mind ethical precepts or religious tenets at -solemn moments, and tone could become a doubly powerful agent by uniting -the effect of vivid ideas to its inherent property of nerve excitement. - -Our knowledge of the uses of music among the most ancient nations is -chiefly confined to its function in religious ceremony. All ancient -worship was ritualistic and administered by a priesthood, and the -liturgies and ceremonial rites were intimately associated with music. The -oldest literatures that have survived contain hymns to the gods, and upon -the most ancient monuments are traced representations of instruments and -players. Among the literary records discovered on the site of Nineveh are -collections of hymns, prayers, and penitential psalms, addressed to the -Assyrian deities, designed, as expressly stated, for public worship, and -which Professor Sayce compares to the English Book of Common Prayer. On -the Assyrian monuments are carved reliefs of instrumental players, -sometimes single, sometimes in groups of considerable numbers. Allusions -in the Bible indicate that the Assyrians employed music on festal -occasions, that hymns to the gods were sung at banquets and dirges at -funerals. The kings maintained bands at their courts, and provided a -considerable variety of instruments for use in the idol worship.[5] - -There is abundant evidence that music was an important factor in the -religious rites of Egypt. The testimony of carved and painted walls of -tombs and temples, the papyrus records, the accounts of visitors, inform -us that music was in Egypt preëminently a sacred art, as it must needs -have been in a land in which, as Ranke says, there was nothing secular. -Music was in the care of the priests, who jealously guarded the sacred -hymns and melodies from innovation and foreign intrusion.[6] In musical -science, knowledge of the divisions of the monochord, systems of keys, -notation, etc., the Egyptians were probably in advance of all other -nations. The Greeks certainly derived much of their musical practice from -the dwellers on the Nile. They possessed an extensive variety of -instruments, from the little tinkling sistrum up to the profusely -ornamented harp of twelve or thirteen strings, which towered above the -performer. From such an instrument as the latter it would seem as though -some kind of harmony must have been produced, especially since the player -is represented as using both hands. But if such were the case, the -harmony could not have been reduced to a scientific system, since -otherwise a usage so remarkable would not have escaped the attention of -the Greek musicians who derived so much of their art from Egypt. Music -never failed at public or private festivity, religious ceremony, or -funeral rite. As in all ancient religions, processions to the temples, -carrying images of the gods and offerings, were attended by dances and -vocal and instrumental performances. Lyrical poems, containing the -praises of gods and heroes, were sung at public ceremonies; hymns were -addressed to the rising and setting sun, to Ammon and the other gods. -According to Chappell, the custom of carolling or singing without words, -like birds, to the gods existed among the Egyptians,--a practice which -was imitated by the Greeks, from whom the custom was transferred to the -Western Church.[7] The chief instrument of the temple worship was the -sistrum, and connected with all the temples in the time of the New Empire -were companies of female sistrum players who stood in symbolic relations -to the god as inmates of his harem, holding various degrees of rank. -These women received high honors, often of a political nature.[8] - -In spite of the simplicity and frequent coarseness of ancient music, the -older nations ascribed to it an influence over the moral nature which the -modern music lover would never think of attributing to his highly -developed art. They referred its invention to the gods, and imputed to it -thaumaturgical properties. The Hebrews were the only ancient cultivated -nation that did not assign to music a superhuman source. The Greek myths -of Orpheus, Amphion, and Arion are but samples of hundreds of marvellous -tales of musical effect that have place in primitive legends. This belief -in the magical power of music was connected with the equally universal -opinion that music in itself could express and arouse definite notions -and passions, and could exert a direct moral or immoral influence. The -importance ascribed by the Greeks to music in the education of youth, as -emphatically affirmed by philosophers and law-givers, is based upon this -belief. Not only particular melodies, but the different modes or keys -were held by the Greeks to exert a positive influence upon character. The -Dorian mode was considered bold and manly, inspiring valor and fortitude; -the Lydian, weak and enervating. Plato, in the second book of the _Laws_, -condemns as "intolerable and blasphemous" the opinion that the purpose of -music is to give pleasure. He finds a direct relation between morality -and certain forms of music, and would have musicians constrained to -compose only such melodies and rhythms as would turn the plastic mind -toward virtue. Plutarch, in his discourse concerning music in his -_Morals_, says: "The ancient Greeks deemed it requisite by the assistance -of music to form and compose the minds of youth to what was decent, -sober, and virtuous; believing the use of music beneficially efficacious -to incite to all serious actions." He even goes so far as to say that -"the right moulding of ingenuous manners and civil conduct lies in a -well-grounded musical education." Assumptions of direct moral, -intellectual, and even pathological action on the part of music, as -distinct from an aesthetic appeal, are so abundant in ancient writings -that we cannot dismiss them as mere fanciful hyperbole, but must admit -that music really possessed a power over the emotions and volitions which -has been lost in its later evolution. The explanation of this apparent -anomaly probably lies, first, in the fact that music in antiquity was not -a free independent art, and that when the philosophers speak of music -they think of it in its associations with poetry, religious and patriotic -observances, moral and legal precepts, historic relations, etc. Music, on -its vocal side, was mere emphasized speech inflection; it was a slave to -poetry; it had no rhythmical laws of its own. The melody did not convey -aesthetic charm in itself alone, but simply heightened the sensuous -effect of measured speech and vivified the thought. Mr. Spencer's -well-known expression that "cadence is the comment of the emotion upon -the propositions of the intellect" would apply very accurately to the -musical theories of the ancients. Certain modes (that is, keys), on -account of convenience of pitch, were employed for certain kinds of -poetical expression; and as a poem was always chanted in the mode that -was first assigned to it, particular classes of ideas would come to be -identified with particular modes. Associations of race character would -lead to similar interpretation. The Dorian mode would seem to partake of -the sternness and vigor of the warlike Dorian Spartans; the Lydian mode -and its melodies would hint of Lydian effeminacy.[9] Instrumental music -also was equally restricted to definite meanings through association. It -was an accompaniment to poetry, bound up with the symbolic dance, -subordinated to formal social observances; it produced not the artistic -effect of melody, harmony, and form, but the nervous stimulation of crude -unorganized tone, acting upon recipients who had never learned to -consider music as anything but a direct emotional excitant or an -intensifier of previously conceived ideas. - -Another explanation of the ancient view of music as possessing a -controlling power over emotion, thought, and conduct lies in the fact -that music existed only in its rude primal elements; antiquity in its -conception and use of music never passed far beyond that point where tone -was the outcome of simple emotional states, and to which notions of -precise intellectual significance still clung. Whatever theory of the -origin of music may finally prevail, there can be no question that music -in its primitive condition is more directly the outcome of clearly -realized feeling than it is when developed into a free, intellectualized, -and heterogeneous art form. Music, the more it rises into an art, the -more it exerts a purely aesthetic effect through its action upon -intelligences that delight in form, organization, and ideal motion, loses -in equal proportion the emotional definiteness that exists in simple and -spontaneous tone inflections. The earliest reasoning on the rationale of -musical effects always takes for granted that music's purpose is to -convey exact ideas, or at least express definite emotion. Music did not -advance so far among the ancients that they were able to escape from this -naturalistic conception. They could conceive of no higher purpose in -music than to move the mind in definite directions, and so they -maintained that it always did so. Even in modern life numberless -instances prove that the music which exerts the greatest effect over the -impulses is not the mature and complex art of the masters, but the simple -strains which emanate from the people and bring up recollections which in -themselves alone have power to stir the heart. The song that melts a -congregation to tears, the patriotic air that fires the enthusiasm of an -assembly on the eve of a political crisis, the strain that nerves an army -to desperate endeavor, is not an elaborate work of art, but a simple and -obvious tune, which finds its real force in association. All this is -especially true of music employed for religious ends, and we find in such -facts a reason why it could make no progress in ancient times, certainly -none where it was under the control of an organized social caste. For the -priestly order is always conservative, and in antiquity this conservatism -petrified melody, at the same time with the rites to which it adhered, -into stereotyped formulas. Where music is bound up with a ritual, -innovation in the one is discountenanced as tending to loosen the -traditional strictness of the other. - -I have laid stress upon this point because this attempt of the religious -authorities in antiquity to repress music in worship to a subsidiary -function was the sign of a conception of music which has always been more -or less active in the Church, down even to our own day. As soon as -musical art reaches a certain stage of development it strives to -emancipate itself from the thraldom of word and visible action, and to -exalt itself for its own undivided glory. Strict religionists have always -looked upon this tendency with suspicion, and have often strenuously -opposed it, seeing in the sensuous fascinations of the art an obstacle to -complete absorption in spiritual concerns. The conflict between the -devotional and the aesthetic principles, which has been so active in the -history of worship music in modern times, never appeared in antiquity -except in the later period of Greek art. Since this outbreak of the -spirit of rebellion occurred only when Hellenic religion was no longer a -force in civilization, its results were felt only in the sphere of -secular music; but no progress resulted, for musical culture was soon -assumed everywhere by the Christian Church, which for a thousand years -succeeded in restraining music within the antique conception of bondage -to liturgy and ceremony. - -Partly as a result of this subjection of music by its allied powers, -partly, perhaps, as a cause, a science of harmony was never developed in -ancient times. That music was always performed in unison and octaves, as -has been generally believed, is, however, not probable. In view of the -fact that the Egyptians possessed harps over six feet in height, having -twelve or thirteen strings, and played with both hands, and that the -monuments of Assyria and Egypt and the records of musical practice among -the Hebrews, Greeks, and other nations show us a large variety of -instruments grouped in bands of considerable size, we are justified in -supposing that combinations of different sounds were often produced. But -the absence from the ancient treatises of any but the most vague and -obscure allusions to the production of accordant tones, and the -conclusive evidence in respect to the general lack of freedom and -development in musical art, is proof positive that, whatever concords of -sounds may have been occasionally produced, nothing comparable to our -present contrapuntal and harmonic system existed. The music so -extravagantly praised in antiquity was, vocally, chant, or recitative, -ordinarily in a single part; instrumental music was rude and -unsystematized sound, partly a mechanical aid to the voice and the dance -step, partly a means of nervous exhilaration. The modern conception of -music as a free, self-assertive art, subject only to its own laws, -lifting the soul into regions of pure contemplation, where all temporal -relations are lost in a tide of self-forgetful rapture,--this was a -conception unknown to the mind of antiquity. - -The student of the music of the Christian Church naturally turns with -curiosity to that one of the ancient nations whose religion was the -antecedent of the Christian, and whose sacred literature has furnished -the worship of the Church with the loftiest expression of its trust and -aspiration. The music of the Hebrews, as Ambros says, "was divine -service, not art."[10] Many modern writers have assumed a high degree of -perfection in ancient Hebrew music, but only on sentimental grounds, not -because there is any evidence to support such an opinion. There is no -reason to suppose that music was further developed among the Hebrews than -among the most cultivated of their neighbors. Their music, like that of -the ancient nations generally, was entirely subsidiary to poetic -recitation and dancing; it was unharmonic, simple, and inclined to be -coarse and noisy. Although in general use, music never attained so great -honor among them as it did among the Greeks. We find in the Scriptures no -praises of music as a nourisher of morality, rarely a trace of an -ascription of magical properties. Although it had a place in military -operations and at feasts, private merry-makings, etc., its chief value -lay in its availability for religious purposes. To the Hebrews the arts -obtained significance only as they could be used to adorn the courts of -Jehovah, or could be employed in the ascription of praise to him. Music -was to them an efficient agent to excite emotions of awe, or to carry -more directly to the heart the rhapsodies and searching admonitions of -psalmists and prophets. - -No authentic melodies have come down to us from the time of the -Israelitish residence in Palestine. No treatise on Hebrew musical theory -or practice, if any such ever existed, has been preserved. No definite -light is thrown upon the Hebrew musical system by the Bible or any other -ancient book. We may be certain that if the Hebrews had possessed -anything distinctive, or far in advance of the practice of their -contemporaries, some testimony to that effect would be found. All -evidence and analogy indicate that the Hebrew song was a unison chant or -cantillation, more or less melodious, and sufficiently definite to be -perpetuated by tradition, but entirely subordinate to poetry, in rhythm -following the accent and metre of the text. - -We are not so much in the dark in respect to the use and nature of Hebrew -instruments, although we know as little of the style of music that was -performed upon them. Our knowledge of the instruments themselves is -derived from those represented upon the monuments of Assyria and Egypt, -which were evidently similar to those used by the Hebrews. The Hebrews -never invented a musical instrument. Not one in use among them but had -its equivalent among nations older in civilization. And so we may infer -that the entire musical practice of the Hebrews was derived first from -their early neighbors the Chaldeans, and later from the Egyptians; -although we may suppose that some modifications may have arisen after -they became an independent nation. The first mention of musical -instruments in the Bible is in Gen. iv. 21, where Jubal is spoken of as -"the father of all such as handle the _kinnor_ and _ugab_" (translated in -the revised version "harp and pipe"). The word _kinnor_ appears -frequently in the later books, and is applied to the instrument used by -David. This _kinnor_ of David and the psalmists was a small portable -instrument and might properly be called a lyre. Stringed instruments are -usually the last to be developed by primitive peoples, and the use of the -_kinnor_ implies a considerable degree of musical advancement among the -remote ancestors of the Hebrew race in their primeval Chaldean home. The -word _ugab_ may signify either a single tube like the flute or oboe, or a -connected series of pipes like the Pan's pipes or syrinx of the Greeks. -There is only one other mention of instruments before the Exodus, _viz._, -in connection with the episode of Laban and Jacob, where the former asks -his son-in-law reproachfully, "Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and -steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee -away with mirth and with songs, with _toph_ and _kinnor_?"[11]--the -_toph_ being a sort of small hand drum or tambourine. - -After the Exodus other instruments, perhaps derived from Egypt, make -their appearance: the _shophar_, or curved tube of metal or ram's horn, -heard amid the smoke and thunderings of Mt. Sinai,[12] and to whose sound -the walls of Jericho were overthrown;[13] the _hazozerah_, or long silver -tube, used in the desert for announcing the time for breaking camp,[14] -and employed later by the priests in religious service,[15] popular -gatherings, and sometimes in war.[16] The _nebel_ was either a harp -somewhat larger than the _kinnor_, or possibly a sort of guitar. The -_chalil_, translated in the English version "pipe," may have been a sort -of oboe or flageolet. The band of prophets met by Saul advanced to the -sound of _nebel, toph, chalil_, and _kinnor_.[17] The word "psaltery," -which frequently appears in the English version of the psalms, is -sometimes the _nebel_, sometimes the _kinnor_, sometimes the _asor_, -which was a species of _nebel_. The "instrument of ten strings" was also -the _nebel_ or _asor_. Percussion instruments, such as the drum, cymbals, -bell, and the Egyptian sistrum (which consisted of a small frame of -bronze into which three or four metal bars were loosely inserted, -producing a jingling noise when shaken), were also in common use. In the -Old Testament there are about thirteen instruments mentioned as known to -the Hebrews, not including those mentioned in Dan. iii., whose names, -according to Chappell, are not derived from Hebrew roots.[18] All of -these were simple and rude, yet considerably varied in character, -representing the three classes into which instruments, the world over, -are divided, _viz._, stringed instruments, wind instruments, and -instruments of percussion.[19] - -Although instruments of music had a prominent place in public -festivities, social gatherings, and private recreation, far more -important was their use in connection with religious ceremony. As the -Hebrew nation increased in power, and as their conquests became -permanently secured, so the arts of peace developed in greater profusion -and refinement, and with them the embellishments of the liturgical -worship became more highly organized. With the capture of Jerusalem and -the establishment of the royal residence within its ramparts, the worship -of Jehovah increased in splendor; the love of pomp and display, which was -characteristic of David, and still more of his luxurious son Solomon, was -manifest in the imposing rites and ceremonies that were organized to the -honor of the people's God. The epoch of these two rulers was that in -which the national force was in the flower of its youthful vigor, the -national pride had been stimulated by continual triumphs, the long period -of struggle and fear had been succeeded by glorious peace. The barbaric -splendor of religious service and festal pageant was the natural -expression of popular joy and self-confidence. In all these ebullitions -of national feeling, choral and instrumental music on the most brilliant -and massive scale held a conspicuous place. The description of the long -series of public rejoicings, culminating in the dedication of Solomon's -temple, begins with the transportation of the ark of the Lord from -Gibeah, when "David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord -with all manner of instruments made of fir-wood, and with harps -(_kinnor_), and with psalteries (_nebel_), and with timbrels (_toph_), -with castanets (_sistrum_), and with cymbals (_tzeltzelim_)."[20] And -again, when the ark was brought from the house of Obed-edom into the city -of David, the king danced "with all his might," and the ark was brought -up "with shouting and with the sound of a trumpet."[21] Singers were -marshalled under leaders and supported by bands of instruments. The ode -ascribed to David was given to Asaph as chief of the choir of Levites; -Asaph beat the time with cymbals, and the royal paean was chanted by -masses of chosen singers to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and -trumpets.[22] In the organization of the temple service no detail -received more careful attention than the vocal and instrumental music. We -read that four thousand Levites were appointed to praise the Lord with -instruments.[23] There were also two hundred and eighty-eight skilled -singers who sang to instrumental accompaniment beside the altar.[24] - -The function performed by instruments in the temple service is also -indicated in the account of the reëstablishment of the worship of Jehovah -by Hezekiah according to the institutions of David and Solomon. With the -burnt offering the song of praise was uplifted to the accompaniment of -the "instruments of David," the singers intoned the psalm and the -trumpets sounded, and this continued until the sacrifice was consumed. -When the rite was ended a hymn of praise was sung by the Levites, while -the king and the people bowed themselves.[25] - -With the erection of the second temple after the return from the -Babylonian exile, the liturgical service was restored, although not with -its pristine magnificence. Ezra narrates: "When the builders laid the -foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their -apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to -praise the Lord, after the order of David king of Israel. And they sang -one to another in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, saying, For -he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel."[26] And at the -dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, as recorded by Nehemiah, -instrumentalists and singers assembled in large numbers, to lead the -multitude in rendering praise and thanks to Jehovah.[27] Instruments were -evidently employed in independent flourishes and signals, as well as in -accompanying the singers. The trumpets were used only in the interludes; -the pipes and stringed instruments strengthened the voice parts; the -cymbals were used by the leader of the chorus to mark the rhythm. - -Notwithstanding the prominence of instruments in all observances of -public and private life, they were always looked upon as accessory to -song. Dramatic poetry was known to the Hebrews, as indicated by such -compositions as the Book of Job and the Song of Songs. No complete epic -has come down to us, but certain allusions in the Pentateuch, such as the -mention in Numbers xxi. 14 of the "book of the wars of Jehovah," would -tend to show that this people possessed a collection of ballads which, -taken together, would properly constitute a national epic. But whether -lyric, epic, or dramatic, the Hebrew poetry was delivered, according to -the universal custom of ancient nations, not in the speaking voice, but -in musical tone. The minstrel poet, it has been said, was the type of the -race. Lyric poetry may be divided into two classes: first, that which is -the expression of individual, subjective feeling, the poet communing with -himself alone, imparting to his thought a color derived solely from his -personal inward experience; and second, that which utters sentiments that -are shared by an organization, community, or race, the poet serving as -the mouthpiece of a mass actuated by common experiences and motives. The -second class is more characteristic of a people in the earlier stages of -culture, when the individual is lost in the community, before the -tendency towards specialization of interests gives rise to an expression -that is distinctly personal. In all the world's literature the Hebrew -psalms are the most splendid examples of this second order of lyric -poetry; and although we find in them many instances in which an isolated, -purely subjective experience finds a voice, yet in all of them the same -view of the universe, the same conception of the relation of man to his -Creator, the same broad and distinctively national consciousness, control -their thought and their diction. And there are very few even of the first -class which a Hebrew of earnest piety, searching his own heart, could not -adopt as the fitting declaration of his need and assurance. - -All patriotic songs and religious poems properly called hymns belong in -the second division of lyrics; and in the Hebrew psalms devotional -feeling touched here and there with a patriot's hopes and fears, has once -for all projected itself in forms of speech which seem to exhaust the -capabilities of sublimity in language. These psalms were set to music, -and presuppose music in their thought and their technical structure. A -text most appropriate for musical rendering must be free from all -subtleties of meaning and over-refinements of phraseology; it must be -forcible in movement, its metaphors those that touch upon general -observation, its ideas those that appeal to the common consciousness and -sympathy. These qualities the psalms possess in the highest degree, and -in addition they have a sublimity of thought, a magnificence of imagery, -a majesty and strength of movement, that evoke the loftiest energies of a -musical genius that ventures to ally itself with them. In every nation of -Christendom they have been made the foundation of the musical service of -the Church; and although many of the greatest masters of the harmonic art -have lavished upon them the richest treasures of their invention, they -have but skimmed the surface of their unfathomable suggestion. - -Of the manner in which the psalms were rendered in the ancient Hebrew -worship we know little. The present methods of singing in the synagogues -give us little help, for there is no record by which they can be traced -back beyond the definite establishment of the synagogue worship. It is -inferred from the structure of the Hebrew poetry, as well as unbroken -usage from the beginning of the Christian era, that the psalms were -chanted antiphonally or responsively. That form of verse known as -parallelism--the repetition of a thought in different words, or the -juxtaposition of two contrasted thoughts forming an antithesis--pervades -a large amount of the Hebrew poetry, and may be called its technical -principle. It is, we might say, a rhythm of thought, an assonance of -feeling. This parallelism is more frequently double, sometimes triple. We -find this peculiar structure as far back as the address of Lamech to his -wives in Gen. iv. 23, 24, in Moses' song after the passage of the Red -Sea, in the triumphal ode of Deborah and Barak, in the greeting of the -Israelitish women to Saul and David returning from the slaughter of the -Philistines, in the Book of Job, in a large proportion of the rhythmical -imaginative utterances of the psalmists and prophets. The Oriental -Christians sang the psalms responsively; this method was passed on to -Milan in the fourth century, to Rome very soon afterward, and has been -perpetuated in the liturgical churches of modern Christendom. Whether, in -the ancient temple service, this twofold utterance was divided between -separate portions of the choir, or between a precentor and the whole -singing body, there are no grounds for stating,--both methods have been -employed in modern times. It is not even certain that the psalms were -sung in alternate half-verses, for in the Jewish Church at the present -day the more frequent usage is to divide at the end of a verse. It is -evident that the singing was not congregational, and that the share of -the people, where they participated at all, was confined to short -responses, as in the Christian Church in the time next succeeding the -apostolic age. The female voice, although much prized in secular music, -according to the Talmud was not permitted in the temple service. There is -nothing in the Old Testament that contradicts this except, as some -suppose, the reference to the three daughters of Heman in 1. Chron. xxv. -5, where we read: "And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three -daughters;" and in verse 6: "All these were under the hands of their -father for song in the house of the Lord." It is probable, however, that -the mention of the daughters is incidental, not intended as an assertion -that they were actual members of the temple chorus, for we cannot -conceive why an exception should have been made in their behalf. -Certainly the whole implication from the descriptions of the temple -service and the enumeration of the singers and players is to the effect -that only the male voice was utilized in the liturgical worship. There -are many allusions to "women singers" in the Scriptures, but they plainly -apply only to domestic song, or to processions and celebrations outside -the sacred enclosure. It is certainly noteworthy that the exclusion of -the female voice, which has obtained in the Catholic Church throughout -the Middle Age, in the Eastern Church, in the German Protestant Church, -and in the cathedral service of the Anglican Church, was also enforced in -the temple worship of Israel. The conviction has widely prevailed among -the stricter custodians of religious ceremony in all ages that there is -something sensuous and passionate (I use these words in their simpler -original meaning) in the female voice--something at variance with the -austerity of ideal which should prevail in the music of worship. Perhaps, -also, the association of men and women in the sympathy of so emotional an -office as that of song is felt to be prejudicial to the complete -absorption of the mind which the sacred function demands. Both these -reasons have undoubtedly combined in so many historic epochs to keep all -the offices of ministry in the house of God in the hands of the male sex. -On the other hand, in the more sensuous cults of paganism no such -prohibition has existed. - -There is difference of opinion in regard to the style of melody employed -in the delivery of the psalms in the worship of the temple at Jerusalem. -Was it a mere intoned declamation, essentially a monotone with very -slight changes of pitch, like the "ecclesiastical accent" of the Catholic -Church? Or was it a freer, more melodious rendering, as in the more -ornate members of the Catholic Plain Song? The modern Jews incline to the -latter opinion, that the song was true melody, obeying, indeed, the -universal principle of chant as a species of vocalism subordinated in -rhythm to the text, yet with abundant movement and possessing a -distinctly tuneful character. It has been supposed that certain -inscriptions at the head of some of the psalms are the titles of -well-known tunes, perhaps secular folk-songs, to which the psalms were -sung. We find, _e. g._, at the head of Ps. xxii. the inscription, "After -the song beginning, Hind of the Dawn." Ps. lvi. has, "After the song, The -silent Dove in far-off Lands." Others have, "After lilies" (Ps. xlv. and -lxix.), and "Destroy not" (Ps. lvii.-lix.). We cannot on _a priori_ -principles reject the supposition that many psalms were sung to secular -melodies, for we shall find, as we trace the history of music in the -Christian era, that musicians have over and over again borrowed profane -airs for the hymns of the Church. In fact, there is hardly a branch of -the Christian Church that has not at some time done so, and even the -rigid Jews in modern times have employed the same means to increase their -store of religious melodies. - -That the psalms were sung with the help of instruments seems indicated by -superscriptions, such as "With stringed instruments," and "To the -flutes," although objections have been raised to these translations. No -such indications are needed, however, to prove the point, for the -descriptions of worship contained in the Old Testament seem explicit. The -instruments were used to accompany the voices, and also for preludes and -interludes. The word "Selah," so often occurring at the end of a psalm -verse, is understood by many authorities to signify an instrumental -interlude or flourish, while the singers were for a moment silent. One -writer says that at this point the people bowed in prayer.[28] - -Such, generally speaking, is the most that can definitely be stated -regarding the office performed by music in the worship of Israel in the -time of its glory. With the rupture of the nation, its gradual political -decline, the inroads of idolatry, the exile in Babylon, the conquest by -the Romans, the disappearance of poetic and musical inspiration with the -substitution of formality and routine in place of the pristine national -sincerity and fervor, it would inevitably follow that the great musical -traditions would fade away, until at the time of the birth of Christ but -little would remain of the elaborate ritual once committed to the -guardianship of cohorts of priests and Levites. The sorrowing exiles who -hung their harps on the willows of Babylon and refused to sing the songs -of Zion in a strange land certainly never forgot the airs consecrated by -such sweet and bitter memories; but in the course of centuries they -became lost among the strange peoples with whom the scattered Israelites -found their home. Many were for a time preserved in the synagogues, -which, in the later years of Jewish residence in Palestine, were -established in large numbers in all the towns and villages. The service -of the synagogue was a liturgical service, consisting of benedictions, -chanting of psalms and other Scripture passages, with responses by the -people, lessons from the law and the prophets, and sermons. The -instrumental music of the temple and the first synagogues eventually -disappeared, and the greater part, if not the whole, of the ancient psalm -melodies vanished also with the dispersion of the Levites, who were their -especial curators. Many details of ancient ritual and custom must have -survived in spite of vicissitude, but the final catastrophe, which drove -a desolate, heart-broken remnant of the children of Judah into alien -lands, must inevitably have destroyed all but the merest fragment of the -fair residue of national art by sweeping away all the conditions by which -a national art can live. - -Does anything remain of the rich musical service which for fifteen -hundred years went up daily from tabernacle and temple to the throne of -the God of Israel? A question often asked, but without a positive answer. -Perhaps a few notes of an ancient melody, or a horn signal identical with -one blown in the camp or in the temple court, may survive in the -synagogue to-day, a splinter from a mighty edifice which has been -submerged by the tide of centuries. As would be presumed of a people so -tenacious of time-honored usages, the voice of tradition declares that -the intonations of the ritual chant used in the synagogue are survivals -of forms employed in the temple at Jerusalem. These intonations are -certainly Oriental in character and very ancient, but that they date back -to the time of David cannot be proved or disproved. A style of singing -like the well-known "cantillation" might easily be preserved, a complete -melody possibly, but the presumption is against an antiquity so great as -the Jews, with pardonable pride, claim for some of their weird, archaic -strains. - -With the possible exception of scanty fragments, nothing remains of the -songs so much loved by this devoted people in their early home. We may -speculate upon the imagined beauty of that music; it is natural to do so. -_Omne ignotum pro magnifico_. We know that it often shook the hearts of -those that heard it; but our knowledge of the comparative rudeness of all -Oriental music, ancient and modern, teaches us that its effect was -essentially that of simple unison successions of tones wedded to poetry -of singular exaltation and vehemence, and associated with liturgical -actions calculated to impress the beholder with an overpowering sense of -awe. The interest which all must feel in the religious music of the -Hebrews is not due to its importance in the history of art, but to its -place in the history of culture. Certainly the art of music was never -more highly honored, its efficacy as an agent in arousing the heart to -the most ardent spiritual experiences was never more convincingly -demonstrated, than when the seers and psalmists of Israel found in it an -indispensable auxiliary of those appeals, confessions, praises, and pious -raptures in which the whole after-world has seen the highest attainment -of language under the impulse of religious ecstasy. Taking "the harp the -monarch minstrel swept" as a symbol of Hebrew devotional song at large, -Byron's words are true: - - - "It softened men of iron mould, - It gave them virtues not their own; - No ear so dull, no soul so cold, - That felt not, fired not to the tone, - Till David's lyre grew mightier than his throne." - - -This music foreshadowed the completer expression of Christian art of -which it became the type. Inspired by the grandest of traditions, -provided with credentials as, on equal terms with poetry, valid in the -expression of man's consciousness of his needs and his infinite -privilege,--thus consecrated for its future mission, the soul of music -passed from Hebrew priests to apostles and Christian fathers, and so on -to the saints and hierarchs, who laid the foundation of the sublime -structure of the worship music of a later day. - - - - - CHAPTER II - RITUAL AND SONG IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH - A.D. 50-600 - - -The epoch of the apostles and their immediate successors is that around -which the most vigorous controversies have been waged ever since modern -criticism recognized the supreme importance of that epoch in the history -of doctrine and ecclesiastical government. Hardly a form of belief or -polity but has sought to obtain its sanction from the teaching and usages -of those churches that received their systems most directly from the -personal disciples of the Founder. A curiosity less productive of -contention, but hardly less persistent, attaches to the forms and methods -of worship practised by the Christian congregations. The rise of -liturgies, rites, and ceremonies, the origin and use of hymns, the -foundation of the liturgical chant, the degree of participation enjoyed -by the laity in the offices of praise and prayer,--these and many other -closely related subjects of inquiry possess far more than an antiquarian -interest; they are bound up with the history of that remarkable -transition from the homogenous, more democratic system of the apostolic -age, to the hierarchical organization which became matured and -consolidated under the Western popes and Eastern patriarchs. Associated -with this administrative development and related in its causes, an -elaborate system of rites and ceremonies arose, partly an evolution from -within, partly an inheritance of ancient habits and predispositions, -which at last became formulated into unvarying types of devotional -expression. Music participated in this ritualistic movement; it rapidly -became liturgical and clerical, the laity ceased to share in the worship -of song and resigned this office to a chorus drawn from the minor clergy, -and a highly organized body of chants, applied to every moment of the -service, became almost the entire substance of worship music, and -remained so for a thousand years. - -In the very nature of the case a new energy must enter the art of music -when enlisted in the ministry of the religion of Christ. A new motive, a -new spirit, unknown to Greek or Roman or even to Hebrew, had taken -possession of the religious consciousness. To the adoration of the same -Supreme Power, before whom the Jew bowed in awe-stricken reverence, was -added the recognition of a gift which the Jew still dimly hoped for; and -this gift brought with it an assurance, and hence a felicity, which were -never granted to the religionist of the old dispensation. - -The Christian felt himself the chosen joint-heir of a risen and ascended -Lord, who by his death and resurrection had brought life and immortality -to light. The devotion to a personal, ever-living Saviour transcended and -often supplanted all other loyalty whatsoever,--to country, parents, -husband, wife, or child. This religion was, therefore, emphatically one -of joy,--a joy so absorbing, so completely satisfying, so founded on the -loftiest hopes that the human mind is able to entertain, that even the -ecstatic worship of Apollo or Dionysus seems melancholy and hopeless in -comparison. Yet it was not a joy that was prone to expend itself in noisy -demonstrations. It was mingled with such a profound sense of personal -unworthiness and the most solemn responsibilities, tempered with -sentiments of awe and wonder in the presence of unfathomable mysteries, -that the manifestations of it must be subdued to moderation, expressed in -forms that could appropriately typify spiritual and eternal -relationships. And so, as sculpture was the art which most adequately -embodied the humanistic conceptions of Greek theology, poetry and music -became the arts in which Christianity found a vehicle of expression most -suited to her genius. These two arts, therefore, when acted upon by ideas -so sublime and penetrating as those of the Gospel, must at last become -transformed, and exhibit signs of a renewed and aspiring activity. The -very essence of the divine revelation in Jesus Christ must strike a more -thrilling note than tone and emotional speech had ever sounded before. -The genius of Christianity, opening up new soul depths, and quickening, -as no other religion could, the higher possibilities of holiness in man, -was especially adapted to evoke larger manifestations of musical -invention. The religion of Jesus revealed God in the universality of his -fatherhood, and his omnipresence in nature and in the human conscience. -God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, as one who draws men into -communion with him by his immediate action upon the heart. This religion -made an appeal that could only be met by the purification of the heart, -and by reconciliation and union with God through the merits of the -crucified Son. The believer felt the possibility of direct and loving -communion with the Infinite Power as the stirring of the very bases of -his being. This new consciousness must declare itself in forms of -expression hardly glimpsed by antiquity, and literature and art undergo -re-birth. Music particularly, the art which seems peculiarly capable of -reflecting the most urgent longings of the spirit, felt the animating -force of Christianity as the power which was to emancipate it from its -ancient thraldom and lead it forth into a boundless sphere of action. - -Not at once, however, could musical art spring up full grown and -responsive to these novel demands. An art, to come to perfection, -requires more than a motive. The motive, the vision, the emotion yearning -to realize itself, may be there, but beyond this is the mastery of -material and form, and such mastery is of slow and tedious growth. -Especially is this true in respect to the art of music; musical forms, -having no models in nature like painting and sculpture, no associative -symbolism like poetry, no guidance from considerations of utility like -architecture, must be the result, so far as any human work can be such, -of actual free creation. And yet this creation is a progressive creation; -its forms evolve from forms preëxisting as demands for expression arise -to which the old are inadequate. Models must be found, but in the nature -of the case the art can never go outside of itself for its suggestion. -And although Christian music must be a development and not the sudden -product of an exceptional inspiration, yet we must not suppose that the -early Church was compelled to work out its melodies from those crude -elements in which anthropology discovers the first stage of musical -progress in primitive man. The Christian fathers, like the founders of -every historic system of religious music, drew their suggestion and -perhaps some of their actual material from both religious and secular -sources. The principle of ancient music, to which the early Christian -music conformed, was that of the subordination of music to poetry and the -dance-figure. Harmony was virtually unknown in antiquity, and without a -knowledge of part-writing no independent art of music is possible. The -song of antiquity was the most restricted of all melodic styles, _viz._, -the chant or recitative. The essential feature of both chant and -recitative is that the tones are made to conform to the metre and accent -of the text, the words of which are never repeated or prosodically -modified out of deference to melodic phrases and periods. In true song, -on the contrary, the words are subordinated to the exigencies of musical -laws of structure, and the musical phrase, not the word, is the ruling -power. The principle adopted by the Christian fathers was that of the -chant, and Christian music could not begin to move in the direction of -modern artistic attainment until, in the course of time, a new technical -principle, and a new conception of the relation between music and poetry, -could be introduced. - -In theory, style, usage, and probably to some extent in actual melodies -also, the music of the primitive Church forms an unbroken line with the -music of pre-Christian antiquity. The relative proportion contributed by -Jewish and Greek musical practice cannot be known. There was at the -beginning no formal break with the ancient Jewish Church; the disciples -assembled regularly in the temple for devotional exercises; worship in -their private gatherings was modelled upon that of the synagogue which -Christ himself had implicitly sanctioned. The synagogical code was -modified by the Christians by the introduction of the eucharistic -service, the Lord's Prayer, the baptismal formula, and other institutions -occasioned by the new doctrines and the "spiritual gifts." At Christ's -last supper with his disciples, when the chief liturgical rite of the -Church was instituted, the company sang a hymn which was unquestionably -the "great Hallel" of the Jewish Passover celebration.[29] The Jewish -Christians clung with an inherited reverence to the venerable forms of -their fathers' worship; they observed the Sabbath, the three daily hours -of prayer, and much of the Mosaic ritual. In respect to musical usages, -the most distinct intimation in early records of the continuation of -ancient forms is found in the occasional reference to the habit of -antiphonal or responsive chanting of the psalms. Fixed forms of prayer -were also used in the apostolic Church, which were to a considerable -extent modelled upon the psalms and the benedictions of the synagogue -ritual. That the Hebrew melodies were borrowed at the same time cannot be -demonstrated, but it may be assumed as a necessary inference. - -With the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles, the increasing -hostility between Christians and Jews, the dismemberment of the Jewish -nationality, and the overthrow of Jewish institutions to which the Hebrew -Christians had maintained a certain degree of attachment, dependence upon -the Jewish ritual was loosened, and the worship of the Church came under -the influence of Hellenic systems and traditions. Greek philosophy and -Greek art, although both in decadence, were dominant in the intellectual -life of the East, and it was impossible that the doctrine, worship, and -government of the Church should not be gradually leavened by them. St. -Paul wrote in the Greek language; the earliest liturgies are in Greek. -The sentiment of prayer and praise was, of course, Hebraic; the psalms -formed the basis of all lyric expression, and the hymns and liturgies -were to a large extent colored by their phraseology and spirit. The -shapeliness and flexibility of Greek art, the inward fervor of Hebrew -aspiration, the love of ceremonial and symbolism, which was not confined -to any single nation but was a universal characteristic of the time, all -contributed to build up the composite and imposing structure of the later -worship of the Eastern and Western churches. - -The singing of psalms formed a part of the Christian worship from the -beginning, and certain special psalms were early appointed for particular -days and occasions. At what time hymns of contemporary origin were added -we have no means of knowing. Evidently during the life of St. Paul, for -we find him encouraging the Ephesians and Colossians to the use of -"psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."[30] To be sure he is not -specifically alluding to public worship in these exhortations (in the -first instance "speaking to yourselves" and "singing and making melody in -your hearts," in the second "teaching and admonishing one another"), but -it is hardly to be supposed that the spiritual exercise of which he -speaks would be excluded from the religious services which at that time -were of daily observance. The injunction to teach and admonish by means -of songs also agrees with other evidences that a prime motive for hymn -singing in many of the churches was instruction in the doctrines of the -faith. It would appear that among the early Christians, as with the -Greeks and other ancient nations, moral precepts and instruction in -religious mysteries were often thrown into poetic and musical form, as, -being by this means more impressive and more easily remembered. - -It is to be noticed that St. Paul, in each of the passages cited above, -alludes to religious songs under three distinct terms, _viz._: , , and . -The usual supposition is that the terms are not synonymous, that they -refer to a threefold classification of the songs of the early Church -into: 1, the ancient Hebrew psalms properly so called; 2, hymns taken -from the Old Testament and not included in the psalter and since called -canticles, such as the thanksgiving of Hannah, the song of Moses, the -Psalm of the Three Children from the continuation of the Book of Daniel, -the vision of Habakkuk, etc.; and, 3, songs composed by the Christians -themselves. The last of these three classes points us to the birth time -of Christian hymnody. The lyric inspiration, which has never failed from -that day to this, began to move the instant the proselyting work of the -Church began. In the freedom and informality of the religious assembly as -it existed among the Hellenic Christians, it became the practice for the -believers to contribute impassioned outbursts, which might be called -songs in a rudimentary state. In moments of highly charged devotional -ecstasy this spontaneous utterance took the form of broken, incoherent, -unintelligible ejaculations, probably in cadenced, half-rhythmic tone, -expressive of rapture and mystical illumination. This was the -"glossolalia," or "gift of tongues" alluded to by St. Paul in the first -epistle to the Corinthians as a practice to be approved, under certain -limitations, as edifying to the believers.[31] - -Dr. Schaff defines the gift of tongues as "an utterance proceeding from a -state of unconscious ecstasy in the speaker, and unintelligible to the -hearer unless interpreted. The speaking with tongues is an involuntary, -psalm-like prayer or song uttered from a spiritual trance, in a peculiar -language inspired by the Holy Spirit. The soul is almost entirely -passive, an instrument on which the Spirit plays his heavenly melodies." -"It is emotional rather than intellectual, the language of excited -imagination, not of cool reflection."[32] St. Paul was himself an adept -in this singular form of worship, as he himself declares in 1 Cor. xiv. -18; but with his habitual coolness of judgment he warns the excitable -Corinthian Christians that sober instruction is more profitable, that the -proper end of all utterance in common public worship is edification, and -enjoins as an effective restraint that "if any man speaketh in a tongue, -let one interpret; but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence -in the Church; and let him speak to himself and to God."[33] With the -regulation of the worship in stated liturgic form this extemporaneous -ebullition of feeling was done away, but if it was analogous, as it -probably was, to the practice so common in Oriental vocal music, both -ancient and modern, of delivering long wordless tonal flourishes as an -expression of joy, then it has in a certain sense survived in the -"jubilations" of the Catholic liturgical chant, which in the early Middle -Age were more extended than now. Chappell finds traces of a practice -somewhat similar to the "jubilations" existing in ancient Egypt. "This -practice of carolling or singing without words, like birds, to the gods, -was copied by the Greeks, who seem to have carolled on four vowels. The -vowels had probably, in both cases, some recognized meaning attached to -them, as substitutes for certain words of praise--as was the case when -the custom was transferred to the Western Church."[34] This may or may -not throw light upon the obscure nature of the glossolalia, but it is not -to be supposed that the Corinthian Christians invented this custom, since -we find traces of it in the worship of the ancient pagan nations; and so -far as it was the unrestrained outburst of emotion, it must have been to -some extent musical, and only needed regulation and the application of a -definite key-system to become, like the mediaeval Sequence under somewhat -similar conditions, an established order of sacred song. - -Out of a musical impulse, of which the glossolalia was one of many -tokens, united with the spirit of prophecy or instruction, grew the hymns -of the infant Church, dim outlines of which begin to appear in the -twilight of this obscure period. The worshipers of Christ could not -remain content with the Hebrew psalms, for, in spite of their inspiriting -and edifying character, they were not concerned with the facts on which -the new faith was based, except as they might be interpreted as -prefiguring the later dispensation. Hymns were required in which Christ -was directly celebrated, and the apprehension of his infinite gifts -embodied in language which would both fortify the believers and act as a -converting agency. It would be contrary to all analogy and to the -universal facts of human nature if such were not the case, and we may -suppose that a Christian folk-song, such as the post-apostolic age -reveals to us, began to appear in the first century. Some scholars -believe that certain of these primitive hymns, or fragments of them, are -embalmed in the Epistles of St. Paul and the Book of the Revelation.[35] -The magnificent description of the worship of God and the Lamb in the -Apocalypse has been supposed by some to have been suggested by the manner -of worship, already become liturgical, in the Eastern churches. Certainly -there is a manifest resemblance between the picture of one sitting upon -the throne with the twenty-four elders and a multitude of angels -surrounding him, as set forth in the Apocalypse, and the account given in -the second book of the Constitutions of the Apostles of the throne of the -bishop in the middle of the church edifice, with the presbyters and -deacons on each side and the laity beyond. In this second book of the -Constitutions, belonging, of course, to a later date than the apostolic -period, there is no mention of hymn singing. The share of the people is -confined to responses at the end of the verses of the psalms, which are -sung by some one appointed to this office.[36] The sacerdotal and -liturgical movement had already excluded from the chief acts of worship -the independent song of the people. Those who assume that the office of -song in the early Church was freely committed to the general body of -believers have some ground for their assumption; but if we are able to -distinguish between the private and public worship, and could know how -early it was that set forms and liturgies were adopted, it would appear -that at the longest the time was very brief when the laity were allowed a -share in any but the subordinate offices. The earliest testimony that can -be called definite is contained in the celebrated letter of the younger -Pliny from Bithynia to the Emperor Trajan, in the year 112, in which the -Christians are described as coming together before daylight and singing -hymns alternately (invicem) to Christ. This may with some reason be held -to refer to responsive or antiphonal singing, similar to that described -by Philo in his account of the worship of the Jewish sect of the -Therapeutae in the first century. The tradition was long preserved in the -Church that Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in the second century, introduced -antiphonal chanting into the churches of that city, having been moved -thereto by a vision of angels singing in that manner. But we have only to -go back to the worship of the ancient Hebrews for the suggestion of this -practice. This alternate singing appears to have been most prevalent in -the Syrian churches, and was carried thence to Milan and Rome, and -through the usage in these cities was established in the permanent habit -of the Western Church. - -Although the singing of psalms and hymns by the body of worshipers was, -therefore, undoubtedly the custom of the churches while still in their -primitive condition as informal assemblies of believers for mutual -counsel and edification, the steady progress of ritualism and the growth -of sacerdotal ideas inevitably deprived the people of all initiative in -the worship, and concentrated the offices of public devotion, including -that of song, exclusively in the hands of the clergy. By the middle of -the fourth century, if not earlier, the change was complete. The simple -organization of the apostolic age had developed by logical gradations -into a compact hierarchy of patriarchs, bishops, priests, and deacons. -The clergy were no longer the servants or representatives of the people, -but held a mediatorial position as the channels through which divine -grace was transmitted to the faithful. The great Eastern liturgies, such -as those which bear the names of St. James and St. Mark, if not yet fully -formulated and committed to writing, were in all essentials complete and -adopted as the substance of the public worship. The principal service was -divided into two parts, from the second of which, the eucharistic service -proper, the catechumens and penitents were excluded. The prayers, -readings, and chanted sentences, of which the liturgy mainly consisted, -were delivered by priests, deacons, and an officially constituted choir -of singers, the congregation uniting only in a few responses and -ejaculations. In the liturgy of St. Mark, which was the Alexandrian, used -in Egypt and neighboring countries, we find allotted to the people a -number of responses: "Amen," "Kyrie eleison," "And to thy spirit" (in -response to the priest's "Peace be to all"); "We lift them up to the -Lord" (in response to the priest's "Let us lift up our hearts"); and "In -the name of the Lord; Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal," after the -Trisagion; "And from the Holy Spirit was he made flesh," after the prayer -of oblation; "Holy, holy, holy Lord," before the consecration; "Our -Father, who art in heaven," etc.; before the communion, "One Father holy, -one Son holy, one Spirit holy, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen;" at -the dismissal, "Amen, blessed be the name of the Lord." - -In the liturgy of St. James, the liturgy of the Jerusalem Church, a very -similar share, in many instances with identical words, is assigned to the -people; but a far more frequent mention is made of the choir of singers -who render the Trisagion hymn, which, in St. Mark's liturgy, is given by -the people: besides the "Allelulia," the hymn to the Virgin Mother, "O -taste and see that the Lord is good," and "The Holy Ghost shall come upon -thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." - -A large portion of the service, as indicated by these liturgies, was -occupied by prayers, during which the people kept silence. In the matter -of responses the congregation had more direct share than in the Catholic -Church to-day, for now the chancel choir acts as their representatives, -while the Kyrie eleison has become one of the choral portions of the -Mass, and the Thrice Holy has been merged in the choral Sanctus. But in -the liturgical worship, whatever may have been the case in non-liturgical -observances, the share of the people was confined to these few brief -ejaculations and prescribed sentences, and nothing corresponding to the -congregational song of the Protestant Church can be found. Still earlier -than this final issue of the ritualistic movement the singing of the -people was limited to psalms and canticles, a restriction justified and -perhaps occasioned by the ease with which doctrinal vagaries and mystical -extravagances could be instilled into the minds of the converts by means -of this very subtle and persuasive agent. The conflict of the orthodox -churches with the Gnostics and Arians showed clearly the danger of -unlimited license in the production and singing of hymns, for these -formidable heretics drew large numbers away from the faith of the -apostles by means of the choral songs which they employed everywhere for -proselyting purposes. The Council of Laodicea (held between 343 and 381) -decreed in its 13th Canon: "Besides the appointed singers, who mount the -ambo and sing from the book, others shall not sing in the church."[37] -The exact meaning of this prohibition has not been determined, for the -participation of the people in the church song did not entirely cease at -this time. How generally representative this council was, or how -extensive its authority, is not known; but the importance of this decree -has been exaggerated by historians of music, for, at most, it serves only -as a register of a fact which was an inevitable consequence of the -universal hierarchical and ritualistic tendencies of the time. - -The history of the music of the Christian Church properly begins with the -establishment of the priestly liturgic chant, which had apparently -supplanted the popular song in the public worship as early as the fourth -century. Of the character of the chant melodies at this period in the -Eastern Church, or of their sources, we have no positive information. -Much vain conjecture has been expended on this question. Some are -persuaded that the strong infusion of Hebraic feeling and phraseology -into the earliest hymns, and the adoption of the Hebrew psalter into the -service, necessarily implies the inheritance of the ancient temple and -synagogue melodies also. Others assume that the allusion of St. Augustine -to the usage at Alexandria under St. Athanasius, which was "more like -speaking than singing,"[38] was an example of the practice of the -Oriental and Roman churches generally, and that the later chant developed -out of this vague song-speech. Others, like Kiesewetter, exaggerating the -antipathy of the Christians to everything identified with Judaism and -paganism, conceive the primitive Christian melodies as entirely an -original invention, a true Christian folk-song.[39] None of these -suppositions, however, could have more than a local and temporary -application; the Jewish Christian congregations in Jerusalem and -neighboring cities doubtless transferred a few of their ancestral -melodies to the new worship; a prejudice against highly developed tune as -suggesting the sensuous cults of paganism may have existed among the more -austere; here and there new melodies may have sprung up to clothe the -extemporized lyrics that became perpetuated in the Church. But the weight -of evidence and analogy inclines to the belief that the liturgic song of -the Church, both of the East and West, was drawn partly in form and -almost wholly in spirit and complexion from the Greek and Greco-Roman -musical practice. - -But scanty knowledge of Christian archaeology and liturgies is necessary -to show that much of form, ceremony, and decoration in the worship of the -Church was the adaptation of features anciently existing in the faiths -and customs which the new religion supplanted. The practical genius which -adopted Greek metres for Christian hymns, and modified the styles of -basilikas, scholae, and domestic architecture in effecting a suitable -form of church building, would not cavil at the melodies and vocal -methods which seemed so well suited to be a musical garb for the -liturgies. Greek music was, indeed, in some of its phases, in decadence -at this period. It had gained nothing in purity by passing into the hands -of Roman voluptuaries. The age of the virtuosos, aiming at brilliancy and -sensationalism, had succeeded to the classic traditions of austerity and -reserve. This change was felt, however, in instrumental music chiefly, -and this the Christian churches disdained to touch. It was the residue of -what was pure and reverend, drawn from the tradition of Apollo's temple -and the Athenian tragic theatre; it was the form of vocalism which -austere philosophers like Plutarch praised that was drafted into the -service of the Gospel. Perhaps even this was reduced to simple terms in -the Christian practice; certainly the oldest chants that can be traced -are the plainest, and the earliest scale system of the Italian Church -would appear to allow but a very narrow compass to melody. We can form -our most accurate notion of the nature of the early Christian music, -therefore, by studying the records of Greek practice and Greek views of -music's nature and function in the time of the flowering of Greek poetry, -for certainly the Christian fathers did not attempt to go beyond that; -and perhaps, in their zeal to avoid all that was meretricious in tonal -art, they adopted as their standard those phases which could most easily -be made to coalesce with the inward and humble type of piety inculcated -by the faith of the Gospel. This hypothesis does, not imply a -note-for-note borrowing of Greek and Roman melodies, but only their -adaptation. As Luther and the other founders of the music of the German -Protestant Church took melodies from the Catholic chant and the German -and Bohemian religious and secular folk-song, and recast them to fit the -metres of their hymns, so the early Christian choristers would naturally -be moved to do with the melodies which they desired to transplant. Much -modification was necessary, for while the Greek and Roman songs were -metrical, the Christian psalms, antiphons, prayers, responses, etc., were -unmetrical; and while the pagan melodies were always sung to an -instrumental accompaniment, the church chant was exclusively vocal. -Through the influence of this double change of technical and Aesthetic -basis, the liturgic song was at once more free, aspiring, and varied than -its prototype, taking on that rhythmic flexibility and delicate shading -in which also the unique charm of the Catholic chant of the present day -so largely consists. - -In view of the controversies over the use of instrumental music in -worship, which have been so violent in the British and American -Protestant churches, it is an interesting question whether instruments -were employed by the primitive Christians. We know that instruments -performed an important function in the Hebrew temple service and in the -ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a break was made with -all previous practice, and although the lyre and flute were sometimes -employed by the Greek converts, as a general rule the use of instruments -in worship was condemned. Many of the fathers, speaking of religious -song, make no mention of instruments; others, like Clement of Alexandria -and St. Chrysostom, refer to them only to denounce them. Clement says: -"Only one instrument do we use, _viz._, the word of peace wherewith we -honor God, no longer the old psaltery, trumpet, drum, and flute." -Chrysostom exclaims: "David formerly sang in psalms, also we sing to-day -with him; he had a lyre with lifeless strings, the Church has a lyre with -living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre, with a different -tone, indeed, but with a more accordant piety." St. Ambrose expresses his -scorn for those who would play the lyre and psaltery instead of singing -hymns and psalms; and St. Augustine adjures believers not to turn their -hearts to theatrical instruments. The religious guides of the early -Christians felt that there would be an incongruity, and even profanity, -in the use of the sensuous nerve-exciting effects of instrumental sound -in their mystical, spiritual worship. Their high religious and moral -enthusiasm needed no aid from external stimulus; the pure vocal utterance -was the more proper expression of their faith. This prejudice against -instrumental music, which was drawn from the very nature of its aesthetic -impression, was fortified by the associations of instruments with -superstitious pagan rites, and especially with the corrupting scenes -habitually represented in the degenerate theatre and circus. "A Christian -maiden," says St. Jerome, "ought not even to know what a lyre or a flute -is, or what it is used for." No further justification for such -prohibitions is needed than the shameless performances common upon the -stage in the time of the Roman empire, as portrayed in the pages of -Apuleius and other delineators of the manners of the time. Those who -assumed the guardianship of the morals of the little Christian -communities were compelled to employ the strictest measures to prevent -their charges from breathing the moral pestilence which circulated -without check in the places of public amusement; most of all must they -insist that every reminder of these corruptions, be it an otherwise -innocent harp or flute, should be excluded from the common acts of -religion. - -The transfer of the office of song from the general congregation to an -official choir involved no cessation of the production of hymns for -popular use, for the distinction must always be kept in mind between -liturgical and non-liturgical song, and it was only in the former that -the people were commanded to abstain from participation in all but the -prescribed responses. On the other hand, as ceremonies multiplied and -festivals increased in number, hymnody was stimulated, and lyric songs -for private and social edification, for the hours of prayer, and for use -in processions, pilgrimages, dedications, and other occasional -celebrations, were rapidly produced. As has been shown, the Christians -had their hymns from the very beginning, but with the exception of one or -two short lyrics, a few fragments, and the great liturgical hymns which -were also adopted by the Western Church, they have been lost. Clement of -Alexandria, third century, is often spoken of as the first known -Christian hymn writer; but the single poem, the song of praise to the -Logos, which has gained him this title, is not, strictly speaking, a hymn -at all. From the fourth century onward the tide of Oriental hymnody -steadily rose, reaching its culmination in the eighth and ninth -centuries. The Eastern hymns are divided into two schools--the Syrian and -the Greek. Of the group of Syrian poets the most celebrated are Synesius, -born about 375, and Ephraem, who died at Edessa in 378. Ephraem was the -greatest teacher of his time in the Syrian Church, and her most prolific -and able hymnist. He is best remembered as the opponent of the followers -of Bardasanes and Harmonius, who had beguiled many into their Gnostic -errors by the charm of their hymns and melodies. Ephraem met these -schismatics on their own ground, and composed a large number of songs in -the spirit of orthodoxy, which he gave to choirs of his followers to be -sung on Sundays and festal days. The hymns of Ephraem were greatly -beloved by the Syrian Church, and are still valued by the Maronite -Christians. The Syrian school of hymnody died out in the fifth century, -and poetic inspiration in the Eastern Church found its channel in the -Greek tongue. - -Before the age of the Greek Christian poets whose names have passed into -history, the great anonymous unmetrical hymns appeared which still hold -an eminent place in the liturgies of the Catholic and Protestant Churches -as well as of the Eastern Church. The best known of these are the two -Glorias--the Gloria Patri and the Gloria in excelsis; the Ter Sanctus or -Cherubic hymn, heard by Isaiah in vision; and the Te Deum. The Magnificat -or thanksgiving of Mary, and the Benedicite or Song of the Three -Children, were early adopted by the Eastern Church. The Kyrie eleison -appears as a response by the people in the liturgies of St. Mark and St. -James. It was adopted into the Roman liturgy at a very early date; the -addition of the Christe eleison is said to have been made by Gregory the -Great. The Gloria in excelsis, the "greater doxology," with the possible -exception of the Te Deum the noblest of the early Christian hymns, is the -angelic song given in Luke ii. 14, with additions which were made not -later than the fourth century. "Begun in heaven, finished on earth." It -was first used in the Eastern Church as a morning hymn. The Te Deum -laudamus has often been given a Western origin, St. Ambrose and St. -Augustine, according to a popular legend, having been inspired to -improvise it in alternate verses at the baptism of St. Augustine by the -bishop of Milan. Another tradition ascribes the authorship to St. Hilary -in the fourth century. Its original form is unknown, but it is generally -believed to have been formed by accretions upon a Greek original. Certain -phrases contained in it are also in the earlier liturgies. The present -form of the hymn is probably as old as the fifth century.[40] - -Of the very few brief anonymous songs and fragments which have come down -to us from this dim period the most perfect is a Greek hymn, which was -sometimes sung in private worship at the lighting of the lamps. It has -been made known to many English readers through Longfellow's beautiful -translation in "The Golden Legend:" - - - "O gladsome light - Of the Father immortal, - And of the celestial - Sacred and blessed - Jesus, our Saviour! - Now to the sunset - Again hast thou brought us; - And seeing the evening - Twilight, we bless thee, - Praise thee, adore thee - Father omnipotent! - Son, the Life-giver! - Spirit, the Comforter! - Worthy at all times - Of worship and wonder! - - -Overlapping the epoch of the great anonymous hymns and continuing beyond -it is the era of the Greek hymnists whose names and works are known, and -who contributed a vast store of lyrics to the offices of the Eastern -Church. Eighteen quarto volumes, says Dr. J. M. Neale, are occupied by -this huge store of religious poetry. Dr. Neale, to whom the -English-speaking world is chiefly indebted for what slight knowledge it -has of these hymns, divides them into three epochs: - -1. "That of formation, when this poetry was gradually throwing off the -bondage of classical metres, and inventing and perfecting its various -styles; this period ends about A. D. 726." - -2. "That of perfection, which nearly coincides with the period of the -iconoclastic controversy, 726-820." - -3. "That of decadence, when the effeteness of an effeminate court and the -dissolution of a decaying empire reduced ecclesiastical poetry, by slow -degrees, to a stilted bombast, giving great words to little meaning, -heaping up epithet upon epithet, tricking out commonplaces in diction -more and more gorgeous, till sense and simplicity are alike sought in -vain; 820-1400."[41] - -The centres of Greek hymnody in its most brilliant period were Sicily, -Constantinople, and Jerusalem and its neighborhood, particularly St. -Sabba's monastery, where lived St. Cosmas and St. John Damascene, the two -greatest of the Greek Christian poets. The hymnists of this epoch -preserved much of the narrative style and objectivity of the earlier -writers, especially in the hymns written to celebrate the Nativity, the -Epiphany, and other events in the life of Christ. In others a more -reflective and introspective quality is found. The fierce struggles, -hatreds, and persecutions of the iconoclastic controversy also left their -plain mark upon many of them in a frequent tendency to magnify -temptations and perils, in a profound sense of sin, a consciousness of -the necessity of penitential discipline for the attainment of salvation, -and a certain fearful looking-for of judgment. This attitude, so -different from the peace and confidence of the earlier time, attains its -most striking manifestation in the sombre and powerful funeral dirge -ascribed to St. John Damascene ("Take the last kiss") and the Judgment -hymn of St. Theodore of the Studium. In the latter the poet strikes with -trembling hand the tone which four hundred years later was sounded with -such imposing majesty in the Dies Irae of St. Thomas of Celano. - -The Catholic hymnody, so far at least as concerns the usage of the -ritual, belongs properly to a later period. The hymns of St. Hilary, St. -Damasus, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, Prudentius, Fortunatus, and St. -Gregory, which afterward so beautified the Divine Office, were originally -designed for private devotion and for accessory ceremonies, since it was -not until the tenth or eleventh century that hymns were introduced into -the office at Rome, following a tendency that was first authoritatively -recognized by the Council of Toledo in the seventh century. - -The history of Christian poetry and music in the East ends with the -separation of the Eastern and Western Churches. From that time onward a -chilling blight rested upon the soil which the apostles had cultivated -with such zeal and for a time with such grand result. The fatal -controversy over icons, the check inflicted by the conquests of the -Mohammedan power, the crushing weight of Byzantine luxury and tyranny, -and that insidious apathy which seems to dwell in the very atmosphere of -the Orient, sooner or later entering into every high endeavor, relaxing -and corrupting--all this sapped the spiritual life of the Eastern Church. -The pristine enthusiasm was succeeded by fanaticism, and out of -fanaticism, in its turn, issued formalism, bigotry, stagnation. It was -only among the nations that were to rear a new civilization in Western -Europe on the foundations laid by the Roman empire that political and -social conditions could be created which would give free scope for the -expansion of the divine life of Christianity. It was only in the West, -also, that the motives that were adequate to inspire a Christian art, -after a long struggle against Byzantine formalism and convention, could -issue in a prophetic artistic progress. The attempted reconciliation of -Christian ideas and traditional pagan method formed the basis of -Christian art, but the new insight into spiritual things, and the -profounder emotions that resulted, demanded new ideals and principles as -well as new subjects. The nature and destiny of the soul, the beauty and -significance that lie in secret self-scrutiny and aspiration kindled by a -new hope, this, rather than the loveliness of outward shape, became the -object of contemplation and the endless theme of art. Architecture and -sculpture became symbolic, painting the presentation of ideas designed to -stimulate new life in the soul, poetry and music the direct witness and -the immediate manifestation of the soul itself. - -With the edicts of Constantine early in the fourth century, which -practically made Christianity the dominant religious system of the -empire, the swift dilation of the pent-up energy of the Church -inaugurated an era in which ritualistic splendor kept pace with the rapid -acquisition of temporal power. The hierarchical developments had already -traversed a course parallel to those of the East, and now that the Church -was free to work out that genius for organization of which it had already -become definitely conscious, it went one step farther than the Oriental -system in the establishment of the papacy as the single head from which -the subordinate members derived legality. This was not a time when a -democratic form of church government could endure. There was no place for -such in the ideas of that age. In the furious tempests that overwhelmed -the Roman empire, in the readjustment of political and social conditions -all over Europe, with the convulsions and frequent triumphs of savagery -that inevitably attended them, it was necessary that the Church, as the -sole champion and preserver of civilization and righteousness, should -concentrate all her forces, and become in doctrine, worship, and -government a single, compact, unified, spiritual state. The dogmas of the -Church must be formulated, preserved, and guarded by an official class, -and the ignorant and fickle mass of the common people must be taught to -yield a reverent, unquestioning obedience to the rule of their spiritual -lords. The exposition of theology, the doctrine of the ever-renewed -sacrifice of Christ upon the altar, the theory of the sacraments -generally, all involved the conception of a mediatorial priesthood -deriving its authority by direct transmission from the apostles. Out of -such conditions and tendencies proceeded also the elaborate and -awe-inspiring rites, the fixed liturgies embalming the central dogmas of -the faith, and the whole machinery of a worship which was itself viewed -as of an objective efficacy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and designed -both for the edification of the believer and as an offering of the Church -to its Redeemer. In the development of the outward observances of -worship, with their elaborate symbolic ceremonialism, the student is -often struck with surprise to see how lavishly the Church drew its forms -and decorations from paganism and Judaism. But there is nothing in this -that need excite wonder, nothing that was not inevitable under the -conditions of the times. Says Lanciani: "In accepting rites and customs -which were not offensive to her principles and morality, the Church -showed equal tact and foresight, and contributed to the peaceful -accomplishment of the transformation."[42] The pagan or Jewish convert -was not obliged to part with all his ancestral notions of the nature of -worship. He found his love of pomp and splendor gratified by the -ceremonies of a religion which knew how to make many of the fair features -of earthly life accessory to the inculcation of spiritual truth. And so -it was that symbolism and the appeal to the senses aided in commending -Christianity to a world which was not yet prepared for a faith which -should require only a silent, unobtrusive experience. Instruction must -come to the populace in forms which would satisfy their inherited -predispositions. The Church, therefore, establishing itself amidst -heathenism, adopted a large number of rites and customs from classical -antiquity; and in the externals of its worship, as well as of its -government, assumed forms which were contributions from without, as well -as evolutions from within. These acquisitions, however, did not by any -means remain a meaningless or incongruous residuum of dead superstitions. -An instructive symbolism was imparted to them; they were moulded with -marvellous art into the whole vesture with which the Church clothed -herself for her temporal and spiritual office, and were made to become -conscious witnesses to the truth and beauty of the new faith. - -The commemoration of martyrs and confessors passed into invocations for -their aid as intercessors with Christ. They became the patron saints of -individuals and orders, and honors were paid to them at particular places -and on particular days, involving a multitude of special ritual -observances. Festivals were multiplied and took the place in popular -regard of the old Roman Lupercalia and Saturnalia and the mystic rites of -heathenism. As among the cultivated nations of antiquity, so in Christian -Rome the festival, calling into requisition every available means of -decoration, became the basis of a rapid development of art. Under all -these conditions the music of the Church in Italy became a liturgic -music, and, as in the East, the laity resigned the main offices of song -to a choir consisting of subordinate clergy and appointed by clerical -authority. The method of singing was undoubtedly not indigenous, but -derived, as already suggested, directly or indirectly from Eastern -practice. Milman asserts that the liturgy of the Roman Church for the -first three centuries was Greek. However this may have been, we know that -both Syriac and Greek influences were strong at that time in the Italian -Church. A number of the popes in the seventh century were Greeks. Until -the cleavage of the Church into its final Eastern and Western divisions -the interaction was strong between the two sections, and much in the way -of custom and art was common to both. The conquests of the Moslem power -in the seventh century drove many Syrian monks into Italy, and their -liturgic practice, half Greek, half Semitic, could not fail to make -itself felt among their adopted brethren. - -A notable instance of the transference of Oriental custom into the -Italian Church is to be found in the establishment of antiphonal chanting -in the Church of Milan, at the instance of St. Ambrose, bishop of that -city. St. Augustine, the pupil and friend of St. Ambrose, has given an -account of this event, of which he had personal knowledge. "It was about -a year, or not much more," he relates, "since Justina, the mother of the -boy-emperor Justinian, persecuted thy servant Ambrose in the interest of -her heresy, to which she had been seduced by the Arians." [This -persecution was to induce St. Ambrose to surrender some of the churches -of the city to the Arians.] "The pious people kept guard in the church, -prepared to die with their bishop, thy servant. At this time it was -instituted that, after the manner of the Eastern Church, hymns and psalms -should be sung, lest the people should pine away in the tediousness of -sorrow, which custom, retained from then till now, is imitated by -many--yea, by almost all of thy congregations throughout the rest of the -world."[43] - -The conflict of St. Ambrose with the Arians occurred in 386. Before the -introduction of the antiphonal chant the psalms were probably rendered in -a semi-musical recitation, similar to the usage mentioned by St. -Augustine as prevailing at Alexandria under St. Athanasius, "more -speaking than singing." That a more elaborate and emotional style was in -use at Milan in St. Augustine's time is proved by the very interesting -passage in the tenth book of the _Confessions_, in which he analyzes the -effect upon himself of the music of the Church, fearing lest its charm -had beguiled him from pious absorption in the sacred words into a purely -aesthetic gratification. He did not fail, however, to render the just -meed of honor to the music that so touched him: "How I wept at thy hymns -and canticles, pierced to the quick by the voices of thy melodious -Church! Those voices flowed into my ears, and the truth distilled into my -heart, and thence there streamed forth a devout emotion, and my tears ran -down, and happy was I therein."[44] - -Antiphonal psalmody, after the pattern of that employed at Milan, was -introduced into the divine office at Rome by Pope Celestine, who reigned -422-432. It is at about this time that we find indications of the more -systematic development of the liturgic priestly chant. The history of the -papal choir goes back as far as the fifth century. Leo I., who died in -461, gave a durable organization to the divine office by establishing a -community of monks to be especially devoted to the service of the -canonical hours. In the year 680 the monks of Monte Cassino, founded by -St. Benedict, suddenly appeared in Rome and announced the destruction of -their monastery by the Lombards. Pope Pelagius received them hospitably, -and gave them a dwelling near the Lateran basilica. This cloister became -a means of providing the papal chapel with singers. In connection with -the college of men singers, who held the clerical title of sub-deacon, -stood an establishment for boys, who were to be trained for service in -the pope's choir, and who were also given instruction in other branches. -This school received pupils from the wealthiest and most distinguished -families, and a number of the early popes, including Gregory II. and Paul -I., received instruction within its walls. - -By the middle or latter part of the sixth century, the mediaeval epoch of -church music had become fairly inaugurated. A large body of liturgic -chants had been classified and systematized, and the teaching of their -form and the tradition of their rendering given into the hands of members -of the clergy especially detailed for their culture. The liturgy, -essentially completed during or shortly before the reign of Gregory the -Great (590-604), was given a musical setting throughout, and this -liturgic chant was made the law of the Church equally with the liturgy -itself, and the first steps were taken to impose one uniform ritual and -one uniform chant upon all the congregations of the West. - -It was, therefore, in the first six centuries, when the Church was -organizing and drilling her forces for her victorious conflicts, that the -final direction of her music, as of all her art, was consciously taken. -In rejecting the support of instruments and developing for the first time -an exclusively vocal art, and in breaking loose from the restrictions of -antique metre which in Greek and Greco-Roman music had forced melody to -keep step with strict prosodic measure, Christian music parted company -with pagan art, threw the burden of expression not, like Greek music, -upon rhythm, but upon melody, and found in this absolute vocal melody a -new art principle of which all the worship music of modern Christendom is -the natural fruit. More vital still than these special forms and -principles, comprehending and necessitating them, was the true ideal of -music, proclaimed once for all by the fathers of the liturgy. This ideal -is found in the distinction of the church style from the secular style, -the expression of the universal mood of prayer, rather than the -expression of individual, fluctuating, passionate emotion with which -secular music deals--that rapt, pervasive, exalted tone which makes no -attempt at detailed painting of events or superficial mental states, but -seems rather to symbolize the fundamental sentiments of humility, awe, -hope, and love which mingle all particular experiences in the common -offering that surges upward from the heart of the Church to its Lord and -Master. In this avoidance of an impassioned emphasis of details in favor -of an expression drawn from the large spirit of worship, church music -evades the peril of introducing an alien dramatic element into the holy -ceremony, and asserts its nobler power of creating an atmosphere from -which all worldly custom and association disappear. This grand conception -was early injected into the mind of the Church, and has been the parent -of all that has been most noble and edifying in the creations of -ecclesiastical music. - - - - - CHAPTER III - THE LITURGY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - - -There is no derogation of the honor clue to the Catholic Church in the -assertion that a large element in the extraordinary spell which she has -always exercised upon the minds of men is to be found in the beauty of -her liturgy, the solemn magnificence of her forms of worship, and the -glorious products of artistic genius with which those forms have been -embellished. Every one who has accustomed himself to frequent places of -Catholic worship at High Mass, especially the cathedrals of the old -world, whether he is in sympathy with the idea of that worship or not, -must have been impressed with something peculiarly majestic, elevating, -and moving in the spectacle; he must have felt as if drawn by some -irresistible fascination out of his accustomed range of thought, borne by -a spiritual tide that sets toward regions unexplored. The music which -pervades the mystic ceremony is perhaps the chief agent of this mental -reaction through the peculiar spell which the very nature of music -enables it to exert upon the emotion. Music in the Catholic ritual seems -to act almost in excess of its normal efficacy. It may, without -impropriety, be compared to the music of the dramatic stage in the aid it -derives from accessories and poetic association. The music is such a -vital constituent of the whole act of devotion that the impressions drawn -from the liturgy, ceremony, architecture, decoration, and the sublime -memories of a venerable past are all insensibly invoked to lend to the -tones of priest and choir and organ a grandeur not their own. This is the -reason why Catholic music, even when it is tawdry and sensational, or -indifferently performed, has a certain air of nobility. The ceremony is -always imposing, and the music which enfolds the act of worship like an -atmosphere must inevitably absorb somewhat of the dignity of the rite to -which it ministers. And when the music in itself is the product of the -highest genius and is rendered with reverence and skill, the effect upon -a sensitive mind is more solemnizing than that obtained from any other -variety of musical experience. - -This secret of association and artistic setting must always be taken into -account if we would measure the peculiar power of the music of the -Catholic Church. We must observe that music is only one of many means of -impression, and is made to act not alone, but in union with reinforcing -agencies. These agencies--which include all the elements of the ceremony -that affect the eye and the imagination--are intended to supplement and -enhance each other; and in analyzing the attractive force which the -Catholic Church has always exercised upon minds vastly diverse in -culture, we cannot fail to admire the consummate skill with which she has -made her appeal to the universal susceptibility to ideas of beauty and -grandeur and mystery as embodied in sound and form. The union of the arts -for the sake of an immediate and undivided effect, of which we have heard -so much in recent years, was achieved by the Catholic Church centuries -ago. She rears the most sumptuous edifices, decorates their walls with -masterpieces of painting, fills every sightly nook with sculptures in -wood and stone, devises a ritual of ingenious variety and lavish -splendor, pours over this ritual music that alternately subdues and -excites, adjusts all these means so that each shall heighten the effect -of the others and seize upon the perceptions at the same moment. In -employing these artistic agencies the Church has taken cognizance of -every degree of enlightenment and variety of temper. For the vulgar she -has garish display, for the superstitious wonder and concealment; for the -refined and reflective she clothes her doctrines in the fairest guise and -makes worship an aesthetic delight. Her worship centres in a mystery--the -Real Presence--and this mystery she embellishes with every allurement -that can startle, delight, and enthrall. - -Symbolism and artistic decoration--in the use of which the Catholic -Church has exceeded all other religious institutions except her sister -Church of the East--are not mere extraneous additions, as though they -might be cut off without essential loss; they are the natural outgrowth -of her very spirit and genius, the proper outward manifestation of the -idea which pervades her culture and her worship. Minds that need no -external quickening, but love to rise above ceremonial observances and -seek immediate contact with the divine source of life, are comparatively -rare. Mysticism is not for the multitude; the majority of mankind require -that spiritual influences shall come to them in the guise of that which -is tangible; a certain nervous thrill is needed to shock them out of -their accustomed material habitudes. Recognizing this fact, and having -taken up into her system a vast number of ideas which inevitably require -objective representation in order that they may be realized and -operative, the Catholic Church has even incurred the charge of idolatry -on account of the extreme use she has made of images and symbols. But it -may be that in this she has shown greater wisdom than those who censure -her. She knows that the externals of religious observance must be endowed -with a large measure of sensuous charm if they would seize hold upon the -affections of the bulk of mankind. She knows that spiritual aspiration -and the excitement of the senses can never be entirely separated in -actual public worship, and she would run the risk of subordinating the -first to the second rather than offer a service of bare intellectuality -empty of those persuasions which artistic genius offers, and which are so -potent to bend the heart in reverence and submission. - -In the study of the Catholic system of rites and ceremonies, together -with their motive and development, the great problem of the relation of -religion and art meets us squarely. The Catholic Church has not been -satisfied to prescribe fixed forms and actions for every devotional -impulse--she has aimed to make those forms and actions beautiful. There -has been no phase of art which could be devoted to this object that has -not offered to her the choicest of its achievements. And not for -decoration merely, not simply to subjugate the spirit by fascinating the -senses, but rather impelled by an inner necessity which has effected a -logical alliance of the special powers of art with the aims and needs of -the Church. Whatever may be the attitude toward the claims of this great -institution, no one of sensibility can deny that the world has never -seen, and is never likely to see, anything fairer or more majestic than -that sublime structure, compounded of architecture, sculpture, and -painting, and informed by poetry and music, which the Church created in -the Middle Age, and fixed in enduring mould for the wondering admiration -of all succeeding time. Every one who studies it with a view to searching -its motive is compelled to admit that it was a work of sincere -conviction. It came from no "vain or shallow thought;" it testifies to -something in the heart of Catholicism that has never failed to stir the -most passionate affection, and call forth the loftiest efforts of -artistic skill. This marvellous product of Catholic art, immeasurable in -its variety, has gathered around the rites and ordinances of the Church, -and taken from them its spirit, its forms, and its -tendencies;--architecture to erect a suitable enclosure for worship, and -to symbolize the conception of the visible kingdom of Christ in time and -of the eternal kingdom of Christ in heaven; sculpture to adorn this -sanctuary, and standing like the sacred edifice itself in closest -relation to the centre of churchly life and deriving from that its -purpose and norm; painting performing a like function, and also more -definitely acting for instruction, vividly illustrating the doctrines and -traditions of the faith, directing the thought of the believer more -intently to their moral purport and ideal beauty; poetry and music, the -very breath of the liturgy itself, acting immediately upon the heart, -kindling the latent sentiment of reverence into lively emotions of joy -and love. In the employment of rites and ceremonies with their sumptuous -artistic setting, in the large stress that is laid upon prescribed forms -and external acts of worship, the Catholic Church has been actuated by a -conviction from which she has never for an instant swerved. This -conviction is twofold: first, that the believer is aided thereby in the -offering of an absorbed, fervent, and sincere worship; and second, that -it is not only fitting, but a duty, that all that is most precious, the -product of the highest development of the powers that God has given to -man, should be offered as a witness of man's love and adoration,--that -the expenditure of wealth in the erection and decoration of God's -sanctuaries, and the tribute of the highest artistic skill in the -creation of forms of beauty, are worthy of his immeasurable glory and of -ourselves as his dependent children. Says Cardinal Gibbons: "The -ceremonies of the Church not only render the divine service more solemn, -but they also rivet and captivate our attention and lift it up to God. -Our mind is so active, so volatile, and full of distractions, our -imagination is so fickle, that we have need of some external objects on -which to fix our thoughts. True devotion must be interior and come from -the heart; but we are not to infer that exterior worship is to be -condemned because interior worship is prescribed as essential. On the -contrary, the rites and ceremonies which are enjoined in the worship of -God and in the administration of the sacraments are dictated by right -reason, and are sanctioned by Almighty God in the old law, and by Christ -and his apostles in the new."[45] "Not by the human understanding," says -a writer in the _Caecilien Kalendar_, "was the ritual devised, man knows -not whence it came. Its origin lies outside the inventions of man, like -the ideas which it presents. The liturgy arose with the faith, as speech -with thought. What the body is for the soul, such is the liturgy for -religion. Everything in the uses of the Church, from the mysterious -ceremonies of the Mass and of Good Friday, to the summons of the evening -bell to prayer, is nothing else than the eloquent expression of the -content of the redemption of the Son of God."[46] - -Since the ritual is prayer, the offering of the Church to God through -commemoration and representation as well as through direct appeal, so the -whole ceremonial, act as well as word, blends with this conception of -prayer, not as embellishment merely but as constituent factor. Hence the -large use of symbolism, and even of semi-dramatic representation. "When I -speak of the dramatic form of our ceremonies," says Cardinal Wiseman, "I -make no reference whatever to outward display; and I choose that epithet -for the reason that the poverty of language affords me no other for my -meaning. The object and power of dramatic poetry consist in its being not -merely descriptive but representative. Its character is to bear away the -imagination and soul to the view of what others witnessed, and excite in -us, through their words, such impressions as we might have felt on the -occasion. The service of the Church is eminently poetical, the dramatic -power runs through the service in a most marked manner, and must be kept -in view for its right understanding. Thus, for example, the entire -service for the dead, office, exequies, and Mass, refers to the moment of -death, and bears the imagination to the awful crisis of separation of -soul and body." "In like manner the Church prepares us during Advent for -the commemoration of our dear Redeemer's birth, as though it were really -yet to take place. As the festival approaches, the same ideal return to -the very moment and circumstances of our divine Redeemer's birth is -expressed; all the glories of the day are represented to the soul as if -actually occurring." "This principle, which will be found to animate the -church service of every other season, rules most remarkably that of Holy -Week, and gives it life and soul. It is not intended to be merely -commemorative or historical; it is, strictly speaking, -representative."[47] "The traditions and rules of church art," says -Jakob, "are by no means arbitrary, they are not an external accretion, -but they proceed from within outward, they have grown organically from -the guiding spirit of the Church, out of the requirements of her worship. -Therein lies the justification of symbolism and symbolic representation -in ecclesiastical art. The church of stone must be a speaking image of -the living Church and her mysteries; the pictures on the walls and on the -altars are not mere ornament for the eye, but for the heart a book full -of instruction, a sermon full of truth. And thereby is art raised to be a -participant in the work of edifying the believers; it becomes a profound -teacher of thousands, a bearer and preserver of great ideas for the -centuries."[48] "Our Holy Church," says a German priest, "which -completely understands the nature and the needs of humanity, presents to -us divine truth and grace in sensible form, in order that by this means -they may be more easily grasped and more securely appropriated by us. The -law of sense perception, which constitutes so important a factor in human -education, forms also a fundamental law in the action of Holy Church, -whereby she seeks to raise us out of this earthly material life into the -supernatural life of grace. She therefore confers upon us redemptive -grace in the holy sacraments in connection with external signs, through -which the inner grace is shadowed forth and accomplished, as for instance -the inward washing of the soul from sin in baptism through the outward -washing of the body. In like manner the eye of the instructed Catholic -sees in the symbolic ceremonies of the holy sacrifice of the Mass the -thrilling representation of the fall of man, our redemption, and finally -our glorification at the second coming of our Lord. Out of this ground -law of presentation to the senses has arisen the whole liturgy of the -Church, _i. e._, the sum of all religious actions and prayers to the -honor of God and the communication of his grace to us, and this whole -expressive liturgy forms at once the solemn ceremonial in the sanctuary -of the Heavenly King, in which he receives our adoration and bestows upon -us the most plentiful tokens of his favor."[49] - -These citations sufficiently indicate the mind of the Catholic Church in -respect to the uses of ritual and symbolic ceremony. The prime intention -is the instruction and edification of the believer, but it is evident -that a necessary element in this edification is the thought that the rite -is one composite act of worship, a prayer, an offering to Almighty God. -This is the theory of Catholic art, the view which pious churchmen have -always entertained of the function of artistic forms in worship. That all -the products of religious art in Catholic communities have been actuated -by this motive alone would be too much to say. The principle of "art for -art's sake," precisely antagonistic to the traditional ecclesiastical -principle, has often made itself felt in periods of relapsed zeal, and -artists have employed traditional subjects out of habit or policy, -finding them as good as any others as bases for experiments in the -achievement of sensuous charm in form, texture, and color. But so far as -changeless dogma, liturgic unity, and consistent tradition have -controlled artistic effort, individual determination has been allowed -enough play to save art from petrifying into a hieratic formalism, but -not enough to endanger the faith, morals, or loyalty of the flock. He -therefore who would know the spirit of Catholicism must give a large -portion of his study to its art. From the central genius of this -institution, displayed not merely in its doctrines and traditions, but -also in its sublime faith in its own divine ordination and guidance, and -in its ideals of holiness, have issued its liturgy, its ceremonial, and -the infinitely varied manifestations of its symbolic, historic, and -devotional art. The Catholic Church has aimed to rear on earth a visible -type of the spiritual kingdom of God, and to build for her disciples a -home, suggestive in its splendor of the glory prepared for those who keep -the faith. - -All Catholic art, in so far as it may in the strict use of language be -called church art, separates itself from the larger and more indefinite -category of religious art, and derives its character not from the -personal determination of individual artists, but from conceptions and -models that have become traditional and canonical. These traditional laws -and forms have developed organically out of the needs of the Catholic -worship; they derive their sanction and to a large extent their style -from the doctrine and also from the ceremonial. The centre of the whole -churchly life is the altar, with the great offices of worship there -performed. Architecture, painting, decoration, music,--all are -comprehended in a unity of impression through the liturgy which they -serve. Ecclesiastical art has evolved from within the Church itself, and -has drawn its vitality from those ideas which have found their permanent -and most terse embodiment in the liturgy. Upon the liturgy and the -ceremonial functions attending it must be based all study of the system -of artistic expression officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church. - -The Catholic liturgy, or text of the Mass, is not the work of any -individual or conference. It is a growth, an evolution. Set forms of -prayer began to come into use as soon as the first Christian -congregations were founded by the apostles. The dogma of the eucharist -was the chief factor in giving the liturgy its final shape. By a logical -process of selection and integration, certain prayers, Scripture lessons, -hymns, and responses were woven together, until the whole became shaped -into what may be called a religious poem, in which was expressed the -conceived relation of Christ to the Church, and the emotional attitude of -the Church in view of his perpetual presence as both paschal victim and -high priest. This great prayer of the Catholic Church is mainly composed -of contributions made by the Eastern Church during the first four -centuries. Its essential features were adopted and transferred to Latin -by the Church of Rome, and after a process of sifting and rearranging, -with some additions, its form was completed by the end of the sixth -century essentially as it stands to-day. The liturgy is, therefore, the -voice of the Church, weighted with her tradition, resounding with the -commanding tone of her apostolic authority, eloquent with the longing and -the assurance of innumerable martyrs and confessors, the mystic testimony -to the commission which the Church believes to have been laid upon her by -the Holy Spirit. It is not surprising, therefore, that devout Catholics -have come to consider this liturgy as divinely inspired, raised above all -mere human speech, the language of saints and angels, a truly celestial -poem; and that Catholic writers have well-nigh exhausted the vocabulary -of enthusiasm in expounding its spiritual significance. - -The insistence upon the use of one unvarying language in the Mass and all -the other offices of the Catholic Church is necessarily involved in the -very conception of catholicity and immutability. A universal Church must -have a universal form of speech; national languages imply national -churches; the adoption of the vernacular would be the first step toward -disintegration. The Catholic, into whatever strange land he may wander, -is everywhere at home the moment he enters a sanctuary of his faith, for -he hears the same worship, in the same tongue, accompanied with the same -ceremonies, that has been familiar to him from childhood. This universal -language must inevitably be the Latin. Unlike all living languages it is -never subject to change, and hence there is no danger that any -misunderstanding of refined points of doctrine or observance will creep -in through alteration in the connotation of words. Latin is the original -language of the Catholic Church, the language of scholarship and -diplomacy in the period of ecclesiastical formation, the tongue to which -were committed the ritual, articles of faith, legal enactments, the -writings of the fathers of the Church, ancient conciliar decrees, etc. -The only exceptions to the rule which prescribes Latin as the liturgical -speech are to be found among certain Oriental congregations, where, for -local reasons, other languages are permitted, _viz._, Greek, Syriac, -Chaldaic, Slavonic, Wallachian, Armenian, Coptic, and Ethiopic. In each -of these instances, however, the liturgic speech is not the vernacular, -but the ancient form which has passed out of use in other relations.[50] - -The Mass is the most solemn rite among the offices of the Catholic -Church, and embodies the fundamental doctrine upon which the Catholic -system of worship mainly rests. It is the chief sacrament, the permanent -channel of grace ever kept open between God and his Church. It is an -elaborate development of the last supper of Christ with his disciples, -and is the fulfilment of the perpetual injunction laid by the Master upon -his followers. Developed under the control of the idea of sacrifice, -which was drawn from the central conception of the old Jewish -dispensation and imbedded in the tradition of the Church at a very early -period, the office of the Mass became not a mere memorial of the -atonement upon Calvary, but a perpetual renewal of it upon the altar -through the power committed to the priesthood by the Holy Spirit. To the -Protestant, Christ was offered once for all upon the cross, and the -believer partakes through repentance and faith in the benefits conferred -by that transcendent act; but to the Catholic this sacrifice is repeated -whenever the eucharistic elements of bread and wine are presented at the -altar with certain prayers and formulas. The renewal of the atoning -process is effected through the recurring miracle of transubstantiation, -by which the bread and wine are transmuted into the very body and blood -of Christ. It is in this way that the Catholic Church literally -interprets the words of Jesus: "This is my body; this is my blood; whoso -eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life." When the -miraculous transformation has taken place at the repetition by the priest -of Christ's words of institution, the consecrated host and chalice are -offered to God by the priest in the name and for the sake of the -believers, both present and absent, for whom prayer is made and who share -through faith in the benefits of this sacrificial act. "The sacrifice of -the Mass," says Cardinal Gibbons, "is identical with that of the cross, -both having the same victim and high priest--Jesus Christ. The only -difference consists in the manner of the oblation. Christ was offered -upon the cross in a bloody manner; in the Mass he is offered up in an -unbloody manner. On the cross he purchased our ransom, and in the -eucharistic sacrifice the price of that ransom is applied to our -souls."[51] This conception is the keystone of the whole structure of -Catholic faith, the super-essential dogma, repeated, from century to -century in declarations of prelates, theologians, and synods, reasserted -once for all in terms of binding definition by the Council of Trent. All, -therefore, who assist in this mystic ceremony, either as celebrants and -ministers or as indirect participants through faith, share in its -supernatural efficacy. It is to them a sacrifice of praise, of -supplication, and of propitiation. - -The whole elaborate ceremony of the Mass, which is such an enigma to the -uninstructed, is nowhere vain or repetitious. Every word has its fitting -relation to the whole; every gesture and genuflection, every change of -vestments, has its symbolic significance. All the elements of the rite -are merged into a unity under the sway of this central act of -consecration and oblation. All the lessons, prayers, responses, and hymns -are designed to lead up to it, to prepare the officers and people to -share in it, and to impress upon them its meaning and effect. The -architectural, sculptural, and decorative beauty of altar, chancel, and -apse finds its justification as a worthy setting for the august ceremony, -and as a fitting shrine to harbor the very presence of the Lord. The -display of lights and vestments, the spicy clouds of incense, the -solemnity of priestly chant, and the pomp of choral music, are contrived -solely to enhance the impression of the rite, and to compel the mind into -a becoming mood of adoration. - -There are several kinds of Masses, differing in certain details, or in -manner of performance, or in respect to the occasions to which they are -appropriated, such as the High Mass, Solemn High Mass, Low Mass, Requiem -Mass or Mass for the Dead, Mass of the Presanctified, Nuptial Mass, -Votive Mass, etc. The widest departure from the ordinary Mass form is in -the Requiem Mass, where the Gloria and Credo are omitted, and their -places supplied by the mediaeval judgment hymn, Dies Irae, together with -certain special prayers for departed souls. In respect to the customary -service on Sundays, festal, and ferial days there is no difference in the -words of the High Mass, Solemn High Mass, and Low Mass, but only in the -manner of performance and the degree of embellishment. The Low Mass is -said in a low tone of voice and in the manner of ordinary speech, the -usual marks of solemnity being dispensed with; there is no chanting and -no choir music. The High Mass is given in musical tones throughout by -celebrant and choir. The Solemn High Mass is performed with still greater -ritualistic display, and with deacon, sub-deacon, and a full corps of -inferior ministers. - -The prayers, portions of Scripture, hymns, and responses which compose -the Catholic liturgy consist both of parts that are unalterably the same -and of parts that change each day of the year. Those portions that are -invariable constitute what is known as the Ordinary of the Mass. The -changeable or "proper" parts include the Introits, Collects, Epistles and -Lessons, Graduals, Tracts, Gospels, Offertories, Secrets, Prefaces, -Communions, and Post-Communions. Every day of the year has its special -and distinctive form, according as it commemorates some event in the life -of our Lord or is devoted to the memory of some saint, martyr, or -confessor.[52] Mass may be celebrated on any day of the year except Good -Friday, the great mourning day of the Church. - -The outline of the Mass ceremony that follows relates to the High Mass, -which may be taken as the type of the Mass in general. It must be borne -in mind that the entire office is chanted or sung. - -After the entrance of the officiating priest and his attendants the -celebrant pronounces the words: "In the name of the Father, and of the -Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen;" and then recites the 42d psalm (43d -in the Protestant version). Next follows the confession of sin and prayer -for pardon. After a few brief prayers and responses the Introit--a short -Scripture selection, usually from a psalm--is chanted. Then the choir -sings the Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison. The first of these ejaculations -was used in the Eastern Church in the earliest ages as a response by the -people. It was adopted into the liturgies of the Western Church at a very -early period, and is one of the two instances of the survival in the -Latin office of phrases of the original Greek liturgies. The Christe -eleison was added a little later. - -The Kyrie is immediately followed by the singing by the choir of the -Gloria in excelsis Deo. This hymn, also called the greater doxology, is -of Greek origin, and is the angelic song given in chapter ii. of Luke's -Gospel, with additions which were made not later than the fourth century. -It was adopted into the Roman liturgy at least as early as the latter -part of the sixth century, since it appears, connected with certain -restrictions, in the sacramentary of Pope Gregory the Great. - -Next are recited the Collects--short prayers appropriate to the day, -imploring God's blessing. Then comes the reading of the Epistle, a psalm -verse called the Gradual, the Alleluia, or, when that is omitted, the -Tractus (which is also usually a psalm verse), and at certain festivals a -hymn called Sequence. Next is recited the Gospel appointed for the day. -If a sermon is preached its place is next after the Gospel. - -The confession of faith--Credo--is then sung by the choir. This symbol is -based on the creed adopted by the council of Nicaea in 325 and modified -by the council of Constantinople in 381, but it is not strictly identical -with either the Nicene or the Constantinople creed. The most important -difference between the Constantinople creed and the present Roman -consists in the addition in the Roman creed of the words "and from the -Son" (filioque) in the declaration concerning the procession of the Holy -Ghost. The present creed has been in use in Spain since 589, and -according to what seems good authority was adopted into the Roman liturgy -in 1014. - -After a sentence usually taken from a psalm and called the Offertory, the -most solemn portion of the Mass begins with the Oblation of the Host, the -ceremonial preparation of the elements of bread and wine, with prayers, -incensings, and ablutions. - -All being now ready for the consummation of the sacrificial act, the -ascription of thanksgiving and praise called the Preface is offered, -which varies with the season, but closes with the Sanctus and Benedictus, -sung by the choir. - -The Sanctus, also called Trisagion or Thrice Holy, is the cherubic hymn -heard by Isaiah in vision, as described in Is. vi. 3. The Benedictus is -the shout of acclamation by the concourse who met Christ on his entry -into Jerusalem. There is a poetic significance in the union of these two -passages. The blessed one, who cometh in the name of the Lord, is the -Lord himself, the God of Sabaoth, of whose glory heaven and earth are -full. - -The Canon of the Mass now opens with prayers that the holy sacrifice may -be accepted of God, and may redound to the benefit of those present. The -act of consecration is performed by pronouncing Christ's words of -institution, and the sacred host and chalice, now become objects of the -most rapt and absorbed devotion, are elevated before the kneeling -worshipers, and committed to the acceptance of God with the most -impressive vows and invocations. - - -As an illustration of the nobility of thought and beauty of diction that -are found in the Catholic offices, the prayer immediately following the -consecration of the chalice may be quoted: - -"Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, as also thy holy people, calling to -mind the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our Lord, his -resurrection from the dead, and admirable ascension into heaven, offer -unto thy most excellent Majesty of the gifts bestowed upon us a pure -Host, a holy Host, an unspotted Host, the holy bread of eternal life, and -chalice of everlasting salvation. - -"Upon which vouchsafe to look, with a propitious and serene countenance, -and to accept them, as thou wert graciously pleased to accept the gifts -of thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and -that which thy high priest Melchisedech offered to thee, a holy sacrifice -and unspotted victim. - -"We most humbly beseech thee, Almighty God, command these things to be -carried by the hands of thy holy angels to thy altar on high, in the -sight of thy divine Majesty, that as many as shall partake of the most -sacred body and blood of thy Son at this altar, may be filled with every -heavenly grace and blessing." - - -In the midst of the series of prayers following the consecration the -choir sings the Agnus Dei, a short hymn which was introduced into the -Roman liturgy at a very early date. The priest then communicates, and -those of the congregation who have been prepared for the exalted -privilege by confession and absolution kneel at the sanctuary rail and -receive from the celebrant's hands the consecrated wafer. The -Post-Communion, which is a brief prayer for protection and grace, the -dismissal[53] and benediction, and the reading of the first fourteen -verses of the Gospel according to St. John close the ceremony. - -Interspersed with the prayers, lessons, responses, hymns, etc., which -constitute the liturgy are a great number of crossings, obeisances, -incensings, changing of vestments, and other liturgic actions, all an -enigma to the uninitiated, yet not arbitrary or meaningless, for each has -a symbolic significance, designed not merely to impress the congregation, -but still more to enforce upon the ministers themselves a sense of the -magnitude of the work in which they are engaged. The complexity of the -ceremonial, the rapidity of utterance and the frequent inaudibility of -the words of the priest, together with the fact that the text is in a -dead language, are not inconsistent with the purpose for which the Mass -is conceived. For it is not considered as proceeding from the people, but -it is an ordinance performed for them and in their name by a priesthood, -whose function is that of representing the Church in its mediatorial -capacity. The Mass is not simply a prayer, but also a semi-dramatic -action,--an action which possesses in itself an efficacy _ex opere -operato_. This idea renders it unnecessary that the worshipers should -follow the office in detail; it is enough that they coöperate with the -celebrant in faith and pious sympathy. High authorities declare that the -most profitable reception of the rite consists in simply watching the -action of the officiating priest at the altar, and yielding the spirit -unreservedly to the holy emotions which are excited by a complete -self-abandonment to the contemplation of the adorable mystery. The -sacramental theory of the Mass as a vehicle by which grace is -communicated from above to the believing recipient, also leaves him free -to carry on private devotion during the progress of the ceremony. When -the worshipers are seen kneeling in the pews or before an altar at the -side wall, fingering rosaries or with eyes intent upon prayer-books, it -is not the words of the Mass that they are repeating. The Mass is the -prayer of the Church at large, but it does not emanate from the -congregation. The theory of the Mass does not even require the presence -of the laity, and as a matter of practice private and solitary Masses, -although rare, are in no way contrary to the discipline of the Catholic -Church. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE RITUAL CHANT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - - -In reading the words of the Catholic liturgy from the Missal we must -remember that they were written to be sung, and in a certain limited -degree acted, and that we cannot receive their real force except when -musically rendered and in connection with the ceremonies appropriated to -them. For the Catholic liturgy is in conception and history a musical -liturgy; word and tone are inseparably bound together. The immediate -action of music upon the emotion supplements and reinforces the action of -the text and the dogmatic teaching upon the understanding, and the -ceremony at the altar makes the impression still more direct by means of -visible representation. All the faculties are therefore held in the grasp -of this composite agency of language, music, and bodily motion; neither -is at any point independent of the others, for they are all alike -constituent parts of the poetic whole, in which action becomes prayer and -prayer becomes action. - -The music of the Catholic Church as it exists to-day is the result of a -long process of evolution. Although this process has been continuous, it -has three times culminated in special forms, all of them coincident with -three comprehensive ideas of musical expression which have succeeded each -other chronologically, and which divide the whole history of modern music -into clearly marked epochs. These epochs are those (1) of the unison -chant, (2) of unaccompanied chorus music, and (3) of mixed solo and -chorus with instrumental accompaniment. - -(1) The period in which the unison chant was the only form of church -music extends from the founding of the congregation of Rome to about the -year 1100, and coincides with the centuries of missionary labor among the -Northern and Western nations, when the Roman liturgy was triumphantly -asserting its authority over the various local uses. - -(2) The period of the unaccompanied contrapuntal chorus, based on the -mediaeval key and melodic systems, covers the era of the European -sovereignty of the Catholic Church, including also the period of the -Counter-Reformation of the sixteenth century. This phase of art, -culminating in the works of Palestrina in Rome, Orlandus Lassus in -Munich, and the Gabrielis in Venice, suffered no decline, and gave way at -last to a style in sharp contrast with it only when it had gained an -impregnable historic position. - -(3) The style now dominant in the choir music of the Catholic Church, -_viz._, mixed solo and chorus music with free instrumental accompaniment, -based on the modern transposing scales, arose in the seventeenth century -as an outcome of the Renaissance secularization of art. It was taken up -by the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican Churches, and was moulded into -its present types under the influence of new demands upon musical -expression which had already brought forth the dramatic and concert -styles. - -The unison chant, although confined in the vast majority of congregations -to the portions of the liturgy that are sung by the priest, is still the -one officially recognized form of liturgic music. Although in the -historic development of musical art representatives of the later phases -of music have been admitted into the Church, they exist there only, we -might say, by sufferance,--the chant still remains the legal basis of the -whole scheme of worship music. The chant melodies are no mere musical -accompaniment; they are the very life breath of the words. The text is so -exalted in diction and import, partaking of the sanctity of the -sacrificial function to which it ministers, that it must be uttered in -tones especially consecrated to it. So intimate is this reciprocal -relation of tone and language that in process of time these two elements -have become amalgamated into a union so complete that no dissolution is -possible even in thought. There is no question that the chant melodies as -they exist to-day are only modifications, in most cases but slight -modifications, of those that were originally associated with the several -portions of the liturgy. At the moment when any form of words was given a -place in the Missal or Breviary, its proper melody was then and there -wedded to it. This fact makes the Catholic liturgic chant a distinctive -church song in a special and peculiar sense. It is not, like most other -church music, the artistic creation of individuals, enriching the service -with contributions from without, and imparting to them a quality drawn -from the composer's personal feeling and artistic methods. It is rather a -sort of religious folk-song, proceeding from the inner shrine of -religion. It is abstract, impersonal; its style is strictly -ecclesiastical, both in its inherent solemnity and its ancient -association, and it bears, like the ritual itself, the sanction of -unimpeachable authority. The reverence paid by the Church to the liturgic -chant as a peculiarly sacred form of utterance is plainly indicated by -the fact that while there is no restraint upon the license of choice on -the part of the choir, no other form of song has ever been heard, or can -ever be permitted to be heard, from the priest in the performance of his -ministrations at the altar. - -If we enter a Catholic church during High Mass or Vespers we notice that -the words of the priest are delivered in musical tones. This song at once -strikes us as different in many respects from any other form of music -with which we are acquainted. At first it seems monotonous, strange, -almost barbaric, but when we have become accustomed to it the effect is -very solemn and impressive. Many who are not instructed in the matter -imagine that the priest extemporizes these cadences, but nothing could be -further from the truth. Certain portions of this chant are very plain, -long series of words being recited on a single note, introduced and ended -with very simple melodic inflections; other portions are florid, of wider -compass than the simple chant, often with many notes to a syllable. -Sometimes the priest sings alone, without response or accompaniment; -sometimes his utterances are answered by a choir of boys in the chancel -or a mixed choir in the gallery; in certain portions of the service the -organ supports the chant with harmonies which seem to be based on a -different principle of key and scale from that which ordinarily obtains -in modern chord progression. In its freedom of rhythm it bears some -resemblance to dramatic recitative, yet it is far less dramatic or -characteristic in color and expression, and at the same time both more -severe and more flexible. To one who understands the whole conception and -spirit of the Catholic worship there is a singular appropriateness in the -employment of this manner of utterance, and when properly rendered it -blends most efficiently with the architectural splendors of altar and -sanctuary, with incense, lights, vestments, ceremonial action, and all -the embellishments that lend distinction and solemnity to the Catholic -ritual. This is the celebrated liturgic chant, also called Gregorian -chant, Plain Song, or Choral, and is the special and peculiar form of -song in which the Catholic Church has clothed its liturgy for certainly -fifteen hundred years. - -This peculiar and solemn form of song is the musical speech in which the -entire ritual of the Catholic Church was originally rendered, and to -which a large portion of the ritual is confined at the present day. It is -always sung in unison, with or without instrumental accompaniment. It is -unmetrical though not unrhythmical; it follows the phrasing, the -emphasis, and the natural inflections of the voice in reciting the text, -at the same time that it idealizes them. It is a sort of heightened form -of speech, a musical declamation, having for its object the intensifying -of the emotional powers of ordinary spoken language. It stands to true -song or tune in much the same relation as prose to verse, less -impassioned, more reflective, yet capable of moving the heart like -eloquence. - -The chant appears to be the natural and fundamental form of music -employed in all liturgical systems the world over, ancient and modern. -The sacrificial song of the Egyptians, the Hebrews, and the Greeks was a -chant, and this is the form of music adopted by the Eastern Church, the -Anglican, and every system in which worship is offered in common and -prescribed forms. The chant form is chosen because it does not make an -independent artistic impression, but can be held in strict subordination -to the sacred words; its sole function is to carry the text over with -greater force upon the attention and the emotions. It is in this -relationship of text and tone that the chant differs from true melody. -The latter obeys musical laws of structure and rhythm; the music is -paramount and the text accessory, and in order that the musical flow may -not be hampered, the words are often extended or repeated, and may be -compared to a flexible framework on which the tonal decoration is -displayed. In the chant, on the other hand, this relation of text and -tone is reversed; there is no repetition of words, the laws of structure -and rhythm are rhetorical laws, and the music never asserts itself to the -concealment or subjugation of the meaning of the text. The "jubilations" -or "melismas," which are frequent in the choral portions of the Plain -Song system, particularly in the richer melodies of thee Mass, would seem -at first thought to contradict this principle; in these florid melodic -phrases the singer would appear to abandon himself to a sort of inspired -rapture, giving vent to the emotions aroused in him by the sacred words. -Here musical utterance seems for the moment to be set free from -dependence upon word and symbol and to assert its own special -prerogatives of expression, adopting the conception that underlies modern -figurate music. These occasional ebullitions of feeling permitted in the -chant are, however, only momentary; they relieve what would otherwise be -an unvaried austerity not contemplated in the spirit of Catholic art; -they do not violate the general principle of universality and -objectiveness as opposed to individual subjective -expression,--subordination to word and rite rather than purely musical -self-assertion,--which is the theoretic basis of the liturgic chant -system. - -Chant is speech-song, probably the earliest form of vocal music; it -proceeds from the modulations of impassioned speech; it results from the -need of regulating and perpetuating these modulations when certain -exigencies require a common and impressive form of utterance, as in -religious rites, public rejoicing or mourning, etc. The necessity of -filling large spaces almost inevitably involves the use of balanced -cadences. Poetic recitation among ancient and primitive peoples is never -recited in the ordinary level pitch of voice in speech, but always in -musical inflections, controlled by some principle of order. Under the -authority of a permanent corporate institution these inflections are -reduced to a system, and are imposed upon all whose office it is to -administer the public ceremonies of worship. This is the origin of the -liturgic chant of ancient peoples, and also, by historic continuation, of -the Gregorian melody. The Catholic chant is a projection into modern art -of the altar song of Greece, Judaea, and Egypt, and through these nations -reaches back to that epoch of unknown remoteness when mankind first began -to conceive of invisible powers to be invoked or appeased. A large -measure of the impressiveness of the liturgic chant, therefore, is due to -its historic religious associations. It forms a connecting link between -ancient religion and the Christian, and perpetuates to our own day an -ideal of sacred music which is as old as religious music itself. It is a -striking fact that only within the last six hundred or seven hundred -years, and only within the bounds of Christendom, has an artificial form -of worship music arisen in which musical forms have become emancipated -from subjection to the rhetorical laws of speech, and been built up under -the shaping force of inherent musical laws, gaining a more or less free -play for the creative impulses of an independent art. The conception -which is realized in the Gregorian chant, and which exclusively prevailed -until the rise of the modern polyphonic system, is that of music in -subjection to rite and liturgy, its own charms merged and, so far as -conscious intention goes, lost in the paramount significance of text and -action. It is for this reason, together with the historic relation of -chant and liturgy, that the rulers of the Catholic Church have always -labored so strenuously for uniformity in the liturgic chant as well as -for its perpetuity. There are even churchmen at the present time who urge -the abandonment of all the modern forms of harmonized music and the -restoration of the unison chant to every detail of the service. A notion -so ascetic and monastic can never prevail, but one who has fully entered -into the spirit of the Plain Song melodies can at least sympathize with -the reverence which such a reactionary attitude implies. There is a -solemn unearthly sweetness in these tones which appeals irresistibly to -those who have become habituated to them. They have maintained for -centuries the inevitable comparison with every other form of melody, -religious and secular, and there is reason to believe that they will -continue to sustain all possible rivalry, until they at last outlive -every other form of music now existing. - -No one can obtain any proper conception of this magnificent Plain Song -system from the examples which one ordinarily hears in Catholic churches, -for only a minute part of it is commonly employed at the present day. -Only in certain convents and a few churches where monastic ideas prevail, -and where priests and choristers are enthusiastic students of the ancient -liturgic song, can we hear musical performances which afford us a -revelation of the true affluence of this mediaeval treasure. What we -customarily hear is only the simpler intonings of the priest at his -ministrations, and the eight "psalm tones" sung alternately by priest and -choir. These "psalm tones" or "Gregorian tones" are plain melodic -formulas, with variable endings, and are appointed to be sung to the -Latin psalms and canticles. When properly delivered, and supported by an -organist who knows the secret of accompanying them, they are exceedingly -beautiful. They are but a hint, however, of the rich store of melodies, -some of them very elaborate and highly organized, which the chantbooks -contain, and which are known only to special students. To this great -compendium belong the chants anciently assigned to those portions of the -liturgy which are now usually sung in modern settings,--the Kyrie, -Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and the variable portions -of the Mass, such as the Introits, Graduals, Prefaces, Offertories, -Sequences, etc., besides the hymns sung at Vespers and the other -canonical hours. Few have ever explored the bulky volumes which contain -this unique bequest of the Middle Age; but one who has even made a -beginning of such study, or who has heard the florid chants worthily -performed in the traditional style, can easily understand the enthusiasm -which these strains arouse in the minds of those who love to penetrate to -the innermost shrines of Catholic devotional expression. - -The theory and practice of the liturgic chant is a science of large -dimensions and much difficulty. In the course of centuries a vast store -of chant melodies has been accumulated, and in the nature of the case -many variants of the older melodies--those composed before the -development of a precise system of notation--have arisen, so that the -verification of texts, comparison of authorities, and the application of -methods of rendering to the needs of the complex ceremonial make this -subject a very important branch of liturgical science. - -The Plain Song may be divided into the simple and the ornate chants. In -the first class the melodies are to a large extent syllabic (one note to -a syllable), rarely with more than two notes to a syllable. The simplest -of all are the tones employed in the delivery of certain prayers, the -Epistle, Prophecy, and Gospel, technically known as "accents," which vary -but little from monotone. The most important of the more melodious simple -chants are the "Gregorian tones" already mentioned. The inflections sung -to the versicles and responses are also included among the simple chants. - -The ornate chants differ greatly in length, compass, and degree of -elaboration. Some of these melodies are exceedingly florid and many are -of great beauty. They constitute the original settings for all the -portions of the Mass not enumerated among the simple chants, _viz._, the -Kyrie, Gloria, Introit, Prefaces, Communion, etc., besides the Sequences -and hymns. Certain of these chants are so elaborate that they may almost -be said to belong to a separate class. Examination of many of these -extended melodies will often disclose a decided approach to regularity of -form through the recurrence of certain definite melodic figures. "In the -Middle Age," says P. Wagner, "nothing was known of an accompaniment; -there was not the slightest need of one. The substance of the musical -content, which we to-day commit to interpretation through harmony, the -old musicians laid upon melody. The latter accomplished in itself the -complete utterance of the artistically aroused fantasy. In this -particular the melismas, which carry the extensions of the tones of the -melody, are a necessary means of presentation in mediaeval art; they -proceed logically out of the principle of the unison melody." "Text -repetition is virtually unknown in the unison music of the Middle Age. -While modern singers repeat an especially emphatic thought or word, the -old melodists repeat a melody or phrase which expresses the ground mood -of the text in a striking manner. And they not only repeat it, but they -make it unfold, and draw out of it new tones of melody. This method is -certainly not less artistic than the later text repetition; it comes -nearer, also, to the natural expression of the devotionally inspired -heart."[54] - -The ritual chant has its special laws of execution which involve long -study on the part of one who wishes to master it. Large attention is -given in the best seminaries to the purest manner of delivering the -chant, and countless treatises have been written upon the subject. The -first desideratum is an accurate pronunciation of the Latin, and a facile -and distinct articulation. The notes have no fixed and measurable value, -and are not intended to give the duration of the tones, but only to guide -the modulation of the voice. The length of each tone is determined only -by the proper length of the syllable. In this principle lies the very -essence of Gregorian chant, and it is the point at which it stands in -exact contradiction to the theory of modern measured music. The divisions -of the chant are given solely by the text. The rhythm, therefore, is that -of speech, of the prose text to which the chant tones are set. The rhythm -is a natural rhythm, a succession of syllables combined into expressive -groups by means of accent, varied pitch, and prolongations of tone. The -fundamental rule for chanting is: "Sing the words with notes as you would -speak them without notes." This does not imply that the utterance is -stiff and mechanical as in ordinary conversation; there is a heightening -of the natural inflection and a grouping of notes, as in impassioned -speech or the most refined declamation. Like the notes and divisions, the -pauses also are unequal and immeasurable, and are determined only by the -sense of the words and the necessity of taking breath. - -In the long florid passages often occurring on a single vowel analogous -rules are involved. The text and the laws of natural recitation must -predominate over melody. The jubilations are not to be conceived simply -as musical embellishments, but, on the contrary, their beauty depends -upon the melodic accents to which they are joined in a subordinate -position. These florid passages are never introduced thoughtlessly or -without meaning, but they are strictly for emphasizing the thought with -which they are connected; "they make the soul in singing fathom the -deeper sense of the words, and to taste of the mysteries hidden within -them."[55] The particular figures must be kept apart and distinguished -from each other, and brought into union with each other, like the words, -clauses, and sentences of an oration. Even these florid passages are -dependent upon the influence of the words and their character of prayer. - -The principles above cited concern the rhythm of the chant. Other -elements of expression must also be taken into account, such as -prolonging and shortening tones, crescendos and diminuendos, subtle -changes of quality of voice or tone color to suit different sentiments. -The manner of singing is also affected by the conditions of time and -place, such as the degree of the solemnity of the occasion, and the -dimensions and acoustic properties of the edifice in which the ceremony -is held. - -In the singing of the mediaeval hymn melodies, many beautiful examples of -which abound in the Catholic office books, the above rules of rhythm and -expression are modified as befits the more regular metrical character -which the melodies derive from the verse. They are not so rigid, however, -as would be indicated by the bar lines of modern notation, and follow the -same laws of rhythm that would obtain in spoken recitation. - -The liturgic chant of the Catholic Church has already been alluded to -under its more popular title of "Gregorian." Throughout the Middle Age -and down to our own day nothing in history has been more generally -received as beyond question than that the Catholic chant is entitled to -this appellation from the work performed in its behalf by Pope Gregory -I., called the Great. This eminent man, who reigned from 590 to 604, was -the ablest of the succession of early pontiffs who formulated the line of -policy which converted the barbarians of the North and West, brought -about the spiritual and political autonomy of the Roman See, and -confirmed its supremacy over all the churches of the West. - -In addition to these genuine services historians have generally concurred -in ascribing to him a final shaping influence upon the liturgic chant, -with which, however, he probably had very little to do. His supposed work -in this department has been divided into the following four details: - -(1) He freed the church song from the fetters of Greek prosody. - -(2) He collected the chants previously existing, added others, provided -them with a system of notation, and wrote them down in a book which was -afterwards called the Antiphonary of St. Gregory, which he fastened to -the altar of St. Peter's Church, in order that it might serve as an -authoritative standard in all cases of doubt in regard to the true form -of chant. - -(3) He established a singing school in which he gave instruction. - -(4) He added four new scales to the four previously existing, thus -completing the tonal system of the Church. - -The prime authority for these statements is the biography of Gregory I., -written by John the Deacon about 872. Detached allusions to this pope as -the founder of the liturgic chant appear before John's day, the earliest -being in a manuscript addressed by Pope Hadrian I. to Charlemagne in the -latter part of the eighth century, nearly two hundred years after -Gregory's death. The evidences which tend to show that Gregory I. could -not have had anything to do with this important work of sifting, -arranging, and noting the liturgic melodies become strong as soon as they -are impartially examined. In Gregory's very voluminous correspondence, -which covers every known phase of his restless activity, there is no -allusion to any such work in respect to the music of the Church, as there -almost certainly would have been if he had undertaken to bring about -uniformity in the musical practice of all the churches under his -administration. The assertions of John the Deacon are not confirmed by -any anterior document. No epitaph of Gregory, no contemporary records, no -ancient panegyrics of the pope, touch upon the question. Isidor of -Seville, a contemporary of Gregory, and the Venerable Bede in the next -century, were especially interested in the liturgic chant and wrote upon -it, yet they make no mention of Gregory in connection with it. The -documents upon which John bases his assertion, the so-called Gregorian -Antiphonary, do not agree with the ecclesiastical calendar of the actual -time of Gregory I. - -In reply to these objections and others that might be given there is no -answer but legend, which John the Deacon incorporated in his work, and -which was generally accepted toward the close of the eleventh century. -That this legend should have arisen is not strange. It is no uncommon -thing in an uncritical age for the achievement of many minds in a whole -epoch to be attributed to the most commanding personality in that epoch, -and such a personality in the sixth and seventh centuries was Gregory the -Great. - -What, then, is the origin of the so-called Gregorian chant? There is -hardly a more interesting question in the whole history of music, for -this chant is the basis of the whole magnificent structure of mediaeval -church song, and in a certain sense of all modern music, and it can be -traced back unbroken to the earliest years of the Christian Church, the -most persistent and fruitful form of art that the modern world has known. -The most exhaustive study that has been devoted to this obscure subject -has been undertaken by Gevaert, director of the Brussels Conservatory of -Music, who has brought forward strong representation to show that the -musical system of the early Church of Rome was largely derived from the -secular forms of music practised in the private and social life of the -Romans in the time of the empire, and which were brought to Rome from -Greece after the conquest of that country B.C. 146. "No one to-day -doubts," says Gevaert, "that the modes and melodies of the Catholic -liturgy are a precious remains of antique art." "The Christian chant took -its modal scales to the number of four, and its melodic themes, from the -musical practice of the Roman empire, and particularly from the song -given to the accompaniment of the kithara, the special style of music -cultivated in private life. The most ancient monuments of the liturgic -chant go back to the boundary of the fourth and fifth centuries, when the -forms of worship began to be arrested in their present shape. Like the -Latin language, the Greco-Roman music entered in like manner into the -Catholic Church. Vocabulary and syntax are the same with the pagan -Symmachus and his contemporary St. Ambrose; modes and rules of musical -composition are identical in the hymns which Mesomedes addresses to the -divinities of paganism and in the cantilenas of the Christian singers." -"The compilation and composition of the liturgic songs, which was -traditionally ascribed to St. Gregory I., is in truth a work of the -Hellenic popes at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the eighth -centuries. The Antiphonarium Missarum received its definitive form -between 682 and 715; the Antiphonarium Officii was already fixed under -Pope Agathon (678-681)." In the fourth century, according to Gevaert, -antiphons were already known in the East. St. Ambrose is said to have -transplanted them into the West. Pope Celestine I. (422-472) has been -called the founder of the antiphonal song in the Roman Church. Leo the -Great (440-461) gave the song permanence by the establishment of a -singing school in the neighborhood of St. Peter's. Thus from the fifth -century to the latter part of the seventh grew the treasure of melody, -together with the unfolding of the liturgy. The four authentic modes were -adaptations of four modes employed by the Greeks. The oldest chants are -the simplest, and of those now in existence the antiphons of the Divine -Office can be traced farthest back to the transition point from the -Greco-Roman practice to that of the Christian Church. The florid chants -were of later introduction, and were probably the contribution of the -Greek and Syrian Churches.[56] - -The Christian chants were, however, no mere reproductions of profane -melodies. The groundwork of the chant is allied to the Greek melody; the -Christian song is of a much richer melodic movement, bearing in all its -forms the evidence of the exuberant spiritual life of which it is the -chosen expression. The pagan melody was sung to an instrument; the -Christian was unaccompanied, and was therefore free to develop a special -rhythmical and melodic character unconditioned by any laws except those -involved in pure vocal expression. The fact also that the Christian -melodies were set to unmetrical texts, while the Greek melody was wholly -confined to verse, marked the emancipation of the liturgic song from the -bondage of strict prosody, and gave a wider field to melodic and rhythmic -development. - -It would be too much to say that Gevaert has completely made out his -case. The impossibility of verifying the exact primitive form of the -oldest chants, and the almost complete disappearance of the Greco-Roman -melodies which are supposed to be the antecedent or the suggestion of the -early Christian tone formulas, make a positive demonstration in such a -case out of the question. Gevaert seems to rely mainly upon the identity -of modes or keys which exists between the most ancient church melodies -and those most in use in the kithara song. Other explanations, more or -less plausible, have been advanced, and it is not impossible that the -simpler melodies may have arisen in an idealization of the natural speech -accent, with a view to procuring measured and agreeable cadences. Both -methods--actual adaptations of older tunes and the spontaneous -enunciation of more obvious melodic formulas--may have been allied in the -production of the earlier liturgic chants. The laws that have been found -valid in the development of all art would make the derivation of the -ecclesiastical melodies from elements existing in the environment of the -early Church a logical and reasonable supposition, even in the absence of -documentary evidence. - -There is no proof of the existence of a definite system of notation -before the seventh century. The chanters, priests, deacons, and monks, in -applying melodies to the text of the office, composed by aid of their -memories, and their melodies were transmitted by memory, although -probably with the help of arbitrary mnemonic signs. The possibility of -this will readily be granted when we consider that special orders of -monks made it their sole business to preserve, sing, and teach these -melodies. In the confusion and misery following the downfall of the -kingdom of the Goths in the middle of the sixth century the Church became -a sanctuary of refuge from the evils of the time. With the revival of -religious zeal and the accession of strength the Church flourished, -basilicas and convents were multiplied, solemnities increased in number -and splendor, and with other liturgic elements the chant expanded. A -number of popes in the seventh century were enthusiastic lovers of Church -music, and gave it the full benefit of their authority. Among these were -Gregory II. and Gregory III., one of whom may have inadvertently given -his name to the chant. - -The system of tonality upon which the music of the Middle Age was based -was the modal or diatonic. The modern system of transposing scales, each -major or minor scale containing the same succession of steps and half -steps as each of its fellows, dates no further back than the first half -of the seventeenth century. The mediaeval system comprises theoretically -fourteen, in actual use twelve, distinct modes or keys, known as the -ecclesiastical modes or Gregorian modes. These modes are divided into two -classes--the "authentic" and "plagal." The compass of each of the -authentic modes lies between the keynote, called the "final," and the -octave above, and includes the notes represented by the white keys of the -pianoforte, excluding sharps and flats. The first authentic mode begins -on D, the second on E, and so on. Every authentic mode is connected with -a mode known as its plagal, which consists of the last four notes of the -authentic mode transposed an octave below, and followed by the first five -notes of the authentic, the "final" being the same in the two modes. The -modes are sometimes transposed a fifth lower or a fourth higher by means -of flatting the B. During the epoch of the foundation of the liturgic -chant only the first eight modes (four authentic and four plagal) were in -use. The first four authentic modes were popularly attributed to St. -Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, and the first four plagal -to St. Gregory, but there is no historic basis for this tradition. The -last two modes are a later addition to the system. The Greek names are -those by which the modes are popularly known, and indicate a hypothetical -connection with the ancient Greek scale system. - - - - - Authentic Modes Plagal Modes - - - - - Authentic Modes Plagal Modes - - -To suppose that the chant in this period was sung exactly as it appears -in the office books of the present day would be to ignore a very -characteristic and universal usage in the Middle Age. No privilege was -more freely accorded to the mediaeval chanter than that of adding to the -melody whatever embellishment he might choose freely to invent on the -impulse of the moment. The right claimed by Italian opera singers down to -a very recent date to decorate the phrases with trills, cadenzas, etc., -even to the extent of altering the written notes themselves, is only the -perpetuation of a practice generally prevalent in the mediaeval Church, -and which may have come down, for anything we know to the contrary, from -remote antiquity. In fact, the requirement of singing the notes exactly -as they are written is a modern idea; no such rule was recognized as -invariably binding until well into the nineteenth century. It was no -uncommon thing in Händel's time and after to introduce free -embellishments even into "I know that my Redeemer liveth" in the -"Messiah." In the Middle Age the singers in church and convent took great -merit to themselves for the inventive ability and vocal adroitness by -which they were able to sprinkle the plain notes of the chant with -improvised embellishments. "Moreover, there existed in the liturgic text -a certain number of words upon which the singers had the liberty of -dilating according to their fancy. According to an ancient Christian -tradition, certain chants were followed by a number of notes sung upon -meaningless vowels; these notes, called neumes or _jubili_, rendered, in -accordance with a poetic thought, the faith and adoration of the -worshipers who appeared to be unable to find words that could express -their sentiments. These vocalizations or embroideries were sometimes -longer than the chants themselves, and many authors complained of the -importance given to these vocal fantasies."[57] Among the mnemonic signs -which, before the invention of the staff and notation system, indicated -the changes of pitch to be observed by the singer, there were many that -unmistakably point to the traditional flourishes which had become an -integral element in the Plain Song system. Many of these survived and -were carried over into secular music after the method of chanting became -more simple and severe. Similar license was also practised in the later -period of part singing, and not only in the rude early counterpoint of -the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but even in the highly developed -and specialized chorus music of the sixteenth century, the embellishments -which were reduced to a system and handed down by tradition, gave to this -art a style and effect the nature of which has now fallen from the -knowledge of men. - -Such was the nature of the song which resounded about the altars of Roman -basilicas and through convent cloisters in the seventh and eighth -centuries, and which has remained the sanctioned official speech of the -Catholic Church in her ritual functions to the present day. Nowhere did -it suffer any material change or addition until it became the basis of a -new harmonic art in Northern Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth -centuries. The chant according to the Roman use began to extend itself -over Europe in connection with the missionary efforts which emanated from -Rome from the time of Gregory the Great. Augustine, the emissary of -Gregory, who went to England in 597 to convert the Saxons, carried with -him the Roman chant. "The band of monks," says Green, "entered Canterbury -bearing before them a silver cross with a picture of Christ, and singing -in concert the strains of the litany of their church."[58] And although -the broad-minded Gregory instructed Augustine not to insist upon -supplanting with the Roman use the liturgy already employed in the older -British churches if such an attempt would create hostility, yet the Roman -chant was adopted both at Canterbury and York. - -The Roman chant was accepted eventually throughout the dominions of the -Church as an essential element of the Roman liturgy. Both shared the same -struggles and the same triumphs. Familiarity with the church song became -an indispensable part of the equipment of every clergyman, monastic and -secular. No missionary might go forth from Rome who was not adept in it. -Monks made dangerous journeys to Rome from the remotest districts in -order to learn it. Every monastery founded in the savage forests of -Germany, Gaul, or Britain became at once a singing school, and day and -night the holy strains went up in unison with the melodies of the far -distant sacred city. The Anglo-Saxon monk Winfrid, afterward known as -Boniface, the famous missionary to the Germans, planted the Roman liturgy -in Thuringia and Hesse, and devoted untiring efforts to teaching the -Gregorian song to his barbarous proselytes. In Spain, Ildefonso, about -600, is enrolled among the zealous promoters of sacred song according to -the use of Rome. Most eminent and most successful of all who labored for -the exclusive authority of the Roman chant as against the Milanese, -Gallican, and other rival forms was Charlemagne, king of the Franks from -768 to 814, whose persistent efforts to implant the Gregorian song in -every church and school in his wide dominions was an important detail of -his labor in the interest of liturgic uniformity according to the Roman -model. - -Among the convent schools which performed such priceless service for -civilization in the gloomy period of the early Middle Age, the monastery -of St. Gall in Switzerland holds an especially distinguished place. This -convent was established in the seventh century by the Irish monk from -whom it took its name, rapidly increased in repute as a centre of piety -and learning, and during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries numbered -some of the foremost scholars of the time among its brotherhood. About -790 two monks, versed in all the lore of the liturgic chant, were sent -from Rome into the empire of Charlemagne at the monarch's request. One of -them, Romanus, was received and entertained by the monks of St. Gall, and -was persuaded to remain with them as teacher of church song according to -the Antiphonary which he had brought with him from Rome. St. Gall soon -became famous as a place where the purest traditions of the Roman chant -were taught and practised. Schubiger, in his extremely interesting work, -_Die Sängerschule St. Gallens vom VIII.-XII. Jahrhundert_, has given an -extended account of the methods of devotional song in use at St. Gall, -which may serve as an illustration of the general practice among the -pious monks of the Middle Age: - - -"In the reign of Charlemagne (803) the Council of Aachen enjoined upon -all monasteries the use of the Roman song, and a later capitulary -required that the monks should perform this song completely and in proper -order at the divine office, in the daytime as well as at night. According -to other rescripts during the reign of Louis the Pious (about 820) the -monks of St. Gall were required daily to celebrate Mass, and also to -perform the service of all the canonical hours. The solemn melodies of -the ancient psalmody resounded daily in manifold and precisely ordered -responses; at the midnight hour the sound of the Invitatorium, Venite -exultamus Domino, opened the service of the nocturnal vigils; the -prolonged, almost mournful tones of the responses alternated with the -intoned recitation of the lessons; in the spaces of the temple on Sundays -and festal days, at the close of the nightly worship, there reëchoed the -exalted strains of the Ambrosian hymn of praise (Te Deum laudamus); at -the first dawn of day began the morning adoration, with psalms and -antiphons, hymns and prayers; to these succeeded in due order the -remaining offices of the diurnal hours. The people were daily invited by -the Introit to participate in the holy mysteries; they heard in solemn -stillness the tones of the Kyrie imploring mercy; on festal days they -were inspired by the song once sung by the host of angels; after the -Gradual they heard the melodies of the Sequence which glorified the -object of the festival in jubilant choral strains, and afterward the -simple recitative tones of the Creed; at the Sanctus they were summoned -to join in the praise of the Thrice Holy, and to implore the mercy of the -Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world. These were the songs which, -about the middle of the ninth century, arose on festal or ferial days in -the cloister church of St. Gall. How much store the fathers of this -convent set upon beauty and edification in song appears from the old -regulations in which distinct pronunciation of words and uniformity of -rendering are enjoined, and hastening or dragging the time sharply -rebuked." - - -Schubiger goes on to say that three styles of performing the chant were -employed; _viz._, a very solemn one for the highest festivals, one less -solemn for Sundays and saints' days, and an ordinary one for ferial days. -An appropriate character was given to the different chants,--_e. g._, a -profound and mournful expression in the office for the dead; an -expression of tenderness and sweetness to the hymns, the Kyrie, Sanctus, -and Agnus Dei; and a dignified character (cantus gravis) to the -antiphons, responses, and alleluia. Anything that could disturb the -strict and euphonious rendering of the song was strictly forbidden. -Harsh, unmusical voices were not permitted to take part. Distinctness, -precise conformity of all the singers in respect to time, and purity of -intonation were inflexibly demanded. - -Special services, with processions and appropriate hymns, were instituted -on the occasion of the visit to the monastery of the emperor or other -high dignitary. All public observances, the founding of a building, the -reception of holy relics, the consecration of a bell or altar,--even many -of the prescribed routine duties of conventual life, such as drawing -water, lighting lamps, or kindling fires,--each had its special form of -song. It was not enthusiasm, but sober truth, that led Ekkehard V. to say -that the rulers of this convent, "through their songs and melodies, as -also through their teachings, filled the Church of God, not only in -Germany, but in all lands from one sea to the other, with splendor and -joy." - -At the convent of St. Gall originated the class of liturgical hymns -called Sequences, which includes some of the finest examples of mediaeval -hymnody. At a very early period it became the custom to sing the Alleluia -of the Gradual to a florid chant, the final vowel being extended into an -exceedingly elaborate flourish of notes. Notker Balbulus, a notable -member of the St. Gall brotherhood in the ninth century, conceived the -notion, under the suggestion of a visiting monk, of making a practical -use of the long-winded final cadence of the Alleluia. He extended and -modified these melodious passages and set words to them, thus -constructing a brief form of prose hymn. His next step was to invent both -notes and text, giving his chants a certain crude form by the occasional -repetition of a melodic strain. He preserved a loose connection with the -Alleluia by retaining the mode and the first few tones. These experiments -found great favor in the eyes of the brethren of St. Gall; others -followed Notker's example, and the Sequence melodies were given honored -places in the ritual on festal days and various solemn occasions. The -custom spread; Pope Nicholas I. in 860 permitted the adoption of the new -style of hymn into the liturgy. The early Sequences were in rhythmic -prose, but in the hands of the ecclesiastical poets of the few centuries -following they were written in rhymed verse. The Sequence was therefore -distinguished from other Latin hymns only by its adoption into the office -of the Mass as a regular member of the liturgy on certain festal days. -The number increased to such large proportions that a sifting process was -deemed necessary, and upon the occasion of the reform of the Missal -through Pius V. after the Council of Trent only five were retained, -_viz._, Victimae paschali, sung on Easter Sunday; Veni Sancte Spiritus, -appointed for Whit-Sunday; Lauda Sion, for Corpus Christi; Stabat Mater -dolorosa, for Friday of Passion Week; and Dies Irae, which forms a -portion of the Mass for the Dead. - -Many beautiful and touching stories have come down to us, illustrating -the passionate love of the monks for their songs, and the devout, even -superstitious, reverence with which they regarded them. Among these are -the tales of the Armorican monk Hervé, in the sixth century, who, blind -from his birth, became the inspirer and teacher of his brethren by means -of his improvised songs, and the patron of mendicant singers, who still -chant his legend in Breton verse. His mother, so one story goes, went one -day to visit him in the cloister, and, as she was approaching, said: "I -see a procession of monks advancing, and I hear the voice of my son. God -be with you, my son! When, with the help of God, I get to heaven, you -shall be warned of it, you shall hear the angels sing." The same evening -she died, and her son, while at prayer in his cell, heard the singing of -the angels as they welcomed her soul in heaven.[59] According to another -legend, told by Gregory of Tours, a mother had taken her only son to a -monastery near Lake Geneva, where he became a monk, and especially -skilful in chanting the liturgic service. "He fell sick and died; his -mother in despair came to bury him, and returned every night to weep and -lament over his tomb. One night she saw St. Maurice in a dream attempting -to console her, but she answered him, 'No, no; as long as I live I shall -always weep for my son, my only child!' 'But,' answered the saint, 'he -must not be wept for as if he were dead; he is with us, he rejoices in -eternal life, and tomorrow, at Matins, in the monastery, thou shalt hear -his voice among the choir of the monks; and not to-morrow only, but every -day as long as thou livest.' The mother immediately arose, and waited -with impatience the first sound of the bell for Matins, to hasten to the -church of the monks. The precentor having intoned the response, when the -monks in full choir took up the antiphon, the mother immediately -recognized the voice of her child. She gave thanks to God; and every day -for the rest of her life, the moment she approached the choir she heard -the voice of her well-beloved son mingle in the sweet and holy melody of -the liturgic chant."[60] - -As centuries went on, and these ancient melodies, gathering such stores -of holy memory, were handed down in their integrity from generation to -generation of praying monks, it is no wonder that the feeling grew that -they too were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The legend long prevailed in -the Middle Age that Gregory the Great one night had a vision in which the -Church appeared to him in the form of an angel, magnificently attired, -upon whose mantle was written the whole art of music, with all the forms -of its melodies and notes. The pope prayed God to give him the power of -recollecting all that he saw; and after he awoke a dove appeared, who -dictated to him the chants which are ascribed to him.[61] Ambros quotes a -mediaeval Latin chronicler, Aurelian Reomensis, who relates that a blind -man named Victor, sitting one day before an altar in the Pantheon at -Rome, by direct divine inspiration composed the response Gaude Maria, and -by a second miracle immediately received his sight. Another story from -the same source tells how a monk of the convent of St. Victor, while upon -a neighboring mountain, heard angels singing the response Cives -Apostolorum, and after his return to Rome he taught the song to his -brethren as he had heard it.[62] - -In order to explain the feeling toward the liturgic chant which is -indicated by these legends and the rapturous eulogies of mediaeval and -modern writers, we have only to remember that the melody was never -separated in thought from the words, that these words were prayer and -praise, made especially acceptable to God because wafted to him by means -of his own gift of music. To the mediaeval monks prayer was the highest -exercise in which man can engage, the most efficacious of all actions, -the chief human agency in the salvation of the world. Prayer was the -divinely appointed business to which they were set apart. Hence arose the -multiplicity of religious services in the convents, the observance of the -seven daily hours of prayer, in some monasteries in France, as earlier in -Syria and Egypt, extending to the so-called _laus perennis_, in which -companies of brethren, relieving each other at stated watches, -maintained, like the sacred fire of Vesta, an unbroken office of song by -night and day. - -Such was the liturgic chant in the ages of faith, before the invention of -counterpoint and the first steps in modern musical science suggested new -conceptions and methods in worship music. It constitutes to-day a unique -and precious heritage from an era which, in its very ignorance, -superstition, barbarism of manners, and ruthlessness of political -ambition, furnishes strongest evidence of the divine origin of a faith -which could triumph over such antagonisms. To the devout Catholic the -chant has a sanctity which transcends even its aesthetic and historic -value, but non-Catholic as well as Catholic may reverence it as a direct -creation and a token of a mode of thought which, as at no epoch since, -conceived prayer and praise as a Christian's most urgent duty, and as an -infallible means of gaining the favor of God. - -The Catholic liturgic chant, like all other monumental forms of art, has -often suffered through the vicissitudes of taste which have beguiled even -those whose official responsibilities would seem to constitute them the -special custodians of this sacred treasure. Even to-day there are many -clergymen and church musicians who have but a faint conception of the -affluence of lovely melody and profound religious expression contained in -this vast body of mediaeval music. Where purely aesthetic considerations -have for a time prevailed, as they often will even in a Church in which -tradition and symbolism exert so strong an influence as they do in the -Catholic, this archaic form of melody has been neglected. Like all the -older types (the sixteenth century _a capella_ chorus and the German -rhythmic choral, for example) its austere speech has not been able to -prevail against the fascinations of the modern brilliant and emotional -style of church music which has emanated from instrumental art and the -Italian aria. Under this latter influence, and the survival of the -seventeenth-century contempt for everything mediaeval and "Gothic," the -chant was long looked upon with disdain as the offspring of a barbarous -age, and only maintained at all out of unwilling deference to -ecclesiastical authority. In the last few decades, however, probably as a -detail of the reawakening in all departments of a study of the great -works of older art, there has appeared a reaction in favor of a renewed -culture of the Gregorian chant. The tendency toward sensationalism in -church music has now begun to subside. The true ideal is seen to be in -the past. Together with the new appreciation of Palestrina, Bach, and the -older Anglican Church composers, the Catholic chant is coming to its -rights, and an enlightened modern taste is beginning to realize the -melodious beauty, the liturgic appropriateness, and the edifying power -that lie in the ancient unison song. This movement is even now only in -its inception; in the majority of church centres there is still apathy, -and in consequence corruption of the old forms, crudity and coldness in -execution. Much has, however, been already achieved, and in the patient -and acute scholarship applied in the field of textual criticism by the -monks of Solesmes and the church musicians of Paris, Brussels, and -Regensburg, in the enthusiastic zeal shown in many churches and -seminaries of Europe and America for the attainment of a pure and -expressive style of delivery, and in the restoration of the Plain Song to -portions of the ritual from which it has long been banished, we see -evidences of a movement which promises to be fruitful, not only in this -special sphere, but also, as a direct consequence, in other domains of -church music which have been too long neglected. - -The historic status of the Gregorian chant as the basis of the -magnificent structure of Catholic church music down to 1600, of the -Anglican chant, and to a large extent of the German people's hymn-tune or -choral, has always been known to scholars. The revived study of it has -come from an awakened perception of its liturgic significance and its -inherent beauty. The influence drawn from its peculiarly solemn and -elevated quality has begun to penetrate the chorus work of the best -Catholic composers of the recent time. Protestant church musicians are -also beginning to find advantage in the study of the melody, the rhythm, -the expression, and even the tonality of the Gregorian song. And every -lover of church music will find a new pleasure and uplift in listening to -its noble strains. He must, however, listen sympathetically, expelling -from his mind all comparison with the modern styles to which he is -accustomed, holding in clear view its historic relations and liturgic -function. To one who so attunes his mind to its peculiar spirit and -purport, the Gregorian Plain Song will seem worthy of the exalted place -it holds in the veneration of the most august ecclesiastical institution -in history. - - - - - CHAPTER V - THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIAEVAL CHORUS MUSIC - - -It has already been noted that the music of the Catholic Church has -passed through three typical phases or styles, each complete in itself, -bounded by clearly marked lines, corresponding quite closely in respect -to time divisions with the three major epochs into which the history of -the Western Church may be divided. These phases or schools of -ecclesiastical song are so far from being mutually exclusive that both -the first and second persisted after the introduction of the third, so -that at the present day at least two of the three forms are in use in -almost every Catholic congregation, the Gregorian chant being employed in -the song of the priest and in the antiphonal psalms and responses, and -either the second or third form being adopted in the remaining -offices.[63] - -Since harmony was unknown during the first one thousand years or more of -the Christian era, and instrumental music had no independent existence, -the whole vast system of chant melodies was purely unison and -unaccompanied, its rhythm usually subordinated to that of the text. -Melody, unsupported by harmony, soon runs its course, and if no new -principle had been added to this antique melodic method, European music -would have become petrified or else have gone on copying itself -indefinitely. But about the eleventh century a new conception made its -appearance, in which lay the assurance of the whole magnificent art of -modern music. This new principle was that of harmony, the combination of -two or more simultaneous and mutually dependent parts. The importance of -this discovery needs no emphasis. It not only introduced an artistic -agency that is practically unlimited in scope and variety, but it made -music for the first time a free art, with its laws of rhythm and -structure no longer identical with those of language, but drawn from the -powers that lie inherent in its own nature. Out of the impulse to combine -two or more parts together in complete freedom from the constraints of -verbal accent and prosody sprang the second great school of church music, -which, likewise independent of instrumental accompaniment, developed -along purely vocal lines, and issued in the contrapuntal chorus music -which attained its maturity in the last half of the sixteenth century. - -This mediaeval school of _a capella_ polyphonic music is in many respects -more attractive to the student of ecclesiastical art than even the far -more elaborate and brilliant style which prevails to-day. Modern church -music, by virtue of its variety, splendor, and dramatic pathos, seems to -be tinged with the hues of earthliness which belie the strictest -conception of ecclesiastical art. It partakes of the doubt and turmoil of -a skeptical and rebellious age, it is the music of impassioned longing in -which are mingled echoes of worldly allurements, it is not the chastened -tone of pious assurance and self-abnegation. The choral song developed in -the ages of faith is pervaded by the accents of that calm ecstasy of -trust and celestial anticipation which give to mediaeval art that -exquisite charm of naïveté and sincerity never again to be realized -through the same medium, because it is the unconscious expression of an -unquestioning simplicity of conviction which seems to have passed away -forever from the higher manifestations of the human creative intellect. - -Such pathetic suggestion clings to the religious music of the Middle Age -no less palpably than to the sculpture, painting, and hymnody of the same -era, and combines with its singular artistic perfection and loftiness of -tone to render it perhaps the most typical and lovely of all the forms of -Catholic art. And yet to the generality of students of church and art -history it is of all the products of the Middle Age the least familiar. -Any intellectual man whom we might select would call himself but scantily -educated if he had no acquaintance with mediaeval architecture and -plastic art; yet he would probably not feel at all ashamed to confess -total ignorance of that vast store of liturgic music which in the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries filled the incense-laden air of those -very cathedrals and chapels in which his reverent feet so love to wander. -The miracles of mediaeval architecture, the achievements of the Gothic -sculptors and the religious painters of Florence, Cologne, and Flanders -are familiar to him, but the musical craftsmen of the Low Countries, -Paris, Rome, and Venice, who clothed every prayer, hymn, and Scripture -lesson with strains of unique beauty and tenderness, are only names, if -indeed their names are known to him at all. Yet in sheer bulk their works -would doubtless be found to equal the whole amount of the music of every -kind that has been written in the three centuries following their era; -while in technical mastery and adaptation to its special end this school -is not unworthy of comparison with the more brilliant and versatile art -of the present day. - -The period from the twelfth century to the close of the sixteenth was one -of extraordinary musical activity. The thousands of cathedrals, chapels, -parish churches, and convents were unceasing in their demands for new -settings of the Mass and offices. Until the art of printing was applied -to musical notes about the year 1500, followed by the foundation of -musical publishing houses, there was but little duplication or exchange -of musical compositions, and thus every important ecclesiastical -establishment must be provided with its own corps of composers and -copyists. The religious enthusiasm and the vigorous intellectual activity -of the Middle Age found as free a channel of discharge in song as in any -other means of embellishment of the church ceremonial. These conditions, -together with the absence of an operatic stage, a concert system, or a -musical public, turned the fertile musical impulses of the period to the -benefit of the Church. The ecclesiastical musicians also set to music -vast numbers of madrigals, chansons, villanellas, and the like, for the -entertainment of aristocratic patrons, but this was only an incidental -deflection from their more serious duties as ritual composers. In quality -as well as quantity the mediaeval chorus music was not unworthy of -comparison with the architectural, sculptural, pictorial, and textile -products which were created in the same epoch and under the same -auspices. The world has never witnessed a more absorbed devotion to a -single artistic idea, neither has there existed since the golden age of -Greek sculpture another art form so lofty in expression and so perfect in -workmanship as the polyphonic church chorus in the years of its maturity. -That style of musical art which was brought to fruition by such men as -Josquin des Prés, Orlandus Lassus, Willaert, Palestrina, Vittoria, the -Anerios, the Gabrielis, and Lotti is not unworthy to be compared with the -Gothic cathedrals in whose epoch it arose and with the later triumphs of -Renaissance painting with which it culminated. - -Of this remarkable achievement of genius the educated man above mentioned -knows little or nothing. How is it possible, he might ask, that a school -of art so opulent in results, capable of arousing so much admiration -among the initiated, could have dominated all Europe for five such -brilliant centuries, and yet have left so little impress upon the -consciousness of the modern world, if it really possessed the high -artistic merits that are claimed for it? The answer is not difficult. For -the world at large music exists only as it is performed, and the -difficulty and expense of musical performance insure, as a general rule, -the neglect of compositions that do not arouse a public demand. Church -music is less susceptible than secular to the tyranny of fashion, but -even in this department changing tastes and the politic compromising -spirit tend to pay court to novelty and to neglect the antiquated. The -revolution in musical taste and practice which occurred early in the -seventeenth century--a revolution so complete that it metamorphosed the -whole conception of the nature and purpose of music--swept all musical -production off into new directions, and the complex austere art of the -mediaeval Church was forgotten under the fascination of the new Italian -melody and the vivid rhythm and tone-color of the orchestra. Since then -the tide of invention has never paused long enough to enable the world at -large to turn its thought to the forsaken treasures of the past. -Moreover, only a comparatively minute part of this multitude of old works -has ever been printed, much of it has been lost, the greater portion lies -buried in the dust of libraries; whatever is accessible must be released -from an abstruse and obsolete system of notation, and the methods of -performance, which conditioned a large measure of its effect, must be -restored under the uncertain guidance of tradition. The usages of chorus -singing in the present era do not prepare singers to cope with the -peculiar difficulties of the _a capella_ style; a special education and -an unwonted mode of feeling are required for an appreciation of its -appropriateness and beauty. Nevertheless, such is its inherent vitality, -so magical is its attraction to one who has come into complete harmony -with its spirit, so true is it as an exponent of the mystical submissive -type of piety which always tends to reassert itself in a rationalistic -age like the present, that the minds of churchmen are gradually returning -to it, and scholars and musical directors are tempting it forth from its -seclusion. Societies are founded for its study, choirs in some of the -most influential church centres are adding mediaeval works to their -repertories, journals and schools are laboring in its interest, and its -influence is insinuating itself into the modern mass and anthem, lending -to the modern forms a more elevated and spiritual quality. Little by -little the world of culture is becoming enlightened in respect to the -unique beauty and refinement of this form of art; and the more -intelligent study of the Middle Age, which has now taken the place of the -former prejudiced misinterpretation, is forming an attitude of mind that -is capable of a sympathetic response to this most exquisite and -characteristic of all the products of mediaeval genius. - -In order to seize the full significance of this school of Catholic music -in its mature stage in the sixteenth century, it will be necessary to -trace its origin and growth. The constructive criticism of the present -day rests on the principle that we cannot comprehend works and schools of -art unless we know their causes and environment. We shall find as we -examine the history of mediaeval choral song, that it arose in response -to an instinctive demand for a more expansive form of music than the -unison chant. Liturgic necessities can in no wise account for the -invention of part singing, for even today the Gregorian Plain Song -remains the one officially recognized form of ritual music in the -Catholic Church. It was an unconscious impulse, prophesying a richer -musical expression which could not at once be realized,--a blind revolt -of the European mind against bondage to an antique and restrictive form -of expression. For the Gregorian chant by its very nature as -unaccompanied melody, rhythmically controlled by prose accent and -measure, was incapable of further development, and it was impossible that -music should remain at a stand-still while all the other arts were -undergoing the pains of growth. The movement which elicited the art of -choral song from the latent powers of the liturgic chant was identical -with the tendency which evolved Gothic and Renaissance architecture, -sculpture, and painting out of Roman and Byzantine art. Melody -unsupported soon runs its course; harmony, music in parts, with contrast -of consonance and dissonance, dynamics, and light and shade, must -supplement melody, adding more opulent resources to the simple charm of -tone and rhythm. The science of harmony, at least in the modern sense, -was unknown in antiquity, and the Gregorian chant was but the projection -of the antique usage into the modern world. The history of modern -European music, therefore, begins with the first authentic instances of -singing in two or more semi-independent parts, these parts being -subjected to a definite proportional notation. - -A century or so before the science of part writing had taken root in -musical practice, a strange barbaric form of music meets our eyes. A -manuscript of the tenth century, formerly ascribed to Hucbald of St. -Armand, who lived, however, a century earlier, gives the first distinct -account, with rules for performance, of a divergence from the custom of -unison singing, by which the voices of the choir, instead of all singing -the same notes, move along together separated by octaves and fourths or -octaves and fifths; or else a second voice accompanies the first by a -movement sometimes direct, sometimes oblique, and sometimes contrary. The -author of this manuscript makes no claim to the invention of this manner -of singing, but alludes to it as something already well known. Much -speculation has been expended upon the question of the origin and purpose -of the first form of this barbarous orgunum or diaphony, as it was -called. Some conjecture that it was suggested by the sound of the ancient -Keltic stringed instrument crowth or crotta, which was tuned in fifths -and had a flat finger-board; others find in it an imitation of the early -organ with its several rows of pipes sounding fifths like a modern -mixture stop; while others suppose, with some reason, that it was a -survival of a fashion practised among the Greeks and Rornans. The -importance of the organum in music history has, however, been greatly -overrated, for properly speaking it was not harmony or part singing at -all, but only another kind of unison. Even the second form of organum was -but little nearer the final goal, for the attendant note series was not -free enough to be called an organic element in a harmonic structure. As -soon, however, as the accompanying part was allowed ever so little -unconstrained life of its own, the first steps in genuine part writing -were taken, and a new epoch in musical history had begun. - -The freer and more promising style which issued from the treadmill of the -organum was called in its initial stages discant (Lat. _discantus_), and -was at first wholly confined to an irregular mixture of octaves, unisons, -fifths and fourths, with an occasional third as a sort of concession to -the criticism of the natural ear upon antique theory. At first two parts -only were employed. Occasional successions of parallel fifths and -fourths, the heritage of the organum, long survived, but they were -gradually eliminated as hollow and unsatisfying, and the principle of -contrary motion, which is the very soul of all modern harmony and -counterpoint, was slowly established. It must be borne in mind, as the -clue to all mediaeval music, that the practice of tone combination -involved no idea whatever of chords, as modern theory conceives them. The -characteristic principle of the vastly preponderating portion of the -music of the last three centuries is harmony, technically so called, -_i.e._, chords, solid or distributed, out of which melody is primarily -evolved. Homophony, monody--one part sustaining the tune while all others -serve as the support and, so to speak, the coloring material also--is now -the ruling postulate. The chorus music of Europe down to the seventeenth -century was, on the other hand, based on melody; the composer never -thought of his combination as chords, but worked, we might say, -horizontally, weaving together several semi-independent melodies into a -flexible and accordant tissue.[64] - -The transition from organum to discant was effected about the year 1100. -There was for a time no thought of the invention of the component -melodies. Not only the _cantus firmus_ (the principal theme), but also -the counterpoint (the melodic "running mate"), was borrowed, the second -factor being frequently a folk-tune altered to fit the chant melody, -according to the simple laws of euphony then admitted. In respect to the -words the discant may be divided into two classes: the words might be the -same in both parts; or one voice would sing the text of the office of the -Church, and the other the words of the secular song from which the -accompanying tune was taken. In the twelfth century the monkish -musicians, stirred to bolder flights by the satisfactory results of their -two-part discant, essayed three parts, with results at first childishly -awkward, but with growing ease and smoothness. Free invention of the -accompanying parts took the place of the custom of borrowing the entire -melodic framework, for while two borrowed themes might fit each other, it -was practically impossible to find three that would do so without almost -complete alteration. As a scientific method of writing developed, with -the combination of parallel and contrary motion, the term discant gave -way to counterpoint (Lat. _punctus contra punctum_). But there was never -any thought of inventing the _cantus firmus_; this was invariably taken -from a ritual book or a popular tune, and the whole art of composition -consisted in fabricating melodic figures that would unite with it in an -agreeable synthesis. These contrapuntal devices, at first simple and -often harsh, under the inevitable law of evolution became more free and -mellifluous at the same time that they became more complex. The primitive -discant was one note against one note; later the accompanying part was -allowed to sing several notes against one of the _cantus firmus_. Another -early form consisted of notes interrupted by rests. In the twelfth -century such progress had been made that thirds and sixths were -abundantly admitted, dissonant intervals were made to resolve upon -consonances, consecutive fifths were avoided, passing notes and -embellishments were used in the accompanying voices, and the beginnings -of double counterpoint and imitation appeared. Little advance was made in -the thirteenth century; music was still chiefly a matter of scholastic -theory, a mechanical handicraft. Considerable dexterity had been attained -in the handling of three simultaneous, independent parts. Contrary and -parallel motion alternating for variety's sake, contrast of consonance -and dissonance, a system of notation by which time values as well as -differences of pitch could be indicated, together with a recognition of -the importance of rhythm as an ingredient in musical effect,--all this -foreshadowed the time when the material of tonal art would be plastic in -the composer's hand, and he would be able to mould it into forms of -fluent grace, pregnant with meaning. This final goal was still far away; -the dull, plodding round of apprenticeship must go on through the -fourteenth century also, and the whole conscious aim of effort must be -directed to the invention of scientific combinations which might -ultimately provide a vehicle for the freer action of the imagination. - - - - -Example of Discant in Three Parts with Different Words (Twelfth Century). - - -From Coussemaker, _Histoire de l'harmonie au moyen age_. Translated into -modern notation. - -The period from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries was, therefore, -not one of expressive art work, but rather of slow and arduous -experiment. The problem was so to adjust the semi-independent melodious -parts that an unimpeded life might be preserved in all the voices, and -yet the combined effect be at any instant pure and beautiful. The larger -the number of parts, the greater the skill required to weave them -together into a varied, rich, and euphonious pattern. Any one of these -parts might for the moment hold the place of the leading part which the -others were constrained to follow through the mazes of the design. Hence -the term polyphonic, _i.e._, many-voiced. Although each voice part was as -important as any other in this living musical texture, yet each section -took its cue from a single melody--a fragment of a Gregorian chant or a -folk-tune and called the _cantus firmus_, and also known as the tenor, -from _teneo_, to hold--and the voice that gave out this melody came to be -called the tenor voice. In the later phases of this art the first -utterance of the theme was assigned indifferently to any one of the voice -parts. - -After confidence had been gained in devising two or more parts to be sung -simultaneously, the next step was to bring in one part after another. -Some method of securing unity amid variety was now necessary, and this -was found in the contrivance known as "imitation," by which one voice -follows another through the same or approximate intervals, the part first -sounded acting as a model for a short distance, then perhaps another -taking up the leadership with a new melodic figure, the intricate network -of parts thus revealing itself as a coherent organism rather than a -fortuitous conjunction of notes, the composer's invention and the -hearers' impression controlled by a conscious plan to which each melodic -part is tributary. - -When a number of parts came to be used together, the need of fixing the -pitch and length of notes with precision became imperative. So out of the -antique mnemonic signs, which had done useful service during the -exclusive régime of the unison chant, there was gradually developed a -system of square-headed notes, together with a staff of lines and spaces. -But instead of simplicity a bewildering complexity reigned for centuries. -Many clefs were used, shifting their place on the staff in order to keep -the notes within the lines; subtleties, many and deep, were introduced, -and the matter of rhythm, key relations, contrapuntal structure, and -method of singing became a thing abstruse and recondite. Composition was -more like algebraic calculation than free art; symbolisms of trinity and -unity, of perfect and imperfect, were entangled in the notation, to the -delight of the ingenious monkish intellect and the despair of the -neophyte and the modern student of mediaeval manuscripts. Progress was -slowest at the beginning. It seemed an interminable task to learn to put -a number of parts together with any degree of ease, and for many -generations after it was first attempted the results were harsh and -uncouth. - -Even taking into account the obstacles to rapid development which exist -in the very nature of music as the most abstract of the arts, it seems -difficult to understand why it should have been so long in acquiring -beauty and expression. There was a shorter way to both, but the church -musicians would not take it. All around them bloomed a rich verdure of -graceful expressive melody in the song and instrumental play of the -common people. But the monkish musicians and choristers scorned to follow -the lead of anything so artless and obvious. In a scholastic age they -were musical scholastics; subtilty and fine pedantic distinctions were -their pride. They had become infatuated with the formal and technical, -and they seemed indifferent to the claims of the natural and simple while -carried away by a passion for intricate structural problems. - -The growth of such an art as this, without models, must necessarily be -painfully slow. Many of the cloistered experimenters passed their lives -in nursing an infant art without seeing enough progress to justify any -very strong faith in the bantling's future. Their floundering -helplessness is often pathetic, but not enough so to overcome a smile at -the futility of their devices. Practice and theory did not always work -amiably together. In studying the chorus music of the Middle Age, we must -observe that, as in the case of the liturgic chant, the singers did not -deem it necessary to confine themselves to the notes actually written. In -this formative period of which we are speaking it was the privilege of -the singers to vary and decorate the written phrases according to their -good pleasure. These adornments were sometimes carefully thought out, -incorporated into the stated method of delivery, and handed down as -traditions.[65] But it is evident that in the earlier days of -counterpoint these variations were often extemporized on the spur of the -moment. The result of this habit on the part of singers who were ignorant -of the laws of musical consonance and proportion, and whose ears were as -dull as their understandings, could easily be conceived even if we did -not have before us the indignant testimony of many musicians and -churchmen of the period. Jean Cotton, in the eleventh century, says that -he could only compare the singers with drunken men, who indeed find their -way home, but do not know how they get there. The learned theorist, Jean -de Muris, of the fourteenth century, exclaims: "How can men have the face -to sing discant who know nothing of the combination of sounds! Their -voices roam around the _cantus firmus_ without regard to any rule; they -throw their tones out by luck, just as an unskilful thrower hurls a -stone, hitting the mark once in a hundred casts." As he broods over the -abuse his wrath increases. "O roughness, O bestiality! taking an ass for -a man, a kid for a lion, a sheep for a fish. They cannot tell a -consonance from a dissonance. They are like a blind man trying to strike -a dog." Another censor apostrophizes the singers thus: "Does such oxen -bellowing belong in the Church? Is it believed that God can be graciously -inclined by such an uproar?" Oelred, the Scottish abbot of Riverby in the -twelfth century, rails at the singers for jumbling the tones together in -every kind of distortion, for imitating the whinnying of horses, or -(worst of all in his eyes) sharpening their voices like those of women. -He tells how the singers bring in the aid of absurd gestures to enhance -the effect of their preposterous strains, swaying their bodies, twisting -their lips, rolling their eyes, and bending their fingers, with each -note. A number of popes, notably John XXII., tried to suppress these -offences, but the extemporized discant was too fascinating a plaything to -be dropped, and ridicule and pontifical rebuke were alike powerless. - -Such abuses were, of course, not universal, perhaps not general,--as to -that we cannot tell; but they illustrate the chaotic condition of church -music in the three or four centuries following the first adoption of part -singing. The struggle for light was persistent, and music, however crude -and halting, received abundant measure of the reverence which, in the age -that saw the building of the Gothic cathedrals, was accorded to -everything that was identified with the Catholic religion. There were no -forms of music that could rival the song of the Church,--secular music at -the best was a plaything, not an art. The whole endeavor of the learned -musicians was addressed to the enrichment of the church service, and the -wealthy and powerful princes of France, Italy, Austria, Spain, and -England turned the patronage of music at their courts in the same channel -with the patronage of the Church. It was in the princely chapels of -Northern France and the schools attached to them that the new art of -counterpoint was first cultivated. So far as the line of progress can be -traced, the art originated in Paris or its vicinity, and slowly spread -over the adjacent country. The home of Gothic architecture was the home -of mediaeval chorus music, and the date of the appearance of these two -products is the same. The princes of France and Flanders (the term France -at that period meaning the dominions of the Capetian dynasty) faithfully -guarded the interests of religious music, and the theorists and composers -of this time were officers of the secular government as well as of the -Church. We should naturally suppose that church music would be actively -supported by a king so pious as Robert of France (eleventh century), who -discarded his well-beloved wife at the command of Pope Gregory V. because -she was his second cousin, who held himself pure and magnanimous in the -midst of a fierce and corrupt age, and who composed many beautiful hymns, -including (as is generally agreed) the exquisite Sequence, Veni Sancte -Spiritus. He was accustomed to lead the choir in his chapel by voice and -gesture. He carried on all his journeys a little prayer chamber in the -form of a tent, in which he sang at the stated daily hours to the praise -of God. Louis IX. also, worthily canonized for the holiness of his life, -made the cultivation of church song one of the most urgent of his duties. -Every day he heard two Masses, sometimes three or four. At the canonical -hours hymns and prayers were chanted by his chapel choir, and even on his -crusades his choristers went before him on the march, singing the office -for the day, and the king, a priest by his side, sang in a low voice -after them. Rulers of a precisely opposite character, the craftiest and -most violent in a guileful and brutal age, were zealous patrons of church -music. Even during that era of slaughter and misery when the French -kingship was striding to supremacy over the bodies of the great vassals, -and struggling with England for very existence in the One Hundred Years' -War, the art of music steadily advanced, and the royal and ducal chapels -flourished. Amid such conditions and under such patronage accomplished -musicians were nurtured in France and the Low Countries, and thence they -went forth to teach all Europe the noble art of counterpoint. - -About the year 1350 church music had cast off its swaddling bands and had -entered upon the stage that was soon to lead up to maturity. With the -opening of the fifteenth century compositions worthy to be called -artistic were produced. These were hardly yet beautiful according to -modern standards, certainly they had little or no characteristic -expression, but they had begun to be pliable and smooth sounding, showing -that the notes had come under the composer's control, and that he was no -longer an awkward apprentice. From the early part of the fifteenth -century we date the epoch of artistic polyphony, which advanced in purity -and dignity until it culminated in the perfected art of the sixteenth -century. So large a proportion of the fathers and high priests of -mediaeval counterpoint belonged to the districts now included in Northern -France, Belgium, and Holland that the period bounded by the years 1400 -and 1550 is known in music history as "the age of the Netherlanders." -With limitless patience and cunning, the French and Netherland musical -artificers applied themselves to the problems of counterpoint, producing -works enormous in quantity and often of bewildering intricacy. Great -numbers of pupils were trained in the convents and chapel schools, -becoming masters in their turn, and exercising commanding influence in -the churches and cloisters of all Europe. Complexity in part writing -steadily increased, not only in combinations of notes, but also in the -means of indicating their employment. It often happened that each voice -must sing to a measure sign that was different from that provided for the -other voices. Double and triple rhythm alternated, the value of notes of -the same character varied in different circumstances; a highly -sophisticated symbolism was invented, known as "riddle canons," by which -adepts were enabled to improvise accompanying parts to the _cantus -firmus_; and counterpoint, single and double, augmented and diminished, -direct, inverted, and retrograde, became at once the end and the means of -musical endeavor. Rhythm was obscured and the words almost hopelessly -lost in the web of crossing parts. The _cantus firmus_, often extended -into notes of portentous length, lost all expressive quality, and was -treated only as a thread upon which this closely woven fabric was strung. -Composers occupied themselves by preference with the mechanical side of -music; quite unimaginative, they were absorbed in solving technical -problems; and so they went on piling up difficulties for their -fellow-craftsmen to match, making music for the eye rather than for the -ear, for the logical faculty rather than for the fancy or the emotion. - -It would, however, be an error to suppose that such labored artifice was -the sole characteristic of the scientific music of the fifteenth century. -The same composers who revelled in the exercise of this kind of -scholastic subtlety also furnished their choirs with a vast amount of -music in four, five, and six parts, complex and difficult indeed from the -present point of view, but for the choristers as then trained perfectly -available, in which there was a striving for solemn devotional effect, a -melodious leading of the voices, and the adjustment of phrases into -bolder and more symmetrical patterns. Even among the master fabricators -of musical labyrinths we find glimpses of a recognition of the true final -aim of music, a soul dwelling in the tangled skeins of their polyphony, a -grace and inwardness of expression comparable to the poetic -suggestiveness which shines through the naïve and often rude forms of -Gothic sculpture. The growing fondness on the part of the austere church -musicians for the setting of secular poems--madrigals, chansons, -villanellas, and the like--in polyphonic style gradually brought in a -simpler construction, more obvious melody, and a more characteristic and -pertinent expression, which reacted upon the mass and motet in the -promotion of a more direct and flexible manner of treatment The _stile -famigliare_, in which the song moves note against note, syllable against -syllable, suggesting modern chord progression, is no invention of -Palestrina, with whose name it is commonly associated, but appears in -many episodes in the works of his Netherland masters. - -The contrapuntal chorus music of the Middle Age reached its maturity in -the middle of the sixteenth century. For five hundred years this art had -been growing, constantly putting forth new tendrils, which interlaced in -luxuriant and ever-extending forms until they overspread all Western -Christendom. It was now given to one man, Giovanni Pierluigi, called -Palestrina from the place of his birth, to put the finishing touches upon -this wonder of mediaeval genius, and to impart to it all of which its -peculiar nature was capable in respect to technical completeness, tonal -purity and majesty, and elevated devotional expression. Palestrina was -more than a flawless artist, more than an Andrea del Sarto; he was so -representative of that inner spirit which has uttered itself in the most -sincere works of Catholic art that the very heart of the institution to -which he devoted his life may be said to find a voice in his music. - -Palestrina was born probably in 1526 (authority of Haberl) and died in -1594. He spent almost the whole of his art life as director of music at -Rome in the service of the popes, being at one time also a singer in the -papal chapel. He enriched every portion of the ritual with compositions, -the catalogue of his works including ninety-five masses. Among his -contemporaries at Rome were men such as Vittoria, Marenzio, the Anerios, -and the Naninis, who worked in the same style as Palestrina. Together -they compose the "Roman school" or the "Palestrina school," and all that -may be said of Palestrina's style would apply in somewhat diminished -degree to the writings of this whole group. - -Palestrina has been enshrined in history as the "savior of church music" -by virtue of a myth which has until recent years been universally -regarded as a historic fact. The first form of the legend was to the -effect that the reforming Council of Trent (1545-1563) had serious -thoughts of abolishing the chorus music of the Church everywhere, and -reducing all liturgic music to the plain unison chant; that judgment was -suspended at the request of Pope Marcellus II. until Palestrina could -produce a work that should be free from all objectionable features; that -a mass of his composition--the Mass of Pope Marcellus--was performed -before a commission of cardinals, and that its beauty and refinement so -impressed the judges that polyphonic music was saved and Palestrina's -style proclaimed as the most perfect model of artistic music. This tale -has undergone gradual reduction until it has been found that the Council -of Trent contented itself with simply recommending to the bishops that -they exclude from the churches "all musical compositions in which -anything impure or lascivious is mingled," yet not attempting to define -what was meant by "impure" and "lascivious." The commission of cardinals -had jurisdiction only over some minor questions of discipline in the -papal choir, and if Palestrina had the mass in question sung before them -(which is doubtful) it had certainly been composed a number of years -earlier. - -Certain abuses that called for correction there doubtless were in church -music in this period. The prevalent practice of borrowing themes from -secular songs for the _cantus firmus_, with sometimes the first few words -of the original song at the beginning--as in the mass of "The Armed Man," -the "Adieu, my Love" mass, etc.--was certainly objectionable from the -standpoint of propriety, although the intention was never profane, and -the impression received was not sacrilegious. Moreover, the song of the -Church had at times become so artificial and sophisticated as to belie -the true purpose of worship music. But among all the records of complaint -we find only one at all frequent, and that was that the sacred words -could not be understood in the elaborate contrapuntal interweaving of the -voices. In the history of every church, in all periods, down even to the -present time, there has always been a party that discountenances -everything that looks like art for the sake of art, satisfied only with -the simplest and rudest form of music, setting the reception of the -sacred text so far above the pleasure of the sense that all artistic -embellishment seems to them profanation. This class was represented at -the Council of Trent, but it was never in the majority, and never -strenuous for the total abolition of figured music. No reform was -instituted but such as would have come about inevitably from the -ever-increasing refinement of the art and the assertion of the nobler -traditions of the Church in the Counter-Reformation. An elevation of the -ideal of church music there doubtless was at this time, and the genius of -Palestrina was one of the most potent factors in its promotion; but it -was a natural growth, not a violent turning of direction. - -The dissipation of the halo of special beatification which certain early -worshipers of Palestrina have attempted to throw about the Mass of Pope -Marcellus has in no wise dimmed its glory. It is not unworthy of the -renown which it has so dubiously acquired. Although many times equalled -by its author, he never surpassed it, and few will be inclined to dispute -the distinction it has always claimed as the most perfect product of -mediaeval musical art. Its style was not new; it does not mark the -beginning of a new era, as certain writers but slightly versed in music -history have supposed, but the culmination of an old one. It is -essentially in the manner of the Netherland school, which the myth-makers -would represent as condemned by the Council of Trent. Josquin des Prés, -Orlandus Lassus, Goudimel, and many others had written music in the same -style, just as chaste and subdued, with the same ideal in mind, and -almost as perfectly beautiful. It is not a simple work, letting the text -stand forth in clear and obvious relief, as the legend would require. It -is a masterpiece of construction, abounding in technical subtleties, -differing from the purest work of the Netherlanders only in being even -more delicately tinted and sweet in melody than the best of them could -attain. It was in the quality of melodious grace that Palestrina soared -above his Netherland masters. Melody, as we know, is the peculiar -endowment of the Italians, and Palestrina, a typical son of Italy, -crowned the Netherland science with an ethereal grace of movement which -completed once for all the four hundred years' striving of contrapuntal -art, and made it stand forth among the artistic creations of the Middle -Age perhaps the most divinely radiant of them all. - -It may seem strange at first thought that a form which embodied the -deepest and sincerest religious feeling that has ever been projected in -tones should have been perfected in an age when all other art had become -to a large degree sensuous and worldly, and when the Catholic Church was -under condemnation, not only by its enemies, but also by many of its -grieving friends, for its political ambition, avarice, and corruption. -The papacy was at that moment reaping the inevitable harvest of spiritual -indifference and moral decline, and had fallen upon days of struggle, -confusion, and humiliation. The Lutheran, Calvinistic, and Anglican -revolt had rent from the Holy See some of the fairest of its dominions, -and those that remained were in a condition of political and intellectual -turmoil. That a reform "in head and members" was indeed needed is -established not by the accusations of hostile witnesses alone, but by the -demands of many of the staunchest prelates of the time and the admissions -of unimpeachable Catholic historians. But, as the sequel proved, it was -the head far more than the members that required surgery. The lust for -sensual enjoyments, personal and family aggrandizement, and the pomp and -luxury of worldly power, which had made the papacy of the fifteenth and -first half of the sixteenth centuries a byword in Europe, the decline of -faith in the early ideals of the Church, the excesses of physical and -emotional indulgence which came in with the Renaissance as a natural -reaction against mediaeval repression,--all this had produced a moral -degeneracy in Rome and its dependencies which can hardly be exaggerated. -But the assertion that the Catholic Church at large, or even in Rome, was -wholly given over to corruption and formalism is sufficiently refuted by -the sublime manifestation of moral force which issued in the Catholic -Reaction and the Counter-Reformation, the decrees of the Council of -Trent, and the deeds of such moral heroes as Carlo Borromeo, Phillip -Neri, Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, Theresa of Jesus, Francis de -Sales, Vincent de Paul, and the founders and leaders of the Capuchins, -Theatines, Ursulines, and other beneficent religious orders, whose lives -and achievements are the glory not only of Catholicism, but of the human -race. - -The great church composers of the sixteenth century were kindred to such -spirits as these, and the reviving piety of the time found its most -adequate symbol in the realm of art in the masses and hymns of Palestrina -and his compeers. These men were nurtured in the cloisters and choirs. -The Church was their sole patron, and no higher privilege could be -conceived by them than that of lending their powers to the service of -that sublime institution into which their lives were absorbed. They were -not agitated by the political and doctrinal ferment of the day. No sphere -of activity could more completely remove a man from mundane influences -than the employment of a church musician of that period. The abstract -nature of music as an art, together with the engrossing routine of a -liturgic office, kept these men, as it were, close to the inner sanctuary -of their religion, where the ecclesiastical traditions were strongest and -purest. The music of the Church in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries -was unaffected by the influences which had done so much to make other -forms of Italian art ministers to pride and sensual gratification. Music, -through its very limitations, possessed no means of flattering the -appetites of an Alexander VI., the luxurious tastes of a Leo X., or the -inordinate pride of a Julius II. It was perforce allowed to develop -unconstrained along the line of austere tradition. Art forms seem often -to be under the control of a law which requires that when once set in -motion they must run their course independently of changes in their -environment. These two factors, therefore,--the compulsion of an -advancing art demanding completion, and the uncontaminated springs of -piety whence the liturgy and its musical setting drew their life,--will -explain the splendid achievements of religious music in the hands of the -Catholic composers of the sixteenth century amid conditions which would -at first thought seem unfavorable to the nurture of an art so pure and -austere. - -Under such influences, impelled by a zeal for the glory of God and the -honor of his Church, the polyphony of the Netherland school put forth its -consummate flower in the "Palestrina style." In the works of this later -school we may distinguish two distinct modes of treatment: (1) the -intricate texture and solidity of Netherland work; (2) the "familiar -style," in which the voices move together in equal steps, without canonic -imitations. In the larger compositions we have a blending and alternation -of these two, and the scholastic Netherland polyphony appears clarified, -and moulded into more plastic outlines for the attainment of a more -refined vehicle of expression. - -The marked dissimilarity between the music of the mediaeval school and -that of the present era is to a large extent explained by the differences -between the key and harmonic systems upon which they are severally based. -In the modern system the relationship of notes to the antithetic -tone-centres of tonic and dominant, and the freedom of modulation from -one key to another by means of the introduction of notes that do not -exist in the first, give opportunities for effect which are not -obtainable in music based upon the Gregorian modes, for the reason that -these modes do not differ in the notes employed (since they include only -the notes represented by the white keys of the pianoforte plus the B -flat), but only in the relation of the intervals to the note which forms -the keynote or "final." The concoction of music based on the latter -system is, strictly speaking, melodic, not harmonic in the modern -technical sense, and the resulting combinations of sounds are not -conceived as chords built upon a certain tone taken as a fundamental, but -rather as consequences of the conjunction of horizontally moving series -of single notes. The harmony, therefore, seems both vague and monotonous -to the ear trained in accordance with the laws of modern music, because, -in addition to being almost purely diatonic, it lacks the stable pivotal -points which give symmetry, contrast, and cohesion to modern tone -structure. The old system admits chromatic changes but sparingly, chiefly -in order to provide a leading tone in a cadence, or to obviate an -objectionable melodic interval. Consequently there is little of what we -should call variety or positive color quality. There is no pronounced -leading melody to which the other parts are subordinate. The theme -consists of a few chant-like notes, speedily taken up by one voice after -another under control of the principle of "imitation." For the same -reasons the succession of phrases, periods, and sections which -constitutes the architectonic principle of form in modern music does not -appear. Even in the "familiar style," in which the parts move together -like blocks of chords of equal length, the implied principle is melodic -in all the voices, not tune above and accompaniment beneath; and the -progression is not guided by the necessity of revolving about mutually -supporting tone-centres. - -In this "familiar style" which we may trace backward to the age of the -Netherlanders, we find a remote anticipation of the modern harmonic -feeling. A vague sense of complementary colors of tonic and dominant, -caught perhaps from the popular music with which the most scientific -composers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries always kept closely in -touch, is sometimes evident for brief moments, but never carried out -systematically to the end. This plain style is employed in hymns and -short sentences, in connection with texts of an especially mournful or -pleading expression, as, for instance, the Improperia and the Miserere, -or, for contrast's sake, in the more tranquil passages of masses or -motets. It is a style that is peculiarly tender and gracious, and may be -found reflected in the sweetest of modern Latin and English hymn-tunes. -In the absence of chromatic changes it is the most serene form of music -in existence, and is suggestive of the confidence and repose of spirit -which is the most refined essence of the devotional mood. - - - - - Example of the Simple Style (_stile famigliare_). Palestrina. - - -The intricate style commonly prevails in larger works--masses, motets, -and the longer hymns. Only after careful analysis can we appreciate the -wonderful art that has entered into its fabrication. Upon examining works -of this class we find the score consisting of four or more parts, but not -usually exceeding eight. The most obvious feature of the design is that -each part appears quite independent of the others; the melody does not -lie in one voice while the others act as accompaniment, but each part is -as much a melody as any other; each voice pursues its easy, unfettered -way, now one acting as leader, now another, the voices often crossing -each other, each melody apparently quite regardless of its mates in -respect to the time of beginning, culminating, and ending, the voices -apparently not subject to any common law of accent or rhythm, but each -busy with its own individual progress. The onward movement is like a -series of waves; no sooner is the mind fixed upon one than it is lost in -the ordered confusion of those that follow. The music seems also to have -no definite rhythm. Each single voice part is indeed rhythmical, as a -sentence of prose may be rhythmical, but since the melodic constituents -come in upon different parts of the measure, one culminating at one -moment, another at another, the parts often crossing each other, so that -while the mind may be fixed upon one melody which seems to lead, another, -which has been coming up from below, strikes in across the field,--the -result of all this is that the attention is constantly being dislodged -from one tonal centre and shifted to another, and the whole scheme of -design seems without form, a fluctuating mass swayed hither and thither -without coherent plan. The music does not lack dynamic change or -alteration of speed, but these contrasts are often so subtly graded that -it is not apparent where they begin or end. The whole effect is measured, -subdued, solemn. We are never startled, there is nothing that sets the -nerves throbbing. But as we hear this music again and again, analyzing -its properties, shutting out all preconceptions, little by little there -steal over us sensations of surprise, then of wonder, then of admiration. -These delicately shaded harmonies develop unimagined beauties. Without -sharp contrast of dissonance and consonance they are yet full of shifting -lights and hues, like a meadow under breeze and sunshine, which to the -careless eye seems only a mass of unvarying green, but which reveals to -the keener sense infinite modulation of the scale of color. No melody -lies conspicuous upon the surface, but the whole harmonic substance is -full of undulating melody, each voice pursuing its confident, unfettered -motion amid the ingenious complexity of which it is a constituent part. - -In considering further the technical methods and the final aims of this -marvellous style, we find in its culminating period that the crown of the -mediaeval contrapuntal art upon its aesthetic side lies in the attainment -of beauty of tone effect in and of itself--the gratification of the -sensuous ear, rich and subtly modulated sound quality, not in the -individual boys' and men's voices, but in the distribution and -combination of voices of different _timbre_. That mastery toward which -orchestral composers have been striving during the past one hundred -years--the union and contrast of stringed and wind instruments for the -production of impressions upon the ear analogous to those produced upon -the eye by the color of a Rembrandt or a Titian--this was also sought, -and, so far as the slender means went, achieved in a wonderful degree by -the tone-masters of the Roman and Venetian schools. The chorus, we must -remind ourselves, was not dependent upon an accompaniment, and sensuous -beauty of tone must, therefore, result not merely from the individual -quality of the voices, but still more from the manner in which the notes -were grouped. The distribution of the components of a chord in order to -produce the greatest sonority; the alternation of the lower voices with -the higher; the elimination of voices as a section approached its close, -until the harmony was reduced at the last syllable to two higher voices -in _pianissimo_, as though the strain were vanishing into the upper air; -the resolution of tangled polyphony into a sun-burst of open golden -chords; the subtle intrusion of veiled dissonances into the fluent -gleaming concord; the skilful blending of the vocal registers for the -production of exquisite contrasts of light and shade,--these and many -other devices were employed for the attainment of delicate and lustrous -sound tints, with results to which modern chorus writing affords no -parallel. The culmination of this tendency could not be reached until the -art of interweaving voices according to regular but flexible patterns had -been fully mastered, and composers had learned to lead their parts with -the confidence with which the engraver traces his lines to shape them -into designs of beauty. - -The singular perfection of the work of Palestrina has served to direct -the slight attention which the world now gives to the music of the -sixteenth century almost exclusively to him; yet he was but one master -among a goodly number whose productions are but slightly inferior to -his,--_primus inter pares_. Orlandus Lassus in Munich, Willaert, and the -two Gabrielis, Andrea and Giovanni, and Croce in Venice, the Naninis, -Vittoria, and the Anerios in Rome, Tallis in England, are names which do -not pale when placed beside that of the "prince of music." Venice, -particularly, was a worthy rival of Rome in the sphere of church song. -The catalogue of her musicians who flourished in the sixteenth and early -part of the seventeenth centuries contains the names of men who were -truly sovereigns in their art, not inferior to Palestrina in science, -compensating for a comparative lack of the super-refined delicacy and -tremulous pathos which distinguished the Romans by a larger emphasis upon -contrast, color variety, and characteristic expression. It was as though -the splendors of Venetian painting had been emulated, although in reduced -shades, by these masters of Venetian music. In admitting into their works -contrivances for effect which anticipated a coming revolution in musical -art, the Venetians, rather than the Romans, form the connecting link -between mediaeval and modern religious music. In the Venetian school we -find triumphing over the ineffable calmness and remote impersonality of -the Romans a more individual quality--a strain almost of passion and -stress, and a far greater sonority and pomp. Chromatic changes, at first -irregular and unsystematized, come gradually into use as a means of -attaining greater intensity; dissonances become more pronounced, -foreshadowing the change of key system with all its consequences. The -contrapuntal leading of parts, in whose cunning labyrinths the expression -of feeling through melody strove to lose itself, tended under the -different ideal cherished by the Venetians to condense into more massive -harmonies, with bolder outlines and melody rising into more obvious -relief. As far back as the early decades of the sixteenth century Venice -had begun to loosen the bands of mediaeval choral law, and by a freer use -of dissonances to prepare the ear for a new order of perceptions. The -unprecedented importance given to the organ by the Venetian church -composers, and the appearance of the beginnings of an independent organ -style, also contributed strongly to the furtherance of the new -tendencies. In this broader outlook, more individual stamp, and more -self-conscious aim toward brilliancy the music of Venice simply shared -those impulses that manifested themselves in the gorgeous canvases of her -great painters and in the regal splendors of her public spectacles. - -The national love of pomp and ceremonial display was shown in the church -festivals hardly less than in the secular pageants, and all that could -embellish the externals of the church solemnities was eagerly adopted. -All the most distinguished members of the line of Venetian church -composers were connected with the church of St. Mark as choir directors -and organists, and they imparted to their compositions a breadth of tone -and warmth of color fully in keeping with the historic and artistic glory -of this superb temple. The founder of the sixteenth-century Venetian -school was Adrian Willaert, a Netherlander, who was chapel-master at St. -Mark's from 1527 to 1563. It was he who first employed the method which -became a notable feature of the music of St. Mark's, of dividing the -choir and thus obtaining novel effects of contrast and climax by means of -antiphonal chorus singing. The hint was given to Willaert by the -construction of the church, which contains two music galleries opposite -each other, each with its organ. The freer use of dissonances, so -characteristic of the adventurous spirit of the Venetian composers, first -became a significant trait in the writings of Willaert. - -The tendency to lay less stress upon interior intricacy and more upon -harmonic strength, striking tone color, and cumulative grandeur is even -more apparent in Willaert's successors at St. Mark's,--Cyprian de Rore, -Claudio Merulo, and the two Gabrielis. Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli -carried the splendid tonal art of Venice to unprecedented heights, adding -a third choir to the two of Willaert, and employing alternate choir -singing, combinations of parts, and massing of voices in still more -ingenious profusion. Winterfeld, the chief historian of this epoch, thus -describes the performance of a twelve-part psalm by G. Gabrieli: "Three -choruses, one of deep voices, one of higher, and the third consisting of -the four usual parts, are separated from each other. Like a tender, -fervent prayer begins the song in the deeper chorus, 'God be merciful -unto us and bless us.' Then the middle choir continues with similar -expression, 'And cause his face to shine upon us.' The higher chorus -strikes in with the words, 'That thy way may be known upon earth.' In -full voice the strain now resounds from all three choirs, 'Thy saving -health among all nations.' The words, 'Thy saving health,' are given with -especial earnestness, and it is to be noticed that this utterance comes -not from all the choirs together, nor from a single one entire, but from -selected voices from each choir in full-toned interwoven parts. We shall -not attempt to describe how energetic and fiery the song, 'Let all the -people praise thee, O God,' pours forth from the choirs in alternation; -how tastefully the master proclaims the words, 'Let the nations be glad -and sing for joy,' through change of measure and limitation to selected -voices from all the choirs; how the words, 'And God shall bless us,' are -uttered in solemn masses of choral song. Language could give but a feeble -suggestion of the magnificence of this music."[66] - -Great as Giovanni Gabrieli was as master of all the secrets of mediaeval -counterpoint and also of the special applications devised by the school -of Venice, he holds an even more eminent station as the foremost of the -founders of modern instrumental art, which properly took its starting -point in St. Mark's church in the sixteenth century. These men conceived -that the organ might claim a larger function than merely aiding the -voices here and there, and they began to experiment with independent -performances where the ritual permitted such innovation. So we see the -first upspringing of a lusty growth of instrumental forms, if they may -properly be called forms,--canzonas (the modern fugue in embryo), -toccatas, ricercare (at first nothing more than vocal counterpoint -transferred to the organ), fantasias, etc.,--rambling, amorphous, -incoherent pieces, but vastly significant as holding the promise and -potency of a new art. Of these far-sighted experimenters Giovanni -Gabrieli was easily chief. Consummate master of the ancient forms, he -laid the first pier of the arch which was to connect two epochs; honoring -the old traditions by his achievements in chorus music, and leading his -disciples to perceive possibilities of expression which were to respond -to the needs of a new age. - -Another composer of the foremost rank demands attention before we take -leave of the mediaeval contrapuntal school. Orlandus Lassus (original -Flemish Roland de Lattre, Italianized Orlando di Lasso) was a musician -whose genius entitles him to a place in the same inner circle with -Palestrina and Gabrieli. He lived from 1520 to 1594. His most important -field of labor was Munich. In force, variety, and range of subject and -treatment he surpasses Palestrina, but is inferior to the great Roman in -pathos, nobility, and spiritual fervor. His music is remarkable in view -of its period for energy, sharp contrasts, and bold experiments in -chromatic alteration. "Orlando," says Ambros, "is a Janus who looks back -toward the great past of music in which he arose, but also forward toward -the approaching epoch." An unsurpassed master of counterpoint, he yet -depended much upon simpler and more condensed harmonic movements. The -number of his works reaches 2337, of which 765 are secular. His motets -hold a more important place than his masses, and in many of the former -are to be found elements that are so direct and forceful in expression as -almost to be called dramatic. His madrigals and choral songs are -especially notable for their lavish use of chromatics, and also for a -lusty sometimes rough humor, which shows his keen sympathy with the -popular currents that were running strongly in the learned music of his -time. Lassus has more significance in the development of music than -Palestrina, for the latter's absorption in liturgic duties kept him -within much narrower boundaries. Palestrina's music is permeated with the -spirit of the liturgic chant; that of Lassus with the racier quality of -the folk-song. Lassus, although his religious devotion cannot be -questioned, had the temper of a citizen of the world; Palestrina that of -a man of the cloister. Palestrina's music reaches a height of ecstasy -which Lassus never approached; the latter is more instructive in respect -to the tendencies of the time. - -Turning again to the analysis of the sixteenth-century chorus and -striving to penetrate still further the secret of its charm, we are -obliged to admit that it is not its purely musical qualities or the -learning and cleverness displayed in its fabrication that will account -for its long supremacy or for the enthusiasm which it has often excited -in an age so remote as our own. Its aesthetic effect can never be quite -disentangled from the impressions drawn from its religious and historic -associations. Only the devout Catholic call feel its full import, for to -him it shares the sanctity of the liturgy,--it is not simply ear-pleasing -harmony, but prayer; not merely a decoration of the holy ceremony, but an -integral part of the sacrifice of praise and supplication. And among -Protestants those who eulogize it most warmly are those whose opinions on -church music are liturgical and austere. Given in a concert hall, in -implied competition with modern chorus music, its effect is feeble. It is -as religious music--ritualistic religious music--identified with what is -most solemn and suggestive in the traditions and ordinances of an ancient -faith, that this antiquated form of art makes its appeal to modern taste. -No other phase of music is so dependent upon its setting. - -There can be no question that the Catholic Church has always endeavored, -albeit with a great deal of wavering and inconsistency, to maintain a -certain ideal or standard in respect to those forms of art which she -employs in her work of education. The frequent injunctions of popes, -prelates, councils, and synods for century after century have always held -the same tone upon this question. They have earnestly reminded their -followers that the Church recognizes a positive norm or canon in -ecclesiastical art, that there is a practical distinction between -ecclesiastic art and secular art, and that it is a pious duty on the part -of churchmen to preserve this distinction inviolate. The Church, however, -has never had the courage of this conviction. As J. A. Symonds says, she -has always compromised; and so has every church compromised. The inroads -of secular styles and modes of expression have always been irresistible -except here and there in very limited times and localities. The history -of church art, particularly of church music, is the history of the -conflict between the sacerdotal conception of art and the popular taste. - -What, then, is the theory of ecclesiastical art which the heads of the -Catholic Church have maintained in precept and so often permitted to be -ignored in practice? What have been the causes and the results of the -secularization of religious art, particularly music? These questions are -of the greatest practical interest to the student of church music, and -the answers to them will form the centre around which all that I have to -say from this point about Catholic music will mainly turn. - -The strict idea of religious art, as it has always stood more or less -distinctly in the thought of the Catholic Church, is that it exists not -for the decoration of the offices of worship (although the gratification -of the senses is not considered unworthy as an incidental end), but -rather for edification, instruction, and inspiration. As stated by an -authoritative Catholic writer: "No branch of art exists for its own sake -alone. Art is a servant, and it serves either God or the world, the -eternal or the temporal, the spirit or the flesh. Ecclesiastical art must -derive its rule and form solely from the Church." "These rules and -determinations [in respect to church art] are by no means arbitrary, no -external accretion; they have grown up organically from within outward, -from the spirit which guides the Church, out of her views and out of the -needs of her worship. And herein lies the justification of her symbolism -and emblematic expression in ecclesiastical art so long as this holds -itself within the limits of tradition. The church of stone must be a -speaking manifestation of the living Church and her mysteries. The -pictures on the walls and on the altars are not mere adornment for the -pleasure of the eye, but for the heart a book full of instruction, a -sermon full of truth. And hereby art is raised to be an instrument of -edification to the believer, it becomes a profound expositor for -thousands, a transmitter and preserver of great ideas for all the -centuries."[67] The Catholic Church in her art would subject the literal -to the ideal, the particular to the general, the definitive to the -symbolic. "The phrase 'emancipation of the individual,'" says Jakob -again, "is not heard in the Church. Art history teaches that the Church -does not oppose the individual conception, but simply restrains that -false freedom which would make art the servant of personal caprice or of -fashion." - -The truth of this principle as a fundamental canon of ecclesiastical art -is not essentially affected by the fact that it is only in certain -periods and under favorable conditions that it has been strictly -enforced. Whenever art reaches a certain point in development, individual -determination invariably succeeds in breaking away from tradition. The -attainment of technic, attended by the inevitable pride in technic, -liberates its possessors. The spirit of the Italian religious painters of -the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, content to submit their -skill to further the educational purposes of the Church, could no longer -persist in connection with the growing delight in new technical problems -and the vision of the new fields open to art when face to face with -reality. The conventional treatment of the Memmis and Fra Angelicos was -followed by the naturalistic representation of the Raphaels, the Da -Vincis, and the Titians. The same result has followed where pure art has -decayed, or where no real appreciation of art ever existed. The stage of -church art in its purest and most edifying form is, therefore, only -temporary. It exists in the adolescent period of an art, before the -achievement of technical skill arouses desire for its unhampered -exercise, and when religious ideas are at the same time dominant and -pervasive. Neither is doubt to be cast upon the sincerity of the -religious motive in this phase of art growth when we discover that its -technical methods are identical with those of secular art at the same -period. In fact, this general and conventional style which the Church -finds suited to her ends is most truly characteristic when the artists -have virtually no choice in their methods. The motive of the Gothic -cathedral builders was no less religious because their modes of -construction and decoration were also common to the civic and domestic -architecture of the time. A distinctive ecclesiastical style has never -developed in rivalry with contemporary tendencies in secular art, but -only in unison with them. The historic church styles are also secular -styles, carried to the highest practicable degree of refinement and -splendor. These styles persist in the Church after they have disappeared -in the mutations of secular art; they become sanctified by time and by -the awe which the claim of supernatural commission inspires, and the -world at last comes to think of them as inherently rather than -conventionally religious. - -All these principles must be applied to the sixteenth-century _a capella_ -music. In fact, there is no better illustration; its meaning and effect -cannot be otherwise understood. Growing up under what seem perfectly -natural conditions, patronized by the laity as well as by the clergy, -this highly organized, severe, and impersonal style was seen, even before -the period of its maturity, to conform to the ideal of liturgic art -cherished by the Church; and now that it has become completely isolated -in the march of musical progress, this conformity appears even more -obvious under contrast. No other form of chorus music has existed so -objective and impersonal, so free from the stress and stir of passion, so -plainly reflecting an exalted spiritualized state of feeling. This music -is singularly adapted to reinforce the impression of the Catholic -mysteries by reason of its technical form and its peculiar emotional -appeal. The devotional mood that is especially nurtured by the Catholic -religious exercises is absorbed and mystical; the devotee strives to -withdraw into a retreat within the inner shrine of religious -contemplation, where no echoes of the world reverberate, and where the -soul may be thrilled by the tremulous ecstasy of half-unveiled heavenly -glory. It is the consciousness of the nearness and reality of the unseen -world that lends such a delicate and reserved beauty to those creations -of Catholic genius in which this ideal has been most directly symbolized. -Of this cloistral mood the church music of the Palestrina age is the most -subtle and suggestive embodiment ever realized in art. It is as far as -possible removed from profane suggestion; in its ineffable calmness, and -an indescribable tone of chastened exultation, pure from every trace of -struggle, with which it vibrates, it is the most adequate emblem of that -eternal repose toward which the believer yearns. - -It is not true, however, as often alleged, that this form of music -altogether lacks characterization, and that the style of Kyrie, Gloria, -Crucifixus, Resurrexit, and of the motets and hymns whatever their -subject, is always the same. The old masters were artists as well as -churchmen, and knew how to adapt their somewhat unresponsive material to -the more obvious contrasts of the text; and in actual performance a much -wider latitude in respect to _nuance_ and change of speed was permitted -than could be indicated in the score. We know, also, that the choristers -were allowed great license in the use of embellishments, more or less -florid, upon the written notes, sometimes improvised, sometimes carefully -invented, taught and handed down as a prescribed code, the tradition of -which, in all but a few instances, has been lost. But the very laws of -the Gregorian modes and the strict contrapuntal system kept such -excursions after expression within narrow bounds, and the traditional -view of ecclesiastical art forbade anything like a drastic descriptive -literalism. - -This mediaeval polyphonic music, although the most complete example in -art of the perfect adaptation of means to a particular end, could not -long maintain its exclusive prestige. It must be supplanted by a new -style as soon as the transformed secular music was strong enough to react -upon the Church. It was found that a devotional experience that was not -far removed from spiritual trance, which was all that the old music could -express, was not the only mental attitude admissible in worship. The -new-born art strove to give more apt and detailed expression to the -words, and why should not this permission be granted to church music? The -musical revolution of the seventeenth century involved the development of -an art of solo singing and its supremacy over the chorus, the -substitution of the modern major and minor transposing scales for the -Gregorian modal system, a homophonic method of harmony for the mediaeval -polyphony, accompanied music for the _a capella_, secular and dramatic -for religious music, the rise of instrumental music as an independent -art, the transfer of patronage from the Church to the aristocracy and -ultimately to the common people. All the modern forms, both vocal and -instrumental, which have come to maturity in recent times suddenly -appeared in embryo at the close of the sixteenth or early in the -seventeenth century. The ancient style of ecclesiastical music did not -indeed come to a standstill. The grand old forms continued to be -cultivated by men who were proud to wear the mantle of Palestrina; and in -the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the traditions of the Roman and -Venetian schools of church music have had sufficient vitality to inspire -works not unworthy of comparison with their venerable models. The strains -of these later disciples, however, are but scanty reverberations of the -multitudinous voices of the past. The instrumental mass and motet, -embellished with all the newly discovered appliances of melody, harmony, -rhythm, and tone color, led the art of the Church with flying banners -into wider regions of conquest, and the _a capella_ contrapuntal chorus -was left behind, a stately monument upon the receding shores of the -Middle Age. - - -[Note. A very important agent in stimulating a revival of interest in the -mediaeval polyphonic school is the St. Cecilia Society, which was founded -at Regensburg in 1868 by Dr. Franz Xaver Witt, a devoted priest and -learned musician, for the purpose of restoring a more perfect relation -between music and the liturgy and erecting a barrier against the -intrusion of dramatic and virtuoso tendencies. Flourishing branches of -this society exist in many of the chief church centres of Europe and -America. It is the patron of schools of music, it has issued periodicals, -books, and musical compositions, and has shown much vigor in making -propaganda for its views. - -Not less intelligent and earnest is the Schola Cantorum of Paris, which -is exerting a strong influence upon church music in the French capital -and thence throughout the world by means of musical performances, -editions of musical works, lectures, and publications of books and -essays.] - - - - - CHAPTER VI - THE MODERN MUSICAL MASS - - -To one who is accustomed to study the history of art in the light of the -law of evolution, the contrast between the reigning modern style of -Catholic church music and that of the Middle Age seems at first sight -very difficult of explanation. The growth of the _a capella_ chorus, -which reached its perfection in the sixteenth century, may be traced -through a steady process of development, every step of which was a -logical consequence of some prior invention. But as we pass onward into -the succeeding age and look for a form of Catholic music which may be -taken as the natural offspring and successor of the venerable mediaeval -style, we find what appears to be a break in the line of continuity. The -ancient form maintains its existence throughout the seventeenth century -and a portion of the eighteenth, but it is slowly crowded to one side and -at last driven from the field altogether by a style which, if we search -in the field of church art alone, appears to have no antecedent. The new -style is opposed to the old in every particular. Instead of forms that -are polyphonic in structure, vague and indefinite in plan, based on an -antique key system, the new compositions are homophonic, definite, and -sectional in plan, revealing an entirely novel principle of tonality, -containing vocal solos as well as choruses, and supported by a free -instrumental accompaniment. These two contrasted phases of religious -music seem to have nothing in common so far as technical organization is -concerned, and it is perfectly evident that the younger style could not -have been evolved out of the elder. Hardly less divergent are they in -respect to ideal of expression, the ancient style never departing from a -moderate, unimpassioned uniformity, the modern abounding in variety and -contrast, and continually striving after a sort of dramatic portrayal of -moods. To a representative of the old school, this florid accompanied -style would seem like an intruder from quite an alien sphere of -experience, and the wonder grows when we discover that it sprung from the -same national soil as that in which its predecessor ripened, and was -likewise cherished by an institution that has made immutability in all -essentials a cardinal principle. Whence came the impulse that effected so -sweeping a change in a great historic form of art, where we might expect -that liturgic necessities and ecclesiastical tradition would decree a -tenacious conservatism? What new conception had seized upon the human -mind so powerful that it could even revolutionize a large share of the -musical system of the Catholic Church? Had there been a long preparation -for a change that seems so sudden? Were there causes working under the -surface, antecedent stages, such that the violation of the law of -continuity is apparent only, and not real? These questions are easily -answered if we abandon the useless attempt to find the parentage of the -modern church style in the ritual music of the previous period; and by -surveying all the musical conditions of the age we shall quickly discover -that it was an intrusion into the Church of musical methods that were -fostered under purely secular auspices. The Gregorian chant and the -mediaeval _a capella_ chorus were born and nurtured within the fold of -the Church, growing directly out of the necessity of adapting musical -cadences to the rhythmical phrases of the liturgy. The modern sectional -and florid style, on the contrary, was an addition from without, and was -not introduced in response to any liturgic demands whatever. In origin -and affiliations it was a secular style, adopted by the Church under a -necessity which she eventually strove to turn into a virtue. - -This violent reversal of the traditions of Catholic music was simply a -detail of that universal revolution in musical practice and ideal which -marked the passage from the sixteenth century to the seventeenth. The -learned music of Europe had been for centuries almost exclusively in the -care of ecclesiastical and princely chapels, and its practitioners held -offices that were primarily clerical. The professional musicians, -absorbed in churchly functions, had gone on adding masses to masses, -motets to motets, and hymns to hymns, until the Church had accumulated a -store of sacred song so vast that it remains the admiration and despair -of modern scholars. These works, although exhibiting every stage of -construction from the simplest to the most intricate, were all framed in -accordance with principles derived from the mediaeval conception of -melodic combination. The secular songs which these same composers -produced in great numbers, notwithstanding their greater flexibility and -lightness of touch, were also written for chorus, usually unaccompanied, -and were theoretically constructed according to the same system as the -church pieces. Nothing like operas or symphonies existed; there were no -orchestras worthy of the name; pianoforte, violin, and organ playing, in -the modern sense, had not been dreamed of; solo singing was in its -helpless infancy. When we consider, in the light of our present -experience, how large a range of emotion that naturally utters itself in -tone was left unrepresented through this lack of a proper secular art of -music, we can understand the urgency of the demand which, at the close of -the sixteenth century, broke down the barriers that hemmed in the -currents of musical production and swept music out into the vast area of -universal human interests. The spirit of the Renaissance had led forth -all other art forms to share in the multifarious activities and joys of -modern life at a time when music was still the satisfied inmate of the -cloister. But it was impossible that music also should not sooner or -later feel the transfiguring touch of the new human impulse. The placid, -austere expression of the clerical style, the indefinite forms, the -Gregorian modes precluding free dissonance and regulated chromatic -change, were incapable of rendering more than one order of ideas. A -completely novel system must be forthcoming, or music must confess its -impotence to enter into the fuller emotional life which had lately been -revealed to mankind. - -The genius of Italy was equal to the demand. Usually when any form of art -becomes complete a period of degeneracy follows; artists become mere -imitators, inspiration and creative power die out, the art becomes a -handicraft; new growth appears only in another period or another nation, -and under altogether different auspices. Such would perhaps have been the -case with church music in Italy if a method diametrically opposed to that -which had so long prevailed in the Church had not inaugurated a new -school and finally extended its conquest into the venerable precincts of -the Church itself. The opera and instrumental music--the two currents -into which secular music divided--sprang up, as from hidden fountains, -right beside the old forms which were even then just attaining their full -glory, as if to show that the Italian musical genius so abounded in -energy that it could never undergo decay, but when it had gone to its -utmost limits in one direction could instantly strike out in another -still more brilliant and productive. - -The invention of the opera about the year 1600 is usually looked upon as -the event of paramount importance in the transition period of modern -music history, yet it was only the most striking symptom of a radical, -sweeping tendency. Throughout the greater part of the sixteenth century a -search had been in progress after a style of music suited to the solo -voice, which could lend itself to the portrayal of the change and -development of emotion involved in dramatic representation. The -folk-song, which is only suited to the expression of a single simple -frame of mind, was of course inadequate. The old church music was -admirably adapted to the expression of the consciousness of man in his -relations to the divine--what was wanted was a means of expressing the -emotions of man in his relations to his fellow-men. Lyric and dramatic -poetry flourished, but no proper lyric or dramatic music. The Renaissance -had done its mighty work in all other fields of art, but so far as music -was concerned in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries a Renaissance did -not exist. Many reasons might be given why the spirit of the Renaissance -had no appreciable effect in the musical world until late in the -sixteenth century. Musical forms are purely subjective in their -conception; they find no models or even suggestions in the natural world, -and the difficulty of choosing the most satisfactory arrangements of -tones out of an almost endless number of possible combinations, together -with the necessity of constantly new adjustments of the mind in order to -appreciate the value of the very forms which itself creates, makes -musical development a matter of peculiar slowness and difficulty. The -enthusiasm for the antique, which gave a definite direction to the -revival of learning and the new ambitions in painting and sculpture, -could have little practical value in musical invention, since the ancient -music, which would otherwise have been chosen as a guide, had been -completely lost. The craving for a style of solo singing suited to -dramatic purposes tried to find satisfaction by means that were -childishly insufficient. Imitations of folk-songs, the device of singing -one part in a madrigal, while the other parts were played by instruments, -were some of the futile efforts to solve the problem. The sense of -disappointment broke forth in bitter wrath against the church -counterpoint, and a violent conflict raged between the bewildered -experimenters and the adherents of the scholastic methods. - -The discovery that was to satisfy the longings of a century and create a -new art was made in Florence. About the year 1580 a circle of scholars, -musicians, and amateurs began to hold meetings at the house of a certain -Count Bardi, where they discussed, among other learned questions, the -nature of the music of the Greeks, and the possibility of its -restoration. Theorizing was supplemented by experiment, and at last -Vincenzo Galilei, followed by Giulio Caccini, hit upon a mode of musical -declamation, half speech and half song, which was enthusiastically hailed -as the long-lost style employed in the Athenian drama. A somewhat freer -and more melodious manner was also admitted in alternation with the dry, -formless recitation, and these two related methods were employed in the -performance of short lyric, half-dramatic monologues. Such were the -Monodies of Galilei and the Nuove Musiche of Caccini. More ambitious -schemes followed. Mythological masquerades and pastoral comedies, which -had held a prominent place in the gorgeous spectacles and pageants of the -Italian court festivals ever since the thirteenth century, were provided -with settings of the new declamatory music, or _stile recitativo_, and -behold, the opera was born. - -The Florentine inventors of dramatic music builded better than they knew. -They had no thought of setting music free upon a new and higher flight; -they never dreamed of the consequences of releasing melody from the -fetters of counterpoint. Their sole intention was to make poetry more -expressive and emphatic by the employment of tones that would heighten -the natural inflections of speech, and in which there should be no -repetition or extension of words (as in the contrapuntal style) involving -a subordination of text to musical form. The ideal of recitative was the -expression of feeling by a method that permits the text to follow the -natural accent of declamatory speech, unrestrained by a particular -musical form or tonality, and dependent only upon the support of the -simplest kind of instrumental accompaniment. In this style of music, said -Caccini, speech is of the first importance, rhythm second, and tone last -of all. These pioneers of dramatic music, as they declared over and over -again, simply desired a form of music that should allow the words to be -distinctly understood. They condemned counterpoint, not on musical -grounds, but because it allowed the text to be obscured and the natural -rhythm broken. There was no promise of a new musical era in such an -anti-musical pronunciamento as this. But a relation between music and -poetry in which melody renounces all its inherent rights could not long -be maintained. The genius of Italy in the seventeenth century was -musical, not poetic. Just so soon as the infinite possibilities of charm -that lie in free melody were once perceived, no theories of Platonizing -pedants could check its progress. The demands of the new age, reinforced -by the special Italian gift of melody, created an art form in which -absolute music triumphed over the feebler claims of poetry and rhetoric. -The cold, calculated Florentine music-drama gave way to the vivacious, -impassioned opera of Venice and Naples. Although the primitive dry -recitative survived, the far more expressive accompanied recitative was -evolved from it, and the grand aria burst into radiant life out of the -brief lyrical sections which the Florentines had allowed to creep into -their tedious declamatory scenes. Vocal colorature, which had already -appeared in the dramatic pieces of Caccini, became the most beloved means -of effect. The little group of simple instruments employed in the first -Florentine music-dramas was gradually merged in the modern full -orchestra. The original notion of making the poetic and scenic intention -paramount was forgotten, and the opera became cultivated solely as a -means for the display of all the fascinations of vocalism. - -Thus a new motive took complete possession of the art of music. By virtue -of the new powers revealed to them, composers would now strive to enter -all the secret precincts of the soul and give a voice to every emotion, -simple or complex, called forth by solitary meditation or by situations -of dramatic stress and conflict. Music, like painting and poetry, should -now occupy the whole world of human experience. The stupendous -achievements of the tonal art of the past two centuries are the outcome -of this revolutionary impulse. But not at once could music administer the -whole of her new possession. She must pass through a course of training -in technic, to a certain extent as she had done in the fourteenth and -fifteenth centuries, but under far more favorable conditions and quite -different circumstances. The shallowness of the greater part of the music -of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is partly due to the -difficulty that composers found in mastering the new forms. A facility in -handling the material must be acquired before there could be any clear -consciousness of the possibilities of expression which the new forms -contained. The first problem in vocal music was the development of a -method of technic; and musical taste, fascinated by the new sensation, -ran into an extravagant worship of the human voice. There appeared in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the most brilliant group of singers, -of both sexes, that the world has ever seen. The full extent of the -morbid, we might almost say the insane, passion for sensuous, -nerve-exciting tone is sufficiently indicated by the encouragement in -theatre and church of those outrages upon nature, the male soprano and -alto. A school of composers of brilliant melodic genius appeared in -Italy, France, and Germany, who supplied these singers with showy and -pathetic music precisely suited to their peculiar powers. Italian melody -and Italian vocalism became the reigning sensation in European society, -and the opera easily took the primacy among fashionable amusements. The -Italian grand opera, with its solemn travesty of antique characters and -scenes, its mock heroics, its stilted conventionalities, its dramatic -feebleness and vocal glitter, was a lively reflection of the taste of -this age of "gallant" poetry, rococo decoration, and social -artificiality. The musical element consisted of a succession of arias and -duets stitched together by a loose thread of _secco_ recitative. The -costumes were those of contemporary fashion, although the characters were -named after worthies of ancient Greece and Rome. The plots were in no -sense historic, but consisted of love tales and conspiracies concocted by -the playwright. Truth to human nature and to locality was left to the -despised comic opera. Yet we must not suppose that the devotees of this -music were conscious of its real superficiality. They adored it not -wholly because it was sensational, but because they believed it true in -expression; and indeed it was true to those light and transient -sentiments which the voluptuaries of the theatre mistook for the throbs -of nature. Tender and pathetic these airs often were, but it was the -affected tenderness and pathos of fashionable eighteenth-century -literature which they represented. To the profounder insight of the -present they seem to express nothing deeper than the make-believe -emotions of children at their play. - -Under such sanctions the Italian grand aria became the dominant form of -melody. Not the appeal to the intellect and the genuine experiences of -the heart was required of the musical performer, but rather brilliancy of -technic and seductiveness of tone. Ephemeral nerve excitement, incessant -novelty within certain conventional bounds, were the demands laid by the -public upon composer and singer. The office of the poet became hardly -less mechanical than that of the costumer or the decorator. Composers, -with a few exceptions, yielded to the prevailing fashion, and musical -dramatic art lent itself chiefly to the portrayal of stereotyped -sentiments and the gratification of the sense. I would not be understood -as denying the germ of truth that lay in this art element contributed by -Italy to the modern world. Its later results were sublime and beneficent, -for Italian melody has given direction to well-nigh all the magnificent -achievements of secular music in the past two centuries. I am speaking -here of the first outcome of the infatuation it produced, in the breaking -down of the taste for the severe and elevated, and the production of a -transient, often demoralizing intoxication. - -It was not long before the charming Italian melody undertook the conquest -of the Church. The popular demand for melody and solo singing overcame -the austere traditions of ecclesiastical song. The dramatic and concert -style invaded the choir gallery. The personnel of the choirs was altered, -and women, sometimes male sopranos and altos, took the place of boys. The -prima donna, with her trills and runs, made the choir gallery the parade -ground for her arts of fascination. The chorus declined in favor of the -solo, and the church aria vied with the opera aria in bravura and -languishing pathos. Where the chorus was retained in mass, motet, or -hymn, it abandoned the close-knit contrapuntal texture in favor of a -simple homophonic structure, with strongly marked rhythmical movement. -The orchestral accompaniment also lent to the composition a vivid -dramatic coloring, and brilliant solos for violins and flutes seemed -often to convert the sanctuary into a concert hall. All this was -inevitable, for the Catholic musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries were artists as well as churchmen; they shared the aesthetic -convictions of their time, and could not be expected to forego the -opportunities for effect which the new methods put into their hands. They -were no longer dependent upon the Church for commissions; the opera house -and the salon gave them sure means of subsistence and fame. The functions -of church and theatre composers were often united in a single man. The -convents and cathedral chapels were made training-schools for the choir -and the opera stage on equal terms. It was in a monk's cell that -Bernacchi and other world-famous opera singers of the eighteenth century -were educated. Ecclesiastics united with aristocratic laymen in the -patronage of the opera; cardinals and archbishops owned theatre boxes, -and it was not considered in the least out of character for monks and -priests to write operas and superintend their performance. Under such -conditions it is not strange that church and theatre reacted upon each -other, and that the sentimental style, beloved in opera house and salon, -should at last be accepted as the proper vehicle of devotional feeling. - -In this adornment of the liturgy in theatrical costume we find a singular -parallel between the history of church music in the transition period and -that of religious painting in the period of the Renaissance. Pictorial -art had first to give concrete expression to the conceptions evolved -under the influence of Christianity, and since the whole intent of the -pious discipline was to turn the thought away from actual mundane -experience, art avoided the representation of ideal physical loveliness -on the one hand and a scientific historical correctness on the other. -Hence arose the naïve, emblematic pictures of the fourteenth century, -whose main endeavor was to attract and indoctrinate with delineations -that were symbolic and intended mainly for edification. Painting was one -of the chief means employed by the Church to impart instruction to a -constituency to whom writing was almost inaccessible. Art, therefore, -even when emancipated from Byzantine formalism, was still essentially -hieratic, and the painter willingly assumed a semi-sacerdotal office as -the efficient coadjutor of the preacher and the confessor. With the -fifteenth century came the inrush of the antique culture, uniting with -native Italian tendencies to sweep art away into a passionate quest of -beauty wherever it might be found. The conventional religious subjects -and the traditional modes of treatment could no longer satisfy those -whose eyes had been opened to the magnificent materials for artistic -treatment that lay in the human form, draped and undraped, in landscape, -atmosphere, color, and light and shade, and who had been taught by the -individualistic trend of the age that the painter is true to his genius -only as be frees himself from formulas and follows the leadings of his -own instincts. But art could not wholly renounce its original pious -mission. The age was at least nominally Christian, sincerely so in many -of its elements, and the patronage of the arts was still to a very large -extent in the hands of the clergy. And here the Church prudently -consented to a modification of the established ideals of treatment of -sacred themes. The native Italian love of elegance of outline, harmony of -form, and splendor of color, directed by the study of the antique, -overcame the earlier austerity and effected a combination of Christian -tradition and pagan sensuousness which, in such work as that of Correggio -and the great Venetians, and even at times in the pure Raphael and the -stern Michael Angelo, quite belied the purpose of ecclesiastical art, -aiming not to fortify dogma and elevate the spirit, but to gratify the -desire of the eye and the delight in the display of technical skill. -Painting no longer conformed to a traditional religious type; it followed -its genius, and that genius was really inspired by the splendors of -earth, however much it might persuade itself that it ministered to -holiness. - -A noted example of this self-deception, although an extreme one, is the -picture entitled "The Marriage at Cana," by Paolo Veronese. Christ is the -central figure, but his presence has no vital significance. He is simply -an imposing Venetian grandee, and the enormous canvas, with its crowd of -figures elegantly attired in fashionable sixteenth-century costume, its -profusion of sumptuous dishes and gorgeous tapestries, is nothing more or -less than a representation of a Venetian state banquet. Signorelli and -Michael Angelo introduced naked young men into pictures of the Madonna -and infant Christ. Others, such as Titian, lavished all the resources of -their art with apparently equal enthusiasm upon Madonnas and nude -Venuses. The other direction which was followed by painting, aiming at -historical verity and rigid accuracy in anatomy and expression, may be -illustrated by comparing Rubens's "Crucifixion" in the Antwerp Museum -with a crucifixion, for example, by Fra Angelico. Each motive was -sincere, but the harsh realism of the Fleming shows how far art, even in -reverent treatment of religious themes, had departed from the unhistoric -symbolism formerly imposed by the Church. In all this there was no -disloyal intention; art had simply issued its declaration of -independence; its sole aim was henceforth beauty and reality; the body as -well as the soul seemed worthy of study and adoration; and the Church -adopted the new skill into its service, not seeing that the world was -destined to be the gainer, and not religion. - -The same impulse produced analogous results in the music of the Catholic -Church. The liturgic texts that were appropriated to choral setting -remained, as they had been, the place and theoretic function of the -musical offices in the ceremonial were not altered, but the music, in -imitating the characteristics of the opera and exerting a somewhat -similar effect upon the mind, became animated by an ideal of devotion -quite apart from that of the liturgy, and belied that unimpassioned, -absorbed and universalized mood of worship of which the older forms of -liturgic art are the most complete and consistent embodiment. Herein is -to be found the effect of the spirit of the Renaissance upon church -music. It is not simply that it created new musical forms, new styles of -performance, and a more definite expression; the significance of the -change lies rather in the fact that it transformed the whole spirit of -devotional music by endowing religious themes with sensuous charm, and -with a treatment inspired by the arbitrary will of the composer and not -by the traditions of the Church. - -At this point we reach the real underlying motive, however unconscious of -it individual composers may have been, which compelled the revolution in -liturgic music. A new ideal of devotional expression made inevitable the -abandonment of the formal, academic style of the Palestrina school. The -spirit of the age which required a more subjective expression in music, -involved a demand for a more definite characterization in the setting of -the sacred texts. The composer could no longer be satisfied with a humble -imitation of the forms which the Church had sealed as the proper -expression of her attitude toward the divine mysteries, but claimed the -privilege of coloring the text according to the dictates of his own -feeling as a man and his peculiar method as an artist. The mediaeval -music was that of the cloister and the chapel. It was elevated, vague, -abstract; it was as though it took up into itself all the particular and -temporary emotions that might be called forth by the sacred history and -articles of belief, and sifted and refined them into a generalized type, -special individual experience being dissolved in the more diffused sense -of awe and rapture which fills the hearts of an assembly in the attitude -of worship. It was the mood of prayer which this music uttered, and that -not the prayer of an individual agitated by his own personal hopes and -fears, but the prayer of the Church, which embraces all the needs which -the believers share in common, and offers them at the Mercy Seat with the -calmness that comes of reverent confidence. Thus in the old masses the -Kyrie eleison and the Miserere nobis are never agonizing; the Crucifixus -does not attempt to portray the grief of an imaginary spectator of the -scene on Calvary; the Gloria in excelsis and the Sanctus never force the -jubilant tone into a frenzied excitement; the setting of the Dies Irae in -the Requiem mass makes no attempt to paint a realistic picture of the -terrors of the day of judgment. - -Now compare a typical mass of the modern dramatic school and see how -different is the conception. The music of Gloria and Credo revels in all -the opportunities for change and contrast which the varied text supplies; -the Dona nobis pacem dies away in strains of tender longing. Consider the -mournful undertone that throbs through the Crucifixus of Schubert's Mass -in A flat, the terrifying crash that breaks into the Miserere nobis in -the Gloria of Beethoven's Mass in D, the tide of ecstasy that surges -through the Sanctus of Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass and the almost cloying -sweetness of the Agnus Dei, the uproar of brass instruments in the Tuba -mirum of Berlioz's Requiem. Observe the strong similarity of style at -many points between Verdi's Requiem and his opera "Aïda." In such works -as these, which are fairly typical of the modern school, the composer -writes under an independent impulse, with no thought of subordinating -himself to ecclesiastical canons or liturgic usage. He attempts not only -to depict his own state of mind as affected by the ideas of the text, but -he also often aims to make his music picturesque according to dramatic -methods. He does not seem to be aware that there is a distinction between -religious concert music and church music. The classic example of this -confusion is in the Dona nobis pacem of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, where -the composer introduces a train of military music in order to suggest the -contrasted horrors of war. This device, as Beethoven employs it, is -exceedingly striking and beautiful, but it is precisely antagonistic to -the meaning of the text and the whole spirit of the liturgy. The -conception of a large amount of modern mass music seems to be, not that -the ritual to which it belongs is prayer, but rather a splendid spectacle -intended to excite the imagination and fascinate the sense. It is this -altered conception, lying at the very basis of the larger part of modern -church music, that leads such writers as Jakob to refuse even to notice -the modern school in his sketch of the history of Catholic church music, -just as Rio condemns Titian as the painter who mainly contributed to the -decay of religious painting. - -In the Middle Age artists were grouped in schools or in guilds, each -renouncing his right of initiative and shaping his productions in -accordance with the legalized formulas of his craft. The modern artist is -a separatist, his glory lies in the degree to which he rises above -hereditary technic, and throws into his work a personal quality which -becomes his own creative gift to the world. The church music of the -sixteenth century was that of a school; the composers, although not -actually members of a guild, worked on exactly the same technical -foundations, and produced masses and motets of a uniformity that often -becomes academic and monotonous. The modern composer carries into church -pieces his distinct personal style. The grandeur and violent contrasts of -Beethoven's symphonies, the elegiac tone of Schubert's songs, the -enchantments of melody and the luxuries of color in the operas of Verdi -and Gounod, are also characteristic marks of the masses of these -composers. The older music could follow the text submissively, for there -was no prescribed musical form to be worked out, and cadences could occur -whenever a sentence came to an end. The modern forms, on the other hand, -consisting of consecutive and proportional sections, imply the necessity -of contrast, development, and climax--an arrangement that is not -necessitated by any corresponding system in the text. This alone would -often result in a lack of congruence between text and music, and the -composer would easily fall into the way of paying more heed to the sheer -musical working out than to the meaning of the words. Moreover, in the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries there was no radical conflict between -the church musical style and the secular; so far as secular music was -cultivated by the professional composers it was no more than a slight -variation from the ecclesiastical model. Profane music may be said to -have been a branch of religious music. In the modern period this -relationship is reversed; secular music in opera and instrumental forms -has remoulded church music, and the latter is in a sense a branch of the -former. - -Besides the development of the sectional form, another technical change -acted to break down the old obstacles to characteristic expression. An -essential feature of the mediaeval music, consequent upon the very nature -of the Gregorian modes, was the very slight employment of chromatic -alteration of notes, and the absence of free dissonances. Modulation in -the modern sense cannot exist in a purely diatonic scheme. The breaking -up of the modal system was foreshadowed when composers became impatient -with the placidity and colorlessness of the modal harmonies and began to -introduce unexpected dissonances for the sake of variety. The chromatic -changes that occasionally appear in the old music are scattered about in -a hap-hazard fashion; they give an impression of helplessness to the -modern ear when the composer seems about to make a modulation and at once -falls back again into the former tonality. It was a necessity, therefore, -as well as a virtue, that the church music of the old régime should -maintain the calm, equable flow that seems to us so pertinent to its -liturgic intention. For these reasons it may perhaps be replied to what -has been said concerning the devotional ideal embodied in the calm, -severe strains of the old masters, that they had no choice in the matter. -Does it follow, it may be asked, that these men would not have written in -the modern style if they had had the means? Some of them probably would -have done so, others almost certainly would not. Many writers who carried -the old form into the seventeenth century did have the choice and -resisted it; they stanchly defended the traditional principles and -condemned the new methods as destructive of pure church music. The laws -that work in the development of ecclesiastical art also seem to require -that music should pass through the same stages as those that sculpture -and painting traversed,--first, the stage of symbolism, restraint within -certain conventions in accordance with ecclesiastical prescription; -afterwards, the deliverance from the trammels of school formulas, -emancipation from all laws but those of the free determination of -individual genius. At this point authority ceases, dictation gives way to -persuasion, and art still ministers to the higher ends of the Church, not -through fear, but through reverence for the teachings and appeals which -the Church sends forth as her contribution to the nobler influences of -the age. - -The writer who would trace the history of the modern musical mass has a -task very different from that which meets the historian of the mediaeval -period. In the latter case, as has already been shown, generalization is -comparatively easy, for we deal with music in which differences of -nationality and individual style hardly appear. The modern Catholic -music, on the other hand, follows the currents that shape the course of -secular music. Where secular music becomes formalized, as in the early -Italian opera, religious music tends to sink into a similar routine. -When, on the other hand, men of commanding genius, such as Beethoven, -Berlioz, Liszt, Verdi, contribute works of a purely individual stamp to -the general development of musical art, their church compositions form no -exception, but are likewise sharply differentiated from others of the -same class. The influence of nationality makes itself felt--there is a -style characteristic of Italy, another of South Germany and Austria, -another of Paris, although these distinctions tend to disappear under the -solvent of modern cosmopolitanism. The Church does not positively dictate -any particular norm or method, and hence local tendencies have run their -course almost unchecked. - -Catholic music has shared all the fluctuations of European taste. The -levity of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries was -as apparent in the mass as in the opera. The uplift in musical culture -during the last one hundred years has carried church composition along -with it, so that almost all the works produced since Palestrina, of which -the Church has most reason to be proud, belong to the nineteenth century. -One of the ultimate results of the modern license in style and the -tendency toward individual expression is the custom of writing masses as -free compositions rather than for liturgic uses, and of performing them -in public halls or theatres in the same manner as oratorios. Mozart wrote -his Requiem to the order of a private patron. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, -not being ready when wanted for a consecration ceremony, outgrew the -dimensions of a service mass altogether, and was finished without any -liturgic purpose in view. Cherubini's mass in D minor and Liszt's Gran -Mass were each composed for a single occasion, and both of them, like the -Requiems of Berlioz and Dvorák, although often heard in concerts, have -but very rarely been performed in church worship. Masses have even been -written by Protestants, such as Bach, Schumann, Hauptmann, Richter, and -Becker. Masses that are written under the same impulse as ordinary -concert and dramatic works easily violate the ecclesiastical spirit, and -pass into the category of religious works that are non-churchly, and it -may often seem necessary to class them with cantatas on account of their -semi-dramatic tone. In such productions as Bach's B minor Mass, -Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Berlioz's Requiem we have works that -constitute a separate phase of art, not masses in the proper sense, for -they do not properly blend with the church ceremonial nor contribute to -the special devotional mood which the Church aims to promote, while yet -in their general conception they are held by a loose band to the altar. -So apart do these mighty creations stand that they may almost be said to -glorify religion in the abstract rather than the confession of the -Catholic Church. - -The changed conditions in respect to patronage have had the same effect -upon the mass as upon other departments of musical composition. In former -periods down to the close of the eighteenth century, the professional -composer was almost invariably a salaried officer, attached as a personal -retainer to a court, lay or clerical, and bound to conform his style of -composition in a greater or less degree to the tastes of his employer. A -Sixtus V. could reprove Palestrina for failing to please with a certain -mass and admonish him to do better work in the future. Haydn could hardly -venture to introduce any innovation into the style of religious music -sanctioned by his august masters, the Esterhazys. Mozart wrote all his -masses, with the exception of the Requiem, for the chapel of the prince -archbishop of Salzburg. In this establishment the length of the mass was -prescribed, the mode of writing and performance, which had become -traditional, hindered freedom of development, and therefore Mozart's -works of this class everywhere give evidence of constraint. On the other -hand, the leading composers of the present century that have occupied -themselves with the mass have been free from such arbitrary compulsions. -They have written masses, not as a part of routine duty, but as they were -inspired by the holy words and by the desire to offer the free gift of -their genius at the altar of the Church. They have been, as a rule, -devoted churchmen, but they have felt that they had the sympathy of the -Church in asserting the rights of the artist as against prelatical -conservatism and local usage. The outcome is seen in a group of works -which, whatever the strict censors may deem their defects in edifying -quality, at least indicate that in the field of musical art there is no -necessary conflict between Catholicism and the free spirit of the age. - -Under these conditions the mass in the modern musical era has taken a -variety of directions and assumed distinct national and individual -complexions. The Neapolitan school, which gave the law to Italian opera -in the eighteenth century, endowed the mass with the same soft -sensuousness of melody and sentimental pathos of expression, together -with a dry, calculated kind of harmony in the chorus portions, the work -never touching deep chords of feeling, and yet preserving a tone of -sobriety and dignity. As cultivated in Italy and France the mass -afterward degenerated into rivalry on equal terms with the shallow, -captivating, cloying melody of the later Neapolitans and their -successors, Rossini and Bellini. In this school of so-called religious -music all sense of appropriateness was often lost, and a florid, profane -treatment was not only permitted but encouraged. Perversions which can -hardly be called less than blasphemous had free rein in the ritual music. -Franz Liszt, in a letter to a Paris journal, written in 1835, bitterly -attacks the music that flaunted itself in the Catholic churches of the -city. He complains of the sacrilegious virtuoso displays of the prima -donna, the wretched choruses, the vulgar antics of the organist playing -galops and variations from comic operas in the most solemn moments of the -holy ceremony. Similar testimony has from time to time come from Italy, -and it would appear that the most lamentable lapses from the pure church -tradition have occurred in some of the very places where one would expect -that the strictest principles would be loyally maintained. The most -celebrated surviving example of the consequences to which the virtuoso -tendencies in church music must inevitably lead when unchecked by a truly -pious criticism is Rossini's Stabat Mater. This frivolous work is -frequently performed with great _éclat_ in Catholic places of worship, as -though the clergy were indifferent to the almost incredible levity which -could clothe the heart-breaking pathos of Jacopone's immortal hymn--a -hymn properly honored by the Church with a place among the five great -Sequences--with strains better suited to the sprightly abandon of opera -buffa. - -Another branch of the mass was sent by the Neapolitan school into -Austria, and here the results, although unsatisfactory to the better -taste of the present time, were far nobler and more fruitful than in -Italy and France. The group of Austrian church composers, represented by -the two Haydns, Mozart, Eybler, Neukomm, Sechter and others of the -period, created a form of church music which partook of much of the dry, -formal, pedantic spirit of the day, in which regularity of form, -scientific correctness, and a conscious propriety of manner were often -more considered than emotional fervor. Certain conventions, such as a -florid contrapuntal treatment of the Kyrie with its slow introduction -followed by an Allegro, the fugues at the Cum Sanctu Spiritu and the Et -Vitam, the regular alternation of solo and chorus numbers, give the -typical Austrian mass a somewhat rigid, perfunctory air, and in practice -produce the effect which always results when expression becomes -stereotyped and form is exalted over substance. Mozart's masses, with the -exception of the beautiful Requiem (which was his last work and belongs -in a different category), were the production of his boyhood, written -before his genius became self-assertive and under conditions distinctly -unfavorable to the free exercise of the imagination. - -The masses of Joseph Haydn stand somewhat apart from the strict Austrian -school, for although as a rule they conform externally to the local -conventions, they are far more individual and possess a freedom and -buoyancy that are decidedly personal. It has become the fashion among the -sterner critics of church music to condemn Haydn's masses without -qualification, as conspicuous examples of the degradation of taste in -religious art which is one of the depressing legacies of the eighteenth -century. Much of this censure is deserved, for Haydn too often loses -sight of the law which demands that music should reinforce, and not -contradict, the meaning and purpose of the text. Haydn's mass style is -often indistinguishable from his oratorio style. His colorature arias are -flippant, often introduced at such solemn moments as to be offensive. -Even where the voice part is subdued to an appropriate solemnity, the -desired impression is frequently destroyed by some tawdry flourish in the -orchestra. The brilliancy of the choruses is often pompous and hollow. -Haydn's genius was primarily instrumental; he was the virtual creator of -the modern symphony and string quartet; his musical forms and modes of -expression were drawn from two diverse sources which it was his great -mission to conciliate and idealize, _viz._, the Italian aristocratic -opera, and the dance and song of the common people. An extraordinary -sense of form and an instinctive sympathy with whatever is spontaneous, -genial, and racy made him what he was. The joviality of his nature was -irrepressible. To write music of a sombre cast was out of his power. -There is not a melancholy strain in all his works; pensiveness was as -deep a note as he could strike. He tried to defend the gay tone of his -church music by saying that he had such a sense of the goodness of God -that he could not be otherwise than joyful in thinking of him. This -explanation was perfectly sincere, but Haydn was not enough of a -philosopher to see the weak spot in this sort of aesthetics. Yet in spite -of the obvious faults of Haydn's mass style, looking at it from a -historic point of view, it was a promise of advance, and not a sign of -degeneracy. For it marked the introduction of genuine, even if -misdirected feeling into worship music, in the place of dull conformity -to routine. Haydn was far indeed from solving the problem of church -music, but he helped to give new life to a form that showed danger of -becoming atrophied. - -Two masses of world importance rise above the mediocrity of the Austrian -school, like the towers of some Gothic cathedral above the monotonous -tiled roofs of a mediaeval city,--the Requiem of Mozart and the Missa -Solemnis of Beethoven. The unfinished masterpiece of Mozart outsoars all -comparison with the religious works of his youth, and as his farewell to -the world he could impart to it a tone of pathos and exaltation which had -hardly been known in the cold, objective treatment of the usual -eighteenth-century mass. The hand of death was upon Mozart as he penned -the immortal pages of the Requiem, and in this crisis he could feel that -he was free from the dictation of fashion and precedent. This work is -perhaps not all that we might look for in these solemn circumstances. -Mozart's exquisite genius was suited rather to the task, in which lies -his true glory, of raising the old Italian opera to its highest -possibilities of grace and truth to nature. He had not that depth of -feeling and sweep of imagination which make the works of Bach, Händel, -and Beethoven the sublimest expression of awe in view of the mysteries of -life and death. Yet it is wholly free from the fripperies which disfigure -the masses of Haydn, as well as from the dry scholasticism of much of -Mozart's own early religious work. Such movements as the Confutatis, the -Recordare, and the Lacrimosa--movements inexpressibly earnest, consoling, -and pathetic--gave evidence that a new and loftier spirit had entered the -music of the Church. - -The Missa Solemnis of Beethoven, composed 1818-1822, can hardly be -considered from the liturgic point of view. In the vastness of its -dimensions it is quite disproportioned to the ceremony to which it -theoretically belongs, and its almost unparalleled difficulty of -execution and the grandeur of its choral climaxes remove it beyond the -reach of all but the most exceptional choirs. It is, therefore, performed -only as a concert work by choral societies with a full orchestral -equipment. For these reasons it is not to be classed with the service -masses of the Catholic Church, but may be placed beside the B minor Mass -of Sebastian Bach, both holding a position outside all ordinary -comparisons. Each of these colossal creations stands on its own solitary -eminence, the projection in tones of the religious conceptions of two -gigantic, all-comprehending intellects. For neither of these two works is -the Catholic Church strictly responsible. They do not proceed from within -the Church. Bach was a strict Protestant; Beethoven, although nominally a -disciple of the Catholic Church, had almost no share in her communion, -and his religious belief, so far as the testimony goes, was a sort of -pantheistic mysticism. Both these supreme artists in the later periods of -their careers gave free rein to their imaginations and not only well-nigh -exceeded all available means of performance, but also seemed to strive to -force musical forms and the powers of instruments and voices beyond their -limits in the efforts to realize that which is unrealizable through any -human medium. In this endeavor they went to the very verge of the -sublime, and produced achievements which excite wonder and awe. These two -masses defy all imitation, and represent no school. The spirit of -individualism in religious music can go no further. - -The last masses of international importance produced on Austrian soil are -those of Franz Schubert. Of his six Latin masses four are youthful works, -pure and graceful, but not especially significant. In his E flat and A -flat masses, however, he takes a place in the upper rank of mass -composers of this century. The E flat Mass is weakened by the diffuseness -which was Schubert's besetting sin; the A flat is more terse and -sustained in excellence, and thoroughly available for practical use. Both -of them contain movements of purest ideal beauty and sincere worshipful -spirit, and often rise to a grandeur that is unmarred by sensationalism -and wholly in keeping with the tone of awe which pervades even the most -exultant moments of the liturgy. - -The lofty idealism exemplified in such works as Mozart's Requiem, -Beethoven's Mass in D, Schubert's last two masses, and in a less degree -in Weber's Mass in E flat has never since been lost from the German mass, -in spite of local and temporary reactions. Such composers as Kiel, -Havert, Grell, and Rheinberger have done noble service in holding German -Catholic music fast to the tradition of seriousness and truth which has -been taking form all through this century in German secular music. It -must be said, however, that the German Catholic Church at large, -especially in the country districts, has been too often dull to the -righteous claims of the profounder expression of devotional feeling, and -has maintained the vogue of the Italian mass and the shallower products -of the Austrian school. Against this indifference the St. Cecilia Society -has directed its noble missionary labors, with as yet but partial -success. - -If we turn our observation to Italy and France we find that the music of -the Church is at every period sympathetically responsive to the -fluctuations in secular music. Elevated and dignified, if somewhat cold -and constrained, in the writings of the nobler spirits of the Neapolitan -school such as Durante and Jomelli, sweet and graceful even to effeminacy -in Pergolesi, sensuous and saccharine in Rossini, imposing and massive, -rising at times to epic grandeur, in Cherubini, by turns ecstatic and -voluptuous in Gounod, ardent and impassioned in Verdi--the ecclesiastical -music of the Latin nations offers works of adorable beauty, sometimes -true to the pure devotional ideal, sometimes perverse, and by their -isolation serving to illustrate the dependence of the church composer's -inspiration upon the general conditions of musical taste and progress. -Not only were those musicians of France and Italy who were prominent as -church composers also among the leaders in opera, but their ideals and -methods in opera were closely paralleled by those displayed in their -religious productions. It is impossible to separate the powerful masses -of Cherubini, with their pomp and majesty of movement, their reserved and -pathetic melody, their grandiose dimensions and their sumptuous -orchestration, from those contemporary tendencies in dramatic art which -issued in the "historic school" of grand opera as exemplified in the -pretentious works of Spontini and Meyerbeer. They may be said to be the -reflection in church art of the hollow splendor of French imperialism. -Such an expression, however, may be accused of failing in justice to the -undeniable merits of Cherubini's masses. As a man and as a musician -Cherubini commands unbounded respect for his unswerving sincerity in an -age of sham, his uncompromising assertion of his dignity as an artist in -an age of sycophancy, and the solid worth of his achievement in the midst -of shallow aims and mediocre results. As a church composer he towers so -high above his predecessors of the eighteenth century in respect to -learning and imagination that his masses are not unworthy to stand beside -Beethoven's Missa Solemnis as auguries of the loftier aims that were soon -to prevail in the realm of religious music. His Requiem in C minor, -particularly, by reason of its exquisite tenderness, breadth of thought, -nobility of expression, and avoidance of all excess either of agitation -or of gloom, must be ranked among the most admirable modern examples of -pure Catholic art. - -The effort of Lesueur (1763-1837) to introduce into church music a -picturesque and imitative style--which, in spite of much that was -striking and attractive in result, must be pronounced a false direction -in church music--was characteristically French and was continued in such -works as Berlioz's Requiem and to a certain extent in the masses and -psalms of Liszt. The genius of Liszt, notwithstanding his Hungarian -birth, was closely akin to the French in his tendency to connect every -musical impulse with a picture or with some mental conception which could -be grasped in distinct concrete outline. In his youth Liszt, in his -despair over the degeneracy of liturgic music in France and its complete -separation from the real life of the people, proclaimed the necessity of -a _rapprochement_ between church music and popular music. In an article -written for a Paris journal in 1834, which remains a fragment, he -imagined a new style of religious music which should "unite in colossal -relations theatre and church, which should be at the same time dramatic -and solemn, imposing and simple, festive and earnest, fiery and -unconstrained, stormy and reposeful, clear and fervent." These -expressions are too vague to serve as a program for a new art movement. -They imply, however, a protest against the one-sided operatic tendency of -the day, at the same time indicating the conviction that the problem is -not to be solved in a pedantic reaction toward the ancient austere ideal, -and yet that the old and new endeavors, liturgic appropriateness and -characteristic expression, reverence of mood and recognition of the -claims of contemporary taste, should in some way be made to harmonize. -The man who all his life conceived the theatre as a means of popular -education, and who strove to realize that conception as court music -director at Weimar, would also lament any alienation between the church -ceremony and the intellectual and emotional habitudes and inclinations of -the people. A devoted churchman reverencing the ancient ecclesiastical -tradition, and at the same time a musical artist of the advanced modern -type, Liszt's instincts yearned more or less blindly towards an alliance -between the sacerdotal conception of religious art and the general -artistic spirit of the age. Some such vision evidently floated before his -mind in the masses, psalms, and oratorios of his later years, as shown in -their frequent striving after the picturesque, together with an -inclination toward the older ecclesiastical forms. These two ideals are -probably incompatible; at any rate Liszt did not possess the genius to -unite them in a convincing manner. - -Among the later ecclesiastical composers of France, Gounod shines out -conspicuously by virtue of those fascinating melodic gifts which have -made the fame of the St. Cecilia mass almost conterminous with that of -the opera "Faust." Indeed, there is hardly a better example of the modern -propensity of the dramatic and religious styles to reflect each other's -lineaments than is found in the close parallelism which appears in -Gounod's secular and church productions. So liable, or perhaps we might -say, so neutral is his art, that a similar quality of melting cadence is -made to portray the mutual avowals of love-lorn souls and the raptures of -heavenly aspiration. Those who condemn Gounod's religious music on this -account as sensuous have some reason on their side, yet no one has ever -ventured to accuse Gounod of insincerity, and it may well be that his -wide human sympathy saw enough correspondence between the worship of an -earthly ideal and that of a heavenly--each implying the abandonment of -self-consciousness in the yearning for a happiness which is at the moment -the highest conceivable--as to make the musical expression of both -essentially similar. This is to say that the composer forgets liturgic -claims in behalf of the purely human. This principle no doubt involves -the destruction of church music as a distinctive form of art, but it is -certain that the world at large, as evinced by the immense popularity of -Gounod's religious works, sees no incongruity and does not feel that such -usage is profane. Criticism on the part of all but the most austere is -disarmed by the pure, seraphic beauty which this complacent art of Gounod -often reveals. The intoxicating sweetness of his melody and harmony never -sinks to a Rossinian flippancy. Of Gounod's reverence for the Church and -for its art ideals, there can be no question. A man's views of the proper -tone of church music will be controlled largely by his temperament, and -Gounod's temperament was as warm as an Oriental's. He offered to the -Church his best, and as the Magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to -a babe born among cattle in a stable, so Gounod, with a consecration -equally sincere, clothed his prayers in strains so ecstatic that compared -with them the most impassioned accents of "Faust" and "Romeo and Juliet" -are tame. He was a profound student of Palestrina, Mozart, and Cherubini, -and strong traces of the styles of these masters are apparent in his -works. - -Somewhat similar qualities, although far less sensational, are found in -the productions of that admirable band of organists and church composers -that now lends such lustre to the art life of the French capital. The -culture of such representatives of this school as Guilmant, Widor, -Saint-Saëns, Dubois, Gigout is so solidly based, and their views of -religious music so judicious, that the methods and traditions which they -are conscientiously engaged in establishing need only the reinforcement -of still higher genius to bring forth works which will confer even -greater honor upon Catholicism than she has yet received from the -devotion of her musical sons in France. No purer or nobler type of -religious music has appeared in these latter days than is to be found in -the compositions of César Franck (1822-1890). For the greater part of his -life overlooked or disdained by all save a devoted band of disciples, in -spirit and in learning he was allied to the Palestrinas and the Bachs, -and there are many who place him in respect to genius among the foremost -of the French musicians of the nineteenth century. - -The religious works of Verdi might be characterized in much the same -terms as those of Gounod. In Verdi also we have a truly filial devotion -to the Catholic Church, united with a temperament easily excited to a -white heat when submitted to his musical inspiration, and a genius for -melody and seductive harmonic combinations in which he is hardly equalled -among modern composers. In his Manzoni Requiem, Stabat Mater, and Te Deum -these qualities are no less in evidence than in "Aida" and "Otello," and -it would be idle to deny their devotional sincerity on account of their -lavish profusion of nerve-exciting effects. The controversy between the -contemners and the defenders of the Manzoni Requiem is now somewhat stale -and need not be revived here. Any who may wish to resuscitate it, -however, on account of the perennial importance of the question of what -constitutes purity and appropriateness in church art, must in justice put -themselves into imaginative sympathy with the racial religious feeling of -an Italian, and make allowance also for the undeniable suggestion of the -dramatic in the Catholic ritual, and for the natural effect of the -Catholic ceremonial and its peculiar atmosphere upon the more ardent, -enthusiastic order of minds. - -The most imposing contributions that have been made to Catholic liturgic -music since Verdi's Requiem are undoubtedly the Requiem Mass and the -Stabat Mater of Dvorák. All the wealth of tone color which is contained -upon the palette of this master of harmony and instrumentation has been -laid upon these two magnificent scores. Inferior to Verdi in variety and -gorgeousness of melody, the Bohemian composer surpasses the great Italian -in massiveness, dignity, and in unfailing good taste. There can be no -question that Dvorák's Stabat Mater is supreme over all other -settings--the only one, except Verdi's much shorter work, that is worthy -of the pathos and tenderness of this immortal Sequence. The Requiem of -Dvorák in spite of a tendency to monotony, is a work of exceeding beauty, -rising often to grandeur, and is notable, apart from its sheer musical -qualities, as the most precious gift to Catholic art that has come from -the often rebellious land of Bohemia. - -It would be profitless to attempt to predict the future of Catholic -church music. In the hasty survey which we have made of the Catholic mass -in the past three centuries we have been able to discover no law of -development except the almost unanimous agreement of the chief composers -to reject law and employ the sacred text of Scripture and liturgy as the -basis of works in which not the common consciousness of the Church shall -be expressed, but the emotions aroused by the action of sacred ideas upon -different temperaments and divergent artistic methods. There is no sign -that this principle of individual liberty will be renounced. -Nevertheless, the increasing deference that is paid to authority, the -growing study of the works and ideals of the past which is so apparent in -the culture of the present day, will here and there issue in partial -reactions. The mind of the present, having seen the successful working -out of certain modern problems and the barrenness of others, is turning -eclectic. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of musical -culture, both religious and secular. We see that in many influential -circles the question becomes more and more insistent, what is truth and -appropriateness?--whereas formerly the demand was for novelty and -"effect." Under this better inspiration many beautiful works are produced -which are marked by dignity, moderation, and an almost austere reserve, -drawing a sharp distinction between the proper ecclesiastical tone and -that suited to concert and dramatic music, restoring once more the idea -of impersonality, expressing in song the conception of the fathers that -the Church is a refuge, a retreat from the tempests of the world, a place -of penitence and restoration to confidence in the near presence of -heaven. - -Such masses as the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven, the D minor of Cherubini, -the Messe Solennelle of Rossini, the St. Cecilia of Gounod, the Requiems -of Berlioz and Verdi, sublime and unspeakably beautiful as they are from -the broadly human standpoint, are yet in a certain sense sceptical. They -reveal a mood of agitation which is not that intended by the -ministrations of the Church in her organized acts of worship. And yet -such works will continue to be produced, and the Church will accept them, -in grateful recognition of the sincere homage which their creation -implies. It is of the nature of the highest artistic genius that it -cannot restrain its own fierce impulses out of conformity to a type or -external tradition. It will express its own individual emotion or it will -become paralyzed and mute. The religious compositions that will humbly -yield to a strict liturgic standard in form and expression will be those -of writers of the third or fourth grade, just as the church hymns have -been, with few exceptions, the production, not of the great poets, but of -men of lesser artistic endowment, and who were primarily churchmen, and -poets only by second intention. This will doubtless be the law for all -time. The Michael Angelos, the Dantes, the Beethovens will forever break -over rules, even though they be the rules of a beloved mother Church. - -The time is past, however, when we may fear any degeneracy like to that -which overtook church music one hundred or more years ago. The principles -of such consecrated church musicians as Witt, Tinel, and the leaders of -the St. Cecilia Society and the Paris Schola Cantorum, the influence of -the will of the Church implied in all her admonitions on the subject of -liturgic song, the growing interest in the study of the masters of the -past, and, more than all, the growth of sound views of art as a detail of -the higher and the popular education, must inevitably promote an -increasing conviction among clergy, choir leaders, and people of the -importance of purity and appropriateness in the music of the Church. The -need of reform in many of the Catholic churches of this and other -countries is known to every one. Doubtless one cause of the frequent -indifference, of priests to the condition of the choir music in their -churches is the knowledge that the chorus and organ are after all but -accessories; that the Church possesses in the Gregorian chant a form of -song that is the legal, universal, and unchangeable foundation of the -musical ceremony, and that any corruption in the gallery music can never -by any possibility extend to the heart of the system. The Church is -indeed fortunate in the possession of this altar song, the unifying chain -which can never be loosened. All the more reason, therefore, why this -consciousness of unity should pervade all portions of the ceremony, and -the spirit of the liturgic chant should blend even with the large freedom -of modern musical experiment. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - THE RISE OF THE LUTHERAN HYMNODY - - -The music of the Protestant Church of Germany, while adopting many -features from its great antagonist, presents certain points of contrast -which are of the highest importance not only in the subsequent history of -ecclesiastical song, but also as significant of certain national traits -which were conspicuous among the causes of the schism of the sixteenth -century. The musical system of the Catholic Church proceeded from the -Gregorian chant, which is strictly a detail of the sacerdotal office. The -Lutheran music, on the contrary, is primarily based on the congregational -hymn. The one is clerical, the other laic; the one official, prescribed, -liturgic, unalterable, the other free, spontaneous, and democratic. In -these two forms and ideals we find reflected the same conceptions which -especially characterize the doctrine, worship, and government of these -oppugnant confessions. - -The Catholic Church, as we have seen, was consistent in withdrawing the -office of song from the laity and assigning it to a separate company who -were at first taken from the minor clergy, and who even in later periods -were conceived as exercising a semi-clerical function. Congregational -singing, although not officially and without exception discountenanced by -the Catholic Church, has never been encouraged, and song, like prayer, is -looked upon as essentially a liturgic office. - -In the Protestant Church the barrier of an intermediary priesthood -between the believer and his God is broken down. The entire membership of -the Christian body is recognized as a universal priesthood, with access -to the Father through one mediator, Jesus Christ. This conception -restores the offices of worship to the body of believers, and they in -turn delegate their administration to certain officials, who, together -with certain independent privileges attached to the office, share with -the laity in the determination of matters of faith and polity. - -It was a perfectly natural result of this principle that congregational -song should hold a place in the Protestant cultus which the Catholic -Church has never sanctioned. The one has promoted and tenaciously -maintained it; the other as consistently repressed it,--not on aesthetic -grounds, nor primarily on grounds of devotional effect, but really -through a more or less distinct perception of its significance in respect -to the theoretical relationship of the individual to the Church. The -struggles over popular song in public worship which appear throughout the -early history of Protestantism are thus to be explained. The emancipated -layman found in the general hymn a symbol as well as an agent of the -assertion of his new rights and privileges in the Gospel. The people's -song of early Protestantism has therefore a militant ring. It marks its -epoch no less significantly than Luther's ninety-five theses and the -Augsburg Confession. It was a sort of spiritual _Triumphlied_, -proclaiming to the universe that the day of spiritual emancipation had -dawned. - -The second radical distinction between the music of the Protestant Church -and that of the Catholic is that the vernacular language takes the place -of the Latin. The natural desire of a people is that they may worship in -their native idiom; and since the secession from the ancient Church -inevitably resulted in the formation of national or independent churches, -the necessities which maintained in the Catholic Church a common liturgic -language no longer obtained, and the people fell back upon their national -speech. - -Among the historic groups of hymns that have appeared since Clement of -Alexandria and Ephraëm the Syrian set in motion the tide of Christian -song, the Lutheran hymnody has the greatest interest to the student of -church history. In sheer literary excellence it is undoubtedly surpassed -by the Latin hymns of the mediaeval Church and the English-American -group; in musical merit it no more than equals these; but in historic -importance the Lutheran song takes the foremost place. The Latin and the -English hymns belong only to the history of poetry and of inward -spiritual experience; the Lutheran have a place in the annals of politics -and doctrinal strifes as well. German Protestant hymnody dates from -Martin Luther; his lyrics were the models of the hymns of the reformed -Church in Germany for a century or more. The principle that lay at the -basis of his movement gave them their characteristic tone; they were -among the most efficient agencies in carrying this principle to the mind -of the common people, and they also contributed powerfully to the -enthusiasm which enabled the new faith to maintain itself in the -conflicts by which it was tested. The melodies to which the hymns of -Luther and his followers were set became the foundation of a musical -style which is the one school worthy to be placed beside the Italian -Catholic music of the sixteenth century. This hymnody and its music -afforded the first adequate outlet for the poetic and musical genius of -the German people, and established the pregnant democratic traditions of -German art as against the aristocratic traditions of Italy and France. As -we cannot overestimate the spiritual and intellectual force which entered -the European arena with Luther and his disciples, so we must also -recognize the analogous elements which asserted themselves at the same -moment and under the same inspiration in the field of art expression, and -gave to this movement a language which helps us in a peculiar way to -understand its real import. - -The first questions which present themselves in tracing the historic -connections of the early Lutheran hymnody are: What was its origin? Had -it models, and if so, what and where were they? In giving a store of -congregational songs to the German people was Luther original, or only an -imitator? In this department of his work does he deserve the honor which -Protestants have awarded him? - -Protestant writers have, as a rule, bestowed unstinted praise upon Luther -as the man who first gave the people a voice with which to utter their -religious emotions in song. Most of these writers are undoubtedly aware -that a national poesy is never the creation of a single man, and that a -brilliant epoch of national literature or art must always be preceded by -a period of experiment and fermentation; yet they are disposed to make -little account of the existence of a popular religious song in Germany -before the Reformation, and represent Luther almost as performing the -miracle of making the dumb to speak. Even those who recognize the fact of -a preëxisting school of hymnody usually seek to give the impression that -pure evangelical religion was almost, if not quite, unknown in the -popular religious poetry of the centuries before the Reformation, and -that the Lutheran hymnody was composed of altogether novel elements. They -also ascribe to Luther creative work in music as well as in poetry. -Catholic writers, on the other hand, will allow Luther no originality -whatever; they find, or pretend to find, every essential feature of his -work in the Catholic hymns and tunes of the previous centuries, or in -those of the Bohemian sectaries. They admit the great influence of -Luther's hymns in disseminating the new doctrines, but give him credit -only for cleverness in dressing up his borrowed ideas and forms in a -taking popular guise. As is usually the case in controversy, the truth -lies between the two extremes. Luther's originality has been overrated by -Protestants, and the true nature of the germinal force which he imparted -to German congregational song has been misconceived by Catholics. It was -not new forms, but a new spirit, which Luther gave to his Church. He did -not break with the past, but found in the past a new standing-ground. He -sought truth in the Scriptures, in the writings of the fathers and the -mediaeval theologians; he rejected what he deemed false or barren in the -mother Church, adopted and developed what was true and fruitful, and -moulded it into forms whose style was already familiar to the people. In -poetry, music, and the several details of church worship Luther recast -the old models, and gave them to his followers with contents purified and -adapted to those needs which he himself had made them to realize. He -understood the character of his people; he knew where to find the -nourishment suited to their wants; he knew how to turn their enthusiasms -into practical and progressive directions. This was Luther's achievement -in the sphere of church art, and if, in recognizing the precise nature of -his work, we seem to question his reputation for creative genius, we do -him better justice by honoring his practical wisdom. - -The singing of religious songs by the common people in their own language -in connection with public worship did not begin in Germany with the -Reformation. The German popular song is of ancient date, and the -religious lyric always had a prominent place in it. The Teutonic tribes -before their conversion to Christianity had a large store of hymns to -their deities, and afterward their musical fervor turned itself no less -ardently to the service of their new allegiance. Wackernagel, in the -second volume of his monumental collection of German hymns from the -earliest time to the beginning of the seventeenth century, includes -fourteen hundred and forty-eight religious lyrics in the German tongue -composed between the year 868 and 1518.[68] This collection, he says, is -as complete as possible, but we must suppose that a very large number -written before the invention of printing have been lost. About half the -hymns in this volume are of unknown authorship. Among the writers whose -names are given we find such notable poets as Walther von der Vogelweide, -Gottfried von Strassburg, Hartmann von Aue, Frauenlob, Reinmar der -Zweter, Kunrad der Marner, Heinrich von Loufenberg, Michel Behem, and -Hans Sachs, besides famous churchmen like Eckart and Tauler, who are not -otherwise known as poets. A great number of these poems are hymns only in -a qualified sense, having been written, not for public use, but for -private satisfaction; but many others are true hymns, and have often -resounded from the mouths of the people in social religious functions. - -Down to the tenth century the only practice among the Germans that could -be called a popular church song was the ejaculation of the words _Kyrie -eleison, Christe eleison_. These phrases, which are among the most -ancient in the Mass and the litanies, and which came originally from the -Eastern Church, were sung or shouted by the German Christians on all -possible occasions. In processions, on pilgrimages, at burials, greeting -of distinguished visitors, consecration of a church or prelate, in many -subordinate liturgic offices, invocations of supernatural aid in times of -distress, on the march, going into battle,--in almost every social action -in which religious sanctions were involved the people were in duty bound -to utter this phrase, often several hundred times in succession. The -words were often abbreviated into _Kyrieles, Kyrie eleis, Kyrielle, -Kerleis_, and _Kles_, and sometimes became mere inarticulate cries. - -When the phrase was formally sung, the Gregorian tones proper to it in -the church service were employed. Some of these were florid successions -of notes, many to a syllable, as in the Alleluia from which the Sequences -sprung,--a free, impassioned form of emotional utterance which had -extensive use in the service of the earlier Church, both East and West, -and which is still employed, sometimes to extravagant length, in the -Orient. The custom at last arose of setting words to these exuberant -strains. This usage took two forms, giving rise in the ritual service to -the "farced Kyries" or Tropes, and in the freer song of the people -producing a more regular kind of hymn, in which the _Kyrie eleison_ -became at last a mere refrain at the end of each stanza. These songs came -to be called _Kirleisen_, or _Leisen_, and sometimes _Leiche_, and they -exhibit the German congregational hymn in its first estate. - -Religious songs multiplied in the centuries following the tenth almost by -geometrical progression. The tide reached a high mark in the twelfth and -thirteenth centuries under that extraordinary intellectual awakening -which distinguished the epoch of the Crusades, the Stauffen emperors, the -Minnesingers, and the court epic poets. Under the stimulus of the ideals -of chivalric honor and knightly devotion to woman, the adoration of the -Virgin Mother, long cherished in the bosom of the Church, burst forth in -a multitude of ecstatic lyrics in her praise. Poetic and musical -inspiration was communicated by the courtly poets to the clergy and -common people, and the love of singing at religious observances grew -apace. Certain heretics, who made much stir in this period, also wrote -hymns and put them into the mouths of the populace, thus following the -early example of the Arians and the disciples of Bardasanes. To resist -this perversion of the divine art, orthodox songs were composed, and, as -in the Reformation days, schismatics and Romanists vied with each other -in wielding this powerful proselyting agent. - -Mystics of the fourteenth century--Eckart, Tauler, and others--wrote -hymns of a new tone, an inward spiritual quality, less objective, more -individual, voicing a yearning for an immediate union of the soul with -God, and the joy of personal love to the Redeemer. Poetry of this nature -especially appealed to the religious sisters, and from many a convent -came echoes of these chastened raptures, in which are heard accents of -longing for the comforting presence of the Heavenly Bridegroom. - -Those half-insane fanatics, the Flagellants, and other enthusiasts of the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, also contributed to the store of -pre-Reformation hymnody. Hoffmann von Fallersleben has given a vivid -account of the barbaric doings of these bands of self-tormentors, and it -is evident that their singing was not the least uncanny feature of their -performances.[69] - -In the fourteenth century appeared the device which played so large a -part in the production of the Reformation hymns--that of adapting secular -tunes to religious poems, and also making religious paraphrases of -secular ditties. Praises of love, of out-door sport, even of wine, by a -few simple alterations were made to express devotional sentiments. A good -illustration of this practice is the recasting of the favorite folk-song, -"Den liepsten Bulen den ich han," into "Den liepsten Herren den ich han." -Much more common, however, was the transfer of melodies from profane -poems to religious, a method which afterward became an important reliance -for supplying the reformed congregations with hymn-tunes. - -Mixed songs, part Latin and part German, were at one time much in vogue. -A celebrated example is the - - - "In dulce jubilo - Nu singet und seyt fro" - - -of the fourteenth century, which has often been heard in the reformed -churches down to a recent period. - -In the fifteenth century the popular religious song flourished with an -affluence hardly surpassed even in the first two centuries of -Protestantism. Still under the control of the Catholic doctrine and -discipline, it nevertheless betokens a certain restlessness of mind; the -native individualism of the German spirit is preparing to assert itself. -The fifteenth was a century of stir and inquiry, full of premonitions of -the upheaval soon to follow. The Revival of Learning began to shake -Germany, as well as Southern and Western Europe, out of its superstition -and intellectual subjection. The religious and political movements in -Bohemia and Moravia, set in motion by the preaching and martyrdom of Hus, -produced strong effect in Germany. Hus struck at some of the same abuses -that aroused the wrath of Luther, notably the traffic in indulgences. The -demand for the use of the vernacular in church worship was even more -fundamental than the similar desire in Germany, and preceded rather than -followed the movement toward reform. Hus was also a prototype of Luther -in that he was virtually the founder of the Bohemian hymnody. He wrote -hymns both in Latin and in Czech, and earnestly encouraged the use of -vernacular songs by the people. The Utraquists published a song-book in -the Czech language in 1501, and the Unitas Fratrum one, containing four -hundred hymns, in 1505. These two antedated the first Lutheran hymn-book -by about twenty years. The Bohemian reformers, like Luther after them, -based their poetry upon the psalms, the ancient Latin hymns, and the old -vernacular religious songs; they improved existing texts, and set new -hymns in place of those that contained objectionable doctrinal features. -Their tunes also were derived, like those of the German reformers, from -older religious and secular melodies. - -These achievements of the Bohemians, answering popular needs that exist -at all times, could not remain without influence upon the Germans. -Encouragement to religious expression in the vernacular was also exerted -by certain religious communities known as Brethren of the Common Life, -which originated in Holland in the latter part of the fourteenth century, -and extended into North and Middle Germany in the fifteenth. Thomas à -Kempis was a member of this order. The purpose of these Brethren was to -inculcate a purer religious life among the people, especially the young; -and they made it a ground principle that the national language should be -used so far as possible in prayer and song. Particularly effective in the -culture of sacred poetry and music among the artisan class were the -schools of the Mastersingers, which flourished all over Germany in the -fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. - -Standing upon the threshold of the Reformation, and looking back over the -period that elapsed since the pagan myths and heroic lays of the North -began to yield to the metrical gospel narrative of the "Heliand" and the -poems of Otfried, we can trace the same union of pious desire and poetic -instinct which, in a more enlightened age, produced the one hundred -thousand evangelical hymns of Germany. The pre-Reformation hymns are of -the highest importance as casting light upon the condition of religious -belief among the German laity. We find in them a great variety of -elements,--much that is pure, noble, and strictly evangelical, mixed with -crudity, superstition, and crass realism. In the nature of the case they -do not, on the whole, rise to the poetic and spiritual level of the -contemporary Latin hymns of the Church. There is nothing in them -comparable with the Dies Irae, the Stabat Mater, the Hora Novissima, the -Veni Sancte Spiritus, the Ad Perennis Vitae Fontem, the Passion Hymns of -St. Bernard, or scores that might be named which make up the golden -chaplet of Latin religious verse from Hilary to Xavier. The latter is the -poetry of the cloister, the work of men separated from the world, upon -whom asceticism and scholastic philosophizing had worked to refine and -subtilize their conceptions. It is the poetry, not of laymen, but of -priests and monks, the special and peculiar utterance of a sacerdotal -class, wrapt in intercessory functions, straining ever for glimpses of -the Beatific Vision, whose one absorbing effort was to emancipate the -soul from time and discipline it for eternity. It is poetry of and for -the temple, the sacramental mysteries, the hours of prayer, for seasons -of solitary meditation; it blends with the dim light sifted through -stained cathedral windows, with incense, with majestic music. The simple -layman was not at home in such an atmosphere as this, and the Latin hymn -was not a familiar expression of his thought. His mental training was of -a coarser, more commonplace order. He must particularize, his religious -feeling must lay hold of something more tangible, something that could -serve his childish views of things, and enter into some practical -relation with the needs of his ordinary mechanical existence. - -The religious folk-song, therefore, shows many traits similar to those -found in the secular folk-song, and we can easily perceive the influence -of one upon the other. In both we can see how receptive the common people -were to anything that savored of the marvellous, and how their minds -dwelt more upon the external wonder than upon the lesson that it brings. -The connection of these poems with the ecclesiastical dramas, which form -such a remarkable chapter in the history of religious instruction in the -Middle Age, is also apparent, and scores of them are simply narratives of -the Nativity, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, told -over and over in almost identical language. These German hymns show in -what manner the dogmas and usages of the Church took root in the popular -heart, and affected the spirit of the time. In all other mediaeval -literature we have the testimony of the higher class of minds, the men of -education, who were saved by their reflective intelligence from falling -into the grosser superstitions, or at least from dwelling in them. But in -the folk poetry the great middle class throws back the ideas imposed by -its religious teachers, tinged by its own crude mental operations. The -result is that we have in these poems the doctrinal perversions and the -mythology of the Middle Age set forth in their baldest form. Beliefs that -are the farthest removed from the teaching of the Scriptures, are carried -to lengths which the Catholic Church has never authoritatively -sanctioned, but which are natural consequences of the action of her -dogmas upon untrained, superstitious minds. There are hymns which teach -the preëxistence of Mary with God before the creation; that in and -through her all things were created. Others, not content with the church -doctrine of her intercessory office in heaven, represent her as -commanding and controlling her Son, and even as forgiving sins in her own -right. Hagiolatry, also, is carried to its most dubious extremity. Power -is ascribed to the saints to save from the pains of hell. In one hymn -they are implored to intercede with God for the sinner, because, the -writer says, God will not deny their prayer. It is curious to see in some -of these poems that the attributes of love and compassion, which have -been removed from the Father to the Son, and from the Son to the Virgin -Mother, are again transferred to St. Ann, who is implored to intercede -with her daughter in behalf of the suppliant. - -All this, and much more of a similar sort, the product of vulgar error -and distorted thinking, cannot be gainsaid. But let us, with equal -candor, acknowledge that there is a bright side to this subject. -Corruption and falsehood are not altogether typical of the German -religious poetry of the Middle Age. Many Protestant writers represent the -mediaeval German hymns as chiefly given over to mariolatry and much -debasing superstition, and as therefore indicative of the religious state -of the nation. This, however, is very far from being the case, as a -candid examination of such a collection as Wackernagel's will show. Take -out everything that a severe Protestant would reject, and there remains a -large body of poetry which flows from the pure, undefiled springs of -Christian faith, which from the evangelical standpoint is true and -edifying, gems of expression not to be matched by the poetry of Luther -and his friends in simplicity and refinement of language. Ideas common to -the hymnody of all ages are to be found there. One comes to mind in which -there is carried out in the most touching way the thought of John Newton -in his most famous hymn, where in vision the look of the crucified Christ -seems to charge the arrested sinner with his death. Another lovely poem -expresses the shrinking of the disciple in consciousness of mortal -frailty when summoned by Christ to take up the cross, and the comfort -that he receives from the Saviour's assurance of his own sufficient -grace. A celebrated hymn by Tauler describes a ship sent from heaven by -the Father, containing Jesus, who comes as our Redeemer, and who asks -personal devotion to himself and a willingness to live and die with and -for him. Others set forth the atoning work of Christ's death, without -mention of any other condition of salvation. Others implore the direct -guidance and protection of Christ, as in the exquisite cradle hymn of -Heinrich von Loufenberg, which is not surpassed in tenderness and beauty -by anything in Keble's _Lyra Innocentium_, or the child verses of Blake. - -This mass of hymns covers a wide range of topics: God in his various -attributes, including mercy and a desire to pardon,--a conception which -many suppose to have been absent from the thought of the Middle Age; the -Trinity; Christ in the various scenes of his life, and as head of the -Church; admonitions, confessions, translations of psalms, poems to be -sung on pilgrimages, funeral songs, political songs, and many more which -touch upon true relations between man and the divine. There is a -wonderful pathos in this great body of national poetry, for it makes us -see the dim but honest striving of the heart of the noble German people -after that which is sure and eternal, and which could offer assurance of -compensation amid the doubt and turmoil of that age of strife and -tyranny. The true and the false in this poetry were alike the outcome of -the conditions of the time and the authoritative religious teaching. The -fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in spite of the abuses which made the -Reformation necessary, contained many saintly lives, beneficent -institutions, much philanthropy, and inspired love of God. All these have -their witness in many products of that era, and we need look no further -than the mediaeval religious poetry to find elements which show that on -the spiritual side the Reformation was not strictly a moral revolution, -restoring a lost religious feeling, but rather an intellectual process, -establishing a hereditary piety upon reasonable and Scriptural -foundations. - -We see, therefore, how far Luther was from being the founder of German -hymnody. In trying to discover what his great service to religious song -really was, we must go on to the next question that is involved, and ask, -What was the status and employment of the folk-hymn before the -Reformation? Was it in a true sense a _church_ song? Had it a recognized -place in the public service? Was it at all liturgic, as the Lutheran hymn -certainly was? This brings us to a definitive distinction between the two -schools of hymnody. - -The attitude of the Catholic Church to congregational singing has often -been discussed, and is at present the object of a great deal of -misconception. The fact of the matter is, that she ostensibly encourages -the people to share in some of the subordinate Latin offices, but the -very spirit of the liturgy and the development of musical practice have -in course of time, with now and then an exception, reduced the -congregation to silence. Before the invention of harmony all church music -had more of the quality of popular music, and the priesthood encouraged -the worshipers to join their voices in those parts of the service which -were not confined by the rubrics to the ministers. But the Gregorian -chant was never really adopted by the people,--its practical -difficulties, and especially the inflexible insistence upon the use of -Latin in all the offices of worship, virtually confined it to the priests -and a small body of trained singers. The very conception and spirit of -the liturgy, also, has by a law of historic development gradually -excluded the people from active participation. Whatever may have been the -thought of the fathers of the liturgy, the eucharistic service has come -to be simply the vehicle of a sacrifice offered by and through the -priesthood for the people, not a tribute of praise and supplication -emanating from the congregation itself. The attitude of the worshiper is -one of obedient faith, both in the supernatural efficacy of the sacrifice -and the mediating authority of the celebrant. The liturgy is inseparably -bound up with the central act of consecration and oblation, and is -conceived as itself possessing a divine sanction. The liturgy is not in -any sense the creation of the people, but comes down to them from a -higher source, the gradual production of men believed to have been -inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is accepted by the laity as a divinely -authorized means in the accomplishment of the supreme sacerdotal -function. The sacrifice of the Mass is performed for the people, but not -through the people, nor even necessarily in their presence. And so it has -come to pass that, although the Catholic Church has never officially -recognized the existence of the modern mixed choir, and does not in its -rubrics authorize any manner of singing except the unison Gregorian -chant, nevertheless, by reason of the expansion and specialization of -musical art, and the increasing veneration of the liturgy as the very -channel of descending sacramental grace, the people are reduced to a -position of passive receptivity. - -As regards the singing of hymns in the national languages, the conditions -are somewhat different. The laws of the Catholic Church forbid the -vernacular in any part of the eucharistic service, but permit vernacular -hymns in certain subordinate offices, as, for instance, Vespers. But even -in these services the restrictions are more emphasized than the -permissions. Here also the tacit recognition of a separation of function -between the clergy and the laity still persists; there can never be a -really sympathetic coöperation between the church language and the -vernacular; there is a constant attitude of suspicion on the part of the -authorities, lest the people's hymn should afford a rift for the subtle -intrusion of heretical or unchurchly ideas. - -The whole spirit and implied theory of the Catholic Church is therefore -unfavorable to popular hymnody. This was especially the case in the -latter Middle Age. The people could put no heart into the singing of -Latin. The priests and monks, especially in such convent schools as St. -Gall, Fulda, Metz, and Reichenau, made heroic efforts to drill their -rough disciples in the Gregorian chant, but their attempts were -ludicrously futile. Vernacular hymns were simply tolerated on certain -prescribed occasions. In the century or more following the Reformation, -the Catholic musicians and clergy, taught by the astonishing popular -success of the Lutheran songs, tried to inaugurate a similar movement in -their own ranks, and the publication and use of Catholic German -hymn-books attained large dimensions; but this enthusiasm finally died -out. Both in mediaeval and in modern times there has practically remained -a chasm between the musical practice of the common people and that of the -Church, and in spite of isolated attempts to encourage popular hymnody, -the restrictions have always had a depressing effect, and the free, -hearty union of clergy and congregation in choral praise and prayer is -virtually unknown. - -The new conceptions of the relationship of man to God, which so altered -the fundamental principle and the external forms of worship under the -Lutheran movement, manifested themselves most strikingly in the mighty -impetus given to congregational song. Luther set the national impulse -free, and taught the people that in singing praise they were performing a -service that was well pleasing to God and a necessary part of public -communion with him. It was not simply that Luther charged the popular -hymnody with the energy of his world-transforming doctrine,--he also gave -it a dignity which it had never possessed before, certainly not since the -apostolic age, as a part of the official liturgic song of the Church. -Both these facts gave the folk-hymn its wonderful proselyting power in -the sixteenth century,--the latter gives it its importance in the history -of church music. - -Luther's work for the people's song was in substance a detail of his -liturgic reform. His knowledge of human nature taught him the value of -set forms and ceremonies, and his appreciation of what was universally -true and edifying in the liturgy of the mother Church led him to retain -many of her prayers, hymns, responses, etc., along with new provisions of -his own. But in his view the service is constituted through the activity -of the believing subject; the forms and expressions of worship are not in -themselves indispensable--the one thing necessary is faith, and the forms -of worship have their value simply in defining, inculcating, stimulating -and directing this faith, and enforcing the proper attitude of the soul -toward God in the public social act of devotion. The congregational song -both symbolized and realized the principle of direct access of the -believer to the Father, and thus exemplified in itself alone the whole -spirit of the worship of the new Church. That this act of worship should -be in the native language of the nation was a matter of course, and hence -the popular hymn, set to familiar and appropriate melody, became at once -the characteristic, official, and liturgic expression of the emotion of -the people in direct communion with God. - -The immense consequence of this principle was seen in the outburst of -song that followed the founding of the new Church by Luther at -Wittenberg. It was not that the nation was electrified by a poetic -genius, or by any new form of musical excitement; it was simply that the -old restraints upon self-expression were removed, and that the people -could celebrate their new-found freedom in Christ Jesus by means of the -most intense agency known to man, which they had been prepared by -inherited musical temperament and ancient habit to use to the full. No -wonder that they received this privilege with thanksgiving, and that the -land resounded with the lyrics of faith and hope. - -Luther felt his mission to be that of a purifier, not a destroyer. He -would repudiate, not the good and evil alike in the ancient Church, but -only that which he considered false and pernicious. This judicious -conservatism was strikingly shown in his attitude toward the liturgy and -form of worship, which he would alter only so far as was necessary in -view of changes in doctrine and in the whole relation of the Church as a -body toward the individual. The altered conception of the nature of the -eucharist, the abolition of homage to the Virgin and saints, the -prominence given to the sermon as the central feature of the service, the -substitution of the vernacular for Latin, the intimate participation of -the congregation in the service by means of hymn-singing,--all these -changes required a recasting of the order of worship; but everything in -the old ritual that was consistent with these changes was retained. -Luther, like the founders of the reformed Church of England, was -profoundly conscious of the truth and beauty of many of the prayers and -hymns of the mother Church. Especially was he attached to her music, and -would preserve the compositions of the learned masters alongside of the -revived congregational hymn. - -As regards the form and manner of service, Luther's improvements were -directed (1) to the revision of the liturgy, (2) the introduction of new -hymns, and (3) the arrangement of suitable melodies for congregational -use. Luther's program of liturgic reform is chiefly embodied in two -orders of worship drawn up for the churches of Wittenberg, _viz._, the -Formula Missae of 1523 and the Deutsche Messe of 1526. - -Luther rejected absolutely the Catholic conception of the act of worship -as in itself possessed of objective efficacy. The terms of salvation are -found only in the Gospel; the worship acceptable to God exists only in -the contrite attitude of the heart, and the acceptance through faith of -the plan of redemption as provided in the vicarious atonement of Christ. -The external act of worship in prayer, praise, Scripture recitation, -etc., is designed as a testimony of faith, an evidence of thankfulness to -God for his infinite grace, and as a means of edification and of kindling -the devotional spirit through the reactive influence of its audible -expression. The correct performance of a ceremony was to Luther of little -account; the essential was the prayerful disposition of the heart and the -devout acceptance of the word of Scripture. The substance of worship, -said Luther, is "that our dear Lord speaks with us through his Holy Word, -and we in return speak with him through prayer and song of praise." The -sermon is of the greatest importance as an ally of the reading of the -Word. The office of worship must be viewed as a means of instruction as -well as a rite contrived as the promoter and expression of religious -emotion; the believer is in no wise to be considered as having attained -to complete ripeness and maturity, since if it were so religious worship -would be unnecessary. Such a goal is not to be attained on earth. The -Christian, said Luther, "needs baptism, the Word, and the sacrament, not -as a perfected Christian, but as a sinner." - -The Formula Missae of 1523 was only a provisional office, and may be -called an expurgated edition of the Catholic Mass. It is in Latin, and -follows the order of the Roman liturgy with certain omissions, _viz._, -all the preliminary action at the altar as far as the Introit, the -Offertory, the Oblation and accompanying prayers as far as the Preface, -the Consecration, the Commemoration of the Dead, and everything following -the Agnus Dei except the prayer of thanksgiving and benediction. That is -to say, everything is removed which characterizes the Mass as a priestly, -sacrificial act, or which recognizes the intercessory office of the -saints. The musical factors correspond to the usage in the Catholic Mass; -Luther's hymns with accompanying melodies were not yet prepared, and no -trace of the Protestant choral appears in the Formula Missae. - -Although this order of 1523 was conceived only as a partial or temporary -expedient, it was by no means set entirely aside by its author, even -after the composition of a form more adapted to the needs of the people. -In the preface to the Deutsche Messe of 1526, Luther cites the Latin -Formula Missae as possessing a special value. "This I will not abandon or -have altered; but as we have kept it with us heretofore, so must we still -be free to use the same where and when it pleases us or occasion -requires. I will by no means permit the Latin speech to be dropped out of -divine worship, since it is important for the youth. And if I were able, -and the Greek and Hebrew languages were as common with us as the Latin, -and had as much music and song as the Latin has, we should hold Masses, -sing and read every Sunday in all four languages, German, Latin, Greek, -and Hebrew." It is important, he goes on to say, that the youth should be -familiar with more languages than their own, in order that they may be -able to give instruction in the true doctrine to those not of their own -nation, Latin especially approving itself for this purpose as the common -dialect of cultivated men. - -The Deutsche Messe of 1526, Luther explains, was drawn up for the use of -the mass of the people, who needed a medium of worship and instruction -which was already familiar and native to them. This form is a still -further simplification, as compared with the Formula Missae, and consists -almost entirely of offices in the German tongue. Congregational chorals -also have a prominent place, since the publication of collections of -vernacular religious songs had begun two years before. This liturgy -consists of (1) a people's hymn or a German psalm, (2) Kyrie eleison, (3) -Collect, (4) the Epistle, (5) congregational hymn, (6) the Gospel, (7) -the German paraphrase of the Creed, "Wie glauben all' an einen Gott," -sung by the people; next follows the sermon; (8) the Lord's Prayer and -exhortation preliminary to the Sacrament, (9) the words of institution -and elevation, (10) distribution of the bread, (11) singing of the German -Sanctus or the hymn "Jesus Christus unser Heiland," (12) distribution of -the wine, (13) Agnus Dei, a German hymn, or the German Sanctus, (14) -Collect of thanksgiving, (15) Benediction. - -It was far from Luther's purpose to impose these or any particular forms -of worship upon his followers through a personal assumption of authority. -He reiterates, in his preface to the Deutsche Messe, that he has no -thought of assuming any right of dictation in the matter, emphasizing his -desire that the churches should enjoy entire freedom in their forms and -manner of worship. At the same time he realizes the benefits of -uniformity as creating a sense of unity and solidarity in faith, -practice, and interests among the various districts, cities, and -congregations, and offers these two forms as in his opinion conservative -and efficient. He warns his people against the injury that may result -from the multiplication of liturgies at the instigation of indiscreet or -vain leaders, who have in view the perpetuation of certain notions of -their own, rather than the honor of God and the spiritual welfare of -their neighbors. - -In connection with this work of reconstructing the ancient liturgy for -use in the Wittenberg churches, Luther turned his attention to the need -of suitable hymns and tunes. He took up this work not only out of his -love of song, but also from necessity. He wrote to Nicholas Haussmann, -pastor at Zwickau: "I would that we had many German songs which the -people could sing during the Mass. But we lack German poets and -musicians, or they are unknown to us, who are able to make Christian and -spiritual songs, as Paul calls them, which are of such value that they -can be used daily in the house of God. One can find but few that have the -appropriate spirit." The reason for this complaint was short-lived; a -crowd of hymnists sprang up as if by magic, and among them Luther was, as -in all things, chief. His work as a hymn writer began soon after the -completion of his translation of the New Testament, while he was engaged -in translating the psalms. Then, as Koch says, "the spirit of the -psalmists and prophets came over him." Several allusions in his letters -show that he took the psalms as his model; that is to say, he did not -think of a hymn as designed for the teaching of dogma, but as the -sincere, spontaneous outburst of love and reverence to God for his -goodness. - -The first hymn-book of evangelical Germany was published in 1524 by -Luther's friend and coadjutor, Johann Walther. It contained four hymns by -Luther, three by Paul Speratus, and one by an unknown author. Another -book appeared in the same year containing fourteen more hymns by Luther, -in addition to the eight of the first book. Six more from Luther's pen -appeared in a song-book edited by Walther in 1525. The remaining hymns of -Luther (twelve in number) were printed in five song-books of different -dates, ending with Klug's in 1643. Four hymn-books contain prefaces by -Luther, the first written for Walther's book of 1525, and the last for -one published by Papst in 1545. Luther's example was contagious. Other -hymn writers at once sprang up, who were filled with Luther's spirit, and -who took his songs as models. Printing presses were kept busy, song-books -were multiplied, until at the time of Luther's death no less than sixty -collections, counting the various editions, had been issued. There was -reason for the sneering remark of a Catholic that the people were singing -themselves into the Lutheran doctrine. The principles of worship -promulgated by Luther and implied in his liturgic arrangements were -adopted by all the Protestant communities; whatever variations there -might be in the external forms of worship, in all of them the -congregational hymn held a prominent place, and it is to be noticed that -almost without exception the chief hymn writers of the Lutheran time were -theologians and preachers. - -Luther certainly wrote thirty-six hymns. A few others have been ascribed -to him without conclusive evidence. By far the greater part of these -thirty-six are not entirely original. Many of them are translations or -adaptations of psalms, some of which are nearly literal transfers. Other -selections from Scripture were used in a similar way, among which are the -Ten Commandments, the Ter Sanctus, the song of Simeon, and the Lord's -Prayer. Similar use, _viz._, close translation or free paraphrase, was -made of certain Latin hymns by Ambrose, Gregory, Hus, and others, and -also of certain religious folk-songs of the pre-Reformation period. Five -hymns only are completely original, not drawn in any way from older -compositions. Besides these five many of the transcriptions of psalms and -older hymns owe but little to their models. The chief of these, and the -most celebrated of all Luther's hymns, "Ein' feste Burg," was suggested -by the forty-sixth Psalm, but nothing could be more original in spirit -and phraseology, more completely characteristic of the great reformer. -The beautiful poems, "Aus tiefer Noth" (Ps. cxxx.), and "Ach Gott, vom -Himmel sieh' darein" (Ps. xii.), are less bold paraphrases, but still -Luther's own in the sense that their expression is a natural outgrowth of -the more tender and humble side of his nature. - -No other poems of their class by any single man have ever exerted so -great an influence, or have received so great admiration, as these few -short lyrics of Martin Luther. And yet at the first reading it is not -easy to understand the reason for their celebrity. As poetry they -disappoint us; there is no artfully modulated diction, no subtle and -far-reaching imagination. Neither do they seem to chime with our -devotional needs; there is a jarring note of fanaticism in them. We even -find expressions that give positive offence, as when he speaks of the -"Lamb roasted in hot love upon the cross." We say that they are not -universal, that they seem the outcome of a temper that belongs to an -exceptional condition. This is really the fact; here is the clue to their -proper study. They do belong to a time, and not to all time. We must -consider that they are the utterance of a mind engaged in conflict, and -often tormented with doubt of the outcome. They reveal the motive of the -great pivotal figure in modern religious history. More than that--they -have behind them the great impelling force of the Reformation. Perhaps -the world has shown a correct instinct in fixing upon "Ein' feste Burg" -as the typical hymn of Luther and of the Reformation. Heine, who called -it "the Marseillaise of the Reformation;" Frederick the Great, who called -its melody (not without reverence) "God Almighty's grenadier march;" -Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer, who chose the same tune to symbolize -aggressive Protestantism; and Wagner, who wove its strains into the grand -march which celebrates the military triumphs of united Germany,--all -these men had an accurate feeling for the patriotic and moral fire which -burns in this mighty song. The same spirit is found in other of Luther's -hymns, but often combined with a tenderer music, in which emphasis is -laid more upon the inward peace that comes from trust in God, than upon -the fact of outward conflict. A still more exalted mood is disclosed in -such hymns as "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein," and "Von Himmel -hoch da komm ich her"--the latter a Christmas song said to have been -written for his little son Hans. The first of these is notable for the -directness with which it sets forth the Lutheran doctrine of -justification by faith alone. It is in this same directness and homely -vigor and adaptation to the pressing needs of the time that we must find -the cause of the popular success of Luther's hymns. He knew what the -dumb, blindly yearning German people had been groping for during so many -years, and the power of his sermons and poems lay in the fact that they -offered a welcome spiritual gift in phrases that went straight to the -popular heart. His speech was that of the people--idiomatic, nervous, and -penetrating. He had learned how to talk to them in his early peasant -home, and in his study of the folk-songs. Coarse, almost brutal at times, -we may call him, as in his controversies with Henry VIII., Erasmus, and -others; but it was the coarseness of a rugged nature, of a son of the -soil, a man tremendously in earnest, blending religious zeal with -patriotism, never doubting that the enemies of his faith were -confederates of the devil, who was as real to him as Duke George or Dr. -Eck. No English translation can quite do justice to the homely vigor of -his verse. Carlyle has succeeded as well as possible in his translation -of "Ein' feste Burg," but even this masterly achievement does not quite -reproduce the jolting abruptness of the metre, the swing and fire of the -movement. The greater number of Luther's hymns are set to a less strident -pitch, but all alike speak a language which reveals in every line the -ominous spiritual tension of this historic moment. - -In philological history these hymns have a significance equal to that of -Luther's translation of the Bible, in which scholars agree in finding the -virtual creation of the modern German language. And the elements that -should give new life to the national speech were to be found among the -commonalty. "No one before Luther," says Bayard Taylor, "saw that the -German tongue must be sought for in the mouths of the people--that the -exhausted expression of the earlier ages could not be revived, but that -the newer, fuller, and richer speech, then in its childhood, must at once -be acknowledged and adopted. With all his scholarship Luther dropped the -theological style, and sought among the people for phrases as artless and -simple as those of the Hebrew writers." "The influence of Luther on -German literature cannot be explained until we have seen how sound and -vigorous and many-sided was the new spirit which he infused into the -language."[70] All this will apply to the hymns as well as to the Bible -translation. Here was one great element in the popular effect which these -hymns produced. Their simple, home-bred, domestic form of expression -caught the public ear in an instant. Those who have at all studied the -history of popular eloquence in prose and verse are aware of the -electrical effect that may be produced when ideas of pith and moment are -sent home to the masses in forms of speech that are their own. Luther's -hymns may not be poetry in the high sense; but they are certainly -eloquence, they are popular oratory in verse, put into the mouths of the -people by one of their own number. - -In spite of the fact that these songs were the natural outcome of a -period of spiritual and political conflict, and give evidence of this -fact in almost every instance, yet they are less dogmatic and -controversial than might be expected, for Luther, bitter and intolerant -as he often was, understood the requirements of church song well enough -to know that theological and political polemic should be kept out of it. -Nevertheless these hymns are a powerful witness to the great truths which -were the corner-stone of the doctrines of the reformed church. They -constantly emphasize the principle that salvation comes not through works -or sacraments or any human mediation, but only through the merits of -Christ and faith in his atoning blood. The whole machinery of mariolatry, -hagiolatry, priestly absolution, and personal merit, which had so long -stood between the individual soul and Christ, was broken down. Christ is -no longer a stern, hardly appeasable Judge, but a loving Saviour, -yearning over mankind, stretching out hands of invitation, asking, not a -slavish submission to formal observances, but a free, spontaneous -offering of the heart. This was the message that thrilled Germany. And it -was through the hymns of Luther and those modelled upon them that the new -evangel was most widely and quickly disseminated. The friends as well as -the enemies of the Reformation asserted that the spread of the new -doctrines was due more to Luther's hymns than to his sermons. The editor -of a German hymn-book published in 1565 says: "I do not doubt that -through that one song of Luther, 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen -g'mein,' many hundred Christians have been brought to the faith who -otherwise would not have heard of Luther." An indignant Jesuit declared -that "Luther's songs have damned more souls than all his books and -speeches." We read marvellous stories of the effect of these hymns; of -Lutheran missionaries entering Catholic churches during service and -drawing away the whole congregation by their singing; of wandering -evangelists standing at street corners and in the market places, singing -to excited crowds, then distributing the hymns upon leaflets so that the -populace might join in the paean, and so winning entire cities to the new -faith almost in a day. This is easily to be believed when we consider -that the progress of events and the drift of ideas for a century and more -had been preparing the German mind for Luther's message; that as a people -the Germans are extremely susceptible to the enthusiasms that utter -themselves in song; and that these hymns carried the truths for which -their souls had been thirsting, in language of extraordinary force, -clothed in melodies which they had long known and loved. - -We lay especial stress upon the hymns of Luther, not simply on account of -their inherent power and historic importance, but also because they are -representative of a school. Luther was one of a group of lyrists which -included bards hardly less trenchant than he. Koch gives the names of -fifty-one writers who endowed the new German hymnody between 1517 and -1560.[71] He finds in them all one common feature,--the ground character -of objectivity. "They are genuine church hymns, in which the common faith -is expressed in its universality, without the subjective feeling of -personality." "It is always we, not I, which is the prevailing word in -these songs. The poets of this period did not, like those of later times, -paint their own individual emotions with all kinds of figurative -expressions, but, powerfully moved by the truth, they sang the work of -redemption and extolled the faith in the free, undeserved grace of God in -Jesus Christ, or gave thanks for the newly given pure word of God in -strains of joyful victory, and defied their foes in firm, godly trust in -the divinity of the doctrine which was so new and yet so old. Therefore -they speak the truths of salvation, not in dry doctrinal tone and sober -reflection, but in the form of testimony or confession, and although in -some of these songs are contained plain statements of belief, the reason -therefor is simply in the hunger and thirst after the pure doctrine. -Hence the speech of these poets is the Bible speech, and the expression -forcible and simple. It is not art, but faith, which gives these songs -their imperishable value." - -The hymns of Luther and the other early Reformation hymnists of Germany -are not to be classed with sacred lyrics like those of Vaughan and Keble -and Newman which, however beautiful, are not of that universality which -alone adapts a hymn for use in the public assembly. In writing their -songs Luther and his compeers identified themselves with the congregation -of believers; they produced them solely for common praise in the -sanctuary, and they are therefore in the strict sense impersonal, -surcharged not with special isolated experiences, but with the vital -spirit of the Reformation. No other body of hymns was ever produced under -similar conditions; for the Reformation was born and cradled in conflict, -and in these songs, amid their protestations of confidence and joy, there -may often be heard cries of alarm before powerful adversaries, appeals -for help in material as well as spiritual exigencies, and sometimes also -tones of wrath and defiance. Strains such as the latter are most frequent -perhaps in the paraphrases of the psalms, which the authors apply to the -situation of an infant church encompassed with enemies. Yet there is no -sign of doubt of the justice of the cause, or of the safety of the flock -in the divine hands. - -Along with the production of hymns must go the composition or arrangement -of tunes, and this was a less direct and simple process. The conditions -and methods of musical art forbade the ready invention of melodies. We -have seen in our previous examination of the music of the mediaeval -Church that the invention of themes for musical works was no part of the -composer's business. Down to about the year 1600 the scientific musician -always borrowed his themes from older sources--the liturgic chant or -popular songs--and worked them up into choral movements according to the -laws of counterpoint. He was, therefore, a tune-setter, not a tune-maker. -The same custom prevailed among the German musicians of Luther's day, and -it would have been too much to expect that they should go outside their -strict habits, and violate all the traditions of their craft, so far as -to evolve from their own heads a great number of singable melodies for -the people's use. The task of Luther and his musical assistants, -therefore, was to take melodies from music of all sorts with which they -were familiar, alter them to fit the metre of the new hymns, and add the -harmonies. In course of time the enormous multiplication of hymns, each -demanding a musical setting, and the requirements of simplicity in -popular song, brought about a union of the functions of the tune-maker -and the tune-setter, and in the latter part of the sixteenth century the -modern method of inventing melodies took the place of the mediaeval -custom of borrowing and adapting, both in the people's song and in larger -works. - -Down to a very recent period it has been universally believed that Luther -was a musician of the latter order _i.e._, a tune-maker, and that the -melodies of many of his hymns were of his own production. Among writers -on this period no statement is more frequently made than that Luther -wrote tunes as well as hymns. This belief is as tenacious as the myth of -the rescue of church music by Palestrina. Dr. L. W. Bacon, in the preface -to his edition of the hymns of Luther with their original melodies, -assumes, as an undisputed fact, that many of these tunes are Luther's own -invention.[72] Even Julian's _Dictionary of Hymnology_, which is supposed -to be the embodiment of the most advanced scholarship in this department -of learning, makes similar statements. But this is altogether an error. -Luther composed no tunes. Under the patient investigation of a -half-century, the melodies originally associated with Luther's hymns have -all been traced to their sources. The tune of "Ein' feste Burg" was the -last to yield; Bäumker finds the germ of it in a Gregorian melody. Such -proof as this is, of course, decisive and final. The hymn-tunes, called -chorals, which Luther, Walther, and others provided for the reformed -churches, were drawn from three sources, _viz._, the Latin song of the -Catholic Church, the tunes of German hymns before the Reformation, and -the secular folk-song. - -1. If Luther was willing to take many of the prayers of the Catholic -liturgy for use in his German Mass, still more ready was he to adopt the -melodies of the ancient Church. In his preface to the Funeral Hymns -(1542), after speaking of the forms of the Catholic Church which in -themselves he did not disapprove, he says: "In the same way have they -much noble music, especially in the abbeys and parish churches, used to -adorn most vile, idolatrous words. Therefore have we undressed these -lifeless, idolatrous, crazy words, stripping off the noble music, and -putting it upon the living and holy word of God, wherewith to sing, -praise, and honor the same, that so the beautiful ornament of music, -brought back to its right use, may serve its blessed Maker, and his -Christian people." A few of Luther's hymns were translations of old Latin -hymns and Sequences, and these were set to the original melodies. -Luther's labor in this field was not confined to the choral, but, like -the founders of the musical service of the Anglican Church, he -established a system of chanting, taking the Roman use as a model, and -transferring many of the Gregorian tunes. Johann, Walther, Luther's -co-laborer, relates the extreme pains which Luther took in setting notes -to the Epistle, Gospel, and other offices of the service. He intended to -institute a threefold division of church song,--the choir anthem, the -unison chant, and the congregational hymn. Only the first and third forms -have been retained. The use of chants derived from the Catholic service -was continued in some churches as late as the end of the seventeenth -century. But, as Helmore says, "the rage for turning creeds, -commandments, psalms, and everything to be sung, into metre, gradually -banished the chant from Protestant communities on the Continent." - -2. In cases in which pre-Reformation vernacular hymns were adopted into -the song-books of the new Church the original melodies were often -retained, and thus some very ancient German tunes, although in modern -guise, are still preserved the hymn-books of modern Germany. Melodies of -the Bohemian Brethren were in this manner transferred to the German -songbooks. - -3. The secular folk-song of the sixteenth century and earlier was a very -prolific source of the German choral. This was after Luther's day, -however, for it does not appear that any of his tunes were of this class. -Centuries before the age of artistic German music began, the common -people possessed a large store of simple songs which they delighted to -use on festal occasions, at the fireside, at their labor, in love-making, -at weddings, christenings, and in every circumstance of social and -domestic life. Here was a rich mine of simple and expressive melodies -from which choral tunes might be fashioned. In some cases this transfer -involved considerable modification, in others but little, for at that -time there was far less difference between the religious and the secular -musical styles than there is now. The associations of these tunes were -not always of the most edifying kind, and some of them were so identified -with unsanctified ideas that the strictest theologians protested against -them, and some were weeded out. In course of time the old secular -associations were forgotten, and few devout Germans are now reminded that -some of the grand melodies in which faith and hope find such appropriate -utterance are variations of old love songs and drinking songs. There is -nothing exceptional in this borrowing of the world's tunes for -ecclesiastical uses. We find the same practice among the French, Dutch, -English, and Scotch Calvinists, the English Wesleyans, and the hymn-book -makers of America. This method is often necessary when a young and -vigorously expanding Church must be quickly provided with a store of -songs, but in its nature it is only a temporary recourse. - -The choral tunes sung by the congregation were at first not harmonized. -Then, as they began to be set in the strict contrapuntal style of the -day, it became the custom for the people to sing the melody while the -choir sustained the other parts. The melody was at first in the tenor, -according to time-honored usage in artistic music, but as composers found -that they must consider the vocal limitations of a mass of untrained -singers a simpler form of harmony was introduced, and the custom arose of -putting the melody in the upper voice, and the harmony below. This method -prepared the development of a harmony that was more in the nature of -modern chord progressions, and when the choir and congregation severed -their incompatible union, the complex counterpoint in which the age -delighted was allowed free range in the motet, while the harmonized -choral became more simple and compact. The partnership of choir and -congregation was dissolved about 1600, and the organ took the place of -the trained singers in accompanying the unison song of the people. - -One who studies the German chorals as they appear in the hymn-books of -the present day (many of which hold honored places in English and -American hymnals) must not suppose that he is acquainted with the -religious tunes of the Reformation in their pristine form. As they are -now sung in the German churches they have been greatly modified in -harmony and rhythm, and even in many instances in melody also. The only -scale and harmonic system then in vogue was the Gregorian. In respect to -rhythm also, the alterations have been equally striking. The present -choral is usually written in notes of equal length, one note to a -syllable. The metre is in most cases double, rarely triple. This manner -of writing gives the choral a singularly grave, solid and stately -character, encouraging likewise a performance that is often dull and -monotonous. There was far more variety and life in the primitive choral, -the movement was more flexible, and the frequent groups of notes to a -single syllable imparted a buoyancy and warmth that are unknown to the -rigid modern form. The transformation of the choral into its present -shape was completed in the eighteenth century, a result, some say, of the -relaxation of spiritual energy in the period of rationalism. A party has -been formed among German churchmen and musicians which labors for the -restoration of the primitive rhythmic choral. Certain congregations have -adopted the reform, but there is as yet no sign that it will ultimately -prevail. - -In spite of the mischievous influence ascribed to Luther's hymns by his -opponents, they could appreciate their value as aids to devotion, and in -return for Luther's compliment to their hymns they occasionally borrowed -some of his. Strange as it may seem, even "Ein' feste Burg" was one of -these. Neither were the Catholics slow to imitate the Protestants in -providing, songs for the people, and as in the old strifes of Arians and -orthodox in the East, so Catholics and Lutherans strove to sing each -other down. The Catholics also translated Latin hymns into German, and -transformed secular folk-songs into edifying religious rhymes. The first -German Catholic song--book was published in 1537 by Michael Vehe, a -preaching monk of Halle. This book contained fifty-two hymns, four of -which were alterations of hymns by Luther. It is a rather notable fact -that throughout the sixteenth century eminent musicians of both -confessions contributed to the musical services of their opponents. -Protestants composed masses and motets for the Catholic churches, and -Catholics arranged choral melodies for the Protestants. This friendly -interchange of good offices was heartily encouraged by Luther. Next to -Johann Walther, his most cherished musical friend and helper was Ludwig -Senfl, a devout Catholic. This era of relative peace and good-will, of -which this musical sympathy was a beautiful token, did not long endure. -The Catholic Counter-Reformation cut sharply whatever there might have -been of mutual understanding and tolerance, and the frightful Thirty -Years' War overwhelmed art and the spirit of humanity together. - -The multiplication of hymns and chorals went on throughout the sixteenth -century and into the seventeenth with unabated vigor. A large number of -writers of widely differing degrees of poetic ability contributed to the -hymn-books, which multiplied to prodigious numbers in the generations -next succeeding that of Luther. These songs harmonized in general with -the tone struck by Luther and his friends, setting forth the doctrine of -justification by faith alone, and the joy that springs from the -consciousness of a freer approach to God, mingled, however, with more -sombre accents called forth by the apprehension of the dark clouds in the -political firmament which seemed to bode disaster to the Protestant -cause. The tempest broke in 1618. Again and again during the thirty -years' struggle the reformed cause seemed on the verge of annihilation. -When the exhaustion of both parties brought the savage conflict to an -end, the enthusiasm of the Reformation was gone. Religious poetry and -music indeed survived, and here and there burned with a pure flame amid -the darkness of an almost primitive barbarism. In times of deepest -distress these two arts often afford the only outlet for grief, and the -only testimony of hope amid national calamities. There were unconquerable -spirits in Germany, notably among the hymnists, cantors, and organists, -who maintained the sacred fire of religious art amid the moral -devastations of the Thirty Years' War, whose miseries they felt only as a -deepening of their faith in a power that overrules the wrath of man. -Their trust fastened itself unfalteringly upon those assurances of divine -sympathy which had been the inspiration of their cause from the -beginning. This pious confidence, this unabated poetic glow, found in -Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) the most fervent and refined expression that -has been reached in German hymnody. - -The production of melodies kept pace with the hymns throughout the -sixteenth century, and in the first half of the seventeenth a large -number of the most beautiful songs of the German Church were contributed -by such men as Andreas Hammerschmidt, Johann Crüger, J. R. Ahle, Johann -Schop, Melchior Frank, Michael Altenburg, and scores of others not less -notable. After the middle of the seventeenth century, however, the -fountain began to show signs of exhaustion. The powerful movement in the -direction of secular music which emanated from Italy began to turn the -minds of composers toward experiments which promised greater artistic -satisfaction than could be found in the plain congregational choral. The -rationalism of the eighteenth century, accompanying a period of doctrinal -strife and lifeless formalism in the Church, repressed those -unquestioning enthusiasms which are the only source of a genuinely -expressive popular hymnody. Pietism, while a more or less effective -protest against cold ceremonialism and theological intolerance, and a -potent influence in substituting a warmer heart service in place of -dogmatic pedantry, failed to contribute any new stimulus to the church -song; for the Pietists either endeavored to discourage church music -altogether, or else imparted to hymn and melody a quality of effeminacy -and sentimentality. False tastes crept into the. Church. The homely vigor -and forthrightness of the Lutheran hymn seemed to the shallow critical -spirits of the day rough, prosaic, and repellant, and they began to -smooth out and polish the old rhymes, and supplant the choral melodies -and harmonies with the prettinesses and languishing graces of the Italian -cantilena. As the sturdy inventive power of conservative church musicians -was no longer available or desired, recourse was had, as in old times, to -secular material, but not as formerly to the song of the people,--honest, -sincere, redolent of the soil,--but rather to the light, artificial -strains of the fashionable world, the modish Italian opera, and the -affected pastoral poesy. It is the old story of the people's song -declining as the art-song flourishes. As the stern temper of the Lutheran -era grew soft in an age of security and indifference, so the grand old -choral was neglected, and its performance grew perfunctory and cold. An -effort has been made here and there in recent years to restore the old -ideals and practice, but until a revival of spirituality strong enough to -stir the popular heart breaks out in Germany, we may not look for any -worthy successor to the sonorous proselyting song of the Reformation age. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - RISE OF THE GERMAN CANTATA AND PASSION - - -The history of German Protestant church music in the seventeenth century -and onward is the record of a transformation not less striking and -significant than that which the music of the Catholic Church experienced -in the same period. In both instances forms of musical art which were -sanctioned by tradition and associated with ancient and rigorous -conceptions of devotional expression were overcome by the superior powers -of a style which was in its origin purely secular. The revolution in the -Protestant church music was, however, less sudden and far less complete. -It is somewhat remarkable that the influences that prevailed in the music -of the Protestant Church--the Church of discontent and change--were on -the whole more cautious and conservative than those that were active in -the music of the Catholic Church. The latter readily gave up the old -music for the sake of the new, and so swiftly readjusted its boundaries -that the ancient landmarks were almost everywhere obliterated. The -Protestant music advanced by careful evolutionary methods, and in the -final product nothing that was valuable in the successive stages through -which it passed was lost. In both cases--Lutheran and Catholic--the -motive was the same. Church music, like secular, demanded a more -comprehensive and a more individual style of expression. The Catholic -musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were very clear in -their minds as to what they wanted and how to get it. The brilliant -Italian aria was right at hand in all its glory, and its languishing -strains seemed admirably suited to the appeals which the aggressive -Church was about to make to the heart and the senses. The powers that -ruled in German Protestant worship conceived their aims, consciously or -unconsciously, in a somewhat different spirit. The new musical movement -in German church music was less self-confident, it was uncertain of its -final direction, at times restrained by reverence for the ancient forms -and ideals, again wantonly breaking with tradition and throwing itself -into the arms of the alluring Italian culture. - -The German school entered the seventeenth century with three strong and -pregnant forms to its credit, _viz._, the choral, the motet (essentially -a counterpart of the Latin sixteenth-century motet), and organ music. -Over against these stood the Italian recitative and aria, associated with -new principles of tonality, harmony, and structure. The former were the -stern embodiment of the abstract, objective, liturgic conception of -worship music; the latter, of the subjective, impassioned, and -individualistic. Should these ideals be kept apart, or should they be in -some way united? One group of German musicians would make the Italian -dramatic forms the sole basis of a new religious art, recognizing the -claims of the personal, the varied, and the brilliant, in ecclesiastical -music as in secular. Another group clung tenaciously to the choral and -motet, resisting every influence that might soften that austere rigor -which to their minds was demanded by historic association and liturgic -fitness. A third group was the party of compromise. Basing their culture -upon the old German choir chorus, organ music, and people's hymn-tune, -they grafted upon this sturdy stock the Italian melody. It was in the -hands of this school that the future of German church music lay. They saw -that the opportunities for a more varied and characteristic expression -could not be kept out of the Church, for they were based on the -reasonable cravings of human nature. Neither could they throw away those -grand hereditary types of devotional utterance which had become -sanctified to German memory in the period of the Reformation's storm and -stress. They adopted what was soundest and most suitable for these ends -in the art of both countries, and built up a form of music which strove -to preserve the high traditions of national liturgic song, while at the -same time it was competent to gratify the tastes which had been -stimulated by the recent rapid advance in musical invention. Out of this -movement grew the Passion music and the cantata of the eighteenth -century, embellished with all the expressive resources of the Italian -vocal solo and the orchestral accompaniment, solidified by a contrapuntal -treatment derived from organ music, and held unswervingly to the very -heart of the liturgy by means of those choral tunes which had become -identified with special days and occasions in the church year. - -The nature of the change of motive in modern church music, which broke -the exclusive domination of the chorus by the introduction of solo -singing, has been set forth in the chapter on the later mass. The most -obvious fact in the history of this modification of church music in -Germany is that the neglect in many quarters of the strong old music of -choral and motet in favor of a showy concert style seemed to coincide -with that melancholy lapse into formalism and dogmatic intolerance which, -in the German Church of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, -succeeded to the enthusiasms of the Reformation era. But it does not -follow, as often assumed, that we have here a case of cause and effect. -It is worth frequent reiteration that no style of music is in itself -religious. There is no sacredness, says Ruskin, in round arches or in -pointed, in pinnacles or buttresses; and we may say with equal pertinence -that there is nothing sacred _per se_ in sixteenth-century counterpoint, -Lutheran choral, or Calvinist psalm-tune. The adoption of the new style -by so many German congregations was certainly not due to a spirit of -levity, but to the belief that the novel sensation which their aesthetic -instincts craved was also an element in moral edification. From the point -of view of our more mature experience, however, there was doubtless a -deprivation of something very precious when the German people began to -lose their love for the solemn patriotic hymns of their faith, and when -choirs neglected those celestial harmonies with which men like Eccard and -Hasler lent these melodies the added charm of artistic decoration. There -would seem to be no real compensation in those buoyant songs, with their -thin accompaniment, which Italy offered as a substitute for a style grown -cold and obsolete. But out of this decadence, if we call it such, came -the cantatas and Passions of J. S. Bach, in which a reflective age like -ours, trained to settle points of fitness in matters of art, finds the -most heart-searching and heart-revealing strains that devotional feeling -has ever inspired. These glorious works could never have existed if the -Church had not sanctioned the new methods in music which Germany was so -gladly receiving from Italy. Constructed to a large extent out of secular -material, these works grew to full stature under liturgic auspices, and -at last, transcending the boundaries of ritual, they became a connecting -bond between the organized life of the Church and the larger religious -intuitions which no ecclesiastical system has ever been able to -monopolize. - -Such was the gift to the world of German Protestantism, stimulated by -those later impulses of the Renaissance movement which went forth in -music after their mission had been accomplished in plastic art. In the -Middle Age, we are told, religion and art lived together in brotherly -union; Protestantism threw away art and kept religion, Renaissance -rationalism threw away religion and retained art. In painting and -sculpture this is very nearly the truth; in music it is very far from -being true. It is the glory of the art of music, that she has almost -always been able to resist the drift toward sensuousness and levity, and -where she has apparently yielded, her recovery has been speedy and sure. -So susceptible is her very nature to the finest touches of religious -feeling, that every revival of the pure spirit of devotion has always -found her prepared to adapt herself to new spiritual demands, and out of -apparent decline to develop forms of religious expression more beautiful -and sublime even than the old. - -Conspicuous among the forms with which the new movement endowed the -German Church was the cantata. This form of music may be traced back to -Italy, where the monodic style first employed in the opera about 1600 was -soon adopted into the music of the salon. The cantata was at first a -musical recitation by a single person, without action, accompanied by a -few plain chords struck upon a single instrument. This simple design was -expanded in the first half of the seventeenth century into a work in -several movements and in many parts or voices. Religious texts were soon -employed and the church cantata was born. The cantata was eagerly taken -up by the musicians of the German Protestant Church and became a -prominent feature in the regular order of worship. In the seventeenth -century the German Church cantata consisted usually of an instrumental -introduction, a chorus singing a Bible text, a "spiritual aria" (a -strophe song, sometimes for one, sometimes for a number of voices), one -or two vocal solos, and a choral. This immature form (known as "spiritual -concerto," "spiritual dialogue" or "spiritual act of devotion"), -consisting of an alternation of Biblical passages and church or -devotional hymns, flourished greatly in the seventeenth and early part of -the eighteenth centuries. In its complete development in the eighteenth -century it also incorporated the recitative and the Italian aria form, -and carried to their full power the chorus, especially the chorus based -on the choral melody, and the organ accompaniment. By means of the -prominent employment of themes taken from choral tunes appointed for -particular days in the church calendar, especially those days consecrated -to the contemplation of events in the life of our Lord, the cantata -became the most effective medium for the expression of those emotions -called forth in the congregation by their imagined participation in the -scenes which the ritual commemorated. The stanzas of the hymns which -appear in the cantata illustrate the Biblical texts, applying and -commenting upon them in the light of Protestant conceptions. The words -refer to some single phase of religious feeling made conspicuous in the -order for the clay. A cantata is, therefore, quite analogous to the -anthem of the Church of England, although on a larger scale. Unlike an -oratorio, it is neither epic nor dramatic, but renders some mood, more or -less general, of prayer or praise. - -We have seen that the Lutheran Church borrowed many features from the -musical practice of the Catholic Church, such as portions of the Mass, -the habit of chanting, and ancient hymns and tunes. Another inheritance -was the custom of singing the story of Christ's Passion, with musical -additions, in Holy Week. This usage, which may be traced back to a remote -period in the Middle Age, must be distinguished from the method, -prevalent as early as the thirteenth century, of actually representing -the events of Christ's last days in visible action upon the stage. The -Passion play, which still survives in Oberammergau in Bavaria, and in -other more obscure parts of Europe, was one of a great number of -ecclesiastical dramas, classed as Miracle Plays, Mysteries, and -Moralities, which were performed under the auspices of the Church for the -purpose of impressing the people in the most vivid way with the reality -of the Old and New Testament stories, and the binding force of doctrines -and moral principles. - -The observance out of which the German Passion music of the eighteenth -century grew was an altogether different affair. It consisted of the mere -recitation, without histrionic accessories, of the story of the trial and -death of Christ, as narrated by one of the four evangelists, beginning in -the synoptic Gospels with the plot of the priests and scribes, and in St. -John's Gospel with the betrayal. This narration formed a part of the -liturgic office proper to Palm Sunday, Holy Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and -Good Friday. According to the primitive use, which originated in the -period of the supremacy of the Gregorian chant, several officers took -part in the delivery. One cleric intoned the evangelist's narrative, -another the words of Christ, and a third those of Pilate, Peter, and -other single personages. The ejaculations of the Jewish priests, -disciples, and mob were chanted by a small group of ministers. The text -was rendered in the simpler syllabic form of the Plain Song. Only in one -passage did this monotonous recitation give way to a more varied, -song-like utterance, _viz._, in the cry of Christ upon the cross, "Eli, -Eli, lama sabachthani," this phrase being delivered in an extended, -solemn, but unrhythmical melody, to which was imparted all the pathos -that the singer could command. The chorus parts were at first sung in -unison, then, as the art of part-writing developed, they were set in -simple four-part counterpoint. - -Under the influence of the perfected contrapuntal art of the sixteenth -century there appeared a form now known as the motet Passion, and for a -short time it flourished vigorously. In this style everything was sung in -chorus without accompaniment--evangelist's narrative, words of Christ, -Pilate, and all. The large opportunities for musical effect permitted by -this manner of treatment gained for it great esteem among musicians, for -since this purely musical method of repeating the story of Christ's death -was never conceived as in any sense dramatic, there was nothing -inconsistent in setting the words of a single personage in several parts. -The life enjoyed by this phase of Passion music was brief, for it arose -only a short time before the musical revolution, heralded by the -Florentine monody and confirmed by the opera, drove the mediaeval -polyphony into seclusion. - -With the quickly won supremacy of the dramatic and concert solo, together -with the radical changes of taste and practice which it signified, the -chanted Passion and the motet Passion were faced by a rival which was -destined to attain such dimensions in Germany that it occupied the whole -field devoted to this form of art. In the oratorio Passion, as it may be -called, the Italian recitative and aria and the sectional rhythmic chorus -took the place of the unison chant and the ancient polyphony; hymns and -poetic monologues supplemented and sometimes supplanted the Bible text; -and the impassioned vocal style, introducing the new principle of -definite expression of the words, was reinforced by the lately -emancipated art of instrumental music. For a time, these three forms of -Passion music existed side by side, the latest in an immature state; but -the stars in the firmament of modern music were fighting in their courses -for the mixed oratorio style, and in the early part of the eighteenth -century this latter form attained completion and stood forth as the most -imposing gift bestowed by Germany upon the world of ecclesiastical art. - -The path which German religious music was destined to follow in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, under the guidance of the new ideas -of expression, was plainly indicated when Heinrich Schütz, the greatest -German composer of the seventeenth century, and the worthy forerunner of -Bach and Händel, wrote his "histories" and "sacred symphonies." Born in -1585, he came under the inspiring instruction of G. Gabrieli in Venice in -1609, and on a second visit to Italy in 1628 he became still more imbued -with the dominant tendencies of the age. He was appointed chapel-master -at the court of the Elector of Saxony at Dresden in 1615, and held this -position, with a few brief interruptions, until his death in 1672. He was -a musician of the most solid attainments, and although living in a -transition period in the history of music, he was cautious and respectful -in his attitude toward both the methods which were at that time in -conflict, accepting the new discoveries in dramatic expression as -supplementary, not antagonistic, to the old ideal of devotional music. In -his psalms he employed contrasting and combining choral masses, -reinforced by a band of instruments. In the Symphoniae sacrae are songs -for one or more solo voices, with instrumental obligato, in which the -declamatory recitative style is employed with varied and appropriate -effect. In his dramatic religious works, the "Resurrection," the "Seven -Words of the Redeemer upon the Cross," the "Conversion of Saul," and the -Passions after the four evangelists, Schütz uses the vocal solo, the -instrumental accompaniment, and the dramatic chorus in a tentative -manner, attaining at times striking effects of definite expression quite -in accordance with modern ideas, while anon he falls back upon the strict -impersonal method identified with the ancient Plain Song and -sixteenth-century motet. Most advanced in style and rich in expression is -the "Seven Words." A feature characteristic of the rising school of -German Passion music is the imagined presence of Christian believers, -giving utterance in chorus to the emotions aroused by the contemplation -of the atoning act. In the "Seven Words" the utterances of Jesus and the -other separate personages are given in arioso recitative, rising at times -to pronounced melody. The tone of the whole work is fervent, elevated, -and churchly. The evangelist and all the persons except Christ sing to an -organ bass,--the words of the Saviour are accompanied by the ethereal -tones of stringed instruments, perhaps intended as an emblematic -equivalent to the aureole in religious paintings. In Schütz's settings of -the Passion, although they belong to the later years of his life, he -returns to the primitive form, in which the parts of the evangelist and -the single characters are rendered in the severe "collect tone" of the -ancient Plain Song, making no attempt at exact expression of changing -sentiments. Even in these restrained and lofty works, however, his genius -as a composer and his progressive sympathies as a modern artist -occasionally break forth in vivid expression given to the ejaculations of -priests, disciples, and Jewish mob, attaining a quite remarkable warmth -and reality of portrayal. Nevertheless, these isolated attempts at -naturalism hardly bring the Passions of Schütz into the category of -modern works. There is no instrumental accompaniment, and, most decisive -of all, they are restrained within the limits of the mediaeval conception -by the ancient Gregorian tonality, which is maintained throughout almost -to the entire exclusion of chromatic alteration. - -The works of Schütz, therefore, in spite of their sweetness and dignity -and an occasional glimpse of picturesque detail, are not to be considered -as steps in the direct line of progress which led from the early Italian -cantata and oratorio to the final achievements of Bach and Händel. These -two giants of the culminating period apparently owed nothing to Schütz. -It is not probable that they had any acquaintance with his works at all. -The methods and the ideals of these three were altogether different. -Considering how common and apparently necessary in art is the reciprocal -influence of great men, it is remarkable that in the instance of the -greatest German musician of the seventeenth century and the two greatest -of the eighteenth, all working in the field of religious dramatic music, -not one was affected in the slightest degree by the labors of either of -the others. Here we have the individualism of modern art exhibited in the -most positive degree upon its very threshold. - -In the Passions of Schütz we find only the characters of the Bible story, -together with the evangelist's narrative taken literally from the -Gospel,--that is to say, the original frame-work of the Passion music -with the chorus element elaborated. In the latter part of the seventeenth -century the dramatic scheme of the Passion was enlarged by the addition -of the Christian congregation, singing appropriate chorals, and the ideal -company of believers, expressing suitable sentiments in recitatives, -arias, and choruses. The insertion of church hymns was of the highest -importance in view of the relation of the Passion music to the liturgy, -for the more stress was laid upon this feature, the more the Passion, in -spite of its semi-dramatic character, became fitted as a constituent into -the order of service. The choral played here the same part as in the -cantata, assimilating to the prescribed order of worship what would -otherwise be an extraneous if not a disturbing feature. This was -especially the case when, as in the beginning of the adoption of the -choral in the Passion, the hymn verses were sung by the congregation -itself. In Bach's time this custom had fallen into abeyance, and the -choral stanzas were sung by the choir; but this change involved no -alteration in the form or the conception of the Passion performance as a -liturgic act. - -The growth of the Passion music from Schütz to its final beauty and -pathos under Sebastian Bach was by no means constant. In certain -quarters, particularly at Hamburg, the aria in the shallow Italian form -took an utterly disproportionate importance. The opera, which was -flourishing brilliantly at Hamburg about 1700, exercised a perverting -influence upon the Passion to such an extent that the ancient liturgic -traditions were completely abandoned. In many of the Hamburg Passions the -Bible text was thrown away and poems substituted, all of which were of -inferior literary merit, and some quite contemptible. Incredible as it -may seem, the comic element was sometimes introduced, the "humorous" -characters being the servant Malthus whose ear was cut off by Peter, and -a clownish peddler of ointment. It must be said that these productions -were not given in the churches; they are not to be included in the same -category with the strictly liturgic Passions of Sebastian Bach. The -comparative neglect of the choral and also of the organ removes them -altogether from the proper history of German church music. - -Thus we see how the new musical forms, almost creating the emotions which -they were so well adapted to express, penetrated to the very inner shrine -of German church music. In some sections, as at Hamburg, the Italian -culture supplanted the older school altogether. In others it encountered -sterner resistance, and could do no more than form an alliance, in which -old German rigor and reserve became somewhat ameliorated and relaxed -without becoming perverted. To produce an art work of the highest order -out of this union of contrasting principles, a genius was needed who -should possess so true an insight into the special capabilities of each -that he should be able by their amalgamation to create a form of -religious music that should be conformed to the purest conception of the -mission of church song, and at the same time endowed with those faculties -for moving the affections which were demanded by the tastes of the new -age. In fulness of time this genius appeared. His name was Johann -Sebastian Bach. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE CULMINATION OF GERMAN PROTESTANT MUSIC: - JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - - -The name of Bach is the greatest in Protestant church music,--there are -many who do not hesitate to say that it is the greatest in all the -history of music, religious and secular. The activity of this man was -many-sided, and his invention seems truly inexhaustible. He touched every -style of music known to his day except the opera, and most of the forms -that he handled he raised to the highest power that they have ever -attained. Many of his most admirable qualities appear in his secular -works, but these we must pass over. In viewing him exclusively as a -composer for the Church, however, we shall see by far the most -considerable part of him, for his secular compositions, remarkable as -they are, always appear rather as digressions from the main business of -his life. His conscious life-long purpose was to enrich the musical -treasury of the Church he loved, to strengthen and signalize every -feature of her worship which his genius could reach: and to this lofty -aim he devoted an intellectual force and an energy of loyal enthusiasm -unsurpassed in the annals of art. - -Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the monumental figures in the religious -history of Germany, undoubtedly the most considerable in the two -centuries following the death of Luther. Like Luther, of whom in some -respects he reminds us, he was a man rooted fast in German soil, sprung -from sturdy peasant stock, endowed with the sterling piety and -steadfastness of moral purpose which had long been traditional in the -Teutonic character. His culture was at its basis purely German. He never -went abroad to seek the elegancies which his nation lacked. He did not -despise them, but he let them come to him to be absorbed into the massive -substance of his national education, in order that this education might -become in the deepest sense liberal and human. He interpreted what was -permanent and hereditary in German culture, not what was ephemeral and -exotic. He ignored the opera, although it was the reigning form in every -country in Europe. He planted himself squarely on German church music, -particularly the essentially German art of organ playing, and on that -foundation, supplemented with what was best of Italian and French device, -he built up a massive edifice which bears in plan, outline, and every -decorative detail the stamp of a German craftsman. - -The most musical family known to history was that of the Bachs. In six -generations (Sebastian belonging to the fifth) we find marked musical -ability, which in a number of instances before Sebastian appeared -amounted almost to genius. As many as thirty-seven of the name are known -to have held important musical positions. A large number during the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were members of the town bands and -choruses, which sustained almost the entire musical culture among the -common people of Germany during that period. These organizations, -combining the public practice of religious and secular music, were -effective in nourishing both the artistic and the religious spirit of the -time. In Germany in the seventeenth century there was as yet no opera and -concert system to concentrate musical activity in the theatre and public -hall. The Church was the nursery of musical culture, and this culture was -in no sense artificial or borrowed,--it was based on types long known and -beloved by the common people as their peculiar national inheritance, and -associated with much that was stirring and honorable in their history. - -Thuringia was one of the most musical districts in Germany in the -seventeenth century, and was also a stronghold of the reformed religion. -From this and its neighboring districts the Bachs never wandered. Eminent -as they were in music, hardly one of them ever visited Italy or received -instruction from a foreign master. They kept aloof from the courts, the -hot-beds of foreign musical growths, and submitted themselves to the -service of the Protestant Church. They were peasants and small farmers, -well to do and everywhere respected. Their stern self-mastery held them -uncontaminated by the wide-spread demoralization that followed the Thirty -Years' War. They appear as admirable types of that undemonstrative, -patient, downright, and tenacious quality which has always saved Germany -from social decline or disintegration in critical periods. - -Into such a legacy of intelligence, thrift, and probity came Johann -Sebastian Bach. All the most admirable traits of his ancestry shine out -again in him, reinforced by a creative gift which seems the accumulation -of all the several talents of his house. He was born at Eisenach, March -21, 1685. His training as a boy was mainly received in choir schools at -Ohrdruf and Lüneburg, attaining mastership as organist and contrapuntist -at the age of eighteen. He held official positions at Arnstadt, -Mühlhausen, Weimar, and Anhalt-Cöthen, and was finally called to Leipsic -as cantor of the Thomas school and director of music at the Thomas and -Nicolai churches, where he labored from 1723 until his death in 1750. His -life story presents no incidents of romantic interest. But little is -known of his temperament or habits. In every place in which he labored -his circumstances were much the same. He was a church organist and choir -director from the beginning to the end of his career. He became the -greatest organist of his time and the most accomplished master of musical -science. His declared aim in life was to reform and perfect German church -music. The means to achieve this were always afforded him, so far as the -scanty musical facilities of the churches of that period would permit. -His church compositions were a part of his official routine duties. His -recognized abilities always procured him positions remunerative enough to -protect him from anxiety. He was never subject to interruptions or -serious discouragements. From first to last the path in life which he was -especially qualified to pursue was clearly marked out before him. His -genius, his immense physical and mental energy, and his high sense of -duty to God and his employers did the rest. Nowhere is there the record -of a life more simple, straightforward, symmetrical, and complete. - -In spite of the intellectual and spiritual apathy prevailing in many -sections of Germany, conditions were not altogether unfavorable for the -special task which Bach assigned to himself. His desire to build up -church music did not involve an effort to restore to congregational -singing its pristine zeal, or to revive an antiquarian taste for the -historic choir anthem. Bach was a man of the new time; he threw himself -into the current of musical progress, seized upon the forms which were -still in process of development, giving them technical completeness and -bringing to light latent possibilities which lesser men had been unable -to discern. - -The material for his purpose was already within his reach. The religious -folk-song, freighted with a precious store of memories, was still an -essential factor in public and private worship. The art of organ playing -had developed a vigorous and pregnant national style in the choral -prelude, the fugue, and a host of freer forms. The Passion music and the -cantata had recently shown signs of brilliant promise. The Italian solo -song was rejoicing in its first flush of conquest on German soil. No one, -however, could foresee what might be done with these materials until Bach -arose. He gathered them all in his hand, remoulded, blended, enlarged -them, touched them with the fire of his genius and his religious passion, -and thus produced works of art which, intended for German evangelicalism, -are now being adopted by the world as the most comprehensive symbols in -music of the essential Christian faith.[73] - -Bach was one of those supreme artists who concentrate in themselves the -spirit and the experiments of an epoch. In order, therefore, to know how -the persistent religious consciousness of Germany strove to attain -self-recognition through those art agencies which finally became fully -operative in the eighteenth century, we need only study the works of this -great representative musician, passing by the productions of the -organists and cantors who shared, although in feebler measure, his -illumination. For Bach was no isolated phenomenon of his time. He created -no new styles; he gave art no new direction. He was one out of many -poorly paid and overworked church musicians, performing the duties that -were traditionally attached to his office, improvising fugues and -preludes, and accompanying choir and congregation at certain moments in -the service, composing motets, cantatas, and occasionally a larger work -for the regular order of the day, providing special music for a church -festival, a public funeral, the inauguration of a town council, or the -installation of a pastor. What distinguished Bach was simply the -superiority of his work on these time-honored lines, the amazing variety -of sentiment which he extracted from these conventional forms, the -scientific learning which puts him among the greatest technicians in the -whole range of art, the prodigality of ideas, depth of feeling, and a -sort of introspective mystical quality which he was able to impart to the -involved and severe diction of his age. - -Bach's devotion to the Lutheran Church was almost as absorbed as -Palestrina's to the Catholic. His was a sort of cloistered seclusion. -Like every one who has made his mark upon church music he reverenced the -Church as a historic institution. Her government, ceremonial, and -traditions impressed his imagination, and kindled a blind, instinctive -loyalty. He felt that he attained to his true self only under her -admonitions. Her service was to him perfect freedom. His opportunity to -contribute to the glory of the Church was one that dwarfed every other -privilege, and his official duty, his personal pleasure, and his highest -ambition ran like a single current, fed by many streams, in one and the -same channel. To measure the full strength of the mighty tide of feeling -which runs through Bach's church music we must recognize this element of -conviction, of moral necessity. Given Bach's inherited character, his -education and his environment, add the personal factor--imagination and -reverence--and you have Bach's music, spontaneous yet inevitable, like a -product of nature. Only out of such single-minded devotion to the -interests of the Church, both as a spiritual nursery and as a venerated -institution, has great church art ever sprung or can it spring. - -Bach's productions for the Church are divided into two general classes, -_viz._, organ music and vocal music. The organ music is better known to -the world at large, and on account of its greater availability may -outlive the vocal works in actual practice. For many reasons more or less -obvious Bach's organ works are constantly heard in connection with public -worship, both Catholic and Protestant, in Europe and America, and their -use is steadily increasing; while the choral compositions have almost -entirely fallen out of the stated religious ceremony, even in Germany, -and have been relegated to the concert hall. In course of time the organ -solo had grown into a constituent feature of the public act of worship in -the German Protestant Church. In the Catholic Church solo organ playing -is less intrinsic; in fact it has no real historic or liturgic -authorization and gives the impression rather of an embellishment, like -elaborately carved choir-screens and rose windows, very ornamental and -impressive, but not indispensable. But in the German system organ playing -had become established by a sort of logic, first as an accompaniment to -the people's hymn--a function it assumed about 1600--and afterwards in -the practice of extemporization upon choral themes. Out of this latter -custom a style of organ composition grew up in the seventeenth century -which, through association and a more or less definite correspondence -with the spirit and order of the prescribed service, came to be looked -upon as distinctively a church style. This German organ music was -strictly church music according to the only adequate definition of church -music that has ever been given, for it had grown up within the Church -itself, and through its very liturgic connections had come to make its -appeal to the worshipers, not as an artistic decoration, but as an agency -directly adapted to aid in promoting those ends which the church ceremony -had in view. Furthermore, the dignity and severe intellectuality of this -German organ style, combined with its majesty of sound and strength of -movement, seemed to add distinctly to the biblical flavor of the liturgy, -the uncompromising dogmatism of the authoritative teaching, and the -intense moral earnestness which prevailed in the Church of Luther in its -best estate. It was a form of art which was native to the organ, implied -in the very tone and mechanism of the instrument; it was absolutely -untouched by the lighter tendencies already active in secular music. The -notion of making the organ play pretty tunes and tickle the ear with the -imitative sound of fancy stops never entered the heads of the German -church musicians. The gravity and disciplined intelligence proper to the -exercise of an ecclesiastical office must pervade every contribution of -the organist. This conception was equally a matter of course to the mass -of the people, and so the taste of the congregation and the conviction of -the clerical authorities supported the organists in their adherence to -the traditions of their strict and complex art. This lordly style was no -less worthy of reverence in the eyes of all concerned because it was to -all intents a German art, virtually unknown in other countries, except -partially in the sister land of Holland, and therefore hedged about with -the sanctions of patriotism as well as the universally admitted canons of -religious musical expression. - -This form of music was evolved originally under the suggestion of the -mediaeval vocal polyphony,--counterpoint redistributed and systematized -in accordance with the modern development of rhythm, tonality, and -sectional structure. Its birthplace was Italy; the canzona of Frescobaldi -and his compeers was the parent of the fugue. The task of developing this -Italian germ was given to the Dutch and Germans. The instrumental -instinct and constructive genius of such men as Swelinck, Scheidt, -Buxtehude, Froberger, and Pachelbel carried the movement so far as to -reveal its full possibilities, and Bach brought these possibilities to -complete realization. - -As an organ player and composer it would seem that Bach stands at the -summit of human achievement. His whole art as a player is to be found in -his fugues, preludes, fantasies, toccatas, sonatas, and choral -variations. In his fugues he shows perhaps most convincingly that supreme -mastery of design and splendor of invention and fancy which have given -him the place he holds by universal consent among the greatest artists of -all time. In these compositions there is a variety and individuality -which, without such examples, one could hardly suppose that this -arbitrary form of construction would admit. With Bach the fugue is no dry -intellectual exercise. So far as the absolutism of its laws permits, -Bach's imagination moved as freely in the fugue as Beethoven's in the -sonata or Schubert's in the lied. Its peculiar idiom was as native to him -as his rugged Teuton speech. A German student's musical education in that -day began with counterpoint, as at the present time it begins with -figured bass harmony; the ability to write every species of polyphony -with ease was a matter of course with every musical apprentice. But with -Bach, the master, the fugue was not merely the sign of technical -facility; it was a means of expression, a supreme manifestation of style. -By the telling force of his subjects, the amazing dexterity and rich -fancy displayed in their treatment, the ability to cover the widest range -of emotional suggestion, his fugues appeal to a far deeper sense than -wonder at technical cleverness. Considering that it lies in the very -essence of the contrapuntal style that it should be governed by certain -very rigid laws of design and procedure, we may apply to Bach's organ -works in general a term that has been given to architecture, and say that -they are "construction beautified." By this is meant that every feature, -however beautiful in itself, finds its final charm and justification only -as a necessary component in the comprehensive plan. Each detail helps to -push onward the systematic unfolding of the design, it falls into its -place by virtue of the laws of fitness and proportion; logical and -organic, but at the same time decorative and satisfactory to the -aesthetic sense. There is indeed something almost architectonic in these -masterpieces of the great Sebastian. In their superb rolling harmonies, -their dense involutions, their subtle and inevitable unfoldings, their -long-drawn cadences, and their thrilling climaxes, they seem to possess a -fit relation to the vaulted, reverberating ceilings, the massive pillars, -and the half-lighted recesses of the sombre old buildings in which they -had their birth. In both the architecture and the music we seem to -apprehend a religious earnestness which drew its nourishment from the -most hidden depths of the soul, and which, even in its moments of -exultation, would not appear to disregard those stern convictions in -which it believed that it found the essentials of its faith. - -A form of instrumental music existed in the German Protestant Church -which was peculiar to that institution, and which was exceedingly -significant as forming a connecting link between organ solo playing and -the congregational worship. We have seen that the choral, at the very -establishment of the new order by Luther, became a characteristic feature -of the office of devotion, entering into the very framework of the -liturgy by virtue of the official appointment of particular hymns -(Hauptlieder) on certain days. As soon as the art of organ playing set -out upon its independent career early in the seventeenth century, the -organists began to take up the choral melodies as subjects for extempore -performance. These tunes were especially adapted to this purpose by -reason of their stately movement and breadth of style, which gave -opportunity for the display of that mastery of florid harmonization in -which the essence of the organist's art consisted. The organist never -played the printed compositions of others, or even his own, for -voluntaries. He would no more think of doing so than a clergyman would -preach another man's sermon, or even read one of his own from manuscript. -To this day German unwritten law is rigorous on both these matters. The -organist's method was always to improvise in the strict style upon themes -invented by himself or borrowed from other sources. Nothing was more -natural than that he should use the choral tunes as his quarry, not only -on account of their technical suitableness, but still more from the -interest that would be aroused in the congregation, and the unity that -would be established between the office of the organist and that of the -people. The chorals that were appointed for the day would commonly -furnish the player with his raw material, and the song of the people -would appear again soaring above their heads, adorned by effective tonal -combinations. This method could also be employed to a more moderate -extent in accompanying the congregation as they sang the hymn in unison; -interludes between the stanzas and even flourishes at the ends of the -lines would give scope to the organist to exhibit his knowledge and -fancy. The long-winded interlude at last became an abuse, and was reduced -or suppressed; but the free organ prelude on the entire choral melody -grew in favor, and before Bach's day ability in this line was the chief -test of a player's competence. In Bach's early days choral preludes by -famous masters had found their way into print in large numbers, and were -the objects of his assiduous study. His own productions in this class -surpassed all his models, and as a free improviser on choral themes he -excelled all his contemporaries. "I had supposed," said the famous -Reinken, who at the age of ninety-seven heard Bach extemporize on "An -Wasserflüssen Babylon" at Hamburg,--"I had supposed that this art was -dead, but I see that it still lives in you." In this species of playing, -the hymn melody is given out with one hand or upon the pedals, while -around it is woven a network of freely moving parts. The prelude may be -brief, included within the space limits of the original melody, or it may -be indefinitely extended by increasing the length of the choral notes and -working out interludes between the lines. The one hundred and thirty -choral preludes which have come down to us from Bach's pen are samples of -the kind of thing that he was extemporizing Sunday after Sunday. In these -pieces the accompaniment is sometimes fashioned on the basis of a -definite melodic figure which is carried, with modulations and subtle -modifications, all through the stanza, sometimes on figures whose pattern -changes with every line; while beneath or within the sounding arabesques -are heard the long sonorous notes of the choral, holding the hearer -firmly to the ground idea which the player's art is striving to impress -and beautify. This form of music is something very different from the -"theme and variations," which has played so conspicuous a part in the -modern instrumental school from Haydn down to the present. In the choral -prelude there is no modification of the theme itself; the subject in -single notes forms a _cantus firmus_, on the same principle that appears -in the mediaeval vocal polyphony, around which the freely invented parts, -moving laterally, are entwined. Although these compositions vary greatly -in length, a single presentation of the decorated choral tune suffices -with Bach except in rare instances, such as the prelude on "O Lamm Gottes -unschuldig," in which the melody is given out three times, with a -different scheme of ornament at each repetition. - -That Bach always restricts his choral elaboration to the end of -illustrating the sentiment of the words with which the theme is -illustrated would be saying too much. Certainly he often does so, as in -such beautiful examples as "O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross," -"Schmücke dich, meine liebe Seele," and that touching setting of "Wenn -wir in höchsten Nöthen sein" which Bach dictated upon his deathbed. But -the purpose of the choral prelude in the church worship was not -necessarily to reflect and emphasize the thought of the hymn. This usage -having become conventional, and the organist being allowed much latitude -in his treatment, his pride in his science would lead him to dilate and -elaborate according to a musical rather than a poetic impulse, thinking -less of appropriateness to a precise mood (an idea which, indeed, had -hardly became lodged in instrumental music in Bach's time) than of -producing an abstract work of art contrived in accordance with the formal -prescriptions of German musical science. The majority of Bach's works in -this form are, it must be said, conventional and scholastic, some even -dry and pedantic. Efforts at popularizing them at the present day have -but slight success; but in not a few Bach's craving for expression crops -out, and some of his most gracious inspirations are to be found in these -incidental and apparently fugitive productions. - -In order to win the clue to Bach's vocal as well as his instrumental -style, we must constantly refer back to his works for the organ. As -Händel's genius in oratorio was shaped under the influence of the Italian -aria, direct or derived, and as certain modern composers, such as -Berlioz, seize their first conceptions already clothed in orchestral -garb, so Bach seemed to think in terms of the organ. Examine one of his -contrapuntal choruses, or even one of his arias with its obligato -accompaniment, and you are instantly reminded of the mode of facture of -his organ pieces. His education rested upon organ music, and he only -yielded to one of the most potent influences of his time when he made the -organ the dominant factor in his musical expression. The instrumental -genius of Germany had already come to self-consciousness at the end of -the seventeenth century, and was as plainly revealing itself in organ -music as it did a century later in the sonata and symphony. The virtuoso -spirit--the just pride in technical skill--always keeps pace with the -development of style; in the nature of things these two are mutually -dependent elements in progress. In Bach the love of exercising his skill -as an executant was a part of his very birthright as a musician. The -organ was to him very much what the pianoforte was to Liszt, and in each -the virtuoso instinct was a fire which must burst forth, or it would -consume the very soul of its possessor. And so we find among the fugues, -fantasies, and toccatas of Bach compositions whose dazzling magnificence -is not exceeded by the most sensational effusions of the modern -pianoforte and orchestral schools. In all the realm of music there is -nothing more superb than those Niagaras of impetuous sound which roll -through such works as the F major and D minor toccatas and the G major -fantasie,--to select examples out of scores of equally apt illustrations. -But sound and fury are by no means their aim; Bach's invention and -science are never more resourceful than when apparently driven by the -demon of unrest. In order to give the freest sweep to his fancy Bach, the -supreme lord of form, often broke through form's conventionalisms, so -that even his fugues sometimes became, as they have been called, -fantasies in the form of fugues, just as Beethoven, under a similar -impulse, wrote _sonate quasi fantasie_. Witness the E minor fugue with -the "wedge theme." In Bach's day and country there was no concert stage; -the instrumental virtuoso was the organist. It is not necessary to -suppose, therefore, that pieces so exciting to the nerves as those to -which I have alluded were all composed strictly for the ordinary church -worship. There were many occasions, such as the "opening" of a new organ -or a civic festival, when the organist could "let himself go" without -incurring the charge of introducing a profane or alien element. And yet, -even as church music, these pieces were not altogether incongruous. We -must always keep in mind that the question of appropriateness in church -music depends very much upon association and custom. A style that would -be execrated as blasphemous in a Calvinist assembly would be received as -perfectly becoming in a Catholic or Lutheran ceremony. A style of music -that has grown up in the very heart of a certain Church, identified for -generations with the peculiar ritual and history of that Church, is -proper ecclesiastical music so far as that particular institution is -concerned. Those who condemn Bach's music--organ works, cantatas, and -Passions--as unchurchly ignore this vital point. Moreover, the conception -of the function of music in the service of the German Evangelical Church -was never so austere that brilliancy and grandeur were deemed -incompatible with the theory of religious ceremony. It may be said that -Bach's grandest organ pieces are conceived as the expression of what may -be called the religious passion--the rapture which may not unworthily -come upon the believer when his soul opens to the reception of ideas the -most penetrating and sublime. - -Certainly no other religious institution has come so near the solution of -the problem of the proper use of the instrumental solo in public worship. -Through the connection of the organ music with the people's hymn in the -choral prelude, and the conformity of its style to that of the choir -music in motet and cantata, it became vitally blended with the whole -office of praise and prayer; its effect was to gather up and merge all -individual emotions into the projection of the mood of aspiration that -was common to all. - -The work performed by Bach for the church cantata was somewhat similar in -nature to his service to the choral prelude, and was carried out with a -far more lavish expenditure of creative power. The cantata, now no longer -a constituent of the German Evangelical worship, in the eighteenth -century held a place in the ritual analogous to that occupied by the -anthem in the morning and evening prayer of the Church of England. It is -always of larger scale than the anthem, and its size was one cause of its -exclusion in the arbitrary and irregular reductions which the Evangelical -liturgies have undergone in the last century and a half. There is nothing -in its florid character to justify this procedure, for it may be, and in -Bach usually is, more closely related to the ritual framework than the -English anthem, in consequence of the manner in which it has been made to -absorb strictly liturgic forms into its substance. Bach, in his cantatas, -kept the notion of liturgic unity clearly in mind. He effected this unity -largely by his use of the choral as a conspicuous element in the cantata, -often as its very foundation. He checked the Italianizing process by -working the arioso recitative, the aria for one or more voices, and the -chorus into one grand musical scheme, in which his intricate organ style -served both as fabric and decoration. By the unexampled prominence which -he gave the choral as a mine of thematic material, he gave the cantata -not only a striking originality, but also an air of unmistakable fitness -to the character and special expression of the confession which it -served. By these means, which are concerned with its form, and still more -by the astonishing variety, truth, and beauty with which he was able to -meet the needs of each occasion for which a work of this kind was -appointed, he endowed his Church and nation with a treasure of religious -song compared with which, for magnitude, diversity, and power, the -creative work of any other church musician that may be named--Palestrina, -Gabrieli, or whoever he may be--sinks into insignificance. - -Bach wrote five series of cantatas for the Sundays and festal days of the -church year--in all two hundred and ninety-five. Of these two hundred and -sixty-six were written at Leipsic. They vary greatly in length, the -shortest occupying twenty minutes or so in performance, the longest an -hour or more. Taken together, they afford such an astonishing display of -versatility that any proper characterization of them in a single chapter -would be quite out of the question. A considerable number are available -for study in Peters's cheap edition, and the majority are analyzed with -respect to their salient features in Spitta's encyclopedic Bach -biography. Among the great diversity of interesting qualities which they -exhibit, the employment of the choral must be especially emphasized as -affording the clue, already indicated, to Bach's whole conception of the -cantata as a species of religious art. The choral, especially that -appointed for a particular day (Hauptlied), is often used as the guiding -thread which weaves the work into the texture of the whole daily office. -In such cases the chosen choral will appear in the different numbers of -the work in fragments or motives, sometimes as subject for voice parts, -or woven into the accompaniment as theme or in obligato fashion. It is -more common for entire lines of the choral to be treated as _canti -firmi_, forming the subjects on which elaborate contrapuntal choruses are -constructed, following precisely the same principle of design that I have -described in the case of the organ choral preludes. In multitudes of -cantata movements lines or verses from two or more chorals are -introduced. There are cantatas, such as "Wer nur den lieben Gott," in -which each number, whether recitative, aria, or chorus, takes its -thematic material, intact or modified, from a choral. The famous "Ein' -feste Burg," is a notable example of a cantata in which Bach adheres to a -hymn-tune in every number, treating it line by line, deriving from it the -pervading tone of the work is well as its constructional plan. The ways -in which Bach applies the store of popular religious melody to the higher -uses of art are legion. A cantata of Bach usually ends with a choral in -its complete ordinary form, plainly but richly harmonized in -note-for-note four-part setting as though for congregational singing. It -was not the custom, however, in Bach's day for the congregation to join -in this closing choral. There are cantatas, such as the renowned "Ich -hatte viel Bekümmerniss," in which the choral melody nowhere appears. -Such cantatas are rare, and the use of the choral became more prominent -and systematic in Bach's work as time went on. - -The devotional ideal of the Protestant Church as compared with the -Catholic gives far more liberal recognition to the private religious -consciousness of the individual. The believer does not so completely -surrender his personality; in his mental reactions to the ministrations -of the clergy he still remains aware of that inner world of experience -which is his world, not merged and lost in the universalized life of a -religious community. The Church is his inspirer and guide, not his -absolute master. The foundation of the German choral was a religious -declaration of independence. The German hymns were each the testimony of -a thinker to his own private conception of religious truth. The tone and -feeling of each hymn were suggested and colored by the general doctrine -of the Church, but not dictated. The adoption of these utterances of -independent feeling into the liturgy was a recognition on the part of -authority of individual right. It was not a concession; it was the legal -acknowledgment of a fundamental principle. Parallel to this significant -privilege was the admission of music of the largest variety and -penetrated at will with subjective feeling. This conception was carried -out consistently in the cantata as established by Bach, most liberally, -of course, in the arias. The words of the cantata consisted of Bible -texts, stanzas of church hymns, and religious poems, the whole -illustrating some Scripture theme or referring to some especial -commemoration. The hard and fast metrical schemes of the German hymns -were unsuited to the structure and rhythm of the aria, and so a form of -verse known as the madrigal, derived from Italy, was used when rhythmical -flexibility was an object. For all these reasons we have in Bach's arias -the widest license of expression admissible in the school of art which he -represented. The Hamburg composers, in their shallow aims, had boldly -transferred the Italian concert aria as it stood into the Church, as a -sign of their complete defiance of ecclesiastical prescription. Not so -Bach; the ancient churchly ideal was to him a thing to be reverenced, -even when he departed from it. He, therefore, took a middle course. The -Italian notion of an aria--buoyant, tuneful, the voice part sufficient -unto itself--had no place in Bach's method. A melody to him was usually a -detail in a contrapuntal scheme. And so be wove the voice part into the -accompaniment, a single instrument--a violin, perhaps, or oboe--often -raised into relief, vying with the voice on equal terms, often soaring -above it and carrying the principal theme, while the voice part serves as -an obligato. This method, hardly consistent with a pure vocal system, -often results with Bach, it must be confessed, in something very -mechanical and monotonous to modern ears. The artifice is apparent; the -author seems more bent on working out a sort of algebraic formula than -interpreting the text to the sensibility. From the traditional point of -view this method is not in itself _mal à propos_, for such a treatment -raises the sentiment into that calm region of abstraction which is the -proper refuge of the devotional mood. But here, as in the organ pieces, -Bach is no slave to his technic. There are many arias in his cantatas in -which the musical expression is not only beautiful and touching in the -highest degree, but also yields with wonderful truth to every mutation of -feeling in the text. Still more impressively is this mastery of -expression shown in the arioso recitatives. In their depth and beauty -they are unique in religious music. Only in very rare moments can Händel -pretend to rival them. Mendelssohn reflects them in his oratorios and -psalms,--as the moon reflects the sun. - -The choruses of Bach's cantatas would furnish a field for endless study. -Nowhere else is his genius more grandly displayed. The only work entitled -to be compared with these choruses is found in Händel's oratorios. In -drawing such a parallel, and observing the greater variety of style in -Händel, we must remember that Bach's cantatas are church music. Händel's -oratorios are not. Bach's cantata texts are not only confined to a single -sphere of thought, _viz._, the devotional, but they are also strictly -lyric. The church cantata does not admit any suggestion of action or -external picture. The oratorio, on the other hand, is practically -unlimited in scope, and in Händel's choruses the style and treatment are -given almost unrestrained license in the way of dramatic and epic -suggestion. Within the restrictions imposed upon him, however, Bach -expends upon his choruses a wealth of invention in design and expression -not less wonderful than that exhibited in his organ works. The motet -form, the free fantasia and the choral fantasia forms are all employed, -and every device known to his art is applied for the illustration of the -text. Grace and tenderness, when the cheering assurances of the Gospel -are the theme, crushing burdens of gloom when the author's thought turns -to the mysteries of death and judgment, mournfulness in view of sin, the -pleading accents of contrition,--every manifestation of emotion which a -rigid creed, allied to a racial mysticism which evades positive -conceptions, can call forth is projected in tones whose strength and -fervor were never attained before in religious music. It is Bach's organ -style which is here in evidence, imparting to the chorus its close-knit -structure and majesty of sound, humanized by a melody drawn from the -choral and from what was most refined in Italian art. - -"One peculiar trait in Bach's nature," says Kretzschmar, "is revealed in -the cantatas in grand, half-distinct outlines, and this is the longing -for death and life with the Lord. This theme is struck in the cantatas -more frequently than almost any other. We know him as a giant nature in -all situations; great and grandiose is also his joy and cheerfulness. But -never, we believe, does his art work with fuller energy and abandonment -than when his texts express earth-weariness and the longing for the last -hour. The fervor which then displays itself in ever-varying registers, in -both calm and stormy regions, has in it something almost demonic."[74] - -The work that has most contributed to make the name of Bach familiar to -the educated world at large is the Passion according to St. Matthew. Bach -wrote five Passions, of which only two--the St. John and the St. -Matthew--have come down to us. The former has a rugged force like one of -Michael Angelo's unpolished statues, but it cannot fairly be compared to -the St. Matthew in largeness of conception or beauty of detail. In Bach's -treatment of the Passion story we have the culmination of the artistic -development of the early liturgic practice whose progress has already -been sketched. Bach completed the process of fusing the Italian aria and -recitative with the German chorus, hymn-tune, and organ and orchestral -music, interspersing the Gospel narrative with lyric sections in the form -of airs, arioso recitatives, and choruses, in which the feelings proper -to a believer meditating on the sufferings of Christ in behalf of mankind -are portrayed with all the poignancy of pathos of which Bach was master. - -Injudicious critics have sometimes attempted to set up a comparison -between the St. Matthew Passion and Handel's "Messiah," questioning which -is the greater. But such captious rivalry is derogatory to both, for they -are not to be gauged by the same standard. To say nothing of the radical -differences in style, origin, and artistic conception,--the one a piece -of Lutheran church music, the other an English concert oratorio of -Italian ancestry,--they are utterly unlike also in poetic intention. -Bach's work deals only with the human in Christ; it is the narrative of -his last interviews with his disciples, his arrest, trial, and death, -together with comments by imagined personalities contemplating these -events, both in their immediate action upon the sensibilities and in -their doctrinal bearing. It is, therefore, a work so mixed in style that -it is difficult to classify it, for it is both epic and implicitly -dramatic, while in all its lyric features it is set firmly into the -Evangelical liturgic scheme. The text and musical construction of the -"Messiah" have no connection with any liturgy; it is concert music of a -universal religious character, almost devoid of narrative, and with no -dramatic suggestion whatever. Each is a triumph of genius, but of genius -working with quite different intentions. - -In the formal arrangement of the St. Matthew Passion Bach had no option; -he must perforce comply with church tradition. The narrative of the -evangelist, taken without change from St. Matthew's Gospel and sung in -recitative by a tenor, is the thread upon which the successive divisions -are strung. The words of Jesus, Peter, the high priest, and Pilate are -given to a bass, and are also in recitative. The Jews and the disciples -are represented by choruses. The "Protestant congregation" forms another -group, singing appropriate chorals. A third element comprises the company -of believers and the "daughter of Zion," singing choruses and arias in -comment upon the situations as described by the evangelist. It must be -remembered that these chorus factors are not indicated by any division of -singers into groups. The work is performed throughout by the same company -of singers, in Bach's day by the diminutive choir of the Leipsic Church, -composed of boys and young men. Even in the chorals the congregation took -no part. The idea of the whole is much the same as in a series of old -Italian chapel frescoes. The disciple sits with Christ at the last -supper, accompanies him to the garden of Gethsemane and to the -procurator's hall, witnesses his mockery and condemnation, and takes his -station at the foot of the cross, lamenting alternately the sufferings of -his Lord and the sin which demanded such a sacrifice. - -Upon this prescribed formula Bach has poured all the wealth of his -experience, his imagination, and his piety. His science is not brought -forward so prominently as in many of his works, and where he finds it -necessary to employ it he subordinates it to the expression of feeling. -Yet we cannot hear without amazement the gigantic opening movement in -which the awful burden of the great tragedy is foreshadowed; where, as if -organ, orchestra, and double chorus were not enough to sustain the -composer's conception, a ninth part, bearing a choral melody, floats -above the surging mass of sound, holding the thought of the hearer to the -significance of the coming scenes. The long chorus which closes the first -part, which is constructed in the form of a figured choral, is also built -upon a scale which Bach has seldom exceeded. But the structure of the -work in general is comparatively open, and the expression direct and -clear. An atmosphere of profoundest gloom pervades the work from -beginning to end, ever growing darker as the scenes of the terrible drama -advance and culminate, yet here and there relieved by gleams of divine -tenderness and human pity. That Bach was able to carry a single mood, and -that a depressing one, through a composition of three hours' length -without falling into monotony at any point is one of the miracles of -musical creation. - -The meditative portions of the work in aria, recitative, and chorus are -rendered with great beauty and pathos, in spite of occasional archaic -stiffness. Dry and artificial some of the _da capo_ arias undoubtedly -are, for that quality of fluency which always accompanies genius never -yet failed to beguile its possessor into by-paths of dulness. But work -purely formalistic is not common in the St. Matthew Passion. Never did -religious music afford anything more touching and serene than such -numbers as the tenor solo and chorus, "Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen," -the bass solo, "Am Abend, da es kühle war," and the recitative and -chorus, matchless in tenderness, beginning "Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh' -gebracht." Especially impressive are the tones given to the words of the -Saviour. These tones are distinguished from those of the other personages -not only by their greater melodic beauty, but also by their -accompaniment, which consists of the stringed instruments, while the -other recitatives are supported by the organ alone. In Christ's -despairing cry upon the cross, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," this -ethereal stringed accompaniment is extinguished. What Bach intended to -signify by this change is not certainly known. This exclamation of Jesus, -the only instance in his life when he seemed to lose his certainty of the -divine coöperation, must be distinguished in some way, Bach probably -thought, from all his other utterances. Additional musical means would be -utterly futile, for neither music nor any other art has any expression -for the mental anguish of that supreme moment. The only expedient -possible was to reduce music at that point, substituting plain organ -chords, and let the words of Christ stand out in bold relief in all their -terrible significance. - -The chorals in the St. Matthew Passion are taken bodily, both words and -tunes, from the church hymn-book. Prominent among them is the famous "O -Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" by Gerhardt after St. Bernard, which is used -five times. These choral melodies are harmonized in simple homophonic -style, but with extreme beauty. As an instance of the poetic fitness with -which these chorals are introduced we may cite the last in the work, -where immediately after the words "Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave -up the ghost," the chorus sings a stanza beginning "When my death hour -approaches forsake not me, O Lord." "This climax," says Spitta, "has -always been justly regarded as one of the most thrilling of the whole -work. The infinite significance of the sacrifice could not be more -simply, comprehensively, and convincingly expressed than in this -marvellous prayer." - -This wonderful creation closes with a chorus of farewell sung beside the -tomb of Jesus. It is a worthy close, for nothing more lovely and -affecting was ever confided to human lips. The gloom and agony that have -pervaded the scenes of temptation, trial, and death have quite vanished. -The tone is indeed that of lamentation, for the Passion drama in its very -aim and tradition did not admit any anticipation of the resurrection; -neither in the Catholic or Lutheran ceremonies of Good Friday is there a -foreshadowing of the Easter rejoicing. But the sentiment of this closing -chorus is not one of hopeless grief; it expresses rather a sense of -relief that suffering is past, mingled with a strain of solemn rapture, -as if dimly conscious that the tomb is not the end of all. - -The first performance of the St. Matthew Passion took place in the Thomas -church at Leipsic, on Good Friday, April 15, 1729. It was afterwards -revised and extended, and performed again in 1740. From that time it was -nowhere heard until it was produced by Felix Mendelssohn in the Sing -Academie at Berlin in 1829. The impression it produced was profound, and -marked the beginning of the revival of the study of Bach which has been -one of the most fruitful movements in nineteenth-century music. - -A work equally great in a different way, although it can never become the -object of such popular regard as the St. Matthew Passion, is the Mass in -B minor. It may seem strange that the man who more than any other -interpreted in art the genius of Protestantism should have contributed to -a form of music that is identified with the Catholic ritual. It must be -remembered that Luther was by no means inclined to break with all the -forms and usages of the mother Church. He had no quarrel with those -features of her rites which did not embody the doctrines which he -disavowed, and most heartily did he recognize the beauty and edifying -power of Catholic music. We have seen also that he was in favor of -retaining the Latin in communities where it was understood. Hence it was -that not only in Luther's day, but long after, the Evangelical Church -retained many musical features that had become sacred in the practice of -the ancient Church. The congregations of Leipsic were especially -conservative in this respect. The entire mass in figured form, however, -was not used in the Leipsic service; on certain special days a part only -would be sung. The Kyrie and Gloria, known among the Lutheran musicians -as the "short mass," were frequently employed. The B minor Mass was not -composed for the Leipsic service, but for the chapel of the king of -Saxony in Bach's honorary capacity of composer to the royal and electoral -court. It was begun in 1735 and finished in 1738, but was not performed -entire in Bach's lifetime. By the time it was completed it had outgrown -the dimensions of a service mass, and it has probably never been sung in -actual church worship. It is so difficult that its performance is an -event worthy of special commemoration. Its first complete production in -the United States was at Bethlehem, Pa., in the spring of 1900. It is -enough to say of this work here that all Bach's powers as fabricator of -intricate design, and as master of all the shades of expression which the -contrapuntal style admits, are forced to their furthest limit. So vast is -it in scale, so majestic in its movement, so elemental in the grandeur of -its climaxes, that it may well be taken as the loftiest expression in -tones of the prophetic faith of Christendom, unless Beethoven's Missa -Solemnis may dispute the title. It belongs not to the Catholic communion -alone, nor to the Protestant, but to the Church universal, the Church -visible and invisible, the Church militant and triumphant. The greatest -master of the sublime in choral music, Bach in this mass sounded all the -depths of his unrivalled science and his imaginative energy. - -There is no loftier example in history of artistic genius devoted to the -service of religion than we find in Johann Sebastian Bach. He always felt -that his life was consecrated to God, to the honor of the Church and the -well-being of men. Next to this fact we are impressed in studying him -with his vigorous intellectuality, by which I mean his accurate estimate -of the nature and extent of his own powers and his easy self-adjustment -to his environment. He was never the sport of his genius but always its -master, never carried away like so many others, even the greatest, into -extravagancies or rash experiments. Mozart and Beethoven failed in -oratorio, Schubert in opera; the Italian operas of Gluck and Händel have -perished. Even in the successful work of these men there is a strange -inequality. But upon all that Bach attempted--and the amount of his work -is no less a marvel than its quality--he affixed the stamp of final and -inimitable perfection. We know from testimony that this perfection was -the result of thought and unflagging toil. The file was not the least -serviceable tool in his workshop. This intellectual restraint, operating -upon a highly intellectualized form of art, often gives Bach's music an -air of severity, a scholastic hardness, which repels sympathy and makes -difficult the path to the treasures it contains. The musical culture of -our age has been so long based on a different school that no little -discipline is needed to adjust the mind to Bach's manner of presenting -his profound ideas. The difficulty is analogous to that experienced in -acquiring an appreciation of Gothic sculpture and the Florentine painting -of the fourteenth century. We are compelled to learn a new musical -language, for it is only in a qualified sense that the language of music -is universal. We must put ourselves into another century, face another -order of ideas than those of our own age. We must learn the temper of the -German mind in the Reformation period and after, its proud -self-assertion, led to an aggressive positiveness of religious belief, -which, after all, was but the hard shell which enclosed a rare sweetness -of piety. - -All through Bach we feel the well-known German mysticism which seeks the -truth in the instinctive convictions of the soul, the idealism which -takes the mind as the measure of existence, the romanticism which colors -the outer world with the hues of personal temperament. Bach's historic -position required that this spirit, in many ways so modern, should take -shape in forms to which still clung the technical methods of an earlier -time. His all-encompassing organ style was Gothic--if we may use such a -term for illustration's sake--not Renaissance. His style is Teutonic in -the widest as well as the most literal sense. It is based on forms -identified with the practice of the people in church and home. He -recognized not the priestly or the aristocratic element, but the popular. -His significance in the history of German Evangelical Christianity is -great. Protestantism, like Catholicism, has had its supreme poet. As -Dante embodied in an immortal epic the philosophic conceptions, the hopes -and fears of mediaeval Catholicism, so Bach, less obviously but no less -truly, in his cantatas, Passions, and choral preludes, lent the -illuminating power of his art to the ideas which brought forth the -Reformation. It is the central demand of Protestantism, the immediate -personal access of man to God, which, constituting a new motive in German -national music, gave shape and direction to Bach's creative genius. - -It has been reserved for recent years to discover that the title of chief -representative in art of German Protestantism is, after all, not the sum -of Bach's claims to honor. There is something in his art that touches the -deepest chords of religious feeling in whatever communion that feeling -has been nurtured. His music is not the music of a confession, but of -humanity. What changes the spirit of religious progress is destined to -undergo in the coming years it would be vain to predict; but it is safe -to assume that the warrant of faith will not consist in authority -committed to councils or synods, or altogether in a verbal revelation -supposed to have been vouchsafed at certain epochs in the past, but in -the intuition of the continued presence of the eternal creative spirit in -the soul of man. This consciousness, of which creeds and liturgies are -but partial and temporary symbols, can find no adequate artistic -expression unless it be in the art of music. The more clearly this fact -is recognized by the world, the more the fame of Sebastian Bach will -increase, for no other musician has so amply embraced and so deeply -penetrated the universal religious sentiment. It may well be said of Bach -what a French critic says of Albrecht Dürer: "He was an intermediary -between the Middle Age and our modern times. Typical of the former in -that he was primarily a craftsman, laboring with all the sincerity and -unconscious modesty of the good workman who delights in his labor, he yet -felt something of the tormented spiritual unrest of the latter; and -indeed so strikingly reflects what we call the 'modern spirit' that his -work has to-day more influence upon our own thought and art than it had -upon that of his contemporaries."[75] - - - -The verdict of the admirers of Bach in respect to his greatness is not -annulled when it is found that the power and real significance of his -work were not comprehended by the mass of his countrymen during his life, -and that outside of Leipsic he exerted little influence upon religious -art for nearly a century after his death. He was not the less a typical -German on this account. Only at certain critical moments do nations seem -to be true to their better selves, and it often happens that their -greatest men appear in periods of general moral relaxation, apparently -rebuking the unworthiness of their fellow citizens instead of -exemplifying common traits of character. But later generations are able -to see that, after all, these men are not detached; their real bases, -although out of sight for the time, are immovably set in nationality. -Milton was no less representative of permanent elements in English -character when "fallen upon evil days," when the direction of affairs -seemed given over to "sons of Belial," who mocked at all he held -necessary to social welfare. Michael Angelo was still a genuine son of -Italy when he mourned in bitterness of soul over her degradation. And so -the spirit that pervaded the life and works of Bach is a German -spirit,--a spirit which Germany has often seemed to disown, but which in -times of need has often reasserted itself with splendid confidence and -called her back to soberness and sincerity. - -When Bach had passed away, it seemed as if the mighty force he exerted -had been dissipated. He had not checked the decline of church music. The -art of organ playing degenerated. The choirs, never really adequate, -became more and more unable to do justice to the great works that had -been bequeathed to them. The public taste relaxed, and the demand for a -more florid and fetching kind of song naturalized in the Church the -theatrical style already predominant in France and Italy. The people lost -their perception of the real merit of their old chorals and permitted -them to be altered to suit the requirements of contemporary fashion, or -else slighted them altogether in favor of the new "art song." No -composers appeared who were able or cared to perpetuate the old -traditions. This tendency was inevitable; its causes are perfectly -apparent to any one who knows the conditions prevailing in religion and -art in Germany in the last half of the eighteenth and the early part of -the nineteenth centuries. Pietism, with all its merits, had thrown a sort -of puritanic wet blanket over art in its protest against the external and -formal in worship. In the orthodox church circles the enthusiasm -necessary to nourish a wholesome spiritual life and a living church art -at the same time had sadly abated. The inculcation of a dry utilitarian -morality and the cultivation of a dogmatic pedantry had taken the place -of the joyous freedom of the Gospel. Other more direct causes also -entered to turn public interest away from the music of the Church. The -Italian opera, with its equipment of sensuous fascinations, devoid of -serious aims, was at the high tide of its popularity, patronized by the -ruling classes, and giving the tone to all the musical culture of the -time. A still more obvious impediment to the revival of popular interest -in church music was the rapid formation throughout Germany of choral -societies devoted to the performance of oratorios. Following the example -of England, these societies took up the works of Händel, and the -enthusiasm excited by Haydn's "Creation" in 1798 gave a still more -powerful stimulus to the movement. These choral unions had no connection -with the church choirs of the eighteenth century, but grew out of private -musical associations. The great German music festivals date from about -1810, and they absorbed the interest of those composers whose talent -turned towards works of religious content. The church choirs were already -in decline when the choral societies began to raise their heads. Cantatas -and Passions were no longer heard in church worship. Their place in -public regard was taken by the concert oratorio. The current of -instrumental music, one of the chief glories of German art in the -nineteenth century, was absorbing more and more of the contributions of -German genius. The whole trend of the age was toward secular music. It -would appear that a truly great art of church music cannot maintain -itself beside a rising enthusiasm for secular music. Either the two -styles will be amalgamated, and church music be transformed to the -measure of the other, as happened in the case of Catholic music, or -church song will stagnate, as was the case in Protestant Germany. - -After the War of Liberation, ending with the downfall of Napoleon's -tyranny, and when Germany began to enter upon a period of critical -self-examination, demands began to be heard for the reinstatement of -church music on a worthier basis. The assertion of nationality in other -branches of musical art--the symphonies of Beethoven, the songs of -Schubert, the operas of Weber--was echoed in the domain of church music, -not at first in the production of great works, but in performance, -criticism, and appeal. It is not to be denied that a steady uplift in the -department of church music has been in progress in Germany all through -the nineteenth century. The transition from rationalism and infidelity to -a new and higher phase of evangelical religion effected under the lead of -Schleiermacher, the renewed interest in church history, the effort to -bring the forms of worship into coöperation with a quickened spiritual -life, the revival of the study of the great works of German art as -related to national intellectual development,--these influences and many -more have strongly stirred the cause of church music both in composition -and performance. Choirs have been enlarged and strengthened; the soprano -and alto parts are still exclusively sung by boys, but the tenor and bass -parts are taken by mature and thoroughly trained men, instead of by raw -youths, as in Bach's time and after. In such choirs as those of the -Berlin cathedral and the Leipsic Thomas church, artistic singing attains -a richness of tone and finish of style hardly to be surpassed. - -The most wholesome result of these movements has been to bring about a -clearer distinction in the minds of churchmen between a proper church -style in music and the concert style. Church-music associations -(evangelische Kirchengesang-Vereine), analogous to the Catholic St. -Cecilia Society, have taken in hand the question of the establishment of -church music on a more strict and efficient basis. Such masters as -Mendelssohn, Richter, Hauptmann, Kiel, and Grell have produced works of -great beauty, and at the same time admirably suited to the ideal -requirements of public worship. - -In spite of the present more healthful condition of German Evangelical -music as compared with the feebleness and indefiniteness of the early -part of the nineteenth century, there is little assurance of the -restoration of this branch of art to the position which it held in the -national life two hundred years ago. In the strict sense writers of the -school of Spitta are correct in asserting that a Protestant church music -no longer exists. "It must be denied that an independent branch of the -tonal art is to be found which has its home only in the Church, which -contains life and the capacity for development in itself, and in whose -sphere the creative artist seeks his ideals."[76] - -On the other hand, a hopeful sign has appeared in recent German musical -history in the foundation of the New Bach Society, with headquarters at -Leipsic, in 1900. The task assumed by this society, which includes a -large number of the most eminent musicians of Germany, is that of making -Bach's choral works better known, and especially of reintroducing them -into their old place in the worship of the Evangelical churches. The -success of such an effort would doubtless be fraught with important -consequences, and perhaps inaugurate a new era in the history of German -church music. - - - - - CHAPTER X - THE MUSICAL SYSTEM OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND - - -The musical productions that have emanated from the Church of England -possess no such independent interest as works of art as those which so -richly adorn the Catholic and the German Evangelical systems. With the -exception of the naturalized Händel (whose few occasional anthems, Te -Deums, and miscellaneous church pieces give him an incidental place in -the roll of English ecclesiastical musicians), there is no name to be -found in connection with the English cathedral service that compares in -lustre with those that give such renown to the religious song of Italy -and Germany. Yet in spite of this mediocrity of achievement, the music of -the Anglican Church has won an honorable historic position, not only by -reason of the creditable average of excellence which it has maintained -for three hundred years, but still more through its close identification -with those fierce conflicts over dogma, ritual, polity, and the relation -of the Church to the individual which have given such a singular interest -to English ecclesiastical history. Methods of musical expression have -been almost as hotly contested as vital matters of doctrine and -authority, and the result has been that the English people look upon -their national religious song with a respect such as, perhaps, no other -school of church music receives in its own home. The value and purpose of -music in worship, and the manner of performance most conducive to -edification, have been for centuries the subjects of such serious -discussion that the problems propounded by the history of English church -music are of perennial interest. The dignity, orderliness, tranquillity, -and graciousness in outward form and inward spirit which have come to -distinguish the Anglican Establishment are reflected in its anthems and -"services," its chants and hymns; while the simplicity and sturdy, -aggressive sincerity of the non-conformist sects may be felt in the -accents of their psalmody. The clash of liturgic and non-liturgic -opinions, conformity and independence, Anglicanism and Puritanism, may be -plainly heard in the church musical history of the sixteenth, -seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, and even to-day the contest has -not everywhere been settled by conciliation and fraternal sympathy. - -The study of English church music, therefore, is the study of musical -forms and practices more than of works of art as such. We are met at the -outset by a spectacle not paralleled in other Protestant countries, -_viz._, the cleavage of the reformed Church into two violently hostile -divisions; and we find the struggle for supremacy between Anglicans and -Puritans fought out in the sphere of art and ritual as well as on the -battlefield and the arena of theological polemic. Consequently we are -obliged to trace two distinct lines of development--the ritual music of -the Establishment and the psalmody of the dissenting bodies--trying to -discover how these contending principles acted upon each other, and what -instruction can be drawn from their collision and their final compromise. - -The Reformation in England took in many respects a very different course -from that upon the continent. In Germany, France, Switzerland, and the -Netherlands the revolt against Rome was initiated by men who sprung from -the ranks of the people. Notwithstanding the complication of motives -which drew princes and commoners, ecclesiastics and laymen, into the -rebellion, the movement was primarily religious, first a protest against -abuses, next the demand for free privileges in the Gospel, followed by -restatements of belief and the establishment of new forms of worship. -Political changes followed in the train of the religious revolution, -because in most instances there was such close alliance between the -secular powers and the papacy that allegiance to the former was not -compatible with resistance to the latter. - -In England this process was reversed; political separation preceded the -religious changes; it was the alliance between the government and the -papacy that was first to break. The emancipation from the supremacy of -Rome was accomplished at a single stroke by the crown itself, and that -not upon moral grounds or doctrinal disagreement, but solely for -political advantage. In spite of tokens of spiritual unrest, there was no -sign of a disposition on the part of any considerable number of the -English people to sever their fealty to the Church of Rome when, in 1534, -Henry VIII. issued a royal edict repudiating the papal authority, and a -submissive Parliament decreed that "the king, our sovereign lord, his -heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and -reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England." The -English Church became in a day what it had often shown a desire to -become--a national Church, free from the arbitrary authority of an -Italian overlordship, the king instead of the pope at its head, with -supreme power in all matters of appointment and discipline, possessing -even the prerogative of deciding what should be the religious belief and -manner of worship in the realm. No doctrinal change was involved in this -proceeding; there was no implied admission of freedom of conscience or -religious toleration. The mediaeval conception of the necessity of -religious unanimity among all the subjects of the state--one single state -Church maintained in every precept and ordinance by the power of the -throne--was rigorously reasserted. The English Church had simply -exchanged one master for another, and had gained a spiritual tyranny to -which were attached no conceptions of right drawn from ancestral -association or historic tradition. - -The immediate occasion for this action on the part of Henry VIII. was, as -all know, his exasperation against Clement VII. on account of that pope's -refusal to sanction the king's iniquitous scheme of a divorce from his -faithful wife Catherine and a marriage with Anne Boleyn. This grievance -was doubtless a mere pretext, for a temper so imperious as that of Henry -could not permanently brook a divided loyalty in his kingdom. But since -Henry took occasion to proclaim anew the fundamental dogmas of the -Catholic Church, with the old bloody penalties against heresy, it would -not be proper to speak of him as the originator of the Reformation in -England. That event properly dates from the reign of his successor, -Edward VI. - -It was not possible, however, that in breaking the ties of hierarchical -authority which had endured for a thousand years the English Church -should not undergo further change. England had always been a more or less -refractory child of the Roman Church, and more than once the conception -of royal prerogative and national right had come into conflict with the -pretensions of the papacy, and the latter had not always emerged -victorious from the struggle. The old Germanic spirit of liberty and -individual determination, always especially strong in England, was -certain to assert itself when the great European intellectual awakening -of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had taken hold of the mass of -the people; and it might have been foreseen after Luther's revolt that -England would soon throw herself into the arms of the Reformation. The -teachings of Wiclif and the Lollards were still cherished at many English -fire-sides. Humanistic studies had begun to flourish under the auspices -of such men as Erasmus, Colet, and More, and humanism, as the natural foe -of superstition and obscurantism, was instinctively set against -ecclesiastical assumption. Lastly, the trumpet blast of Luther had found -an echo in many stout British hearts. The initiative of the crown, -however, forestalled events and changed their course, and instead of a -general rising of the people, the overthrow of every vestige of Romanism, -and the creation of a universal Calvinistic system, the conservatism and -moderation of Edward VI. and Elizabeth and their advisers retained so -much of external form and ceremony in the interest of dignity, and fixed -so firmly the pillars of episcopacy in the interest of stability and -order, that the kingdom found itself divided into two parties, and the -brief conflict between nationalism and Romanism was succeeded by the long -struggle between the Establishment, protected by the throne, and rampant, -all-levelling Puritanism. - -With the passage of the Act of Supremacy the Catholic and Protestant -parties began to align themselves for conflict. Henry VIII. at first -showed himself favorable to the Protestants, inclining to the acceptance -of the Bible as final authority instead of the decrees and traditions of -the Church. After the Catholic rebellion of 1536, however, the king -changed his policy, and with the passage of the Six Articles, which -decreed the doctrine of transubstantiation, the celibacy of the clergy, -the value of private masses, and the necessity of auricular confession, -he began a bloody persecution which ended only with his death. - -The boy king, Edward VI., who reigned from 1547 to 1553, had been won -over to Protestantism by Archbishop Cranmer, and with his accession -reforms in doctrine and ritual went on rapidly. Parliament was again -subservient, and a modified Lutheranism took possession of the English -Church. The people were taught from the English Bible, the Book of Common -Prayer took the place of Missal and Breviary; the Mass, compulsory -celibacy of the clergy, and worship of images were abolished, and -invocation of saints forbidden. We must observe that these changes, like -those effected by Henry VIII., were not brought about by popular pressure -under the leadership of great tribunes, but were decreed by the rulers of -the state, ratified by Parliament under due process of law, and enforced -by the crown under sanction of the Act of Supremacy. The revolution was -regular, peaceful, and legal, and none of the savage conflicts between -Catholics and Protestants which tore Germany, France, and the Netherlands -in pieces and drenched their soil with blood, ever occurred in England. -Amid such conditions reaction was easy. Under Mary (1553-1558) the old -religion and forms were reënacted, and a persecution, memorable for the -martyrdoms of Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Hooper, and other leaders of the -Protestant party, was carried on with ruthless severity, but without -weakening the cause of the reformed faith. Elizabeth (1558-1603) had no -pronounced religious convictions, but under the stress of European -political conditions she became of necessity a protector of the -Protestant cause. The reformed service was restored, and from Elizabeth's -day the Church of England has rested securely upon the constitutions of -Edward VI. - -With the purification and restatement of doctrine according to Protestant -principles was involved the question of the liturgy. There was no thought -on the part of the English reformers of complete separation from the -ancient communion and the establishment of a national Church upon an -entirely new theory. They held firmly to the conception of historic -Christianity; the episcopal succession extending back to the early ages -of the Church was not broken, the administration of the sacraments never -ceased. The Anglican Church was conceived as the successor of the -universal institution which, through her apostasy from the pure doctrine -of the apostles, had abrogated her claims upon the allegiance of the -faithful. Anglicanism contained in itself a continuation of the tradition -delivered to the fathers, with an open Bible, and the emancipation of the -reason; it was legitimate heir to what was noblest and purest in -Catholicism. This conception is strikingly manifest in the liturgy of the -Church of England, which is partly composed of materials furnished by the -office-books of the ancient Church, and in the beginning associated with -music in no way to be distinguished in style from the Catholic. The -prominence given to vestments, and to ceremonies calculated to impress -the senses, also points unmistakably to the conservative spirit which -forbade that the reform should in any way take on the guise of -revolution. - -The ritual of the Church of England is contained in a single volume, -_viz._, the Book of Common Prayer. It is divided into matins and -evensong, the office of Holy Communion, offices of confirmation and -ordination, and occasional offices. But little of this liturgy is -entirely original; the matins and evensong are compiled from the Catholic -Breviary, the Holy Communion with collects, epistles, and gospels from -the Missal, occasional offices from the Ritual, and the confirmation and -ordination offices from the Pontifical. All these offices, as compared -with the Catholic sources, are greatly modified and simplified. A vast -amount of legendary and unhistoric matter found in the Breviary has -disappeared, litanies to and invocations of the saints and the Virgin -Mary have been omitted. The offices proper to saints' days have -disappeared, the seven canonical hours are compressed to two, the space -given to selections from Holy Scripture greatly extended, and the English -language takes the place of Latin. - -In this dependence upon the offices of the mother Church for the ritual -of the new worship the English reformers, like Martin Luther, testified -to their conviction that they were purifiers and renovators of the -ancient faith and ceremony, not violent destroyers, seeking to win the -sympathies of their countrymen by deferring to old associations and -inherited prejudices, so far as consistent with reason and conscience. -Their sense of historic continuity is further shown in the fact that the -Breviaries which they consulted were those specially employed from early -times in England, particularly the use known as the "Sarum use," drawn up -and promulgated about 1085 by Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, and generally -adopted in the south of England, and which deviated in certain details -from the use of Rome. - -Propositions looking to the amendment of the service-books were brought -forward before the end of the reign of Henry VIII., and a beginning was -made by introducing the reading of small portions of the Scripture in -English. The Litany was the first of the prayers to be altered and set in -English, which was done by Cranmer, who had before him the old litanies -of the English Church, besides the "Consultation" of Hermann, archbishop -of Cologne (1543). - -With the accession of Edward VI. in 1547 the revolution in worship was -thoroughly confirmed, and in 1549 the complete Book of Common Prayer, -essentially in its modern form, was issued. A second and modified edition -was published in 1552 and ordered to be adopted in all the churches of -the kingdom. The old Catholic office-books were called in and destroyed, -the images were taken from the houses of worship, the altars removed and -replaced by communion tables, the vestments of the clergy were -simplified, and the whole conception of the service, as well as its -ceremonies, completely transformed. Owing to the accession of Mary in -1553 there was no time for the Prayer Book of 1552 to come into general -use. A third edition, somewhat modified, published in 1559, was one of -the earliest results of the accession of Elizabeth. Another revision -followed in 1604 under James I.; additions and alterations were made -under Charles II. in 1661-2. Since that date only very slight changes -have been made. - -The liturgy of the Church of England is composed, like the Catholic -liturgy, of both constant and variable offices, the latter, however, -being in a small minority. It is notable for the large space given to -reading from Holy Scripture, the entire Psalter being read through every -month, the New Testament three times a year, and the Old Testament once a -year. It includes a large variety of prayers, special psalms to be sung, -certain psalm-like hymns called canticles, the hymns comprising the chief -constant choral members of the Latin Mass, _viz._, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, -and Sanctus--the Te Deum, the ten commandments, a litany, besides short -sentences and responses known as versicles. In addition to the regular -morning and evening worship there are special series of offices for Holy -Communion and for particular occasions, such as ordinations, -confirmations, the burial service, etc. - -Although there is but one ritual common to all the congregations of the -established Church, one form of prayer and praise which ascends from -cathedral, chapel, and parish church alike, this service differs in -respect to the manner of rendering. The Anglican Church retained the -conception of the Catholic that the service is a musical service, that -the prayers, as well as the psalms, canticles, and hymns, are properly to -be given not in the manner of ordinary speech, but in musical tone. It -was soon found, however, that a full musical service, designed for the -more conservative and wealthy establishments, was not practicable in -small country parishes, and so in process of time three modes of -performing the service were authorized, _viz._, the choral or cathedral -mode, the parochial, and the mixed. - -The choral service is that used in the cathedrals, royal and college -chapels, and certain parish churches whose resources permit the adoption -of the same practice. In this mode everything except the lessons is -rendered in musical tone, from the monotoned prayers of the priest to the -figured chorus music of "service" and anthem. The essential parts of the -choral service, as classified by Dr. Jebb,[77] are as follows: - -1. The chanting by the minister of the sentences, exhortations, prayers, -and collects throughout the liturgy in a monotone, slightly varied by -occasional modulations. - -2. The alternate chant of the versicles and responses by minister and -choir. - -3. The alternate chant, by the two divisions of the choir, of the daily -psalms and of such as occur in the various offices of the Church. - -4. The singing of all the canticles and hymns, in the morning and evening -service, either to an alternated chant or to songs of a more intricate -style, resembling anthems in their construction, and which are -technically styled "services." - -5. The singing of the anthem after the third collect in both morning and -evening prayer. - -6. The alternate chanting of the litany by the minister and choir. - -7. The singing of the responses after the commandments in the Communion -service. - -8. The singing of the creed, Gloria in excelsis, and Sanctus in the -Communion service anthem-wise. [The Sanctus has in recent years been -superseded by a short anthem or hymn.] - -9. The chanting or singing of those parts in the occasional offices which -are rubrically permitted to be sung. - -In this manner of worship the Church of England conforms to the general -usage of liturgic churches throughout the world in ancient and modern -times, by implication honoring that conception of the intimate union of -word and tone in formal authorized worship which has been expounded in -the chapters on the Catholic music and ritual. Since services are held on -week days as well as on Sundays in the cathedrals, and since there are -two full choral services, each involving an almost unbroken current of -song from clergy and choir, this usage involves a large and thoroughly -trained establishment, which is made possible by the endowments of the -English cathedrals. - -The parochial service is that used in the smaller churches where it is -not possible to maintain an endowed choir. "According to this mode the -accessories of divine service necessary towards its due performance are -but few and simple." "As to the ministers, the stated requirements of -each parochial church usually contemplate but one, the assistant clergy -and members of choirs being rarely objects of permanent endowment." "As -to the mode of performing divine service, the strict parochial mode -consists in reciting all parts of the liturgy in the speaking tone of the -voice unaccompanied by music. According to this mode no chant, or -canticle, or anthem, properly so called, is employed; but metrical -versions of the psalms are sung at certain intervals between the various -offices." (Jebb.) - -This mode is not older than 1549, for until the Reformation the Plain -Chant was used in parish churches. The singing of metrical psalms dates -from the reign of Elizabeth. - -The mixed mode is less simple than the parochial; parts of the service -are sung by a choir, but the prayers, creeds, litany, and responses are -recited in speaking voice. It may be said, however, that the parochial -and the mixed modes are optional and permitted as matters of convenience. -There is no law that forbids any congregation to adopt any portion or -even the whole of the choral mode. In these variations, to which we find -nothing similar in the Catholic Church, may be seen the readiness of the -fathers of the Anglican Church to compromise with Puritan tendencies and -guard against those reactions which, as later history shows, are -constantly urging sections of the English Church back to extreme -ritualistic practices. - -The music of the Anglican Church follows the three divisions into which -church music in general may be separated, _viz._, the chant, the figured -music of the choir, and the congregational hymn. - -The history of the Anglican chant may also be taken to symbolize the -submerging of the ancient priestly idea in the representative conception -of the clerical office, for the chant has proved itself a very flexible -form of expression, both in structure and usage, endeavoring to connect -itself sometimes with the anthem-like choir song and again with the -congregational hymn. In the beginning, however, the method of chanting -exactly followed the Catholic form. Two kinds of chant were -employed,--the simple unaccompanied Plain Song of the minister, which is -almost monotone; and the accompanied chant, more melodious and florid, -employed in the singing of the psalms, canticles, litany, etc., by the -choir or by the minister and choir. - -The substitution of English for Latin and the sweeping modification of -the liturgy did not in the least alter the system and principle of -musical rendering which had existed in the Catholic Church. The litany, -the oldest portion of the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Cranmer and -published in 1544, was set for singing note for note from the ancient -Plain Song. In 1550 a musical setting was given to all parts of the -Prayer Book by John Marbecke, a well-known musician of that period. He, -like Cranmer, adapted portions of the old Gregorian chant, using only the -plainer forms. In Marbecke's book we find the simplest style, consisting -of monotone, employed for the prayers and the Apostles' Creed, a larger -use of modulation in the recitation of the psalms, and a still more -song-like manner in the canticles and those portions, such as the Kyrie -and Gloria, taken from the mass. To how great an extent this music of -Marbecke was employed in the Anglican Church in the sixteenth century is -not certainly known. Certain parts of it gave way to the growing fondness -for harmonized and figured music in all parts of the service, but so far -as Plain Chant has been retained in the cathedral service the setting of -Marbecke has established the essential form down to the present day.[78] - -The most marked distinction between the choral mode of performing the -service, and those divergent usages which have often been conceived as a -protest against it, consists in the practice of singing or monotoning the -prayers by the minister. The notion of impersonality which underlies the -liturgic conception of worship everywhere, the merging of the individual -in an abstract, idealized, comprehensive entity--the Church--is -symbolized in this custom. Notwithstanding the fact that the large -majority of congregational hymns are really prayers, and that in this -case the offering of prayer in metrical form and in musical strains has -always been admitted by all ranks of Christians as perfectly appropriate, -yet there has always seemed to a large number of English Protestants -something artificial and even irreverent in the delivery of prayer in an -unchanging musical note, in which expression is lost in the abandonment -of the natural inflections of speech. Here is probably the cause of the -repugnant impression,--not because the utterance is musical in tone, but -because it is monotonous and unexpressive. - -It is of interest to note the reasons for this practice as given by -representative English churchmen, since the motive for the usage touches -the very spirit and significance of a ritualistic form of worship. - -Dr. Bisse, in his _Rationale on Cathedral Worship_, justifies the -practice on the ground (1) of necessity, since the great size of the -cathedral churches obliges the minister to use a kind of tone that can be -heard throughout the building; (2) of uniformity, in order that the -voices of the congregation may not jostle and confuse each other; and (3) -of the advantage in preventing imperfections and inequalities of -pronunciation on the part of both minister and people. Other reasons -which are more mystical, and probably on that account still more cogent -to the mind of the ritualist, are also given by this writer. "It is -emblematic," he says, "of the delight which Christians have in the law of -God. It bespeaks the cheerfulness of our Christian profession, as -contrasted with that of the Gentiles. It gives to divine worship a -greater dignity by separating it more from all actions and interlocutions -that are common and familiar. It is more efficacious to awaken the -attention, to stir up the affections, and to edify the understanding than -plain reading." And Dr. Jebb puts the case still more definitely when he -says: "In the Church of England the lessons are not chanted, but read. -The instinctive good taste of the revisers of the liturgy taught them -that the lessons, being narratives, orations, records of appeals to men, -or writings of an epistolary character, require that method of reading -which should be, within due bounds, imitative. But with the prayers the -case is far different. These are uttered by the minister of God, not as -an individual, but as the instrument and channel of petitions which are -of perpetual obligation, supplications for all those gifts of God's grace -which are needful for all mankind while this frame of things shall last. -The prayers are not, like the psalms and canticles, the expression, the -imitation, or the record of the hopes and fears, of the varying -sentiments, of the impassioned thanksgivings, of the meditative musings -of inspired individuals, or of holy companies of men or angels; they are -the unchangeable voice of the Church of God, seeking through one eternal -Redeemer gifts that shall be for everlasting. And hence the uniformity of -tone in which she seeks them is significant of the unity of spirit which -teaches the Church universal so to pray, of the unity of means by which -her prayers are made available, of the perfect unity with God her Father -which shall be her destiny in the world to come." - -The word "chant" as used in the English Church (to be in strictness -distinguished from the priestly monotoning), signifies the short melodies -which are sung to the psalms and canticles. The origin of the Anglican -chant system is to be found in the ancient Gregorian chant, of which it -is only a slight modification. It is a sort of musically delivered -speech, the punctuation and rate of movement being theoretically the same -as in spoken discourse. Of all the forms of religious music the chant is -least susceptible to change and progress, and the modern Anglican chant -bears the plainest marks of its mediaeval origin. The modifications which -distinguish the new from the old may easily be seen upon comparing a -modern English chant-book with an office-book of the Catholic Church. In -place of the rhythmic freedom of the Gregorian, with its frequent florid -passages upon a single syllable, we find in the Anglican a much greater -simplicity and strictness, and also, it must be admitted, a much greater -melodic monotony and dryness. The English chant is almost entirely -syllabic, even two notes to a syllable are rare, while there is nothing -remotely corresponding to the melismas of the Catholic liturgic song. The -bar lines, unknown in the Roman chant, give the English form much greater -steadiness of movement. The intonation of the Gregorian chant has been -dropped, the remaining four divisions--recitation, mediation, second -recitation, and ending--retained. The Anglican chant is of two kinds, -single and double. A single chant comprises one verse of a psalm; it -consists of two melodic strains, the first including three measures, the -second four. A double chant is twice the length of a single chant, and -includes two verses of a psalm, the first ending being an incomplete -cadence. The double chant is an English invention; it is unknown in the -Gregorian system. The objections to it are obvious, since the two verses -of a psalm which may be comprised in the chant often differ in sentiment. - -The manner of fitting the words to the notes of the chant is called -"pointing." There is no authoritative method of pointing in the Church of -England, and there is great disagreement and controversy on the subject -in the large number of chant-books that are used in England and America. -In the cathedral service the chants are sung antiphonally, the two -divisions of the chorus answering each other from opposite sides of the -choir. - -There are large numbers of so-called chants which are more properly to be -called hymns or anthems in chant style, such as the melodies sometimes -sung to the Te Deum and the Gloria in excelsis. These compositions may -consist of any number of divisions, each comprising the three-measure and -four-measure members found in the single chant. - -The modern Anglican chant form is not so old as commonly supposed. The -ancient Gregorian chants for the psalms and canticles were in universal -use as late as the middle of the seventeenth century. The modern chant -was of course a gradual development, and was the inevitable result of the -harmonization of the old chant melodies according to the new system with -its corresponding balancing points of tonic and dominant. A few of the -Anglican chants sung at the present day go back to the time of the -Restoration, that is, soon after 1660; the larger number date from the -eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The modern chant, however, has never -been able entirely to supplant the ancient Plain Song melody. The -"Gregorian" movement in the Church of England, one of the results of the -ritualistic reaction inaugurated by the Oxford Tractarian agitation, -although bitterly opposed both on musical grounds and perhaps still more -through alarm over the tendencies which it symbolizes, has apparently -become firmly established; and even in quarters where there is little -sympathy with the ritualistic movement, musical and ecclesiastical -conservatism unites with a natural reverence for the historic past to -preserve in constant use the venerated relics of early days. Sir John -Stainer voiced the sentiment of many leading English musical churchmen -when he said: "I feel very strongly that the beautiful Plain Song -versicles, responses, inflections, and prefaces to our prayers and -liturgy should not be lightly thrown aside. These simple and grand -specimens of Plain Song, so suited to their purpose, so reverent in their -subdued emotion, appeal to us for their protection. The Plain Song of the -prefaces of our liturgy as sung now in St. Paul's cathedral are note for -note the same that rang at least eight hundred years ago through the -vaulted roof of that ancient cathedral which crowned the summit of the -fortified hill of old Salisbury. Not a stone remains of wall or shrine, -but the old Sarum office-books have survived, from which we can draw -ancient hymns and Plain Song as from a pure fount. Those devout monks -recorded all their beautiful offices and the music of these offices, -because they were even then venerable and venerated. Shall we throw them -into the fire to make room for neat and appropriate excogitations, fresh -from the blotting-pad of Mr. A, or Dr. B, or the Reverend C, or Miss D?" - -It must be acknowledged, however, that the Gregorian chant melodies -undergo decided modification in spirit and impression when set to English -words. In their pure state their strains are thoroughly conformed to the -structure and flow of the Latin texts from which they grew. There is -something besides tradition and association that makes them appear -somewhat forced and ill at ease when wedded to a modern language. As -Curwen says: "In its true form the Gregorian chant has no bars or -measures; the time and the accent are verbal, not musical. Each note of -the mediation or the ending is emphatic or non-emphatic, according to the -word or syllable to which it happens to be sung. The endings which follow -the recitation do not fall into musical measures, but are as unrhythmical -as the reciting tone itself. Modern music, and the instinctive observance -of rhythm which is an essential part of it, have modified the old chant -and given it accent and time. The reason why the attempt to adapt the -Gregorian tones to the English language has resulted in their -modification is not far to seek. The non-accented system suits Latin and -French, but not English. Aside from the instinct for time, and the desire -to make a 'tune' of the chant, which is a part of human nature, it is a -feature of the English language that in speaking we pass from accent to -accent and elide the intervening syllables. The first attempts to adapt -the Gregorian tones to English use proceeded strictly upon the plan of -one syllable to a note. Of however many notes the mediation or cadence of -the chant consisted, that number of syllables was marked off from the end -of each half-verse, and the recitation ended when they were reached."[79] -The attempt to sing in this fashion, Curwen goes on to show, resulted in -the greatest violence to English pronunciation. In order to avoid this, -slurs, which are no part of the Gregorian system proper, were employed to -bring the accented syllables upon the first of the measure. - -Doubtless the fundamental and certainly praiseworthy motive of those who -strongly desire to reintroduce the Gregorian melodies into the Anglican -service is to establish once for all a body of liturgic tones which are -pure, noble, and eminently fitting in character, endowed at the same time -with venerable ecclesiastical associations which shall become fixed and -authoritative, and thus an insurmountable barrier against the intrusion -of the ephemeral novelties of "the Reverend C and Miss D." Every -intelligent student of religious art may well say Amen to such a desire. -As the case now stands there is no law or custom that prevents any -minister or cantor from introducing into the service any chant-tune which -he chooses to invent or adopt. Neither is there any authority that has -the right to select any system or body of liturgic song and compel its -introduction. The Gregorian movement is an attempt to remedy this -palpable defect in the Anglican musical system. It is evident that this -particular solution of the difficulty can never generally prevail. Any -effort, however, which tends to restrict the number of chants in use, and -establish once for all a store of liturgic melodies which is preëminently -worthy of the historic associations and the conservative aims of the -Anglican Church, should receive the hearty support of English musicians -and churchmen. - -If Marbecke's unison chants were intended as a complete scheme for the -musical service, they were at any rate quickly swallowed up by the -universal demand for harmonized music, and the choral service of the -Church of England very soon settled into the twofold classification which -now prevails, _viz._, the harmonized chant and the more elaborate figured -setting of "service" and anthem. The former dates from 1560, when John -Day's psalter was published, containing three and four-part settings of -old Plain Song melodies, contributed by Tallis, Shepherd, and other -prominent musicians of the time. From the very outset of the adoption of -the vernacular in all parts of the service, that is to say from the reign -of Edward VI., certain selected psalms and canticles, technically known -as "services," were sung anthem-wise in the developed choral style of the -highest musical science of the day. The components of the "service" are -to be distinguished from the daily psalms which are always sung in -antiphonal chant form, and may be said to correspond to the choral -unvarying portions of the Catholic Mass. The "service" in its fullest -form includes the Venite (Ps. xcv.), Te Deum, Benedicite (Song of the -Three Children, from the Greek continuation of the book of Daniel), -Benedictus (Song Of Zacharias), Jubilate (Ps. c.), Kyrie eleison, Nicene -Creed, Sanctus, Gloria in excelsis, Magnificat (Song of Mary), Cantate -Domino (Ps. xcviii.), Nunc dimittis (Song of Simeon), and the Deus -Misereatur (Ps. lxvii). Of these the Venite, Benedicite, and the Sanctus -have in recent times fallen out. These psalms and canticles are divided -between the morning and evening worship, and not all of them are -obligatory. - -The "service," in respect to musical style, has moved step by step with -the anthem, from the strict contrapuntal style of the sixteenth century, -to that of the present with all its splendor of harmony and orchestral -color. It has engaged the constant attention of the multitude of English -church composers, and it has more than rivalled the anthem in the zealous -regard of the most eminent musicians, from the time of Tallis and Gibbons -to the present day. - -The anthem, although an almost exact parallel to the "service" in musical -construction, stands apart, liturgically, from the rest of the service in -the Church of England, in that while all the other portions are laid down -in the Book of Common Prayer, the words of the anthem are not prescribed. -The Prayer Book merely says after the third collect, "In quires and -places where they sing here followeth the anthem." What the anthem shall -be at any particular service is left to the determination of the choir -master, but it is commonly understood, and in some dioceses is so -decreed, that the words of the anthem shall be taken from the Scripture -or the Book of Common Prayer. This precept, however, is frequently -transgressed, and many anthems have been written to words of metrical -hymns. The restriction of the anthem texts to selections from the Bible -or the liturgy is designed to exclude words that are unfamiliar to the -people or unauthorized by ecclesiastical authority. Even with these -limitations the freedom of choice on the part of the musical director -serves to withdraw the anthem from that vital organic connection with the -liturgy held by the "service," and it is not infrequently omitted from -the daily office altogether. The object of the fathers of the Church of -England in admitting so exceptional a musical composition into the -service was undoubtedly to give the worship more variety, and to relieve -the fatigue that would otherwise result from a long unbroken series of -prayers. - -The anthem, although the legitimate successor of the Latin motet, has -taken in England a special and peculiar form. According to its derivation -(from ant-hymn, responsive or alternate song) the word anthem was at -first synonymous with antiphony. The modern form, succeeding the ancient -choral motet, dates from about the time of Henry Purcell (1658-1695). The -style was confirmed by Händel, who in his celebrated Chandos anthems -first brought the English anthem into European recognition. The anthem in -its present shape is a sort of mixture of the ancient motet and the -German cantata. From the motet it derives its broad and artistically -constructed choruses, while the influence of the cantata is seen in its -solos and instrumental accompaniment. As the modern anthem is free and -ornate, giving practically unlimited scope for musical invention, it has -been cultivated with peculiar ardor by the English church composers, and -the number of anthems of varying degrees of merit or demerit which have -been produced in England would baffle the wildest estimate. This style of -music has been largely adopted in the churches of America, and American -composers have imitated it, often with brilliant success. - -The form of anthem in which the entire body of singers is employed from -beginning to end is technically known as the "full" anthem. In another -form, called the "verse" anthem, portions are sung by selected voices. A -"solo" anthem contains passages for a single voice. - -The anthem of the Church of England has been more or less affected by the -currents of secular music, but to a much slighter extent than the -Catholic mass. The opera has never taken the commanding position in -England which it has held in the Catholic countries, and only in rare -cases have the English church composers, at any rate since the time of -Händel, felt their allegiance divided between the claims of religion and -the attractions of the stage. In periods of religious depression or -social frivolity the church anthem has sometimes become weak and shallow, -but the ancient austere traditions have never been quite abrogated. The -natural conservatism of the English people, especially in matters of -churchly usage, and their tenacious grasp upon the proper distinction -between religious and profane art, while acting to the benefit of the -anthem and "service" on the side of dignity and appropriateness in style, -have had a correspondingly unfavorable influence so far as progress and -sheer musical quality are concerned. One who reads through large numbers -of English church compositions cannot fail to be impressed by their -marked similarity in style and the rarity of features that indicate any -striking originality. This monotony and predominance of conventional -commonplace must be largely attributed, of course, to the absence of real -creative force in English music; but it is also true that even if such -creative genius existed, it would hardly feel free to take liberties with -those strict canons of taste which have become embedded in the unwritten -laws of Anglican musical procedure. In spite of these limitations English -church music does not wholly deserve the obloquy that has been cast upon -it by certain impatient critics. That it has not rivalled the Catholic -mass, nor adopted the methods that have transformed secular music in the -modern era is not altogether to its discredit. Leaving out the wonderful -productions of Sebastian Bach (which, by the way, are no longer heard in -church service in Germany), the music of the Church of England is amply -worthy of comparison with that of the German Evangelical Church; and in -abundance, musical value, and conformity to the ideals which have always -governed public worship in its noblest estate, it is entitled to be -ranked as one of the four great historic schools of Christian worship -music. - -England had not been lacking in eminent composers for the Church before -the Reformation, but their work was in the style which then prevailed all -over Europe. Some of these writers could hold their own with the -Netherlanders in point of learning. England held an independent position -during "the age of the Netherlanders" in that the official musical posts -in the schools and chapels were held by native Englishmen, and not, as -was so largely the case on the continent, by men of Northern France and -Flanders or their pupils. This fact speaks much for the inherent force of -English music, but the conditions of musical culture at that time did not -encourage any originality of style or new efforts after expression. - -The continental development of the polyphonic school to its perfection in -the sixteenth century was paralleled in England; and since the English -Reformation was contemporary with this musical apogee, the newly founded -national Church possessed in such men as Tallis, Byrd, Tye, Gibbons, and -others only less conspicuous, a group of composers not unworthy to stand -beside Palestrina and Lassus. It is indeed good fortune for the Church of -England that its musical traditions have been founded by such men. Thomas -Tallis, the most eminent of the circle, who died in 1585, devoted his -talents almost entirely to the Church. In science he was not inferior to -his continental compeers, and his music is preëminently stately and -solid. Besides the large number of motets, "services," etc., which he -contributed to the Church, he is now best remembered by the harmonies -added by him to the Plain Song of the old régime. Tallis must therefore -be regarded as the chief of the founders of the English harmonized chant. -His tunes arranged for Day's psalter give him an honorable place also in -the history of English psalmody. - -Notwithstanding the revolutions in the authorized ceremony of the Church -of England during the stormy Reformation period, from the revised -constitutions of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. to the restored Catholicism -of Mary, and back to Protestantism again under Elizabeth, the salaried -musicians of the Church retained their places while their very seats -seemed often to rock beneath them, writing alternately for the Catholic -and Protestant services with equal facility, and with equal satisfaction -to themselves and their patrons. It was a time when no one could tell at -any moment to what doctrine or discipline he might be commanded to -subscribe, and many held themselves ready loyally to accept the faith of -the sovereign as their own. Such were the ideas of the age that the -claims of uniformity could honestly be held as paramount to those of -individual judgment. Only those who combined advanced thinking with -fearless independence of character were able to free themselves from the -prevailing sophistry on this matter of conformity _vs._ freedom. Even a -large number of the clergy took the attitude of compliance to authority, -and it is often a matter of wonder to readers of the history of this -period to see how comparatively few changes were made in the incumbencies -of ecclesiastical livings in the shifting triumphs of the hostile -confessions. If this were the case with the clergy it is not surprising -that the church musicians should have been still more complaisant. The -style of music performed in the new worship, we must remember, hardly -differed in any respect from that in use under the old system. The -organists and choir masters were not called upon to mingle in theological -controversies, and they had probably learned discretion from the -experience of John Marbecke, who came near to being burned at the stake -for his sympathy with Calvinism. As in Germany, there was no necessary -conflict between the musical practices of Catholics and Protestants. The -real animosity on the point of liturgies and music was not between -Anglicans and Catholics, but between Anglicans and Puritans. - -The old polyphonic school came to an end with Orlando Gibbons in 1625. No -conspicuous name appears in the annals of English church music until we -meet that of Henry Purcell, who was born in 1658 and died in 1695. We -have made a long leap from the Elizabethan period, for the first half of -the seventeenth century was a time of utter barrenness in the neglected -fields of art. The distracted state of the kingdom during the reign of -Charles I., the Great Rebellion, and the ascendency of the Puritans under -Cromwell made progress in the arts impossible, and at one time their very -existence seemed threatened. A more hopeful era began with the -restoration of the Stuarts in 1660. Charles II. had spent some years in -France after the ruin of his father's cause, and upon his triumphant -return he encouraged those light French styles in art and literature -which were so congenial to his character. He was a devotee of music after -his fashion; he warmly encouraged it in the Royal Chapel, and a number of -skilful musicians came from the boy choirs of this establishment. - -The earliest anthems of the Anglican Church were, like the Catholic -motet, unaccompanied. The use of the organ and orchestral instruments -followed soon after the middle of the seventeenth century. No such school -of organ playing arose in England as that which gave such glory to -Germany in the same period. The organ remained simply a support to the -voices, and attained no distinction as a solo instrument. Even in -Händel's day and long after, few organs in England had a complete pedal -board; many had none at all. The English anthem has always thrown greater -proportionate weight upon the vocal element as compared with the Catholic -mass and the German cantata. In the Restoration period the orchestra came -prominently forward in the church worship, and not only were elaborate -accompaniments employed for the anthem, but performances of orchestral -instruments were given at certain places in the service. King Charles -II., who, to use the words of Dr. Tudway, was "a brisk and airy prince," -did not find the severe solemnity of the _a capella_ style of Tallis and -Gibbons at all to his liking. Under the patronage of "the merry monarch," -the brilliant style, then in fashion on the continent, flourished apace. -Henry Purcell, the most gifted of this school, probably the most highly -endowed musical genius that has ever sprung from English soil, was a man -of his time, preëminent likewise in opera, and much of his church music -betrays the influence of the gay atmosphere which he breathed. But his -profound musicianship prevented him from degrading his art to the level -of the prevailing taste of the royal court, and much of his religious -music is reckoned even at the present day among the choicest treasures of -English art. As a chorus writer he is one of the first of the moderns, -and one who would trace Händel's oratorio style to its sources must take -large account of the church works of Henry Purcell. - -With the opening of the eighteenth century the characteristics of the -English anthem of the present day were virtually fixed. The full, the -verse, and the solo anthem were all in use, and the accompanied style had -once for all taken the place of the _a capella_. During the eighteenth -and early part of the nineteenth centuries English choir music offers -nothing especially noteworthy, unless we except the Te Deums and -so-called anthems of Händel, whose style is, however, that of the -oratorio rather than church music in the proper sense. - -The works of Hayes, Attwood, Boyce, Greene, Battishill, Crotch, and -others belonging to the period between the middle of the eighteenth and -the middle of the nineteenth centuries are solid and respectable, but as -a rule dry and perfunctory. A new era began with the passing of the first -third of the nineteenth century, when a higher inspiration seized English -church music. The work of the English cathedral school of the second half -of the nineteenth century is highly honorable to the English Church and -people. A vast amount of it is certainly the barrenest and most -unpromising of routine manufacture, for every incumbent of an organist's -post throughout the kingdom, however obscure, feels that his dignity -requires him to contribute his quota to the enormously swollen -accumulation of anthems and "services." But in this numerous company we -find the names of such men as Goss, Bennett, Hopkins, Monk, Barnby, -Sullivan, Smart, Tours, Stainer, Garrett, Martin, Bridge, Stanford, -Mackenzie, and others not less worthy, who have endowed the choral -service with richer color and more varied and appealing expression. This -brilliant advance may be connected with the revival of spirituality and -zeal in the English Church which early in the nineteenth century -succeeded to the drowsy indifference of the eighteenth; but we must not -push such coincidences too far. The church musician must always draw some -of his inspiration from within the institution which he serves, but we -have seen that while the religious folk-song is stimulated only by deep -and widespread enthusiasm, the artistic music of the Church is dependent -rather upon the condition of music at large. The later progress in -English church music is identified with the forward movement in all -European music which began with the symphonies of Beethoven, the operas -of Weber and the French masters, and the songs of Schubert, and which was -continued in Berlioz, Wagner, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and the -still more recent national schools. England has shared this uplift of -taste and creative activity; her composers are also men of the new time. -English cathedral music enters the world-current which sets towards a -more intense and personal expression. The austere traditions of the -Anglican Church restrain efforts after the brilliant and emotional within -distinctly marked boundaries. Its music can never, as the Catholic mass -has often done, relapse into the tawdry and sensational; but the English -church composers have recognized that the Church and its art exist for -the people, and that the changing standards of beauty as they arise in -the popular mind must be considered, while at the same time the serene -and elevated tone which makes church music truly churchly must be -reverently preserved. This, as I understand it, is the motive, more or -less conscious, which actuates the Church of England composers, -organists, and directors of the present day. They have not yet succeeded -in bringing forth works of decided genius, but they have certainly laid a -foundation so broad, and so compounded of durable elements, that if the -English race is capable of producing a master of the first rank in -religious music he will not be compelled to take any radical departure, -nor to create the taste by which he will be appreciated. - -English church music has never been in a more satisfactory condition than -it is to-day. There is no other country in which religious music is so -highly honored, so much the basis of the musical life of the people. The -organists and choir masters connected with the cathedrals and the -university and royal chapels are men whose character and intellectual -attainments would make them ornaments to any walk of life. The -deep-rooted religious reverence which enters into the substance of -English society, the admiration for intellect and honesty, the healthful -conservatism, the courtliness of speech, the solidity of culture which -comes from inherited wealth largely devoted to learning and the -embellishment of public and private life,--have all permeated -ecclesiastical art and ceremony, and have imparted to them an ideal -dignity which is as free from superstition as it is from vulgarity. The -music of the Church of England, like all church music, must be considered -in connection with its history and its liturgic attachments. It is -inseparably associated with a ritual of singular stateliness and beauty, -and with an architecture in cathedral and chapel in which the -recollections of a heroic and fading past unite with a grandeur of -structure and beauty of detail to weave an overmastering spell upon the -mind. Church music, I must constantly repeat, is never intended to -produce its impression alone. Before we ever allow ourselves to call any -phase of it dry and uninteresting let us hear it actually or in -imagination amid its native surroundings. As we mentally connect the -Gregorian chant and the Italian choral music of the sixteenth century -with all the impressive framework of their ritual, hearing within them -the echoes of the prayers of fifteen hundred years; as the music of Bach -and his contemporaries stands forth in only moderate relief from the -background of a Protestantism in which scholasticism and mysticism are -strangely blended,--so the Anglican chant and anthem are venerable with -the associations of three centuries of conflict and holy endeavor. -Complex and solemnizing are the suggestions which strike across the mind -of the student of church history as he hears in a venerable English -cathedral the lofty strains which might elsewhere seem commonplace, but -which in their ancestral home are felt to be the natural speech of an -institution which has found in such structures its fitting habitation. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - CONGREGATIONAL SONG IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA - - -The revised liturgy and musical service of the Church of England had not -been long in operation when they encountered adversaries far more bitter -and formidable than the Catholics. The Puritans, who strove to effect a -radical overturning in ecclesiastical affairs, to reduce worship to a -prosaic simplicity, and also to set up a more democratic form of church -government, violently assailed the established Church as half papist. The -contest between the antagonistic principles, Ritualism _vs._ Puritanism, -Anglicanism _vs._ Presbyterianism, broke out under Elizabeth, but was -repressed by her strong hand only to increase under the weaker James I., -and to culminate with the overthrow of Charles I. and the temporary -triumph of Puritanism. - -The antipathy of the Puritan party to everything formal, ceremonial, and -artistic in worship was powerfully promoted, if not originally instigated -by John Calvin, the chief fountain-head of the Puritan doctrine and -polity. The extraordinary personal ascendency of Calvin was shown not -only in the adoption of his theological system by so large a section of -the Protestant world, but also in the fact that his opinions concerning -the ideal and method of public worship were treated with almost equal -reverence, and in many localities have held sway down to the present -time. Conscious, perhaps to excess, of certain harmful tendencies in -ritualism, he proclaimed that everything formal and artistic in worship -was an offence to God; he clung to this belief with characteristic -tenacity and enforced it upon all the congregations under his rule. -Instruments of music and trained choirs were to him abomination, and the -only musical observance permitted in the sanctuary was the singing by the -congregation of metrical translations of the psalms. - -The Geneva psalter had a very singular origin. In 1538 Clement Marot, a -notable poet at the court of Francis I. of France, began for his -amusement to make translations of the psalms into French verse, and had -them set to popular tunes. Marot was not exactly in the odor of sanctity. -The popularization of the Hebrew lyrics was a somewhat remarkable whim on -the part of a writer in whose poetry is reflected the levity of his time -much more than its virtues. As Van Laun says, he was "at once a pedant -and a vagabond, a scholar and a merry-andrew. He translated the -penitential psalms and Ovid's Metamorphoses; he wrote the praises of St. -Christina and sang the triumphs of Cupid." His psalms attained -extraordinary favor at the dissolute court. Each of the royal family and -the courtiers chose a psalm. Prince Henry, who was fond of hunting, -selected "Like as the hart desireth the water brooks." The king's -mistress, Diana of Poitiers, chose the 130th psalm, "Out of the depths -have I cried to thee, O Lord." This fashion was, however, short-lived, -for the theological doctors of the Sorbonne, those keen heresy hunters, -became suspicious that there was some mysterious connection between -Marot's psalms and the detestable Protestant doctrines, and in 1543 the -unfortunate poet fled for safety to Calvin's religious commonwealth at -Geneva. Calvin had already the year before adopted thirty-five of Marot's -psalms for the use of his congregation. Marot, after his arrival at -Geneva, translated twenty more, which were characteristically dedicated -to the ladies of France. Marot died in 1544, and the task of translating -the remaining psalms was committed by Calvin to Theodore de Beza (or -Bèze), a man of a different stamp from Marot, who had become a convert to -the reformed doctrines and had been appointed professor of Greek in the -new university at Lusanne. In the year 1552 Beza's work was finished, and -the Geneva psalter, now complete, was set to old French tunes which were -taken, like many of the German chorals, from popular secular songs. The -attribution of certain of these melodies, adopted into modern hymn-books, -to Guillaume Franc and Louis Bourgeois is entirely unauthorized. The most -celebrated of these anonymous tunes is the doxology in long metre, known -in England and America as the Old Hundredth, although it is set in the -Marot-Beza psalter not to the 100th psalm but to the 134th. These psalms -were at first sung in unison, unharmonized, but between 1562 and 1565 the -melodies were set in four-part counterpoint, the melody in the tenor -according to the custom of the day. This was the work of Claude Goudimel, -a Netherlander, one of the foremost musicians of his time, who, coming -under suspicion of sympathy with the Huguenot party, perished in the -massacre on St. Bartholomew's night in 1572. - -A visitor to Geneva in 1557 wrote as follows: "A most interesting sight -is offered in the city on the week days, when the hour for the sermon -approaches. As soon as the first sound of the bell is heard all shops are -closed, all conversation ceases, all business is broken off, and from all -sides the people hasten into the nearest meeting-house. There each one -draws from his pocket a small book which contains the psalms with notes, -and out of full hearts, in the native speech, the congregation sings -before and after the sermon. Everyone testifies to me how great -consolation and edification is derived from this custom." - -Such was the origin of the Calvinistic psalmody, which holds so prominent -a place in the history of religious culture, not from any artistic value -in its products, but as the chosen and exclusive form of praise employed -for the greater part of two centuries by the Reformed Churches of -Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands, and the Puritan congregations -of England, Scotland, and America. On the poetic side it sufficed for -Calvin, for he said that the psalms are the anatomy of the human heart, a -mirror in which every pious mood of the soul is reflected. - -It is a somewhat singular anomaly that the large liberty given to the -Lutheran Christians to express their religious convictions and impulses -in hymns of their own spontaneous production or choosing was denied to -the followers of Calvin. Our magnificent heritage of English hymns was -not founded amid the Reformation struggles, and thus we have no lyrics -freighted with the priceless historic associations which consecrate in -the mind of a German the songs of a Luther and a Gerhardt. Efficacious as -the Calvinistic psalmody has been in many respects, the repression of a -free poetic impulse in the Protestant Churches of Great Britain and -America for so long a period undoubtedly tended to narrow the religious -sympathies, and must be given a certain share of responsibility for the -hardness of temper fostered by the Calvinistic system. The reason given -for the prohibition, _viz._, that only "inspired" words should be used in -the service of praise, betrayed a strange obtuseness to the most urgent -demands of the Christian heart in forbidding the very mention of Christ -and the Gospel message in the song of his Church. In spite of this almost -unaccountable self-denial, if such it was, we may, in the light of -subsequent history, ascribe an appropriateness to the metrical versions -of the psalms of which even Calvin could hardly have been aware. It was -given to Calvinism to furnish a militia which, actuated by a different -principle than the Lutheran repugnance to physical resistance, could meet -political Catholicism in the open field and maintain its rights amid the -shock of arms. In this fleshly warfare it doubtless drew much of its -martial courage from those psalms which were ascribed to a bard who was -himself a military chieftain and an avenger of blood upon his enemies. - -The unemotional unison tunes to which these rhymed psalms were set also -satisfied the stern demands of those rigid zealots, who looked upon every -appeal to the aesthetic sensibility in worship as an enticement to -compromise with popery. Before condemning such a position as this we -should take into account the natural effect upon a conscientious and -high-spirited people of the fierce persecution to which they were -subjected, and the hatred which they would inevitably feel toward -everything associated with what was to them corruption and tyranny. - -We must, therefore, recognize certain conditions of the time working in -alliance with the authority of Calvin to bring into vogue a conception -and method of public worship absolutely in contradiction to the almost -universal usage of mankind, and nullifying the general conviction, we -might almost say the instinct, in favor of the employment in devotion of -those artistic agencies by which the religious emotion is ordinarily so -strongly moved. For the first time in the history of the Christian -Church, at any rate for the first time upon a conspicuous or extensive -scale, we find a party of religionists abjuring on conscientious grounds -all employment of art in the sanctuary. Beginning in an inevitable and -salutary reaction against the excessive development of the sensuous and -formal, the hostility to everything that may excite the spirit to a -spontaneous joy in beautiful shape and color and sound was exalted into a -universally binding principle. With no reverence for the conception of -historic development and Christian tradition, the supposed simplicity of -the apostolic practice was assumed to be a constraining law upon all -later generations. The Scriptures were taken not only as a rule of faith -and conduct, but also as a law of universal obligation in the matter of -church government and discipline. The expulsion of organs and the -prohibition of choirs was in no way due to a hostility to music in -itself, but was simply a detail of that sweeping revolution which, in the -attempt to level all artificial distinctions and restore the offices of -worship to a simplicity such that they could be understood and -administered by the common people, abolished the good of the ancient -system together with the bad, and stripped religion of those fair -adornments which have been found in the long run efficient to bring her -into sympathy with the inherent human demand for beauty and order. - -With regard to the matter of art and established form in public worship -Calvinism was at one with itself, whether in Geneva or Great Britain. A -large number of active Protestants had fled from England at the beginning -of the persecution of Mary, and had taken refuge at Geneva. Here they -came under the direct influence of Calvin, and imbibed his principles in -fullest measure. At the death of Mary these exiles returned, many of them -to become leaders in that section of the Protestant party which clamored -for a complete eradication of ancient habits and observances. No -inspiration was really needed from Calvin, for his democratic and -anti-ritualistic views were in complete accord with the temper of English -Puritanism. The attack was delivered all along the line, and not the -least violent was the outcry against the liturgic music of the -established Church. The notion held by the Puritans concerning a proper -worship music was that of plain unison psalmody. They vigorously -denounced what was known as "curious music," by which was meant -scientific, artistic music, and also the practice of antiphonal chanting -and the use of organs. Just why organs were looked upon with especial -detestation is not obvious. They had played but a very incidental part in -the Catholic service, and it would seem that their efficiency as an aid -to psalm singing should have commended them to Puritan favor. But such -was not the case. Even early in Elizabeth's reign, among certain articles -tending to the further alteration of the liturgy which were presented to -the lower house of Convocation, was one requiring the removal of organs -from the churches, which was lost by only a single vote. It was a -considerable time, however, before the opposition again mustered such -force. Elizabeth never wavered in her determination to maintain the -solemn musical service of her Church. Even this was severe enough as -compared with its later expansion, for the multiplication of harmonized -chants and florid anthems belongs to a later date, and the ancient Plain -Song still included a large part of the service. Neither was Puritanism -in the early stages of the movement by any means an uncompromising enemy -to the graces of art and culture. The Renaissance delight in what is fair -and joyous, its satisfaction in the good things of this world, lingered -long even in Puritan households. The young John Milton, gallant, -accomplished, keenly alive to the charms of poetry and music, was no less -a representative Puritan than when in later years, "fallen on evil days," -he fulminated against the levities of the time. It was the stress of -party strife, the hardening of the mental and moral fibre that often -follows the denial of the reasonable demands of the conscience, that -drove the Puritan into bigotry and intolerance. Gradually episcopacy and -ritualism became to his mind the mark of the beast. Intent upon knowing -the divine will, he exalted his conception of the dictates of that will -above all human ordinances, until at last his own interpretations of -Scripture, which he made his sole guide in every public and private -relation of life, seemed to him guaranteed by the highest of all -sanctions. He thus became capable of trampling with a serene conscience -upon the rights of those who maintained opinions different from his own. -Fair and just in matters in which questions of doctrine or polity were -not involved, in affairs of religion the Puritan became the type and -embodiment of all that is unyielding and fanatical. Opposition to the use -of the surplice, the sign of the cross in baptism, the posture of -kneeling at the Lord's Supper, and antiphonal chanting, expanded into -uncompromising condemnation of the whole ritual. Puritanism and -Presbyterianism became amalgamated, and it only wanted the time and -opportunity to pull down episcopacy and liturgy in a common overthrow. -The antipathy of the Puritans to artistic music and official choirs was, -therefore, less a matter of personal feeling than it was with Calvin. His -thought was more that of the purely religious effect upon the individual -heart; with the Puritan, hatred of cultured church music was simply a -detail in the general animosity which he felt toward an offensive -institution. - -The most conspicuous of the agitators during the reign of Elizabeth was -Thomas Cartwright, Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of -Cambridge, who first gained notoriety by means of public lectures read in -1570 against the doctrine and discipline of the established Church. The -coarseness and violence of this man drew upon him the royal censure, and -he was deprived of his fellowship and expelled from the University. His -antipathy was especially aroused by the musical practice of the -established Church, particularly the antiphonal chanting, "tossing the -psalms from one side to the other," to use one of his favorite -expressions. "The devil hath gone about to get it authority," said -Cartwright. "As for organs and curious singing, though they be proper to -popish dens, I mean to cathedral churches, yet some others also must have -them. The queen's chapel and these churches (which should be spectacles -of Christian reformation) are rather patterns to the people of all -superstition." - -The attack of Cartwright upon the rites and discipline of the Church of -England, since it expressed the feeling of a strong section of the -Puritan party, could not be left unanswered. The defence was undertaken -by Whitgift and afterward by Richard Hooker, the latter bringing to the -debate such learning, dignity, eloquence, and logic that we may be truly -grateful to the unlovely Cartwright that his diatribe was the occasion of -the enrichment of English literature with so masterly an exposition of -the principles of the Anglican system as the _Laws of Ecclesiastical -Polity_. - -As regards artistic and liturgic music Hooker's argument is so clear, -persuasive, and complete that all later contestants upon the ritualistic -side have derived their weapons, more or less consciously, from his -armory. After an eloquent eulogy of the power of music over the heart, -Hooker passes on to prove the antiquity of antiphonal chanting by means -of citations from the early Christian fathers, and then proceeds: "But -whosoever were the author, whatsoever the time, whencesoever the example -of beginning this custom in the Church of Christ; sith we are wont to -suspect things only before trial, and afterward either to approve them as -good, or if we find them evil, accordingly to judge of them; their -counsel must needs seem very unseasonable, who advise men now to suspect -that wherewith the world hath had by their own account twelve hundred -years' acquaintance and upwards, enough to take away suspicion and -jealousy. Men know by this time, if ever they will know, whether it be -good or evil which hath been so long retained." The argument of -Cartwright, that all the people have the right to praise God in the -singing of psalms, Hooker does not find a sufficient reason for the -abolition of the choir; he denies the assertion that the people cannot -understand what is being sung, after the antiphonal manner, and then -concludes: "Shall this enforce us to banish a thing which all Christian -churches in the world have received; a thing, which so many ages have -held; a thing which always heretofore the best men and wisest governors -of God's people did think they could never commend enough; a thing which -filleth the mind with comfort and heavenly delight, stirreth up flagrant -desires and affections correspondent unto that which the words contain, -allayeth all kind of base and earthly cogitations, banisheth and driveth -away those evil secret suggestions which our invisible enemy is always -apt to minister, watereth the heart to the end it may fructify, maketh -the virtuous in trouble full of magnanimity and courage, serveth as a -most approved remedy against all doleful and heavy accidents which befall -men in this present life; to conclude, so fitly accordeth with the -apostle's own exhortation, 'Speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns and -spiritual songs, making melody, and singing to the Lord in your hearts,' -that surely there is more cause to fear lest the want thereof be a maim, -than the use a blemish to the service of God."[80] - -The just arguments and fervent appeals of Hooker produced no effect upon -the fanatical opponents of the established Church. Under the exasperating -conditions which produced the Great Rebellion and the substitution of the -Commonwealth for the monarchy, the hatred against everything identified -with ecclesiastical and political oppression became tenfold confirmed; -and upon the triumph of the most extreme democratic and non-conformist -faction, as represented by the army of Cromwell and the "Rump" -Parliament, nothing stood in the way of carrying the iconoclastic purpose -into effect. In 1644 the House of Lords, under the pressure of the -already triumphant opposition, passed an ordinance that the Prayer Book -should no longer be used in any place of public worship. In lieu of the -liturgy a new form of worship was decreed, in which the congregational -singing of metrical psalms was all the music allowed. "It is the duty of -Christians," so the new rule declares, "to praise God publicly by singing -of psalms, together in the congregation and also privately in the family. -In singing of psalms the voice is to be tunably and gravely ordered; but -the chief care is to sing with understanding and with grace in the heart, -making melody unto the Lord. That the whole congregation may join herein, -every one that can read is to have a psalm-book, and all others not -disabled by age or otherwise are to be exhorted to learn to read. But for -the present, where many in the congregation cannot read, it is convenient -that the minister, or some fit person appointed by him and the other -ruling officers, do read the psalm line by line before the singing -thereof."[81] - -The rules framed by the commission left the matter of instrumental music -untouched. Perhaps it was considered a work of supererogation to -proscribe it, for if there was anything which the Puritan conscience -supremely abhorred it was an organ. Sir Edward Deering, in his bill for -the abolition of episcopacy, expressed the opinion of the zealots of his -party in the assertion that "one groan in the Spirit is worth the -diapason of all the church music in the world." - -As far back as 1586 a pamphlet which had a wide circulation prays that -"all cathedral churches may be put down, where the service of God is -grievously abused by piping with organs, singing, ringing, and trowling -of psalms from one side of the choir to the other, with the squeaking of -chanting choristers, disguised in white surplices; some in corner caps -and silly copes, imitating the fashion and manner of Antichrist the Pope, -that man of sin and child of perdition, with his other rabble of -miscreants and shavelings." - -Such diatribes as this were no mere idle vaporing. As soon as the Puritan -army felt its victory secure, these threats were carried out with a -ruthless violence which reminds one of the havoc of the image breakers of -Antwerp in 1566, who, with striking coincidence of temper, preluded their -ravages by the singing of psalms. All reverence for sacred association, -all respect for works of skill and beauty, were lost in the -indiscriminate rage of bigotry. The ancient sanctuaries were invaded by a -vulgar horde, the stained glass windows were broken, ornaments torn down, -sepulchral monuments defaced, libraries were ransacked for ancient -service-books which, when found, were mutilated or burned, organs were -demolished and their fragments scattered. These barbarous excesses had in -fact been directly enjoined by act of Parliament in 1644, and it is not -surprising that the rude soldiery carried out the desires of their -superiors with wantonness and indignity. A few organs, however, escaped -the general destruction, one being rescued by Cromwell, who was a lover -of religious music, and not at all in sympathy with the vandalism of his -followers. Choirs were likewise dispersed, organists, singers, and -composers of the highest ability were deprived of their means of -livelihood, and in many cases reduced to the extreme of destitution. The -beautiful service of the Anglican Church, thus swept away in a single -day, found no successor but the dull droning psalmody of the Puritan -congregations, and only in a private circle in Oxford, indirectly -protected by Cromwell, was the feeble spark of artistic religious music -kept alive. - -The reëstablishment of the liturgy and the musical service of the Church -of England upon the restoration of the Stuarts in 1660 has already been -described. The Puritan congregations clung with tenacity to their -peculiar tenets and usages, prominent among which was their invincible -repugnance to artistic music. Although such opinions could probably not -prevail so extensively among a really musical people, yet this was not -the first nor the last time in history that the art which seems -peculiarly adapted to the promotion of pure devotional feeling has been -disowned as a temptation and a distraction. We find similar instances -among some of the more zealous German Protestants of Luther's time, and -the German Pietists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At many -periods of the Middle Age there were protests against the lengths to -which artistic music had gone in the Church and a demand for the -reduction of the musical service to the simplest elements. Still further -back, among the early Christians, the horror at the abominations of -paganism issued in denunciation of all artistic tendencies in the worship -of the Church. St. Jerome may not inaccurately be called the first great -Puritan. Even St. Augustine was at one time inclined to believe that his -love for the moving songs of the Church was a snare, until, by analysis, -he persuaded himself that it was the sacred words, and not merely the -musical tones, which softened his heart and filled his eyes with tears. -As in all these cases, including that of the Puritans, the sacrifice of -aesthetic pleasure in worship was not merely a reactionary protest -against the excess of ceremonialism and artistic enjoyment. The Puritan -was a precisian. The love of a highly developed and sensuously beautiful -music in worship always implies a certain infusion of mysticism. The -Puritan was no mystic. He demanded hard distinct definition in his pious -expression as he did in his argumentation. The vagueness of musical -utterance, its appeal to indefinable emotion, its effect of submerging -the mind and bearing it away upon a tide of ecstasy were all in exact -contradiction to the Puritan's conviction as to the nature of genuine -edification. These raptures could not harmonize with his gloomy views of -sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. And so we find the most -spiritual of the arts denied admittance to the sanctuary by those who -actually cherished music as a beloved social and domestic companion. - -More difficult to understand is the Puritan prohibition of all hymns -except rhymed paraphrases of the psalms. Metrical versions were -substituted for chanted prose versions for the reason, no doubt, that a -congregation, as a rule, cannot sing in perfect unity of coöperation -except in metre and in musical forms in which one note is set to one -syllable. But why the psalms alone? Why suppress the free utterance of -the believers in hymns of faith and hope? In the view of that day the -psalms were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit and contemporary hymns -could not be. We know that a characteristic of the Puritan mind was an -intense, an impassioned reverence for the Holy Scripture, so that all -other forms of human speech seemed trivial and unworthy in comparison. -The fact that the psalms, as the product of the ante-Christian -dispensation, could have no reference to the Christian scheme except by -far-fetched interpretation as symbolic and prophetic, did not escape the -Puritans, but they consoled themselves for the loss in the thought that -the earliest churches, in which they found, or thought they found their -ideal and standard, were confined to a poetic expression similar to their -own. And how far did they feel this to be a loss? Was not the temper of -the typical Puritan, after all, thoroughly impregnated with Hebraism? The -real nature of the spiritual deprivation which this restriction involved -is apparent enough now, for it barred out a gracious influence which -might have corrected some grave faults in the Puritan character, faults -from which their religious descendants to this day continue to suffer. - -The rise of an English hymnody corresponding to that of Germany was, -therefore, delayed for more than one hundred and fifty years. English -religious song-books were exclusively psalm-books down to the eighteenth -century. Poetic activity among the non-conformists consisted in -translations of the psalms in metre, or rather versions of the existing -translations in the English Bible, for these sectaries, as a rule, were -not strong in Hebrew. The singular passion in that period for putting -everything into rhyme and metre, which produced such grotesque results as -turning an act of Parliament into couplets, and paraphrasing "Paradise -Lost" in rhymed stanzas in order, as the writer said, "to make Mr. Milton -plain," gave aid and comfort to the peculiar Puritan views. The first -complete metrical version of the psalms was the celebrated edition of -Sternhold and Hopkins, the former a gentleman of the privy chamber to -Edward VI., the latter a clergyman and schoolmaster in Suffolk. This -version, published in 1562, was received with universal satisfaction and -adopted into all the Puritan congregations, maintaining its credit for -full two hundred and thirty years, until it came at last to be considered -as almost equally inspired with the original Hebrew text. So far as -poetic merit is concerned, the term is hardly applicable to the -lucubrations of these honest and prosaic men. As Fuller said, "their -piety was better than their poetry, and they had drunk more of Jordan -than of Helicon." In fact the same comment would apply to all the -subsequent versifiers of the psalms. It would seem that the very nature -of such work precludes all real literary success. The sublime thought and -irregular, vivid diction of the Hebrew poets do not permit themselves to -be parcelled out in the cut and dried patterns of conventional metres. -Once only does Sternhold rise into grandeur--in the two stanzas which -James Russell Lowell so much admired: - - - The Lord descended from above, - And bowed the heavens most high, - And underneath his feet he cast - The darkness of the sky. - - On cherub and on cherubim - Full royally he rode; - And on the wings of all the winds - Came flying all abroad. - - -The graces of style, however, were not greatly prized by the Puritan -mind. Sternhold and Hopkins held the suffrages of their co-religionists -so long on account of their strict fidelity to the thought of the -original, the ruggedness and genuine force of their expression, and their -employment of the simple homely phraseology of the common people. The -enlightened criticism of the present day sees worth in these qualities, -and assigns to the work of Sternhold and Hopkins higher credit than to -many smoother and more finished versions. - -Sternhold and Hopkins partially yielded to Tate and Brady in 1696, and -were still more urgently pushed aside by the version of Watts in 1719. -The numerous versions which have since appeared from time to time were -written purely for literary purposes, or else in a few cases (as, for -example, the psalms of Ainsworth, brought to America by the Pilgrim -Fathers) were granted a temporary and local use in the churches. Glass, -in his _Story of the Psalter_, enumerates one hundred and twenty-three -complete versions, the last being that of Wrangham in 1885. This long -list includes but one author--John Keble--who has attained fame as a poet -outside the annals of hymnology. No other version ever approached in -popularity that of Sternhold and Hopkins, whose work passed through six -hundred and one editions. - -Social hymn singing, unlike liturgic choir music, is entirely independent -of contemporary art movements. It flourishes only in periods of popular -religious awakening, and declines when religious enthusiasm ebbs, no -matter what may be going on in professional musical circles. Psalm -singing in the English Reformation period, whatever its aesthetic -shortcomings, was a powerful promoter of zeal in moments of triumph, and -an unfailing source of consolation in adversity. As in the case of the -Lutheran choral, each psalm had its "proper" tune. Many of the melodies -were already associated with tender experiences of home life, and they -became doubly endeared through religious suggestion. "The metrical -psalms," says Curwen, "were Protestant in their origin, and in their use -they exemplified the Protestant principle of allowing every worshiper to -understand and participate in the service. As years went on, the rude -numbers of Sternhold and Hopkins passed into the language of spiritual -experience in a degree only less than the authorized version of the -Bible. They were a liturgy to those who rejected liturgies."[82] It was -their one outlet of poetic religious feeling, and dry and prosaic as both -words and music seem to us now, we must believe, since human nature is -everywhere moved by much the same impulses, that these psalms and tunes -were not to those who used them barren and formal things, and that in the -singing of them there was an undercurrent of rapture which to our minds -it seems almost impossible that they could produce. In every form of -popular expression there is always this invisible aura, like the supposed -imperceptible fluid around an electrified body. There are what we may -call emotionalized reactions, stimulated by social, domestic, or -ancestral associations, producing effects for which the unsympathetic -critic cannot otherwise account. - -Even this inspiration at last seemed to fade away. When the one hundred -years' conflict, of alternate ascendency and persecution, came to an end -with the Restoration in 1660, zeal abated with the fires of conflict, and -apathy, formalism, and dulness, the counterparts of lukewarmness and -Pharisaical routine in the established Church, settled down over the -dissenting sects. In the eighteenth century the psalmody of the -Presbyterians, Independents, and Separatists, which had also been adopted -long before in the parochial services of the established Church, declined -into the most contracted and unemotional routine that can be found in the -history of religious song. The practice of "lining out" destroyed every -vestige of musical charm that might otherwise have remained; the number -of tunes in common use grew less and less, in some congregations being -reduced to a bare half-dozen. The conception of individualism, which was -the source of congregational singing in the first place, was carried to -such absurd extremes that the notion extensively prevailed that every -person was privileged to sing the melody in any key or tempo and with any -grotesque embellishment that might be pleasing to himself. These -fantastic abuses especially prevailed in the New England congregations in -the last half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth -centuries, but they were only the ultimate consequences of ideas and -practices which prevailed in the mother country. The early Baptists -forbade singing altogether. The Brownists tried for a short time to act -upon the notion that singing in worship, like prayer, should be -extempore. The practical results may easily be imagined. About the year -1700 it seemed as though the fair genius of sacred song had abandoned the -English and American non-liturgic sects in despair. - -Like a sun-burst, opening a brighter era, came the Wesleyan movement, and -in the same period the hymns of Dr. Isaac Watts. Whatever the effect of -the exuberant singing of the Methodist assemblies may have had upon a -cultivated ear, it is certain that the enthusiastic welcome accorded by -the Wesleys to popular music as a proselyting agent, and the latitude -permitted to free invention and adoption of hymns and tunes, gave an -impulse to a purer and nobler style of congregational song which has -never been lost. The sweet and fervent lyrics of Charles and John Wesley -struck a staggering blow at the prestige of the "inspired" psalmody. -Historians of this movement remind us that hymns, heartily sung by a -whole congregation, were unknown as an element in public worship at the -time when the work of the Wesleys and Whitefield began. Watts's hymns -were already written, but had as yet taken no hold upon either dissenters -or churchmen. The example of the Methodists was a revelation of the power -that lies in popular song when inspired by conviction, and as was said of -the early Lutheran choral, so it might be said of the Methodist hymns, -that they won more souls than even the preaching of the evangelists. John -Wesley, in his published directions concerning congregational singing, -enjoined accuracy in notes and time, heartiness, moderation, unanimity, -and spirituality as with the aim of pleasing God rather than one's self. -He strove to bring the new hymns and tunes within the means of the poor, -and yet took pains that the music should be of high quality, and that -nothing vulgar or sensational should obtain currency. - -The truly beneficent achievement of the Wesleys in summoning the aid of -the unconfined spirit of poesy in the revival of spiritual life found a -worthy reinforcement in the songs of Isaac Watts (1674-1748). Although -his deficiencies in the matter of poetical technic and his frequent dry, -scholastic, and dogmatic treatment have rendered much the greater part of -his work obsolete, yet a true spiritual and poetic fire burns in many of -his lyrics, and with all necessary abatement his fame seems secure. Such -poems as "High in the Heavens, eternal God," "Before Jehovah's awful -throne," and "When I survey the wondrous cross" are pearls which can -never lose their place in the chaplet of English evangelical hymnody. The -relaxing prejudice against "uninspired" hymns in church worship yielded -to the fervent zeal, the loving faith, the forceful natural utterance of -the lyrics of Watts. In his psalms also, uniting as they did the -characteristic modes of feeling of both the Hebrew and the Christian -conceptions, he made the transition easy, and in both he showed the true -path along which the reviving poetic inspiration of the time must -proceed. - -What has come of the impulse imparted by Watts and the Wesleys every -student of Christian literature knows. To give any adequate account of -the movement which has enriched the multitude of modern hymn-books and -sacred anthologies would require a large volume.[83] No more profitable -task could be suggested to one who deems it his highest duty to expand -and deepen his spiritual nature, than to possess his mind of the jewels -of devotional insight and chastened expression which are scattered -through the writings of such poets as Charles Wesley, Cowper, Newton, -Faber, Newman, Lyte, Heber, Bonar, Milman, Keble, Ellerton, Montgomery, -Ray Palmer, Coxe, Whittier, Holmes, the Cary sisters, and others equal or -hardly inferior to these, who have performed immortal service to the -divine cause which they revered by disclosing to the world the infinite -beauty and consolation of the Christian faith. No other nation, not even -the German, can show any parallel to the treasure embedded in English and -American popular religious poetry. This fact is certainly not known to -the majority of church members. The average church-goer never looks into -a hymn-book except when he stands up to sing in the congregation, and -this performance, whatever else it may do for the worshiper, gives him -very little information in regard to the artistic, or even the spiritual -value of the book which he holds in his hand. Let him read his hymn-book -in private, as he reads his Tennyson; and although he will not be -inclined to compare it in point of literary quality with Palgrave's -_Golden Treasury_ or Stedman's _Victorian Anthology_, yet he will -probably be surprised at the number of lyrics whose delicacy, fervor, and -pathos will be to him a revelation of the gracious elements that pervade -the minor religious poetry of the English tongue. - -Parallel with the progress of hymnody, and undoubtedly stimulated by it, -has been the development of the hymn-tune and the gradual rise of public -taste in this branch of religious art. The history of the English and -American hymn-tune may easily be traced, for its line is unbroken. Its -sources also are well known, except that the origins of the first -settings of the psalms of Sternhold and Hopkins are in many cases -obscure. Those who first fitted tunes to the metrical psalms borrowed -some of their melodies (the "Old Hundredth" is a conspicuous instance) -from the Huguenot psalter of Marot and Beza, and others probably from -English folk-songs. There were eminent composers in England in the -Reformation period, many of whom lent their services in harmonizing the -tunes found in the early psalters, and also contributed original -melodies. All these ancient tunes were syllabic and diatonic, dignified -and stately in movement, often sombre in coloring, in all these -particulars bearing a striking resemblance to the German choral. Some of -the strongest tunes in the modern hymnals, for example, "Dundee," are -derived from the Scotch and English psalters of the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries, and efforts are being made in some quarters to -bring others of the same source and type into favor with present-day -congregations. This severe diatonic school was succeeded in the -eighteenth century by a taste for the florid and ornate which, in spite -of some contributions of a very beautiful and expressive character, on -the whole marked a decline in favor of the tawdry and sensational. If -this tendency was an indication of an experimenting spirit, its result -was not altogether evil. Earnest and dignified as the old psalm-tunes -were, the Church could not live by them alone. The lighter style was a -transition, and the purer modern school is the outcome of a process which -strives to unite the breadth and dignity of the ancient tunes with the -warmth and color of those of the second period. Together with the -cultivation of the florid style we note a wider range of selection. Many -tunes were taken from secular sources (not in itself a fault, since, as -we have seen, many of the best melodies in the Lutheran and Calvinistic -song-books had a similar origin); and the introduction of Catholic tunes, -such as the peerless "Adeste Fideles" and the "Sicilian hymn," together -with some of the finest German chorals, greatly enriched the English -tune-books. - -In comparatively recent times a new phase of progress has manifested -itself in the presence in the later hymnals of a large number of musical -compositions of novel form and coloring, entirely the product of our own -period. These tunes are representative of the present school of Church of -England composers, such as Dykes, Barnby, Smart, Sullivan, Monk, Hopkins, -and many others equally well known, who have contributed a large quantity -of melodies of exceeding beauty, supported by varied and often striking -harmonies, quite unlike the congregational songs of any other nation. -Composed for the noble ceremony of the Anglican Church, these tunes have -made their way into many of the non-liturgic sects, and the value of -their influence in inspiring a love for that which is purest and most -salutary in worship music has been incalculable. Much has been written in -praise of these new Anglican tunes, and a good deal also in depreciation. -Many of them are, it must be confessed, over-sophisticated for the use of -the average congregation, carrying refinements of harmony and rhythm to -such a point that they are more suitable for the choir than for the -congregation. Their real value, taken collectively, can best be estimated -by those who, having once used them, should imagine themselves deprived -of them. The tunes that served the needs of former generations will not -satisfy ours. Dr. Hanslick remarks that there is music of which it may -correctly be said that it once was beautiful. It is doubtless so with -hymn-tunes. Church art can never be kept unaffected by the secular -currents of the time, and those who, in opera house and concert hall, are -thrilled by the impassioned strains of the modern romantic composers, -will inevitably long for something at least remotely analogous in the -songs of the sanctuary. That is to say, the congregational tune must be -appealing, stirring, emotional, as the old music doubtless was to the -people of the old time, but certainly is no longer. This logical demand -the English musicians of the present day and their American followers -assume to gratify--that is, so far as the canons of pure art and -ecclesiastical propriety will allow--and, in spite of the cavils of -purists and reactionaries, their melodies seem to have taken a permanent -place in the affections of the Protestant English-speaking world. The -success of these melodies is due not merely to their abstract musical -beauty, but perhaps still more to the subtle sympathy which their style -exhibits with the present-day tendencies in theology and devotional -experience, which are reflected in the peculiarly joyous and confiding -note of recent hymnody. So far as music has the power to suggest definite -conceptions, there seems to be an apt correspondence between this -fervent, soaring, touching music and the hymns of the faith by which -these melodies were in most instances directly inspired. - -So far as there are movements in progress bringing into shape a body of -congregational song which contains features that are likely to prove a -permanent enrichment of the religious anthology, they are more or less -plainly indicated in the hymnals which have been compiled in this country -during the past ten or twelve years. Not that we may look forward to any -sudden outburst of hymn-singing enthusiasm parallel to that which -attended the Lutheran and Wesleyan revivals, for such a musical impulse -is always the accompaniment of some mighty religious awakening, of which -there is now no sign. The significance of these recent hymnals lies -rather in the evidence they give of the growth of higher standards of -taste in religious verse and music, and also of certain changes in -progress in our churches in the prevailing modes of religious thought. -The evident tendency of hymnology, as indicated by the new books, is to -throw less emphasis upon those more mechanical conceptions which gave -such a hard precision to a large portion of the older hymnody. A finer -poetic afflatus has joined with a more penetrating and intimate vision of -the relationship between the divine and the human; and this mental -attitude is reflected in the loving trust, the emotional fervor, and the -more delicate and inward poetic expression which prevail in the new -hymnody. It is inevitable that the theological readjustment, which is so -palpable to every intelligent observer, should color and deflect those -forms of poetic and musical expression which are instinctively chosen as -the utterance of the worshiping people. Every one at all familiar with -the history of religious experience is aware how sensitive popular song -has been as an index of popular feeling. Nowhere is the power of -psychologic suggestion upon the masses more evident than in the domain of -song. Hardly does a revolutionary religious idea, struck from the brains -of a few leading thinkers and reformers, effect a lodgment in the hearts -of any considerable section of the common people, than it is immediately -projected in hymns and melodies. So far as it is no mere scholastic -formula, but possesses the power to kindle an active life in the soul, it -will quickly clothe itself in figurative speech and musical cadence, and -in many cases it will filter itself through this medium until all that is -crude, formal, and speculative is drained away, and what is essential and -fruitful is retained as a permanent spiritual possession. - -If we were able to view the present movement in popular religious verse -from a sufficient distance, we should doubtless again find illustration -of this general law. Far less obviously, of course, than in the cases of -the Hussite, Lutheran, and Wesleyan movements, for the changes of our day -are more gradual and placid. I would not imply that the hymns that seem -so much the natural voice of the new tendencies are altogether, or even -in the majority of cases, recent productions. Many of them certainly come -from Watts and Cowper and Newton, and other eighteenth-century men, whose -theology contained many gloomy and obsolete tenets, but whose hearts -often denied their creeds and spontaneously uttered themselves in strains -which every shade of religious conviction may claim as its own. It is -not, therefore, that the new hymnals have been mainly supplied by new -schools of poetry, but the compilers, being men quick to sense the new -devotional demands and also in complete sympathy with them, have made -their selections and expurgations from a somewhat modified motive, -repressing certain phases of thought and emphasizing others, so that -their collections take a wider range, a loftier sweep, and a more joyful, -truly evangelical tone than those of a generation ago. It is more the -inner life of faith which these books so beautifully present, less that -of doctrinal assent and outer conformity. - -These recent contributions to the service of praise are not only -interesting in themselves, but even more so, perhaps, as the latest terms -in that long series of popular religious song-books which began with the -independence of the English Church. _The Plymouth Hymnal_ and _In -Excelsis_ are the ripened issue of that movement whose first official -outcome was the quaint psalter of Sternhold and Hopkins; and the contrast -between the old and the new is a striking evidence of the changes which -three and a half centuries have effected in culture and spiritual -emphasis as revealed in popular song. The early lyrics were prepared as a -sort of testimony against formalism and the use of human inventions in -the office of worship; they were the outcome of a striving after -apostolic simplicity, while in their emotional aspects they served for -consolation in trial and persecution, and as a means of stiffening the -resolution in times of conflict. The first true hymns, as distinct from -versified psalms, were designed still more to quicken joy and hope, and -yet at the same time a powerful motive on the part of their authors was -to give instruction in the doctrines of the faith by a means more direct -and persuasive than sermons, and to reinforce the exhortations of -evangelists by an instrument that should be effective in awaking the -consciences of the unregenerate. It is very evident that the hymnals of -our day are pervaded by an intention somewhat different from this, or at -least supplementary to it. The Church, having become stable, and having a -somewhat different mission to perform under the changed conditions of the -time, employs its hymns and tunes not so much as revival machinery, or as -a means for inculcating dogma, as for spiritual nurture. Hymns have -become more subjective, melodies and harmonies more refined and alluring; -the tone has become less stern and militant; the ideas are more universal -and tender, less mechanical and precise; appeal is made more to the -sensibility than to the intellect, and the chief stress is laid upon the -joy and peace that come from believing. It is impossible to avoid -vagueness in attempting so broad a generalization. But one who studies -the new hymn-books, reads the prefaces of their editors, and notes the -character of the hymns that are most used in our churches, will realize -that now, as it has always been in the history of the Church, the guiding -thought and feeling of the time may be traced in popular song, more -faintly but not less inevitably than in the instructions of the pulpit. -When viewed in historic sequence one observes the growing prominence of -the mystical and subjective elements, the fading away of the early -fondness for scholastic definition. Lyric poetry is in its nature -mystical and intuitive, and the hymnody of the future, following the -present tendency in theology to direct the thought to the personal, -historic Christ, and to appropriate his example and message in accordance -with the light which advancing knowledge obtains concerning man's nature, -needs, and destiny, will aim more than ever before to purify and quicken -the higher emotional faculties, and will find a still larger field in -those fundamental convictions which transcend the bounds of creeds, and -which affirm the brotherhood of all sincere seekers after God. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - PROBLEMS OF CHURCH MUSIC IN AMERICA - - -In the foregoing sketch of the rise and growth of music in the Western -Church no account was taken of a history of church music in America. If -by art history we mean a record of progressive changes, significant of a -persistent impulse which issues in distinctive styles and schools, the -chronicles of ecclesiastical song in this country hardly come within the -scope of history. No new forms or methods have arisen on this side of the -Atlantic. The styles of composition and the systems of practice which -have existed among us have simply been transferred from the older -countries across the sea. Every form of church music known in Europe -flourishes in America, but there is no native school of religious music, -just as there is no American school of secular music. The Puritan -colonists brought with them a few meagre volumes of metrical psalms, and -a dozen or so of tunes wherewith to sing them in the uncouth fashion -which already prevailed in England. They brought also the rigid -Calvinistic hostility to everything that is studied and uniform in -religious ceremony, and for a century or more they seemed to glory in the -distinction of maintaining church song in the most barbarous condition -that this art has ever suffered since the founding of Christianity. It -was not possible that this state of affairs could endure in a community -that was constantly advancing in education and in the embellishments of -life, and a bitter conflict arose between puritanic tradition and the -growing perception of the claims of fitness and beauty. One who would -amuse himself with the grotesque controversies which raged around this -question among the pious New England colonists, the acrid disputes -between the adherents of the "usual way" and the "rulable way" of singing -psalmody, the stern resistance to choirs and to organs, and the quaint -annals of the country singing-school, may find rich gratification in some -of the books of Mrs. Earle, especially _The Sabbath in Puritan New -England_. The work of such reformers as William Billings in the -eighteenth century and Lowell Mason in the nineteenth, the first concerts -of the Handel and Haydn Society, the influx of the German culture -shifting all American music upon new foundations, are all landmarks which -show how rapid and thorough has been our advance in musical scholarship -and taste, but which also remind us how little of our achievement has -been really indigenous. - -In spite of the poverty of original invention which forbids us to claim -that American church music has in any way contributed to the evolution of -the art, there is no epoch in this art's history which possesses a more -vital interest to the American churchman of the present day. We have -found amid all the fluctuations of ecclesiastical music, mediaeval and -modern, Catholic and Protestant, one ever-recurring problem, which is no -sooner apparently settled than new conditions arise which force it once -more upon the attention of minister and layman. The choice of a style of -music which shall most completely answer the needs of worship as the -conceptions and methods of public worship vary among different -communities and in different epochs, and which at the same time shall not -be unworthy of the claims of music as a fine art,--this is the historic -dilemma which is still, as ever, a fruitful source of perplexity and -discord. The Catholic and Episcopal Churches are less disturbed by this -spectre than their non-liturgic brethren. An authoritative ritual carries -its laws over upon music also; tradition, thus fortified, holds firm -against innovation, and the liturgic and clerical conception of music -gives a stability to musical usages which no aberrations of taste can -quite unsettle. But in the non-liturgic churches of America one sees only -a confusion of purposes, a lack of agreement, an absence of every shade -of recognized authority. The only tradition is that of complete freedom -of choice. There is no admitted standard of taste; the whole musical -service is experimental, subject to the preferences, more or less -capricious, of choir-master or music committee. There is no system in the -separate societies that may not be overthrown by a change of -administration. The choir music is eclectic, drawn indiscriminately from -Catholic, German, and English sources; or if it is of American -composition it is merely an obvious imitation of one of these three. The -congregational music ranges from the German choral to the "Gospel song," -or it may, be an alternation of these two incongruous styles. The choir -is sometimes a chorus, sometimes a solo quartet; the latter mainly forced -to choose its material from "arrangements," or from works written for -chorus. Anon the choir is dismissed and the congregation, led by a -precentor with voice or cornet, assumes the whole burden of the office of -song. These conditions are sufficient to explain why a distinct school of -American church music does not exist and never can exist. The great -principle of self-determination in doctrine and ecclesiastical -government, which has brought into existence such a multitude of sects, -may well be a necessity in a composite and democratic nation, but it is -no less certainly a hindrance to the development of a uniform type of -religious music. - -There would be a much nearer approach to a reconcilement of all these -differences, and the cause of church music would be in a far more -promising condition, if there were a closer sympathy between the standard -of music within the Church and that prevailing in educated society -outside. There is certainly a diversity of purpose between church music -and secular music, and corresponding distinctions must be preserved in -respect to form and expression. A secularized style of church music means -decadence. But the vitality of ecclesiastical art has always seemed to -depend upon retaining a conscious touch with the large art movements of -the world, and church music has certainly never thrived when, in -consequence of neglect or complacency, it has been suffered to become -inferior to its rival. In America there is no such stimulating -interaction between the music of the Church and that of the concert hall -and the social circle as there has been for centuries in Germany and -England. The Church is not the leader in musical culture. We are rapidly -becoming a musical nation. When one sees what is going on in the opera -houses, concert halls, colleges, conservatories, public schools, and -private instruction rooms, contrasting the present situation with that of -fifty years ago, the outcome can easily be predicted. But the music of -the Church, in spite of gratifying efforts here and there, is not keeping -pace with this progress, and the Church must inevitably suffer in certain -very important interests if this gap is permitted continually to widen. - -There are many causes for this state of affairs, some incidental and -avoidable, others lying in the very nature of music itself and the -special service which the Church requires of it. Perhaps the chief -difficulty in the way of a high artistic development of religious music -is the opinion, which prevails widely among the most devout, that music -when allied to worship must forego what seems the natural right of all -art to produce pleasure as an end in itself, and that it must subordinate -itself to the sacred text and employ its persuasive powers solely to -enforce divine truth upon the heart,--meaning by divine truth some -particular form of religious confession. Whether this view is true or -false, whenever it is consistently acted upon, it seems to me, music -declines. - -Now it is evident that music is less willing than any other art to assume -this inferior station. Architecture serves a utilitarian purpose, the -pleasure of the eye being supplementary; painting and sculpture may -easily become didactic or reduced to the secondary function of ornament. -But of all the arts music is the most sensuous (I use the word in its -technical psychologic sense), direct, and penetrating in its operation. -Music acts with such immediateness and intensity that it seems as though -it were impossible for her to be anything but supreme when she puts forth -all her energies. We may force her to be dull and commonplace, but that -does not meet the difficulty. For it is the very beauty and glory of -music which the Church wishes to use, but how shall this be prevented -from asserting itself to such an extent that devotion is swept away upon -the wings of nervous excitement? Let any one study his sensations when a -trained choir pours over him a flood of rapturous harmony, and he will -perhaps find it difficult to decide whether it is a devotional uplift or -an aesthetic afflatus that has seized him. Is there actually any -essential difference between his mental state at this moment and that, -for instance, at the close of "Tristan und Isolde"? Any one who tries -this experiment upon himself will know at once what is this problem of -music in the Church which has puzzled pious men for centuries, and which -has entered into every historic movement of church extension or reform. - -A little clear thinking on this subject, it seems to me, will convince -any one that music alone, in and of itself, never makes people religious. -There is no such thing as religious music _per se_. When music in -religious ceremony inspires a distinctly prayerful mood, it does so -mainly through associations and accessories. And if this mood is not -induced by other causes, music alone can never be relied upon to create -it. Music, even the noblest and purest, is not always or necessarily an -aid to devotion, and there may even be a snare in what seems at first a -devoted ally. The analogy that exists between religious emotion and -musical rapture is, after all, only an analogy; aesthetic delight, though -it be the most refined, is not worship; the melting tenderness that often -follows a sublime instrumental or choral strain is not contrition. Those -who speak of all good music as religious do not understand the meaning of -the terms they use. For devotion is not a mere vague feeling of longing -or transport. It must involve a positive recognition of an object of -worship, a reaching up, not to something unknown or inaccessible, but to -a God who reveals himself to us, and whom we believe to be cognizant of -the sincerity of the worship offered him; it must involve also a sense of -humility before an almighty power, a penitence for sin, a desire for -pardon and reconciliation, a consciousness of need and dependence, and an -active exercise of faith and love. Into such convictions music may come, -lending her aid to deepen them, to give them tangible expression, and to -enhance the sense of joy and peace which may be their consequence; but to -create them is beyond her power. - -The office of music is not to suggest concrete images, or even to arouse -definite namable sentiments, but rather to intensify ideas and feelings -already existing, or to release the mind and put it into that sensitive, -expectant state in which conceptions that appeal to the emotion may act -unhampered. The more generalized function of music in the sanctuary is to -take possession of the prepared and chastened mood which is the -antecedent of worship, to separate it from other moods and reminiscences -which are not in perfect accord with it, and to establish it in a more -complete self-consciousness and a more permanent attitude. This -antecedent sense of need and longing for divine communion cannot be -aroused by music alone; the enjoyment of abstract musical beauty, however -refined and elevating, is not worship, and a musical impression -disconnected from any other cannot conduce to the spirit of prayer. It is -only when the prayerful impulse already exists as a more or less -conscious tendency of the mind, induced by a sense of love and duty, by -the associations of the time and place, by the administration of the -other portions of the service, or by any agencies which incline the heart -of the believer in longing toward the Mercy Seat,--it is only in alliance -with such an anticipatory state of mind and the causes that produce it -that music fulfils its true office in public worship. It is not enough to -depend upon the influence of the words to which the music is set, for -they, being simultaneous with the music, do not have time or opportunity -to act with full force upon the understanding; since the action of music -upon the emotion is more immediate and vivid than that of words upon the -intellect, the latter is often unregarded in the stress of musical -excitement. However it may be in solo singing, it is not possible or even -desirable that the words of a chorus should be so distinct as to make the -prime impression. Those who demand distinct articulation, as though the -religious effect of church song hung solely upon that, do not listen -musically. At any rate they see but a little way into the problem, which -is concerned not with the effect of words but of tones. The text and -music reinforce each other when the words are known to the hearer before -the singing begins, aiding thus to bring about the expectancy of which I -have spoken, and producing that satisfaction which is felt when musical -expression is perceived to be appropriate to its poetic subject. - -The spirit of worship, therefore, must be aroused by favoring conditions -and means auxiliary to music,--it is then the province of music to direct -this spirit toward a more vivid consciousness of its end. The case is -with music as Professor Shairp says it is with nature: "If nature is to -be the symbol of something higher than itself, to convey intimations of -him from whom both nature and the world proceed, man must come to the -spectacle with the thought of God already in his heart. He will not get a -religion out of the mere sight of nature. If beauty is to lead the soul -upward, man must come to the contemplation of it with his moral -convictions clear and firm, and with faith in these as connecting him -directly with God. Neither morality nor religion will he get out of -beauty taken by itself." - -The soundest writers on art maintain that art, taken abstractly, is -neither moral nor immoral. It occupies a sphere apart from that of -religion or ethics. It may lend its aid to make religious and moral ideas -more persuasive; it may, through the touch of pure beauty, overbear -material and prosaic interests and help to produce an atmosphere in which -spiritual ideas may range without friction, but the mind must first have -been made morally sensitive by other than purely artistic means. It is -the peculiar gift of music that it affords a speedier and more immediate -means of fusion between ideas of sensuous beauty and those of devotional -experience than any other of the art sisterhood. It is the indefiniteness -of music as compared with painting and sculpture, the intensity of its -action as compared with the beauty of architecture and decoration, which -gives to it its peculiar power. To this searching force of music, its -freedom from reminiscences of actual life or individual experience, is -due the prominence that has been assigned to music in the observances of -religion in all times and nations. Piety falls into the category of the -most profound and absorbing of human emotions--together with such -sentiments as patriotism and love of persons--which instinctively utter -themselves not in prose but in poetry, not in ordinary unimpassioned -speech, but in rhythmic tone. Music is the art most competent to enter -into such an ardent and mobile state of mind. The ecstasy aroused in the -lover of music by the magic of his art is more nearly analogous than any -other producible by art to that mystic rapture described by religious -enthusiasts. Worship is disconnected from all the concerns of physical -life; it raises the subject into a super-earthly region--it has for the -moment nothing to do with temporal activities; it is largely spontaneous -and unreflective. The absorption of the mind in contemplation, the sense -of inward peace which accompanies emancipation from the disturbances of -ordinary life, those joyous stirrings of the soul when it seems to catch -glimpses of eternal blessedness, have a striking resemblance to phases of -musical satisfaction where the analytical faculties are not called into -exercise. Hence the readiness with which music combines with these higher -experiences. Music in its mystic, indefinable action seems to make the -mood of prayer more active, to interpret it to itself, and by something -that seems celestial in the harmony to make the mood deeper, stronger, -more satisfying than it would be if shut up within the soul and deprived -of this means of deliverance. Music also, by virtue of its universal and -impersonal quality, furnishes the most efficient means of communication -among all the individuals engaged in a common act; the separate -personalities are, we might say, dissolved in the general tide of rapture -symbolized by the music, and the common sentiment is again enhanced by -the consciousness of sympathy between mind and mind to which the music -testifies, and which it is so efficient to promote. - -The substance of this whole discussion, therefore, is that those who have -any dealing with music in the Church must take into account the inherent -laws of musical effect. Music is not a representative art; it bears with -it an order of impressions untranslatable into those of poetry or -painting. To use Walter Pater's phrase, "it presents no matter of -sentiment or thought separable from the special form in which it is -conveyed to us." It may, through its peculiar power of stimulating the -sensibility and conveying ideas of beauty in the purest, most abstract -guise, help to make the mind receptive to serious impressions; but in -order to excite a specifically religious feeling it must coöperate with -other impressions which act more definitely upon the understanding. The -words to which the music is sung, being submerged in the mind of a -music-lover by the tide of enchanting sound, are not sufficient for this -purpose unless they are known and dwelt upon in advance; and even then -they too need reinforcement out of the environment in which the musical -service is placed. The singing of the choir must be contrived and felt as -a part of the office of prayer. The spirit and direction of the whole -service for the day must be unified; the music must be a vital and -organic element in this unit. All parts of the service must be controlled -by the desire for beauty and fitness. Music, however beautiful, loses -something of its effect if its accompaniments are not in harmony with it. -This desideratum is doubtless most easily attained in a liturgic service. -One great advantage of an ancient and prescribed form is that its -components work easily to a common impression, and in course of time the -ritual tends to become venerable as well as dignified and beautiful. The -non-liturgic method may without difficulty borrow this conception of -harmony and elevation, applying it so far as its own customs and rules of -public worship allow. How this unity of action in the several factors of -a non-liturgic service may best be effected is outside the purpose of -this book to discuss. The problem is not a difficult one when minister, -choir leader, and church members are agreed upon the principle. In every -church there are sanctities of time and place; there are common habits of -mind induced by a common faith; there are historic traditions,--all -contributing to a unity of feeling in the congregation. These may all be -cultivated and enhanced by a skilfully contrived service, devised and -moulded in recognition of the psychologic law that an art form acts with -full power only when the mind is prepared by anticipation and congenial -accessories. - -This conclusion is, however, very far from being the end of the matter. -The most devout intention will not make the church music effective for -its ideal end if the aesthetic element is disregarded. There seems to be -in many quarters a strange distrust of beauty and skill in musical -performance, as if artistic qualities were in some way hostile to -devotion. This distrust is a survival of the old Calvinistic fear of -everything studied, formal, and externally beautiful in public worship. -In other communities the church music is simply neglected, as one of the -results of the excessive predominance given to the sermon in the -development of Protestantism. It is often deemed sufficient, also, if the -church musicians are devout men and women, in forgetfulness of the fact -that a musical performance that is irritating to the nerves can never be -a help to devotion. These enemies to artistic church music--hostility, -indifference, and ignorance--are especially injurious in a country where, -as in America, the general knowledge and taste in music are rapidly -growing. Those churches which, for any reason whatever, keep their -musical standard below the level of that which prevails in the educated -society around them are not acting for their own advantage, materially or -spiritually. President Faunce was right when he told one of the churches -of his denomination: "Your music must be kept noble and good. If your -children hear Wagner and the other great masters in their schools, they -will not be satisfied with 'Pull for the shore' in the church." Those -churches, for example, which rely mainly upon the "Gospel Songs" should -soberly consider if it is profitable in the long run to maintain a -standard of religious melody and verse far below that which prevails in -secular music and literature. "The Church is the art school of the common -man," says Professor Riehl; and while it may be answered that it is not -the business of the Church to teach art, yet the Church cannot afford to -keep its spiritual culture out of harmony with the higher intellectual -movements of the age. One whose taste is fed by the poetry of such -masters as Milton and Tennyson, by the music of such as Händel and -Beethoven, and whose appreciations are sharpened by the best examples of -performance in the modern concert hall, cannot drop his taste and -critical habit when he enters the church door. The same is true in a -modified degree in respect to those who have had less educational -advantages. It is a fallacy to assert that the masses of the people are -responsive only to that which is trivial and sensational. In any case, -what shall be said of a church that is satisfied to leave its votaries -upon the same intellectual and spiritual level upon which it finds them? - -In all this discussion I have had in mind the steady and more normal work -of the Church. Forms of song which, to the musician, lie outside the pale -of art may have a legitimate place in seasons of special religious -quickening. No one who is acquainted with the history of religious -propagation in America will despise the revival hymn, or deny the -necessity of the part it has played. But these seasons of spiritual -upheaval are temporary and exceptional; they are properly the beginning -not the end of the Church's effort. The revival hymn may be effective in -soul-winning, it is inadequate when treated as an element in the larger -task of spiritual development. - -There is another reason for insistence upon beauty and perfection in all -those features of public worship into which art enters--to a devout mind -the most imperative of all reasons. This is so forcibly stated by the -great Richard Hooker that it will be sufficient to quote his words and -leave the matter there. Speaking of the value of noble architecture and -adornment in connection with public acts of religion, he goes on to say: -"We do thereby give unto God a testimony of our cheerful affection which -thinketh nothing too dear to be bestowed about the furniture of his -service; as also because it serveth to the world for a witness of his -almightiness, whom we outwardly honor with the chiefest of outward -things, as being of all things himself incomparably the greatest. To set -forth the majesty of kings, his vicegerents in this world, the most -gorgeous and rare treasures which the world hath, are procured. We think -belike that he will accept what the meanest of them would disdain."[84] - -In urging onward the effort after beauty and perfection in church music I -have no wish to set up any single style as a model,--in fact, a style -competent to serve as a universal model does not exist. There can be no -general agreement, for varied conditions demand diverse methods. The -Catholic music reformer points to the ancient Gregorian chant and the -masterpieces of choral art of the sixteenth century as embodying the -ideal which he wishes to assert. The Episcopalian has the Anglican chant -and anthem, noble and appropriate in themselves, and consecrated by the -associations of three eventful centuries. But the only hereditary -possession of the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and other -non-liturgic bodies is the crude psalmody of the early Calvinists and -Puritans which, unlike the Lutheran choral, has none of the musical -potencies out of which a church art can be developed. In these societies -there is no common demand or opportunity which, in the absence of a -common musical heritage, can call forth any new and distinctive form of -ecclesiastical song. They must be borrowers and adapters, not creators. -The problem of these churches is the application of existing forms to new -conditions--directing the proved powers of music along still higher lines -of service in the epoch of promise which is now opening before them. - -In this era just upon us, in which new opportunities demand of the Church -in America new methods throughout the whole range of its action, music -will have a larger part to play than even heretofore. It is of great -importance that her service should be employed intelligently. Both -ministers and choir leaders should be aware of the nature of the problems -which ecclesiastic music presents. They should know something of the -experience of the Church in its historic dealings with this question, of -the special qualities of the chief forms of church song which have so -greatly figured in the past, and of the nature of the effect of music -upon the mind both by itself alone and in collusion with other religious -influences. How many ministers and choir-masters are well versed in these -matters? What are the theological seminaries and musical conservatories -doing to disseminate knowledge and conviction on this subject? In the -seminaries lectures are given on liturgiology and hymnology; but what are -hymns and liturgies without music? And how many candidates for the -ministry are prepared to second the efforts of church musicians in -musical improvement and reform? I am, of course, aware that in a few of -the seminaries of the non-liturgic denominations work in this department -of ecclesiology has been effectively begun. In the conservatories organ -playing and singing, both solo and chorus, are taught, but usually from -the technical side,--the adaptation of music to the spiritual demands of -the Church is rarely considered. Every denomination needs a St. Cecilia -Society to convince the churches of the spiritual quickening that lies in -genuine church music and the mischief in the false, to arouse church -members to an understanding of the injury that attends an obvious -incongruity between the character of the music and the spirit of prayer -which it is the purpose of the established offices of worship to create, -and to show how all portions of the service may act in harmony. - -The general growth in musical culture, which is so marked a feature of -our time, should everywhere be made to contribute to the benefit of the -Church. The teaching of music in the public schools should be a means of -supplying the churches with efficient chorus singers. The Church must -also offer larger inducements to musicians and musical students. Here we -touch upon a most vital point. If the Church wants music that is worthy -of her dignity, and which will help her to maintain the place she seeks -to occupy in modern life, she must pay for it. The reason why so few -students of talent are preparing themselves for work in the Church as -organists and choir leaders is that the prospect of remuneration is too -small to make this special study worth their while. The musical service -of the Church is, therefore, in the vast majority of cases, in the hands -either of amateurs or of musicians who are devoting themselves through -the entire week to work which has nothing to do with the Church. A man -who is trained wholly or chiefly as a pianist, and who gives his strength -and time for six days to piano study and teaching, or a singer whose -energy is mainly expended in private vocal instruction, can contribute -little to the higher needs of Church music. It is not his fault; he must -seek his income where he can find it. The service of the Church is a side -issue, and receives the benefit which any cause must expect when it is -given only the remnants of interest and energy that are left over from a -week's hard labor. There is a host of young musicians to whom church work -is exceedingly attractive. Let the Church magnify the importance of its -musical service, and raise its salaries in proportion, and an abundant -measure of the rising musical talent and enthusiasm will be ready at its -call. - -The musical problem of the non-liturgic Church in America is, therefore, -not one of creation, but of administration. Whatever the mission of the -Church is to be in our national life, the opportunities of its music are -not to be less than of old, but greater. It is evident that the notion of -conviction of sin and sudden conversion is gradually losing the place -which it formerly held in ecclesiastical theory, and is being -supplemented, if not supplanted, by the notion of spiritual nurture. The -Church is finding its permanent and comprehensive task in alliance with -those forces that make for social regeneration; no longer to separate -souls from the world and prepare them for a future state of existence, -but to work to establish the kingdom of God here on earth; not denying -the rights of the wholesome human instincts, but disciplining and -refining them for fraternal service. In this broader sphere art, -especially music, will be newly commissioned and her benign powers -utilized with ever-increasing intelligence. The Church can never recover -the old musical leadership which was wrested from her in the seventeenth -and eighteenth centuries by the opera, the choral society, and the -concert system, but in the twentieth she will find means of coöperating -with these institutions for the general welfare. - -The council of Carthage in the fourth century laid this injunction upon -church singers: "See that what thou singest with thy lips thou believest -in thy heart; and what thou believest in thy heart thou dost exemplify in -thy life." This admonition can never lose its authority; back of true -church music there must be faith. There comes, however, to supplement -this ancient warning, the behest from modern culture that the music of -the sanctuary shall adapt itself to the complex and changing conditions -of modern life, and while it submits to the pure spirit of worship it -shall grow continually in those qualities which make it worthy to be -honored by the highest artistic taste. For among the venerable traditions -of the Church, sanctioned by the wisdom of her rulers from the time of -the fathers until now, is one which bids her cherish the genius of her -children, and use the appliances of imagination and skill to add strength -and grace to her habitations, beauty, dignity, and fitness to her -ordinances of worship. - - - - - BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -List of books that are of especial value to the student of church music, -not including works on church history. Books that the author deems of -most importance are marked by a star. - - -*Ambros. Geschichte der Musik, 5 vols. and index. Leipzig, Leuckart, -1880-1887. - -*Archer and Reed (editors). The Choral Service Book. Philadelphia, -General Council Publication Board, 1901. - -*Bacon and Allen (editors). The Hymns of Martin Luther set to their -Original Melodies, with an English Version. New York, Scribner, 1883. - -Bäumker. Das Katholische-deutsche Kirchenlied. Freiburg, Herder, 1886. - -Burney. General History of Music, 4 vols. London, 1776. - -*Caecilien Kalendar, 5 vols.; Haberl, editor. Regensburg, 1876-1885. - -Clément. Histoire générale de la musique religieuse. Paris, Adrien le -Clere, 1861. - -Chappell. History of Music from the Earliest Records to the Fall of the -Roman Empire. London, Chappell. - -Chrysander. Georg Friedrich Haendel, 3 vols. (unfinished). Leipzig, -Breitkopf & Haertel, 1856-1867. - -*Coussemaker. Histoire de l'harmonie au Moyen Age. Paris, Didron, 1852. - -*Curwen. Studies in Worship Music, 2 vols. London, Curwen. - -Davey. History of English Music. London, Curwen, 1895. - -*Dommer. Elemente der Musik. Leipzig, Weigl, 1862. - -*Dommer. Handbuch der Musikgeschichte. Leipzig, Grunow, 1878. - -Duen. Clement Marot et la psautier huguenot, 2 vols. Paris, 1878. - -Duffield. English Hymns. New York, Funk, 1888. - -Duffield. Latin Hymn Writers and their Hymns. New York, Funk, 1889. - -Earle. The Sabbath in Puritan New England. New York, Scribner, 1891. - -Engel. Musical Instruments (South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks). -London, Chapman & Hall. - -*Engel. The Music of the Most Ancient Nations. London, Murray, 1864. - -Fetis. Biographie universelle des Musiciens, 8 vols. with 2 supplementary -vols. by Pougin. Paris, Didot. - -*Gevaert. La Mélopée antique dans le Chant de l'Église latine. Gand, -Hoste, 1895. - -*Gevaert. Les Origines du Chant liturgique de l'Église latine. Gand, -Hoste, 1890. - -Glass. The Story of the Psalter. London, Paul, 1888. - -Gould. Church Music in America. Boston, Gould, 1853. - -*Grove. Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 4 vols. London, Macmillan, -1879-1890. - -*Haberl. Magister Choralis, tr. by Donnelly. Regensburg and New York, -Pustet, 1892. - -Häuser. Geschichte des Christlichen Kirchengesanges und der Kirchenmusik. -Quedlinburg, Basse, 1834. - -Hawkins. General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 3 vols. -London, 1853. - -*Helmore. Plain Song (Novello's Music Primers). London, Novello. - -Hoffman von Fallersleben. Geschichte des deutschen Kirchenliedes bis auf -Luther's Zeit. Hannover, Rümpler, 1861. - -Hope. Mediaeval Music. London, Stock, 1894. - -*Horder. The Hymn Lover. London, Curwen, 1889. - -Hughes. Contemporary American Composers. Boston, Page, 1900. - -*Jakob. Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche. Landshut, Thomann, 1885. - -*Jebb. The Choral Service of the United Church of England and Ireland. -London, Parker, 1843. - -*Julian. Dictionary of Hymnology. London, Murray, 1892. - -Kaiser and Sparger. A Collection of the Principal Melodies of the -Synagogue. Chicago, Rubovits, 1893. - -*Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch; Haberl, editor. Regensburg, begun in -1886. - -Koch. Geschichte des Kirchenliedes und Kirchengesanges, 8 vols. -Stuttgart, Belser, 1866. - -*Köstlin. Geschichte des Christlichen Gottesdienstes. Freiburg, Mohr, -1887. - -*Kretzschmar. Führer durch den Concertsaal: Kirchliche Werke. Leipzig, -Liebeskind, 1888. - -*Kümmerle. Eucycloplëdie der evangelischen Kirchenmusik, 4 vols. -Gütersloh, Bertelsmann, 1888-1895. - -Laughans. Geschichte der Musik des 17, 18 und 19 Jahrhunderts, 2 vols. -Leipzig, Leuckart, 1887. - -La Trobe. The Music of the Church. London, Seeley, 1831. - -Liliencron. Deutsches Leben im Volkslied um 1530. Stuttgart, Spemann, -1884. - -Malim. English Hymn Tunes from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time. -London, Reeves. - -*Marbecke. The Book of Common Prayer with Musical Notes; Rimbault, -editor. London, Novello, 1845. - -Maskell. Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England. - -McClintock and Strong. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and -Ecclesiastical Literature. New York, Harper, 1867-1885. - -*Mees. Choirs and Choral Music. New York, Scribner, 1901. - -Mendel-Reissmann. Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon, 11 vols. Leipzig, -List & Francke. - -Naumann. History of Music, tr. by Praeger, 2 vols. London, Cassell. - -*Neale. Hymns of the Eastern Church. London, 1882. - -*O'Brien. History of the Mass. New York, Catholic Pub. Soc., 1893. - -*Oxford History of Music, 6 vols.; Hadow, editor. Oxford, Clarendon -Press, now appearing. - -*Parry. Evolution of the Art of Music. New York, Appleton, 1896. - -Perkins and Dwight. History of the Handel and Haydn Society. Boston, -Mudge, 1883-1893. - -Pothier. Les Melodies gregoriennes. German translation by Kienle. - -*Pratt. Musical Ministries in the Church. New York, Revell, 1901. -Contains valuable bibliography. - -*Proctor. History of the Book of Common Prayer. London, Macmillan, 1892. - -Riemann. Catechism of Musical History, 2 vols. London, Angener; New York, -Schirmer. - -Ritter, A. W. Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels. Leipzig, Hesse, 1884. - -Ritter, F. L. Music in America. New York, Scribner, 1890. - -Ritter, F. L. Music in England. New York, Scribner, 1890. - -Rousseau. Dictionnaire de Musique. - -Rowbotham. History of Music, 3 vols. London, Trübner, 1885-1887. - -Same, 1 vol. - -Schelle. Die Sixtinische Kapelle. Wien, Gotthard, 1872. - -Schlecht. Geschichte der Kirchenmusik. Regensburg, Coppenrath, 1879. - -Schletterer. Geschichte der kirchlichen Dichtung und geistlichen Musik. -Nördlingen, Beck, 1866. - -Schletterer. Studien zur Geschichte der französischen Musik. Berlin, -Damköhler, 1884-1885. - -*Schubiger. Die Sängerschule St. Gallens. Einsiedeln, Benziger, 1858. - -Spencer. Concise Explanation of the Church Modes. London, Novello. - -*Spitta. Johann Sebastian Bach, 3 vols., tr. by Clara Bell and J. A. -Fuller Maitland. London, Novello, 1884-1888. - -Spitta. Musikgeschichtliche Aufsätze. Berlin, Paetel, 1894. - -Spitta. Zur Musik. Berlin, Paetel, 1892. - -*Stainer. The Music of the Bible. London, Cassell, 1882. - -Stainer and Barrett. Dictionary of Musical Terms. Boston, Ditson. - -Thibaut. Purity in Music, tr. by Broadhouse. London, Reeves. - -*Wagner, P. Einführung in die gregorianischen Melodien. Freiburg -(Schweiz), Veith, 1895. - -Winterfeld. Das evangelische Kirchengesang, 3 vols. Leipzig, Breitkopf & -Haertel, 1845. - -Winterfeld. Johannes Gabrieli und sein Zeitalter, 2 vols. Berlin, -Schlesinger, 1834. - -*Wiseman. Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week. Baltimore, -Kelly, 1850. - - - - - INDEX - - - A - - Act of Supremacy, 325, 328, 329. - Agathon, pope, 110. - Agnus Dei, 90. - Ahle, 266. - Ainsworth, psalm-book of, 376. - Altenburg, 266. - Ambrose, St., 58; - introduces psalm singing into Milan, 66. - Anerios, the, 133, 168. - Anthem, Anglican, 346; - its different forms, 348; - periods and styles, 353. - Aria, Italian, origin of, 190; - its supremacy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 191; - its introduction into church music in Italy, 193, 269; - influence upon German church music, 267, 269, 318; - adoption into the cantata, 273; - into the Passion music, 276, 280. - Art, Catholic conception of religious, 70, 174; - Calvinist and Puritan hostility to art in connection with worship, - 363, 369, 372. - Asor, 23. - Assyrians, religious music among the, 12. - Attwood, 354. - Augustine, missionary to England, 117. - Augustine, St., quoted, 51, 67; - traditional author, with St. Ambrose, of the Te Deum, 58; - effect of music upon, 372. - - - B - - Bach, Johann Sebastian, his relation to German church music, 282, - 287, 289; - the Bach family, 284; - Bach's birth, education, and official positions, 286; - condition of German music in his early days, 287; - his organ music, 290, 292; - fugues, 292; - choral preludes, 295; - cantatas, 300; - style of his arias, 304; - of his choruses, 305; - Passion according to St. Matthew, 307; - compared with Händel's "Messiah," 307; - its formal arrangement and style, 308; - performance by Mendelssohn, 312; - the Mass in B minor, 204, 211, 312; - national and individual character of Bach's genius, 314; - its universality, 316; - decline of his influence after his death, 317. - Bach Society, New, 322. - Bardi, 188. - Barnby, 355, 383. - Battishill, 354. - Beethoven, his Mass in D, 119, 200, 204, 210. - Behem, 229. - Benedictus, 88. - Bennett, 355. - Berlioz, his Requiem, 199, 200, 204. - Beza, 360. - Bisse, quoted, 338. - Boleyn, Anne, 326. - Bonar, 381. - Boniface, 118. - Bourgeois, 360. - Boyce, 354. - Brethren of the Common Life, 234. - Bridge, 355. - Buxtehude, 292. - Byrd, 350. - - - C - - Caccini, 188, 189, 190. - Calvin, his hostility to forms in worship, 358, 363; - adopts the psalms of Marot and Beza, 360. - Canon of the Mass, 89. - Cantata, German church, 270, 272; - origin and development, 273. - See also Bach. - Cartwright, his attack upon the established Church, 367. - Cary sisters, 381. - Cassell, quoted, 45. - Catherine, wife of Henry VIII., 326. - Celestine I., pope, 110. - Chalil, 22. - Chant, nature of, 40, 97; - the form of song in antiquity, 40; - its origin in the early Church, 51; - its systematic culture in the Roman Church, sixth century, 67. - Chant, Anglican, 336, 340; - Gregorian movement in the Church of England, 342; - first harmonized chants, 345. - Chant, Catholic ritual, epoch of, 93; - liturgic importance, 94, 99, 405; - general character, 95, 104; - different classes, 103; - rhythm, 105; - rules of performance, 105; - origin and development, 99, 109; - key system, 113; - mediaeval embellishment, 115; - extension over Europe, 117; - legends connected with, 122; - later neglect and revived modern study, 126; - use in the early Lutheran Church, 260; - "Gregorians" in the Church of England, 337, 341. - Charlemagne, his service to the Roman liturgy and chant, 118. - Charles II., king of England, his patronage of church music, 352. - Cherubini, mass music of, 204, 213. - Choral, German, sources of, 260; - at first not harmonized, 262; - later rhythmic alterations, 263; - its occasional adoption by Catholic churches, 264; - its condition in the seventeenth century, 265; - decline in the eighteenth century, 266; - choral tunes in the cantata, 274, 302; - in the Passion music, 280; - as an element in organ music, 290, 294; - use in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, 308, 309, 311. - Choral, or Cathedral mode of performing the Anglican service, 333. - Clement of Alexandria, quoted, 54; - his song to the Logos, 56. - Clement VII., pope, 326. - Colet, 327. - Common Prayer, Book of, 328, 330; - musical setting by Marbecke, 337, 369. - Communion, 90. - Congregational singing, its decline in the early Church, 48; - vital place in Protestant worship, 223; - in Germany before the Reformation, 228 _et seq._; - not encouraged in the Catholic Church, 240; - in the Church of Luther, 242; - among the Puritans, 376. - Constantine, edicts of, 62. - Constitutions of the Apostles, 47. - Cosmas, St., 60. - Counterpoint, mediaeval, growth of, 140, 148. - Counter-Reformation, 156, 264. - Cowper, 381, 387. - Coxe, 381. - Cranmer, 328, 329, 331, 337. - Credo, 88. - Croce, 168. - Cromwell, 369, 371, 372. - Crotch, 354. - Crüger, 266. - Curwen, quoted, 343. - Cymbals, 24, 26. - - - D - - Dance, religious, its prominence in primitive worship, 3; - twofold purpose, 5; - among the Egyptians, 6; - among the Greeks, 6; - in early Christian worship, 8. - David, his contribution to the Hebrew ritual, 24. - Day's psalter, 345. - Deutsche Messe, Luther's, 245, 247. - Dies Irae, 60. - Discant, first form of mediaeval part writing, 138. - Dubois, 217. - Durante, 213. - Dvorák, his Requiem, 204, 219; - Stabat Mater, 219. - Dykes, 383. - - - E - - Eccard, 271. - Eckart, 229, 231. - Edward VI., king of England, 327, 328. - Egyptians, religious music among the, 12. - "Ein' feste Burg," 251, 252, 253, 259, 264, 302. - Ekkehard V., quoted, 121. - Elizabeth, queen of England, 327, 329, 332, 358. - Ellerton, 381. - Ephraem, 57. - Erasmus, 327. - Eybler, 207. - - - F - - Faber, 381. - Faunce, quoted, 403. - Female voice not employed in ancient Hebrew worship, 29; - similar instances of exclusion in the modern Church, 30. - Festivals, primitive, 4; - in the early Church, 65. - Flagellants, 231. - Folk-song, as possible origin of some of the ancient psalm - melodies, 31; - German religious, before the Reformation, 228 _et seq._; - German secular, transformed into religious, 232; - folk-tunes as sources of the Lutheran choral, 261. - Formula Missae, Luther's, 245. - Franc, 360. - Franck, 218. - Frank, 266. - Frauenlob, 229. - Frescobaldi, 292. - Froberger, 292. - Fuller, quoted, 375. - - - G - - Gabrieli, Giovanni, 170. - Gabrielis, the, 93, 133, 170. - Galilei, 188. - Garrett, 355. - Gerhardt, 266, 311. - Gevaert, works on the origins of the Gregorian chant, quoted, 109. - Gibbons, 350, 352. - Gibbons, Cardinal, quoted, 75, 84. - Gigout, 217. - Gloria in excelsis, 58, 87. - Glossolalia, 44. - Goss, 355. - Gottfried von Strassburg, 229. - Goudimel, 154, 360. - Gounod, mass music of, 199, 200, 213, 216. - Gradual, 88. - Greeks, religious music among the, 14, 19; - Greek influence upon early Christian worship, 42, 63, 65; - relation of Greek music to Christian, 52. - Green, quoted, 117. - Greene, 354. - Gregorian Chant, see Chant, Catholic ritual. - Gregory I., pope, his traditional services to the ritual chant, - 107; - objections to this tradition, 108. - Gregory II., pope, 113. - Gregory III., pope, 113. - Grell, 212, 321. - Guilmant, 217. - - - H - - Händel, 279, 297, 306, 319, 323, 354; - the "Messiah," 307. - Hammerschmidt, 266. - Harmony, virtually unknown in ancient music, 18; - beginnings in modern music, 130; - change from mediaeval to modern, 201. - Hartmann von Aue, 229. - Hasler, 271. - Hauptmann, 321. - Havert, 212. - Haydn, mass music of, 205, 208; - "The Creation" stimulates formation of choral societies in Germany, - 319. - Haves, 354. - Hazozerah, 22. - Heber, 381. - Hebrews, did not assign a superhuman source to music, 14; - their employment of music, 20; - nature and uses of instruments, 21; - ritualistic developments under David and Solomon, 24; - psalms and the method of singing them, 27. - Henry VIII., king of England, - declares himself head of the English Church, 325; - not the originator of the Reformation in England, 316; - changes in policy, 328. - Hervé, 122. - Hezekiah, restoration of the temple worship by, 25. - Holmes, 381. - Hooker, author of _The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, - his defence of the music and art of the established Church, - 367, 404. - Hooper, 329. - Hopkins, 355, 383. - Horder, author of _The Hymn Lover_, 381 n. - Hucbald, 136. - Hus, founder of Bohemian hymnody, 233. - Hymn-books, early Bohemian, 233; - first Lutheran, 249; - Catholic German, 264; - recent American, 385. - See also Psalmody. - Hymns, their first appearance in Christian literature and worship, - 42, 46; - Greek hymns in the early Christian Church, 56. - Hymns, Bohemian, 233. - Hymns, English and American, 379 _et seq._; - "uninspired" hymns not permitted by Calvin and the Puritans, - 361, 373; - hymns of Watts and the Wesleys, 379; - beauty and range of the later English and American hymnody, - 380. - Hymns, Latin, 60, 235. - Hymns, Lutheran, historic importance of, 225, 303; - introduction into the liturgy, 247; - first hymn-books, 249. - See also Luther. - Hymns, pre-Reformation German, their history and character, 228; - not liturgic, 240. - Hymns, Syrian, 57. - Hymn-tunes, English, 382. - Hymn-tunes, German, see Choral. - - - I - - Ignatius, St., traditional introduction of chanting into the Church - by, 48. - Ildefonso, St, 118. - Instruments, how first used in worship, 3, 10; - their use in Egyptian ceremonies, 12; - among the Greeks, 14; - among the Hebrews, 21, 32; - not used in the early Church, 54. - - - J - - Jakob, quoted, 77, 175. - James, St., liturgy of, 49. - Jean de Muris, quoted, 146. - Jebb, quoted, 333, 335, 339. - Jews, see Hebrews. - John Damascene, St., 60. - John the Deacon, author of a life of Gregory I., 108. - Jomelli, 213. - Joaquin des Prés, 133, 154. - - - K - - Kahle, 376, 381. - Kiel, 212, 321. - Kinnor, 21. - Kretzschmar, quoted, 306. - Kunrad der Marner, 229. - Kyrie eleison, 57, 87; - popular use in Germany, 229. - - - L - - Lanciani, quoted, 63. - Lang, Andrew, quoted, 7. - Laodicea, injunction in regard to singing by council of, 50, 51. - Lassus, 93, 133, 154, 167, 172. - Latimer, 329. - Lemaire, quoted, 116. - Leo I., pope, 110. - Lesueur, 214. - "Lining out," 370. - Liszt, criticisms upon Paris church music, 206; - imagines a new style of religious music, 214. - Liturgy, Anglican, 329; - modes of rendering, 333 _et seq._; - intoning of prayers, 337. - Liturgy, Catholic, origin of, 81, 83; - language of, 82; - outline and components of, 87; - a musical liturgy, 92. - Liturgy, Luther's, see Formula Missae, and Deutsche Messe. - Liturgy of St. James, 49, 50; - of St. Mark, 49. - Longfellow, translation of "O gladsome light," 58. - Lotti, 133. - Louis IX., king of France, 148. - Luther, his service to German hymnody, 226, 243, 248; - his reform of the liturgy, 244; - his theory of worship, 245; - origin of his hymns, 250; - their spirit and literary style, 251; - nature of his work for congregational music, 258; - Luther not a composer of tunes, 259; - quoted, 260. - Lyric poetry, two forms of, 27. - Lyte, 381. - - - M - - Mackenzie, 355. - Marbecke, his musical setting of the English Prayer Book, 337. - Marot, psalm translations of, 359. - Martin, 355. - Mary, queen of England, reaction under, 329, 332. - Mass, theory of, 83, 91, 240; - different kinds of, 85; - in England, 328, 332. - See also Liturgy, Catholic. - Milman, 381. - Milton, 365. - Mixed mode of performing the Anglican service, 335. - Monk, 355, 383. - Montgomery, 381. - - - N - - Naninis, the, 168. - Neale, quoted on the Greek hymns, 59. - Nebel, 22. - Netherlanders, age of the, 149. - Neukomm, 207. - Newman, 381. - Newton, 381, 387. - Nicholas I., pope, 122. - Notker Balbulus, reputed founder of the Sequence, 121. - - - O - - Oblation of the Host, 88. - Offertory, 88. - Opera, invention of, 186, 188; - ideal and form of early Italian, 190; - opera and church, 193. - Oratorio, its rise in Germany and effect on church music, 319. - Organ music, its beginnings in Venice, 169, 171; - in the German Protestant Church, 269, 270, 290; - Bach's organ works, see Bach. - Organs, Puritan hatred of, 365, 370; - destroyed by the Puritans, 371. - Organum, 136. - Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, 331. - - - P - - Pachelbel, 292. - Palestrina, 93, 133, 151; - the Mass of Pope Marcellus, 152, 154; - myth of the rescue of church music by Palestrina, 152; - compared with Lassus, 173. - "Palestrina style," 158; - tonality, 158; - construction, 159; - tone color, how produced, 166; - aesthetic and religious effect, 173, 177; - limits of characterization, 178. - Palmer, 381. - Parallelism in Hebrew poetry, 28. - Parochial mode of performing the Anglican service, 335. - Passion music, German, 270, 272; - origin and early development, 274; - from Schütz to Bach, Hamburg Passions, 280. - Passion play, 274. - Pater, quoted, 400. - Paul, St., his injunction in regard to song, 42; - allusion to the glossolalia, 44. - Pergolesi, 213. - Philo, 48. - Pietism, its effect on church music, 266, 319. - Plain Song, see Chant, Catholic ritual; also Chant, Anglican. - Plato, his opinion of the purpose of music, 14. - Pliny, his report to Trajan concerning Christian singing, 47. - Plutarch on the function of music, 15. - "Pointing," 341. - Post-Communion, 90. - Prayer Book, see Common Prayer, Book of. - Preface, 88. - Psalmody, Puritan, 369, 373; - methods of singing, 377, 405. - Psalms, how sung in the ancient Hebrew worship, 27; - adopted by the Christians, 41; - antiphonal psalmody in Milan in the fourth century, 66; - in Rome in the fifth century, 67; - in the Church of England, see Chant, Anglican; - metrical psalm versions, see Psalmody. - Psalter, Geneva, origin of, 359. - Psaltery, 23. - Purcell, 347, 352. - Puritanism, 324, 327, 358, 364 _et seq._ - Puritans, their hostility to artistic music, 365 _et seq._; - their attacks upon episcopacy and ritualism, 366, 369; - their ravages in the churches, 371; - their tenets and usages maintained after the Restoration, 372; - Puritan music in America, 390. - - - R - - Recitative, 188. - Reformation in England, its nature, causes, and progress, 325 _et - seq._ - Reinken, 295. - Reinmar der Zweter, 229. - Renaissance, its influence upon musical development, 185, 187, 272; - parallel between Renaissance religious painting and Catholic - Church music, 194. - Requiem Mass, 85. - Rheinberger, 212. - Richter, 321. - Ridley, 329. - Robert, king of France, 147. - Romanus, 119. - Rossini, religious music of, 207, 213. - - - S - - Sachs, 229. - St. Cecilia Society, 180, 212. - St. Gall, convent of, as a musical centre, 118. - Saint-Säens, 217. - Sanctus, 88. - Savages, religious sentiment among, 2; - methods of religious expression, 3. - Schaff, quoted, 44. - Scheidt, 292. - Schleiermacher, 321. - Schola Cantorum, 181, 288 n. - Schop, 266. - Schubert, masses of, 199, 200, 211. - Schubiger, quoted, 119. - Schütz, greatest German composer before Bach and Händel, 277; - his education and musical methods, 277; - Symphoniae sacrae, 278; - dramatic religious works, 278; - Passion settings, 278; - his isolated musical position, 279. - Sechter, 207. - Seminaries, theological, and church music, 406. - Senfl, 264. - Sequence, 88; - origin and early character, 121. - "Service," Anglican, 345. - Shairp, quoted, 398. - Shophar, 22. - Sistrum, 23. - Six Articles, 328. - Smart, 355, 383. - Spencer, Herbert, quoted, 5, 15. - Speratus, 249. - Spitta, quoted, 322. - Stainer, 355; - quoted, 342. - Stanford, 355. - Sternhold and Hopkins, psalm version of, 375, 377. - _Stile famigliare_, 151, 158, 159. - Sullivan, 355, 383. - Swelinck, 292. - Symbolism, in ancient music, 11, 14. - Synagogue, worship in the ancient, 33; - modified by the Christians, 41. - Synesius, 57. - - - T - - Tallis, 168, 345, 350. - Tate and Brady, psalm version of, 376. - Tauler, 229, 231, 238. - Taylor, Bayard, quoted, 254. - Te Deum, 58. - Therapeutae, 48. - Thirty Years' War, 264, 265, 285. - Thomas à Kempis, 224. - Tones, Gregorian, 100. - Tones, psalm, see Tones, Gregorian. - Toph, 22. - Tours, 355. - Tractus, 88. - - - U - - Ugab, 22. - - - V - - Van Laun, quoted, 359. - Vehe, 264. - Venice, church music in, 168. - Verdi, his Requiem, 199, 200, 213, 218. - Vittoria, 133, 168. - - - W - - Wackernagel's collection of German pre-Reformation hymns, 228. - Wagner, P., quoted, 104. - Walther, Johann, 249, 259, 260, 264. - Walther von der Vogelweide, 229. - Watts, psalm version of, 376; - hymns, 379, 380, 387. - Wesley, Charles, 379, 381. - Wesley, John, 379. - Wesleyan movement, revival of hymn singing in the, 379. - Whittier, 381. - Wiclif, 327. - Willaert, 133, 168, 169. - Winterfeld, quoted, 170. - Wiseman, quoted, 76. - Witt, founder of St. Cecilia Society, 180. - Wrangham, 376. - - - - - Footnotes - - -[1]Brinton, _The Religions of Ancient Peoples._ - -[2]Brown, _The Fine Arts_. - -[3]Spencer, _Professional Institutions: Dancer and Musician_. - -[4]Lang, _Myth, Ritual, and Religion_. - -[5]A full account of ancient Assyrian music, so far as known, may be - found in Engel's _Music of the Most Ancient Nations_. - -[6]"Long ago they [the Egyptians] appear to have recognized the principle - that their young citizens must be habituated to forms and strains of - virtue. These they fixed, and exhibited the patterns of them in their - temples; and no painter or artist is allowed to innovate upon them, or - to leave the traditional forms and invent new ones. To this day no - alteration is allowed either in these arts, or in music at - all."--Plato, _Laws_, Book II., Jowett's translation. - -[7]Chappell, _History of Music_. - -[8]Erman, _Life in Ancient Egypt_, translated by Tirard. - -[9]See Plato, _Republic_, book iii. - -[10]Ambros, _Geschichte der Musik_. - -[11]Gen. xxxi. 27. - -[12]Ex. xix. - -[13]Jos. vi. - -[14]Num. x. 2-8. - -[15]2 Chron. v. 12, 13; xxix. 26-28. - -[16]2 Chron. xiii. 12, 14. - -[17]1 Sam. x. 5. - -[18]Chappell, _History of Music_, Introduction. - -[19]For extended descriptions of ancient musical instruments the reader - is referred to Chappell, _History of Music_; Engel, _The Music of the - Most Ancient Nations_; and Stainer, _The Music of the Bible_. - -[20]2 Sam. vi. 5. - -[21]2 Sam. vi. 14, 15. - -[22]1 Chron. xvi. 5, 6. - -[23]1 Chron. xxiii. 5. - -[24]1 Chron. xxv.; 2 Chron. v. 12. See also 2 Chron. v. 11-14. - -[25]2 Chron. xxix. 25-30. - -[26]Ezra iii. 10, 11. - -[27]Neh. xii. - -[28]_Synagogue Music_, by F. L. Cohen, in _Papers read at the - Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition_, London, 1847. - -[29]Ps. cxiii-cxviii. - -[30]Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16. - -[31]1 Cor. xii. and xiv. - -[32]Schaff, _History of the Christian Church_, I. p. 234 f.; p. 435. - -[33]1 Cor. xiv. 27, 28. - -[34]Chappell, _History of Music_. - -[35]Among such supposed quotations are: Eph. v. 14; 1 Tim. iii. 16; 2 - Tim. ii. 11; Rev. iv. 11; v. 9-13; xi. 15-18; xv. 3, 4. - -[36]_Constitutions of the Apostles_, book. ii. chap. 57. - -[37]Hefele, _History of the Councils of the Church_, translated by - Oxenham. - -[38]St. Augustine, _Confessions_. - -[39]Klesewetter, _Geschichte der europäich-abendländischen Musik_. - -[40]For an exhaustive discussion of the history of the Te Deum see - Julian's _Dictionary of Hymnology_. - -[41]_Hymns of the Eastern Church_, translated, with notes and an - introduction by J. M. Neale, D.D. - -[42]Lanciani, _Pagan and Christian Rome_. - -[43]St. Augustine, _Confessions_, book ix. chap. 7. - -[44]St. Augustine, _Confessions_, book ix. chap. 6. - -[45]Gibbons, _The Faith of our Fathers_, chap. 24. - -[46]_Caecilien Kalendar_ (Regensburg), 1879. - -[47]Wiseman, _Four Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week as - performed in the Papal Chapels, delivered in Rome, 1837_. - -[48]Jakob, _Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche_. - -[49]Sermon by Dr. Leonhard Kuhn, published in the _Kirchenmusikalisches - Jahrbuch_ (Regensburg), 1892. - -[50]O'Brien, _History of the Mass_. - -[51]Gibbons, _The Faith of our Fathers_. - -[52]The musical composition commonly called a Mass--such, for instance as - the Imperial Mass of Haydn, the Mass in C by Beethoven, the St. - Cecilia Mass by Gounod--is a musical setting of those portions of the - office of the Mass that are invariable and that are sang by a choir. - These portions are the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Benedictus, - and Agnus Dei. The musical composition called Requiem, or Mass for the - Dead, consists of the Introit--Requiem aeternam and Te decet hymnus, - Kyrie eleison, Dies Irae, Offertory (Domine Jesu Christe), - Communion--Lux aeterna, and sometimes with the addition of Libera me - Domine. These choral Masses must always be distinguished from the - larger office of the Mass of which they form a part. - -[53]It is worthy of note, as a singular instance of the exaltation of a - comparatively unimportant word, that the word Mass, Lat. Missa, is - taken from the ancient formula of dismissal, Ite, missa est. - -[54]Wagner, _Einführung in die Gregorianischen Melodien_. - -[55]Sauter, _Choral und Liturgie_. - -[56]Gevaert first announced his conclusions in a discourse pronounced at - a public session of the class in fine arts of the Academy of Belgium - at Brussels, and which was published in 1890, under the title of _Les - Origines du Chant liturgique de l' Église latine._ This essay was - amplified five years later into a volume of 446 pages, entitled _La - Mélopée antique dans le Chant de l' Église latine_. These works are - published by Ad. Hoste, Ghent. - -[57]Lemaire, _Le Chant, ses principes et son histoire_. - -[58]Green, _Short History of the English People_. - -[59]Montalembert, _The Monks of the West_, vol. ii. - -[60]Montalembert, _The Monks of the West_, vol. ii. - -[61]_Ibid._ - -[62]Ambros, _Geschichte der Musik_, vol. ii. - -[63]The offices, chiefly conventual, in which the chant is employed - throughout are exceptions to the general rule. - -[64]This distinction between harmony and counterpoint is fundamental, but - no space can be given here to its further elucidation. The point will - easily be made clear by comparing an ordinary modern hymn tune with - the first section of a fugue. - -[65]Mendelssohn, in his letter to Zelter describing the music of the - Sixtine Chapel, is enthusiastic over the beautiful effect of the - _abellimenti_ in Allegri's Miserere. - -[66]Winterfeld, _Johannes Gabrieli und sein Zeitalter_. - -[67]Jakob, _Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche_. - -[68]Wackernagel, _Das deutsche Kirchenlied von der ältesten Zeit bis zu - Anfang des XVII. Jahrhunderts_. - -[69]Hoffmann von Fallersleben, _Geschichte des deutschen Kirchenliedes - bis auf Luther's Zeit_. - -[70]Taylor, _Studies in German Literature_. - -[71]Koch, _Geschichte des Kirchenliedes und Kirchegesanges der - christlichen insbesondere der deutschen evangelischen Kirche_. - -[72]Bacon and Allen, editors: _The Hymns of Martin Luther set to their - Original Melodies, with an English Version_. - -[73]The performance of Bach's cantatas by the Catholic Schola Cantorum of - Paris is one of many testimonies to the universality of the art of - this son of Lutheranism. - -[74]Kretzschmar, _Führer durch den Concertsaal; Kirchliche Werke_. - -[75]Arsène Alexandre, _Histoire populaire de la Peinture_. - -[76]Spitta, _Zur Musik: Wiederbelebung protestantischer Kirchenmusik auf - geschichtlicher Grundlage_. - -[77]Jebb, _Choral Service of the United Church of England and Ireland_. - -[78]An edition of Marbecke's Book of Common Prayer with Notes, edited by - Rimbault, was published by Novello, London, in 1845. - -[79]Curwen, _Studies in Worship Music_. - -[80]_Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, book v., secs. 38 and 39. - -[81]It appears from this injunction that the grotesque custom of "lining - out" or "deaconing" the psalm was not original in New England, but was - borrowed, like most of the musical customs of our Puritan forefathers, - from England. - -[82]Curwen, _Studies in Worship Music_. - -[83]This has been done by several writers, but by no other in such - admirable fashion as by Horder in his delightful book, _The Hymn - Lover_ (London, Curwen, 1889). - -[84]Hooker, _Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, book v. chap. 15. - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---This eBook includes the publisher information from its printed - exemplar; the text is in the public domain in the U.S. (author DoD - 1946). - ---The cover image was generated by volunteers for free use with this - eBook. - ---MIDI files were sequenced by volunteers for this eBook, and are - considered to be in the public domain. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Music in the History of the Western -Church, by Edward Dickinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - -***** This file should be named 43208-8.txt or 43208-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/2/0/43208/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Music in the History of the Western Church - -Author: Edward Dickinson - -Release Date: July 13, 2013 [EBook #43208] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - - - - - -</pre> <div id="ttlpage"> <div id="cover" class="img"> @@ -14380,372 +14348,7 @@ fashion as by Horder in his delightful book, <i>The Hymn Lover</i> -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Music in the History of the Western -Church, by Edward Dickinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - -***** This file should be named 43208-h.htm or 43208-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/2/0/43208/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43208 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/43208.txt b/43208.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0e1dcb9..0000000 --- a/43208.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11338 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Music in the History of the Western Church, by -Edward Dickinson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Music in the History of the Western Church - -Author: Edward Dickinson - -Release Date: July 13, 2013 [EBook #43208] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - - - - - - - - - MUSIC IN THE HISTORY - OF THE WESTERN CHURCH - - - _WITH AN INTRODUCTION - ON RELIGIOUS MUSIC AMONG PRIMITIVE AND - ANCIENT PEOPLES_ - - BY - EDWARD DICKINSON - _Professor of the History of Music, in the Conservatory of Music, - Oberlin College_ - - HASKELL HOUSE PUBLISHERS Ltd. - _Publishers of Scarce Scholarly Books_ - NEW YORK. N.Y. 20012 - 1969 - - First Published 1902 - - HASKELL HOUSE PUBLISHERS Ltd. - _Publishers of Scarce Scholarly Books_ - 280 LAFAYETTE STREET - NEW YORK. N.Y. 10012 - - Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-25286 - Standard Book Number 8383-0301-3 - Printed in the United States of America - - - - - PREFACE - - -The practical administration of music in public worship is one of the -most interesting of the secondary problems with which the Christian -Church has been called upon to deal. Song has proved such a universal -necessity in worship that it may almost be said, no music no Church. The -endless diversity of musical forms and styles involves the perennial -question, How shall music contribute most effectually to the ends which -church worship has in view without renouncing those attributes upon which -its freedom as fine art depends? - -The present volume is an attempt to show how this problem has been -treated by different confessions and in different nations and times; how -music, in issuing from the bosom of the Church, has been moulded under -the influence of varying ideals of devotion, liturgic usages, national -temperaments, and types and methods of expression current in secular art. -It is the author's chief purpose and hope to arouse in the minds of -ministers and non-professional lovers of music, as well as of church -musicians, an interest in this branch of art such as they cannot feel so -long as its history is unknown to them. A knowledge of history always -tends to promote humility and reverence, and to check the spread of -capricious perversions of judgment. Even a feeble sense of the grandeur -and beauty of the forms which ecclesiastical music has taken, and the -vital relation which it has always held in organized worship, will serve -to convince a devoted servant of the Church that its proper -administration is as much a matter of concern to-day as it ever has been -in the past. - -A few of the chapters in this work have appeared in somewhat modified -form in the _American Catholic Quarterly Review_, the _Bibliotheca -Sacra_, and _Music_. The author acknowledges the permission given by the -editors of these magazines to use this material in its present form. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - Chapter Page - I. Primitive and Ancient Religious Music 1 - II. Ritual and Song in the Early Christian Church 36 - III. The Liturgy of the Catholic Church 70 - IV. The Ritual Chant of the Catholic Church 92 - V. The Development of Mediaeval Chorus Music 129 - VI. The Modern Musical Mass 182 - VII. The Rise of the Lutheran Hymnody 223 - VIII. Rise of the German Cantata and Passion 268 - IX. The Culmination of German Protestant Music: Johann - Sebastian Bach 283 - X. The Musical System of the Church of England 323 - XI. Congregational Song in England and America 358 - XII. Problems of Church Music in America 390 - Bibliography 411 - Index 417 - - - - - MUSIC IN THE HISTORY - OF THE - WESTERN CHURCH - - - - - CHAPTER I - PRIMITIVE AND ANCIENT RELIGIOUS MUSIC - - -Leon Gautier, in opening his history of the epic poetry of France, -ascribes the primitive poetic utterance of mankind to a religious -impulse. "Represent to yourselves," he says, "the first man at the moment -when he issues from the hand of God, when his vision rests for the first -time upon his new empire. Imagine, if it be possible, the exceeding -vividness of his impressions when the magnificence of the world is -reflected in the mirror of his soul. Intoxicated, almost mad with -admiration, gratitude, and love, he raises his eyes to heaven, not -satisfied with the spectacle of the earth; then discovering God in the -heavens, and attributing to him all the honor of this magnificence and of -the harmonies of creation, he opens his mouth, the first stammerings of -speech escape his lips--he speaks; ah, no, he sings, and the first song -of the lord of creation will be a hymn to God his creator." - -If the language of poetical extravagance may be admitted into serious -historical composition, we may accept this theatrical picture as an -allegorized image of a truth. Although we speak no longer of a "first -man," and although we have the best reasons to suppose that the earliest -vocal efforts of our anthropoid progenitors were a softly modulated love -call or a strident battle cry rather than a _sursum corda_; yet taking -for our point of departure that stage in human development when art -properly begins, when the unpremeditated responses to simple sensation -are supplemented by the more stable and organized expression of a soul -life become self-conscious, then we certainly do find that the earliest -attempts at song are occasioned by motives that must in strictness be -called religious. The savage is a very religious being. In all the -relations of his simple life he is hedged about by a stiff code of -regulations whose sanction depends upon his recognition of the presence -of invisible powers and his duties to them. He divines a mysterious -presence as pervasive as the atmosphere he breathes, which takes in his -childish fancy diverse shapes, as of ghosts, deified ancestors, -anthropomorphic gods, embodied influences of sun and cloud. In whatever -guise these conceptions may clothe themselves, he experiences a feeling -of awe which sometimes appears as abject fear, sometimes as reverence and -love. The emotions which the primitive man feels under the pressure of -these ideas are the most profound and persistent of which he is capable, -and as they involve notions which are held in common by all the members -of the tribe (for there are no sceptics or nonconformists in the savage -community), they are formulated in elaborate schemes of ceremony. The -religious sentiment inevitably seeks expression in the assembly--"the -means," as Professor Brinton says, "by which that most potent agent in -religious life, collective suggestion, is brought to bear upon the -mind"--the liturgy, the festival, and the sacrifice.[1] By virtue of -certain laws of the human mind which are evident everywhere, in the -highest civilized condition as in the savage, the religious emotion, -intensified by collective suggestion in the assembly, will find -expression not in the ordinary manner of thought communication, but in -those rhythmic and inflected movements and cadences which are the natural -outlet of strong mental excitement when thrown back upon itself. These -gestures and vocal inflections become regulated and systematized in order -that they may be permanently retained, and serve in their reaction to -stimulate anew the mental states by which they were occasioned. Singing, -dancing, and pantomime compose the means by which uncivilized man -throughout the world gives expression to his controlling ideas. The -needed uniformity in movement and accent is most easily effected by -rhythmical beats; and as these beats are more distinctly heard, and also -blend more agreeably with the tones of the voice if they are musical -sounds, a rude form of instrumental music arises. Here we have elements -of public religious ceremony as they exist in the most highly organized -and spiritualized worships,--the assemblage, where common motives produce -common action and react to produce a common mood, the ritual with its -instrumental music, and the resulting sense on the part of the -participant of detachment from material interests and of personal -communion with the unseen powers. - -The symbolic dance and the choral chant are among the most primitive, -probably the most primitive, forms of art. Out of their union came music, -poetry, and dramatic action. Sculpture, painting, and architecture were -stimulated if not actually created under the same auspices. "The -festival," says Prof. Baldwin Brown, "creates the artist."[2] Festivals -among primitive races, as among ancient cultured peoples, are all -distinctly religious. Singing and dancing are inseparable. Vocal music is -a sort of chant, adopted because of its nerve-exciting property, and also -for the sake of enabling a mass of participants to utter the words in -unison where intelligible words are used. A separation of caste between -priesthood and laity is effected in very early times. The ritual becomes -a form of magical incantation; the utterance of the wizard, prophet, or -priest consists of phrases of mysterious meaning or incoherent -ejaculations. - -The prime feature in the earlier forms of worship is the dance. It held -also a prominent place in the rites of the ancient cultured nations, and -lingers in dim reminiscence in the processions and altar ceremonies of -modern liturgical worship. Its function was as important as that of music -in the modern Church, and its effect was in many ways closely analogous. -When connected with worship, the dance is employed to produce that -condition of mental exhilaration which accompanies the expenditure of -surplus physical energy, or as a mode of symbolic, semi-dramatic -expression of definite religious ideas. "The audible and visible -manifestations of joy," says Herbert Spencer, "which culminate in singing -and dancing, have their roots in instinctive actions like those of lively -children who, on seeing in the distance some indulgent relative, run up -to him, joining one another in screams of delight and breaking their run -with leaps; and when, instead of an indulgent relative met by joyful -children, we have a conquering chief or king met by groups of his people, -there will almost certainly occur saltatory and vocal expressions of -elated feeling, and these must become by implication signs of respect and -loyalty,--ascriptions of worth which, raised to a higher power, become -worship."[3] Illustrations of such motives in the sacred dance are found -in the festive procession of women, led by Miriam, after the overthrow of -the Egyptians, the dance of David before the ark, and the dance of the -boy Sophocles around the trophies of Salamis. But the sacred dance is by -no means confined to the discharge of physical energy under the -promptings of joy. The funeral dance is one of the most frequent of such -observances, and dread of divine wrath and the hope of propitiation by -means of rites pleasing to the offended power form a frequent occasion -for rhythmic evolution and violent bodily demonstration. - -Far more commonly, however, does the sacred dance assume a representative -character and become a rudimentary drama, either imitative or emblematic. -It depicts the doings of the gods, often under the supposition that the -divinities are aided by the sympathetic efforts of their devotees. -Certain mysteries, known only to the initiated, are symbolized in bodily -movement. The fact that the dance was symbolic and instructive, like the -sacrificial rite itself, enables us to understand why dancing should have -held such prominence in the worship of nations so grave and intelligent -as the Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks. Representations of religious -processions and dances are found upon the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. -The Egyptian peasant, when gathering his harvest, sacrificed the first -fruits, and danced to testify his thankfulness to the gods. The priests -represented in their dances the course of the stars and scenes from the -histories of Osiris and Isis. The dance of the Israelites in the desert -around the golden calf was probably a reproduction of features of the -Egyptian Apis worship. The myths of many ancient nations represent the -gods as dancing, and supposed imitations of such august examples had a -place in the ceremonies devoted to their honor. The dance was always an -index of the higher or lower nature of the religious conceptions which -fostered it. Among the purer and more elevated worships it was full of -grace and dignity. In the sensuous cults of Phoenicia and Lydia, and -among the later Greek votaries of Cybele and Dionysus, the dance -reflected the fears and passions that issued in bloody, obscene, and -frenzied rites, and degenerated into almost incredible spectacles of -wantonness and riot. - -It was among the Greeks, however, that the religious dance developed its -highest possibilities of expressiveness and beauty, and became raised to -the dignity of a fine art. The admiration of the Greeks for the human -form, their unceasing effort to develop its symmetry, strength, and -grace, led them early to perceive that it was in itself an efficient -means for the expression of the soul, and that its movements and -attitudes could work sympathetically upon the fancy. The dance was -therefore cultivated as a coequal with music and poetry; educators -inculcated it as indispensable to the higher discipline of youth; it was -commended by philosophers and celebrated by poets. It held a prominent -place in the public games, in processions and celebrations, in the -mysteries, and in public religious ceremonies. Every form of worship, -from the frantic orgies of the drunken devotees of Dionysus to the pure -and tranquil adoration offered to Phoebus Apollo, consisted to a large -extent of dancing. Andrew Lang's remark in regard to the connection -between dancing and religious solemnity among savages would apply also to -the Hellenic sacred dance, that "to dance this or that means to be -acquainted with this or that myth, which is represented in a dance or -_ballet d'action_."[4] Among the favorite subjects for pantomimic -representation, united with choral singing, were the combat between -Apollo and the dragon and the sorrows of Dionysus, the commemoration of -the latter forming the origin of the splendid Athenian drama. The ancient -dance, it must be remembered, had as its motive the expression of a wide -range of emotion, and could be employed to symbolize sentiments of -wonder, love, and gratitude. Regularly ordered movements, often -accompanied by gesture, could well have a place in religious ceremony, as -the gods and their relations to mankind were then conceived; and -moreover, at a time when music was in a crude state, rhythmic evolutions -and expressive gestures, refined and moderated by the exquisite sense of -proportion native to the Greek mind, undoubtedly had a solemnizing effect -upon the participants and beholders not unlike that of music in modern -Christian worship. Cultivated as an art under the name of _orchestik_, -the mimic dance reached a degree of elegance and emotional significance -to which modern times afford no proper parallel. It was not unworthy of -the place it held in the society of poetry and music, with which it -combined to form that composite art which filled so high a station in -Greek culture in the golden age. - -The Hellenic dance, both religious and theatric, was adopted by the -Romans, but, like so much that was noble in Greek art, only to be -degraded in the transfer. It passed over into the Christian Church, like -many other ceremonial practices of heathenism, but modified and by no -means of general observance. It appeared on occasions of thanksgiving and -celebrations of important events in the Church's history. The priest -would often lead the dance around the altar on Sundays and festal days. -The Christians sometimes gathered about the church doors at night and -danced and sang songs. There is nothing in these facts derogatory to the -piety of the early Christians. They simply expressed their joy according -to the universal fashion of the age; and especially on those occasions -which, as for instance Christmas, were adaptations of old pagan -festivals, they naturally imitated many of the time-honored observances. -The Christian dance, however, finally degenerated; certain features, such -as the nocturnal festivities, gave rise to scandal; the church -authorities began to condemn them, and the rising spirit of asceticism -drove them into disfavor. The dance was a dangerous reminder of the -heathen worship with all its abominations; and since many pagan beliefs -and customs, with attendant immoralities, lingered for centuries as a -seductive snare to the weaker brethren, the Church bestirred itself to -eliminate all perilous associations from religious ceremony and to arouse -a love for an absorbed and spiritual worship. During the Middle Age, and -even in comparatively recent times in Spain and Spanish America, we find -survivals of the ancient religious dance in the Christian Church, but in -the more enlightened countries it has practically ceased to exist. The -Christian religion is more truly joyful than the Greek; yet the Christian -devotee, even in his most confident moments, no longer feels inclined to -give vent to his happiness in physical movements, for there is mingled -with his rapture a sentiment of awe and submission which bids him adore -but be still. Religious processions are frequent in Christian countries, -but the participants do not, like the Egyptians and Greeks, dance as they -go. We find even in ancient times isolated opinions that public dancing -is indecorous. Only in a naive and childlike stage of society will -dancing as a feature of worship seem appropriate and innocent. As -reflection increases, the unrestrained and conspicuous manifestation of -feeling in shouts and violent bodily movements is deemed unworthy; a more -spiritual conception of the nature of the heavenly power and man's -relation to it requires that forms of worship should become more refined -and moderate. Even the secular dance has lost much of its ancient dignity -from somewhat similar reasons, partly also because the differentiation -and high development of music, taking the place of dancing as a social -art, has relegated the latter to the realm of things outgrown, which no -longer minister to man's intellectual necessities. - -As we turn to the subject of music in ancient religious rites, we find -that where the dance had already reached a high degree of artistic -development, music was still in dependent infancy. The only promise of -its splendid future was in the reverence already accorded to it, and the -universality of its use in prayer and praise. On its vocal side it was -used to add solemnity to the words of the officiating priest, forming the -intonation, or ecclesiastical accent, which has been an inseparable -feature of liturgical worship in all periods. So far as the people had a -share in religious functions, vocal music was employed by them in hymns -to the gods, or in responsive refrains. In its instrumental form it was -used to assist the singers to preserve the correct pitch and rhythm, to -regulate the steps of the dance, or, in an independent capacity, to act -upon the nerves of the worshipers and increase their sense of awe in the -presence of the deity. It is the nervous excitement produced by certain -kinds of musical performance that accounts for the fact that -incantations, exorcisms, and the ceremonies of demon worship among -savages and barbarians are accompanied by harsh-sounding instruments; -that tortures, executions, and human sacrifices, such as those of the -ancient Phoenicians and Mexicans, were attended by the clamor of drums, -trumpets, and cymbals. Even in the Hebrew temple service the blasts of -horns and trumpets could have had no other purpose than that of -intensifying emotions of awe and dread. - -Still another office of music in ancient ceremony, perhaps still more -valued, was that of suggesting definite ideas by means of an associated -symbolism. In certain occult observances, such as those of the Egyptians -and Hindus, relationships were imagined between instruments or melodies -and religious or moral conceptions, so that the melody or random tone of -the instrument indicated to the initiate the associated principle, and -thus came to have an imputed sanctity of its own. This symbolism could be -employed to recall to the mind ethical precepts or religious tenets at -solemn moments, and tone could become a doubly powerful agent by uniting -the effect of vivid ideas to its inherent property of nerve excitement. - -Our knowledge of the uses of music among the most ancient nations is -chiefly confined to its function in religious ceremony. All ancient -worship was ritualistic and administered by a priesthood, and the -liturgies and ceremonial rites were intimately associated with music. The -oldest literatures that have survived contain hymns to the gods, and upon -the most ancient monuments are traced representations of instruments and -players. Among the literary records discovered on the site of Nineveh are -collections of hymns, prayers, and penitential psalms, addressed to the -Assyrian deities, designed, as expressly stated, for public worship, and -which Professor Sayce compares to the English Book of Common Prayer. On -the Assyrian monuments are carved reliefs of instrumental players, -sometimes single, sometimes in groups of considerable numbers. Allusions -in the Bible indicate that the Assyrians employed music on festal -occasions, that hymns to the gods were sung at banquets and dirges at -funerals. The kings maintained bands at their courts, and provided a -considerable variety of instruments for use in the idol worship.[5] - -There is abundant evidence that music was an important factor in the -religious rites of Egypt. The testimony of carved and painted walls of -tombs and temples, the papyrus records, the accounts of visitors, inform -us that music was in Egypt preeminently a sacred art, as it must needs -have been in a land in which, as Ranke says, there was nothing secular. -Music was in the care of the priests, who jealously guarded the sacred -hymns and melodies from innovation and foreign intrusion.[6] In musical -science, knowledge of the divisions of the monochord, systems of keys, -notation, etc., the Egyptians were probably in advance of all other -nations. The Greeks certainly derived much of their musical practice from -the dwellers on the Nile. They possessed an extensive variety of -instruments, from the little tinkling sistrum up to the profusely -ornamented harp of twelve or thirteen strings, which towered above the -performer. From such an instrument as the latter it would seem as though -some kind of harmony must have been produced, especially since the player -is represented as using both hands. But if such were the case, the -harmony could not have been reduced to a scientific system, since -otherwise a usage so remarkable would not have escaped the attention of -the Greek musicians who derived so much of their art from Egypt. Music -never failed at public or private festivity, religious ceremony, or -funeral rite. As in all ancient religions, processions to the temples, -carrying images of the gods and offerings, were attended by dances and -vocal and instrumental performances. Lyrical poems, containing the -praises of gods and heroes, were sung at public ceremonies; hymns were -addressed to the rising and setting sun, to Ammon and the other gods. -According to Chappell, the custom of carolling or singing without words, -like birds, to the gods existed among the Egyptians,--a practice which -was imitated by the Greeks, from whom the custom was transferred to the -Western Church.[7] The chief instrument of the temple worship was the -sistrum, and connected with all the temples in the time of the New Empire -were companies of female sistrum players who stood in symbolic relations -to the god as inmates of his harem, holding various degrees of rank. -These women received high honors, often of a political nature.[8] - -In spite of the simplicity and frequent coarseness of ancient music, the -older nations ascribed to it an influence over the moral nature which the -modern music lover would never think of attributing to his highly -developed art. They referred its invention to the gods, and imputed to it -thaumaturgical properties. The Hebrews were the only ancient cultivated -nation that did not assign to music a superhuman source. The Greek myths -of Orpheus, Amphion, and Arion are but samples of hundreds of marvellous -tales of musical effect that have place in primitive legends. This belief -in the magical power of music was connected with the equally universal -opinion that music in itself could express and arouse definite notions -and passions, and could exert a direct moral or immoral influence. The -importance ascribed by the Greeks to music in the education of youth, as -emphatically affirmed by philosophers and law-givers, is based upon this -belief. Not only particular melodies, but the different modes or keys -were held by the Greeks to exert a positive influence upon character. The -Dorian mode was considered bold and manly, inspiring valor and fortitude; -the Lydian, weak and enervating. Plato, in the second book of the _Laws_, -condemns as "intolerable and blasphemous" the opinion that the purpose of -music is to give pleasure. He finds a direct relation between morality -and certain forms of music, and would have musicians constrained to -compose only such melodies and rhythms as would turn the plastic mind -toward virtue. Plutarch, in his discourse concerning music in his -_Morals_, says: "The ancient Greeks deemed it requisite by the assistance -of music to form and compose the minds of youth to what was decent, -sober, and virtuous; believing the use of music beneficially efficacious -to incite to all serious actions." He even goes so far as to say that -"the right moulding of ingenuous manners and civil conduct lies in a -well-grounded musical education." Assumptions of direct moral, -intellectual, and even pathological action on the part of music, as -distinct from an aesthetic appeal, are so abundant in ancient writings -that we cannot dismiss them as mere fanciful hyperbole, but must admit -that music really possessed a power over the emotions and volitions which -has been lost in its later evolution. The explanation of this apparent -anomaly probably lies, first, in the fact that music in antiquity was not -a free independent art, and that when the philosophers speak of music -they think of it in its associations with poetry, religious and patriotic -observances, moral and legal precepts, historic relations, etc. Music, on -its vocal side, was mere emphasized speech inflection; it was a slave to -poetry; it had no rhythmical laws of its own. The melody did not convey -aesthetic charm in itself alone, but simply heightened the sensuous -effect of measured speech and vivified the thought. Mr. Spencer's -well-known expression that "cadence is the comment of the emotion upon -the propositions of the intellect" would apply very accurately to the -musical theories of the ancients. Certain modes (that is, keys), on -account of convenience of pitch, were employed for certain kinds of -poetical expression; and as a poem was always chanted in the mode that -was first assigned to it, particular classes of ideas would come to be -identified with particular modes. Associations of race character would -lead to similar interpretation. The Dorian mode would seem to partake of -the sternness and vigor of the warlike Dorian Spartans; the Lydian mode -and its melodies would hint of Lydian effeminacy.[9] Instrumental music -also was equally restricted to definite meanings through association. It -was an accompaniment to poetry, bound up with the symbolic dance, -subordinated to formal social observances; it produced not the artistic -effect of melody, harmony, and form, but the nervous stimulation of crude -unorganized tone, acting upon recipients who had never learned to -consider music as anything but a direct emotional excitant or an -intensifier of previously conceived ideas. - -Another explanation of the ancient view of music as possessing a -controlling power over emotion, thought, and conduct lies in the fact -that music existed only in its rude primal elements; antiquity in its -conception and use of music never passed far beyond that point where tone -was the outcome of simple emotional states, and to which notions of -precise intellectual significance still clung. Whatever theory of the -origin of music may finally prevail, there can be no question that music -in its primitive condition is more directly the outcome of clearly -realized feeling than it is when developed into a free, intellectualized, -and heterogeneous art form. Music, the more it rises into an art, the -more it exerts a purely aesthetic effect through its action upon -intelligences that delight in form, organization, and ideal motion, loses -in equal proportion the emotional definiteness that exists in simple and -spontaneous tone inflections. The earliest reasoning on the rationale of -musical effects always takes for granted that music's purpose is to -convey exact ideas, or at least express definite emotion. Music did not -advance so far among the ancients that they were able to escape from this -naturalistic conception. They could conceive of no higher purpose in -music than to move the mind in definite directions, and so they -maintained that it always did so. Even in modern life numberless -instances prove that the music which exerts the greatest effect over the -impulses is not the mature and complex art of the masters, but the simple -strains which emanate from the people and bring up recollections which in -themselves alone have power to stir the heart. The song that melts a -congregation to tears, the patriotic air that fires the enthusiasm of an -assembly on the eve of a political crisis, the strain that nerves an army -to desperate endeavor, is not an elaborate work of art, but a simple and -obvious tune, which finds its real force in association. All this is -especially true of music employed for religious ends, and we find in such -facts a reason why it could make no progress in ancient times, certainly -none where it was under the control of an organized social caste. For the -priestly order is always conservative, and in antiquity this conservatism -petrified melody, at the same time with the rites to which it adhered, -into stereotyped formulas. Where music is bound up with a ritual, -innovation in the one is discountenanced as tending to loosen the -traditional strictness of the other. - -I have laid stress upon this point because this attempt of the religious -authorities in antiquity to repress music in worship to a subsidiary -function was the sign of a conception of music which has always been more -or less active in the Church, down even to our own day. As soon as -musical art reaches a certain stage of development it strives to -emancipate itself from the thraldom of word and visible action, and to -exalt itself for its own undivided glory. Strict religionists have always -looked upon this tendency with suspicion, and have often strenuously -opposed it, seeing in the sensuous fascinations of the art an obstacle to -complete absorption in spiritual concerns. The conflict between the -devotional and the aesthetic principles, which has been so active in the -history of worship music in modern times, never appeared in antiquity -except in the later period of Greek art. Since this outbreak of the -spirit of rebellion occurred only when Hellenic religion was no longer a -force in civilization, its results were felt only in the sphere of -secular music; but no progress resulted, for musical culture was soon -assumed everywhere by the Christian Church, which for a thousand years -succeeded in restraining music within the antique conception of bondage -to liturgy and ceremony. - -Partly as a result of this subjection of music by its allied powers, -partly, perhaps, as a cause, a science of harmony was never developed in -ancient times. That music was always performed in unison and octaves, as -has been generally believed, is, however, not probable. In view of the -fact that the Egyptians possessed harps over six feet in height, having -twelve or thirteen strings, and played with both hands, and that the -monuments of Assyria and Egypt and the records of musical practice among -the Hebrews, Greeks, and other nations show us a large variety of -instruments grouped in bands of considerable size, we are justified in -supposing that combinations of different sounds were often produced. But -the absence from the ancient treatises of any but the most vague and -obscure allusions to the production of accordant tones, and the -conclusive evidence in respect to the general lack of freedom and -development in musical art, is proof positive that, whatever concords of -sounds may have been occasionally produced, nothing comparable to our -present contrapuntal and harmonic system existed. The music so -extravagantly praised in antiquity was, vocally, chant, or recitative, -ordinarily in a single part; instrumental music was rude and -unsystematized sound, partly a mechanical aid to the voice and the dance -step, partly a means of nervous exhilaration. The modern conception of -music as a free, self-assertive art, subject only to its own laws, -lifting the soul into regions of pure contemplation, where all temporal -relations are lost in a tide of self-forgetful rapture,--this was a -conception unknown to the mind of antiquity. - -The student of the music of the Christian Church naturally turns with -curiosity to that one of the ancient nations whose religion was the -antecedent of the Christian, and whose sacred literature has furnished -the worship of the Church with the loftiest expression of its trust and -aspiration. The music of the Hebrews, as Ambros says, "was divine -service, not art."[10] Many modern writers have assumed a high degree of -perfection in ancient Hebrew music, but only on sentimental grounds, not -because there is any evidence to support such an opinion. There is no -reason to suppose that music was further developed among the Hebrews than -among the most cultivated of their neighbors. Their music, like that of -the ancient nations generally, was entirely subsidiary to poetic -recitation and dancing; it was unharmonic, simple, and inclined to be -coarse and noisy. Although in general use, music never attained so great -honor among them as it did among the Greeks. We find in the Scriptures no -praises of music as a nourisher of morality, rarely a trace of an -ascription of magical properties. Although it had a place in military -operations and at feasts, private merry-makings, etc., its chief value -lay in its availability for religious purposes. To the Hebrews the arts -obtained significance only as they could be used to adorn the courts of -Jehovah, or could be employed in the ascription of praise to him. Music -was to them an efficient agent to excite emotions of awe, or to carry -more directly to the heart the rhapsodies and searching admonitions of -psalmists and prophets. - -No authentic melodies have come down to us from the time of the -Israelitish residence in Palestine. No treatise on Hebrew musical theory -or practice, if any such ever existed, has been preserved. No definite -light is thrown upon the Hebrew musical system by the Bible or any other -ancient book. We may be certain that if the Hebrews had possessed -anything distinctive, or far in advance of the practice of their -contemporaries, some testimony to that effect would be found. All -evidence and analogy indicate that the Hebrew song was a unison chant or -cantillation, more or less melodious, and sufficiently definite to be -perpetuated by tradition, but entirely subordinate to poetry, in rhythm -following the accent and metre of the text. - -We are not so much in the dark in respect to the use and nature of Hebrew -instruments, although we know as little of the style of music that was -performed upon them. Our knowledge of the instruments themselves is -derived from those represented upon the monuments of Assyria and Egypt, -which were evidently similar to those used by the Hebrews. The Hebrews -never invented a musical instrument. Not one in use among them but had -its equivalent among nations older in civilization. And so we may infer -that the entire musical practice of the Hebrews was derived first from -their early neighbors the Chaldeans, and later from the Egyptians; -although we may suppose that some modifications may have arisen after -they became an independent nation. The first mention of musical -instruments in the Bible is in Gen. iv. 21, where Jubal is spoken of as -"the father of all such as handle the _kinnor_ and _ugab_" (translated in -the revised version "harp and pipe"). The word _kinnor_ appears -frequently in the later books, and is applied to the instrument used by -David. This _kinnor_ of David and the psalmists was a small portable -instrument and might properly be called a lyre. Stringed instruments are -usually the last to be developed by primitive peoples, and the use of the -_kinnor_ implies a considerable degree of musical advancement among the -remote ancestors of the Hebrew race in their primeval Chaldean home. The -word _ugab_ may signify either a single tube like the flute or oboe, or a -connected series of pipes like the Pan's pipes or syrinx of the Greeks. -There is only one other mention of instruments before the Exodus, _viz._, -in connection with the episode of Laban and Jacob, where the former asks -his son-in-law reproachfully, "Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and -steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee -away with mirth and with songs, with _toph_ and _kinnor_?"[11]--the -_toph_ being a sort of small hand drum or tambourine. - -After the Exodus other instruments, perhaps derived from Egypt, make -their appearance: the _shophar_, or curved tube of metal or ram's horn, -heard amid the smoke and thunderings of Mt. Sinai,[12] and to whose sound -the walls of Jericho were overthrown;[13] the _hazozerah_, or long silver -tube, used in the desert for announcing the time for breaking camp,[14] -and employed later by the priests in religious service,[15] popular -gatherings, and sometimes in war.[16] The _nebel_ was either a harp -somewhat larger than the _kinnor_, or possibly a sort of guitar. The -_chalil_, translated in the English version "pipe," may have been a sort -of oboe or flageolet. The band of prophets met by Saul advanced to the -sound of _nebel, toph, chalil_, and _kinnor_.[17] The word "psaltery," -which frequently appears in the English version of the psalms, is -sometimes the _nebel_, sometimes the _kinnor_, sometimes the _asor_, -which was a species of _nebel_. The "instrument of ten strings" was also -the _nebel_ or _asor_. Percussion instruments, such as the drum, cymbals, -bell, and the Egyptian sistrum (which consisted of a small frame of -bronze into which three or four metal bars were loosely inserted, -producing a jingling noise when shaken), were also in common use. In the -Old Testament there are about thirteen instruments mentioned as known to -the Hebrews, not including those mentioned in Dan. iii., whose names, -according to Chappell, are not derived from Hebrew roots.[18] All of -these were simple and rude, yet considerably varied in character, -representing the three classes into which instruments, the world over, -are divided, _viz._, stringed instruments, wind instruments, and -instruments of percussion.[19] - -Although instruments of music had a prominent place in public -festivities, social gatherings, and private recreation, far more -important was their use in connection with religious ceremony. As the -Hebrew nation increased in power, and as their conquests became -permanently secured, so the arts of peace developed in greater profusion -and refinement, and with them the embellishments of the liturgical -worship became more highly organized. With the capture of Jerusalem and -the establishment of the royal residence within its ramparts, the worship -of Jehovah increased in splendor; the love of pomp and display, which was -characteristic of David, and still more of his luxurious son Solomon, was -manifest in the imposing rites and ceremonies that were organized to the -honor of the people's God. The epoch of these two rulers was that in -which the national force was in the flower of its youthful vigor, the -national pride had been stimulated by continual triumphs, the long period -of struggle and fear had been succeeded by glorious peace. The barbaric -splendor of religious service and festal pageant was the natural -expression of popular joy and self-confidence. In all these ebullitions -of national feeling, choral and instrumental music on the most brilliant -and massive scale held a conspicuous place. The description of the long -series of public rejoicings, culminating in the dedication of Solomon's -temple, begins with the transportation of the ark of the Lord from -Gibeah, when "David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord -with all manner of instruments made of fir-wood, and with harps -(_kinnor_), and with psalteries (_nebel_), and with timbrels (_toph_), -with castanets (_sistrum_), and with cymbals (_tzeltzelim_)."[20] And -again, when the ark was brought from the house of Obed-edom into the city -of David, the king danced "with all his might," and the ark was brought -up "with shouting and with the sound of a trumpet."[21] Singers were -marshalled under leaders and supported by bands of instruments. The ode -ascribed to David was given to Asaph as chief of the choir of Levites; -Asaph beat the time with cymbals, and the royal paean was chanted by -masses of chosen singers to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, and -trumpets.[22] In the organization of the temple service no detail -received more careful attention than the vocal and instrumental music. We -read that four thousand Levites were appointed to praise the Lord with -instruments.[23] There were also two hundred and eighty-eight skilled -singers who sang to instrumental accompaniment beside the altar.[24] - -The function performed by instruments in the temple service is also -indicated in the account of the reestablishment of the worship of Jehovah -by Hezekiah according to the institutions of David and Solomon. With the -burnt offering the song of praise was uplifted to the accompaniment of -the "instruments of David," the singers intoned the psalm and the -trumpets sounded, and this continued until the sacrifice was consumed. -When the rite was ended a hymn of praise was sung by the Levites, while -the king and the people bowed themselves.[25] - -With the erection of the second temple after the return from the -Babylonian exile, the liturgical service was restored, although not with -its pristine magnificence. Ezra narrates: "When the builders laid the -foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their -apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to -praise the Lord, after the order of David king of Israel. And they sang -one to another in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, saying, For -he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel."[26] And at the -dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, as recorded by Nehemiah, -instrumentalists and singers assembled in large numbers, to lead the -multitude in rendering praise and thanks to Jehovah.[27] Instruments were -evidently employed in independent flourishes and signals, as well as in -accompanying the singers. The trumpets were used only in the interludes; -the pipes and stringed instruments strengthened the voice parts; the -cymbals were used by the leader of the chorus to mark the rhythm. - -Notwithstanding the prominence of instruments in all observances of -public and private life, they were always looked upon as accessory to -song. Dramatic poetry was known to the Hebrews, as indicated by such -compositions as the Book of Job and the Song of Songs. No complete epic -has come down to us, but certain allusions in the Pentateuch, such as the -mention in Numbers xxi. 14 of the "book of the wars of Jehovah," would -tend to show that this people possessed a collection of ballads which, -taken together, would properly constitute a national epic. But whether -lyric, epic, or dramatic, the Hebrew poetry was delivered, according to -the universal custom of ancient nations, not in the speaking voice, but -in musical tone. The minstrel poet, it has been said, was the type of the -race. Lyric poetry may be divided into two classes: first, that which is -the expression of individual, subjective feeling, the poet communing with -himself alone, imparting to his thought a color derived solely from his -personal inward experience; and second, that which utters sentiments that -are shared by an organization, community, or race, the poet serving as -the mouthpiece of a mass actuated by common experiences and motives. The -second class is more characteristic of a people in the earlier stages of -culture, when the individual is lost in the community, before the -tendency towards specialization of interests gives rise to an expression -that is distinctly personal. In all the world's literature the Hebrew -psalms are the most splendid examples of this second order of lyric -poetry; and although we find in them many instances in which an isolated, -purely subjective experience finds a voice, yet in all of them the same -view of the universe, the same conception of the relation of man to his -Creator, the same broad and distinctively national consciousness, control -their thought and their diction. And there are very few even of the first -class which a Hebrew of earnest piety, searching his own heart, could not -adopt as the fitting declaration of his need and assurance. - -All patriotic songs and religious poems properly called hymns belong in -the second division of lyrics; and in the Hebrew psalms devotional -feeling touched here and there with a patriot's hopes and fears, has once -for all projected itself in forms of speech which seem to exhaust the -capabilities of sublimity in language. These psalms were set to music, -and presuppose music in their thought and their technical structure. A -text most appropriate for musical rendering must be free from all -subtleties of meaning and over-refinements of phraseology; it must be -forcible in movement, its metaphors those that touch upon general -observation, its ideas those that appeal to the common consciousness and -sympathy. These qualities the psalms possess in the highest degree, and -in addition they have a sublimity of thought, a magnificence of imagery, -a majesty and strength of movement, that evoke the loftiest energies of a -musical genius that ventures to ally itself with them. In every nation of -Christendom they have been made the foundation of the musical service of -the Church; and although many of the greatest masters of the harmonic art -have lavished upon them the richest treasures of their invention, they -have but skimmed the surface of their unfathomable suggestion. - -Of the manner in which the psalms were rendered in the ancient Hebrew -worship we know little. The present methods of singing in the synagogues -give us little help, for there is no record by which they can be traced -back beyond the definite establishment of the synagogue worship. It is -inferred from the structure of the Hebrew poetry, as well as unbroken -usage from the beginning of the Christian era, that the psalms were -chanted antiphonally or responsively. That form of verse known as -parallelism--the repetition of a thought in different words, or the -juxtaposition of two contrasted thoughts forming an antithesis--pervades -a large amount of the Hebrew poetry, and may be called its technical -principle. It is, we might say, a rhythm of thought, an assonance of -feeling. This parallelism is more frequently double, sometimes triple. We -find this peculiar structure as far back as the address of Lamech to his -wives in Gen. iv. 23, 24, in Moses' song after the passage of the Red -Sea, in the triumphal ode of Deborah and Barak, in the greeting of the -Israelitish women to Saul and David returning from the slaughter of the -Philistines, in the Book of Job, in a large proportion of the rhythmical -imaginative utterances of the psalmists and prophets. The Oriental -Christians sang the psalms responsively; this method was passed on to -Milan in the fourth century, to Rome very soon afterward, and has been -perpetuated in the liturgical churches of modern Christendom. Whether, in -the ancient temple service, this twofold utterance was divided between -separate portions of the choir, or between a precentor and the whole -singing body, there are no grounds for stating,--both methods have been -employed in modern times. It is not even certain that the psalms were -sung in alternate half-verses, for in the Jewish Church at the present -day the more frequent usage is to divide at the end of a verse. It is -evident that the singing was not congregational, and that the share of -the people, where they participated at all, was confined to short -responses, as in the Christian Church in the time next succeeding the -apostolic age. The female voice, although much prized in secular music, -according to the Talmud was not permitted in the temple service. There is -nothing in the Old Testament that contradicts this except, as some -suppose, the reference to the three daughters of Heman in 1. Chron. xxv. -5, where we read: "And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three -daughters;" and in verse 6: "All these were under the hands of their -father for song in the house of the Lord." It is probable, however, that -the mention of the daughters is incidental, not intended as an assertion -that they were actual members of the temple chorus, for we cannot -conceive why an exception should have been made in their behalf. -Certainly the whole implication from the descriptions of the temple -service and the enumeration of the singers and players is to the effect -that only the male voice was utilized in the liturgical worship. There -are many allusions to "women singers" in the Scriptures, but they plainly -apply only to domestic song, or to processions and celebrations outside -the sacred enclosure. It is certainly noteworthy that the exclusion of -the female voice, which has obtained in the Catholic Church throughout -the Middle Age, in the Eastern Church, in the German Protestant Church, -and in the cathedral service of the Anglican Church, was also enforced in -the temple worship of Israel. The conviction has widely prevailed among -the stricter custodians of religious ceremony in all ages that there is -something sensuous and passionate (I use these words in their simpler -original meaning) in the female voice--something at variance with the -austerity of ideal which should prevail in the music of worship. Perhaps, -also, the association of men and women in the sympathy of so emotional an -office as that of song is felt to be prejudicial to the complete -absorption of the mind which the sacred function demands. Both these -reasons have undoubtedly combined in so many historic epochs to keep all -the offices of ministry in the house of God in the hands of the male sex. -On the other hand, in the more sensuous cults of paganism no such -prohibition has existed. - -There is difference of opinion in regard to the style of melody employed -in the delivery of the psalms in the worship of the temple at Jerusalem. -Was it a mere intoned declamation, essentially a monotone with very -slight changes of pitch, like the "ecclesiastical accent" of the Catholic -Church? Or was it a freer, more melodious rendering, as in the more -ornate members of the Catholic Plain Song? The modern Jews incline to the -latter opinion, that the song was true melody, obeying, indeed, the -universal principle of chant as a species of vocalism subordinated in -rhythm to the text, yet with abundant movement and possessing a -distinctly tuneful character. It has been supposed that certain -inscriptions at the head of some of the psalms are the titles of -well-known tunes, perhaps secular folk-songs, to which the psalms were -sung. We find, _e. g._, at the head of Ps. xxii. the inscription, "After -the song beginning, Hind of the Dawn." Ps. lvi. has, "After the song, The -silent Dove in far-off Lands." Others have, "After lilies" (Ps. xlv. and -lxix.), and "Destroy not" (Ps. lvii.-lix.). We cannot on _a priori_ -principles reject the supposition that many psalms were sung to secular -melodies, for we shall find, as we trace the history of music in the -Christian era, that musicians have over and over again borrowed profane -airs for the hymns of the Church. In fact, there is hardly a branch of -the Christian Church that has not at some time done so, and even the -rigid Jews in modern times have employed the same means to increase their -store of religious melodies. - -That the psalms were sung with the help of instruments seems indicated by -superscriptions, such as "With stringed instruments," and "To the -flutes," although objections have been raised to these translations. No -such indications are needed, however, to prove the point, for the -descriptions of worship contained in the Old Testament seem explicit. The -instruments were used to accompany the voices, and also for preludes and -interludes. The word "Selah," so often occurring at the end of a psalm -verse, is understood by many authorities to signify an instrumental -interlude or flourish, while the singers were for a moment silent. One -writer says that at this point the people bowed in prayer.[28] - -Such, generally speaking, is the most that can definitely be stated -regarding the office performed by music in the worship of Israel in the -time of its glory. With the rupture of the nation, its gradual political -decline, the inroads of idolatry, the exile in Babylon, the conquest by -the Romans, the disappearance of poetic and musical inspiration with the -substitution of formality and routine in place of the pristine national -sincerity and fervor, it would inevitably follow that the great musical -traditions would fade away, until at the time of the birth of Christ but -little would remain of the elaborate ritual once committed to the -guardianship of cohorts of priests and Levites. The sorrowing exiles who -hung their harps on the willows of Babylon and refused to sing the songs -of Zion in a strange land certainly never forgot the airs consecrated by -such sweet and bitter memories; but in the course of centuries they -became lost among the strange peoples with whom the scattered Israelites -found their home. Many were for a time preserved in the synagogues, -which, in the later years of Jewish residence in Palestine, were -established in large numbers in all the towns and villages. The service -of the synagogue was a liturgical service, consisting of benedictions, -chanting of psalms and other Scripture passages, with responses by the -people, lessons from the law and the prophets, and sermons. The -instrumental music of the temple and the first synagogues eventually -disappeared, and the greater part, if not the whole, of the ancient psalm -melodies vanished also with the dispersion of the Levites, who were their -especial curators. Many details of ancient ritual and custom must have -survived in spite of vicissitude, but the final catastrophe, which drove -a desolate, heart-broken remnant of the children of Judah into alien -lands, must inevitably have destroyed all but the merest fragment of the -fair residue of national art by sweeping away all the conditions by which -a national art can live. - -Does anything remain of the rich musical service which for fifteen -hundred years went up daily from tabernacle and temple to the throne of -the God of Israel? A question often asked, but without a positive answer. -Perhaps a few notes of an ancient melody, or a horn signal identical with -one blown in the camp or in the temple court, may survive in the -synagogue to-day, a splinter from a mighty edifice which has been -submerged by the tide of centuries. As would be presumed of a people so -tenacious of time-honored usages, the voice of tradition declares that -the intonations of the ritual chant used in the synagogue are survivals -of forms employed in the temple at Jerusalem. These intonations are -certainly Oriental in character and very ancient, but that they date back -to the time of David cannot be proved or disproved. A style of singing -like the well-known "cantillation" might easily be preserved, a complete -melody possibly, but the presumption is against an antiquity so great as -the Jews, with pardonable pride, claim for some of their weird, archaic -strains. - -With the possible exception of scanty fragments, nothing remains of the -songs so much loved by this devoted people in their early home. We may -speculate upon the imagined beauty of that music; it is natural to do so. -_Omne ignotum pro magnifico_. We know that it often shook the hearts of -those that heard it; but our knowledge of the comparative rudeness of all -Oriental music, ancient and modern, teaches us that its effect was -essentially that of simple unison successions of tones wedded to poetry -of singular exaltation and vehemence, and associated with liturgical -actions calculated to impress the beholder with an overpowering sense of -awe. The interest which all must feel in the religious music of the -Hebrews is not due to its importance in the history of art, but to its -place in the history of culture. Certainly the art of music was never -more highly honored, its efficacy as an agent in arousing the heart to -the most ardent spiritual experiences was never more convincingly -demonstrated, than when the seers and psalmists of Israel found in it an -indispensable auxiliary of those appeals, confessions, praises, and pious -raptures in which the whole after-world has seen the highest attainment -of language under the impulse of religious ecstasy. Taking "the harp the -monarch minstrel swept" as a symbol of Hebrew devotional song at large, -Byron's words are true: - - - "It softened men of iron mould, - It gave them virtues not their own; - No ear so dull, no soul so cold, - That felt not, fired not to the tone, - Till David's lyre grew mightier than his throne." - - -This music foreshadowed the completer expression of Christian art of -which it became the type. Inspired by the grandest of traditions, -provided with credentials as, on equal terms with poetry, valid in the -expression of man's consciousness of his needs and his infinite -privilege,--thus consecrated for its future mission, the soul of music -passed from Hebrew priests to apostles and Christian fathers, and so on -to the saints and hierarchs, who laid the foundation of the sublime -structure of the worship music of a later day. - - - - - CHAPTER II - RITUAL AND SONG IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH - A.D. 50-600 - - -The epoch of the apostles and their immediate successors is that around -which the most vigorous controversies have been waged ever since modern -criticism recognized the supreme importance of that epoch in the history -of doctrine and ecclesiastical government. Hardly a form of belief or -polity but has sought to obtain its sanction from the teaching and usages -of those churches that received their systems most directly from the -personal disciples of the Founder. A curiosity less productive of -contention, but hardly less persistent, attaches to the forms and methods -of worship practised by the Christian congregations. The rise of -liturgies, rites, and ceremonies, the origin and use of hymns, the -foundation of the liturgical chant, the degree of participation enjoyed -by the laity in the offices of praise and prayer,--these and many other -closely related subjects of inquiry possess far more than an antiquarian -interest; they are bound up with the history of that remarkable -transition from the homogenous, more democratic system of the apostolic -age, to the hierarchical organization which became matured and -consolidated under the Western popes and Eastern patriarchs. Associated -with this administrative development and related in its causes, an -elaborate system of rites and ceremonies arose, partly an evolution from -within, partly an inheritance of ancient habits and predispositions, -which at last became formulated into unvarying types of devotional -expression. Music participated in this ritualistic movement; it rapidly -became liturgical and clerical, the laity ceased to share in the worship -of song and resigned this office to a chorus drawn from the minor clergy, -and a highly organized body of chants, applied to every moment of the -service, became almost the entire substance of worship music, and -remained so for a thousand years. - -In the very nature of the case a new energy must enter the art of music -when enlisted in the ministry of the religion of Christ. A new motive, a -new spirit, unknown to Greek or Roman or even to Hebrew, had taken -possession of the religious consciousness. To the adoration of the same -Supreme Power, before whom the Jew bowed in awe-stricken reverence, was -added the recognition of a gift which the Jew still dimly hoped for; and -this gift brought with it an assurance, and hence a felicity, which were -never granted to the religionist of the old dispensation. - -The Christian felt himself the chosen joint-heir of a risen and ascended -Lord, who by his death and resurrection had brought life and immortality -to light. The devotion to a personal, ever-living Saviour transcended and -often supplanted all other loyalty whatsoever,--to country, parents, -husband, wife, or child. This religion was, therefore, emphatically one -of joy,--a joy so absorbing, so completely satisfying, so founded on the -loftiest hopes that the human mind is able to entertain, that even the -ecstatic worship of Apollo or Dionysus seems melancholy and hopeless in -comparison. Yet it was not a joy that was prone to expend itself in noisy -demonstrations. It was mingled with such a profound sense of personal -unworthiness and the most solemn responsibilities, tempered with -sentiments of awe and wonder in the presence of unfathomable mysteries, -that the manifestations of it must be subdued to moderation, expressed in -forms that could appropriately typify spiritual and eternal -relationships. And so, as sculpture was the art which most adequately -embodied the humanistic conceptions of Greek theology, poetry and music -became the arts in which Christianity found a vehicle of expression most -suited to her genius. These two arts, therefore, when acted upon by ideas -so sublime and penetrating as those of the Gospel, must at last become -transformed, and exhibit signs of a renewed and aspiring activity. The -very essence of the divine revelation in Jesus Christ must strike a more -thrilling note than tone and emotional speech had ever sounded before. -The genius of Christianity, opening up new soul depths, and quickening, -as no other religion could, the higher possibilities of holiness in man, -was especially adapted to evoke larger manifestations of musical -invention. The religion of Jesus revealed God in the universality of his -fatherhood, and his omnipresence in nature and in the human conscience. -God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, as one who draws men into -communion with him by his immediate action upon the heart. This religion -made an appeal that could only be met by the purification of the heart, -and by reconciliation and union with God through the merits of the -crucified Son. The believer felt the possibility of direct and loving -communion with the Infinite Power as the stirring of the very bases of -his being. This new consciousness must declare itself in forms of -expression hardly glimpsed by antiquity, and literature and art undergo -re-birth. Music particularly, the art which seems peculiarly capable of -reflecting the most urgent longings of the spirit, felt the animating -force of Christianity as the power which was to emancipate it from its -ancient thraldom and lead it forth into a boundless sphere of action. - -Not at once, however, could musical art spring up full grown and -responsive to these novel demands. An art, to come to perfection, -requires more than a motive. The motive, the vision, the emotion yearning -to realize itself, may be there, but beyond this is the mastery of -material and form, and such mastery is of slow and tedious growth. -Especially is this true in respect to the art of music; musical forms, -having no models in nature like painting and sculpture, no associative -symbolism like poetry, no guidance from considerations of utility like -architecture, must be the result, so far as any human work can be such, -of actual free creation. And yet this creation is a progressive creation; -its forms evolve from forms preexisting as demands for expression arise -to which the old are inadequate. Models must be found, but in the nature -of the case the art can never go outside of itself for its suggestion. -And although Christian music must be a development and not the sudden -product of an exceptional inspiration, yet we must not suppose that the -early Church was compelled to work out its melodies from those crude -elements in which anthropology discovers the first stage of musical -progress in primitive man. The Christian fathers, like the founders of -every historic system of religious music, drew their suggestion and -perhaps some of their actual material from both religious and secular -sources. The principle of ancient music, to which the early Christian -music conformed, was that of the subordination of music to poetry and the -dance-figure. Harmony was virtually unknown in antiquity, and without a -knowledge of part-writing no independent art of music is possible. The -song of antiquity was the most restricted of all melodic styles, _viz._, -the chant or recitative. The essential feature of both chant and -recitative is that the tones are made to conform to the metre and accent -of the text, the words of which are never repeated or prosodically -modified out of deference to melodic phrases and periods. In true song, -on the contrary, the words are subordinated to the exigencies of musical -laws of structure, and the musical phrase, not the word, is the ruling -power. The principle adopted by the Christian fathers was that of the -chant, and Christian music could not begin to move in the direction of -modern artistic attainment until, in the course of time, a new technical -principle, and a new conception of the relation between music and poetry, -could be introduced. - -In theory, style, usage, and probably to some extent in actual melodies -also, the music of the primitive Church forms an unbroken line with the -music of pre-Christian antiquity. The relative proportion contributed by -Jewish and Greek musical practice cannot be known. There was at the -beginning no formal break with the ancient Jewish Church; the disciples -assembled regularly in the temple for devotional exercises; worship in -their private gatherings was modelled upon that of the synagogue which -Christ himself had implicitly sanctioned. The synagogical code was -modified by the Christians by the introduction of the eucharistic -service, the Lord's Prayer, the baptismal formula, and other institutions -occasioned by the new doctrines and the "spiritual gifts." At Christ's -last supper with his disciples, when the chief liturgical rite of the -Church was instituted, the company sang a hymn which was unquestionably -the "great Hallel" of the Jewish Passover celebration.[29] The Jewish -Christians clung with an inherited reverence to the venerable forms of -their fathers' worship; they observed the Sabbath, the three daily hours -of prayer, and much of the Mosaic ritual. In respect to musical usages, -the most distinct intimation in early records of the continuation of -ancient forms is found in the occasional reference to the habit of -antiphonal or responsive chanting of the psalms. Fixed forms of prayer -were also used in the apostolic Church, which were to a considerable -extent modelled upon the psalms and the benedictions of the synagogue -ritual. That the Hebrew melodies were borrowed at the same time cannot be -demonstrated, but it may be assumed as a necessary inference. - -With the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles, the increasing -hostility between Christians and Jews, the dismemberment of the Jewish -nationality, and the overthrow of Jewish institutions to which the Hebrew -Christians had maintained a certain degree of attachment, dependence upon -the Jewish ritual was loosened, and the worship of the Church came under -the influence of Hellenic systems and traditions. Greek philosophy and -Greek art, although both in decadence, were dominant in the intellectual -life of the East, and it was impossible that the doctrine, worship, and -government of the Church should not be gradually leavened by them. St. -Paul wrote in the Greek language; the earliest liturgies are in Greek. -The sentiment of prayer and praise was, of course, Hebraic; the psalms -formed the basis of all lyric expression, and the hymns and liturgies -were to a large extent colored by their phraseology and spirit. The -shapeliness and flexibility of Greek art, the inward fervor of Hebrew -aspiration, the love of ceremonial and symbolism, which was not confined -to any single nation but was a universal characteristic of the time, all -contributed to build up the composite and imposing structure of the later -worship of the Eastern and Western churches. - -The singing of psalms formed a part of the Christian worship from the -beginning, and certain special psalms were early appointed for particular -days and occasions. At what time hymns of contemporary origin were added -we have no means of knowing. Evidently during the life of St. Paul, for -we find him encouraging the Ephesians and Colossians to the use of -"psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."[30] To be sure he is not -specifically alluding to public worship in these exhortations (in the -first instance "speaking to yourselves" and "singing and making melody in -your hearts," in the second "teaching and admonishing one another"), but -it is hardly to be supposed that the spiritual exercise of which he -speaks would be excluded from the religious services which at that time -were of daily observance. The injunction to teach and admonish by means -of songs also agrees with other evidences that a prime motive for hymn -singing in many of the churches was instruction in the doctrines of the -faith. It would appear that among the early Christians, as with the -Greeks and other ancient nations, moral precepts and instruction in -religious mysteries were often thrown into poetic and musical form, as, -being by this means more impressive and more easily remembered. - -It is to be noticed that St. Paul, in each of the passages cited above, -alludes to religious songs under three distinct terms, _viz._: , , and . -The usual supposition is that the terms are not synonymous, that they -refer to a threefold classification of the songs of the early Church -into: 1, the ancient Hebrew psalms properly so called; 2, hymns taken -from the Old Testament and not included in the psalter and since called -canticles, such as the thanksgiving of Hannah, the song of Moses, the -Psalm of the Three Children from the continuation of the Book of Daniel, -the vision of Habakkuk, etc.; and, 3, songs composed by the Christians -themselves. The last of these three classes points us to the birth time -of Christian hymnody. The lyric inspiration, which has never failed from -that day to this, began to move the instant the proselyting work of the -Church began. In the freedom and informality of the religious assembly as -it existed among the Hellenic Christians, it became the practice for the -believers to contribute impassioned outbursts, which might be called -songs in a rudimentary state. In moments of highly charged devotional -ecstasy this spontaneous utterance took the form of broken, incoherent, -unintelligible ejaculations, probably in cadenced, half-rhythmic tone, -expressive of rapture and mystical illumination. This was the -"glossolalia," or "gift of tongues" alluded to by St. Paul in the first -epistle to the Corinthians as a practice to be approved, under certain -limitations, as edifying to the believers.[31] - -Dr. Schaff defines the gift of tongues as "an utterance proceeding from a -state of unconscious ecstasy in the speaker, and unintelligible to the -hearer unless interpreted. The speaking with tongues is an involuntary, -psalm-like prayer or song uttered from a spiritual trance, in a peculiar -language inspired by the Holy Spirit. The soul is almost entirely -passive, an instrument on which the Spirit plays his heavenly melodies." -"It is emotional rather than intellectual, the language of excited -imagination, not of cool reflection."[32] St. Paul was himself an adept -in this singular form of worship, as he himself declares in 1 Cor. xiv. -18; but with his habitual coolness of judgment he warns the excitable -Corinthian Christians that sober instruction is more profitable, that the -proper end of all utterance in common public worship is edification, and -enjoins as an effective restraint that "if any man speaketh in a tongue, -let one interpret; but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence -in the Church; and let him speak to himself and to God."[33] With the -regulation of the worship in stated liturgic form this extemporaneous -ebullition of feeling was done away, but if it was analogous, as it -probably was, to the practice so common in Oriental vocal music, both -ancient and modern, of delivering long wordless tonal flourishes as an -expression of joy, then it has in a certain sense survived in the -"jubilations" of the Catholic liturgical chant, which in the early Middle -Age were more extended than now. Chappell finds traces of a practice -somewhat similar to the "jubilations" existing in ancient Egypt. "This -practice of carolling or singing without words, like birds, to the gods, -was copied by the Greeks, who seem to have carolled on four vowels. The -vowels had probably, in both cases, some recognized meaning attached to -them, as substitutes for certain words of praise--as was the case when -the custom was transferred to the Western Church."[34] This may or may -not throw light upon the obscure nature of the glossolalia, but it is not -to be supposed that the Corinthian Christians invented this custom, since -we find traces of it in the worship of the ancient pagan nations; and so -far as it was the unrestrained outburst of emotion, it must have been to -some extent musical, and only needed regulation and the application of a -definite key-system to become, like the mediaeval Sequence under somewhat -similar conditions, an established order of sacred song. - -Out of a musical impulse, of which the glossolalia was one of many -tokens, united with the spirit of prophecy or instruction, grew the hymns -of the infant Church, dim outlines of which begin to appear in the -twilight of this obscure period. The worshipers of Christ could not -remain content with the Hebrew psalms, for, in spite of their inspiriting -and edifying character, they were not concerned with the facts on which -the new faith was based, except as they might be interpreted as -prefiguring the later dispensation. Hymns were required in which Christ -was directly celebrated, and the apprehension of his infinite gifts -embodied in language which would both fortify the believers and act as a -converting agency. It would be contrary to all analogy and to the -universal facts of human nature if such were not the case, and we may -suppose that a Christian folk-song, such as the post-apostolic age -reveals to us, began to appear in the first century. Some scholars -believe that certain of these primitive hymns, or fragments of them, are -embalmed in the Epistles of St. Paul and the Book of the Revelation.[35] -The magnificent description of the worship of God and the Lamb in the -Apocalypse has been supposed by some to have been suggested by the manner -of worship, already become liturgical, in the Eastern churches. Certainly -there is a manifest resemblance between the picture of one sitting upon -the throne with the twenty-four elders and a multitude of angels -surrounding him, as set forth in the Apocalypse, and the account given in -the second book of the Constitutions of the Apostles of the throne of the -bishop in the middle of the church edifice, with the presbyters and -deacons on each side and the laity beyond. In this second book of the -Constitutions, belonging, of course, to a later date than the apostolic -period, there is no mention of hymn singing. The share of the people is -confined to responses at the end of the verses of the psalms, which are -sung by some one appointed to this office.[36] The sacerdotal and -liturgical movement had already excluded from the chief acts of worship -the independent song of the people. Those who assume that the office of -song in the early Church was freely committed to the general body of -believers have some ground for their assumption; but if we are able to -distinguish between the private and public worship, and could know how -early it was that set forms and liturgies were adopted, it would appear -that at the longest the time was very brief when the laity were allowed a -share in any but the subordinate offices. The earliest testimony that can -be called definite is contained in the celebrated letter of the younger -Pliny from Bithynia to the Emperor Trajan, in the year 112, in which the -Christians are described as coming together before daylight and singing -hymns alternately (invicem) to Christ. This may with some reason be held -to refer to responsive or antiphonal singing, similar to that described -by Philo in his account of the worship of the Jewish sect of the -Therapeutae in the first century. The tradition was long preserved in the -Church that Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in the second century, introduced -antiphonal chanting into the churches of that city, having been moved -thereto by a vision of angels singing in that manner. But we have only to -go back to the worship of the ancient Hebrews for the suggestion of this -practice. This alternate singing appears to have been most prevalent in -the Syrian churches, and was carried thence to Milan and Rome, and -through the usage in these cities was established in the permanent habit -of the Western Church. - -Although the singing of psalms and hymns by the body of worshipers was, -therefore, undoubtedly the custom of the churches while still in their -primitive condition as informal assemblies of believers for mutual -counsel and edification, the steady progress of ritualism and the growth -of sacerdotal ideas inevitably deprived the people of all initiative in -the worship, and concentrated the offices of public devotion, including -that of song, exclusively in the hands of the clergy. By the middle of -the fourth century, if not earlier, the change was complete. The simple -organization of the apostolic age had developed by logical gradations -into a compact hierarchy of patriarchs, bishops, priests, and deacons. -The clergy were no longer the servants or representatives of the people, -but held a mediatorial position as the channels through which divine -grace was transmitted to the faithful. The great Eastern liturgies, such -as those which bear the names of St. James and St. Mark, if not yet fully -formulated and committed to writing, were in all essentials complete and -adopted as the substance of the public worship. The principal service was -divided into two parts, from the second of which, the eucharistic service -proper, the catechumens and penitents were excluded. The prayers, -readings, and chanted sentences, of which the liturgy mainly consisted, -were delivered by priests, deacons, and an officially constituted choir -of singers, the congregation uniting only in a few responses and -ejaculations. In the liturgy of St. Mark, which was the Alexandrian, used -in Egypt and neighboring countries, we find allotted to the people a -number of responses: "Amen," "Kyrie eleison," "And to thy spirit" (in -response to the priest's "Peace be to all"); "We lift them up to the -Lord" (in response to the priest's "Let us lift up our hearts"); and "In -the name of the Lord; Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal," after the -Trisagion; "And from the Holy Spirit was he made flesh," after the prayer -of oblation; "Holy, holy, holy Lord," before the consecration; "Our -Father, who art in heaven," etc.; before the communion, "One Father holy, -one Son holy, one Spirit holy, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, Amen;" at -the dismissal, "Amen, blessed be the name of the Lord." - -In the liturgy of St. James, the liturgy of the Jerusalem Church, a very -similar share, in many instances with identical words, is assigned to the -people; but a far more frequent mention is made of the choir of singers -who render the Trisagion hymn, which, in St. Mark's liturgy, is given by -the people: besides the "Allelulia," the hymn to the Virgin Mother, "O -taste and see that the Lord is good," and "The Holy Ghost shall come upon -thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." - -A large portion of the service, as indicated by these liturgies, was -occupied by prayers, during which the people kept silence. In the matter -of responses the congregation had more direct share than in the Catholic -Church to-day, for now the chancel choir acts as their representatives, -while the Kyrie eleison has become one of the choral portions of the -Mass, and the Thrice Holy has been merged in the choral Sanctus. But in -the liturgical worship, whatever may have been the case in non-liturgical -observances, the share of the people was confined to these few brief -ejaculations and prescribed sentences, and nothing corresponding to the -congregational song of the Protestant Church can be found. Still earlier -than this final issue of the ritualistic movement the singing of the -people was limited to psalms and canticles, a restriction justified and -perhaps occasioned by the ease with which doctrinal vagaries and mystical -extravagances could be instilled into the minds of the converts by means -of this very subtle and persuasive agent. The conflict of the orthodox -churches with the Gnostics and Arians showed clearly the danger of -unlimited license in the production and singing of hymns, for these -formidable heretics drew large numbers away from the faith of the -apostles by means of the choral songs which they employed everywhere for -proselyting purposes. The Council of Laodicea (held between 343 and 381) -decreed in its 13th Canon: "Besides the appointed singers, who mount the -ambo and sing from the book, others shall not sing in the church."[37] -The exact meaning of this prohibition has not been determined, for the -participation of the people in the church song did not entirely cease at -this time. How generally representative this council was, or how -extensive its authority, is not known; but the importance of this decree -has been exaggerated by historians of music, for, at most, it serves only -as a register of a fact which was an inevitable consequence of the -universal hierarchical and ritualistic tendencies of the time. - -The history of the music of the Christian Church properly begins with the -establishment of the priestly liturgic chant, which had apparently -supplanted the popular song in the public worship as early as the fourth -century. Of the character of the chant melodies at this period in the -Eastern Church, or of their sources, we have no positive information. -Much vain conjecture has been expended on this question. Some are -persuaded that the strong infusion of Hebraic feeling and phraseology -into the earliest hymns, and the adoption of the Hebrew psalter into the -service, necessarily implies the inheritance of the ancient temple and -synagogue melodies also. Others assume that the allusion of St. Augustine -to the usage at Alexandria under St. Athanasius, which was "more like -speaking than singing,"[38] was an example of the practice of the -Oriental and Roman churches generally, and that the later chant developed -out of this vague song-speech. Others, like Kiesewetter, exaggerating the -antipathy of the Christians to everything identified with Judaism and -paganism, conceive the primitive Christian melodies as entirely an -original invention, a true Christian folk-song.[39] None of these -suppositions, however, could have more than a local and temporary -application; the Jewish Christian congregations in Jerusalem and -neighboring cities doubtless transferred a few of their ancestral -melodies to the new worship; a prejudice against highly developed tune as -suggesting the sensuous cults of paganism may have existed among the more -austere; here and there new melodies may have sprung up to clothe the -extemporized lyrics that became perpetuated in the Church. But the weight -of evidence and analogy inclines to the belief that the liturgic song of -the Church, both of the East and West, was drawn partly in form and -almost wholly in spirit and complexion from the Greek and Greco-Roman -musical practice. - -But scanty knowledge of Christian archaeology and liturgies is necessary -to show that much of form, ceremony, and decoration in the worship of the -Church was the adaptation of features anciently existing in the faiths -and customs which the new religion supplanted. The practical genius which -adopted Greek metres for Christian hymns, and modified the styles of -basilikas, scholae, and domestic architecture in effecting a suitable -form of church building, would not cavil at the melodies and vocal -methods which seemed so well suited to be a musical garb for the -liturgies. Greek music was, indeed, in some of its phases, in decadence -at this period. It had gained nothing in purity by passing into the hands -of Roman voluptuaries. The age of the virtuosos, aiming at brilliancy and -sensationalism, had succeeded to the classic traditions of austerity and -reserve. This change was felt, however, in instrumental music chiefly, -and this the Christian churches disdained to touch. It was the residue of -what was pure and reverend, drawn from the tradition of Apollo's temple -and the Athenian tragic theatre; it was the form of vocalism which -austere philosophers like Plutarch praised that was drafted into the -service of the Gospel. Perhaps even this was reduced to simple terms in -the Christian practice; certainly the oldest chants that can be traced -are the plainest, and the earliest scale system of the Italian Church -would appear to allow but a very narrow compass to melody. We can form -our most accurate notion of the nature of the early Christian music, -therefore, by studying the records of Greek practice and Greek views of -music's nature and function in the time of the flowering of Greek poetry, -for certainly the Christian fathers did not attempt to go beyond that; -and perhaps, in their zeal to avoid all that was meretricious in tonal -art, they adopted as their standard those phases which could most easily -be made to coalesce with the inward and humble type of piety inculcated -by the faith of the Gospel. This hypothesis does, not imply a -note-for-note borrowing of Greek and Roman melodies, but only their -adaptation. As Luther and the other founders of the music of the German -Protestant Church took melodies from the Catholic chant and the German -and Bohemian religious and secular folk-song, and recast them to fit the -metres of their hymns, so the early Christian choristers would naturally -be moved to do with the melodies which they desired to transplant. Much -modification was necessary, for while the Greek and Roman songs were -metrical, the Christian psalms, antiphons, prayers, responses, etc., were -unmetrical; and while the pagan melodies were always sung to an -instrumental accompaniment, the church chant was exclusively vocal. -Through the influence of this double change of technical and Aesthetic -basis, the liturgic song was at once more free, aspiring, and varied than -its prototype, taking on that rhythmic flexibility and delicate shading -in which also the unique charm of the Catholic chant of the present day -so largely consists. - -In view of the controversies over the use of instrumental music in -worship, which have been so violent in the British and American -Protestant churches, it is an interesting question whether instruments -were employed by the primitive Christians. We know that instruments -performed an important function in the Hebrew temple service and in the -ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a break was made with -all previous practice, and although the lyre and flute were sometimes -employed by the Greek converts, as a general rule the use of instruments -in worship was condemned. Many of the fathers, speaking of religious -song, make no mention of instruments; others, like Clement of Alexandria -and St. Chrysostom, refer to them only to denounce them. Clement says: -"Only one instrument do we use, _viz._, the word of peace wherewith we -honor God, no longer the old psaltery, trumpet, drum, and flute." -Chrysostom exclaims: "David formerly sang in psalms, also we sing to-day -with him; he had a lyre with lifeless strings, the Church has a lyre with -living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre, with a different -tone, indeed, but with a more accordant piety." St. Ambrose expresses his -scorn for those who would play the lyre and psaltery instead of singing -hymns and psalms; and St. Augustine adjures believers not to turn their -hearts to theatrical instruments. The religious guides of the early -Christians felt that there would be an incongruity, and even profanity, -in the use of the sensuous nerve-exciting effects of instrumental sound -in their mystical, spiritual worship. Their high religious and moral -enthusiasm needed no aid from external stimulus; the pure vocal utterance -was the more proper expression of their faith. This prejudice against -instrumental music, which was drawn from the very nature of its aesthetic -impression, was fortified by the associations of instruments with -superstitious pagan rites, and especially with the corrupting scenes -habitually represented in the degenerate theatre and circus. "A Christian -maiden," says St. Jerome, "ought not even to know what a lyre or a flute -is, or what it is used for." No further justification for such -prohibitions is needed than the shameless performances common upon the -stage in the time of the Roman empire, as portrayed in the pages of -Apuleius and other delineators of the manners of the time. Those who -assumed the guardianship of the morals of the little Christian -communities were compelled to employ the strictest measures to prevent -their charges from breathing the moral pestilence which circulated -without check in the places of public amusement; most of all must they -insist that every reminder of these corruptions, be it an otherwise -innocent harp or flute, should be excluded from the common acts of -religion. - -The transfer of the office of song from the general congregation to an -official choir involved no cessation of the production of hymns for -popular use, for the distinction must always be kept in mind between -liturgical and non-liturgical song, and it was only in the former that -the people were commanded to abstain from participation in all but the -prescribed responses. On the other hand, as ceremonies multiplied and -festivals increased in number, hymnody was stimulated, and lyric songs -for private and social edification, for the hours of prayer, and for use -in processions, pilgrimages, dedications, and other occasional -celebrations, were rapidly produced. As has been shown, the Christians -had their hymns from the very beginning, but with the exception of one or -two short lyrics, a few fragments, and the great liturgical hymns which -were also adopted by the Western Church, they have been lost. Clement of -Alexandria, third century, is often spoken of as the first known -Christian hymn writer; but the single poem, the song of praise to the -Logos, which has gained him this title, is not, strictly speaking, a hymn -at all. From the fourth century onward the tide of Oriental hymnody -steadily rose, reaching its culmination in the eighth and ninth -centuries. The Eastern hymns are divided into two schools--the Syrian and -the Greek. Of the group of Syrian poets the most celebrated are Synesius, -born about 375, and Ephraem, who died at Edessa in 378. Ephraem was the -greatest teacher of his time in the Syrian Church, and her most prolific -and able hymnist. He is best remembered as the opponent of the followers -of Bardasanes and Harmonius, who had beguiled many into their Gnostic -errors by the charm of their hymns and melodies. Ephraem met these -schismatics on their own ground, and composed a large number of songs in -the spirit of orthodoxy, which he gave to choirs of his followers to be -sung on Sundays and festal days. The hymns of Ephraem were greatly -beloved by the Syrian Church, and are still valued by the Maronite -Christians. The Syrian school of hymnody died out in the fifth century, -and poetic inspiration in the Eastern Church found its channel in the -Greek tongue. - -Before the age of the Greek Christian poets whose names have passed into -history, the great anonymous unmetrical hymns appeared which still hold -an eminent place in the liturgies of the Catholic and Protestant Churches -as well as of the Eastern Church. The best known of these are the two -Glorias--the Gloria Patri and the Gloria in excelsis; the Ter Sanctus or -Cherubic hymn, heard by Isaiah in vision; and the Te Deum. The Magnificat -or thanksgiving of Mary, and the Benedicite or Song of the Three -Children, were early adopted by the Eastern Church. The Kyrie eleison -appears as a response by the people in the liturgies of St. Mark and St. -James. It was adopted into the Roman liturgy at a very early date; the -addition of the Christe eleison is said to have been made by Gregory the -Great. The Gloria in excelsis, the "greater doxology," with the possible -exception of the Te Deum the noblest of the early Christian hymns, is the -angelic song given in Luke ii. 14, with additions which were made not -later than the fourth century. "Begun in heaven, finished on earth." It -was first used in the Eastern Church as a morning hymn. The Te Deum -laudamus has often been given a Western origin, St. Ambrose and St. -Augustine, according to a popular legend, having been inspired to -improvise it in alternate verses at the baptism of St. Augustine by the -bishop of Milan. Another tradition ascribes the authorship to St. Hilary -in the fourth century. Its original form is unknown, but it is generally -believed to have been formed by accretions upon a Greek original. Certain -phrases contained in it are also in the earlier liturgies. The present -form of the hymn is probably as old as the fifth century.[40] - -Of the very few brief anonymous songs and fragments which have come down -to us from this dim period the most perfect is a Greek hymn, which was -sometimes sung in private worship at the lighting of the lamps. It has -been made known to many English readers through Longfellow's beautiful -translation in "The Golden Legend:" - - - "O gladsome light - Of the Father immortal, - And of the celestial - Sacred and blessed - Jesus, our Saviour! - Now to the sunset - Again hast thou brought us; - And seeing the evening - Twilight, we bless thee, - Praise thee, adore thee - Father omnipotent! - Son, the Life-giver! - Spirit, the Comforter! - Worthy at all times - Of worship and wonder! - - -Overlapping the epoch of the great anonymous hymns and continuing beyond -it is the era of the Greek hymnists whose names and works are known, and -who contributed a vast store of lyrics to the offices of the Eastern -Church. Eighteen quarto volumes, says Dr. J. M. Neale, are occupied by -this huge store of religious poetry. Dr. Neale, to whom the -English-speaking world is chiefly indebted for what slight knowledge it -has of these hymns, divides them into three epochs: - -1. "That of formation, when this poetry was gradually throwing off the -bondage of classical metres, and inventing and perfecting its various -styles; this period ends about A. D. 726." - -2. "That of perfection, which nearly coincides with the period of the -iconoclastic controversy, 726-820." - -3. "That of decadence, when the effeteness of an effeminate court and the -dissolution of a decaying empire reduced ecclesiastical poetry, by slow -degrees, to a stilted bombast, giving great words to little meaning, -heaping up epithet upon epithet, tricking out commonplaces in diction -more and more gorgeous, till sense and simplicity are alike sought in -vain; 820-1400."[41] - -The centres of Greek hymnody in its most brilliant period were Sicily, -Constantinople, and Jerusalem and its neighborhood, particularly St. -Sabba's monastery, where lived St. Cosmas and St. John Damascene, the two -greatest of the Greek Christian poets. The hymnists of this epoch -preserved much of the narrative style and objectivity of the earlier -writers, especially in the hymns written to celebrate the Nativity, the -Epiphany, and other events in the life of Christ. In others a more -reflective and introspective quality is found. The fierce struggles, -hatreds, and persecutions of the iconoclastic controversy also left their -plain mark upon many of them in a frequent tendency to magnify -temptations and perils, in a profound sense of sin, a consciousness of -the necessity of penitential discipline for the attainment of salvation, -and a certain fearful looking-for of judgment. This attitude, so -different from the peace and confidence of the earlier time, attains its -most striking manifestation in the sombre and powerful funeral dirge -ascribed to St. John Damascene ("Take the last kiss") and the Judgment -hymn of St. Theodore of the Studium. In the latter the poet strikes with -trembling hand the tone which four hundred years later was sounded with -such imposing majesty in the Dies Irae of St. Thomas of Celano. - -The Catholic hymnody, so far at least as concerns the usage of the -ritual, belongs properly to a later period. The hymns of St. Hilary, St. -Damasus, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, Prudentius, Fortunatus, and St. -Gregory, which afterward so beautified the Divine Office, were originally -designed for private devotion and for accessory ceremonies, since it was -not until the tenth or eleventh century that hymns were introduced into -the office at Rome, following a tendency that was first authoritatively -recognized by the Council of Toledo in the seventh century. - -The history of Christian poetry and music in the East ends with the -separation of the Eastern and Western Churches. From that time onward a -chilling blight rested upon the soil which the apostles had cultivated -with such zeal and for a time with such grand result. The fatal -controversy over icons, the check inflicted by the conquests of the -Mohammedan power, the crushing weight of Byzantine luxury and tyranny, -and that insidious apathy which seems to dwell in the very atmosphere of -the Orient, sooner or later entering into every high endeavor, relaxing -and corrupting--all this sapped the spiritual life of the Eastern Church. -The pristine enthusiasm was succeeded by fanaticism, and out of -fanaticism, in its turn, issued formalism, bigotry, stagnation. It was -only among the nations that were to rear a new civilization in Western -Europe on the foundations laid by the Roman empire that political and -social conditions could be created which would give free scope for the -expansion of the divine life of Christianity. It was only in the West, -also, that the motives that were adequate to inspire a Christian art, -after a long struggle against Byzantine formalism and convention, could -issue in a prophetic artistic progress. The attempted reconciliation of -Christian ideas and traditional pagan method formed the basis of -Christian art, but the new insight into spiritual things, and the -profounder emotions that resulted, demanded new ideals and principles as -well as new subjects. The nature and destiny of the soul, the beauty and -significance that lie in secret self-scrutiny and aspiration kindled by a -new hope, this, rather than the loveliness of outward shape, became the -object of contemplation and the endless theme of art. Architecture and -sculpture became symbolic, painting the presentation of ideas designed to -stimulate new life in the soul, poetry and music the direct witness and -the immediate manifestation of the soul itself. - -With the edicts of Constantine early in the fourth century, which -practically made Christianity the dominant religious system of the -empire, the swift dilation of the pent-up energy of the Church -inaugurated an era in which ritualistic splendor kept pace with the rapid -acquisition of temporal power. The hierarchical developments had already -traversed a course parallel to those of the East, and now that the Church -was free to work out that genius for organization of which it had already -become definitely conscious, it went one step farther than the Oriental -system in the establishment of the papacy as the single head from which -the subordinate members derived legality. This was not a time when a -democratic form of church government could endure. There was no place for -such in the ideas of that age. In the furious tempests that overwhelmed -the Roman empire, in the readjustment of political and social conditions -all over Europe, with the convulsions and frequent triumphs of savagery -that inevitably attended them, it was necessary that the Church, as the -sole champion and preserver of civilization and righteousness, should -concentrate all her forces, and become in doctrine, worship, and -government a single, compact, unified, spiritual state. The dogmas of the -Church must be formulated, preserved, and guarded by an official class, -and the ignorant and fickle mass of the common people must be taught to -yield a reverent, unquestioning obedience to the rule of their spiritual -lords. The exposition of theology, the doctrine of the ever-renewed -sacrifice of Christ upon the altar, the theory of the sacraments -generally, all involved the conception of a mediatorial priesthood -deriving its authority by direct transmission from the apostles. Out of -such conditions and tendencies proceeded also the elaborate and -awe-inspiring rites, the fixed liturgies embalming the central dogmas of -the faith, and the whole machinery of a worship which was itself viewed -as of an objective efficacy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and designed -both for the edification of the believer and as an offering of the Church -to its Redeemer. In the development of the outward observances of -worship, with their elaborate symbolic ceremonialism, the student is -often struck with surprise to see how lavishly the Church drew its forms -and decorations from paganism and Judaism. But there is nothing in this -that need excite wonder, nothing that was not inevitable under the -conditions of the times. Says Lanciani: "In accepting rites and customs -which were not offensive to her principles and morality, the Church -showed equal tact and foresight, and contributed to the peaceful -accomplishment of the transformation."[42] The pagan or Jewish convert -was not obliged to part with all his ancestral notions of the nature of -worship. He found his love of pomp and splendor gratified by the -ceremonies of a religion which knew how to make many of the fair features -of earthly life accessory to the inculcation of spiritual truth. And so -it was that symbolism and the appeal to the senses aided in commending -Christianity to a world which was not yet prepared for a faith which -should require only a silent, unobtrusive experience. Instruction must -come to the populace in forms which would satisfy their inherited -predispositions. The Church, therefore, establishing itself amidst -heathenism, adopted a large number of rites and customs from classical -antiquity; and in the externals of its worship, as well as of its -government, assumed forms which were contributions from without, as well -as evolutions from within. These acquisitions, however, did not by any -means remain a meaningless or incongruous residuum of dead superstitions. -An instructive symbolism was imparted to them; they were moulded with -marvellous art into the whole vesture with which the Church clothed -herself for her temporal and spiritual office, and were made to become -conscious witnesses to the truth and beauty of the new faith. - -The commemoration of martyrs and confessors passed into invocations for -their aid as intercessors with Christ. They became the patron saints of -individuals and orders, and honors were paid to them at particular places -and on particular days, involving a multitude of special ritual -observances. Festivals were multiplied and took the place in popular -regard of the old Roman Lupercalia and Saturnalia and the mystic rites of -heathenism. As among the cultivated nations of antiquity, so in Christian -Rome the festival, calling into requisition every available means of -decoration, became the basis of a rapid development of art. Under all -these conditions the music of the Church in Italy became a liturgic -music, and, as in the East, the laity resigned the main offices of song -to a choir consisting of subordinate clergy and appointed by clerical -authority. The method of singing was undoubtedly not indigenous, but -derived, as already suggested, directly or indirectly from Eastern -practice. Milman asserts that the liturgy of the Roman Church for the -first three centuries was Greek. However this may have been, we know that -both Syriac and Greek influences were strong at that time in the Italian -Church. A number of the popes in the seventh century were Greeks. Until -the cleavage of the Church into its final Eastern and Western divisions -the interaction was strong between the two sections, and much in the way -of custom and art was common to both. The conquests of the Moslem power -in the seventh century drove many Syrian monks into Italy, and their -liturgic practice, half Greek, half Semitic, could not fail to make -itself felt among their adopted brethren. - -A notable instance of the transference of Oriental custom into the -Italian Church is to be found in the establishment of antiphonal chanting -in the Church of Milan, at the instance of St. Ambrose, bishop of that -city. St. Augustine, the pupil and friend of St. Ambrose, has given an -account of this event, of which he had personal knowledge. "It was about -a year, or not much more," he relates, "since Justina, the mother of the -boy-emperor Justinian, persecuted thy servant Ambrose in the interest of -her heresy, to which she had been seduced by the Arians." [This -persecution was to induce St. Ambrose to surrender some of the churches -of the city to the Arians.] "The pious people kept guard in the church, -prepared to die with their bishop, thy servant. At this time it was -instituted that, after the manner of the Eastern Church, hymns and psalms -should be sung, lest the people should pine away in the tediousness of -sorrow, which custom, retained from then till now, is imitated by -many--yea, by almost all of thy congregations throughout the rest of the -world."[43] - -The conflict of St. Ambrose with the Arians occurred in 386. Before the -introduction of the antiphonal chant the psalms were probably rendered in -a semi-musical recitation, similar to the usage mentioned by St. -Augustine as prevailing at Alexandria under St. Athanasius, "more -speaking than singing." That a more elaborate and emotional style was in -use at Milan in St. Augustine's time is proved by the very interesting -passage in the tenth book of the _Confessions_, in which he analyzes the -effect upon himself of the music of the Church, fearing lest its charm -had beguiled him from pious absorption in the sacred words into a purely -aesthetic gratification. He did not fail, however, to render the just -meed of honor to the music that so touched him: "How I wept at thy hymns -and canticles, pierced to the quick by the voices of thy melodious -Church! Those voices flowed into my ears, and the truth distilled into my -heart, and thence there streamed forth a devout emotion, and my tears ran -down, and happy was I therein."[44] - -Antiphonal psalmody, after the pattern of that employed at Milan, was -introduced into the divine office at Rome by Pope Celestine, who reigned -422-432. It is at about this time that we find indications of the more -systematic development of the liturgic priestly chant. The history of the -papal choir goes back as far as the fifth century. Leo I., who died in -461, gave a durable organization to the divine office by establishing a -community of monks to be especially devoted to the service of the -canonical hours. In the year 680 the monks of Monte Cassino, founded by -St. Benedict, suddenly appeared in Rome and announced the destruction of -their monastery by the Lombards. Pope Pelagius received them hospitably, -and gave them a dwelling near the Lateran basilica. This cloister became -a means of providing the papal chapel with singers. In connection with -the college of men singers, who held the clerical title of sub-deacon, -stood an establishment for boys, who were to be trained for service in -the pope's choir, and who were also given instruction in other branches. -This school received pupils from the wealthiest and most distinguished -families, and a number of the early popes, including Gregory II. and Paul -I., received instruction within its walls. - -By the middle or latter part of the sixth century, the mediaeval epoch of -church music had become fairly inaugurated. A large body of liturgic -chants had been classified and systematized, and the teaching of their -form and the tradition of their rendering given into the hands of members -of the clergy especially detailed for their culture. The liturgy, -essentially completed during or shortly before the reign of Gregory the -Great (590-604), was given a musical setting throughout, and this -liturgic chant was made the law of the Church equally with the liturgy -itself, and the first steps were taken to impose one uniform ritual and -one uniform chant upon all the congregations of the West. - -It was, therefore, in the first six centuries, when the Church was -organizing and drilling her forces for her victorious conflicts, that the -final direction of her music, as of all her art, was consciously taken. -In rejecting the support of instruments and developing for the first time -an exclusively vocal art, and in breaking loose from the restrictions of -antique metre which in Greek and Greco-Roman music had forced melody to -keep step with strict prosodic measure, Christian music parted company -with pagan art, threw the burden of expression not, like Greek music, -upon rhythm, but upon melody, and found in this absolute vocal melody a -new art principle of which all the worship music of modern Christendom is -the natural fruit. More vital still than these special forms and -principles, comprehending and necessitating them, was the true ideal of -music, proclaimed once for all by the fathers of the liturgy. This ideal -is found in the distinction of the church style from the secular style, -the expression of the universal mood of prayer, rather than the -expression of individual, fluctuating, passionate emotion with which -secular music deals--that rapt, pervasive, exalted tone which makes no -attempt at detailed painting of events or superficial mental states, but -seems rather to symbolize the fundamental sentiments of humility, awe, -hope, and love which mingle all particular experiences in the common -offering that surges upward from the heart of the Church to its Lord and -Master. In this avoidance of an impassioned emphasis of details in favor -of an expression drawn from the large spirit of worship, church music -evades the peril of introducing an alien dramatic element into the holy -ceremony, and asserts its nobler power of creating an atmosphere from -which all worldly custom and association disappear. This grand conception -was early injected into the mind of the Church, and has been the parent -of all that has been most noble and edifying in the creations of -ecclesiastical music. - - - - - CHAPTER III - THE LITURGY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - - -There is no derogation of the honor clue to the Catholic Church in the -assertion that a large element in the extraordinary spell which she has -always exercised upon the minds of men is to be found in the beauty of -her liturgy, the solemn magnificence of her forms of worship, and the -glorious products of artistic genius with which those forms have been -embellished. Every one who has accustomed himself to frequent places of -Catholic worship at High Mass, especially the cathedrals of the old -world, whether he is in sympathy with the idea of that worship or not, -must have been impressed with something peculiarly majestic, elevating, -and moving in the spectacle; he must have felt as if drawn by some -irresistible fascination out of his accustomed range of thought, borne by -a spiritual tide that sets toward regions unexplored. The music which -pervades the mystic ceremony is perhaps the chief agent of this mental -reaction through the peculiar spell which the very nature of music -enables it to exert upon the emotion. Music in the Catholic ritual seems -to act almost in excess of its normal efficacy. It may, without -impropriety, be compared to the music of the dramatic stage in the aid it -derives from accessories and poetic association. The music is such a -vital constituent of the whole act of devotion that the impressions drawn -from the liturgy, ceremony, architecture, decoration, and the sublime -memories of a venerable past are all insensibly invoked to lend to the -tones of priest and choir and organ a grandeur not their own. This is the -reason why Catholic music, even when it is tawdry and sensational, or -indifferently performed, has a certain air of nobility. The ceremony is -always imposing, and the music which enfolds the act of worship like an -atmosphere must inevitably absorb somewhat of the dignity of the rite to -which it ministers. And when the music in itself is the product of the -highest genius and is rendered with reverence and skill, the effect upon -a sensitive mind is more solemnizing than that obtained from any other -variety of musical experience. - -This secret of association and artistic setting must always be taken into -account if we would measure the peculiar power of the music of the -Catholic Church. We must observe that music is only one of many means of -impression, and is made to act not alone, but in union with reinforcing -agencies. These agencies--which include all the elements of the ceremony -that affect the eye and the imagination--are intended to supplement and -enhance each other; and in analyzing the attractive force which the -Catholic Church has always exercised upon minds vastly diverse in -culture, we cannot fail to admire the consummate skill with which she has -made her appeal to the universal susceptibility to ideas of beauty and -grandeur and mystery as embodied in sound and form. The union of the arts -for the sake of an immediate and undivided effect, of which we have heard -so much in recent years, was achieved by the Catholic Church centuries -ago. She rears the most sumptuous edifices, decorates their walls with -masterpieces of painting, fills every sightly nook with sculptures in -wood and stone, devises a ritual of ingenious variety and lavish -splendor, pours over this ritual music that alternately subdues and -excites, adjusts all these means so that each shall heighten the effect -of the others and seize upon the perceptions at the same moment. In -employing these artistic agencies the Church has taken cognizance of -every degree of enlightenment and variety of temper. For the vulgar she -has garish display, for the superstitious wonder and concealment; for the -refined and reflective she clothes her doctrines in the fairest guise and -makes worship an aesthetic delight. Her worship centres in a mystery--the -Real Presence--and this mystery she embellishes with every allurement -that can startle, delight, and enthrall. - -Symbolism and artistic decoration--in the use of which the Catholic -Church has exceeded all other religious institutions except her sister -Church of the East--are not mere extraneous additions, as though they -might be cut off without essential loss; they are the natural outgrowth -of her very spirit and genius, the proper outward manifestation of the -idea which pervades her culture and her worship. Minds that need no -external quickening, but love to rise above ceremonial observances and -seek immediate contact with the divine source of life, are comparatively -rare. Mysticism is not for the multitude; the majority of mankind require -that spiritual influences shall come to them in the guise of that which -is tangible; a certain nervous thrill is needed to shock them out of -their accustomed material habitudes. Recognizing this fact, and having -taken up into her system a vast number of ideas which inevitably require -objective representation in order that they may be realized and -operative, the Catholic Church has even incurred the charge of idolatry -on account of the extreme use she has made of images and symbols. But it -may be that in this she has shown greater wisdom than those who censure -her. She knows that the externals of religious observance must be endowed -with a large measure of sensuous charm if they would seize hold upon the -affections of the bulk of mankind. She knows that spiritual aspiration -and the excitement of the senses can never be entirely separated in -actual public worship, and she would run the risk of subordinating the -first to the second rather than offer a service of bare intellectuality -empty of those persuasions which artistic genius offers, and which are so -potent to bend the heart in reverence and submission. - -In the study of the Catholic system of rites and ceremonies, together -with their motive and development, the great problem of the relation of -religion and art meets us squarely. The Catholic Church has not been -satisfied to prescribe fixed forms and actions for every devotional -impulse--she has aimed to make those forms and actions beautiful. There -has been no phase of art which could be devoted to this object that has -not offered to her the choicest of its achievements. And not for -decoration merely, not simply to subjugate the spirit by fascinating the -senses, but rather impelled by an inner necessity which has effected a -logical alliance of the special powers of art with the aims and needs of -the Church. Whatever may be the attitude toward the claims of this great -institution, no one of sensibility can deny that the world has never -seen, and is never likely to see, anything fairer or more majestic than -that sublime structure, compounded of architecture, sculpture, and -painting, and informed by poetry and music, which the Church created in -the Middle Age, and fixed in enduring mould for the wondering admiration -of all succeeding time. Every one who studies it with a view to searching -its motive is compelled to admit that it was a work of sincere -conviction. It came from no "vain or shallow thought;" it testifies to -something in the heart of Catholicism that has never failed to stir the -most passionate affection, and call forth the loftiest efforts of -artistic skill. This marvellous product of Catholic art, immeasurable in -its variety, has gathered around the rites and ordinances of the Church, -and taken from them its spirit, its forms, and its -tendencies;--architecture to erect a suitable enclosure for worship, and -to symbolize the conception of the visible kingdom of Christ in time and -of the eternal kingdom of Christ in heaven; sculpture to adorn this -sanctuary, and standing like the sacred edifice itself in closest -relation to the centre of churchly life and deriving from that its -purpose and norm; painting performing a like function, and also more -definitely acting for instruction, vividly illustrating the doctrines and -traditions of the faith, directing the thought of the believer more -intently to their moral purport and ideal beauty; poetry and music, the -very breath of the liturgy itself, acting immediately upon the heart, -kindling the latent sentiment of reverence into lively emotions of joy -and love. In the employment of rites and ceremonies with their sumptuous -artistic setting, in the large stress that is laid upon prescribed forms -and external acts of worship, the Catholic Church has been actuated by a -conviction from which she has never for an instant swerved. This -conviction is twofold: first, that the believer is aided thereby in the -offering of an absorbed, fervent, and sincere worship; and second, that -it is not only fitting, but a duty, that all that is most precious, the -product of the highest development of the powers that God has given to -man, should be offered as a witness of man's love and adoration,--that -the expenditure of wealth in the erection and decoration of God's -sanctuaries, and the tribute of the highest artistic skill in the -creation of forms of beauty, are worthy of his immeasurable glory and of -ourselves as his dependent children. Says Cardinal Gibbons: "The -ceremonies of the Church not only render the divine service more solemn, -but they also rivet and captivate our attention and lift it up to God. -Our mind is so active, so volatile, and full of distractions, our -imagination is so fickle, that we have need of some external objects on -which to fix our thoughts. True devotion must be interior and come from -the heart; but we are not to infer that exterior worship is to be -condemned because interior worship is prescribed as essential. On the -contrary, the rites and ceremonies which are enjoined in the worship of -God and in the administration of the sacraments are dictated by right -reason, and are sanctioned by Almighty God in the old law, and by Christ -and his apostles in the new."[45] "Not by the human understanding," says -a writer in the _Caecilien Kalendar_, "was the ritual devised, man knows -not whence it came. Its origin lies outside the inventions of man, like -the ideas which it presents. The liturgy arose with the faith, as speech -with thought. What the body is for the soul, such is the liturgy for -religion. Everything in the uses of the Church, from the mysterious -ceremonies of the Mass and of Good Friday, to the summons of the evening -bell to prayer, is nothing else than the eloquent expression of the -content of the redemption of the Son of God."[46] - -Since the ritual is prayer, the offering of the Church to God through -commemoration and representation as well as through direct appeal, so the -whole ceremonial, act as well as word, blends with this conception of -prayer, not as embellishment merely but as constituent factor. Hence the -large use of symbolism, and even of semi-dramatic representation. "When I -speak of the dramatic form of our ceremonies," says Cardinal Wiseman, "I -make no reference whatever to outward display; and I choose that epithet -for the reason that the poverty of language affords me no other for my -meaning. The object and power of dramatic poetry consist in its being not -merely descriptive but representative. Its character is to bear away the -imagination and soul to the view of what others witnessed, and excite in -us, through their words, such impressions as we might have felt on the -occasion. The service of the Church is eminently poetical, the dramatic -power runs through the service in a most marked manner, and must be kept -in view for its right understanding. Thus, for example, the entire -service for the dead, office, exequies, and Mass, refers to the moment of -death, and bears the imagination to the awful crisis of separation of -soul and body." "In like manner the Church prepares us during Advent for -the commemoration of our dear Redeemer's birth, as though it were really -yet to take place. As the festival approaches, the same ideal return to -the very moment and circumstances of our divine Redeemer's birth is -expressed; all the glories of the day are represented to the soul as if -actually occurring." "This principle, which will be found to animate the -church service of every other season, rules most remarkably that of Holy -Week, and gives it life and soul. It is not intended to be merely -commemorative or historical; it is, strictly speaking, -representative."[47] "The traditions and rules of church art," says -Jakob, "are by no means arbitrary, they are not an external accretion, -but they proceed from within outward, they have grown organically from -the guiding spirit of the Church, out of the requirements of her worship. -Therein lies the justification of symbolism and symbolic representation -in ecclesiastical art. The church of stone must be a speaking image of -the living Church and her mysteries; the pictures on the walls and on the -altars are not mere ornament for the eye, but for the heart a book full -of instruction, a sermon full of truth. And thereby is art raised to be a -participant in the work of edifying the believers; it becomes a profound -teacher of thousands, a bearer and preserver of great ideas for the -centuries."[48] "Our Holy Church," says a German priest, "which -completely understands the nature and the needs of humanity, presents to -us divine truth and grace in sensible form, in order that by this means -they may be more easily grasped and more securely appropriated by us. The -law of sense perception, which constitutes so important a factor in human -education, forms also a fundamental law in the action of Holy Church, -whereby she seeks to raise us out of this earthly material life into the -supernatural life of grace. She therefore confers upon us redemptive -grace in the holy sacraments in connection with external signs, through -which the inner grace is shadowed forth and accomplished, as for instance -the inward washing of the soul from sin in baptism through the outward -washing of the body. In like manner the eye of the instructed Catholic -sees in the symbolic ceremonies of the holy sacrifice of the Mass the -thrilling representation of the fall of man, our redemption, and finally -our glorification at the second coming of our Lord. Out of this ground -law of presentation to the senses has arisen the whole liturgy of the -Church, _i. e._, the sum of all religious actions and prayers to the -honor of God and the communication of his grace to us, and this whole -expressive liturgy forms at once the solemn ceremonial in the sanctuary -of the Heavenly King, in which he receives our adoration and bestows upon -us the most plentiful tokens of his favor."[49] - -These citations sufficiently indicate the mind of the Catholic Church in -respect to the uses of ritual and symbolic ceremony. The prime intention -is the instruction and edification of the believer, but it is evident -that a necessary element in this edification is the thought that the rite -is one composite act of worship, a prayer, an offering to Almighty God. -This is the theory of Catholic art, the view which pious churchmen have -always entertained of the function of artistic forms in worship. That all -the products of religious art in Catholic communities have been actuated -by this motive alone would be too much to say. The principle of "art for -art's sake," precisely antagonistic to the traditional ecclesiastical -principle, has often made itself felt in periods of relapsed zeal, and -artists have employed traditional subjects out of habit or policy, -finding them as good as any others as bases for experiments in the -achievement of sensuous charm in form, texture, and color. But so far as -changeless dogma, liturgic unity, and consistent tradition have -controlled artistic effort, individual determination has been allowed -enough play to save art from petrifying into a hieratic formalism, but -not enough to endanger the faith, morals, or loyalty of the flock. He -therefore who would know the spirit of Catholicism must give a large -portion of his study to its art. From the central genius of this -institution, displayed not merely in its doctrines and traditions, but -also in its sublime faith in its own divine ordination and guidance, and -in its ideals of holiness, have issued its liturgy, its ceremonial, and -the infinitely varied manifestations of its symbolic, historic, and -devotional art. The Catholic Church has aimed to rear on earth a visible -type of the spiritual kingdom of God, and to build for her disciples a -home, suggestive in its splendor of the glory prepared for those who keep -the faith. - -All Catholic art, in so far as it may in the strict use of language be -called church art, separates itself from the larger and more indefinite -category of religious art, and derives its character not from the -personal determination of individual artists, but from conceptions and -models that have become traditional and canonical. These traditional laws -and forms have developed organically out of the needs of the Catholic -worship; they derive their sanction and to a large extent their style -from the doctrine and also from the ceremonial. The centre of the whole -churchly life is the altar, with the great offices of worship there -performed. Architecture, painting, decoration, music,--all are -comprehended in a unity of impression through the liturgy which they -serve. Ecclesiastical art has evolved from within the Church itself, and -has drawn its vitality from those ideas which have found their permanent -and most terse embodiment in the liturgy. Upon the liturgy and the -ceremonial functions attending it must be based all study of the system -of artistic expression officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church. - -The Catholic liturgy, or text of the Mass, is not the work of any -individual or conference. It is a growth, an evolution. Set forms of -prayer began to come into use as soon as the first Christian -congregations were founded by the apostles. The dogma of the eucharist -was the chief factor in giving the liturgy its final shape. By a logical -process of selection and integration, certain prayers, Scripture lessons, -hymns, and responses were woven together, until the whole became shaped -into what may be called a religious poem, in which was expressed the -conceived relation of Christ to the Church, and the emotional attitude of -the Church in view of his perpetual presence as both paschal victim and -high priest. This great prayer of the Catholic Church is mainly composed -of contributions made by the Eastern Church during the first four -centuries. Its essential features were adopted and transferred to Latin -by the Church of Rome, and after a process of sifting and rearranging, -with some additions, its form was completed by the end of the sixth -century essentially as it stands to-day. The liturgy is, therefore, the -voice of the Church, weighted with her tradition, resounding with the -commanding tone of her apostolic authority, eloquent with the longing and -the assurance of innumerable martyrs and confessors, the mystic testimony -to the commission which the Church believes to have been laid upon her by -the Holy Spirit. It is not surprising, therefore, that devout Catholics -have come to consider this liturgy as divinely inspired, raised above all -mere human speech, the language of saints and angels, a truly celestial -poem; and that Catholic writers have well-nigh exhausted the vocabulary -of enthusiasm in expounding its spiritual significance. - -The insistence upon the use of one unvarying language in the Mass and all -the other offices of the Catholic Church is necessarily involved in the -very conception of catholicity and immutability. A universal Church must -have a universal form of speech; national languages imply national -churches; the adoption of the vernacular would be the first step toward -disintegration. The Catholic, into whatever strange land he may wander, -is everywhere at home the moment he enters a sanctuary of his faith, for -he hears the same worship, in the same tongue, accompanied with the same -ceremonies, that has been familiar to him from childhood. This universal -language must inevitably be the Latin. Unlike all living languages it is -never subject to change, and hence there is no danger that any -misunderstanding of refined points of doctrine or observance will creep -in through alteration in the connotation of words. Latin is the original -language of the Catholic Church, the language of scholarship and -diplomacy in the period of ecclesiastical formation, the tongue to which -were committed the ritual, articles of faith, legal enactments, the -writings of the fathers of the Church, ancient conciliar decrees, etc. -The only exceptions to the rule which prescribes Latin as the liturgical -speech are to be found among certain Oriental congregations, where, for -local reasons, other languages are permitted, _viz._, Greek, Syriac, -Chaldaic, Slavonic, Wallachian, Armenian, Coptic, and Ethiopic. In each -of these instances, however, the liturgic speech is not the vernacular, -but the ancient form which has passed out of use in other relations.[50] - -The Mass is the most solemn rite among the offices of the Catholic -Church, and embodies the fundamental doctrine upon which the Catholic -system of worship mainly rests. It is the chief sacrament, the permanent -channel of grace ever kept open between God and his Church. It is an -elaborate development of the last supper of Christ with his disciples, -and is the fulfilment of the perpetual injunction laid by the Master upon -his followers. Developed under the control of the idea of sacrifice, -which was drawn from the central conception of the old Jewish -dispensation and imbedded in the tradition of the Church at a very early -period, the office of the Mass became not a mere memorial of the -atonement upon Calvary, but a perpetual renewal of it upon the altar -through the power committed to the priesthood by the Holy Spirit. To the -Protestant, Christ was offered once for all upon the cross, and the -believer partakes through repentance and faith in the benefits conferred -by that transcendent act; but to the Catholic this sacrifice is repeated -whenever the eucharistic elements of bread and wine are presented at the -altar with certain prayers and formulas. The renewal of the atoning -process is effected through the recurring miracle of transubstantiation, -by which the bread and wine are transmuted into the very body and blood -of Christ. It is in this way that the Catholic Church literally -interprets the words of Jesus: "This is my body; this is my blood; whoso -eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life." When the -miraculous transformation has taken place at the repetition by the priest -of Christ's words of institution, the consecrated host and chalice are -offered to God by the priest in the name and for the sake of the -believers, both present and absent, for whom prayer is made and who share -through faith in the benefits of this sacrificial act. "The sacrifice of -the Mass," says Cardinal Gibbons, "is identical with that of the cross, -both having the same victim and high priest--Jesus Christ. The only -difference consists in the manner of the oblation. Christ was offered -upon the cross in a bloody manner; in the Mass he is offered up in an -unbloody manner. On the cross he purchased our ransom, and in the -eucharistic sacrifice the price of that ransom is applied to our -souls."[51] This conception is the keystone of the whole structure of -Catholic faith, the super-essential dogma, repeated, from century to -century in declarations of prelates, theologians, and synods, reasserted -once for all in terms of binding definition by the Council of Trent. All, -therefore, who assist in this mystic ceremony, either as celebrants and -ministers or as indirect participants through faith, share in its -supernatural efficacy. It is to them a sacrifice of praise, of -supplication, and of propitiation. - -The whole elaborate ceremony of the Mass, which is such an enigma to the -uninstructed, is nowhere vain or repetitious. Every word has its fitting -relation to the whole; every gesture and genuflection, every change of -vestments, has its symbolic significance. All the elements of the rite -are merged into a unity under the sway of this central act of -consecration and oblation. All the lessons, prayers, responses, and hymns -are designed to lead up to it, to prepare the officers and people to -share in it, and to impress upon them its meaning and effect. The -architectural, sculptural, and decorative beauty of altar, chancel, and -apse finds its justification as a worthy setting for the august ceremony, -and as a fitting shrine to harbor the very presence of the Lord. The -display of lights and vestments, the spicy clouds of incense, the -solemnity of priestly chant, and the pomp of choral music, are contrived -solely to enhance the impression of the rite, and to compel the mind into -a becoming mood of adoration. - -There are several kinds of Masses, differing in certain details, or in -manner of performance, or in respect to the occasions to which they are -appropriated, such as the High Mass, Solemn High Mass, Low Mass, Requiem -Mass or Mass for the Dead, Mass of the Presanctified, Nuptial Mass, -Votive Mass, etc. The widest departure from the ordinary Mass form is in -the Requiem Mass, where the Gloria and Credo are omitted, and their -places supplied by the mediaeval judgment hymn, Dies Irae, together with -certain special prayers for departed souls. In respect to the customary -service on Sundays, festal, and ferial days there is no difference in the -words of the High Mass, Solemn High Mass, and Low Mass, but only in the -manner of performance and the degree of embellishment. The Low Mass is -said in a low tone of voice and in the manner of ordinary speech, the -usual marks of solemnity being dispensed with; there is no chanting and -no choir music. The High Mass is given in musical tones throughout by -celebrant and choir. The Solemn High Mass is performed with still greater -ritualistic display, and with deacon, sub-deacon, and a full corps of -inferior ministers. - -The prayers, portions of Scripture, hymns, and responses which compose -the Catholic liturgy consist both of parts that are unalterably the same -and of parts that change each day of the year. Those portions that are -invariable constitute what is known as the Ordinary of the Mass. The -changeable or "proper" parts include the Introits, Collects, Epistles and -Lessons, Graduals, Tracts, Gospels, Offertories, Secrets, Prefaces, -Communions, and Post-Communions. Every day of the year has its special -and distinctive form, according as it commemorates some event in the life -of our Lord or is devoted to the memory of some saint, martyr, or -confessor.[52] Mass may be celebrated on any day of the year except Good -Friday, the great mourning day of the Church. - -The outline of the Mass ceremony that follows relates to the High Mass, -which may be taken as the type of the Mass in general. It must be borne -in mind that the entire office is chanted or sung. - -After the entrance of the officiating priest and his attendants the -celebrant pronounces the words: "In the name of the Father, and of the -Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen;" and then recites the 42d psalm (43d -in the Protestant version). Next follows the confession of sin and prayer -for pardon. After a few brief prayers and responses the Introit--a short -Scripture selection, usually from a psalm--is chanted. Then the choir -sings the Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison. The first of these ejaculations -was used in the Eastern Church in the earliest ages as a response by the -people. It was adopted into the liturgies of the Western Church at a very -early period, and is one of the two instances of the survival in the -Latin office of phrases of the original Greek liturgies. The Christe -eleison was added a little later. - -The Kyrie is immediately followed by the singing by the choir of the -Gloria in excelsis Deo. This hymn, also called the greater doxology, is -of Greek origin, and is the angelic song given in chapter ii. of Luke's -Gospel, with additions which were made not later than the fourth century. -It was adopted into the Roman liturgy at least as early as the latter -part of the sixth century, since it appears, connected with certain -restrictions, in the sacramentary of Pope Gregory the Great. - -Next are recited the Collects--short prayers appropriate to the day, -imploring God's blessing. Then comes the reading of the Epistle, a psalm -verse called the Gradual, the Alleluia, or, when that is omitted, the -Tractus (which is also usually a psalm verse), and at certain festivals a -hymn called Sequence. Next is recited the Gospel appointed for the day. -If a sermon is preached its place is next after the Gospel. - -The confession of faith--Credo--is then sung by the choir. This symbol is -based on the creed adopted by the council of Nicaea in 325 and modified -by the council of Constantinople in 381, but it is not strictly identical -with either the Nicene or the Constantinople creed. The most important -difference between the Constantinople creed and the present Roman -consists in the addition in the Roman creed of the words "and from the -Son" (filioque) in the declaration concerning the procession of the Holy -Ghost. The present creed has been in use in Spain since 589, and -according to what seems good authority was adopted into the Roman liturgy -in 1014. - -After a sentence usually taken from a psalm and called the Offertory, the -most solemn portion of the Mass begins with the Oblation of the Host, the -ceremonial preparation of the elements of bread and wine, with prayers, -incensings, and ablutions. - -All being now ready for the consummation of the sacrificial act, the -ascription of thanksgiving and praise called the Preface is offered, -which varies with the season, but closes with the Sanctus and Benedictus, -sung by the choir. - -The Sanctus, also called Trisagion or Thrice Holy, is the cherubic hymn -heard by Isaiah in vision, as described in Is. vi. 3. The Benedictus is -the shout of acclamation by the concourse who met Christ on his entry -into Jerusalem. There is a poetic significance in the union of these two -passages. The blessed one, who cometh in the name of the Lord, is the -Lord himself, the God of Sabaoth, of whose glory heaven and earth are -full. - -The Canon of the Mass now opens with prayers that the holy sacrifice may -be accepted of God, and may redound to the benefit of those present. The -act of consecration is performed by pronouncing Christ's words of -institution, and the sacred host and chalice, now become objects of the -most rapt and absorbed devotion, are elevated before the kneeling -worshipers, and committed to the acceptance of God with the most -impressive vows and invocations. - - -As an illustration of the nobility of thought and beauty of diction that -are found in the Catholic offices, the prayer immediately following the -consecration of the chalice may be quoted: - -"Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, as also thy holy people, calling to -mind the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our Lord, his -resurrection from the dead, and admirable ascension into heaven, offer -unto thy most excellent Majesty of the gifts bestowed upon us a pure -Host, a holy Host, an unspotted Host, the holy bread of eternal life, and -chalice of everlasting salvation. - -"Upon which vouchsafe to look, with a propitious and serene countenance, -and to accept them, as thou wert graciously pleased to accept the gifts -of thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and -that which thy high priest Melchisedech offered to thee, a holy sacrifice -and unspotted victim. - -"We most humbly beseech thee, Almighty God, command these things to be -carried by the hands of thy holy angels to thy altar on high, in the -sight of thy divine Majesty, that as many as shall partake of the most -sacred body and blood of thy Son at this altar, may be filled with every -heavenly grace and blessing." - - -In the midst of the series of prayers following the consecration the -choir sings the Agnus Dei, a short hymn which was introduced into the -Roman liturgy at a very early date. The priest then communicates, and -those of the congregation who have been prepared for the exalted -privilege by confession and absolution kneel at the sanctuary rail and -receive from the celebrant's hands the consecrated wafer. The -Post-Communion, which is a brief prayer for protection and grace, the -dismissal[53] and benediction, and the reading of the first fourteen -verses of the Gospel according to St. John close the ceremony. - -Interspersed with the prayers, lessons, responses, hymns, etc., which -constitute the liturgy are a great number of crossings, obeisances, -incensings, changing of vestments, and other liturgic actions, all an -enigma to the uninitiated, yet not arbitrary or meaningless, for each has -a symbolic significance, designed not merely to impress the congregation, -but still more to enforce upon the ministers themselves a sense of the -magnitude of the work in which they are engaged. The complexity of the -ceremonial, the rapidity of utterance and the frequent inaudibility of -the words of the priest, together with the fact that the text is in a -dead language, are not inconsistent with the purpose for which the Mass -is conceived. For it is not considered as proceeding from the people, but -it is an ordinance performed for them and in their name by a priesthood, -whose function is that of representing the Church in its mediatorial -capacity. The Mass is not simply a prayer, but also a semi-dramatic -action,--an action which possesses in itself an efficacy _ex opere -operato_. This idea renders it unnecessary that the worshipers should -follow the office in detail; it is enough that they cooperate with the -celebrant in faith and pious sympathy. High authorities declare that the -most profitable reception of the rite consists in simply watching the -action of the officiating priest at the altar, and yielding the spirit -unreservedly to the holy emotions which are excited by a complete -self-abandonment to the contemplation of the adorable mystery. The -sacramental theory of the Mass as a vehicle by which grace is -communicated from above to the believing recipient, also leaves him free -to carry on private devotion during the progress of the ceremony. When -the worshipers are seen kneeling in the pews or before an altar at the -side wall, fingering rosaries or with eyes intent upon prayer-books, it -is not the words of the Mass that they are repeating. The Mass is the -prayer of the Church at large, but it does not emanate from the -congregation. The theory of the Mass does not even require the presence -of the laity, and as a matter of practice private and solitary Masses, -although rare, are in no way contrary to the discipline of the Catholic -Church. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE RITUAL CHANT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH - - -In reading the words of the Catholic liturgy from the Missal we must -remember that they were written to be sung, and in a certain limited -degree acted, and that we cannot receive their real force except when -musically rendered and in connection with the ceremonies appropriated to -them. For the Catholic liturgy is in conception and history a musical -liturgy; word and tone are inseparably bound together. The immediate -action of music upon the emotion supplements and reinforces the action of -the text and the dogmatic teaching upon the understanding, and the -ceremony at the altar makes the impression still more direct by means of -visible representation. All the faculties are therefore held in the grasp -of this composite agency of language, music, and bodily motion; neither -is at any point independent of the others, for they are all alike -constituent parts of the poetic whole, in which action becomes prayer and -prayer becomes action. - -The music of the Catholic Church as it exists to-day is the result of a -long process of evolution. Although this process has been continuous, it -has three times culminated in special forms, all of them coincident with -three comprehensive ideas of musical expression which have succeeded each -other chronologically, and which divide the whole history of modern music -into clearly marked epochs. These epochs are those (1) of the unison -chant, (2) of unaccompanied chorus music, and (3) of mixed solo and -chorus with instrumental accompaniment. - -(1) The period in which the unison chant was the only form of church -music extends from the founding of the congregation of Rome to about the -year 1100, and coincides with the centuries of missionary labor among the -Northern and Western nations, when the Roman liturgy was triumphantly -asserting its authority over the various local uses. - -(2) The period of the unaccompanied contrapuntal chorus, based on the -mediaeval key and melodic systems, covers the era of the European -sovereignty of the Catholic Church, including also the period of the -Counter-Reformation of the sixteenth century. This phase of art, -culminating in the works of Palestrina in Rome, Orlandus Lassus in -Munich, and the Gabrielis in Venice, suffered no decline, and gave way at -last to a style in sharp contrast with it only when it had gained an -impregnable historic position. - -(3) The style now dominant in the choir music of the Catholic Church, -_viz._, mixed solo and chorus music with free instrumental accompaniment, -based on the modern transposing scales, arose in the seventeenth century -as an outcome of the Renaissance secularization of art. It was taken up -by the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican Churches, and was moulded into -its present types under the influence of new demands upon musical -expression which had already brought forth the dramatic and concert -styles. - -The unison chant, although confined in the vast majority of congregations -to the portions of the liturgy that are sung by the priest, is still the -one officially recognized form of liturgic music. Although in the -historic development of musical art representatives of the later phases -of music have been admitted into the Church, they exist there only, we -might say, by sufferance,--the chant still remains the legal basis of the -whole scheme of worship music. The chant melodies are no mere musical -accompaniment; they are the very life breath of the words. The text is so -exalted in diction and import, partaking of the sanctity of the -sacrificial function to which it ministers, that it must be uttered in -tones especially consecrated to it. So intimate is this reciprocal -relation of tone and language that in process of time these two elements -have become amalgamated into a union so complete that no dissolution is -possible even in thought. There is no question that the chant melodies as -they exist to-day are only modifications, in most cases but slight -modifications, of those that were originally associated with the several -portions of the liturgy. At the moment when any form of words was given a -place in the Missal or Breviary, its proper melody was then and there -wedded to it. This fact makes the Catholic liturgic chant a distinctive -church song in a special and peculiar sense. It is not, like most other -church music, the artistic creation of individuals, enriching the service -with contributions from without, and imparting to them a quality drawn -from the composer's personal feeling and artistic methods. It is rather a -sort of religious folk-song, proceeding from the inner shrine of -religion. It is abstract, impersonal; its style is strictly -ecclesiastical, both in its inherent solemnity and its ancient -association, and it bears, like the ritual itself, the sanction of -unimpeachable authority. The reverence paid by the Church to the liturgic -chant as a peculiarly sacred form of utterance is plainly indicated by -the fact that while there is no restraint upon the license of choice on -the part of the choir, no other form of song has ever been heard, or can -ever be permitted to be heard, from the priest in the performance of his -ministrations at the altar. - -If we enter a Catholic church during High Mass or Vespers we notice that -the words of the priest are delivered in musical tones. This song at once -strikes us as different in many respects from any other form of music -with which we are acquainted. At first it seems monotonous, strange, -almost barbaric, but when we have become accustomed to it the effect is -very solemn and impressive. Many who are not instructed in the matter -imagine that the priest extemporizes these cadences, but nothing could be -further from the truth. Certain portions of this chant are very plain, -long series of words being recited on a single note, introduced and ended -with very simple melodic inflections; other portions are florid, of wider -compass than the simple chant, often with many notes to a syllable. -Sometimes the priest sings alone, without response or accompaniment; -sometimes his utterances are answered by a choir of boys in the chancel -or a mixed choir in the gallery; in certain portions of the service the -organ supports the chant with harmonies which seem to be based on a -different principle of key and scale from that which ordinarily obtains -in modern chord progression. In its freedom of rhythm it bears some -resemblance to dramatic recitative, yet it is far less dramatic or -characteristic in color and expression, and at the same time both more -severe and more flexible. To one who understands the whole conception and -spirit of the Catholic worship there is a singular appropriateness in the -employment of this manner of utterance, and when properly rendered it -blends most efficiently with the architectural splendors of altar and -sanctuary, with incense, lights, vestments, ceremonial action, and all -the embellishments that lend distinction and solemnity to the Catholic -ritual. This is the celebrated liturgic chant, also called Gregorian -chant, Plain Song, or Choral, and is the special and peculiar form of -song in which the Catholic Church has clothed its liturgy for certainly -fifteen hundred years. - -This peculiar and solemn form of song is the musical speech in which the -entire ritual of the Catholic Church was originally rendered, and to -which a large portion of the ritual is confined at the present day. It is -always sung in unison, with or without instrumental accompaniment. It is -unmetrical though not unrhythmical; it follows the phrasing, the -emphasis, and the natural inflections of the voice in reciting the text, -at the same time that it idealizes them. It is a sort of heightened form -of speech, a musical declamation, having for its object the intensifying -of the emotional powers of ordinary spoken language. It stands to true -song or tune in much the same relation as prose to verse, less -impassioned, more reflective, yet capable of moving the heart like -eloquence. - -The chant appears to be the natural and fundamental form of music -employed in all liturgical systems the world over, ancient and modern. -The sacrificial song of the Egyptians, the Hebrews, and the Greeks was a -chant, and this is the form of music adopted by the Eastern Church, the -Anglican, and every system in which worship is offered in common and -prescribed forms. The chant form is chosen because it does not make an -independent artistic impression, but can be held in strict subordination -to the sacred words; its sole function is to carry the text over with -greater force upon the attention and the emotions. It is in this -relationship of text and tone that the chant differs from true melody. -The latter obeys musical laws of structure and rhythm; the music is -paramount and the text accessory, and in order that the musical flow may -not be hampered, the words are often extended or repeated, and may be -compared to a flexible framework on which the tonal decoration is -displayed. In the chant, on the other hand, this relation of text and -tone is reversed; there is no repetition of words, the laws of structure -and rhythm are rhetorical laws, and the music never asserts itself to the -concealment or subjugation of the meaning of the text. The "jubilations" -or "melismas," which are frequent in the choral portions of the Plain -Song system, particularly in the richer melodies of thee Mass, would seem -at first thought to contradict this principle; in these florid melodic -phrases the singer would appear to abandon himself to a sort of inspired -rapture, giving vent to the emotions aroused in him by the sacred words. -Here musical utterance seems for the moment to be set free from -dependence upon word and symbol and to assert its own special -prerogatives of expression, adopting the conception that underlies modern -figurate music. These occasional ebullitions of feeling permitted in the -chant are, however, only momentary; they relieve what would otherwise be -an unvaried austerity not contemplated in the spirit of Catholic art; -they do not violate the general principle of universality and -objectiveness as opposed to individual subjective -expression,--subordination to word and rite rather than purely musical -self-assertion,--which is the theoretic basis of the liturgic chant -system. - -Chant is speech-song, probably the earliest form of vocal music; it -proceeds from the modulations of impassioned speech; it results from the -need of regulating and perpetuating these modulations when certain -exigencies require a common and impressive form of utterance, as in -religious rites, public rejoicing or mourning, etc. The necessity of -filling large spaces almost inevitably involves the use of balanced -cadences. Poetic recitation among ancient and primitive peoples is never -recited in the ordinary level pitch of voice in speech, but always in -musical inflections, controlled by some principle of order. Under the -authority of a permanent corporate institution these inflections are -reduced to a system, and are imposed upon all whose office it is to -administer the public ceremonies of worship. This is the origin of the -liturgic chant of ancient peoples, and also, by historic continuation, of -the Gregorian melody. The Catholic chant is a projection into modern art -of the altar song of Greece, Judaea, and Egypt, and through these nations -reaches back to that epoch of unknown remoteness when mankind first began -to conceive of invisible powers to be invoked or appeased. A large -measure of the impressiveness of the liturgic chant, therefore, is due to -its historic religious associations. It forms a connecting link between -ancient religion and the Christian, and perpetuates to our own day an -ideal of sacred music which is as old as religious music itself. It is a -striking fact that only within the last six hundred or seven hundred -years, and only within the bounds of Christendom, has an artificial form -of worship music arisen in which musical forms have become emancipated -from subjection to the rhetorical laws of speech, and been built up under -the shaping force of inherent musical laws, gaining a more or less free -play for the creative impulses of an independent art. The conception -which is realized in the Gregorian chant, and which exclusively prevailed -until the rise of the modern polyphonic system, is that of music in -subjection to rite and liturgy, its own charms merged and, so far as -conscious intention goes, lost in the paramount significance of text and -action. It is for this reason, together with the historic relation of -chant and liturgy, that the rulers of the Catholic Church have always -labored so strenuously for uniformity in the liturgic chant as well as -for its perpetuity. There are even churchmen at the present time who urge -the abandonment of all the modern forms of harmonized music and the -restoration of the unison chant to every detail of the service. A notion -so ascetic and monastic can never prevail, but one who has fully entered -into the spirit of the Plain Song melodies can at least sympathize with -the reverence which such a reactionary attitude implies. There is a -solemn unearthly sweetness in these tones which appeals irresistibly to -those who have become habituated to them. They have maintained for -centuries the inevitable comparison with every other form of melody, -religious and secular, and there is reason to believe that they will -continue to sustain all possible rivalry, until they at last outlive -every other form of music now existing. - -No one can obtain any proper conception of this magnificent Plain Song -system from the examples which one ordinarily hears in Catholic churches, -for only a minute part of it is commonly employed at the present day. -Only in certain convents and a few churches where monastic ideas prevail, -and where priests and choristers are enthusiastic students of the ancient -liturgic song, can we hear musical performances which afford us a -revelation of the true affluence of this mediaeval treasure. What we -customarily hear is only the simpler intonings of the priest at his -ministrations, and the eight "psalm tones" sung alternately by priest and -choir. These "psalm tones" or "Gregorian tones" are plain melodic -formulas, with variable endings, and are appointed to be sung to the -Latin psalms and canticles. When properly delivered, and supported by an -organist who knows the secret of accompanying them, they are exceedingly -beautiful. They are but a hint, however, of the rich store of melodies, -some of them very elaborate and highly organized, which the chantbooks -contain, and which are known only to special students. To this great -compendium belong the chants anciently assigned to those portions of the -liturgy which are now usually sung in modern settings,--the Kyrie, -Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and the variable portions -of the Mass, such as the Introits, Graduals, Prefaces, Offertories, -Sequences, etc., besides the hymns sung at Vespers and the other -canonical hours. Few have ever explored the bulky volumes which contain -this unique bequest of the Middle Age; but one who has even made a -beginning of such study, or who has heard the florid chants worthily -performed in the traditional style, can easily understand the enthusiasm -which these strains arouse in the minds of those who love to penetrate to -the innermost shrines of Catholic devotional expression. - -The theory and practice of the liturgic chant is a science of large -dimensions and much difficulty. In the course of centuries a vast store -of chant melodies has been accumulated, and in the nature of the case -many variants of the older melodies--those composed before the -development of a precise system of notation--have arisen, so that the -verification of texts, comparison of authorities, and the application of -methods of rendering to the needs of the complex ceremonial make this -subject a very important branch of liturgical science. - -The Plain Song may be divided into the simple and the ornate chants. In -the first class the melodies are to a large extent syllabic (one note to -a syllable), rarely with more than two notes to a syllable. The simplest -of all are the tones employed in the delivery of certain prayers, the -Epistle, Prophecy, and Gospel, technically known as "accents," which vary -but little from monotone. The most important of the more melodious simple -chants are the "Gregorian tones" already mentioned. The inflections sung -to the versicles and responses are also included among the simple chants. - -The ornate chants differ greatly in length, compass, and degree of -elaboration. Some of these melodies are exceedingly florid and many are -of great beauty. They constitute the original settings for all the -portions of the Mass not enumerated among the simple chants, _viz._, the -Kyrie, Gloria, Introit, Prefaces, Communion, etc., besides the Sequences -and hymns. Certain of these chants are so elaborate that they may almost -be said to belong to a separate class. Examination of many of these -extended melodies will often disclose a decided approach to regularity of -form through the recurrence of certain definite melodic figures. "In the -Middle Age," says P. Wagner, "nothing was known of an accompaniment; -there was not the slightest need of one. The substance of the musical -content, which we to-day commit to interpretation through harmony, the -old musicians laid upon melody. The latter accomplished in itself the -complete utterance of the artistically aroused fantasy. In this -particular the melismas, which carry the extensions of the tones of the -melody, are a necessary means of presentation in mediaeval art; they -proceed logically out of the principle of the unison melody." "Text -repetition is virtually unknown in the unison music of the Middle Age. -While modern singers repeat an especially emphatic thought or word, the -old melodists repeat a melody or phrase which expresses the ground mood -of the text in a striking manner. And they not only repeat it, but they -make it unfold, and draw out of it new tones of melody. This method is -certainly not less artistic than the later text repetition; it comes -nearer, also, to the natural expression of the devotionally inspired -heart."[54] - -The ritual chant has its special laws of execution which involve long -study on the part of one who wishes to master it. Large attention is -given in the best seminaries to the purest manner of delivering the -chant, and countless treatises have been written upon the subject. The -first desideratum is an accurate pronunciation of the Latin, and a facile -and distinct articulation. The notes have no fixed and measurable value, -and are not intended to give the duration of the tones, but only to guide -the modulation of the voice. The length of each tone is determined only -by the proper length of the syllable. In this principle lies the very -essence of Gregorian chant, and it is the point at which it stands in -exact contradiction to the theory of modern measured music. The divisions -of the chant are given solely by the text. The rhythm, therefore, is that -of speech, of the prose text to which the chant tones are set. The rhythm -is a natural rhythm, a succession of syllables combined into expressive -groups by means of accent, varied pitch, and prolongations of tone. The -fundamental rule for chanting is: "Sing the words with notes as you would -speak them without notes." This does not imply that the utterance is -stiff and mechanical as in ordinary conversation; there is a heightening -of the natural inflection and a grouping of notes, as in impassioned -speech or the most refined declamation. Like the notes and divisions, the -pauses also are unequal and immeasurable, and are determined only by the -sense of the words and the necessity of taking breath. - -In the long florid passages often occurring on a single vowel analogous -rules are involved. The text and the laws of natural recitation must -predominate over melody. The jubilations are not to be conceived simply -as musical embellishments, but, on the contrary, their beauty depends -upon the melodic accents to which they are joined in a subordinate -position. These florid passages are never introduced thoughtlessly or -without meaning, but they are strictly for emphasizing the thought with -which they are connected; "they make the soul in singing fathom the -deeper sense of the words, and to taste of the mysteries hidden within -them."[55] The particular figures must be kept apart and distinguished -from each other, and brought into union with each other, like the words, -clauses, and sentences of an oration. Even these florid passages are -dependent upon the influence of the words and their character of prayer. - -The principles above cited concern the rhythm of the chant. Other -elements of expression must also be taken into account, such as -prolonging and shortening tones, crescendos and diminuendos, subtle -changes of quality of voice or tone color to suit different sentiments. -The manner of singing is also affected by the conditions of time and -place, such as the degree of the solemnity of the occasion, and the -dimensions and acoustic properties of the edifice in which the ceremony -is held. - -In the singing of the mediaeval hymn melodies, many beautiful examples of -which abound in the Catholic office books, the above rules of rhythm and -expression are modified as befits the more regular metrical character -which the melodies derive from the verse. They are not so rigid, however, -as would be indicated by the bar lines of modern notation, and follow the -same laws of rhythm that would obtain in spoken recitation. - -The liturgic chant of the Catholic Church has already been alluded to -under its more popular title of "Gregorian." Throughout the Middle Age -and down to our own day nothing in history has been more generally -received as beyond question than that the Catholic chant is entitled to -this appellation from the work performed in its behalf by Pope Gregory -I., called the Great. This eminent man, who reigned from 590 to 604, was -the ablest of the succession of early pontiffs who formulated the line of -policy which converted the barbarians of the North and West, brought -about the spiritual and political autonomy of the Roman See, and -confirmed its supremacy over all the churches of the West. - -In addition to these genuine services historians have generally concurred -in ascribing to him a final shaping influence upon the liturgic chant, -with which, however, he probably had very little to do. His supposed work -in this department has been divided into the following four details: - -(1) He freed the church song from the fetters of Greek prosody. - -(2) He collected the chants previously existing, added others, provided -them with a system of notation, and wrote them down in a book which was -afterwards called the Antiphonary of St. Gregory, which he fastened to -the altar of St. Peter's Church, in order that it might serve as an -authoritative standard in all cases of doubt in regard to the true form -of chant. - -(3) He established a singing school in which he gave instruction. - -(4) He added four new scales to the four previously existing, thus -completing the tonal system of the Church. - -The prime authority for these statements is the biography of Gregory I., -written by John the Deacon about 872. Detached allusions to this pope as -the founder of the liturgic chant appear before John's day, the earliest -being in a manuscript addressed by Pope Hadrian I. to Charlemagne in the -latter part of the eighth century, nearly two hundred years after -Gregory's death. The evidences which tend to show that Gregory I. could -not have had anything to do with this important work of sifting, -arranging, and noting the liturgic melodies become strong as soon as they -are impartially examined. In Gregory's very voluminous correspondence, -which covers every known phase of his restless activity, there is no -allusion to any such work in respect to the music of the Church, as there -almost certainly would have been if he had undertaken to bring about -uniformity in the musical practice of all the churches under his -administration. The assertions of John the Deacon are not confirmed by -any anterior document. No epitaph of Gregory, no contemporary records, no -ancient panegyrics of the pope, touch upon the question. Isidor of -Seville, a contemporary of Gregory, and the Venerable Bede in the next -century, were especially interested in the liturgic chant and wrote upon -it, yet they make no mention of Gregory in connection with it. The -documents upon which John bases his assertion, the so-called Gregorian -Antiphonary, do not agree with the ecclesiastical calendar of the actual -time of Gregory I. - -In reply to these objections and others that might be given there is no -answer but legend, which John the Deacon incorporated in his work, and -which was generally accepted toward the close of the eleventh century. -That this legend should have arisen is not strange. It is no uncommon -thing in an uncritical age for the achievement of many minds in a whole -epoch to be attributed to the most commanding personality in that epoch, -and such a personality in the sixth and seventh centuries was Gregory the -Great. - -What, then, is the origin of the so-called Gregorian chant? There is -hardly a more interesting question in the whole history of music, for -this chant is the basis of the whole magnificent structure of mediaeval -church song, and in a certain sense of all modern music, and it can be -traced back unbroken to the earliest years of the Christian Church, the -most persistent and fruitful form of art that the modern world has known. -The most exhaustive study that has been devoted to this obscure subject -has been undertaken by Gevaert, director of the Brussels Conservatory of -Music, who has brought forward strong representation to show that the -musical system of the early Church of Rome was largely derived from the -secular forms of music practised in the private and social life of the -Romans in the time of the empire, and which were brought to Rome from -Greece after the conquest of that country B.C. 146. "No one to-day -doubts," says Gevaert, "that the modes and melodies of the Catholic -liturgy are a precious remains of antique art." "The Christian chant took -its modal scales to the number of four, and its melodic themes, from the -musical practice of the Roman empire, and particularly from the song -given to the accompaniment of the kithara, the special style of music -cultivated in private life. The most ancient monuments of the liturgic -chant go back to the boundary of the fourth and fifth centuries, when the -forms of worship began to be arrested in their present shape. Like the -Latin language, the Greco-Roman music entered in like manner into the -Catholic Church. Vocabulary and syntax are the same with the pagan -Symmachus and his contemporary St. Ambrose; modes and rules of musical -composition are identical in the hymns which Mesomedes addresses to the -divinities of paganism and in the cantilenas of the Christian singers." -"The compilation and composition of the liturgic songs, which was -traditionally ascribed to St. Gregory I., is in truth a work of the -Hellenic popes at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the eighth -centuries. The Antiphonarium Missarum received its definitive form -between 682 and 715; the Antiphonarium Officii was already fixed under -Pope Agathon (678-681)." In the fourth century, according to Gevaert, -antiphons were already known in the East. St. Ambrose is said to have -transplanted them into the West. Pope Celestine I. (422-472) has been -called the founder of the antiphonal song in the Roman Church. Leo the -Great (440-461) gave the song permanence by the establishment of a -singing school in the neighborhood of St. Peter's. Thus from the fifth -century to the latter part of the seventh grew the treasure of melody, -together with the unfolding of the liturgy. The four authentic modes were -adaptations of four modes employed by the Greeks. The oldest chants are -the simplest, and of those now in existence the antiphons of the Divine -Office can be traced farthest back to the transition point from the -Greco-Roman practice to that of the Christian Church. The florid chants -were of later introduction, and were probably the contribution of the -Greek and Syrian Churches.[56] - -The Christian chants were, however, no mere reproductions of profane -melodies. The groundwork of the chant is allied to the Greek melody; the -Christian song is of a much richer melodic movement, bearing in all its -forms the evidence of the exuberant spiritual life of which it is the -chosen expression. The pagan melody was sung to an instrument; the -Christian was unaccompanied, and was therefore free to develop a special -rhythmical and melodic character unconditioned by any laws except those -involved in pure vocal expression. The fact also that the Christian -melodies were set to unmetrical texts, while the Greek melody was wholly -confined to verse, marked the emancipation of the liturgic song from the -bondage of strict prosody, and gave a wider field to melodic and rhythmic -development. - -It would be too much to say that Gevaert has completely made out his -case. The impossibility of verifying the exact primitive form of the -oldest chants, and the almost complete disappearance of the Greco-Roman -melodies which are supposed to be the antecedent or the suggestion of the -early Christian tone formulas, make a positive demonstration in such a -case out of the question. Gevaert seems to rely mainly upon the identity -of modes or keys which exists between the most ancient church melodies -and those most in use in the kithara song. Other explanations, more or -less plausible, have been advanced, and it is not impossible that the -simpler melodies may have arisen in an idealization of the natural speech -accent, with a view to procuring measured and agreeable cadences. Both -methods--actual adaptations of older tunes and the spontaneous -enunciation of more obvious melodic formulas--may have been allied in the -production of the earlier liturgic chants. The laws that have been found -valid in the development of all art would make the derivation of the -ecclesiastical melodies from elements existing in the environment of the -early Church a logical and reasonable supposition, even in the absence of -documentary evidence. - -There is no proof of the existence of a definite system of notation -before the seventh century. The chanters, priests, deacons, and monks, in -applying melodies to the text of the office, composed by aid of their -memories, and their melodies were transmitted by memory, although -probably with the help of arbitrary mnemonic signs. The possibility of -this will readily be granted when we consider that special orders of -monks made it their sole business to preserve, sing, and teach these -melodies. In the confusion and misery following the downfall of the -kingdom of the Goths in the middle of the sixth century the Church became -a sanctuary of refuge from the evils of the time. With the revival of -religious zeal and the accession of strength the Church flourished, -basilicas and convents were multiplied, solemnities increased in number -and splendor, and with other liturgic elements the chant expanded. A -number of popes in the seventh century were enthusiastic lovers of Church -music, and gave it the full benefit of their authority. Among these were -Gregory II. and Gregory III., one of whom may have inadvertently given -his name to the chant. - -The system of tonality upon which the music of the Middle Age was based -was the modal or diatonic. The modern system of transposing scales, each -major or minor scale containing the same succession of steps and half -steps as each of its fellows, dates no further back than the first half -of the seventeenth century. The mediaeval system comprises theoretically -fourteen, in actual use twelve, distinct modes or keys, known as the -ecclesiastical modes or Gregorian modes. These modes are divided into two -classes--the "authentic" and "plagal." The compass of each of the -authentic modes lies between the keynote, called the "final," and the -octave above, and includes the notes represented by the white keys of the -pianoforte, excluding sharps and flats. The first authentic mode begins -on D, the second on E, and so on. Every authentic mode is connected with -a mode known as its plagal, which consists of the last four notes of the -authentic mode transposed an octave below, and followed by the first five -notes of the authentic, the "final" being the same in the two modes. The -modes are sometimes transposed a fifth lower or a fourth higher by means -of flatting the B. During the epoch of the foundation of the liturgic -chant only the first eight modes (four authentic and four plagal) were in -use. The first four authentic modes were popularly attributed to St. -Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, and the first four plagal -to St. Gregory, but there is no historic basis for this tradition. The -last two modes are a later addition to the system. The Greek names are -those by which the modes are popularly known, and indicate a hypothetical -connection with the ancient Greek scale system. - - - - - Authentic Modes Plagal Modes - - - - - Authentic Modes Plagal Modes - - -To suppose that the chant in this period was sung exactly as it appears -in the office books of the present day would be to ignore a very -characteristic and universal usage in the Middle Age. No privilege was -more freely accorded to the mediaeval chanter than that of adding to the -melody whatever embellishment he might choose freely to invent on the -impulse of the moment. The right claimed by Italian opera singers down to -a very recent date to decorate the phrases with trills, cadenzas, etc., -even to the extent of altering the written notes themselves, is only the -perpetuation of a practice generally prevalent in the mediaeval Church, -and which may have come down, for anything we know to the contrary, from -remote antiquity. In fact, the requirement of singing the notes exactly -as they are written is a modern idea; no such rule was recognized as -invariably binding until well into the nineteenth century. It was no -uncommon thing in Haendel's time and after to introduce free -embellishments even into "I know that my Redeemer liveth" in the -"Messiah." In the Middle Age the singers in church and convent took great -merit to themselves for the inventive ability and vocal adroitness by -which they were able to sprinkle the plain notes of the chant with -improvised embellishments. "Moreover, there existed in the liturgic text -a certain number of words upon which the singers had the liberty of -dilating according to their fancy. According to an ancient Christian -tradition, certain chants were followed by a number of notes sung upon -meaningless vowels; these notes, called neumes or _jubili_, rendered, in -accordance with a poetic thought, the faith and adoration of the -worshipers who appeared to be unable to find words that could express -their sentiments. These vocalizations or embroideries were sometimes -longer than the chants themselves, and many authors complained of the -importance given to these vocal fantasies."[57] Among the mnemonic signs -which, before the invention of the staff and notation system, indicated -the changes of pitch to be observed by the singer, there were many that -unmistakably point to the traditional flourishes which had become an -integral element in the Plain Song system. Many of these survived and -were carried over into secular music after the method of chanting became -more simple and severe. Similar license was also practised in the later -period of part singing, and not only in the rude early counterpoint of -the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but even in the highly developed -and specialized chorus music of the sixteenth century, the embellishments -which were reduced to a system and handed down by tradition, gave to this -art a style and effect the nature of which has now fallen from the -knowledge of men. - -Such was the nature of the song which resounded about the altars of Roman -basilicas and through convent cloisters in the seventh and eighth -centuries, and which has remained the sanctioned official speech of the -Catholic Church in her ritual functions to the present day. Nowhere did -it suffer any material change or addition until it became the basis of a -new harmonic art in Northern Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth -centuries. The chant according to the Roman use began to extend itself -over Europe in connection with the missionary efforts which emanated from -Rome from the time of Gregory the Great. Augustine, the emissary of -Gregory, who went to England in 597 to convert the Saxons, carried with -him the Roman chant. "The band of monks," says Green, "entered Canterbury -bearing before them a silver cross with a picture of Christ, and singing -in concert the strains of the litany of their church."[58] And although -the broad-minded Gregory instructed Augustine not to insist upon -supplanting with the Roman use the liturgy already employed in the older -British churches if such an attempt would create hostility, yet the Roman -chant was adopted both at Canterbury and York. - -The Roman chant was accepted eventually throughout the dominions of the -Church as an essential element of the Roman liturgy. Both shared the same -struggles and the same triumphs. Familiarity with the church song became -an indispensable part of the equipment of every clergyman, monastic and -secular. No missionary might go forth from Rome who was not adept in it. -Monks made dangerous journeys to Rome from the remotest districts in -order to learn it. Every monastery founded in the savage forests of -Germany, Gaul, or Britain became at once a singing school, and day and -night the holy strains went up in unison with the melodies of the far -distant sacred city. The Anglo-Saxon monk Winfrid, afterward known as -Boniface, the famous missionary to the Germans, planted the Roman liturgy -in Thuringia and Hesse, and devoted untiring efforts to teaching the -Gregorian song to his barbarous proselytes. In Spain, Ildefonso, about -600, is enrolled among the zealous promoters of sacred song according to -the use of Rome. Most eminent and most successful of all who labored for -the exclusive authority of the Roman chant as against the Milanese, -Gallican, and other rival forms was Charlemagne, king of the Franks from -768 to 814, whose persistent efforts to implant the Gregorian song in -every church and school in his wide dominions was an important detail of -his labor in the interest of liturgic uniformity according to the Roman -model. - -Among the convent schools which performed such priceless service for -civilization in the gloomy period of the early Middle Age, the monastery -of St. Gall in Switzerland holds an especially distinguished place. This -convent was established in the seventh century by the Irish monk from -whom it took its name, rapidly increased in repute as a centre of piety -and learning, and during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries numbered -some of the foremost scholars of the time among its brotherhood. About -790 two monks, versed in all the lore of the liturgic chant, were sent -from Rome into the empire of Charlemagne at the monarch's request. One of -them, Romanus, was received and entertained by the monks of St. Gall, and -was persuaded to remain with them as teacher of church song according to -the Antiphonary which he had brought with him from Rome. St. Gall soon -became famous as a place where the purest traditions of the Roman chant -were taught and practised. Schubiger, in his extremely interesting work, -_Die Saengerschule St. Gallens vom VIII.-XII. Jahrhundert_, has given an -extended account of the methods of devotional song in use at St. Gall, -which may serve as an illustration of the general practice among the -pious monks of the Middle Age: - - -"In the reign of Charlemagne (803) the Council of Aachen enjoined upon -all monasteries the use of the Roman song, and a later capitulary -required that the monks should perform this song completely and in proper -order at the divine office, in the daytime as well as at night. According -to other rescripts during the reign of Louis the Pious (about 820) the -monks of St. Gall were required daily to celebrate Mass, and also to -perform the service of all the canonical hours. The solemn melodies of -the ancient psalmody resounded daily in manifold and precisely ordered -responses; at the midnight hour the sound of the Invitatorium, Venite -exultamus Domino, opened the service of the nocturnal vigils; the -prolonged, almost mournful tones of the responses alternated with the -intoned recitation of the lessons; in the spaces of the temple on Sundays -and festal days, at the close of the nightly worship, there reechoed the -exalted strains of the Ambrosian hymn of praise (Te Deum laudamus); at -the first dawn of day began the morning adoration, with psalms and -antiphons, hymns and prayers; to these succeeded in due order the -remaining offices of the diurnal hours. The people were daily invited by -the Introit to participate in the holy mysteries; they heard in solemn -stillness the tones of the Kyrie imploring mercy; on festal days they -were inspired by the song once sung by the host of angels; after the -Gradual they heard the melodies of the Sequence which glorified the -object of the festival in jubilant choral strains, and afterward the -simple recitative tones of the Creed; at the Sanctus they were summoned -to join in the praise of the Thrice Holy, and to implore the mercy of the -Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world. These were the songs which, -about the middle of the ninth century, arose on festal or ferial days in -the cloister church of St. Gall. How much store the fathers of this -convent set upon beauty and edification in song appears from the old -regulations in which distinct pronunciation of words and uniformity of -rendering are enjoined, and hastening or dragging the time sharply -rebuked." - - -Schubiger goes on to say that three styles of performing the chant were -employed; _viz._, a very solemn one for the highest festivals, one less -solemn for Sundays and saints' days, and an ordinary one for ferial days. -An appropriate character was given to the different chants,--_e. g._, a -profound and mournful expression in the office for the dead; an -expression of tenderness and sweetness to the hymns, the Kyrie, Sanctus, -and Agnus Dei; and a dignified character (cantus gravis) to the -antiphons, responses, and alleluia. Anything that could disturb the -strict and euphonious rendering of the song was strictly forbidden. -Harsh, unmusical voices were not permitted to take part. Distinctness, -precise conformity of all the singers in respect to time, and purity of -intonation were inflexibly demanded. - -Special services, with processions and appropriate hymns, were instituted -on the occasion of the visit to the monastery of the emperor or other -high dignitary. All public observances, the founding of a building, the -reception of holy relics, the consecration of a bell or altar,--even many -of the prescribed routine duties of conventual life, such as drawing -water, lighting lamps, or kindling fires,--each had its special form of -song. It was not enthusiasm, but sober truth, that led Ekkehard V. to say -that the rulers of this convent, "through their songs and melodies, as -also through their teachings, filled the Church of God, not only in -Germany, but in all lands from one sea to the other, with splendor and -joy." - -At the convent of St. Gall originated the class of liturgical hymns -called Sequences, which includes some of the finest examples of mediaeval -hymnody. At a very early period it became the custom to sing the Alleluia -of the Gradual to a florid chant, the final vowel being extended into an -exceedingly elaborate flourish of notes. Notker Balbulus, a notable -member of the St. Gall brotherhood in the ninth century, conceived the -notion, under the suggestion of a visiting monk, of making a practical -use of the long-winded final cadence of the Alleluia. He extended and -modified these melodious passages and set words to them, thus -constructing a brief form of prose hymn. His next step was to invent both -notes and text, giving his chants a certain crude form by the occasional -repetition of a melodic strain. He preserved a loose connection with the -Alleluia by retaining the mode and the first few tones. These experiments -found great favor in the eyes of the brethren of St. Gall; others -followed Notker's example, and the Sequence melodies were given honored -places in the ritual on festal days and various solemn occasions. The -custom spread; Pope Nicholas I. in 860 permitted the adoption of the new -style of hymn into the liturgy. The early Sequences were in rhythmic -prose, but in the hands of the ecclesiastical poets of the few centuries -following they were written in rhymed verse. The Sequence was therefore -distinguished from other Latin hymns only by its adoption into the office -of the Mass as a regular member of the liturgy on certain festal days. -The number increased to such large proportions that a sifting process was -deemed necessary, and upon the occasion of the reform of the Missal -through Pius V. after the Council of Trent only five were retained, -_viz._, Victimae paschali, sung on Easter Sunday; Veni Sancte Spiritus, -appointed for Whit-Sunday; Lauda Sion, for Corpus Christi; Stabat Mater -dolorosa, for Friday of Passion Week; and Dies Irae, which forms a -portion of the Mass for the Dead. - -Many beautiful and touching stories have come down to us, illustrating -the passionate love of the monks for their songs, and the devout, even -superstitious, reverence with which they regarded them. Among these are -the tales of the Armorican monk Herve, in the sixth century, who, blind -from his birth, became the inspirer and teacher of his brethren by means -of his improvised songs, and the patron of mendicant singers, who still -chant his legend in Breton verse. His mother, so one story goes, went one -day to visit him in the cloister, and, as she was approaching, said: "I -see a procession of monks advancing, and I hear the voice of my son. God -be with you, my son! When, with the help of God, I get to heaven, you -shall be warned of it, you shall hear the angels sing." The same evening -she died, and her son, while at prayer in his cell, heard the singing of -the angels as they welcomed her soul in heaven.[59] According to another -legend, told by Gregory of Tours, a mother had taken her only son to a -monastery near Lake Geneva, where he became a monk, and especially -skilful in chanting the liturgic service. "He fell sick and died; his -mother in despair came to bury him, and returned every night to weep and -lament over his tomb. One night she saw St. Maurice in a dream attempting -to console her, but she answered him, 'No, no; as long as I live I shall -always weep for my son, my only child!' 'But,' answered the saint, 'he -must not be wept for as if he were dead; he is with us, he rejoices in -eternal life, and tomorrow, at Matins, in the monastery, thou shalt hear -his voice among the choir of the monks; and not to-morrow only, but every -day as long as thou livest.' The mother immediately arose, and waited -with impatience the first sound of the bell for Matins, to hasten to the -church of the monks. The precentor having intoned the response, when the -monks in full choir took up the antiphon, the mother immediately -recognized the voice of her child. She gave thanks to God; and every day -for the rest of her life, the moment she approached the choir she heard -the voice of her well-beloved son mingle in the sweet and holy melody of -the liturgic chant."[60] - -As centuries went on, and these ancient melodies, gathering such stores -of holy memory, were handed down in their integrity from generation to -generation of praying monks, it is no wonder that the feeling grew that -they too were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The legend long prevailed in -the Middle Age that Gregory the Great one night had a vision in which the -Church appeared to him in the form of an angel, magnificently attired, -upon whose mantle was written the whole art of music, with all the forms -of its melodies and notes. The pope prayed God to give him the power of -recollecting all that he saw; and after he awoke a dove appeared, who -dictated to him the chants which are ascribed to him.[61] Ambros quotes a -mediaeval Latin chronicler, Aurelian Reomensis, who relates that a blind -man named Victor, sitting one day before an altar in the Pantheon at -Rome, by direct divine inspiration composed the response Gaude Maria, and -by a second miracle immediately received his sight. Another story from -the same source tells how a monk of the convent of St. Victor, while upon -a neighboring mountain, heard angels singing the response Cives -Apostolorum, and after his return to Rome he taught the song to his -brethren as he had heard it.[62] - -In order to explain the feeling toward the liturgic chant which is -indicated by these legends and the rapturous eulogies of mediaeval and -modern writers, we have only to remember that the melody was never -separated in thought from the words, that these words were prayer and -praise, made especially acceptable to God because wafted to him by means -of his own gift of music. To the mediaeval monks prayer was the highest -exercise in which man can engage, the most efficacious of all actions, -the chief human agency in the salvation of the world. Prayer was the -divinely appointed business to which they were set apart. Hence arose the -multiplicity of religious services in the convents, the observance of the -seven daily hours of prayer, in some monasteries in France, as earlier in -Syria and Egypt, extending to the so-called _laus perennis_, in which -companies of brethren, relieving each other at stated watches, -maintained, like the sacred fire of Vesta, an unbroken office of song by -night and day. - -Such was the liturgic chant in the ages of faith, before the invention of -counterpoint and the first steps in modern musical science suggested new -conceptions and methods in worship music. It constitutes to-day a unique -and precious heritage from an era which, in its very ignorance, -superstition, barbarism of manners, and ruthlessness of political -ambition, furnishes strongest evidence of the divine origin of a faith -which could triumph over such antagonisms. To the devout Catholic the -chant has a sanctity which transcends even its aesthetic and historic -value, but non-Catholic as well as Catholic may reverence it as a direct -creation and a token of a mode of thought which, as at no epoch since, -conceived prayer and praise as a Christian's most urgent duty, and as an -infallible means of gaining the favor of God. - -The Catholic liturgic chant, like all other monumental forms of art, has -often suffered through the vicissitudes of taste which have beguiled even -those whose official responsibilities would seem to constitute them the -special custodians of this sacred treasure. Even to-day there are many -clergymen and church musicians who have but a faint conception of the -affluence of lovely melody and profound religious expression contained in -this vast body of mediaeval music. Where purely aesthetic considerations -have for a time prevailed, as they often will even in a Church in which -tradition and symbolism exert so strong an influence as they do in the -Catholic, this archaic form of melody has been neglected. Like all the -older types (the sixteenth century _a capella_ chorus and the German -rhythmic choral, for example) its austere speech has not been able to -prevail against the fascinations of the modern brilliant and emotional -style of church music which has emanated from instrumental art and the -Italian aria. Under this latter influence, and the survival of the -seventeenth-century contempt for everything mediaeval and "Gothic," the -chant was long looked upon with disdain as the offspring of a barbarous -age, and only maintained at all out of unwilling deference to -ecclesiastical authority. In the last few decades, however, probably as a -detail of the reawakening in all departments of a study of the great -works of older art, there has appeared a reaction in favor of a renewed -culture of the Gregorian chant. The tendency toward sensationalism in -church music has now begun to subside. The true ideal is seen to be in -the past. Together with the new appreciation of Palestrina, Bach, and the -older Anglican Church composers, the Catholic chant is coming to its -rights, and an enlightened modern taste is beginning to realize the -melodious beauty, the liturgic appropriateness, and the edifying power -that lie in the ancient unison song. This movement is even now only in -its inception; in the majority of church centres there is still apathy, -and in consequence corruption of the old forms, crudity and coldness in -execution. Much has, however, been already achieved, and in the patient -and acute scholarship applied in the field of textual criticism by the -monks of Solesmes and the church musicians of Paris, Brussels, and -Regensburg, in the enthusiastic zeal shown in many churches and -seminaries of Europe and America for the attainment of a pure and -expressive style of delivery, and in the restoration of the Plain Song to -portions of the ritual from which it has long been banished, we see -evidences of a movement which promises to be fruitful, not only in this -special sphere, but also, as a direct consequence, in other domains of -church music which have been too long neglected. - -The historic status of the Gregorian chant as the basis of the -magnificent structure of Catholic church music down to 1600, of the -Anglican chant, and to a large extent of the German people's hymn-tune or -choral, has always been known to scholars. The revived study of it has -come from an awakened perception of its liturgic significance and its -inherent beauty. The influence drawn from its peculiarly solemn and -elevated quality has begun to penetrate the chorus work of the best -Catholic composers of the recent time. Protestant church musicians are -also beginning to find advantage in the study of the melody, the rhythm, -the expression, and even the tonality of the Gregorian song. And every -lover of church music will find a new pleasure and uplift in listening to -its noble strains. He must, however, listen sympathetically, expelling -from his mind all comparison with the modern styles to which he is -accustomed, holding in clear view its historic relations and liturgic -function. To one who so attunes his mind to its peculiar spirit and -purport, the Gregorian Plain Song will seem worthy of the exalted place -it holds in the veneration of the most august ecclesiastical institution -in history. - - - - - CHAPTER V - THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIAEVAL CHORUS MUSIC - - -It has already been noted that the music of the Catholic Church has -passed through three typical phases or styles, each complete in itself, -bounded by clearly marked lines, corresponding quite closely in respect -to time divisions with the three major epochs into which the history of -the Western Church may be divided. These phases or schools of -ecclesiastical song are so far from being mutually exclusive that both -the first and second persisted after the introduction of the third, so -that at the present day at least two of the three forms are in use in -almost every Catholic congregation, the Gregorian chant being employed in -the song of the priest and in the antiphonal psalms and responses, and -either the second or third form being adopted in the remaining -offices.[63] - -Since harmony was unknown during the first one thousand years or more of -the Christian era, and instrumental music had no independent existence, -the whole vast system of chant melodies was purely unison and -unaccompanied, its rhythm usually subordinated to that of the text. -Melody, unsupported by harmony, soon runs its course, and if no new -principle had been added to this antique melodic method, European music -would have become petrified or else have gone on copying itself -indefinitely. But about the eleventh century a new conception made its -appearance, in which lay the assurance of the whole magnificent art of -modern music. This new principle was that of harmony, the combination of -two or more simultaneous and mutually dependent parts. The importance of -this discovery needs no emphasis. It not only introduced an artistic -agency that is practically unlimited in scope and variety, but it made -music for the first time a free art, with its laws of rhythm and -structure no longer identical with those of language, but drawn from the -powers that lie inherent in its own nature. Out of the impulse to combine -two or more parts together in complete freedom from the constraints of -verbal accent and prosody sprang the second great school of church music, -which, likewise independent of instrumental accompaniment, developed -along purely vocal lines, and issued in the contrapuntal chorus music -which attained its maturity in the last half of the sixteenth century. - -This mediaeval school of _a capella_ polyphonic music is in many respects -more attractive to the student of ecclesiastical art than even the far -more elaborate and brilliant style which prevails to-day. Modern church -music, by virtue of its variety, splendor, and dramatic pathos, seems to -be tinged with the hues of earthliness which belie the strictest -conception of ecclesiastical art. It partakes of the doubt and turmoil of -a skeptical and rebellious age, it is the music of impassioned longing in -which are mingled echoes of worldly allurements, it is not the chastened -tone of pious assurance and self-abnegation. The choral song developed in -the ages of faith is pervaded by the accents of that calm ecstasy of -trust and celestial anticipation which give to mediaeval art that -exquisite charm of naivete and sincerity never again to be realized -through the same medium, because it is the unconscious expression of an -unquestioning simplicity of conviction which seems to have passed away -forever from the higher manifestations of the human creative intellect. - -Such pathetic suggestion clings to the religious music of the Middle Age -no less palpably than to the sculpture, painting, and hymnody of the same -era, and combines with its singular artistic perfection and loftiness of -tone to render it perhaps the most typical and lovely of all the forms of -Catholic art. And yet to the generality of students of church and art -history it is of all the products of the Middle Age the least familiar. -Any intellectual man whom we might select would call himself but scantily -educated if he had no acquaintance with mediaeval architecture and -plastic art; yet he would probably not feel at all ashamed to confess -total ignorance of that vast store of liturgic music which in the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries filled the incense-laden air of those -very cathedrals and chapels in which his reverent feet so love to wander. -The miracles of mediaeval architecture, the achievements of the Gothic -sculptors and the religious painters of Florence, Cologne, and Flanders -are familiar to him, but the musical craftsmen of the Low Countries, -Paris, Rome, and Venice, who clothed every prayer, hymn, and Scripture -lesson with strains of unique beauty and tenderness, are only names, if -indeed their names are known to him at all. Yet in sheer bulk their works -would doubtless be found to equal the whole amount of the music of every -kind that has been written in the three centuries following their era; -while in technical mastery and adaptation to its special end this school -is not unworthy of comparison with the more brilliant and versatile art -of the present day. - -The period from the twelfth century to the close of the sixteenth was one -of extraordinary musical activity. The thousands of cathedrals, chapels, -parish churches, and convents were unceasing in their demands for new -settings of the Mass and offices. Until the art of printing was applied -to musical notes about the year 1500, followed by the foundation of -musical publishing houses, there was but little duplication or exchange -of musical compositions, and thus every important ecclesiastical -establishment must be provided with its own corps of composers and -copyists. The religious enthusiasm and the vigorous intellectual activity -of the Middle Age found as free a channel of discharge in song as in any -other means of embellishment of the church ceremonial. These conditions, -together with the absence of an operatic stage, a concert system, or a -musical public, turned the fertile musical impulses of the period to the -benefit of the Church. The ecclesiastical musicians also set to music -vast numbers of madrigals, chansons, villanellas, and the like, for the -entertainment of aristocratic patrons, but this was only an incidental -deflection from their more serious duties as ritual composers. In quality -as well as quantity the mediaeval chorus music was not unworthy of -comparison with the architectural, sculptural, pictorial, and textile -products which were created in the same epoch and under the same -auspices. The world has never witnessed a more absorbed devotion to a -single artistic idea, neither has there existed since the golden age of -Greek sculpture another art form so lofty in expression and so perfect in -workmanship as the polyphonic church chorus in the years of its maturity. -That style of musical art which was brought to fruition by such men as -Josquin des Pres, Orlandus Lassus, Willaert, Palestrina, Vittoria, the -Anerios, the Gabrielis, and Lotti is not unworthy to be compared with the -Gothic cathedrals in whose epoch it arose and with the later triumphs of -Renaissance painting with which it culminated. - -Of this remarkable achievement of genius the educated man above mentioned -knows little or nothing. How is it possible, he might ask, that a school -of art so opulent in results, capable of arousing so much admiration -among the initiated, could have dominated all Europe for five such -brilliant centuries, and yet have left so little impress upon the -consciousness of the modern world, if it really possessed the high -artistic merits that are claimed for it? The answer is not difficult. For -the world at large music exists only as it is performed, and the -difficulty and expense of musical performance insure, as a general rule, -the neglect of compositions that do not arouse a public demand. Church -music is less susceptible than secular to the tyranny of fashion, but -even in this department changing tastes and the politic compromising -spirit tend to pay court to novelty and to neglect the antiquated. The -revolution in musical taste and practice which occurred early in the -seventeenth century--a revolution so complete that it metamorphosed the -whole conception of the nature and purpose of music--swept all musical -production off into new directions, and the complex austere art of the -mediaeval Church was forgotten under the fascination of the new Italian -melody and the vivid rhythm and tone-color of the orchestra. Since then -the tide of invention has never paused long enough to enable the world at -large to turn its thought to the forsaken treasures of the past. -Moreover, only a comparatively minute part of this multitude of old works -has ever been printed, much of it has been lost, the greater portion lies -buried in the dust of libraries; whatever is accessible must be released -from an abstruse and obsolete system of notation, and the methods of -performance, which conditioned a large measure of its effect, must be -restored under the uncertain guidance of tradition. The usages of chorus -singing in the present era do not prepare singers to cope with the -peculiar difficulties of the _a capella_ style; a special education and -an unwonted mode of feeling are required for an appreciation of its -appropriateness and beauty. Nevertheless, such is its inherent vitality, -so magical is its attraction to one who has come into complete harmony -with its spirit, so true is it as an exponent of the mystical submissive -type of piety which always tends to reassert itself in a rationalistic -age like the present, that the minds of churchmen are gradually returning -to it, and scholars and musical directors are tempting it forth from its -seclusion. Societies are founded for its study, choirs in some of the -most influential church centres are adding mediaeval works to their -repertories, journals and schools are laboring in its interest, and its -influence is insinuating itself into the modern mass and anthem, lending -to the modern forms a more elevated and spiritual quality. Little by -little the world of culture is becoming enlightened in respect to the -unique beauty and refinement of this form of art; and the more -intelligent study of the Middle Age, which has now taken the place of the -former prejudiced misinterpretation, is forming an attitude of mind that -is capable of a sympathetic response to this most exquisite and -characteristic of all the products of mediaeval genius. - -In order to seize the full significance of this school of Catholic music -in its mature stage in the sixteenth century, it will be necessary to -trace its origin and growth. The constructive criticism of the present -day rests on the principle that we cannot comprehend works and schools of -art unless we know their causes and environment. We shall find as we -examine the history of mediaeval choral song, that it arose in response -to an instinctive demand for a more expansive form of music than the -unison chant. Liturgic necessities can in no wise account for the -invention of part singing, for even today the Gregorian Plain Song -remains the one officially recognized form of ritual music in the -Catholic Church. It was an unconscious impulse, prophesying a richer -musical expression which could not at once be realized,--a blind revolt -of the European mind against bondage to an antique and restrictive form -of expression. For the Gregorian chant by its very nature as -unaccompanied melody, rhythmically controlled by prose accent and -measure, was incapable of further development, and it was impossible that -music should remain at a stand-still while all the other arts were -undergoing the pains of growth. The movement which elicited the art of -choral song from the latent powers of the liturgic chant was identical -with the tendency which evolved Gothic and Renaissance architecture, -sculpture, and painting out of Roman and Byzantine art. Melody -unsupported soon runs its course; harmony, music in parts, with contrast -of consonance and dissonance, dynamics, and light and shade, must -supplement melody, adding more opulent resources to the simple charm of -tone and rhythm. The science of harmony, at least in the modern sense, -was unknown in antiquity, and the Gregorian chant was but the projection -of the antique usage into the modern world. The history of modern -European music, therefore, begins with the first authentic instances of -singing in two or more semi-independent parts, these parts being -subjected to a definite proportional notation. - -A century or so before the science of part writing had taken root in -musical practice, a strange barbaric form of music meets our eyes. A -manuscript of the tenth century, formerly ascribed to Hucbald of St. -Armand, who lived, however, a century earlier, gives the first distinct -account, with rules for performance, of a divergence from the custom of -unison singing, by which the voices of the choir, instead of all singing -the same notes, move along together separated by octaves and fourths or -octaves and fifths; or else a second voice accompanies the first by a -movement sometimes direct, sometimes oblique, and sometimes contrary. The -author of this manuscript makes no claim to the invention of this manner -of singing, but alludes to it as something already well known. Much -speculation has been expended upon the question of the origin and purpose -of the first form of this barbarous orgunum or diaphony, as it was -called. Some conjecture that it was suggested by the sound of the ancient -Keltic stringed instrument crowth or crotta, which was tuned in fifths -and had a flat finger-board; others find in it an imitation of the early -organ with its several rows of pipes sounding fifths like a modern -mixture stop; while others suppose, with some reason, that it was a -survival of a fashion practised among the Greeks and Rornans. The -importance of the organum in music history has, however, been greatly -overrated, for properly speaking it was not harmony or part singing at -all, but only another kind of unison. Even the second form of organum was -but little nearer the final goal, for the attendant note series was not -free enough to be called an organic element in a harmonic structure. As -soon, however, as the accompanying part was allowed ever so little -unconstrained life of its own, the first steps in genuine part writing -were taken, and a new epoch in musical history had begun. - -The freer and more promising style which issued from the treadmill of the -organum was called in its initial stages discant (Lat. _discantus_), and -was at first wholly confined to an irregular mixture of octaves, unisons, -fifths and fourths, with an occasional third as a sort of concession to -the criticism of the natural ear upon antique theory. At first two parts -only were employed. Occasional successions of parallel fifths and -fourths, the heritage of the organum, long survived, but they were -gradually eliminated as hollow and unsatisfying, and the principle of -contrary motion, which is the very soul of all modern harmony and -counterpoint, was slowly established. It must be borne in mind, as the -clue to all mediaeval music, that the practice of tone combination -involved no idea whatever of chords, as modern theory conceives them. The -characteristic principle of the vastly preponderating portion of the -music of the last three centuries is harmony, technically so called, -_i.e._, chords, solid or distributed, out of which melody is primarily -evolved. Homophony, monody--one part sustaining the tune while all others -serve as the support and, so to speak, the coloring material also--is now -the ruling postulate. The chorus music of Europe down to the seventeenth -century was, on the other hand, based on melody; the composer never -thought of his combination as chords, but worked, we might say, -horizontally, weaving together several semi-independent melodies into a -flexible and accordant tissue.[64] - -The transition from organum to discant was effected about the year 1100. -There was for a time no thought of the invention of the component -melodies. Not only the _cantus firmus_ (the principal theme), but also -the counterpoint (the melodic "running mate"), was borrowed, the second -factor being frequently a folk-tune altered to fit the chant melody, -according to the simple laws of euphony then admitted. In respect to the -words the discant may be divided into two classes: the words might be the -same in both parts; or one voice would sing the text of the office of the -Church, and the other the words of the secular song from which the -accompanying tune was taken. In the twelfth century the monkish -musicians, stirred to bolder flights by the satisfactory results of their -two-part discant, essayed three parts, with results at first childishly -awkward, but with growing ease and smoothness. Free invention of the -accompanying parts took the place of the custom of borrowing the entire -melodic framework, for while two borrowed themes might fit each other, it -was practically impossible to find three that would do so without almost -complete alteration. As a scientific method of writing developed, with -the combination of parallel and contrary motion, the term discant gave -way to counterpoint (Lat. _punctus contra punctum_). But there was never -any thought of inventing the _cantus firmus_; this was invariably taken -from a ritual book or a popular tune, and the whole art of composition -consisted in fabricating melodic figures that would unite with it in an -agreeable synthesis. These contrapuntal devices, at first simple and -often harsh, under the inevitable law of evolution became more free and -mellifluous at the same time that they became more complex. The primitive -discant was one note against one note; later the accompanying part was -allowed to sing several notes against one of the _cantus firmus_. Another -early form consisted of notes interrupted by rests. In the twelfth -century such progress had been made that thirds and sixths were -abundantly admitted, dissonant intervals were made to resolve upon -consonances, consecutive fifths were avoided, passing notes and -embellishments were used in the accompanying voices, and the beginnings -of double counterpoint and imitation appeared. Little advance was made in -the thirteenth century; music was still chiefly a matter of scholastic -theory, a mechanical handicraft. Considerable dexterity had been attained -in the handling of three simultaneous, independent parts. Contrary and -parallel motion alternating for variety's sake, contrast of consonance -and dissonance, a system of notation by which time values as well as -differences of pitch could be indicated, together with a recognition of -the importance of rhythm as an ingredient in musical effect,--all this -foreshadowed the time when the material of tonal art would be plastic in -the composer's hand, and he would be able to mould it into forms of -fluent grace, pregnant with meaning. This final goal was still far away; -the dull, plodding round of apprenticeship must go on through the -fourteenth century also, and the whole conscious aim of effort must be -directed to the invention of scientific combinations which might -ultimately provide a vehicle for the freer action of the imagination. - - - - -Example of Discant in Three Parts with Different Words (Twelfth Century). - - -From Coussemaker, _Histoire de l'harmonie au moyen age_. Translated into -modern notation. - -The period from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries was, therefore, -not one of expressive art work, but rather of slow and arduous -experiment. The problem was so to adjust the semi-independent melodious -parts that an unimpeded life might be preserved in all the voices, and -yet the combined effect be at any instant pure and beautiful. The larger -the number of parts, the greater the skill required to weave them -together into a varied, rich, and euphonious pattern. Any one of these -parts might for the moment hold the place of the leading part which the -others were constrained to follow through the mazes of the design. Hence -the term polyphonic, _i.e._, many-voiced. Although each voice part was as -important as any other in this living musical texture, yet each section -took its cue from a single melody--a fragment of a Gregorian chant or a -folk-tune and called the _cantus firmus_, and also known as the tenor, -from _teneo_, to hold--and the voice that gave out this melody came to be -called the tenor voice. In the later phases of this art the first -utterance of the theme was assigned indifferently to any one of the voice -parts. - -After confidence had been gained in devising two or more parts to be sung -simultaneously, the next step was to bring in one part after another. -Some method of securing unity amid variety was now necessary, and this -was found in the contrivance known as "imitation," by which one voice -follows another through the same or approximate intervals, the part first -sounded acting as a model for a short distance, then perhaps another -taking up the leadership with a new melodic figure, the intricate network -of parts thus revealing itself as a coherent organism rather than a -fortuitous conjunction of notes, the composer's invention and the -hearers' impression controlled by a conscious plan to which each melodic -part is tributary. - -When a number of parts came to be used together, the need of fixing the -pitch and length of notes with precision became imperative. So out of the -antique mnemonic signs, which had done useful service during the -exclusive regime of the unison chant, there was gradually developed a -system of square-headed notes, together with a staff of lines and spaces. -But instead of simplicity a bewildering complexity reigned for centuries. -Many clefs were used, shifting their place on the staff in order to keep -the notes within the lines; subtleties, many and deep, were introduced, -and the matter of rhythm, key relations, contrapuntal structure, and -method of singing became a thing abstruse and recondite. Composition was -more like algebraic calculation than free art; symbolisms of trinity and -unity, of perfect and imperfect, were entangled in the notation, to the -delight of the ingenious monkish intellect and the despair of the -neophyte and the modern student of mediaeval manuscripts. Progress was -slowest at the beginning. It seemed an interminable task to learn to put -a number of parts together with any degree of ease, and for many -generations after it was first attempted the results were harsh and -uncouth. - -Even taking into account the obstacles to rapid development which exist -in the very nature of music as the most abstract of the arts, it seems -difficult to understand why it should have been so long in acquiring -beauty and expression. There was a shorter way to both, but the church -musicians would not take it. All around them bloomed a rich verdure of -graceful expressive melody in the song and instrumental play of the -common people. But the monkish musicians and choristers scorned to follow -the lead of anything so artless and obvious. In a scholastic age they -were musical scholastics; subtilty and fine pedantic distinctions were -their pride. They had become infatuated with the formal and technical, -and they seemed indifferent to the claims of the natural and simple while -carried away by a passion for intricate structural problems. - -The growth of such an art as this, without models, must necessarily be -painfully slow. Many of the cloistered experimenters passed their lives -in nursing an infant art without seeing enough progress to justify any -very strong faith in the bantling's future. Their floundering -helplessness is often pathetic, but not enough so to overcome a smile at -the futility of their devices. Practice and theory did not always work -amiably together. In studying the chorus music of the Middle Age, we must -observe that, as in the case of the liturgic chant, the singers did not -deem it necessary to confine themselves to the notes actually written. In -this formative period of which we are speaking it was the privilege of -the singers to vary and decorate the written phrases according to their -good pleasure. These adornments were sometimes carefully thought out, -incorporated into the stated method of delivery, and handed down as -traditions.[65] But it is evident that in the earlier days of -counterpoint these variations were often extemporized on the spur of the -moment. The result of this habit on the part of singers who were ignorant -of the laws of musical consonance and proportion, and whose ears were as -dull as their understandings, could easily be conceived even if we did -not have before us the indignant testimony of many musicians and -churchmen of the period. Jean Cotton, in the eleventh century, says that -he could only compare the singers with drunken men, who indeed find their -way home, but do not know how they get there. The learned theorist, Jean -de Muris, of the fourteenth century, exclaims: "How can men have the face -to sing discant who know nothing of the combination of sounds! Their -voices roam around the _cantus firmus_ without regard to any rule; they -throw their tones out by luck, just as an unskilful thrower hurls a -stone, hitting the mark once in a hundred casts." As he broods over the -abuse his wrath increases. "O roughness, O bestiality! taking an ass for -a man, a kid for a lion, a sheep for a fish. They cannot tell a -consonance from a dissonance. They are like a blind man trying to strike -a dog." Another censor apostrophizes the singers thus: "Does such oxen -bellowing belong in the Church? Is it believed that God can be graciously -inclined by such an uproar?" Oelred, the Scottish abbot of Riverby in the -twelfth century, rails at the singers for jumbling the tones together in -every kind of distortion, for imitating the whinnying of horses, or -(worst of all in his eyes) sharpening their voices like those of women. -He tells how the singers bring in the aid of absurd gestures to enhance -the effect of their preposterous strains, swaying their bodies, twisting -their lips, rolling their eyes, and bending their fingers, with each -note. A number of popes, notably John XXII., tried to suppress these -offences, but the extemporized discant was too fascinating a plaything to -be dropped, and ridicule and pontifical rebuke were alike powerless. - -Such abuses were, of course, not universal, perhaps not general,--as to -that we cannot tell; but they illustrate the chaotic condition of church -music in the three or four centuries following the first adoption of part -singing. The struggle for light was persistent, and music, however crude -and halting, received abundant measure of the reverence which, in the age -that saw the building of the Gothic cathedrals, was accorded to -everything that was identified with the Catholic religion. There were no -forms of music that could rival the song of the Church,--secular music at -the best was a plaything, not an art. The whole endeavor of the learned -musicians was addressed to the enrichment of the church service, and the -wealthy and powerful princes of France, Italy, Austria, Spain, and -England turned the patronage of music at their courts in the same channel -with the patronage of the Church. It was in the princely chapels of -Northern France and the schools attached to them that the new art of -counterpoint was first cultivated. So far as the line of progress can be -traced, the art originated in Paris or its vicinity, and slowly spread -over the adjacent country. The home of Gothic architecture was the home -of mediaeval chorus music, and the date of the appearance of these two -products is the same. The princes of France and Flanders (the term France -at that period meaning the dominions of the Capetian dynasty) faithfully -guarded the interests of religious music, and the theorists and composers -of this time were officers of the secular government as well as of the -Church. We should naturally suppose that church music would be actively -supported by a king so pious as Robert of France (eleventh century), who -discarded his well-beloved wife at the command of Pope Gregory V. because -she was his second cousin, who held himself pure and magnanimous in the -midst of a fierce and corrupt age, and who composed many beautiful hymns, -including (as is generally agreed) the exquisite Sequence, Veni Sancte -Spiritus. He was accustomed to lead the choir in his chapel by voice and -gesture. He carried on all his journeys a little prayer chamber in the -form of a tent, in which he sang at the stated daily hours to the praise -of God. Louis IX. also, worthily canonized for the holiness of his life, -made the cultivation of church song one of the most urgent of his duties. -Every day he heard two Masses, sometimes three or four. At the canonical -hours hymns and prayers were chanted by his chapel choir, and even on his -crusades his choristers went before him on the march, singing the office -for the day, and the king, a priest by his side, sang in a low voice -after them. Rulers of a precisely opposite character, the craftiest and -most violent in a guileful and brutal age, were zealous patrons of church -music. Even during that era of slaughter and misery when the French -kingship was striding to supremacy over the bodies of the great vassals, -and struggling with England for very existence in the One Hundred Years' -War, the art of music steadily advanced, and the royal and ducal chapels -flourished. Amid such conditions and under such patronage accomplished -musicians were nurtured in France and the Low Countries, and thence they -went forth to teach all Europe the noble art of counterpoint. - -About the year 1350 church music had cast off its swaddling bands and had -entered upon the stage that was soon to lead up to maturity. With the -opening of the fifteenth century compositions worthy to be called -artistic were produced. These were hardly yet beautiful according to -modern standards, certainly they had little or no characteristic -expression, but they had begun to be pliable and smooth sounding, showing -that the notes had come under the composer's control, and that he was no -longer an awkward apprentice. From the early part of the fifteenth -century we date the epoch of artistic polyphony, which advanced in purity -and dignity until it culminated in the perfected art of the sixteenth -century. So large a proportion of the fathers and high priests of -mediaeval counterpoint belonged to the districts now included in Northern -France, Belgium, and Holland that the period bounded by the years 1400 -and 1550 is known in music history as "the age of the Netherlanders." -With limitless patience and cunning, the French and Netherland musical -artificers applied themselves to the problems of counterpoint, producing -works enormous in quantity and often of bewildering intricacy. Great -numbers of pupils were trained in the convents and chapel schools, -becoming masters in their turn, and exercising commanding influence in -the churches and cloisters of all Europe. Complexity in part writing -steadily increased, not only in combinations of notes, but also in the -means of indicating their employment. It often happened that each voice -must sing to a measure sign that was different from that provided for the -other voices. Double and triple rhythm alternated, the value of notes of -the same character varied in different circumstances; a highly -sophisticated symbolism was invented, known as "riddle canons," by which -adepts were enabled to improvise accompanying parts to the _cantus -firmus_; and counterpoint, single and double, augmented and diminished, -direct, inverted, and retrograde, became at once the end and the means of -musical endeavor. Rhythm was obscured and the words almost hopelessly -lost in the web of crossing parts. The _cantus firmus_, often extended -into notes of portentous length, lost all expressive quality, and was -treated only as a thread upon which this closely woven fabric was strung. -Composers occupied themselves by preference with the mechanical side of -music; quite unimaginative, they were absorbed in solving technical -problems; and so they went on piling up difficulties for their -fellow-craftsmen to match, making music for the eye rather than for the -ear, for the logical faculty rather than for the fancy or the emotion. - -It would, however, be an error to suppose that such labored artifice was -the sole characteristic of the scientific music of the fifteenth century. -The same composers who revelled in the exercise of this kind of -scholastic subtlety also furnished their choirs with a vast amount of -music in four, five, and six parts, complex and difficult indeed from the -present point of view, but for the choristers as then trained perfectly -available, in which there was a striving for solemn devotional effect, a -melodious leading of the voices, and the adjustment of phrases into -bolder and more symmetrical patterns. Even among the master fabricators -of musical labyrinths we find glimpses of a recognition of the true final -aim of music, a soul dwelling in the tangled skeins of their polyphony, a -grace and inwardness of expression comparable to the poetic -suggestiveness which shines through the naive and often rude forms of -Gothic sculpture. The growing fondness on the part of the austere church -musicians for the setting of secular poems--madrigals, chansons, -villanellas, and the like--in polyphonic style gradually brought in a -simpler construction, more obvious melody, and a more characteristic and -pertinent expression, which reacted upon the mass and motet in the -promotion of a more direct and flexible manner of treatment The _stile -famigliare_, in which the song moves note against note, syllable against -syllable, suggesting modern chord progression, is no invention of -Palestrina, with whose name it is commonly associated, but appears in -many episodes in the works of his Netherland masters. - -The contrapuntal chorus music of the Middle Age reached its maturity in -the middle of the sixteenth century. For five hundred years this art had -been growing, constantly putting forth new tendrils, which interlaced in -luxuriant and ever-extending forms until they overspread all Western -Christendom. It was now given to one man, Giovanni Pierluigi, called -Palestrina from the place of his birth, to put the finishing touches upon -this wonder of mediaeval genius, and to impart to it all of which its -peculiar nature was capable in respect to technical completeness, tonal -purity and majesty, and elevated devotional expression. Palestrina was -more than a flawless artist, more than an Andrea del Sarto; he was so -representative of that inner spirit which has uttered itself in the most -sincere works of Catholic art that the very heart of the institution to -which he devoted his life may be said to find a voice in his music. - -Palestrina was born probably in 1526 (authority of Haberl) and died in -1594. He spent almost the whole of his art life as director of music at -Rome in the service of the popes, being at one time also a singer in the -papal chapel. He enriched every portion of the ritual with compositions, -the catalogue of his works including ninety-five masses. Among his -contemporaries at Rome were men such as Vittoria, Marenzio, the Anerios, -and the Naninis, who worked in the same style as Palestrina. Together -they compose the "Roman school" or the "Palestrina school," and all that -may be said of Palestrina's style would apply in somewhat diminished -degree to the writings of this whole group. - -Palestrina has been enshrined in history as the "savior of church music" -by virtue of a myth which has until recent years been universally -regarded as a historic fact. The first form of the legend was to the -effect that the reforming Council of Trent (1545-1563) had serious -thoughts of abolishing the chorus music of the Church everywhere, and -reducing all liturgic music to the plain unison chant; that judgment was -suspended at the request of Pope Marcellus II. until Palestrina could -produce a work that should be free from all objectionable features; that -a mass of his composition--the Mass of Pope Marcellus--was performed -before a commission of cardinals, and that its beauty and refinement so -impressed the judges that polyphonic music was saved and Palestrina's -style proclaimed as the most perfect model of artistic music. This tale -has undergone gradual reduction until it has been found that the Council -of Trent contented itself with simply recommending to the bishops that -they exclude from the churches "all musical compositions in which -anything impure or lascivious is mingled," yet not attempting to define -what was meant by "impure" and "lascivious." The commission of cardinals -had jurisdiction only over some minor questions of discipline in the -papal choir, and if Palestrina had the mass in question sung before them -(which is doubtful) it had certainly been composed a number of years -earlier. - -Certain abuses that called for correction there doubtless were in church -music in this period. The prevalent practice of borrowing themes from -secular songs for the _cantus firmus_, with sometimes the first few words -of the original song at the beginning--as in the mass of "The Armed Man," -the "Adieu, my Love" mass, etc.--was certainly objectionable from the -standpoint of propriety, although the intention was never profane, and -the impression received was not sacrilegious. Moreover, the song of the -Church had at times become so artificial and sophisticated as to belie -the true purpose of worship music. But among all the records of complaint -we find only one at all frequent, and that was that the sacred words -could not be understood in the elaborate contrapuntal interweaving of the -voices. In the history of every church, in all periods, down even to the -present time, there has always been a party that discountenances -everything that looks like art for the sake of art, satisfied only with -the simplest and rudest form of music, setting the reception of the -sacred text so far above the pleasure of the sense that all artistic -embellishment seems to them profanation. This class was represented at -the Council of Trent, but it was never in the majority, and never -strenuous for the total abolition of figured music. No reform was -instituted but such as would have come about inevitably from the -ever-increasing refinement of the art and the assertion of the nobler -traditions of the Church in the Counter-Reformation. An elevation of the -ideal of church music there doubtless was at this time, and the genius of -Palestrina was one of the most potent factors in its promotion; but it -was a natural growth, not a violent turning of direction. - -The dissipation of the halo of special beatification which certain early -worshipers of Palestrina have attempted to throw about the Mass of Pope -Marcellus has in no wise dimmed its glory. It is not unworthy of the -renown which it has so dubiously acquired. Although many times equalled -by its author, he never surpassed it, and few will be inclined to dispute -the distinction it has always claimed as the most perfect product of -mediaeval musical art. Its style was not new; it does not mark the -beginning of a new era, as certain writers but slightly versed in music -history have supposed, but the culmination of an old one. It is -essentially in the manner of the Netherland school, which the myth-makers -would represent as condemned by the Council of Trent. Josquin des Pres, -Orlandus Lassus, Goudimel, and many others had written music in the same -style, just as chaste and subdued, with the same ideal in mind, and -almost as perfectly beautiful. It is not a simple work, letting the text -stand forth in clear and obvious relief, as the legend would require. It -is a masterpiece of construction, abounding in technical subtleties, -differing from the purest work of the Netherlanders only in being even -more delicately tinted and sweet in melody than the best of them could -attain. It was in the quality of melodious grace that Palestrina soared -above his Netherland masters. Melody, as we know, is the peculiar -endowment of the Italians, and Palestrina, a typical son of Italy, -crowned the Netherland science with an ethereal grace of movement which -completed once for all the four hundred years' striving of contrapuntal -art, and made it stand forth among the artistic creations of the Middle -Age perhaps the most divinely radiant of them all. - -It may seem strange at first thought that a form which embodied the -deepest and sincerest religious feeling that has ever been projected in -tones should have been perfected in an age when all other art had become -to a large degree sensuous and worldly, and when the Catholic Church was -under condemnation, not only by its enemies, but also by many of its -grieving friends, for its political ambition, avarice, and corruption. -The papacy was at that moment reaping the inevitable harvest of spiritual -indifference and moral decline, and had fallen upon days of struggle, -confusion, and humiliation. The Lutheran, Calvinistic, and Anglican -revolt had rent from the Holy See some of the fairest of its dominions, -and those that remained were in a condition of political and intellectual -turmoil. That a reform "in head and members" was indeed needed is -established not by the accusations of hostile witnesses alone, but by the -demands of many of the staunchest prelates of the time and the admissions -of unimpeachable Catholic historians. But, as the sequel proved, it was -the head far more than the members that required surgery. The lust for -sensual enjoyments, personal and family aggrandizement, and the pomp and -luxury of worldly power, which had made the papacy of the fifteenth and -first half of the sixteenth centuries a byword in Europe, the decline of -faith in the early ideals of the Church, the excesses of physical and -emotional indulgence which came in with the Renaissance as a natural -reaction against mediaeval repression,--all this had produced a moral -degeneracy in Rome and its dependencies which can hardly be exaggerated. -But the assertion that the Catholic Church at large, or even in Rome, was -wholly given over to corruption and formalism is sufficiently refuted by -the sublime manifestation of moral force which issued in the Catholic -Reaction and the Counter-Reformation, the decrees of the Council of -Trent, and the deeds of such moral heroes as Carlo Borromeo, Phillip -Neri, Ignatius Loyola, Francis Xavier, Theresa of Jesus, Francis de -Sales, Vincent de Paul, and the founders and leaders of the Capuchins, -Theatines, Ursulines, and other beneficent religious orders, whose lives -and achievements are the glory not only of Catholicism, but of the human -race. - -The great church composers of the sixteenth century were kindred to such -spirits as these, and the reviving piety of the time found its most -adequate symbol in the realm of art in the masses and hymns of Palestrina -and his compeers. These men were nurtured in the cloisters and choirs. -The Church was their sole patron, and no higher privilege could be -conceived by them than that of lending their powers to the service of -that sublime institution into which their lives were absorbed. They were -not agitated by the political and doctrinal ferment of the day. No sphere -of activity could more completely remove a man from mundane influences -than the employment of a church musician of that period. The abstract -nature of music as an art, together with the engrossing routine of a -liturgic office, kept these men, as it were, close to the inner sanctuary -of their religion, where the ecclesiastical traditions were strongest and -purest. The music of the Church in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries -was unaffected by the influences which had done so much to make other -forms of Italian art ministers to pride and sensual gratification. Music, -through its very limitations, possessed no means of flattering the -appetites of an Alexander VI., the luxurious tastes of a Leo X., or the -inordinate pride of a Julius II. It was perforce allowed to develop -unconstrained along the line of austere tradition. Art forms seem often -to be under the control of a law which requires that when once set in -motion they must run their course independently of changes in their -environment. These two factors, therefore,--the compulsion of an -advancing art demanding completion, and the uncontaminated springs of -piety whence the liturgy and its musical setting drew their life,--will -explain the splendid achievements of religious music in the hands of the -Catholic composers of the sixteenth century amid conditions which would -at first thought seem unfavorable to the nurture of an art so pure and -austere. - -Under such influences, impelled by a zeal for the glory of God and the -honor of his Church, the polyphony of the Netherland school put forth its -consummate flower in the "Palestrina style." In the works of this later -school we may distinguish two distinct modes of treatment: (1) the -intricate texture and solidity of Netherland work; (2) the "familiar -style," in which the voices move together in equal steps, without canonic -imitations. In the larger compositions we have a blending and alternation -of these two, and the scholastic Netherland polyphony appears clarified, -and moulded into more plastic outlines for the attainment of a more -refined vehicle of expression. - -The marked dissimilarity between the music of the mediaeval school and -that of the present era is to a large extent explained by the differences -between the key and harmonic systems upon which they are severally based. -In the modern system the relationship of notes to the antithetic -tone-centres of tonic and dominant, and the freedom of modulation from -one key to another by means of the introduction of notes that do not -exist in the first, give opportunities for effect which are not -obtainable in music based upon the Gregorian modes, for the reason that -these modes do not differ in the notes employed (since they include only -the notes represented by the white keys of the pianoforte plus the B -flat), but only in the relation of the intervals to the note which forms -the keynote or "final." The concoction of music based on the latter -system is, strictly speaking, melodic, not harmonic in the modern -technical sense, and the resulting combinations of sounds are not -conceived as chords built upon a certain tone taken as a fundamental, but -rather as consequences of the conjunction of horizontally moving series -of single notes. The harmony, therefore, seems both vague and monotonous -to the ear trained in accordance with the laws of modern music, because, -in addition to being almost purely diatonic, it lacks the stable pivotal -points which give symmetry, contrast, and cohesion to modern tone -structure. The old system admits chromatic changes but sparingly, chiefly -in order to provide a leading tone in a cadence, or to obviate an -objectionable melodic interval. Consequently there is little of what we -should call variety or positive color quality. There is no pronounced -leading melody to which the other parts are subordinate. The theme -consists of a few chant-like notes, speedily taken up by one voice after -another under control of the principle of "imitation." For the same -reasons the succession of phrases, periods, and sections which -constitutes the architectonic principle of form in modern music does not -appear. Even in the "familiar style," in which the parts move together -like blocks of chords of equal length, the implied principle is melodic -in all the voices, not tune above and accompaniment beneath; and the -progression is not guided by the necessity of revolving about mutually -supporting tone-centres. - -In this "familiar style" which we may trace backward to the age of the -Netherlanders, we find a remote anticipation of the modern harmonic -feeling. A vague sense of complementary colors of tonic and dominant, -caught perhaps from the popular music with which the most scientific -composers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries always kept closely in -touch, is sometimes evident for brief moments, but never carried out -systematically to the end. This plain style is employed in hymns and -short sentences, in connection with texts of an especially mournful or -pleading expression, as, for instance, the Improperia and the Miserere, -or, for contrast's sake, in the more tranquil passages of masses or -motets. It is a style that is peculiarly tender and gracious, and may be -found reflected in the sweetest of modern Latin and English hymn-tunes. -In the absence of chromatic changes it is the most serene form of music -in existence, and is suggestive of the confidence and repose of spirit -which is the most refined essence of the devotional mood. - - - - - Example of the Simple Style (_stile famigliare_). Palestrina. - - -The intricate style commonly prevails in larger works--masses, motets, -and the longer hymns. Only after careful analysis can we appreciate the -wonderful art that has entered into its fabrication. Upon examining works -of this class we find the score consisting of four or more parts, but not -usually exceeding eight. The most obvious feature of the design is that -each part appears quite independent of the others; the melody does not -lie in one voice while the others act as accompaniment, but each part is -as much a melody as any other; each voice pursues its easy, unfettered -way, now one acting as leader, now another, the voices often crossing -each other, each melody apparently quite regardless of its mates in -respect to the time of beginning, culminating, and ending, the voices -apparently not subject to any common law of accent or rhythm, but each -busy with its own individual progress. The onward movement is like a -series of waves; no sooner is the mind fixed upon one than it is lost in -the ordered confusion of those that follow. The music seems also to have -no definite rhythm. Each single voice part is indeed rhythmical, as a -sentence of prose may be rhythmical, but since the melodic constituents -come in upon different parts of the measure, one culminating at one -moment, another at another, the parts often crossing each other, so that -while the mind may be fixed upon one melody which seems to lead, another, -which has been coming up from below, strikes in across the field,--the -result of all this is that the attention is constantly being dislodged -from one tonal centre and shifted to another, and the whole scheme of -design seems without form, a fluctuating mass swayed hither and thither -without coherent plan. The music does not lack dynamic change or -alteration of speed, but these contrasts are often so subtly graded that -it is not apparent where they begin or end. The whole effect is measured, -subdued, solemn. We are never startled, there is nothing that sets the -nerves throbbing. But as we hear this music again and again, analyzing -its properties, shutting out all preconceptions, little by little there -steal over us sensations of surprise, then of wonder, then of admiration. -These delicately shaded harmonies develop unimagined beauties. Without -sharp contrast of dissonance and consonance they are yet full of shifting -lights and hues, like a meadow under breeze and sunshine, which to the -careless eye seems only a mass of unvarying green, but which reveals to -the keener sense infinite modulation of the scale of color. No melody -lies conspicuous upon the surface, but the whole harmonic substance is -full of undulating melody, each voice pursuing its confident, unfettered -motion amid the ingenious complexity of which it is a constituent part. - -In considering further the technical methods and the final aims of this -marvellous style, we find in its culminating period that the crown of the -mediaeval contrapuntal art upon its aesthetic side lies in the attainment -of beauty of tone effect in and of itself--the gratification of the -sensuous ear, rich and subtly modulated sound quality, not in the -individual boys' and men's voices, but in the distribution and -combination of voices of different _timbre_. That mastery toward which -orchestral composers have been striving during the past one hundred -years--the union and contrast of stringed and wind instruments for the -production of impressions upon the ear analogous to those produced upon -the eye by the color of a Rembrandt or a Titian--this was also sought, -and, so far as the slender means went, achieved in a wonderful degree by -the tone-masters of the Roman and Venetian schools. The chorus, we must -remind ourselves, was not dependent upon an accompaniment, and sensuous -beauty of tone must, therefore, result not merely from the individual -quality of the voices, but still more from the manner in which the notes -were grouped. The distribution of the components of a chord in order to -produce the greatest sonority; the alternation of the lower voices with -the higher; the elimination of voices as a section approached its close, -until the harmony was reduced at the last syllable to two higher voices -in _pianissimo_, as though the strain were vanishing into the upper air; -the resolution of tangled polyphony into a sun-burst of open golden -chords; the subtle intrusion of veiled dissonances into the fluent -gleaming concord; the skilful blending of the vocal registers for the -production of exquisite contrasts of light and shade,--these and many -other devices were employed for the attainment of delicate and lustrous -sound tints, with results to which modern chorus writing affords no -parallel. The culmination of this tendency could not be reached until the -art of interweaving voices according to regular but flexible patterns had -been fully mastered, and composers had learned to lead their parts with -the confidence with which the engraver traces his lines to shape them -into designs of beauty. - -The singular perfection of the work of Palestrina has served to direct -the slight attention which the world now gives to the music of the -sixteenth century almost exclusively to him; yet he was but one master -among a goodly number whose productions are but slightly inferior to -his,--_primus inter pares_. Orlandus Lassus in Munich, Willaert, and the -two Gabrielis, Andrea and Giovanni, and Croce in Venice, the Naninis, -Vittoria, and the Anerios in Rome, Tallis in England, are names which do -not pale when placed beside that of the "prince of music." Venice, -particularly, was a worthy rival of Rome in the sphere of church song. -The catalogue of her musicians who flourished in the sixteenth and early -part of the seventeenth centuries contains the names of men who were -truly sovereigns in their art, not inferior to Palestrina in science, -compensating for a comparative lack of the super-refined delicacy and -tremulous pathos which distinguished the Romans by a larger emphasis upon -contrast, color variety, and characteristic expression. It was as though -the splendors of Venetian painting had been emulated, although in reduced -shades, by these masters of Venetian music. In admitting into their works -contrivances for effect which anticipated a coming revolution in musical -art, the Venetians, rather than the Romans, form the connecting link -between mediaeval and modern religious music. In the Venetian school we -find triumphing over the ineffable calmness and remote impersonality of -the Romans a more individual quality--a strain almost of passion and -stress, and a far greater sonority and pomp. Chromatic changes, at first -irregular and unsystematized, come gradually into use as a means of -attaining greater intensity; dissonances become more pronounced, -foreshadowing the change of key system with all its consequences. The -contrapuntal leading of parts, in whose cunning labyrinths the expression -of feeling through melody strove to lose itself, tended under the -different ideal cherished by the Venetians to condense into more massive -harmonies, with bolder outlines and melody rising into more obvious -relief. As far back as the early decades of the sixteenth century Venice -had begun to loosen the bands of mediaeval choral law, and by a freer use -of dissonances to prepare the ear for a new order of perceptions. The -unprecedented importance given to the organ by the Venetian church -composers, and the appearance of the beginnings of an independent organ -style, also contributed strongly to the furtherance of the new -tendencies. In this broader outlook, more individual stamp, and more -self-conscious aim toward brilliancy the music of Venice simply shared -those impulses that manifested themselves in the gorgeous canvases of her -great painters and in the regal splendors of her public spectacles. - -The national love of pomp and ceremonial display was shown in the church -festivals hardly less than in the secular pageants, and all that could -embellish the externals of the church solemnities was eagerly adopted. -All the most distinguished members of the line of Venetian church -composers were connected with the church of St. Mark as choir directors -and organists, and they imparted to their compositions a breadth of tone -and warmth of color fully in keeping with the historic and artistic glory -of this superb temple. The founder of the sixteenth-century Venetian -school was Adrian Willaert, a Netherlander, who was chapel-master at St. -Mark's from 1527 to 1563. It was he who first employed the method which -became a notable feature of the music of St. Mark's, of dividing the -choir and thus obtaining novel effects of contrast and climax by means of -antiphonal chorus singing. The hint was given to Willaert by the -construction of the church, which contains two music galleries opposite -each other, each with its organ. The freer use of dissonances, so -characteristic of the adventurous spirit of the Venetian composers, first -became a significant trait in the writings of Willaert. - -The tendency to lay less stress upon interior intricacy and more upon -harmonic strength, striking tone color, and cumulative grandeur is even -more apparent in Willaert's successors at St. Mark's,--Cyprian de Rore, -Claudio Merulo, and the two Gabrielis. Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli -carried the splendid tonal art of Venice to unprecedented heights, adding -a third choir to the two of Willaert, and employing alternate choir -singing, combinations of parts, and massing of voices in still more -ingenious profusion. Winterfeld, the chief historian of this epoch, thus -describes the performance of a twelve-part psalm by G. Gabrieli: "Three -choruses, one of deep voices, one of higher, and the third consisting of -the four usual parts, are separated from each other. Like a tender, -fervent prayer begins the song in the deeper chorus, 'God be merciful -unto us and bless us.' Then the middle choir continues with similar -expression, 'And cause his face to shine upon us.' The higher chorus -strikes in with the words, 'That thy way may be known upon earth.' In -full voice the strain now resounds from all three choirs, 'Thy saving -health among all nations.' The words, 'Thy saving health,' are given with -especial earnestness, and it is to be noticed that this utterance comes -not from all the choirs together, nor from a single one entire, but from -selected voices from each choir in full-toned interwoven parts. We shall -not attempt to describe how energetic and fiery the song, 'Let all the -people praise thee, O God,' pours forth from the choirs in alternation; -how tastefully the master proclaims the words, 'Let the nations be glad -and sing for joy,' through change of measure and limitation to selected -voices from all the choirs; how the words, 'And God shall bless us,' are -uttered in solemn masses of choral song. Language could give but a feeble -suggestion of the magnificence of this music."[66] - -Great as Giovanni Gabrieli was as master of all the secrets of mediaeval -counterpoint and also of the special applications devised by the school -of Venice, he holds an even more eminent station as the foremost of the -founders of modern instrumental art, which properly took its starting -point in St. Mark's church in the sixteenth century. These men conceived -that the organ might claim a larger function than merely aiding the -voices here and there, and they began to experiment with independent -performances where the ritual permitted such innovation. So we see the -first upspringing of a lusty growth of instrumental forms, if they may -properly be called forms,--canzonas (the modern fugue in embryo), -toccatas, ricercare (at first nothing more than vocal counterpoint -transferred to the organ), fantasias, etc.,--rambling, amorphous, -incoherent pieces, but vastly significant as holding the promise and -potency of a new art. Of these far-sighted experimenters Giovanni -Gabrieli was easily chief. Consummate master of the ancient forms, he -laid the first pier of the arch which was to connect two epochs; honoring -the old traditions by his achievements in chorus music, and leading his -disciples to perceive possibilities of expression which were to respond -to the needs of a new age. - -Another composer of the foremost rank demands attention before we take -leave of the mediaeval contrapuntal school. Orlandus Lassus (original -Flemish Roland de Lattre, Italianized Orlando di Lasso) was a musician -whose genius entitles him to a place in the same inner circle with -Palestrina and Gabrieli. He lived from 1520 to 1594. His most important -field of labor was Munich. In force, variety, and range of subject and -treatment he surpasses Palestrina, but is inferior to the great Roman in -pathos, nobility, and spiritual fervor. His music is remarkable in view -of its period for energy, sharp contrasts, and bold experiments in -chromatic alteration. "Orlando," says Ambros, "is a Janus who looks back -toward the great past of music in which he arose, but also forward toward -the approaching epoch." An unsurpassed master of counterpoint, he yet -depended much upon simpler and more condensed harmonic movements. The -number of his works reaches 2337, of which 765 are secular. His motets -hold a more important place than his masses, and in many of the former -are to be found elements that are so direct and forceful in expression as -almost to be called dramatic. His madrigals and choral songs are -especially notable for their lavish use of chromatics, and also for a -lusty sometimes rough humor, which shows his keen sympathy with the -popular currents that were running strongly in the learned music of his -time. Lassus has more significance in the development of music than -Palestrina, for the latter's absorption in liturgic duties kept him -within much narrower boundaries. Palestrina's music is permeated with the -spirit of the liturgic chant; that of Lassus with the racier quality of -the folk-song. Lassus, although his religious devotion cannot be -questioned, had the temper of a citizen of the world; Palestrina that of -a man of the cloister. Palestrina's music reaches a height of ecstasy -which Lassus never approached; the latter is more instructive in respect -to the tendencies of the time. - -Turning again to the analysis of the sixteenth-century chorus and -striving to penetrate still further the secret of its charm, we are -obliged to admit that it is not its purely musical qualities or the -learning and cleverness displayed in its fabrication that will account -for its long supremacy or for the enthusiasm which it has often excited -in an age so remote as our own. Its aesthetic effect can never be quite -disentangled from the impressions drawn from its religious and historic -associations. Only the devout Catholic call feel its full import, for to -him it shares the sanctity of the liturgy,--it is not simply ear-pleasing -harmony, but prayer; not merely a decoration of the holy ceremony, but an -integral part of the sacrifice of praise and supplication. And among -Protestants those who eulogize it most warmly are those whose opinions on -church music are liturgical and austere. Given in a concert hall, in -implied competition with modern chorus music, its effect is feeble. It is -as religious music--ritualistic religious music--identified with what is -most solemn and suggestive in the traditions and ordinances of an ancient -faith, that this antiquated form of art makes its appeal to modern taste. -No other phase of music is so dependent upon its setting. - -There can be no question that the Catholic Church has always endeavored, -albeit with a great deal of wavering and inconsistency, to maintain a -certain ideal or standard in respect to those forms of art which she -employs in her work of education. The frequent injunctions of popes, -prelates, councils, and synods for century after century have always held -the same tone upon this question. They have earnestly reminded their -followers that the Church recognizes a positive norm or canon in -ecclesiastical art, that there is a practical distinction between -ecclesiastic art and secular art, and that it is a pious duty on the part -of churchmen to preserve this distinction inviolate. The Church, however, -has never had the courage of this conviction. As J. A. Symonds says, she -has always compromised; and so has every church compromised. The inroads -of secular styles and modes of expression have always been irresistible -except here and there in very limited times and localities. The history -of church art, particularly of church music, is the history of the -conflict between the sacerdotal conception of art and the popular taste. - -What, then, is the theory of ecclesiastical art which the heads of the -Catholic Church have maintained in precept and so often permitted to be -ignored in practice? What have been the causes and the results of the -secularization of religious art, particularly music? These questions are -of the greatest practical interest to the student of church music, and -the answers to them will form the centre around which all that I have to -say from this point about Catholic music will mainly turn. - -The strict idea of religious art, as it has always stood more or less -distinctly in the thought of the Catholic Church, is that it exists not -for the decoration of the offices of worship (although the gratification -of the senses is not considered unworthy as an incidental end), but -rather for edification, instruction, and inspiration. As stated by an -authoritative Catholic writer: "No branch of art exists for its own sake -alone. Art is a servant, and it serves either God or the world, the -eternal or the temporal, the spirit or the flesh. Ecclesiastical art must -derive its rule and form solely from the Church." "These rules and -determinations [in respect to church art] are by no means arbitrary, no -external accretion; they have grown up organically from within outward, -from the spirit which guides the Church, out of her views and out of the -needs of her worship. And herein lies the justification of her symbolism -and emblematic expression in ecclesiastical art so long as this holds -itself within the limits of tradition. The church of stone must be a -speaking manifestation of the living Church and her mysteries. The -pictures on the walls and on the altars are not mere adornment for the -pleasure of the eye, but for the heart a book full of instruction, a -sermon full of truth. And hereby art is raised to be an instrument of -edification to the believer, it becomes a profound expositor for -thousands, a transmitter and preserver of great ideas for all the -centuries."[67] The Catholic Church in her art would subject the literal -to the ideal, the particular to the general, the definitive to the -symbolic. "The phrase 'emancipation of the individual,'" says Jakob -again, "is not heard in the Church. Art history teaches that the Church -does not oppose the individual conception, but simply restrains that -false freedom which would make art the servant of personal caprice or of -fashion." - -The truth of this principle as a fundamental canon of ecclesiastical art -is not essentially affected by the fact that it is only in certain -periods and under favorable conditions that it has been strictly -enforced. Whenever art reaches a certain point in development, individual -determination invariably succeeds in breaking away from tradition. The -attainment of technic, attended by the inevitable pride in technic, -liberates its possessors. The spirit of the Italian religious painters of -the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, content to submit their -skill to further the educational purposes of the Church, could no longer -persist in connection with the growing delight in new technical problems -and the vision of the new fields open to art when face to face with -reality. The conventional treatment of the Memmis and Fra Angelicos was -followed by the naturalistic representation of the Raphaels, the Da -Vincis, and the Titians. The same result has followed where pure art has -decayed, or where no real appreciation of art ever existed. The stage of -church art in its purest and most edifying form is, therefore, only -temporary. It exists in the adolescent period of an art, before the -achievement of technical skill arouses desire for its unhampered -exercise, and when religious ideas are at the same time dominant and -pervasive. Neither is doubt to be cast upon the sincerity of the -religious motive in this phase of art growth when we discover that its -technical methods are identical with those of secular art at the same -period. In fact, this general and conventional style which the Church -finds suited to her ends is most truly characteristic when the artists -have virtually no choice in their methods. The motive of the Gothic -cathedral builders was no less religious because their modes of -construction and decoration were also common to the civic and domestic -architecture of the time. A distinctive ecclesiastical style has never -developed in rivalry with contemporary tendencies in secular art, but -only in unison with them. The historic church styles are also secular -styles, carried to the highest practicable degree of refinement and -splendor. These styles persist in the Church after they have disappeared -in the mutations of secular art; they become sanctified by time and by -the awe which the claim of supernatural commission inspires, and the -world at last comes to think of them as inherently rather than -conventionally religious. - -All these principles must be applied to the sixteenth-century _a capella_ -music. In fact, there is no better illustration; its meaning and effect -cannot be otherwise understood. Growing up under what seem perfectly -natural conditions, patronized by the laity as well as by the clergy, -this highly organized, severe, and impersonal style was seen, even before -the period of its maturity, to conform to the ideal of liturgic art -cherished by the Church; and now that it has become completely isolated -in the march of musical progress, this conformity appears even more -obvious under contrast. No other form of chorus music has existed so -objective and impersonal, so free from the stress and stir of passion, so -plainly reflecting an exalted spiritualized state of feeling. This music -is singularly adapted to reinforce the impression of the Catholic -mysteries by reason of its technical form and its peculiar emotional -appeal. The devotional mood that is especially nurtured by the Catholic -religious exercises is absorbed and mystical; the devotee strives to -withdraw into a retreat within the inner shrine of religious -contemplation, where no echoes of the world reverberate, and where the -soul may be thrilled by the tremulous ecstasy of half-unveiled heavenly -glory. It is the consciousness of the nearness and reality of the unseen -world that lends such a delicate and reserved beauty to those creations -of Catholic genius in which this ideal has been most directly symbolized. -Of this cloistral mood the church music of the Palestrina age is the most -subtle and suggestive embodiment ever realized in art. It is as far as -possible removed from profane suggestion; in its ineffable calmness, and -an indescribable tone of chastened exultation, pure from every trace of -struggle, with which it vibrates, it is the most adequate emblem of that -eternal repose toward which the believer yearns. - -It is not true, however, as often alleged, that this form of music -altogether lacks characterization, and that the style of Kyrie, Gloria, -Crucifixus, Resurrexit, and of the motets and hymns whatever their -subject, is always the same. The old masters were artists as well as -churchmen, and knew how to adapt their somewhat unresponsive material to -the more obvious contrasts of the text; and in actual performance a much -wider latitude in respect to _nuance_ and change of speed was permitted -than could be indicated in the score. We know, also, that the choristers -were allowed great license in the use of embellishments, more or less -florid, upon the written notes, sometimes improvised, sometimes carefully -invented, taught and handed down as a prescribed code, the tradition of -which, in all but a few instances, has been lost. But the very laws of -the Gregorian modes and the strict contrapuntal system kept such -excursions after expression within narrow bounds, and the traditional -view of ecclesiastical art forbade anything like a drastic descriptive -literalism. - -This mediaeval polyphonic music, although the most complete example in -art of the perfect adaptation of means to a particular end, could not -long maintain its exclusive prestige. It must be supplanted by a new -style as soon as the transformed secular music was strong enough to react -upon the Church. It was found that a devotional experience that was not -far removed from spiritual trance, which was all that the old music could -express, was not the only mental attitude admissible in worship. The -new-born art strove to give more apt and detailed expression to the -words, and why should not this permission be granted to church music? The -musical revolution of the seventeenth century involved the development of -an art of solo singing and its supremacy over the chorus, the -substitution of the modern major and minor transposing scales for the -Gregorian modal system, a homophonic method of harmony for the mediaeval -polyphony, accompanied music for the _a capella_, secular and dramatic -for religious music, the rise of instrumental music as an independent -art, the transfer of patronage from the Church to the aristocracy and -ultimately to the common people. All the modern forms, both vocal and -instrumental, which have come to maturity in recent times suddenly -appeared in embryo at the close of the sixteenth or early in the -seventeenth century. The ancient style of ecclesiastical music did not -indeed come to a standstill. The grand old forms continued to be -cultivated by men who were proud to wear the mantle of Palestrina; and in -the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the traditions of the Roman and -Venetian schools of church music have had sufficient vitality to inspire -works not unworthy of comparison with their venerable models. The strains -of these later disciples, however, are but scanty reverberations of the -multitudinous voices of the past. The instrumental mass and motet, -embellished with all the newly discovered appliances of melody, harmony, -rhythm, and tone color, led the art of the Church with flying banners -into wider regions of conquest, and the _a capella_ contrapuntal chorus -was left behind, a stately monument upon the receding shores of the -Middle Age. - - -[Note. A very important agent in stimulating a revival of interest in the -mediaeval polyphonic school is the St. Cecilia Society, which was founded -at Regensburg in 1868 by Dr. Franz Xaver Witt, a devoted priest and -learned musician, for the purpose of restoring a more perfect relation -between music and the liturgy and erecting a barrier against the -intrusion of dramatic and virtuoso tendencies. Flourishing branches of -this society exist in many of the chief church centres of Europe and -America. It is the patron of schools of music, it has issued periodicals, -books, and musical compositions, and has shown much vigor in making -propaganda for its views. - -Not less intelligent and earnest is the Schola Cantorum of Paris, which -is exerting a strong influence upon church music in the French capital -and thence throughout the world by means of musical performances, -editions of musical works, lectures, and publications of books and -essays.] - - - - - CHAPTER VI - THE MODERN MUSICAL MASS - - -To one who is accustomed to study the history of art in the light of the -law of evolution, the contrast between the reigning modern style of -Catholic church music and that of the Middle Age seems at first sight -very difficult of explanation. The growth of the _a capella_ chorus, -which reached its perfection in the sixteenth century, may be traced -through a steady process of development, every step of which was a -logical consequence of some prior invention. But as we pass onward into -the succeeding age and look for a form of Catholic music which may be -taken as the natural offspring and successor of the venerable mediaeval -style, we find what appears to be a break in the line of continuity. The -ancient form maintains its existence throughout the seventeenth century -and a portion of the eighteenth, but it is slowly crowded to one side and -at last driven from the field altogether by a style which, if we search -in the field of church art alone, appears to have no antecedent. The new -style is opposed to the old in every particular. Instead of forms that -are polyphonic in structure, vague and indefinite in plan, based on an -antique key system, the new compositions are homophonic, definite, and -sectional in plan, revealing an entirely novel principle of tonality, -containing vocal solos as well as choruses, and supported by a free -instrumental accompaniment. These two contrasted phases of religious -music seem to have nothing in common so far as technical organization is -concerned, and it is perfectly evident that the younger style could not -have been evolved out of the elder. Hardly less divergent are they in -respect to ideal of expression, the ancient style never departing from a -moderate, unimpassioned uniformity, the modern abounding in variety and -contrast, and continually striving after a sort of dramatic portrayal of -moods. To a representative of the old school, this florid accompanied -style would seem like an intruder from quite an alien sphere of -experience, and the wonder grows when we discover that it sprung from the -same national soil as that in which its predecessor ripened, and was -likewise cherished by an institution that has made immutability in all -essentials a cardinal principle. Whence came the impulse that effected so -sweeping a change in a great historic form of art, where we might expect -that liturgic necessities and ecclesiastical tradition would decree a -tenacious conservatism? What new conception had seized upon the human -mind so powerful that it could even revolutionize a large share of the -musical system of the Catholic Church? Had there been a long preparation -for a change that seems so sudden? Were there causes working under the -surface, antecedent stages, such that the violation of the law of -continuity is apparent only, and not real? These questions are easily -answered if we abandon the useless attempt to find the parentage of the -modern church style in the ritual music of the previous period; and by -surveying all the musical conditions of the age we shall quickly discover -that it was an intrusion into the Church of musical methods that were -fostered under purely secular auspices. The Gregorian chant and the -mediaeval _a capella_ chorus were born and nurtured within the fold of -the Church, growing directly out of the necessity of adapting musical -cadences to the rhythmical phrases of the liturgy. The modern sectional -and florid style, on the contrary, was an addition from without, and was -not introduced in response to any liturgic demands whatever. In origin -and affiliations it was a secular style, adopted by the Church under a -necessity which she eventually strove to turn into a virtue. - -This violent reversal of the traditions of Catholic music was simply a -detail of that universal revolution in musical practice and ideal which -marked the passage from the sixteenth century to the seventeenth. The -learned music of Europe had been for centuries almost exclusively in the -care of ecclesiastical and princely chapels, and its practitioners held -offices that were primarily clerical. The professional musicians, -absorbed in churchly functions, had gone on adding masses to masses, -motets to motets, and hymns to hymns, until the Church had accumulated a -store of sacred song so vast that it remains the admiration and despair -of modern scholars. These works, although exhibiting every stage of -construction from the simplest to the most intricate, were all framed in -accordance with principles derived from the mediaeval conception of -melodic combination. The secular songs which these same composers -produced in great numbers, notwithstanding their greater flexibility and -lightness of touch, were also written for chorus, usually unaccompanied, -and were theoretically constructed according to the same system as the -church pieces. Nothing like operas or symphonies existed; there were no -orchestras worthy of the name; pianoforte, violin, and organ playing, in -the modern sense, had not been dreamed of; solo singing was in its -helpless infancy. When we consider, in the light of our present -experience, how large a range of emotion that naturally utters itself in -tone was left unrepresented through this lack of a proper secular art of -music, we can understand the urgency of the demand which, at the close of -the sixteenth century, broke down the barriers that hemmed in the -currents of musical production and swept music out into the vast area of -universal human interests. The spirit of the Renaissance had led forth -all other art forms to share in the multifarious activities and joys of -modern life at a time when music was still the satisfied inmate of the -cloister. But it was impossible that music also should not sooner or -later feel the transfiguring touch of the new human impulse. The placid, -austere expression of the clerical style, the indefinite forms, the -Gregorian modes precluding free dissonance and regulated chromatic -change, were incapable of rendering more than one order of ideas. A -completely novel system must be forthcoming, or music must confess its -impotence to enter into the fuller emotional life which had lately been -revealed to mankind. - -The genius of Italy was equal to the demand. Usually when any form of art -becomes complete a period of degeneracy follows; artists become mere -imitators, inspiration and creative power die out, the art becomes a -handicraft; new growth appears only in another period or another nation, -and under altogether different auspices. Such would perhaps have been the -case with church music in Italy if a method diametrically opposed to that -which had so long prevailed in the Church had not inaugurated a new -school and finally extended its conquest into the venerable precincts of -the Church itself. The opera and instrumental music--the two currents -into which secular music divided--sprang up, as from hidden fountains, -right beside the old forms which were even then just attaining their full -glory, as if to show that the Italian musical genius so abounded in -energy that it could never undergo decay, but when it had gone to its -utmost limits in one direction could instantly strike out in another -still more brilliant and productive. - -The invention of the opera about the year 1600 is usually looked upon as -the event of paramount importance in the transition period of modern -music history, yet it was only the most striking symptom of a radical, -sweeping tendency. Throughout the greater part of the sixteenth century a -search had been in progress after a style of music suited to the solo -voice, which could lend itself to the portrayal of the change and -development of emotion involved in dramatic representation. The -folk-song, which is only suited to the expression of a single simple -frame of mind, was of course inadequate. The old church music was -admirably adapted to the expression of the consciousness of man in his -relations to the divine--what was wanted was a means of expressing the -emotions of man in his relations to his fellow-men. Lyric and dramatic -poetry flourished, but no proper lyric or dramatic music. The Renaissance -had done its mighty work in all other fields of art, but so far as music -was concerned in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries a Renaissance did -not exist. Many reasons might be given why the spirit of the Renaissance -had no appreciable effect in the musical world until late in the -sixteenth century. Musical forms are purely subjective in their -conception; they find no models or even suggestions in the natural world, -and the difficulty of choosing the most satisfactory arrangements of -tones out of an almost endless number of possible combinations, together -with the necessity of constantly new adjustments of the mind in order to -appreciate the value of the very forms which itself creates, makes -musical development a matter of peculiar slowness and difficulty. The -enthusiasm for the antique, which gave a definite direction to the -revival of learning and the new ambitions in painting and sculpture, -could have little practical value in musical invention, since the ancient -music, which would otherwise have been chosen as a guide, had been -completely lost. The craving for a style of solo singing suited to -dramatic purposes tried to find satisfaction by means that were -childishly insufficient. Imitations of folk-songs, the device of singing -one part in a madrigal, while the other parts were played by instruments, -were some of the futile efforts to solve the problem. The sense of -disappointment broke forth in bitter wrath against the church -counterpoint, and a violent conflict raged between the bewildered -experimenters and the adherents of the scholastic methods. - -The discovery that was to satisfy the longings of a century and create a -new art was made in Florence. About the year 1580 a circle of scholars, -musicians, and amateurs began to hold meetings at the house of a certain -Count Bardi, where they discussed, among other learned questions, the -nature of the music of the Greeks, and the possibility of its -restoration. Theorizing was supplemented by experiment, and at last -Vincenzo Galilei, followed by Giulio Caccini, hit upon a mode of musical -declamation, half speech and half song, which was enthusiastically hailed -as the long-lost style employed in the Athenian drama. A somewhat freer -and more melodious manner was also admitted in alternation with the dry, -formless recitation, and these two related methods were employed in the -performance of short lyric, half-dramatic monologues. Such were the -Monodies of Galilei and the Nuove Musiche of Caccini. More ambitious -schemes followed. Mythological masquerades and pastoral comedies, which -had held a prominent place in the gorgeous spectacles and pageants of the -Italian court festivals ever since the thirteenth century, were provided -with settings of the new declamatory music, or _stile recitativo_, and -behold, the opera was born. - -The Florentine inventors of dramatic music builded better than they knew. -They had no thought of setting music free upon a new and higher flight; -they never dreamed of the consequences of releasing melody from the -fetters of counterpoint. Their sole intention was to make poetry more -expressive and emphatic by the employment of tones that would heighten -the natural inflections of speech, and in which there should be no -repetition or extension of words (as in the contrapuntal style) involving -a subordination of text to musical form. The ideal of recitative was the -expression of feeling by a method that permits the text to follow the -natural accent of declamatory speech, unrestrained by a particular -musical form or tonality, and dependent only upon the support of the -simplest kind of instrumental accompaniment. In this style of music, said -Caccini, speech is of the first importance, rhythm second, and tone last -of all. These pioneers of dramatic music, as they declared over and over -again, simply desired a form of music that should allow the words to be -distinctly understood. They condemned counterpoint, not on musical -grounds, but because it allowed the text to be obscured and the natural -rhythm broken. There was no promise of a new musical era in such an -anti-musical pronunciamento as this. But a relation between music and -poetry in which melody renounces all its inherent rights could not long -be maintained. The genius of Italy in the seventeenth century was -musical, not poetic. Just so soon as the infinite possibilities of charm -that lie in free melody were once perceived, no theories of Platonizing -pedants could check its progress. The demands of the new age, reinforced -by the special Italian gift of melody, created an art form in which -absolute music triumphed over the feebler claims of poetry and rhetoric. -The cold, calculated Florentine music-drama gave way to the vivacious, -impassioned opera of Venice and Naples. Although the primitive dry -recitative survived, the far more expressive accompanied recitative was -evolved from it, and the grand aria burst into radiant life out of the -brief lyrical sections which the Florentines had allowed to creep into -their tedious declamatory scenes. Vocal colorature, which had already -appeared in the dramatic pieces of Caccini, became the most beloved means -of effect. The little group of simple instruments employed in the first -Florentine music-dramas was gradually merged in the modern full -orchestra. The original notion of making the poetic and scenic intention -paramount was forgotten, and the opera became cultivated solely as a -means for the display of all the fascinations of vocalism. - -Thus a new motive took complete possession of the art of music. By virtue -of the new powers revealed to them, composers would now strive to enter -all the secret precincts of the soul and give a voice to every emotion, -simple or complex, called forth by solitary meditation or by situations -of dramatic stress and conflict. Music, like painting and poetry, should -now occupy the whole world of human experience. The stupendous -achievements of the tonal art of the past two centuries are the outcome -of this revolutionary impulse. But not at once could music administer the -whole of her new possession. She must pass through a course of training -in technic, to a certain extent as she had done in the fourteenth and -fifteenth centuries, but under far more favorable conditions and quite -different circumstances. The shallowness of the greater part of the music -of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is partly due to the -difficulty that composers found in mastering the new forms. A facility in -handling the material must be acquired before there could be any clear -consciousness of the possibilities of expression which the new forms -contained. The first problem in vocal music was the development of a -method of technic; and musical taste, fascinated by the new sensation, -ran into an extravagant worship of the human voice. There appeared in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the most brilliant group of singers, -of both sexes, that the world has ever seen. The full extent of the -morbid, we might almost say the insane, passion for sensuous, -nerve-exciting tone is sufficiently indicated by the encouragement in -theatre and church of those outrages upon nature, the male soprano and -alto. A school of composers of brilliant melodic genius appeared in -Italy, France, and Germany, who supplied these singers with showy and -pathetic music precisely suited to their peculiar powers. Italian melody -and Italian vocalism became the reigning sensation in European society, -and the opera easily took the primacy among fashionable amusements. The -Italian grand opera, with its solemn travesty of antique characters and -scenes, its mock heroics, its stilted conventionalities, its dramatic -feebleness and vocal glitter, was a lively reflection of the taste of -this age of "gallant" poetry, rococo decoration, and social -artificiality. The musical element consisted of a succession of arias and -duets stitched together by a loose thread of _secco_ recitative. The -costumes were those of contemporary fashion, although the characters were -named after worthies of ancient Greece and Rome. The plots were in no -sense historic, but consisted of love tales and conspiracies concocted by -the playwright. Truth to human nature and to locality was left to the -despised comic opera. Yet we must not suppose that the devotees of this -music were conscious of its real superficiality. They adored it not -wholly because it was sensational, but because they believed it true in -expression; and indeed it was true to those light and transient -sentiments which the voluptuaries of the theatre mistook for the throbs -of nature. Tender and pathetic these airs often were, but it was the -affected tenderness and pathos of fashionable eighteenth-century -literature which they represented. To the profounder insight of the -present they seem to express nothing deeper than the make-believe -emotions of children at their play. - -Under such sanctions the Italian grand aria became the dominant form of -melody. Not the appeal to the intellect and the genuine experiences of -the heart was required of the musical performer, but rather brilliancy of -technic and seductiveness of tone. Ephemeral nerve excitement, incessant -novelty within certain conventional bounds, were the demands laid by the -public upon composer and singer. The office of the poet became hardly -less mechanical than that of the costumer or the decorator. Composers, -with a few exceptions, yielded to the prevailing fashion, and musical -dramatic art lent itself chiefly to the portrayal of stereotyped -sentiments and the gratification of the sense. I would not be understood -as denying the germ of truth that lay in this art element contributed by -Italy to the modern world. Its later results were sublime and beneficent, -for Italian melody has given direction to well-nigh all the magnificent -achievements of secular music in the past two centuries. I am speaking -here of the first outcome of the infatuation it produced, in the breaking -down of the taste for the severe and elevated, and the production of a -transient, often demoralizing intoxication. - -It was not long before the charming Italian melody undertook the conquest -of the Church. The popular demand for melody and solo singing overcame -the austere traditions of ecclesiastical song. The dramatic and concert -style invaded the choir gallery. The personnel of the choirs was altered, -and women, sometimes male sopranos and altos, took the place of boys. The -prima donna, with her trills and runs, made the choir gallery the parade -ground for her arts of fascination. The chorus declined in favor of the -solo, and the church aria vied with the opera aria in bravura and -languishing pathos. Where the chorus was retained in mass, motet, or -hymn, it abandoned the close-knit contrapuntal texture in favor of a -simple homophonic structure, with strongly marked rhythmical movement. -The orchestral accompaniment also lent to the composition a vivid -dramatic coloring, and brilliant solos for violins and flutes seemed -often to convert the sanctuary into a concert hall. All this was -inevitable, for the Catholic musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries were artists as well as churchmen; they shared the aesthetic -convictions of their time, and could not be expected to forego the -opportunities for effect which the new methods put into their hands. They -were no longer dependent upon the Church for commissions; the opera house -and the salon gave them sure means of subsistence and fame. The functions -of church and theatre composers were often united in a single man. The -convents and cathedral chapels were made training-schools for the choir -and the opera stage on equal terms. It was in a monk's cell that -Bernacchi and other world-famous opera singers of the eighteenth century -were educated. Ecclesiastics united with aristocratic laymen in the -patronage of the opera; cardinals and archbishops owned theatre boxes, -and it was not considered in the least out of character for monks and -priests to write operas and superintend their performance. Under such -conditions it is not strange that church and theatre reacted upon each -other, and that the sentimental style, beloved in opera house and salon, -should at last be accepted as the proper vehicle of devotional feeling. - -In this adornment of the liturgy in theatrical costume we find a singular -parallel between the history of church music in the transition period and -that of religious painting in the period of the Renaissance. Pictorial -art had first to give concrete expression to the conceptions evolved -under the influence of Christianity, and since the whole intent of the -pious discipline was to turn the thought away from actual mundane -experience, art avoided the representation of ideal physical loveliness -on the one hand and a scientific historical correctness on the other. -Hence arose the naive, emblematic pictures of the fourteenth century, -whose main endeavor was to attract and indoctrinate with delineations -that were symbolic and intended mainly for edification. Painting was one -of the chief means employed by the Church to impart instruction to a -constituency to whom writing was almost inaccessible. Art, therefore, -even when emancipated from Byzantine formalism, was still essentially -hieratic, and the painter willingly assumed a semi-sacerdotal office as -the efficient coadjutor of the preacher and the confessor. With the -fifteenth century came the inrush of the antique culture, uniting with -native Italian tendencies to sweep art away into a passionate quest of -beauty wherever it might be found. The conventional religious subjects -and the traditional modes of treatment could no longer satisfy those -whose eyes had been opened to the magnificent materials for artistic -treatment that lay in the human form, draped and undraped, in landscape, -atmosphere, color, and light and shade, and who had been taught by the -individualistic trend of the age that the painter is true to his genius -only as be frees himself from formulas and follows the leadings of his -own instincts. But art could not wholly renounce its original pious -mission. The age was at least nominally Christian, sincerely so in many -of its elements, and the patronage of the arts was still to a very large -extent in the hands of the clergy. And here the Church prudently -consented to a modification of the established ideals of treatment of -sacred themes. The native Italian love of elegance of outline, harmony of -form, and splendor of color, directed by the study of the antique, -overcame the earlier austerity and effected a combination of Christian -tradition and pagan sensuousness which, in such work as that of Correggio -and the great Venetians, and even at times in the pure Raphael and the -stern Michael Angelo, quite belied the purpose of ecclesiastical art, -aiming not to fortify dogma and elevate the spirit, but to gratify the -desire of the eye and the delight in the display of technical skill. -Painting no longer conformed to a traditional religious type; it followed -its genius, and that genius was really inspired by the splendors of -earth, however much it might persuade itself that it ministered to -holiness. - -A noted example of this self-deception, although an extreme one, is the -picture entitled "The Marriage at Cana," by Paolo Veronese. Christ is the -central figure, but his presence has no vital significance. He is simply -an imposing Venetian grandee, and the enormous canvas, with its crowd of -figures elegantly attired in fashionable sixteenth-century costume, its -profusion of sumptuous dishes and gorgeous tapestries, is nothing more or -less than a representation of a Venetian state banquet. Signorelli and -Michael Angelo introduced naked young men into pictures of the Madonna -and infant Christ. Others, such as Titian, lavished all the resources of -their art with apparently equal enthusiasm upon Madonnas and nude -Venuses. The other direction which was followed by painting, aiming at -historical verity and rigid accuracy in anatomy and expression, may be -illustrated by comparing Rubens's "Crucifixion" in the Antwerp Museum -with a crucifixion, for example, by Fra Angelico. Each motive was -sincere, but the harsh realism of the Fleming shows how far art, even in -reverent treatment of religious themes, had departed from the unhistoric -symbolism formerly imposed by the Church. In all this there was no -disloyal intention; art had simply issued its declaration of -independence; its sole aim was henceforth beauty and reality; the body as -well as the soul seemed worthy of study and adoration; and the Church -adopted the new skill into its service, not seeing that the world was -destined to be the gainer, and not religion. - -The same impulse produced analogous results in the music of the Catholic -Church. The liturgic texts that were appropriated to choral setting -remained, as they had been, the place and theoretic function of the -musical offices in the ceremonial were not altered, but the music, in -imitating the characteristics of the opera and exerting a somewhat -similar effect upon the mind, became animated by an ideal of devotion -quite apart from that of the liturgy, and belied that unimpassioned, -absorbed and universalized mood of worship of which the older forms of -liturgic art are the most complete and consistent embodiment. Herein is -to be found the effect of the spirit of the Renaissance upon church -music. It is not simply that it created new musical forms, new styles of -performance, and a more definite expression; the significance of the -change lies rather in the fact that it transformed the whole spirit of -devotional music by endowing religious themes with sensuous charm, and -with a treatment inspired by the arbitrary will of the composer and not -by the traditions of the Church. - -At this point we reach the real underlying motive, however unconscious of -it individual composers may have been, which compelled the revolution in -liturgic music. A new ideal of devotional expression made inevitable the -abandonment of the formal, academic style of the Palestrina school. The -spirit of the age which required a more subjective expression in music, -involved a demand for a more definite characterization in the setting of -the sacred texts. The composer could no longer be satisfied with a humble -imitation of the forms which the Church had sealed as the proper -expression of her attitude toward the divine mysteries, but claimed the -privilege of coloring the text according to the dictates of his own -feeling as a man and his peculiar method as an artist. The mediaeval -music was that of the cloister and the chapel. It was elevated, vague, -abstract; it was as though it took up into itself all the particular and -temporary emotions that might be called forth by the sacred history and -articles of belief, and sifted and refined them into a generalized type, -special individual experience being dissolved in the more diffused sense -of awe and rapture which fills the hearts of an assembly in the attitude -of worship. It was the mood of prayer which this music uttered, and that -not the prayer of an individual agitated by his own personal hopes and -fears, but the prayer of the Church, which embraces all the needs which -the believers share in common, and offers them at the Mercy Seat with the -calmness that comes of reverent confidence. Thus in the old masses the -Kyrie eleison and the Miserere nobis are never agonizing; the Crucifixus -does not attempt to portray the grief of an imaginary spectator of the -scene on Calvary; the Gloria in excelsis and the Sanctus never force the -jubilant tone into a frenzied excitement; the setting of the Dies Irae in -the Requiem mass makes no attempt to paint a realistic picture of the -terrors of the day of judgment. - -Now compare a typical mass of the modern dramatic school and see how -different is the conception. The music of Gloria and Credo revels in all -the opportunities for change and contrast which the varied text supplies; -the Dona nobis pacem dies away in strains of tender longing. Consider the -mournful undertone that throbs through the Crucifixus of Schubert's Mass -in A flat, the terrifying crash that breaks into the Miserere nobis in -the Gloria of Beethoven's Mass in D, the tide of ecstasy that surges -through the Sanctus of Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass and the almost cloying -sweetness of the Agnus Dei, the uproar of brass instruments in the Tuba -mirum of Berlioz's Requiem. Observe the strong similarity of style at -many points between Verdi's Requiem and his opera "Aida." In such works -as these, which are fairly typical of the modern school, the composer -writes under an independent impulse, with no thought of subordinating -himself to ecclesiastical canons or liturgic usage. He attempts not only -to depict his own state of mind as affected by the ideas of the text, but -he also often aims to make his music picturesque according to dramatic -methods. He does not seem to be aware that there is a distinction between -religious concert music and church music. The classic example of this -confusion is in the Dona nobis pacem of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, where -the composer introduces a train of military music in order to suggest the -contrasted horrors of war. This device, as Beethoven employs it, is -exceedingly striking and beautiful, but it is precisely antagonistic to -the meaning of the text and the whole spirit of the liturgy. The -conception of a large amount of modern mass music seems to be, not that -the ritual to which it belongs is prayer, but rather a splendid spectacle -intended to excite the imagination and fascinate the sense. It is this -altered conception, lying at the very basis of the larger part of modern -church music, that leads such writers as Jakob to refuse even to notice -the modern school in his sketch of the history of Catholic church music, -just as Rio condemns Titian as the painter who mainly contributed to the -decay of religious painting. - -In the Middle Age artists were grouped in schools or in guilds, each -renouncing his right of initiative and shaping his productions in -accordance with the legalized formulas of his craft. The modern artist is -a separatist, his glory lies in the degree to which he rises above -hereditary technic, and throws into his work a personal quality which -becomes his own creative gift to the world. The church music of the -sixteenth century was that of a school; the composers, although not -actually members of a guild, worked on exactly the same technical -foundations, and produced masses and motets of a uniformity that often -becomes academic and monotonous. The modern composer carries into church -pieces his distinct personal style. The grandeur and violent contrasts of -Beethoven's symphonies, the elegiac tone of Schubert's songs, the -enchantments of melody and the luxuries of color in the operas of Verdi -and Gounod, are also characteristic marks of the masses of these -composers. The older music could follow the text submissively, for there -was no prescribed musical form to be worked out, and cadences could occur -whenever a sentence came to an end. The modern forms, on the other hand, -consisting of consecutive and proportional sections, imply the necessity -of contrast, development, and climax--an arrangement that is not -necessitated by any corresponding system in the text. This alone would -often result in a lack of congruence between text and music, and the -composer would easily fall into the way of paying more heed to the sheer -musical working out than to the meaning of the words. Moreover, in the -fifteenth and sixteenth centuries there was no radical conflict between -the church musical style and the secular; so far as secular music was -cultivated by the professional composers it was no more than a slight -variation from the ecclesiastical model. Profane music may be said to -have been a branch of religious music. In the modern period this -relationship is reversed; secular music in opera and instrumental forms -has remoulded church music, and the latter is in a sense a branch of the -former. - -Besides the development of the sectional form, another technical change -acted to break down the old obstacles to characteristic expression. An -essential feature of the mediaeval music, consequent upon the very nature -of the Gregorian modes, was the very slight employment of chromatic -alteration of notes, and the absence of free dissonances. Modulation in -the modern sense cannot exist in a purely diatonic scheme. The breaking -up of the modal system was foreshadowed when composers became impatient -with the placidity and colorlessness of the modal harmonies and began to -introduce unexpected dissonances for the sake of variety. The chromatic -changes that occasionally appear in the old music are scattered about in -a hap-hazard fashion; they give an impression of helplessness to the -modern ear when the composer seems about to make a modulation and at once -falls back again into the former tonality. It was a necessity, therefore, -as well as a virtue, that the church music of the old regime should -maintain the calm, equable flow that seems to us so pertinent to its -liturgic intention. For these reasons it may perhaps be replied to what -has been said concerning the devotional ideal embodied in the calm, -severe strains of the old masters, that they had no choice in the matter. -Does it follow, it may be asked, that these men would not have written in -the modern style if they had had the means? Some of them probably would -have done so, others almost certainly would not. Many writers who carried -the old form into the seventeenth century did have the choice and -resisted it; they stanchly defended the traditional principles and -condemned the new methods as destructive of pure church music. The laws -that work in the development of ecclesiastical art also seem to require -that music should pass through the same stages as those that sculpture -and painting traversed,--first, the stage of symbolism, restraint within -certain conventions in accordance with ecclesiastical prescription; -afterwards, the deliverance from the trammels of school formulas, -emancipation from all laws but those of the free determination of -individual genius. At this point authority ceases, dictation gives way to -persuasion, and art still ministers to the higher ends of the Church, not -through fear, but through reverence for the teachings and appeals which -the Church sends forth as her contribution to the nobler influences of -the age. - -The writer who would trace the history of the modern musical mass has a -task very different from that which meets the historian of the mediaeval -period. In the latter case, as has already been shown, generalization is -comparatively easy, for we deal with music in which differences of -nationality and individual style hardly appear. The modern Catholic -music, on the other hand, follows the currents that shape the course of -secular music. Where secular music becomes formalized, as in the early -Italian opera, religious music tends to sink into a similar routine. -When, on the other hand, men of commanding genius, such as Beethoven, -Berlioz, Liszt, Verdi, contribute works of a purely individual stamp to -the general development of musical art, their church compositions form no -exception, but are likewise sharply differentiated from others of the -same class. The influence of nationality makes itself felt--there is a -style characteristic of Italy, another of South Germany and Austria, -another of Paris, although these distinctions tend to disappear under the -solvent of modern cosmopolitanism. The Church does not positively dictate -any particular norm or method, and hence local tendencies have run their -course almost unchecked. - -Catholic music has shared all the fluctuations of European taste. The -levity of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries was -as apparent in the mass as in the opera. The uplift in musical culture -during the last one hundred years has carried church composition along -with it, so that almost all the works produced since Palestrina, of which -the Church has most reason to be proud, belong to the nineteenth century. -One of the ultimate results of the modern license in style and the -tendency toward individual expression is the custom of writing masses as -free compositions rather than for liturgic uses, and of performing them -in public halls or theatres in the same manner as oratorios. Mozart wrote -his Requiem to the order of a private patron. Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, -not being ready when wanted for a consecration ceremony, outgrew the -dimensions of a service mass altogether, and was finished without any -liturgic purpose in view. Cherubini's mass in D minor and Liszt's Gran -Mass were each composed for a single occasion, and both of them, like the -Requiems of Berlioz and Dvorak, although often heard in concerts, have -but very rarely been performed in church worship. Masses have even been -written by Protestants, such as Bach, Schumann, Hauptmann, Richter, and -Becker. Masses that are written under the same impulse as ordinary -concert and dramatic works easily violate the ecclesiastical spirit, and -pass into the category of religious works that are non-churchly, and it -may often seem necessary to class them with cantatas on account of their -semi-dramatic tone. In such productions as Bach's B minor Mass, -Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Berlioz's Requiem we have works that -constitute a separate phase of art, not masses in the proper sense, for -they do not properly blend with the church ceremonial nor contribute to -the special devotional mood which the Church aims to promote, while yet -in their general conception they are held by a loose band to the altar. -So apart do these mighty creations stand that they may almost be said to -glorify religion in the abstract rather than the confession of the -Catholic Church. - -The changed conditions in respect to patronage have had the same effect -upon the mass as upon other departments of musical composition. In former -periods down to the close of the eighteenth century, the professional -composer was almost invariably a salaried officer, attached as a personal -retainer to a court, lay or clerical, and bound to conform his style of -composition in a greater or less degree to the tastes of his employer. A -Sixtus V. could reprove Palestrina for failing to please with a certain -mass and admonish him to do better work in the future. Haydn could hardly -venture to introduce any innovation into the style of religious music -sanctioned by his august masters, the Esterhazys. Mozart wrote all his -masses, with the exception of the Requiem, for the chapel of the prince -archbishop of Salzburg. In this establishment the length of the mass was -prescribed, the mode of writing and performance, which had become -traditional, hindered freedom of development, and therefore Mozart's -works of this class everywhere give evidence of constraint. On the other -hand, the leading composers of the present century that have occupied -themselves with the mass have been free from such arbitrary compulsions. -They have written masses, not as a part of routine duty, but as they were -inspired by the holy words and by the desire to offer the free gift of -their genius at the altar of the Church. They have been, as a rule, -devoted churchmen, but they have felt that they had the sympathy of the -Church in asserting the rights of the artist as against prelatical -conservatism and local usage. The outcome is seen in a group of works -which, whatever the strict censors may deem their defects in edifying -quality, at least indicate that in the field of musical art there is no -necessary conflict between Catholicism and the free spirit of the age. - -Under these conditions the mass in the modern musical era has taken a -variety of directions and assumed distinct national and individual -complexions. The Neapolitan school, which gave the law to Italian opera -in the eighteenth century, endowed the mass with the same soft -sensuousness of melody and sentimental pathos of expression, together -with a dry, calculated kind of harmony in the chorus portions, the work -never touching deep chords of feeling, and yet preserving a tone of -sobriety and dignity. As cultivated in Italy and France the mass -afterward degenerated into rivalry on equal terms with the shallow, -captivating, cloying melody of the later Neapolitans and their -successors, Rossini and Bellini. In this school of so-called religious -music all sense of appropriateness was often lost, and a florid, profane -treatment was not only permitted but encouraged. Perversions which can -hardly be called less than blasphemous had free rein in the ritual music. -Franz Liszt, in a letter to a Paris journal, written in 1835, bitterly -attacks the music that flaunted itself in the Catholic churches of the -city. He complains of the sacrilegious virtuoso displays of the prima -donna, the wretched choruses, the vulgar antics of the organist playing -galops and variations from comic operas in the most solemn moments of the -holy ceremony. Similar testimony has from time to time come from Italy, -and it would appear that the most lamentable lapses from the pure church -tradition have occurred in some of the very places where one would expect -that the strictest principles would be loyally maintained. The most -celebrated surviving example of the consequences to which the virtuoso -tendencies in church music must inevitably lead when unchecked by a truly -pious criticism is Rossini's Stabat Mater. This frivolous work is -frequently performed with great _eclat_ in Catholic places of worship, as -though the clergy were indifferent to the almost incredible levity which -could clothe the heart-breaking pathos of Jacopone's immortal hymn--a -hymn properly honored by the Church with a place among the five great -Sequences--with strains better suited to the sprightly abandon of opera -buffa. - -Another branch of the mass was sent by the Neapolitan school into -Austria, and here the results, although unsatisfactory to the better -taste of the present time, were far nobler and more fruitful than in -Italy and France. The group of Austrian church composers, represented by -the two Haydns, Mozart, Eybler, Neukomm, Sechter and others of the -period, created a form of church music which partook of much of the dry, -formal, pedantic spirit of the day, in which regularity of form, -scientific correctness, and a conscious propriety of manner were often -more considered than emotional fervor. Certain conventions, such as a -florid contrapuntal treatment of the Kyrie with its slow introduction -followed by an Allegro, the fugues at the Cum Sanctu Spiritu and the Et -Vitam, the regular alternation of solo and chorus numbers, give the -typical Austrian mass a somewhat rigid, perfunctory air, and in practice -produce the effect which always results when expression becomes -stereotyped and form is exalted over substance. Mozart's masses, with the -exception of the beautiful Requiem (which was his last work and belongs -in a different category), were the production of his boyhood, written -before his genius became self-assertive and under conditions distinctly -unfavorable to the free exercise of the imagination. - -The masses of Joseph Haydn stand somewhat apart from the strict Austrian -school, for although as a rule they conform externally to the local -conventions, they are far more individual and possess a freedom and -buoyancy that are decidedly personal. It has become the fashion among the -sterner critics of church music to condemn Haydn's masses without -qualification, as conspicuous examples of the degradation of taste in -religious art which is one of the depressing legacies of the eighteenth -century. Much of this censure is deserved, for Haydn too often loses -sight of the law which demands that music should reinforce, and not -contradict, the meaning and purpose of the text. Haydn's mass style is -often indistinguishable from his oratorio style. His colorature arias are -flippant, often introduced at such solemn moments as to be offensive. -Even where the voice part is subdued to an appropriate solemnity, the -desired impression is frequently destroyed by some tawdry flourish in the -orchestra. The brilliancy of the choruses is often pompous and hollow. -Haydn's genius was primarily instrumental; he was the virtual creator of -the modern symphony and string quartet; his musical forms and modes of -expression were drawn from two diverse sources which it was his great -mission to conciliate and idealize, _viz._, the Italian aristocratic -opera, and the dance and song of the common people. An extraordinary -sense of form and an instinctive sympathy with whatever is spontaneous, -genial, and racy made him what he was. The joviality of his nature was -irrepressible. To write music of a sombre cast was out of his power. -There is not a melancholy strain in all his works; pensiveness was as -deep a note as he could strike. He tried to defend the gay tone of his -church music by saying that he had such a sense of the goodness of God -that he could not be otherwise than joyful in thinking of him. This -explanation was perfectly sincere, but Haydn was not enough of a -philosopher to see the weak spot in this sort of aesthetics. Yet in spite -of the obvious faults of Haydn's mass style, looking at it from a -historic point of view, it was a promise of advance, and not a sign of -degeneracy. For it marked the introduction of genuine, even if -misdirected feeling into worship music, in the place of dull conformity -to routine. Haydn was far indeed from solving the problem of church -music, but he helped to give new life to a form that showed danger of -becoming atrophied. - -Two masses of world importance rise above the mediocrity of the Austrian -school, like the towers of some Gothic cathedral above the monotonous -tiled roofs of a mediaeval city,--the Requiem of Mozart and the Missa -Solemnis of Beethoven. The unfinished masterpiece of Mozart outsoars all -comparison with the religious works of his youth, and as his farewell to -the world he could impart to it a tone of pathos and exaltation which had -hardly been known in the cold, objective treatment of the usual -eighteenth-century mass. The hand of death was upon Mozart as he penned -the immortal pages of the Requiem, and in this crisis he could feel that -he was free from the dictation of fashion and precedent. This work is -perhaps not all that we might look for in these solemn circumstances. -Mozart's exquisite genius was suited rather to the task, in which lies -his true glory, of raising the old Italian opera to its highest -possibilities of grace and truth to nature. He had not that depth of -feeling and sweep of imagination which make the works of Bach, Haendel, -and Beethoven the sublimest expression of awe in view of the mysteries of -life and death. Yet it is wholly free from the fripperies which disfigure -the masses of Haydn, as well as from the dry scholasticism of much of -Mozart's own early religious work. Such movements as the Confutatis, the -Recordare, and the Lacrimosa--movements inexpressibly earnest, consoling, -and pathetic--gave evidence that a new and loftier spirit had entered the -music of the Church. - -The Missa Solemnis of Beethoven, composed 1818-1822, can hardly be -considered from the liturgic point of view. In the vastness of its -dimensions it is quite disproportioned to the ceremony to which it -theoretically belongs, and its almost unparalleled difficulty of -execution and the grandeur of its choral climaxes remove it beyond the -reach of all but the most exceptional choirs. It is, therefore, performed -only as a concert work by choral societies with a full orchestral -equipment. For these reasons it is not to be classed with the service -masses of the Catholic Church, but may be placed beside the B minor Mass -of Sebastian Bach, both holding a position outside all ordinary -comparisons. Each of these colossal creations stands on its own solitary -eminence, the projection in tones of the religious conceptions of two -gigantic, all-comprehending intellects. For neither of these two works is -the Catholic Church strictly responsible. They do not proceed from within -the Church. Bach was a strict Protestant; Beethoven, although nominally a -disciple of the Catholic Church, had almost no share in her communion, -and his religious belief, so far as the testimony goes, was a sort of -pantheistic mysticism. Both these supreme artists in the later periods of -their careers gave free rein to their imaginations and not only well-nigh -exceeded all available means of performance, but also seemed to strive to -force musical forms and the powers of instruments and voices beyond their -limits in the efforts to realize that which is unrealizable through any -human medium. In this endeavor they went to the very verge of the -sublime, and produced achievements which excite wonder and awe. These two -masses defy all imitation, and represent no school. The spirit of -individualism in religious music can go no further. - -The last masses of international importance produced on Austrian soil are -those of Franz Schubert. Of his six Latin masses four are youthful works, -pure and graceful, but not especially significant. In his E flat and A -flat masses, however, he takes a place in the upper rank of mass -composers of this century. The E flat Mass is weakened by the diffuseness -which was Schubert's besetting sin; the A flat is more terse and -sustained in excellence, and thoroughly available for practical use. Both -of them contain movements of purest ideal beauty and sincere worshipful -spirit, and often rise to a grandeur that is unmarred by sensationalism -and wholly in keeping with the tone of awe which pervades even the most -exultant moments of the liturgy. - -The lofty idealism exemplified in such works as Mozart's Requiem, -Beethoven's Mass in D, Schubert's last two masses, and in a less degree -in Weber's Mass in E flat has never since been lost from the German mass, -in spite of local and temporary reactions. Such composers as Kiel, -Havert, Grell, and Rheinberger have done noble service in holding German -Catholic music fast to the tradition of seriousness and truth which has -been taking form all through this century in German secular music. It -must be said, however, that the German Catholic Church at large, -especially in the country districts, has been too often dull to the -righteous claims of the profounder expression of devotional feeling, and -has maintained the vogue of the Italian mass and the shallower products -of the Austrian school. Against this indifference the St. Cecilia Society -has directed its noble missionary labors, with as yet but partial -success. - -If we turn our observation to Italy and France we find that the music of -the Church is at every period sympathetically responsive to the -fluctuations in secular music. Elevated and dignified, if somewhat cold -and constrained, in the writings of the nobler spirits of the Neapolitan -school such as Durante and Jomelli, sweet and graceful even to effeminacy -in Pergolesi, sensuous and saccharine in Rossini, imposing and massive, -rising at times to epic grandeur, in Cherubini, by turns ecstatic and -voluptuous in Gounod, ardent and impassioned in Verdi--the ecclesiastical -music of the Latin nations offers works of adorable beauty, sometimes -true to the pure devotional ideal, sometimes perverse, and by their -isolation serving to illustrate the dependence of the church composer's -inspiration upon the general conditions of musical taste and progress. -Not only were those musicians of France and Italy who were prominent as -church composers also among the leaders in opera, but their ideals and -methods in opera were closely paralleled by those displayed in their -religious productions. It is impossible to separate the powerful masses -of Cherubini, with their pomp and majesty of movement, their reserved and -pathetic melody, their grandiose dimensions and their sumptuous -orchestration, from those contemporary tendencies in dramatic art which -issued in the "historic school" of grand opera as exemplified in the -pretentious works of Spontini and Meyerbeer. They may be said to be the -reflection in church art of the hollow splendor of French imperialism. -Such an expression, however, may be accused of failing in justice to the -undeniable merits of Cherubini's masses. As a man and as a musician -Cherubini commands unbounded respect for his unswerving sincerity in an -age of sham, his uncompromising assertion of his dignity as an artist in -an age of sycophancy, and the solid worth of his achievement in the midst -of shallow aims and mediocre results. As a church composer he towers so -high above his predecessors of the eighteenth century in respect to -learning and imagination that his masses are not unworthy to stand beside -Beethoven's Missa Solemnis as auguries of the loftier aims that were soon -to prevail in the realm of religious music. His Requiem in C minor, -particularly, by reason of its exquisite tenderness, breadth of thought, -nobility of expression, and avoidance of all excess either of agitation -or of gloom, must be ranked among the most admirable modern examples of -pure Catholic art. - -The effort of Lesueur (1763-1837) to introduce into church music a -picturesque and imitative style--which, in spite of much that was -striking and attractive in result, must be pronounced a false direction -in church music--was characteristically French and was continued in such -works as Berlioz's Requiem and to a certain extent in the masses and -psalms of Liszt. The genius of Liszt, notwithstanding his Hungarian -birth, was closely akin to the French in his tendency to connect every -musical impulse with a picture or with some mental conception which could -be grasped in distinct concrete outline. In his youth Liszt, in his -despair over the degeneracy of liturgic music in France and its complete -separation from the real life of the people, proclaimed the necessity of -a _rapprochement_ between church music and popular music. In an article -written for a Paris journal in 1834, which remains a fragment, he -imagined a new style of religious music which should "unite in colossal -relations theatre and church, which should be at the same time dramatic -and solemn, imposing and simple, festive and earnest, fiery and -unconstrained, stormy and reposeful, clear and fervent." These -expressions are too vague to serve as a program for a new art movement. -They imply, however, a protest against the one-sided operatic tendency of -the day, at the same time indicating the conviction that the problem is -not to be solved in a pedantic reaction toward the ancient austere ideal, -and yet that the old and new endeavors, liturgic appropriateness and -characteristic expression, reverence of mood and recognition of the -claims of contemporary taste, should in some way be made to harmonize. -The man who all his life conceived the theatre as a means of popular -education, and who strove to realize that conception as court music -director at Weimar, would also lament any alienation between the church -ceremony and the intellectual and emotional habitudes and inclinations of -the people. A devoted churchman reverencing the ancient ecclesiastical -tradition, and at the same time a musical artist of the advanced modern -type, Liszt's instincts yearned more or less blindly towards an alliance -between the sacerdotal conception of religious art and the general -artistic spirit of the age. Some such vision evidently floated before his -mind in the masses, psalms, and oratorios of his later years, as shown in -their frequent striving after the picturesque, together with an -inclination toward the older ecclesiastical forms. These two ideals are -probably incompatible; at any rate Liszt did not possess the genius to -unite them in a convincing manner. - -Among the later ecclesiastical composers of France, Gounod shines out -conspicuously by virtue of those fascinating melodic gifts which have -made the fame of the St. Cecilia mass almost conterminous with that of -the opera "Faust." Indeed, there is hardly a better example of the modern -propensity of the dramatic and religious styles to reflect each other's -lineaments than is found in the close parallelism which appears in -Gounod's secular and church productions. So liable, or perhaps we might -say, so neutral is his art, that a similar quality of melting cadence is -made to portray the mutual avowals of love-lorn souls and the raptures of -heavenly aspiration. Those who condemn Gounod's religious music on this -account as sensuous have some reason on their side, yet no one has ever -ventured to accuse Gounod of insincerity, and it may well be that his -wide human sympathy saw enough correspondence between the worship of an -earthly ideal and that of a heavenly--each implying the abandonment of -self-consciousness in the yearning for a happiness which is at the moment -the highest conceivable--as to make the musical expression of both -essentially similar. This is to say that the composer forgets liturgic -claims in behalf of the purely human. This principle no doubt involves -the destruction of church music as a distinctive form of art, but it is -certain that the world at large, as evinced by the immense popularity of -Gounod's religious works, sees no incongruity and does not feel that such -usage is profane. Criticism on the part of all but the most austere is -disarmed by the pure, seraphic beauty which this complacent art of Gounod -often reveals. The intoxicating sweetness of his melody and harmony never -sinks to a Rossinian flippancy. Of Gounod's reverence for the Church and -for its art ideals, there can be no question. A man's views of the proper -tone of church music will be controlled largely by his temperament, and -Gounod's temperament was as warm as an Oriental's. He offered to the -Church his best, and as the Magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to -a babe born among cattle in a stable, so Gounod, with a consecration -equally sincere, clothed his prayers in strains so ecstatic that compared -with them the most impassioned accents of "Faust" and "Romeo and Juliet" -are tame. He was a profound student of Palestrina, Mozart, and Cherubini, -and strong traces of the styles of these masters are apparent in his -works. - -Somewhat similar qualities, although far less sensational, are found in -the productions of that admirable band of organists and church composers -that now lends such lustre to the art life of the French capital. The -culture of such representatives of this school as Guilmant, Widor, -Saint-Saens, Dubois, Gigout is so solidly based, and their views of -religious music so judicious, that the methods and traditions which they -are conscientiously engaged in establishing need only the reinforcement -of still higher genius to bring forth works which will confer even -greater honor upon Catholicism than she has yet received from the -devotion of her musical sons in France. No purer or nobler type of -religious music has appeared in these latter days than is to be found in -the compositions of Cesar Franck (1822-1890). For the greater part of his -life overlooked or disdained by all save a devoted band of disciples, in -spirit and in learning he was allied to the Palestrinas and the Bachs, -and there are many who place him in respect to genius among the foremost -of the French musicians of the nineteenth century. - -The religious works of Verdi might be characterized in much the same -terms as those of Gounod. In Verdi also we have a truly filial devotion -to the Catholic Church, united with a temperament easily excited to a -white heat when submitted to his musical inspiration, and a genius for -melody and seductive harmonic combinations in which he is hardly equalled -among modern composers. In his Manzoni Requiem, Stabat Mater, and Te Deum -these qualities are no less in evidence than in "Aida" and "Otello," and -it would be idle to deny their devotional sincerity on account of their -lavish profusion of nerve-exciting effects. The controversy between the -contemners and the defenders of the Manzoni Requiem is now somewhat stale -and need not be revived here. Any who may wish to resuscitate it, -however, on account of the perennial importance of the question of what -constitutes purity and appropriateness in church art, must in justice put -themselves into imaginative sympathy with the racial religious feeling of -an Italian, and make allowance also for the undeniable suggestion of the -dramatic in the Catholic ritual, and for the natural effect of the -Catholic ceremonial and its peculiar atmosphere upon the more ardent, -enthusiastic order of minds. - -The most imposing contributions that have been made to Catholic liturgic -music since Verdi's Requiem are undoubtedly the Requiem Mass and the -Stabat Mater of Dvorak. All the wealth of tone color which is contained -upon the palette of this master of harmony and instrumentation has been -laid upon these two magnificent scores. Inferior to Verdi in variety and -gorgeousness of melody, the Bohemian composer surpasses the great Italian -in massiveness, dignity, and in unfailing good taste. There can be no -question that Dvorak's Stabat Mater is supreme over all other -settings--the only one, except Verdi's much shorter work, that is worthy -of the pathos and tenderness of this immortal Sequence. The Requiem of -Dvorak in spite of a tendency to monotony, is a work of exceeding beauty, -rising often to grandeur, and is notable, apart from its sheer musical -qualities, as the most precious gift to Catholic art that has come from -the often rebellious land of Bohemia. - -It would be profitless to attempt to predict the future of Catholic -church music. In the hasty survey which we have made of the Catholic mass -in the past three centuries we have been able to discover no law of -development except the almost unanimous agreement of the chief composers -to reject law and employ the sacred text of Scripture and liturgy as the -basis of works in which not the common consciousness of the Church shall -be expressed, but the emotions aroused by the action of sacred ideas upon -different temperaments and divergent artistic methods. There is no sign -that this principle of individual liberty will be renounced. -Nevertheless, the increasing deference that is paid to authority, the -growing study of the works and ideals of the past which is so apparent in -the culture of the present day, will here and there issue in partial -reactions. The mind of the present, having seen the successful working -out of certain modern problems and the barrenness of others, is turning -eclectic. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of musical -culture, both religious and secular. We see that in many influential -circles the question becomes more and more insistent, what is truth and -appropriateness?--whereas formerly the demand was for novelty and -"effect." Under this better inspiration many beautiful works are produced -which are marked by dignity, moderation, and an almost austere reserve, -drawing a sharp distinction between the proper ecclesiastical tone and -that suited to concert and dramatic music, restoring once more the idea -of impersonality, expressing in song the conception of the fathers that -the Church is a refuge, a retreat from the tempests of the world, a place -of penitence and restoration to confidence in the near presence of -heaven. - -Such masses as the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven, the D minor of Cherubini, -the Messe Solennelle of Rossini, the St. Cecilia of Gounod, the Requiems -of Berlioz and Verdi, sublime and unspeakably beautiful as they are from -the broadly human standpoint, are yet in a certain sense sceptical. They -reveal a mood of agitation which is not that intended by the -ministrations of the Church in her organized acts of worship. And yet -such works will continue to be produced, and the Church will accept them, -in grateful recognition of the sincere homage which their creation -implies. It is of the nature of the highest artistic genius that it -cannot restrain its own fierce impulses out of conformity to a type or -external tradition. It will express its own individual emotion or it will -become paralyzed and mute. The religious compositions that will humbly -yield to a strict liturgic standard in form and expression will be those -of writers of the third or fourth grade, just as the church hymns have -been, with few exceptions, the production, not of the great poets, but of -men of lesser artistic endowment, and who were primarily churchmen, and -poets only by second intention. This will doubtless be the law for all -time. The Michael Angelos, the Dantes, the Beethovens will forever break -over rules, even though they be the rules of a beloved mother Church. - -The time is past, however, when we may fear any degeneracy like to that -which overtook church music one hundred or more years ago. The principles -of such consecrated church musicians as Witt, Tinel, and the leaders of -the St. Cecilia Society and the Paris Schola Cantorum, the influence of -the will of the Church implied in all her admonitions on the subject of -liturgic song, the growing interest in the study of the masters of the -past, and, more than all, the growth of sound views of art as a detail of -the higher and the popular education, must inevitably promote an -increasing conviction among clergy, choir leaders, and people of the -importance of purity and appropriateness in the music of the Church. The -need of reform in many of the Catholic churches of this and other -countries is known to every one. Doubtless one cause of the frequent -indifference, of priests to the condition of the choir music in their -churches is the knowledge that the chorus and organ are after all but -accessories; that the Church possesses in the Gregorian chant a form of -song that is the legal, universal, and unchangeable foundation of the -musical ceremony, and that any corruption in the gallery music can never -by any possibility extend to the heart of the system. The Church is -indeed fortunate in the possession of this altar song, the unifying chain -which can never be loosened. All the more reason, therefore, why this -consciousness of unity should pervade all portions of the ceremony, and -the spirit of the liturgic chant should blend even with the large freedom -of modern musical experiment. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - THE RISE OF THE LUTHERAN HYMNODY - - -The music of the Protestant Church of Germany, while adopting many -features from its great antagonist, presents certain points of contrast -which are of the highest importance not only in the subsequent history of -ecclesiastical song, but also as significant of certain national traits -which were conspicuous among the causes of the schism of the sixteenth -century. The musical system of the Catholic Church proceeded from the -Gregorian chant, which is strictly a detail of the sacerdotal office. The -Lutheran music, on the contrary, is primarily based on the congregational -hymn. The one is clerical, the other laic; the one official, prescribed, -liturgic, unalterable, the other free, spontaneous, and democratic. In -these two forms and ideals we find reflected the same conceptions which -especially characterize the doctrine, worship, and government of these -oppugnant confessions. - -The Catholic Church, as we have seen, was consistent in withdrawing the -office of song from the laity and assigning it to a separate company who -were at first taken from the minor clergy, and who even in later periods -were conceived as exercising a semi-clerical function. Congregational -singing, although not officially and without exception discountenanced by -the Catholic Church, has never been encouraged, and song, like prayer, is -looked upon as essentially a liturgic office. - -In the Protestant Church the barrier of an intermediary priesthood -between the believer and his God is broken down. The entire membership of -the Christian body is recognized as a universal priesthood, with access -to the Father through one mediator, Jesus Christ. This conception -restores the offices of worship to the body of believers, and they in -turn delegate their administration to certain officials, who, together -with certain independent privileges attached to the office, share with -the laity in the determination of matters of faith and polity. - -It was a perfectly natural result of this principle that congregational -song should hold a place in the Protestant cultus which the Catholic -Church has never sanctioned. The one has promoted and tenaciously -maintained it; the other as consistently repressed it,--not on aesthetic -grounds, nor primarily on grounds of devotional effect, but really -through a more or less distinct perception of its significance in respect -to the theoretical relationship of the individual to the Church. The -struggles over popular song in public worship which appear throughout the -early history of Protestantism are thus to be explained. The emancipated -layman found in the general hymn a symbol as well as an agent of the -assertion of his new rights and privileges in the Gospel. The people's -song of early Protestantism has therefore a militant ring. It marks its -epoch no less significantly than Luther's ninety-five theses and the -Augsburg Confession. It was a sort of spiritual _Triumphlied_, -proclaiming to the universe that the day of spiritual emancipation had -dawned. - -The second radical distinction between the music of the Protestant Church -and that of the Catholic is that the vernacular language takes the place -of the Latin. The natural desire of a people is that they may worship in -their native idiom; and since the secession from the ancient Church -inevitably resulted in the formation of national or independent churches, -the necessities which maintained in the Catholic Church a common liturgic -language no longer obtained, and the people fell back upon their national -speech. - -Among the historic groups of hymns that have appeared since Clement of -Alexandria and Ephraem the Syrian set in motion the tide of Christian -song, the Lutheran hymnody has the greatest interest to the student of -church history. In sheer literary excellence it is undoubtedly surpassed -by the Latin hymns of the mediaeval Church and the English-American -group; in musical merit it no more than equals these; but in historic -importance the Lutheran song takes the foremost place. The Latin and the -English hymns belong only to the history of poetry and of inward -spiritual experience; the Lutheran have a place in the annals of politics -and doctrinal strifes as well. German Protestant hymnody dates from -Martin Luther; his lyrics were the models of the hymns of the reformed -Church in Germany for a century or more. The principle that lay at the -basis of his movement gave them their characteristic tone; they were -among the most efficient agencies in carrying this principle to the mind -of the common people, and they also contributed powerfully to the -enthusiasm which enabled the new faith to maintain itself in the -conflicts by which it was tested. The melodies to which the hymns of -Luther and his followers were set became the foundation of a musical -style which is the one school worthy to be placed beside the Italian -Catholic music of the sixteenth century. This hymnody and its music -afforded the first adequate outlet for the poetic and musical genius of -the German people, and established the pregnant democratic traditions of -German art as against the aristocratic traditions of Italy and France. As -we cannot overestimate the spiritual and intellectual force which entered -the European arena with Luther and his disciples, so we must also -recognize the analogous elements which asserted themselves at the same -moment and under the same inspiration in the field of art expression, and -gave to this movement a language which helps us in a peculiar way to -understand its real import. - -The first questions which present themselves in tracing the historic -connections of the early Lutheran hymnody are: What was its origin? Had -it models, and if so, what and where were they? In giving a store of -congregational songs to the German people was Luther original, or only an -imitator? In this department of his work does he deserve the honor which -Protestants have awarded him? - -Protestant writers have, as a rule, bestowed unstinted praise upon Luther -as the man who first gave the people a voice with which to utter their -religious emotions in song. Most of these writers are undoubtedly aware -that a national poesy is never the creation of a single man, and that a -brilliant epoch of national literature or art must always be preceded by -a period of experiment and fermentation; yet they are disposed to make -little account of the existence of a popular religious song in Germany -before the Reformation, and represent Luther almost as performing the -miracle of making the dumb to speak. Even those who recognize the fact of -a preexisting school of hymnody usually seek to give the impression that -pure evangelical religion was almost, if not quite, unknown in the -popular religious poetry of the centuries before the Reformation, and -that the Lutheran hymnody was composed of altogether novel elements. They -also ascribe to Luther creative work in music as well as in poetry. -Catholic writers, on the other hand, will allow Luther no originality -whatever; they find, or pretend to find, every essential feature of his -work in the Catholic hymns and tunes of the previous centuries, or in -those of the Bohemian sectaries. They admit the great influence of -Luther's hymns in disseminating the new doctrines, but give him credit -only for cleverness in dressing up his borrowed ideas and forms in a -taking popular guise. As is usually the case in controversy, the truth -lies between the two extremes. Luther's originality has been overrated by -Protestants, and the true nature of the germinal force which he imparted -to German congregational song has been misconceived by Catholics. It was -not new forms, but a new spirit, which Luther gave to his Church. He did -not break with the past, but found in the past a new standing-ground. He -sought truth in the Scriptures, in the writings of the fathers and the -mediaeval theologians; he rejected what he deemed false or barren in the -mother Church, adopted and developed what was true and fruitful, and -moulded it into forms whose style was already familiar to the people. In -poetry, music, and the several details of church worship Luther recast -the old models, and gave them to his followers with contents purified and -adapted to those needs which he himself had made them to realize. He -understood the character of his people; he knew where to find the -nourishment suited to their wants; he knew how to turn their enthusiasms -into practical and progressive directions. This was Luther's achievement -in the sphere of church art, and if, in recognizing the precise nature of -his work, we seem to question his reputation for creative genius, we do -him better justice by honoring his practical wisdom. - -The singing of religious songs by the common people in their own language -in connection with public worship did not begin in Germany with the -Reformation. The German popular song is of ancient date, and the -religious lyric always had a prominent place in it. The Teutonic tribes -before their conversion to Christianity had a large store of hymns to -their deities, and afterward their musical fervor turned itself no less -ardently to the service of their new allegiance. Wackernagel, in the -second volume of his monumental collection of German hymns from the -earliest time to the beginning of the seventeenth century, includes -fourteen hundred and forty-eight religious lyrics in the German tongue -composed between the year 868 and 1518.[68] This collection, he says, is -as complete as possible, but we must suppose that a very large number -written before the invention of printing have been lost. About half the -hymns in this volume are of unknown authorship. Among the writers whose -names are given we find such notable poets as Walther von der Vogelweide, -Gottfried von Strassburg, Hartmann von Aue, Frauenlob, Reinmar der -Zweter, Kunrad der Marner, Heinrich von Loufenberg, Michel Behem, and -Hans Sachs, besides famous churchmen like Eckart and Tauler, who are not -otherwise known as poets. A great number of these poems are hymns only in -a qualified sense, having been written, not for public use, but for -private satisfaction; but many others are true hymns, and have often -resounded from the mouths of the people in social religious functions. - -Down to the tenth century the only practice among the Germans that could -be called a popular church song was the ejaculation of the words _Kyrie -eleison, Christe eleison_. These phrases, which are among the most -ancient in the Mass and the litanies, and which came originally from the -Eastern Church, were sung or shouted by the German Christians on all -possible occasions. In processions, on pilgrimages, at burials, greeting -of distinguished visitors, consecration of a church or prelate, in many -subordinate liturgic offices, invocations of supernatural aid in times of -distress, on the march, going into battle,--in almost every social action -in which religious sanctions were involved the people were in duty bound -to utter this phrase, often several hundred times in succession. The -words were often abbreviated into _Kyrieles, Kyrie eleis, Kyrielle, -Kerleis_, and _Kles_, and sometimes became mere inarticulate cries. - -When the phrase was formally sung, the Gregorian tones proper to it in -the church service were employed. Some of these were florid successions -of notes, many to a syllable, as in the Alleluia from which the Sequences -sprung,--a free, impassioned form of emotional utterance which had -extensive use in the service of the earlier Church, both East and West, -and which is still employed, sometimes to extravagant length, in the -Orient. The custom at last arose of setting words to these exuberant -strains. This usage took two forms, giving rise in the ritual service to -the "farced Kyries" or Tropes, and in the freer song of the people -producing a more regular kind of hymn, in which the _Kyrie eleison_ -became at last a mere refrain at the end of each stanza. These songs came -to be called _Kirleisen_, or _Leisen_, and sometimes _Leiche_, and they -exhibit the German congregational hymn in its first estate. - -Religious songs multiplied in the centuries following the tenth almost by -geometrical progression. The tide reached a high mark in the twelfth and -thirteenth centuries under that extraordinary intellectual awakening -which distinguished the epoch of the Crusades, the Stauffen emperors, the -Minnesingers, and the court epic poets. Under the stimulus of the ideals -of chivalric honor and knightly devotion to woman, the adoration of the -Virgin Mother, long cherished in the bosom of the Church, burst forth in -a multitude of ecstatic lyrics in her praise. Poetic and musical -inspiration was communicated by the courtly poets to the clergy and -common people, and the love of singing at religious observances grew -apace. Certain heretics, who made much stir in this period, also wrote -hymns and put them into the mouths of the populace, thus following the -early example of the Arians and the disciples of Bardasanes. To resist -this perversion of the divine art, orthodox songs were composed, and, as -in the Reformation days, schismatics and Romanists vied with each other -in wielding this powerful proselyting agent. - -Mystics of the fourteenth century--Eckart, Tauler, and others--wrote -hymns of a new tone, an inward spiritual quality, less objective, more -individual, voicing a yearning for an immediate union of the soul with -God, and the joy of personal love to the Redeemer. Poetry of this nature -especially appealed to the religious sisters, and from many a convent -came echoes of these chastened raptures, in which are heard accents of -longing for the comforting presence of the Heavenly Bridegroom. - -Those half-insane fanatics, the Flagellants, and other enthusiasts of the -thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, also contributed to the store of -pre-Reformation hymnody. Hoffmann von Fallersleben has given a vivid -account of the barbaric doings of these bands of self-tormentors, and it -is evident that their singing was not the least uncanny feature of their -performances.[69] - -In the fourteenth century appeared the device which played so large a -part in the production of the Reformation hymns--that of adapting secular -tunes to religious poems, and also making religious paraphrases of -secular ditties. Praises of love, of out-door sport, even of wine, by a -few simple alterations were made to express devotional sentiments. A good -illustration of this practice is the recasting of the favorite folk-song, -"Den liepsten Bulen den ich han," into "Den liepsten Herren den ich han." -Much more common, however, was the transfer of melodies from profane -poems to religious, a method which afterward became an important reliance -for supplying the reformed congregations with hymn-tunes. - -Mixed songs, part Latin and part German, were at one time much in vogue. -A celebrated example is the - - - "In dulce jubilo - Nu singet und seyt fro" - - -of the fourteenth century, which has often been heard in the reformed -churches down to a recent period. - -In the fifteenth century the popular religious song flourished with an -affluence hardly surpassed even in the first two centuries of -Protestantism. Still under the control of the Catholic doctrine and -discipline, it nevertheless betokens a certain restlessness of mind; the -native individualism of the German spirit is preparing to assert itself. -The fifteenth was a century of stir and inquiry, full of premonitions of -the upheaval soon to follow. The Revival of Learning began to shake -Germany, as well as Southern and Western Europe, out of its superstition -and intellectual subjection. The religious and political movements in -Bohemia and Moravia, set in motion by the preaching and martyrdom of Hus, -produced strong effect in Germany. Hus struck at some of the same abuses -that aroused the wrath of Luther, notably the traffic in indulgences. The -demand for the use of the vernacular in church worship was even more -fundamental than the similar desire in Germany, and preceded rather than -followed the movement toward reform. Hus was also a prototype of Luther -in that he was virtually the founder of the Bohemian hymnody. He wrote -hymns both in Latin and in Czech, and earnestly encouraged the use of -vernacular songs by the people. The Utraquists published a song-book in -the Czech language in 1501, and the Unitas Fratrum one, containing four -hundred hymns, in 1505. These two antedated the first Lutheran hymn-book -by about twenty years. The Bohemian reformers, like Luther after them, -based their poetry upon the psalms, the ancient Latin hymns, and the old -vernacular religious songs; they improved existing texts, and set new -hymns in place of those that contained objectionable doctrinal features. -Their tunes also were derived, like those of the German reformers, from -older religious and secular melodies. - -These achievements of the Bohemians, answering popular needs that exist -at all times, could not remain without influence upon the Germans. -Encouragement to religious expression in the vernacular was also exerted -by certain religious communities known as Brethren of the Common Life, -which originated in Holland in the latter part of the fourteenth century, -and extended into North and Middle Germany in the fifteenth. Thomas a -Kempis was a member of this order. The purpose of these Brethren was to -inculcate a purer religious life among the people, especially the young; -and they made it a ground principle that the national language should be -used so far as possible in prayer and song. Particularly effective in the -culture of sacred poetry and music among the artisan class were the -schools of the Mastersingers, which flourished all over Germany in the -fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. - -Standing upon the threshold of the Reformation, and looking back over the -period that elapsed since the pagan myths and heroic lays of the North -began to yield to the metrical gospel narrative of the "Heliand" and the -poems of Otfried, we can trace the same union of pious desire and poetic -instinct which, in a more enlightened age, produced the one hundred -thousand evangelical hymns of Germany. The pre-Reformation hymns are of -the highest importance as casting light upon the condition of religious -belief among the German laity. We find in them a great variety of -elements,--much that is pure, noble, and strictly evangelical, mixed with -crudity, superstition, and crass realism. In the nature of the case they -do not, on the whole, rise to the poetic and spiritual level of the -contemporary Latin hymns of the Church. There is nothing in them -comparable with the Dies Irae, the Stabat Mater, the Hora Novissima, the -Veni Sancte Spiritus, the Ad Perennis Vitae Fontem, the Passion Hymns of -St. Bernard, or scores that might be named which make up the golden -chaplet of Latin religious verse from Hilary to Xavier. The latter is the -poetry of the cloister, the work of men separated from the world, upon -whom asceticism and scholastic philosophizing had worked to refine and -subtilize their conceptions. It is the poetry, not of laymen, but of -priests and monks, the special and peculiar utterance of a sacerdotal -class, wrapt in intercessory functions, straining ever for glimpses of -the Beatific Vision, whose one absorbing effort was to emancipate the -soul from time and discipline it for eternity. It is poetry of and for -the temple, the sacramental mysteries, the hours of prayer, for seasons -of solitary meditation; it blends with the dim light sifted through -stained cathedral windows, with incense, with majestic music. The simple -layman was not at home in such an atmosphere as this, and the Latin hymn -was not a familiar expression of his thought. His mental training was of -a coarser, more commonplace order. He must particularize, his religious -feeling must lay hold of something more tangible, something that could -serve his childish views of things, and enter into some practical -relation with the needs of his ordinary mechanical existence. - -The religious folk-song, therefore, shows many traits similar to those -found in the secular folk-song, and we can easily perceive the influence -of one upon the other. In both we can see how receptive the common people -were to anything that savored of the marvellous, and how their minds -dwelt more upon the external wonder than upon the lesson that it brings. -The connection of these poems with the ecclesiastical dramas, which form -such a remarkable chapter in the history of religious instruction in the -Middle Age, is also apparent, and scores of them are simply narratives of -the Nativity, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension, told -over and over in almost identical language. These German hymns show in -what manner the dogmas and usages of the Church took root in the popular -heart, and affected the spirit of the time. In all other mediaeval -literature we have the testimony of the higher class of minds, the men of -education, who were saved by their reflective intelligence from falling -into the grosser superstitions, or at least from dwelling in them. But in -the folk poetry the great middle class throws back the ideas imposed by -its religious teachers, tinged by its own crude mental operations. The -result is that we have in these poems the doctrinal perversions and the -mythology of the Middle Age set forth in their baldest form. Beliefs that -are the farthest removed from the teaching of the Scriptures, are carried -to lengths which the Catholic Church has never authoritatively -sanctioned, but which are natural consequences of the action of her -dogmas upon untrained, superstitious minds. There are hymns which teach -the preexistence of Mary with God before the creation; that in and -through her all things were created. Others, not content with the church -doctrine of her intercessory office in heaven, represent her as -commanding and controlling her Son, and even as forgiving sins in her own -right. Hagiolatry, also, is carried to its most dubious extremity. Power -is ascribed to the saints to save from the pains of hell. In one hymn -they are implored to intercede with God for the sinner, because, the -writer says, God will not deny their prayer. It is curious to see in some -of these poems that the attributes of love and compassion, which have -been removed from the Father to the Son, and from the Son to the Virgin -Mother, are again transferred to St. Ann, who is implored to intercede -with her daughter in behalf of the suppliant. - -All this, and much more of a similar sort, the product of vulgar error -and distorted thinking, cannot be gainsaid. But let us, with equal -candor, acknowledge that there is a bright side to this subject. -Corruption and falsehood are not altogether typical of the German -religious poetry of the Middle Age. Many Protestant writers represent the -mediaeval German hymns as chiefly given over to mariolatry and much -debasing superstition, and as therefore indicative of the religious state -of the nation. This, however, is very far from being the case, as a -candid examination of such a collection as Wackernagel's will show. Take -out everything that a severe Protestant would reject, and there remains a -large body of poetry which flows from the pure, undefiled springs of -Christian faith, which from the evangelical standpoint is true and -edifying, gems of expression not to be matched by the poetry of Luther -and his friends in simplicity and refinement of language. Ideas common to -the hymnody of all ages are to be found there. One comes to mind in which -there is carried out in the most touching way the thought of John Newton -in his most famous hymn, where in vision the look of the crucified Christ -seems to charge the arrested sinner with his death. Another lovely poem -expresses the shrinking of the disciple in consciousness of mortal -frailty when summoned by Christ to take up the cross, and the comfort -that he receives from the Saviour's assurance of his own sufficient -grace. A celebrated hymn by Tauler describes a ship sent from heaven by -the Father, containing Jesus, who comes as our Redeemer, and who asks -personal devotion to himself and a willingness to live and die with and -for him. Others set forth the atoning work of Christ's death, without -mention of any other condition of salvation. Others implore the direct -guidance and protection of Christ, as in the exquisite cradle hymn of -Heinrich von Loufenberg, which is not surpassed in tenderness and beauty -by anything in Keble's _Lyra Innocentium_, or the child verses of Blake. - -This mass of hymns covers a wide range of topics: God in his various -attributes, including mercy and a desire to pardon,--a conception which -many suppose to have been absent from the thought of the Middle Age; the -Trinity; Christ in the various scenes of his life, and as head of the -Church; admonitions, confessions, translations of psalms, poems to be -sung on pilgrimages, funeral songs, political songs, and many more which -touch upon true relations between man and the divine. There is a -wonderful pathos in this great body of national poetry, for it makes us -see the dim but honest striving of the heart of the noble German people -after that which is sure and eternal, and which could offer assurance of -compensation amid the doubt and turmoil of that age of strife and -tyranny. The true and the false in this poetry were alike the outcome of -the conditions of the time and the authoritative religious teaching. The -fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in spite of the abuses which made the -Reformation necessary, contained many saintly lives, beneficent -institutions, much philanthropy, and inspired love of God. All these have -their witness in many products of that era, and we need look no further -than the mediaeval religious poetry to find elements which show that on -the spiritual side the Reformation was not strictly a moral revolution, -restoring a lost religious feeling, but rather an intellectual process, -establishing a hereditary piety upon reasonable and Scriptural -foundations. - -We see, therefore, how far Luther was from being the founder of German -hymnody. In trying to discover what his great service to religious song -really was, we must go on to the next question that is involved, and ask, -What was the status and employment of the folk-hymn before the -Reformation? Was it in a true sense a _church_ song? Had it a recognized -place in the public service? Was it at all liturgic, as the Lutheran hymn -certainly was? This brings us to a definitive distinction between the two -schools of hymnody. - -The attitude of the Catholic Church to congregational singing has often -been discussed, and is at present the object of a great deal of -misconception. The fact of the matter is, that she ostensibly encourages -the people to share in some of the subordinate Latin offices, but the -very spirit of the liturgy and the development of musical practice have -in course of time, with now and then an exception, reduced the -congregation to silence. Before the invention of harmony all church music -had more of the quality of popular music, and the priesthood encouraged -the worshipers to join their voices in those parts of the service which -were not confined by the rubrics to the ministers. But the Gregorian -chant was never really adopted by the people,--its practical -difficulties, and especially the inflexible insistence upon the use of -Latin in all the offices of worship, virtually confined it to the priests -and a small body of trained singers. The very conception and spirit of -the liturgy, also, has by a law of historic development gradually -excluded the people from active participation. Whatever may have been the -thought of the fathers of the liturgy, the eucharistic service has come -to be simply the vehicle of a sacrifice offered by and through the -priesthood for the people, not a tribute of praise and supplication -emanating from the congregation itself. The attitude of the worshiper is -one of obedient faith, both in the supernatural efficacy of the sacrifice -and the mediating authority of the celebrant. The liturgy is inseparably -bound up with the central act of consecration and oblation, and is -conceived as itself possessing a divine sanction. The liturgy is not in -any sense the creation of the people, but comes down to them from a -higher source, the gradual production of men believed to have been -inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is accepted by the laity as a divinely -authorized means in the accomplishment of the supreme sacerdotal -function. The sacrifice of the Mass is performed for the people, but not -through the people, nor even necessarily in their presence. And so it has -come to pass that, although the Catholic Church has never officially -recognized the existence of the modern mixed choir, and does not in its -rubrics authorize any manner of singing except the unison Gregorian -chant, nevertheless, by reason of the expansion and specialization of -musical art, and the increasing veneration of the liturgy as the very -channel of descending sacramental grace, the people are reduced to a -position of passive receptivity. - -As regards the singing of hymns in the national languages, the conditions -are somewhat different. The laws of the Catholic Church forbid the -vernacular in any part of the eucharistic service, but permit vernacular -hymns in certain subordinate offices, as, for instance, Vespers. But even -in these services the restrictions are more emphasized than the -permissions. Here also the tacit recognition of a separation of function -between the clergy and the laity still persists; there can never be a -really sympathetic cooperation between the church language and the -vernacular; there is a constant attitude of suspicion on the part of the -authorities, lest the people's hymn should afford a rift for the subtle -intrusion of heretical or unchurchly ideas. - -The whole spirit and implied theory of the Catholic Church is therefore -unfavorable to popular hymnody. This was especially the case in the -latter Middle Age. The people could put no heart into the singing of -Latin. The priests and monks, especially in such convent schools as St. -Gall, Fulda, Metz, and Reichenau, made heroic efforts to drill their -rough disciples in the Gregorian chant, but their attempts were -ludicrously futile. Vernacular hymns were simply tolerated on certain -prescribed occasions. In the century or more following the Reformation, -the Catholic musicians and clergy, taught by the astonishing popular -success of the Lutheran songs, tried to inaugurate a similar movement in -their own ranks, and the publication and use of Catholic German -hymn-books attained large dimensions; but this enthusiasm finally died -out. Both in mediaeval and in modern times there has practically remained -a chasm between the musical practice of the common people and that of the -Church, and in spite of isolated attempts to encourage popular hymnody, -the restrictions have always had a depressing effect, and the free, -hearty union of clergy and congregation in choral praise and prayer is -virtually unknown. - -The new conceptions of the relationship of man to God, which so altered -the fundamental principle and the external forms of worship under the -Lutheran movement, manifested themselves most strikingly in the mighty -impetus given to congregational song. Luther set the national impulse -free, and taught the people that in singing praise they were performing a -service that was well pleasing to God and a necessary part of public -communion with him. It was not simply that Luther charged the popular -hymnody with the energy of his world-transforming doctrine,--he also gave -it a dignity which it had never possessed before, certainly not since the -apostolic age, as a part of the official liturgic song of the Church. -Both these facts gave the folk-hymn its wonderful proselyting power in -the sixteenth century,--the latter gives it its importance in the history -of church music. - -Luther's work for the people's song was in substance a detail of his -liturgic reform. His knowledge of human nature taught him the value of -set forms and ceremonies, and his appreciation of what was universally -true and edifying in the liturgy of the mother Church led him to retain -many of her prayers, hymns, responses, etc., along with new provisions of -his own. But in his view the service is constituted through the activity -of the believing subject; the forms and expressions of worship are not in -themselves indispensable--the one thing necessary is faith, and the forms -of worship have their value simply in defining, inculcating, stimulating -and directing this faith, and enforcing the proper attitude of the soul -toward God in the public social act of devotion. The congregational song -both symbolized and realized the principle of direct access of the -believer to the Father, and thus exemplified in itself alone the whole -spirit of the worship of the new Church. That this act of worship should -be in the native language of the nation was a matter of course, and hence -the popular hymn, set to familiar and appropriate melody, became at once -the characteristic, official, and liturgic expression of the emotion of -the people in direct communion with God. - -The immense consequence of this principle was seen in the outburst of -song that followed the founding of the new Church by Luther at -Wittenberg. It was not that the nation was electrified by a poetic -genius, or by any new form of musical excitement; it was simply that the -old restraints upon self-expression were removed, and that the people -could celebrate their new-found freedom in Christ Jesus by means of the -most intense agency known to man, which they had been prepared by -inherited musical temperament and ancient habit to use to the full. No -wonder that they received this privilege with thanksgiving, and that the -land resounded with the lyrics of faith and hope. - -Luther felt his mission to be that of a purifier, not a destroyer. He -would repudiate, not the good and evil alike in the ancient Church, but -only that which he considered false and pernicious. This judicious -conservatism was strikingly shown in his attitude toward the liturgy and -form of worship, which he would alter only so far as was necessary in -view of changes in doctrine and in the whole relation of the Church as a -body toward the individual. The altered conception of the nature of the -eucharist, the abolition of homage to the Virgin and saints, the -prominence given to the sermon as the central feature of the service, the -substitution of the vernacular for Latin, the intimate participation of -the congregation in the service by means of hymn-singing,--all these -changes required a recasting of the order of worship; but everything in -the old ritual that was consistent with these changes was retained. -Luther, like the founders of the reformed Church of England, was -profoundly conscious of the truth and beauty of many of the prayers and -hymns of the mother Church. Especially was he attached to her music, and -would preserve the compositions of the learned masters alongside of the -revived congregational hymn. - -As regards the form and manner of service, Luther's improvements were -directed (1) to the revision of the liturgy, (2) the introduction of new -hymns, and (3) the arrangement of suitable melodies for congregational -use. Luther's program of liturgic reform is chiefly embodied in two -orders of worship drawn up for the churches of Wittenberg, _viz._, the -Formula Missae of 1523 and the Deutsche Messe of 1526. - -Luther rejected absolutely the Catholic conception of the act of worship -as in itself possessed of objective efficacy. The terms of salvation are -found only in the Gospel; the worship acceptable to God exists only in -the contrite attitude of the heart, and the acceptance through faith of -the plan of redemption as provided in the vicarious atonement of Christ. -The external act of worship in prayer, praise, Scripture recitation, -etc., is designed as a testimony of faith, an evidence of thankfulness to -God for his infinite grace, and as a means of edification and of kindling -the devotional spirit through the reactive influence of its audible -expression. The correct performance of a ceremony was to Luther of little -account; the essential was the prayerful disposition of the heart and the -devout acceptance of the word of Scripture. The substance of worship, -said Luther, is "that our dear Lord speaks with us through his Holy Word, -and we in return speak with him through prayer and song of praise." The -sermon is of the greatest importance as an ally of the reading of the -Word. The office of worship must be viewed as a means of instruction as -well as a rite contrived as the promoter and expression of religious -emotion; the believer is in no wise to be considered as having attained -to complete ripeness and maturity, since if it were so religious worship -would be unnecessary. Such a goal is not to be attained on earth. The -Christian, said Luther, "needs baptism, the Word, and the sacrament, not -as a perfected Christian, but as a sinner." - -The Formula Missae of 1523 was only a provisional office, and may be -called an expurgated edition of the Catholic Mass. It is in Latin, and -follows the order of the Roman liturgy with certain omissions, _viz._, -all the preliminary action at the altar as far as the Introit, the -Offertory, the Oblation and accompanying prayers as far as the Preface, -the Consecration, the Commemoration of the Dead, and everything following -the Agnus Dei except the prayer of thanksgiving and benediction. That is -to say, everything is removed which characterizes the Mass as a priestly, -sacrificial act, or which recognizes the intercessory office of the -saints. The musical factors correspond to the usage in the Catholic Mass; -Luther's hymns with accompanying melodies were not yet prepared, and no -trace of the Protestant choral appears in the Formula Missae. - -Although this order of 1523 was conceived only as a partial or temporary -expedient, it was by no means set entirely aside by its author, even -after the composition of a form more adapted to the needs of the people. -In the preface to the Deutsche Messe of 1526, Luther cites the Latin -Formula Missae as possessing a special value. "This I will not abandon or -have altered; but as we have kept it with us heretofore, so must we still -be free to use the same where and when it pleases us or occasion -requires. I will by no means permit the Latin speech to be dropped out of -divine worship, since it is important for the youth. And if I were able, -and the Greek and Hebrew languages were as common with us as the Latin, -and had as much music and song as the Latin has, we should hold Masses, -sing and read every Sunday in all four languages, German, Latin, Greek, -and Hebrew." It is important, he goes on to say, that the youth should be -familiar with more languages than their own, in order that they may be -able to give instruction in the true doctrine to those not of their own -nation, Latin especially approving itself for this purpose as the common -dialect of cultivated men. - -The Deutsche Messe of 1526, Luther explains, was drawn up for the use of -the mass of the people, who needed a medium of worship and instruction -which was already familiar and native to them. This form is a still -further simplification, as compared with the Formula Missae, and consists -almost entirely of offices in the German tongue. Congregational chorals -also have a prominent place, since the publication of collections of -vernacular religious songs had begun two years before. This liturgy -consists of (1) a people's hymn or a German psalm, (2) Kyrie eleison, (3) -Collect, (4) the Epistle, (5) congregational hymn, (6) the Gospel, (7) -the German paraphrase of the Creed, "Wie glauben all' an einen Gott," -sung by the people; next follows the sermon; (8) the Lord's Prayer and -exhortation preliminary to the Sacrament, (9) the words of institution -and elevation, (10) distribution of the bread, (11) singing of the German -Sanctus or the hymn "Jesus Christus unser Heiland," (12) distribution of -the wine, (13) Agnus Dei, a German hymn, or the German Sanctus, (14) -Collect of thanksgiving, (15) Benediction. - -It was far from Luther's purpose to impose these or any particular forms -of worship upon his followers through a personal assumption of authority. -He reiterates, in his preface to the Deutsche Messe, that he has no -thought of assuming any right of dictation in the matter, emphasizing his -desire that the churches should enjoy entire freedom in their forms and -manner of worship. At the same time he realizes the benefits of -uniformity as creating a sense of unity and solidarity in faith, -practice, and interests among the various districts, cities, and -congregations, and offers these two forms as in his opinion conservative -and efficient. He warns his people against the injury that may result -from the multiplication of liturgies at the instigation of indiscreet or -vain leaders, who have in view the perpetuation of certain notions of -their own, rather than the honor of God and the spiritual welfare of -their neighbors. - -In connection with this work of reconstructing the ancient liturgy for -use in the Wittenberg churches, Luther turned his attention to the need -of suitable hymns and tunes. He took up this work not only out of his -love of song, but also from necessity. He wrote to Nicholas Haussmann, -pastor at Zwickau: "I would that we had many German songs which the -people could sing during the Mass. But we lack German poets and -musicians, or they are unknown to us, who are able to make Christian and -spiritual songs, as Paul calls them, which are of such value that they -can be used daily in the house of God. One can find but few that have the -appropriate spirit." The reason for this complaint was short-lived; a -crowd of hymnists sprang up as if by magic, and among them Luther was, as -in all things, chief. His work as a hymn writer began soon after the -completion of his translation of the New Testament, while he was engaged -in translating the psalms. Then, as Koch says, "the spirit of the -psalmists and prophets came over him." Several allusions in his letters -show that he took the psalms as his model; that is to say, he did not -think of a hymn as designed for the teaching of dogma, but as the -sincere, spontaneous outburst of love and reverence to God for his -goodness. - -The first hymn-book of evangelical Germany was published in 1524 by -Luther's friend and coadjutor, Johann Walther. It contained four hymns by -Luther, three by Paul Speratus, and one by an unknown author. Another -book appeared in the same year containing fourteen more hymns by Luther, -in addition to the eight of the first book. Six more from Luther's pen -appeared in a song-book edited by Walther in 1525. The remaining hymns of -Luther (twelve in number) were printed in five song-books of different -dates, ending with Klug's in 1643. Four hymn-books contain prefaces by -Luther, the first written for Walther's book of 1525, and the last for -one published by Papst in 1545. Luther's example was contagious. Other -hymn writers at once sprang up, who were filled with Luther's spirit, and -who took his songs as models. Printing presses were kept busy, song-books -were multiplied, until at the time of Luther's death no less than sixty -collections, counting the various editions, had been issued. There was -reason for the sneering remark of a Catholic that the people were singing -themselves into the Lutheran doctrine. The principles of worship -promulgated by Luther and implied in his liturgic arrangements were -adopted by all the Protestant communities; whatever variations there -might be in the external forms of worship, in all of them the -congregational hymn held a prominent place, and it is to be noticed that -almost without exception the chief hymn writers of the Lutheran time were -theologians and preachers. - -Luther certainly wrote thirty-six hymns. A few others have been ascribed -to him without conclusive evidence. By far the greater part of these -thirty-six are not entirely original. Many of them are translations or -adaptations of psalms, some of which are nearly literal transfers. Other -selections from Scripture were used in a similar way, among which are the -Ten Commandments, the Ter Sanctus, the song of Simeon, and the Lord's -Prayer. Similar use, _viz._, close translation or free paraphrase, was -made of certain Latin hymns by Ambrose, Gregory, Hus, and others, and -also of certain religious folk-songs of the pre-Reformation period. Five -hymns only are completely original, not drawn in any way from older -compositions. Besides these five many of the transcriptions of psalms and -older hymns owe but little to their models. The chief of these, and the -most celebrated of all Luther's hymns, "Ein' feste Burg," was suggested -by the forty-sixth Psalm, but nothing could be more original in spirit -and phraseology, more completely characteristic of the great reformer. -The beautiful poems, "Aus tiefer Noth" (Ps. cxxx.), and "Ach Gott, vom -Himmel sieh' darein" (Ps. xii.), are less bold paraphrases, but still -Luther's own in the sense that their expression is a natural outgrowth of -the more tender and humble side of his nature. - -No other poems of their class by any single man have ever exerted so -great an influence, or have received so great admiration, as these few -short lyrics of Martin Luther. And yet at the first reading it is not -easy to understand the reason for their celebrity. As poetry they -disappoint us; there is no artfully modulated diction, no subtle and -far-reaching imagination. Neither do they seem to chime with our -devotional needs; there is a jarring note of fanaticism in them. We even -find expressions that give positive offence, as when he speaks of the -"Lamb roasted in hot love upon the cross." We say that they are not -universal, that they seem the outcome of a temper that belongs to an -exceptional condition. This is really the fact; here is the clue to their -proper study. They do belong to a time, and not to all time. We must -consider that they are the utterance of a mind engaged in conflict, and -often tormented with doubt of the outcome. They reveal the motive of the -great pivotal figure in modern religious history. More than that--they -have behind them the great impelling force of the Reformation. Perhaps -the world has shown a correct instinct in fixing upon "Ein' feste Burg" -as the typical hymn of Luther and of the Reformation. Heine, who called -it "the Marseillaise of the Reformation;" Frederick the Great, who called -its melody (not without reverence) "God Almighty's grenadier march;" -Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer, who chose the same tune to symbolize -aggressive Protestantism; and Wagner, who wove its strains into the grand -march which celebrates the military triumphs of united Germany,--all -these men had an accurate feeling for the patriotic and moral fire which -burns in this mighty song. The same spirit is found in other of Luther's -hymns, but often combined with a tenderer music, in which emphasis is -laid more upon the inward peace that comes from trust in God, than upon -the fact of outward conflict. A still more exalted mood is disclosed in -such hymns as "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein," and "Von Himmel -hoch da komm ich her"--the latter a Christmas song said to have been -written for his little son Hans. The first of these is notable for the -directness with which it sets forth the Lutheran doctrine of -justification by faith alone. It is in this same directness and homely -vigor and adaptation to the pressing needs of the time that we must find -the cause of the popular success of Luther's hymns. He knew what the -dumb, blindly yearning German people had been groping for during so many -years, and the power of his sermons and poems lay in the fact that they -offered a welcome spiritual gift in phrases that went straight to the -popular heart. His speech was that of the people--idiomatic, nervous, and -penetrating. He had learned how to talk to them in his early peasant -home, and in his study of the folk-songs. Coarse, almost brutal at times, -we may call him, as in his controversies with Henry VIII., Erasmus, and -others; but it was the coarseness of a rugged nature, of a son of the -soil, a man tremendously in earnest, blending religious zeal with -patriotism, never doubting that the enemies of his faith were -confederates of the devil, who was as real to him as Duke George or Dr. -Eck. No English translation can quite do justice to the homely vigor of -his verse. Carlyle has succeeded as well as possible in his translation -of "Ein' feste Burg," but even this masterly achievement does not quite -reproduce the jolting abruptness of the metre, the swing and fire of the -movement. The greater number of Luther's hymns are set to a less strident -pitch, but all alike speak a language which reveals in every line the -ominous spiritual tension of this historic moment. - -In philological history these hymns have a significance equal to that of -Luther's translation of the Bible, in which scholars agree in finding the -virtual creation of the modern German language. And the elements that -should give new life to the national speech were to be found among the -commonalty. "No one before Luther," says Bayard Taylor, "saw that the -German tongue must be sought for in the mouths of the people--that the -exhausted expression of the earlier ages could not be revived, but that -the newer, fuller, and richer speech, then in its childhood, must at once -be acknowledged and adopted. With all his scholarship Luther dropped the -theological style, and sought among the people for phrases as artless and -simple as those of the Hebrew writers." "The influence of Luther on -German literature cannot be explained until we have seen how sound and -vigorous and many-sided was the new spirit which he infused into the -language."[70] All this will apply to the hymns as well as to the Bible -translation. Here was one great element in the popular effect which these -hymns produced. Their simple, home-bred, domestic form of expression -caught the public ear in an instant. Those who have at all studied the -history of popular eloquence in prose and verse are aware of the -electrical effect that may be produced when ideas of pith and moment are -sent home to the masses in forms of speech that are their own. Luther's -hymns may not be poetry in the high sense; but they are certainly -eloquence, they are popular oratory in verse, put into the mouths of the -people by one of their own number. - -In spite of the fact that these songs were the natural outcome of a -period of spiritual and political conflict, and give evidence of this -fact in almost every instance, yet they are less dogmatic and -controversial than might be expected, for Luther, bitter and intolerant -as he often was, understood the requirements of church song well enough -to know that theological and political polemic should be kept out of it. -Nevertheless these hymns are a powerful witness to the great truths which -were the corner-stone of the doctrines of the reformed church. They -constantly emphasize the principle that salvation comes not through works -or sacraments or any human mediation, but only through the merits of -Christ and faith in his atoning blood. The whole machinery of mariolatry, -hagiolatry, priestly absolution, and personal merit, which had so long -stood between the individual soul and Christ, was broken down. Christ is -no longer a stern, hardly appeasable Judge, but a loving Saviour, -yearning over mankind, stretching out hands of invitation, asking, not a -slavish submission to formal observances, but a free, spontaneous -offering of the heart. This was the message that thrilled Germany. And it -was through the hymns of Luther and those modelled upon them that the new -evangel was most widely and quickly disseminated. The friends as well as -the enemies of the Reformation asserted that the spread of the new -doctrines was due more to Luther's hymns than to his sermons. The editor -of a German hymn-book published in 1565 says: "I do not doubt that -through that one song of Luther, 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen -g'mein,' many hundred Christians have been brought to the faith who -otherwise would not have heard of Luther." An indignant Jesuit declared -that "Luther's songs have damned more souls than all his books and -speeches." We read marvellous stories of the effect of these hymns; of -Lutheran missionaries entering Catholic churches during service and -drawing away the whole congregation by their singing; of wandering -evangelists standing at street corners and in the market places, singing -to excited crowds, then distributing the hymns upon leaflets so that the -populace might join in the paean, and so winning entire cities to the new -faith almost in a day. This is easily to be believed when we consider -that the progress of events and the drift of ideas for a century and more -had been preparing the German mind for Luther's message; that as a people -the Germans are extremely susceptible to the enthusiasms that utter -themselves in song; and that these hymns carried the truths for which -their souls had been thirsting, in language of extraordinary force, -clothed in melodies which they had long known and loved. - -We lay especial stress upon the hymns of Luther, not simply on account of -their inherent power and historic importance, but also because they are -representative of a school. Luther was one of a group of lyrists which -included bards hardly less trenchant than he. Koch gives the names of -fifty-one writers who endowed the new German hymnody between 1517 and -1560.[71] He finds in them all one common feature,--the ground character -of objectivity. "They are genuine church hymns, in which the common faith -is expressed in its universality, without the subjective feeling of -personality." "It is always we, not I, which is the prevailing word in -these songs. The poets of this period did not, like those of later times, -paint their own individual emotions with all kinds of figurative -expressions, but, powerfully moved by the truth, they sang the work of -redemption and extolled the faith in the free, undeserved grace of God in -Jesus Christ, or gave thanks for the newly given pure word of God in -strains of joyful victory, and defied their foes in firm, godly trust in -the divinity of the doctrine which was so new and yet so old. Therefore -they speak the truths of salvation, not in dry doctrinal tone and sober -reflection, but in the form of testimony or confession, and although in -some of these songs are contained plain statements of belief, the reason -therefor is simply in the hunger and thirst after the pure doctrine. -Hence the speech of these poets is the Bible speech, and the expression -forcible and simple. It is not art, but faith, which gives these songs -their imperishable value." - -The hymns of Luther and the other early Reformation hymnists of Germany -are not to be classed with sacred lyrics like those of Vaughan and Keble -and Newman which, however beautiful, are not of that universality which -alone adapts a hymn for use in the public assembly. In writing their -songs Luther and his compeers identified themselves with the congregation -of believers; they produced them solely for common praise in the -sanctuary, and they are therefore in the strict sense impersonal, -surcharged not with special isolated experiences, but with the vital -spirit of the Reformation. No other body of hymns was ever produced under -similar conditions; for the Reformation was born and cradled in conflict, -and in these songs, amid their protestations of confidence and joy, there -may often be heard cries of alarm before powerful adversaries, appeals -for help in material as well as spiritual exigencies, and sometimes also -tones of wrath and defiance. Strains such as the latter are most frequent -perhaps in the paraphrases of the psalms, which the authors apply to the -situation of an infant church encompassed with enemies. Yet there is no -sign of doubt of the justice of the cause, or of the safety of the flock -in the divine hands. - -Along with the production of hymns must go the composition or arrangement -of tunes, and this was a less direct and simple process. The conditions -and methods of musical art forbade the ready invention of melodies. We -have seen in our previous examination of the music of the mediaeval -Church that the invention of themes for musical works was no part of the -composer's business. Down to about the year 1600 the scientific musician -always borrowed his themes from older sources--the liturgic chant or -popular songs--and worked them up into choral movements according to the -laws of counterpoint. He was, therefore, a tune-setter, not a tune-maker. -The same custom prevailed among the German musicians of Luther's day, and -it would have been too much to expect that they should go outside their -strict habits, and violate all the traditions of their craft, so far as -to evolve from their own heads a great number of singable melodies for -the people's use. The task of Luther and his musical assistants, -therefore, was to take melodies from music of all sorts with which they -were familiar, alter them to fit the metre of the new hymns, and add the -harmonies. In course of time the enormous multiplication of hymns, each -demanding a musical setting, and the requirements of simplicity in -popular song, brought about a union of the functions of the tune-maker -and the tune-setter, and in the latter part of the sixteenth century the -modern method of inventing melodies took the place of the mediaeval -custom of borrowing and adapting, both in the people's song and in larger -works. - -Down to a very recent period it has been universally believed that Luther -was a musician of the latter order _i.e._, a tune-maker, and that the -melodies of many of his hymns were of his own production. Among writers -on this period no statement is more frequently made than that Luther -wrote tunes as well as hymns. This belief is as tenacious as the myth of -the rescue of church music by Palestrina. Dr. L. W. Bacon, in the preface -to his edition of the hymns of Luther with their original melodies, -assumes, as an undisputed fact, that many of these tunes are Luther's own -invention.[72] Even Julian's _Dictionary of Hymnology_, which is supposed -to be the embodiment of the most advanced scholarship in this department -of learning, makes similar statements. But this is altogether an error. -Luther composed no tunes. Under the patient investigation of a -half-century, the melodies originally associated with Luther's hymns have -all been traced to their sources. The tune of "Ein' feste Burg" was the -last to yield; Baeumker finds the germ of it in a Gregorian melody. Such -proof as this is, of course, decisive and final. The hymn-tunes, called -chorals, which Luther, Walther, and others provided for the reformed -churches, were drawn from three sources, _viz._, the Latin song of the -Catholic Church, the tunes of German hymns before the Reformation, and -the secular folk-song. - -1. If Luther was willing to take many of the prayers of the Catholic -liturgy for use in his German Mass, still more ready was he to adopt the -melodies of the ancient Church. In his preface to the Funeral Hymns -(1542), after speaking of the forms of the Catholic Church which in -themselves he did not disapprove, he says: "In the same way have they -much noble music, especially in the abbeys and parish churches, used to -adorn most vile, idolatrous words. Therefore have we undressed these -lifeless, idolatrous, crazy words, stripping off the noble music, and -putting it upon the living and holy word of God, wherewith to sing, -praise, and honor the same, that so the beautiful ornament of music, -brought back to its right use, may serve its blessed Maker, and his -Christian people." A few of Luther's hymns were translations of old Latin -hymns and Sequences, and these were set to the original melodies. -Luther's labor in this field was not confined to the choral, but, like -the founders of the musical service of the Anglican Church, he -established a system of chanting, taking the Roman use as a model, and -transferring many of the Gregorian tunes. Johann, Walther, Luther's -co-laborer, relates the extreme pains which Luther took in setting notes -to the Epistle, Gospel, and other offices of the service. He intended to -institute a threefold division of church song,--the choir anthem, the -unison chant, and the congregational hymn. Only the first and third forms -have been retained. The use of chants derived from the Catholic service -was continued in some churches as late as the end of the seventeenth -century. But, as Helmore says, "the rage for turning creeds, -commandments, psalms, and everything to be sung, into metre, gradually -banished the chant from Protestant communities on the Continent." - -2. In cases in which pre-Reformation vernacular hymns were adopted into -the song-books of the new Church the original melodies were often -retained, and thus some very ancient German tunes, although in modern -guise, are still preserved the hymn-books of modern Germany. Melodies of -the Bohemian Brethren were in this manner transferred to the German -songbooks. - -3. The secular folk-song of the sixteenth century and earlier was a very -prolific source of the German choral. This was after Luther's day, -however, for it does not appear that any of his tunes were of this class. -Centuries before the age of artistic German music began, the common -people possessed a large store of simple songs which they delighted to -use on festal occasions, at the fireside, at their labor, in love-making, -at weddings, christenings, and in every circumstance of social and -domestic life. Here was a rich mine of simple and expressive melodies -from which choral tunes might be fashioned. In some cases this transfer -involved considerable modification, in others but little, for at that -time there was far less difference between the religious and the secular -musical styles than there is now. The associations of these tunes were -not always of the most edifying kind, and some of them were so identified -with unsanctified ideas that the strictest theologians protested against -them, and some were weeded out. In course of time the old secular -associations were forgotten, and few devout Germans are now reminded that -some of the grand melodies in which faith and hope find such appropriate -utterance are variations of old love songs and drinking songs. There is -nothing exceptional in this borrowing of the world's tunes for -ecclesiastical uses. We find the same practice among the French, Dutch, -English, and Scotch Calvinists, the English Wesleyans, and the hymn-book -makers of America. This method is often necessary when a young and -vigorously expanding Church must be quickly provided with a store of -songs, but in its nature it is only a temporary recourse. - -The choral tunes sung by the congregation were at first not harmonized. -Then, as they began to be set in the strict contrapuntal style of the -day, it became the custom for the people to sing the melody while the -choir sustained the other parts. The melody was at first in the tenor, -according to time-honored usage in artistic music, but as composers found -that they must consider the vocal limitations of a mass of untrained -singers a simpler form of harmony was introduced, and the custom arose of -putting the melody in the upper voice, and the harmony below. This method -prepared the development of a harmony that was more in the nature of -modern chord progressions, and when the choir and congregation severed -their incompatible union, the complex counterpoint in which the age -delighted was allowed free range in the motet, while the harmonized -choral became more simple and compact. The partnership of choir and -congregation was dissolved about 1600, and the organ took the place of -the trained singers in accompanying the unison song of the people. - -One who studies the German chorals as they appear in the hymn-books of -the present day (many of which hold honored places in English and -American hymnals) must not suppose that he is acquainted with the -religious tunes of the Reformation in their pristine form. As they are -now sung in the German churches they have been greatly modified in -harmony and rhythm, and even in many instances in melody also. The only -scale and harmonic system then in vogue was the Gregorian. In respect to -rhythm also, the alterations have been equally striking. The present -choral is usually written in notes of equal length, one note to a -syllable. The metre is in most cases double, rarely triple. This manner -of writing gives the choral a singularly grave, solid and stately -character, encouraging likewise a performance that is often dull and -monotonous. There was far more variety and life in the primitive choral, -the movement was more flexible, and the frequent groups of notes to a -single syllable imparted a buoyancy and warmth that are unknown to the -rigid modern form. The transformation of the choral into its present -shape was completed in the eighteenth century, a result, some say, of the -relaxation of spiritual energy in the period of rationalism. A party has -been formed among German churchmen and musicians which labors for the -restoration of the primitive rhythmic choral. Certain congregations have -adopted the reform, but there is as yet no sign that it will ultimately -prevail. - -In spite of the mischievous influence ascribed to Luther's hymns by his -opponents, they could appreciate their value as aids to devotion, and in -return for Luther's compliment to their hymns they occasionally borrowed -some of his. Strange as it may seem, even "Ein' feste Burg" was one of -these. Neither were the Catholics slow to imitate the Protestants in -providing, songs for the people, and as in the old strifes of Arians and -orthodox in the East, so Catholics and Lutherans strove to sing each -other down. The Catholics also translated Latin hymns into German, and -transformed secular folk-songs into edifying religious rhymes. The first -German Catholic song--book was published in 1537 by Michael Vehe, a -preaching monk of Halle. This book contained fifty-two hymns, four of -which were alterations of hymns by Luther. It is a rather notable fact -that throughout the sixteenth century eminent musicians of both -confessions contributed to the musical services of their opponents. -Protestants composed masses and motets for the Catholic churches, and -Catholics arranged choral melodies for the Protestants. This friendly -interchange of good offices was heartily encouraged by Luther. Next to -Johann Walther, his most cherished musical friend and helper was Ludwig -Senfl, a devout Catholic. This era of relative peace and good-will, of -which this musical sympathy was a beautiful token, did not long endure. -The Catholic Counter-Reformation cut sharply whatever there might have -been of mutual understanding and tolerance, and the frightful Thirty -Years' War overwhelmed art and the spirit of humanity together. - -The multiplication of hymns and chorals went on throughout the sixteenth -century and into the seventeenth with unabated vigor. A large number of -writers of widely differing degrees of poetic ability contributed to the -hymn-books, which multiplied to prodigious numbers in the generations -next succeeding that of Luther. These songs harmonized in general with -the tone struck by Luther and his friends, setting forth the doctrine of -justification by faith alone, and the joy that springs from the -consciousness of a freer approach to God, mingled, however, with more -sombre accents called forth by the apprehension of the dark clouds in the -political firmament which seemed to bode disaster to the Protestant -cause. The tempest broke in 1618. Again and again during the thirty -years' struggle the reformed cause seemed on the verge of annihilation. -When the exhaustion of both parties brought the savage conflict to an -end, the enthusiasm of the Reformation was gone. Religious poetry and -music indeed survived, and here and there burned with a pure flame amid -the darkness of an almost primitive barbarism. In times of deepest -distress these two arts often afford the only outlet for grief, and the -only testimony of hope amid national calamities. There were unconquerable -spirits in Germany, notably among the hymnists, cantors, and organists, -who maintained the sacred fire of religious art amid the moral -devastations of the Thirty Years' War, whose miseries they felt only as a -deepening of their faith in a power that overrules the wrath of man. -Their trust fastened itself unfalteringly upon those assurances of divine -sympathy which had been the inspiration of their cause from the -beginning. This pious confidence, this unabated poetic glow, found in -Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) the most fervent and refined expression that -has been reached in German hymnody. - -The production of melodies kept pace with the hymns throughout the -sixteenth century, and in the first half of the seventeenth a large -number of the most beautiful songs of the German Church were contributed -by such men as Andreas Hammerschmidt, Johann Crueger, J. R. Ahle, Johann -Schop, Melchior Frank, Michael Altenburg, and scores of others not less -notable. After the middle of the seventeenth century, however, the -fountain began to show signs of exhaustion. The powerful movement in the -direction of secular music which emanated from Italy began to turn the -minds of composers toward experiments which promised greater artistic -satisfaction than could be found in the plain congregational choral. The -rationalism of the eighteenth century, accompanying a period of doctrinal -strife and lifeless formalism in the Church, repressed those -unquestioning enthusiasms which are the only source of a genuinely -expressive popular hymnody. Pietism, while a more or less effective -protest against cold ceremonialism and theological intolerance, and a -potent influence in substituting a warmer heart service in place of -dogmatic pedantry, failed to contribute any new stimulus to the church -song; for the Pietists either endeavored to discourage church music -altogether, or else imparted to hymn and melody a quality of effeminacy -and sentimentality. False tastes crept into the. Church. The homely vigor -and forthrightness of the Lutheran hymn seemed to the shallow critical -spirits of the day rough, prosaic, and repellant, and they began to -smooth out and polish the old rhymes, and supplant the choral melodies -and harmonies with the prettinesses and languishing graces of the Italian -cantilena. As the sturdy inventive power of conservative church musicians -was no longer available or desired, recourse was had, as in old times, to -secular material, but not as formerly to the song of the people,--honest, -sincere, redolent of the soil,--but rather to the light, artificial -strains of the fashionable world, the modish Italian opera, and the -affected pastoral poesy. It is the old story of the people's song -declining as the art-song flourishes. As the stern temper of the Lutheran -era grew soft in an age of security and indifference, so the grand old -choral was neglected, and its performance grew perfunctory and cold. An -effort has been made here and there in recent years to restore the old -ideals and practice, but until a revival of spirituality strong enough to -stir the popular heart breaks out in Germany, we may not look for any -worthy successor to the sonorous proselyting song of the Reformation age. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - RISE OF THE GERMAN CANTATA AND PASSION - - -The history of German Protestant church music in the seventeenth century -and onward is the record of a transformation not less striking and -significant than that which the music of the Catholic Church experienced -in the same period. In both instances forms of musical art which were -sanctioned by tradition and associated with ancient and rigorous -conceptions of devotional expression were overcome by the superior powers -of a style which was in its origin purely secular. The revolution in the -Protestant church music was, however, less sudden and far less complete. -It is somewhat remarkable that the influences that prevailed in the music -of the Protestant Church--the Church of discontent and change--were on -the whole more cautious and conservative than those that were active in -the music of the Catholic Church. The latter readily gave up the old -music for the sake of the new, and so swiftly readjusted its boundaries -that the ancient landmarks were almost everywhere obliterated. The -Protestant music advanced by careful evolutionary methods, and in the -final product nothing that was valuable in the successive stages through -which it passed was lost. In both cases--Lutheran and Catholic--the -motive was the same. Church music, like secular, demanded a more -comprehensive and a more individual style of expression. The Catholic -musicians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were very clear in -their minds as to what they wanted and how to get it. The brilliant -Italian aria was right at hand in all its glory, and its languishing -strains seemed admirably suited to the appeals which the aggressive -Church was about to make to the heart and the senses. The powers that -ruled in German Protestant worship conceived their aims, consciously or -unconsciously, in a somewhat different spirit. The new musical movement -in German church music was less self-confident, it was uncertain of its -final direction, at times restrained by reverence for the ancient forms -and ideals, again wantonly breaking with tradition and throwing itself -into the arms of the alluring Italian culture. - -The German school entered the seventeenth century with three strong and -pregnant forms to its credit, _viz._, the choral, the motet (essentially -a counterpart of the Latin sixteenth-century motet), and organ music. -Over against these stood the Italian recitative and aria, associated with -new principles of tonality, harmony, and structure. The former were the -stern embodiment of the abstract, objective, liturgic conception of -worship music; the latter, of the subjective, impassioned, and -individualistic. Should these ideals be kept apart, or should they be in -some way united? One group of German musicians would make the Italian -dramatic forms the sole basis of a new religious art, recognizing the -claims of the personal, the varied, and the brilliant, in ecclesiastical -music as in secular. Another group clung tenaciously to the choral and -motet, resisting every influence that might soften that austere rigor -which to their minds was demanded by historic association and liturgic -fitness. A third group was the party of compromise. Basing their culture -upon the old German choir chorus, organ music, and people's hymn-tune, -they grafted upon this sturdy stock the Italian melody. It was in the -hands of this school that the future of German church music lay. They saw -that the opportunities for a more varied and characteristic expression -could not be kept out of the Church, for they were based on the -reasonable cravings of human nature. Neither could they throw away those -grand hereditary types of devotional utterance which had become -sanctified to German memory in the period of the Reformation's storm and -stress. They adopted what was soundest and most suitable for these ends -in the art of both countries, and built up a form of music which strove -to preserve the high traditions of national liturgic song, while at the -same time it was competent to gratify the tastes which had been -stimulated by the recent rapid advance in musical invention. Out of this -movement grew the Passion music and the cantata of the eighteenth -century, embellished with all the expressive resources of the Italian -vocal solo and the orchestral accompaniment, solidified by a contrapuntal -treatment derived from organ music, and held unswervingly to the very -heart of the liturgy by means of those choral tunes which had become -identified with special days and occasions in the church year. - -The nature of the change of motive in modern church music, which broke -the exclusive domination of the chorus by the introduction of solo -singing, has been set forth in the chapter on the later mass. The most -obvious fact in the history of this modification of church music in -Germany is that the neglect in many quarters of the strong old music of -choral and motet in favor of a showy concert style seemed to coincide -with that melancholy lapse into formalism and dogmatic intolerance which, -in the German Church of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, -succeeded to the enthusiasms of the Reformation era. But it does not -follow, as often assumed, that we have here a case of cause and effect. -It is worth frequent reiteration that no style of music is in itself -religious. There is no sacredness, says Ruskin, in round arches or in -pointed, in pinnacles or buttresses; and we may say with equal pertinence -that there is nothing sacred _per se_ in sixteenth-century counterpoint, -Lutheran choral, or Calvinist psalm-tune. The adoption of the new style -by so many German congregations was certainly not due to a spirit of -levity, but to the belief that the novel sensation which their aesthetic -instincts craved was also an element in moral edification. From the point -of view of our more mature experience, however, there was doubtless a -deprivation of something very precious when the German people began to -lose their love for the solemn patriotic hymns of their faith, and when -choirs neglected those celestial harmonies with which men like Eccard and -Hasler lent these melodies the added charm of artistic decoration. There -would seem to be no real compensation in those buoyant songs, with their -thin accompaniment, which Italy offered as a substitute for a style grown -cold and obsolete. But out of this decadence, if we call it such, came -the cantatas and Passions of J. S. Bach, in which a reflective age like -ours, trained to settle points of fitness in matters of art, finds the -most heart-searching and heart-revealing strains that devotional feeling -has ever inspired. These glorious works could never have existed if the -Church had not sanctioned the new methods in music which Germany was so -gladly receiving from Italy. Constructed to a large extent out of secular -material, these works grew to full stature under liturgic auspices, and -at last, transcending the boundaries of ritual, they became a connecting -bond between the organized life of the Church and the larger religious -intuitions which no ecclesiastical system has ever been able to -monopolize. - -Such was the gift to the world of German Protestantism, stimulated by -those later impulses of the Renaissance movement which went forth in -music after their mission had been accomplished in plastic art. In the -Middle Age, we are told, religion and art lived together in brotherly -union; Protestantism threw away art and kept religion, Renaissance -rationalism threw away religion and retained art. In painting and -sculpture this is very nearly the truth; in music it is very far from -being true. It is the glory of the art of music, that she has almost -always been able to resist the drift toward sensuousness and levity, and -where she has apparently yielded, her recovery has been speedy and sure. -So susceptible is her very nature to the finest touches of religious -feeling, that every revival of the pure spirit of devotion has always -found her prepared to adapt herself to new spiritual demands, and out of -apparent decline to develop forms of religious expression more beautiful -and sublime even than the old. - -Conspicuous among the forms with which the new movement endowed the -German Church was the cantata. This form of music may be traced back to -Italy, where the monodic style first employed in the opera about 1600 was -soon adopted into the music of the salon. The cantata was at first a -musical recitation by a single person, without action, accompanied by a -few plain chords struck upon a single instrument. This simple design was -expanded in the first half of the seventeenth century into a work in -several movements and in many parts or voices. Religious texts were soon -employed and the church cantata was born. The cantata was eagerly taken -up by the musicians of the German Protestant Church and became a -prominent feature in the regular order of worship. In the seventeenth -century the German Church cantata consisted usually of an instrumental -introduction, a chorus singing a Bible text, a "spiritual aria" (a -strophe song, sometimes for one, sometimes for a number of voices), one -or two vocal solos, and a choral. This immature form (known as "spiritual -concerto," "spiritual dialogue" or "spiritual act of devotion"), -consisting of an alternation of Biblical passages and church or -devotional hymns, flourished greatly in the seventeenth and early part of -the eighteenth centuries. In its complete development in the eighteenth -century it also incorporated the recitative and the Italian aria form, -and carried to their full power the chorus, especially the chorus based -on the choral melody, and the organ accompaniment. By means of the -prominent employment of themes taken from choral tunes appointed for -particular days in the church calendar, especially those days consecrated -to the contemplation of events in the life of our Lord, the cantata -became the most effective medium for the expression of those emotions -called forth in the congregation by their imagined participation in the -scenes which the ritual commemorated. The stanzas of the hymns which -appear in the cantata illustrate the Biblical texts, applying and -commenting upon them in the light of Protestant conceptions. The words -refer to some single phase of religious feeling made conspicuous in the -order for the clay. A cantata is, therefore, quite analogous to the -anthem of the Church of England, although on a larger scale. Unlike an -oratorio, it is neither epic nor dramatic, but renders some mood, more or -less general, of prayer or praise. - -We have seen that the Lutheran Church borrowed many features from the -musical practice of the Catholic Church, such as portions of the Mass, -the habit of chanting, and ancient hymns and tunes. Another inheritance -was the custom of singing the story of Christ's Passion, with musical -additions, in Holy Week. This usage, which may be traced back to a remote -period in the Middle Age, must be distinguished from the method, -prevalent as early as the thirteenth century, of actually representing -the events of Christ's last days in visible action upon the stage. The -Passion play, which still survives in Oberammergau in Bavaria, and in -other more obscure parts of Europe, was one of a great number of -ecclesiastical dramas, classed as Miracle Plays, Mysteries, and -Moralities, which were performed under the auspices of the Church for the -purpose of impressing the people in the most vivid way with the reality -of the Old and New Testament stories, and the binding force of doctrines -and moral principles. - -The observance out of which the German Passion music of the eighteenth -century grew was an altogether different affair. It consisted of the mere -recitation, without histrionic accessories, of the story of the trial and -death of Christ, as narrated by one of the four evangelists, beginning in -the synoptic Gospels with the plot of the priests and scribes, and in St. -John's Gospel with the betrayal. This narration formed a part of the -liturgic office proper to Palm Sunday, Holy Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and -Good Friday. According to the primitive use, which originated in the -period of the supremacy of the Gregorian chant, several officers took -part in the delivery. One cleric intoned the evangelist's narrative, -another the words of Christ, and a third those of Pilate, Peter, and -other single personages. The ejaculations of the Jewish priests, -disciples, and mob were chanted by a small group of ministers. The text -was rendered in the simpler syllabic form of the Plain Song. Only in one -passage did this monotonous recitation give way to a more varied, -song-like utterance, _viz._, in the cry of Christ upon the cross, "Eli, -Eli, lama sabachthani," this phrase being delivered in an extended, -solemn, but unrhythmical melody, to which was imparted all the pathos -that the singer could command. The chorus parts were at first sung in -unison, then, as the art of part-writing developed, they were set in -simple four-part counterpoint. - -Under the influence of the perfected contrapuntal art of the sixteenth -century there appeared a form now known as the motet Passion, and for a -short time it flourished vigorously. In this style everything was sung in -chorus without accompaniment--evangelist's narrative, words of Christ, -Pilate, and all. The large opportunities for musical effect permitted by -this manner of treatment gained for it great esteem among musicians, for -since this purely musical method of repeating the story of Christ's death -was never conceived as in any sense dramatic, there was nothing -inconsistent in setting the words of a single personage in several parts. -The life enjoyed by this phase of Passion music was brief, for it arose -only a short time before the musical revolution, heralded by the -Florentine monody and confirmed by the opera, drove the mediaeval -polyphony into seclusion. - -With the quickly won supremacy of the dramatic and concert solo, together -with the radical changes of taste and practice which it signified, the -chanted Passion and the motet Passion were faced by a rival which was -destined to attain such dimensions in Germany that it occupied the whole -field devoted to this form of art. In the oratorio Passion, as it may be -called, the Italian recitative and aria and the sectional rhythmic chorus -took the place of the unison chant and the ancient polyphony; hymns and -poetic monologues supplemented and sometimes supplanted the Bible text; -and the impassioned vocal style, introducing the new principle of -definite expression of the words, was reinforced by the lately -emancipated art of instrumental music. For a time, these three forms of -Passion music existed side by side, the latest in an immature state; but -the stars in the firmament of modern music were fighting in their courses -for the mixed oratorio style, and in the early part of the eighteenth -century this latter form attained completion and stood forth as the most -imposing gift bestowed by Germany upon the world of ecclesiastical art. - -The path which German religious music was destined to follow in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, under the guidance of the new ideas -of expression, was plainly indicated when Heinrich Schuetz, the greatest -German composer of the seventeenth century, and the worthy forerunner of -Bach and Haendel, wrote his "histories" and "sacred symphonies." Born in -1585, he came under the inspiring instruction of G. Gabrieli in Venice in -1609, and on a second visit to Italy in 1628 he became still more imbued -with the dominant tendencies of the age. He was appointed chapel-master -at the court of the Elector of Saxony at Dresden in 1615, and held this -position, with a few brief interruptions, until his death in 1672. He was -a musician of the most solid attainments, and although living in a -transition period in the history of music, he was cautious and respectful -in his attitude toward both the methods which were at that time in -conflict, accepting the new discoveries in dramatic expression as -supplementary, not antagonistic, to the old ideal of devotional music. In -his psalms he employed contrasting and combining choral masses, -reinforced by a band of instruments. In the Symphoniae sacrae are songs -for one or more solo voices, with instrumental obligato, in which the -declamatory recitative style is employed with varied and appropriate -effect. In his dramatic religious works, the "Resurrection," the "Seven -Words of the Redeemer upon the Cross," the "Conversion of Saul," and the -Passions after the four evangelists, Schuetz uses the vocal solo, the -instrumental accompaniment, and the dramatic chorus in a tentative -manner, attaining at times striking effects of definite expression quite -in accordance with modern ideas, while anon he falls back upon the strict -impersonal method identified with the ancient Plain Song and -sixteenth-century motet. Most advanced in style and rich in expression is -the "Seven Words." A feature characteristic of the rising school of -German Passion music is the imagined presence of Christian believers, -giving utterance in chorus to the emotions aroused by the contemplation -of the atoning act. In the "Seven Words" the utterances of Jesus and the -other separate personages are given in arioso recitative, rising at times -to pronounced melody. The tone of the whole work is fervent, elevated, -and churchly. The evangelist and all the persons except Christ sing to an -organ bass,--the words of the Saviour are accompanied by the ethereal -tones of stringed instruments, perhaps intended as an emblematic -equivalent to the aureole in religious paintings. In Schuetz's settings of -the Passion, although they belong to the later years of his life, he -returns to the primitive form, in which the parts of the evangelist and -the single characters are rendered in the severe "collect tone" of the -ancient Plain Song, making no attempt at exact expression of changing -sentiments. Even in these restrained and lofty works, however, his genius -as a composer and his progressive sympathies as a modern artist -occasionally break forth in vivid expression given to the ejaculations of -priests, disciples, and Jewish mob, attaining a quite remarkable warmth -and reality of portrayal. Nevertheless, these isolated attempts at -naturalism hardly bring the Passions of Schuetz into the category of -modern works. There is no instrumental accompaniment, and, most decisive -of all, they are restrained within the limits of the mediaeval conception -by the ancient Gregorian tonality, which is maintained throughout almost -to the entire exclusion of chromatic alteration. - -The works of Schuetz, therefore, in spite of their sweetness and dignity -and an occasional glimpse of picturesque detail, are not to be considered -as steps in the direct line of progress which led from the early Italian -cantata and oratorio to the final achievements of Bach and Haendel. These -two giants of the culminating period apparently owed nothing to Schuetz. -It is not probable that they had any acquaintance with his works at all. -The methods and the ideals of these three were altogether different. -Considering how common and apparently necessary in art is the reciprocal -influence of great men, it is remarkable that in the instance of the -greatest German musician of the seventeenth century and the two greatest -of the eighteenth, all working in the field of religious dramatic music, -not one was affected in the slightest degree by the labors of either of -the others. Here we have the individualism of modern art exhibited in the -most positive degree upon its very threshold. - -In the Passions of Schuetz we find only the characters of the Bible story, -together with the evangelist's narrative taken literally from the -Gospel,--that is to say, the original frame-work of the Passion music -with the chorus element elaborated. In the latter part of the seventeenth -century the dramatic scheme of the Passion was enlarged by the addition -of the Christian congregation, singing appropriate chorals, and the ideal -company of believers, expressing suitable sentiments in recitatives, -arias, and choruses. The insertion of church hymns was of the highest -importance in view of the relation of the Passion music to the liturgy, -for the more stress was laid upon this feature, the more the Passion, in -spite of its semi-dramatic character, became fitted as a constituent into -the order of service. The choral played here the same part as in the -cantata, assimilating to the prescribed order of worship what would -otherwise be an extraneous if not a disturbing feature. This was -especially the case when, as in the beginning of the adoption of the -choral in the Passion, the hymn verses were sung by the congregation -itself. In Bach's time this custom had fallen into abeyance, and the -choral stanzas were sung by the choir; but this change involved no -alteration in the form or the conception of the Passion performance as a -liturgic act. - -The growth of the Passion music from Schuetz to its final beauty and -pathos under Sebastian Bach was by no means constant. In certain -quarters, particularly at Hamburg, the aria in the shallow Italian form -took an utterly disproportionate importance. The opera, which was -flourishing brilliantly at Hamburg about 1700, exercised a perverting -influence upon the Passion to such an extent that the ancient liturgic -traditions were completely abandoned. In many of the Hamburg Passions the -Bible text was thrown away and poems substituted, all of which were of -inferior literary merit, and some quite contemptible. Incredible as it -may seem, the comic element was sometimes introduced, the "humorous" -characters being the servant Malthus whose ear was cut off by Peter, and -a clownish peddler of ointment. It must be said that these productions -were not given in the churches; they are not to be included in the same -category with the strictly liturgic Passions of Sebastian Bach. The -comparative neglect of the choral and also of the organ removes them -altogether from the proper history of German church music. - -Thus we see how the new musical forms, almost creating the emotions which -they were so well adapted to express, penetrated to the very inner shrine -of German church music. In some sections, as at Hamburg, the Italian -culture supplanted the older school altogether. In others it encountered -sterner resistance, and could do no more than form an alliance, in which -old German rigor and reserve became somewhat ameliorated and relaxed -without becoming perverted. To produce an art work of the highest order -out of this union of contrasting principles, a genius was needed who -should possess so true an insight into the special capabilities of each -that he should be able by their amalgamation to create a form of -religious music that should be conformed to the purest conception of the -mission of church song, and at the same time endowed with those faculties -for moving the affections which were demanded by the tastes of the new -age. In fulness of time this genius appeared. His name was Johann -Sebastian Bach. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE CULMINATION OF GERMAN PROTESTANT MUSIC: - JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - - -The name of Bach is the greatest in Protestant church music,--there are -many who do not hesitate to say that it is the greatest in all the -history of music, religious and secular. The activity of this man was -many-sided, and his invention seems truly inexhaustible. He touched every -style of music known to his day except the opera, and most of the forms -that he handled he raised to the highest power that they have ever -attained. Many of his most admirable qualities appear in his secular -works, but these we must pass over. In viewing him exclusively as a -composer for the Church, however, we shall see by far the most -considerable part of him, for his secular compositions, remarkable as -they are, always appear rather as digressions from the main business of -his life. His conscious life-long purpose was to enrich the musical -treasury of the Church he loved, to strengthen and signalize every -feature of her worship which his genius could reach: and to this lofty -aim he devoted an intellectual force and an energy of loyal enthusiasm -unsurpassed in the annals of art. - -Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the monumental figures in the religious -history of Germany, undoubtedly the most considerable in the two -centuries following the death of Luther. Like Luther, of whom in some -respects he reminds us, he was a man rooted fast in German soil, sprung -from sturdy peasant stock, endowed with the sterling piety and -steadfastness of moral purpose which had long been traditional in the -Teutonic character. His culture was at its basis purely German. He never -went abroad to seek the elegancies which his nation lacked. He did not -despise them, but he let them come to him to be absorbed into the massive -substance of his national education, in order that this education might -become in the deepest sense liberal and human. He interpreted what was -permanent and hereditary in German culture, not what was ephemeral and -exotic. He ignored the opera, although it was the reigning form in every -country in Europe. He planted himself squarely on German church music, -particularly the essentially German art of organ playing, and on that -foundation, supplemented with what was best of Italian and French device, -he built up a massive edifice which bears in plan, outline, and every -decorative detail the stamp of a German craftsman. - -The most musical family known to history was that of the Bachs. In six -generations (Sebastian belonging to the fifth) we find marked musical -ability, which in a number of instances before Sebastian appeared -amounted almost to genius. As many as thirty-seven of the name are known -to have held important musical positions. A large number during the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were members of the town bands and -choruses, which sustained almost the entire musical culture among the -common people of Germany during that period. These organizations, -combining the public practice of religious and secular music, were -effective in nourishing both the artistic and the religious spirit of the -time. In Germany in the seventeenth century there was as yet no opera and -concert system to concentrate musical activity in the theatre and public -hall. The Church was the nursery of musical culture, and this culture was -in no sense artificial or borrowed,--it was based on types long known and -beloved by the common people as their peculiar national inheritance, and -associated with much that was stirring and honorable in their history. - -Thuringia was one of the most musical districts in Germany in the -seventeenth century, and was also a stronghold of the reformed religion. -From this and its neighboring districts the Bachs never wandered. Eminent -as they were in music, hardly one of them ever visited Italy or received -instruction from a foreign master. They kept aloof from the courts, the -hot-beds of foreign musical growths, and submitted themselves to the -service of the Protestant Church. They were peasants and small farmers, -well to do and everywhere respected. Their stern self-mastery held them -uncontaminated by the wide-spread demoralization that followed the Thirty -Years' War. They appear as admirable types of that undemonstrative, -patient, downright, and tenacious quality which has always saved Germany -from social decline or disintegration in critical periods. - -Into such a legacy of intelligence, thrift, and probity came Johann -Sebastian Bach. All the most admirable traits of his ancestry shine out -again in him, reinforced by a creative gift which seems the accumulation -of all the several talents of his house. He was born at Eisenach, March -21, 1685. His training as a boy was mainly received in choir schools at -Ohrdruf and Lueneburg, attaining mastership as organist and contrapuntist -at the age of eighteen. He held official positions at Arnstadt, -Muehlhausen, Weimar, and Anhalt-Coethen, and was finally called to Leipsic -as cantor of the Thomas school and director of music at the Thomas and -Nicolai churches, where he labored from 1723 until his death in 1750. His -life story presents no incidents of romantic interest. But little is -known of his temperament or habits. In every place in which he labored -his circumstances were much the same. He was a church organist and choir -director from the beginning to the end of his career. He became the -greatest organist of his time and the most accomplished master of musical -science. His declared aim in life was to reform and perfect German church -music. The means to achieve this were always afforded him, so far as the -scanty musical facilities of the churches of that period would permit. -His church compositions were a part of his official routine duties. His -recognized abilities always procured him positions remunerative enough to -protect him from anxiety. He was never subject to interruptions or -serious discouragements. From first to last the path in life which he was -especially qualified to pursue was clearly marked out before him. His -genius, his immense physical and mental energy, and his high sense of -duty to God and his employers did the rest. Nowhere is there the record -of a life more simple, straightforward, symmetrical, and complete. - -In spite of the intellectual and spiritual apathy prevailing in many -sections of Germany, conditions were not altogether unfavorable for the -special task which Bach assigned to himself. His desire to build up -church music did not involve an effort to restore to congregational -singing its pristine zeal, or to revive an antiquarian taste for the -historic choir anthem. Bach was a man of the new time; he threw himself -into the current of musical progress, seized upon the forms which were -still in process of development, giving them technical completeness and -bringing to light latent possibilities which lesser men had been unable -to discern. - -The material for his purpose was already within his reach. The religious -folk-song, freighted with a precious store of memories, was still an -essential factor in public and private worship. The art of organ playing -had developed a vigorous and pregnant national style in the choral -prelude, the fugue, and a host of freer forms. The Passion music and the -cantata had recently shown signs of brilliant promise. The Italian solo -song was rejoicing in its first flush of conquest on German soil. No one, -however, could foresee what might be done with these materials until Bach -arose. He gathered them all in his hand, remoulded, blended, enlarged -them, touched them with the fire of his genius and his religious passion, -and thus produced works of art which, intended for German evangelicalism, -are now being adopted by the world as the most comprehensive symbols in -music of the essential Christian faith.[73] - -Bach was one of those supreme artists who concentrate in themselves the -spirit and the experiments of an epoch. In order, therefore, to know how -the persistent religious consciousness of Germany strove to attain -self-recognition through those art agencies which finally became fully -operative in the eighteenth century, we need only study the works of this -great representative musician, passing by the productions of the -organists and cantors who shared, although in feebler measure, his -illumination. For Bach was no isolated phenomenon of his time. He created -no new styles; he gave art no new direction. He was one out of many -poorly paid and overworked church musicians, performing the duties that -were traditionally attached to his office, improvising fugues and -preludes, and accompanying choir and congregation at certain moments in -the service, composing motets, cantatas, and occasionally a larger work -for the regular order of the day, providing special music for a church -festival, a public funeral, the inauguration of a town council, or the -installation of a pastor. What distinguished Bach was simply the -superiority of his work on these time-honored lines, the amazing variety -of sentiment which he extracted from these conventional forms, the -scientific learning which puts him among the greatest technicians in the -whole range of art, the prodigality of ideas, depth of feeling, and a -sort of introspective mystical quality which he was able to impart to the -involved and severe diction of his age. - -Bach's devotion to the Lutheran Church was almost as absorbed as -Palestrina's to the Catholic. His was a sort of cloistered seclusion. -Like every one who has made his mark upon church music he reverenced the -Church as a historic institution. Her government, ceremonial, and -traditions impressed his imagination, and kindled a blind, instinctive -loyalty. He felt that he attained to his true self only under her -admonitions. Her service was to him perfect freedom. His opportunity to -contribute to the glory of the Church was one that dwarfed every other -privilege, and his official duty, his personal pleasure, and his highest -ambition ran like a single current, fed by many streams, in one and the -same channel. To measure the full strength of the mighty tide of feeling -which runs through Bach's church music we must recognize this element of -conviction, of moral necessity. Given Bach's inherited character, his -education and his environment, add the personal factor--imagination and -reverence--and you have Bach's music, spontaneous yet inevitable, like a -product of nature. Only out of such single-minded devotion to the -interests of the Church, both as a spiritual nursery and as a venerated -institution, has great church art ever sprung or can it spring. - -Bach's productions for the Church are divided into two general classes, -_viz._, organ music and vocal music. The organ music is better known to -the world at large, and on account of its greater availability may -outlive the vocal works in actual practice. For many reasons more or less -obvious Bach's organ works are constantly heard in connection with public -worship, both Catholic and Protestant, in Europe and America, and their -use is steadily increasing; while the choral compositions have almost -entirely fallen out of the stated religious ceremony, even in Germany, -and have been relegated to the concert hall. In course of time the organ -solo had grown into a constituent feature of the public act of worship in -the German Protestant Church. In the Catholic Church solo organ playing -is less intrinsic; in fact it has no real historic or liturgic -authorization and gives the impression rather of an embellishment, like -elaborately carved choir-screens and rose windows, very ornamental and -impressive, but not indispensable. But in the German system organ playing -had become established by a sort of logic, first as an accompaniment to -the people's hymn--a function it assumed about 1600--and afterwards in -the practice of extemporization upon choral themes. Out of this latter -custom a style of organ composition grew up in the seventeenth century -which, through association and a more or less definite correspondence -with the spirit and order of the prescribed service, came to be looked -upon as distinctively a church style. This German organ music was -strictly church music according to the only adequate definition of church -music that has ever been given, for it had grown up within the Church -itself, and through its very liturgic connections had come to make its -appeal to the worshipers, not as an artistic decoration, but as an agency -directly adapted to aid in promoting those ends which the church ceremony -had in view. Furthermore, the dignity and severe intellectuality of this -German organ style, combined with its majesty of sound and strength of -movement, seemed to add distinctly to the biblical flavor of the liturgy, -the uncompromising dogmatism of the authoritative teaching, and the -intense moral earnestness which prevailed in the Church of Luther in its -best estate. It was a form of art which was native to the organ, implied -in the very tone and mechanism of the instrument; it was absolutely -untouched by the lighter tendencies already active in secular music. The -notion of making the organ play pretty tunes and tickle the ear with the -imitative sound of fancy stops never entered the heads of the German -church musicians. The gravity and disciplined intelligence proper to the -exercise of an ecclesiastical office must pervade every contribution of -the organist. This conception was equally a matter of course to the mass -of the people, and so the taste of the congregation and the conviction of -the clerical authorities supported the organists in their adherence to -the traditions of their strict and complex art. This lordly style was no -less worthy of reverence in the eyes of all concerned because it was to -all intents a German art, virtually unknown in other countries, except -partially in the sister land of Holland, and therefore hedged about with -the sanctions of patriotism as well as the universally admitted canons of -religious musical expression. - -This form of music was evolved originally under the suggestion of the -mediaeval vocal polyphony,--counterpoint redistributed and systematized -in accordance with the modern development of rhythm, tonality, and -sectional structure. Its birthplace was Italy; the canzona of Frescobaldi -and his compeers was the parent of the fugue. The task of developing this -Italian germ was given to the Dutch and Germans. The instrumental -instinct and constructive genius of such men as Swelinck, Scheidt, -Buxtehude, Froberger, and Pachelbel carried the movement so far as to -reveal its full possibilities, and Bach brought these possibilities to -complete realization. - -As an organ player and composer it would seem that Bach stands at the -summit of human achievement. His whole art as a player is to be found in -his fugues, preludes, fantasies, toccatas, sonatas, and choral -variations. In his fugues he shows perhaps most convincingly that supreme -mastery of design and splendor of invention and fancy which have given -him the place he holds by universal consent among the greatest artists of -all time. In these compositions there is a variety and individuality -which, without such examples, one could hardly suppose that this -arbitrary form of construction would admit. With Bach the fugue is no dry -intellectual exercise. So far as the absolutism of its laws permits, -Bach's imagination moved as freely in the fugue as Beethoven's in the -sonata or Schubert's in the lied. Its peculiar idiom was as native to him -as his rugged Teuton speech. A German student's musical education in that -day began with counterpoint, as at the present time it begins with -figured bass harmony; the ability to write every species of polyphony -with ease was a matter of course with every musical apprentice. But with -Bach, the master, the fugue was not merely the sign of technical -facility; it was a means of expression, a supreme manifestation of style. -By the telling force of his subjects, the amazing dexterity and rich -fancy displayed in their treatment, the ability to cover the widest range -of emotional suggestion, his fugues appeal to a far deeper sense than -wonder at technical cleverness. Considering that it lies in the very -essence of the contrapuntal style that it should be governed by certain -very rigid laws of design and procedure, we may apply to Bach's organ -works in general a term that has been given to architecture, and say that -they are "construction beautified." By this is meant that every feature, -however beautiful in itself, finds its final charm and justification only -as a necessary component in the comprehensive plan. Each detail helps to -push onward the systematic unfolding of the design, it falls into its -place by virtue of the laws of fitness and proportion; logical and -organic, but at the same time decorative and satisfactory to the -aesthetic sense. There is indeed something almost architectonic in these -masterpieces of the great Sebastian. In their superb rolling harmonies, -their dense involutions, their subtle and inevitable unfoldings, their -long-drawn cadences, and their thrilling climaxes, they seem to possess a -fit relation to the vaulted, reverberating ceilings, the massive pillars, -and the half-lighted recesses of the sombre old buildings in which they -had their birth. In both the architecture and the music we seem to -apprehend a religious earnestness which drew its nourishment from the -most hidden depths of the soul, and which, even in its moments of -exultation, would not appear to disregard those stern convictions in -which it believed that it found the essentials of its faith. - -A form of instrumental music existed in the German Protestant Church -which was peculiar to that institution, and which was exceedingly -significant as forming a connecting link between organ solo playing and -the congregational worship. We have seen that the choral, at the very -establishment of the new order by Luther, became a characteristic feature -of the office of devotion, entering into the very framework of the -liturgy by virtue of the official appointment of particular hymns -(Hauptlieder) on certain days. As soon as the art of organ playing set -out upon its independent career early in the seventeenth century, the -organists began to take up the choral melodies as subjects for extempore -performance. These tunes were especially adapted to this purpose by -reason of their stately movement and breadth of style, which gave -opportunity for the display of that mastery of florid harmonization in -which the essence of the organist's art consisted. The organist never -played the printed compositions of others, or even his own, for -voluntaries. He would no more think of doing so than a clergyman would -preach another man's sermon, or even read one of his own from manuscript. -To this day German unwritten law is rigorous on both these matters. The -organist's method was always to improvise in the strict style upon themes -invented by himself or borrowed from other sources. Nothing was more -natural than that he should use the choral tunes as his quarry, not only -on account of their technical suitableness, but still more from the -interest that would be aroused in the congregation, and the unity that -would be established between the office of the organist and that of the -people. The chorals that were appointed for the day would commonly -furnish the player with his raw material, and the song of the people -would appear again soaring above their heads, adorned by effective tonal -combinations. This method could also be employed to a more moderate -extent in accompanying the congregation as they sang the hymn in unison; -interludes between the stanzas and even flourishes at the ends of the -lines would give scope to the organist to exhibit his knowledge and -fancy. The long-winded interlude at last became an abuse, and was reduced -or suppressed; but the free organ prelude on the entire choral melody -grew in favor, and before Bach's day ability in this line was the chief -test of a player's competence. In Bach's early days choral preludes by -famous masters had found their way into print in large numbers, and were -the objects of his assiduous study. His own productions in this class -surpassed all his models, and as a free improviser on choral themes he -excelled all his contemporaries. "I had supposed," said the famous -Reinken, who at the age of ninety-seven heard Bach extemporize on "An -Wasserfluessen Babylon" at Hamburg,--"I had supposed that this art was -dead, but I see that it still lives in you." In this species of playing, -the hymn melody is given out with one hand or upon the pedals, while -around it is woven a network of freely moving parts. The prelude may be -brief, included within the space limits of the original melody, or it may -be indefinitely extended by increasing the length of the choral notes and -working out interludes between the lines. The one hundred and thirty -choral preludes which have come down to us from Bach's pen are samples of -the kind of thing that he was extemporizing Sunday after Sunday. In these -pieces the accompaniment is sometimes fashioned on the basis of a -definite melodic figure which is carried, with modulations and subtle -modifications, all through the stanza, sometimes on figures whose pattern -changes with every line; while beneath or within the sounding arabesques -are heard the long sonorous notes of the choral, holding the hearer -firmly to the ground idea which the player's art is striving to impress -and beautify. This form of music is something very different from the -"theme and variations," which has played so conspicuous a part in the -modern instrumental school from Haydn down to the present. In the choral -prelude there is no modification of the theme itself; the subject in -single notes forms a _cantus firmus_, on the same principle that appears -in the mediaeval vocal polyphony, around which the freely invented parts, -moving laterally, are entwined. Although these compositions vary greatly -in length, a single presentation of the decorated choral tune suffices -with Bach except in rare instances, such as the prelude on "O Lamm Gottes -unschuldig," in which the melody is given out three times, with a -different scheme of ornament at each repetition. - -That Bach always restricts his choral elaboration to the end of -illustrating the sentiment of the words with which the theme is -illustrated would be saying too much. Certainly he often does so, as in -such beautiful examples as "O Mensch, bewein' dein' Suende gross," -"Schmuecke dich, meine liebe Seele," and that touching setting of "Wenn -wir in hoechsten Noethen sein" which Bach dictated upon his deathbed. But -the purpose of the choral prelude in the church worship was not -necessarily to reflect and emphasize the thought of the hymn. This usage -having become conventional, and the organist being allowed much latitude -in his treatment, his pride in his science would lead him to dilate and -elaborate according to a musical rather than a poetic impulse, thinking -less of appropriateness to a precise mood (an idea which, indeed, had -hardly became lodged in instrumental music in Bach's time) than of -producing an abstract work of art contrived in accordance with the formal -prescriptions of German musical science. The majority of Bach's works in -this form are, it must be said, conventional and scholastic, some even -dry and pedantic. Efforts at popularizing them at the present day have -but slight success; but in not a few Bach's craving for expression crops -out, and some of his most gracious inspirations are to be found in these -incidental and apparently fugitive productions. - -In order to win the clue to Bach's vocal as well as his instrumental -style, we must constantly refer back to his works for the organ. As -Haendel's genius in oratorio was shaped under the influence of the Italian -aria, direct or derived, and as certain modern composers, such as -Berlioz, seize their first conceptions already clothed in orchestral -garb, so Bach seemed to think in terms of the organ. Examine one of his -contrapuntal choruses, or even one of his arias with its obligato -accompaniment, and you are instantly reminded of the mode of facture of -his organ pieces. His education rested upon organ music, and he only -yielded to one of the most potent influences of his time when he made the -organ the dominant factor in his musical expression. The instrumental -genius of Germany had already come to self-consciousness at the end of -the seventeenth century, and was as plainly revealing itself in organ -music as it did a century later in the sonata and symphony. The virtuoso -spirit--the just pride in technical skill--always keeps pace with the -development of style; in the nature of things these two are mutually -dependent elements in progress. In Bach the love of exercising his skill -as an executant was a part of his very birthright as a musician. The -organ was to him very much what the pianoforte was to Liszt, and in each -the virtuoso instinct was a fire which must burst forth, or it would -consume the very soul of its possessor. And so we find among the fugues, -fantasies, and toccatas of Bach compositions whose dazzling magnificence -is not exceeded by the most sensational effusions of the modern -pianoforte and orchestral schools. In all the realm of music there is -nothing more superb than those Niagaras of impetuous sound which roll -through such works as the F major and D minor toccatas and the G major -fantasie,--to select examples out of scores of equally apt illustrations. -But sound and fury are by no means their aim; Bach's invention and -science are never more resourceful than when apparently driven by the -demon of unrest. In order to give the freest sweep to his fancy Bach, the -supreme lord of form, often broke through form's conventionalisms, so -that even his fugues sometimes became, as they have been called, -fantasies in the form of fugues, just as Beethoven, under a similar -impulse, wrote _sonate quasi fantasie_. Witness the E minor fugue with -the "wedge theme." In Bach's day and country there was no concert stage; -the instrumental virtuoso was the organist. It is not necessary to -suppose, therefore, that pieces so exciting to the nerves as those to -which I have alluded were all composed strictly for the ordinary church -worship. There were many occasions, such as the "opening" of a new organ -or a civic festival, when the organist could "let himself go" without -incurring the charge of introducing a profane or alien element. And yet, -even as church music, these pieces were not altogether incongruous. We -must always keep in mind that the question of appropriateness in church -music depends very much upon association and custom. A style that would -be execrated as blasphemous in a Calvinist assembly would be received as -perfectly becoming in a Catholic or Lutheran ceremony. A style of music -that has grown up in the very heart of a certain Church, identified for -generations with the peculiar ritual and history of that Church, is -proper ecclesiastical music so far as that particular institution is -concerned. Those who condemn Bach's music--organ works, cantatas, and -Passions--as unchurchly ignore this vital point. Moreover, the conception -of the function of music in the service of the German Evangelical Church -was never so austere that brilliancy and grandeur were deemed -incompatible with the theory of religious ceremony. It may be said that -Bach's grandest organ pieces are conceived as the expression of what may -be called the religious passion--the rapture which may not unworthily -come upon the believer when his soul opens to the reception of ideas the -most penetrating and sublime. - -Certainly no other religious institution has come so near the solution of -the problem of the proper use of the instrumental solo in public worship. -Through the connection of the organ music with the people's hymn in the -choral prelude, and the conformity of its style to that of the choir -music in motet and cantata, it became vitally blended with the whole -office of praise and prayer; its effect was to gather up and merge all -individual emotions into the projection of the mood of aspiration that -was common to all. - -The work performed by Bach for the church cantata was somewhat similar in -nature to his service to the choral prelude, and was carried out with a -far more lavish expenditure of creative power. The cantata, now no longer -a constituent of the German Evangelical worship, in the eighteenth -century held a place in the ritual analogous to that occupied by the -anthem in the morning and evening prayer of the Church of England. It is -always of larger scale than the anthem, and its size was one cause of its -exclusion in the arbitrary and irregular reductions which the Evangelical -liturgies have undergone in the last century and a half. There is nothing -in its florid character to justify this procedure, for it may be, and in -Bach usually is, more closely related to the ritual framework than the -English anthem, in consequence of the manner in which it has been made to -absorb strictly liturgic forms into its substance. Bach, in his cantatas, -kept the notion of liturgic unity clearly in mind. He effected this unity -largely by his use of the choral as a conspicuous element in the cantata, -often as its very foundation. He checked the Italianizing process by -working the arioso recitative, the aria for one or more voices, and the -chorus into one grand musical scheme, in which his intricate organ style -served both as fabric and decoration. By the unexampled prominence which -he gave the choral as a mine of thematic material, he gave the cantata -not only a striking originality, but also an air of unmistakable fitness -to the character and special expression of the confession which it -served. By these means, which are concerned with its form, and still more -by the astonishing variety, truth, and beauty with which he was able to -meet the needs of each occasion for which a work of this kind was -appointed, he endowed his Church and nation with a treasure of religious -song compared with which, for magnitude, diversity, and power, the -creative work of any other church musician that may be named--Palestrina, -Gabrieli, or whoever he may be--sinks into insignificance. - -Bach wrote five series of cantatas for the Sundays and festal days of the -church year--in all two hundred and ninety-five. Of these two hundred and -sixty-six were written at Leipsic. They vary greatly in length, the -shortest occupying twenty minutes or so in performance, the longest an -hour or more. Taken together, they afford such an astonishing display of -versatility that any proper characterization of them in a single chapter -would be quite out of the question. A considerable number are available -for study in Peters's cheap edition, and the majority are analyzed with -respect to their salient features in Spitta's encyclopedic Bach -biography. Among the great diversity of interesting qualities which they -exhibit, the employment of the choral must be especially emphasized as -affording the clue, already indicated, to Bach's whole conception of the -cantata as a species of religious art. The choral, especially that -appointed for a particular day (Hauptlied), is often used as the guiding -thread which weaves the work into the texture of the whole daily office. -In such cases the chosen choral will appear in the different numbers of -the work in fragments or motives, sometimes as subject for voice parts, -or woven into the accompaniment as theme or in obligato fashion. It is -more common for entire lines of the choral to be treated as _canti -firmi_, forming the subjects on which elaborate contrapuntal choruses are -constructed, following precisely the same principle of design that I have -described in the case of the organ choral preludes. In multitudes of -cantata movements lines or verses from two or more chorals are -introduced. There are cantatas, such as "Wer nur den lieben Gott," in -which each number, whether recitative, aria, or chorus, takes its -thematic material, intact or modified, from a choral. The famous "Ein' -feste Burg," is a notable example of a cantata in which Bach adheres to a -hymn-tune in every number, treating it line by line, deriving from it the -pervading tone of the work is well as its constructional plan. The ways -in which Bach applies the store of popular religious melody to the higher -uses of art are legion. A cantata of Bach usually ends with a choral in -its complete ordinary form, plainly but richly harmonized in -note-for-note four-part setting as though for congregational singing. It -was not the custom, however, in Bach's day for the congregation to join -in this closing choral. There are cantatas, such as the renowned "Ich -hatte viel Bekuemmerniss," in which the choral melody nowhere appears. -Such cantatas are rare, and the use of the choral became more prominent -and systematic in Bach's work as time went on. - -The devotional ideal of the Protestant Church as compared with the -Catholic gives far more liberal recognition to the private religious -consciousness of the individual. The believer does not so completely -surrender his personality; in his mental reactions to the ministrations -of the clergy he still remains aware of that inner world of experience -which is his world, not merged and lost in the universalized life of a -religious community. The Church is his inspirer and guide, not his -absolute master. The foundation of the German choral was a religious -declaration of independence. The German hymns were each the testimony of -a thinker to his own private conception of religious truth. The tone and -feeling of each hymn were suggested and colored by the general doctrine -of the Church, but not dictated. The adoption of these utterances of -independent feeling into the liturgy was a recognition on the part of -authority of individual right. It was not a concession; it was the legal -acknowledgment of a fundamental principle. Parallel to this significant -privilege was the admission of music of the largest variety and -penetrated at will with subjective feeling. This conception was carried -out consistently in the cantata as established by Bach, most liberally, -of course, in the arias. The words of the cantata consisted of Bible -texts, stanzas of church hymns, and religious poems, the whole -illustrating some Scripture theme or referring to some especial -commemoration. The hard and fast metrical schemes of the German hymns -were unsuited to the structure and rhythm of the aria, and so a form of -verse known as the madrigal, derived from Italy, was used when rhythmical -flexibility was an object. For all these reasons we have in Bach's arias -the widest license of expression admissible in the school of art which he -represented. The Hamburg composers, in their shallow aims, had boldly -transferred the Italian concert aria as it stood into the Church, as a -sign of their complete defiance of ecclesiastical prescription. Not so -Bach; the ancient churchly ideal was to him a thing to be reverenced, -even when he departed from it. He, therefore, took a middle course. The -Italian notion of an aria--buoyant, tuneful, the voice part sufficient -unto itself--had no place in Bach's method. A melody to him was usually a -detail in a contrapuntal scheme. And so be wove the voice part into the -accompaniment, a single instrument--a violin, perhaps, or oboe--often -raised into relief, vying with the voice on equal terms, often soaring -above it and carrying the principal theme, while the voice part serves as -an obligato. This method, hardly consistent with a pure vocal system, -often results with Bach, it must be confessed, in something very -mechanical and monotonous to modern ears. The artifice is apparent; the -author seems more bent on working out a sort of algebraic formula than -interpreting the text to the sensibility. From the traditional point of -view this method is not in itself _mal a propos_, for such a treatment -raises the sentiment into that calm region of abstraction which is the -proper refuge of the devotional mood. But here, as in the organ pieces, -Bach is no slave to his technic. There are many arias in his cantatas in -which the musical expression is not only beautiful and touching in the -highest degree, but also yields with wonderful truth to every mutation of -feeling in the text. Still more impressively is this mastery of -expression shown in the arioso recitatives. In their depth and beauty -they are unique in religious music. Only in very rare moments can Haendel -pretend to rival them. Mendelssohn reflects them in his oratorios and -psalms,--as the moon reflects the sun. - -The choruses of Bach's cantatas would furnish a field for endless study. -Nowhere else is his genius more grandly displayed. The only work entitled -to be compared with these choruses is found in Haendel's oratorios. In -drawing such a parallel, and observing the greater variety of style in -Haendel, we must remember that Bach's cantatas are church music. Haendel's -oratorios are not. Bach's cantata texts are not only confined to a single -sphere of thought, _viz._, the devotional, but they are also strictly -lyric. The church cantata does not admit any suggestion of action or -external picture. The oratorio, on the other hand, is practically -unlimited in scope, and in Haendel's choruses the style and treatment are -given almost unrestrained license in the way of dramatic and epic -suggestion. Within the restrictions imposed upon him, however, Bach -expends upon his choruses a wealth of invention in design and expression -not less wonderful than that exhibited in his organ works. The motet -form, the free fantasia and the choral fantasia forms are all employed, -and every device known to his art is applied for the illustration of the -text. Grace and tenderness, when the cheering assurances of the Gospel -are the theme, crushing burdens of gloom when the author's thought turns -to the mysteries of death and judgment, mournfulness in view of sin, the -pleading accents of contrition,--every manifestation of emotion which a -rigid creed, allied to a racial mysticism which evades positive -conceptions, can call forth is projected in tones whose strength and -fervor were never attained before in religious music. It is Bach's organ -style which is here in evidence, imparting to the chorus its close-knit -structure and majesty of sound, humanized by a melody drawn from the -choral and from what was most refined in Italian art. - -"One peculiar trait in Bach's nature," says Kretzschmar, "is revealed in -the cantatas in grand, half-distinct outlines, and this is the longing -for death and life with the Lord. This theme is struck in the cantatas -more frequently than almost any other. We know him as a giant nature in -all situations; great and grandiose is also his joy and cheerfulness. But -never, we believe, does his art work with fuller energy and abandonment -than when his texts express earth-weariness and the longing for the last -hour. The fervor which then displays itself in ever-varying registers, in -both calm and stormy regions, has in it something almost demonic."[74] - -The work that has most contributed to make the name of Bach familiar to -the educated world at large is the Passion according to St. Matthew. Bach -wrote five Passions, of which only two--the St. John and the St. -Matthew--have come down to us. The former has a rugged force like one of -Michael Angelo's unpolished statues, but it cannot fairly be compared to -the St. Matthew in largeness of conception or beauty of detail. In Bach's -treatment of the Passion story we have the culmination of the artistic -development of the early liturgic practice whose progress has already -been sketched. Bach completed the process of fusing the Italian aria and -recitative with the German chorus, hymn-tune, and organ and orchestral -music, interspersing the Gospel narrative with lyric sections in the form -of airs, arioso recitatives, and choruses, in which the feelings proper -to a believer meditating on the sufferings of Christ in behalf of mankind -are portrayed with all the poignancy of pathos of which Bach was master. - -Injudicious critics have sometimes attempted to set up a comparison -between the St. Matthew Passion and Handel's "Messiah," questioning which -is the greater. But such captious rivalry is derogatory to both, for they -are not to be gauged by the same standard. To say nothing of the radical -differences in style, origin, and artistic conception,--the one a piece -of Lutheran church music, the other an English concert oratorio of -Italian ancestry,--they are utterly unlike also in poetic intention. -Bach's work deals only with the human in Christ; it is the narrative of -his last interviews with his disciples, his arrest, trial, and death, -together with comments by imagined personalities contemplating these -events, both in their immediate action upon the sensibilities and in -their doctrinal bearing. It is, therefore, a work so mixed in style that -it is difficult to classify it, for it is both epic and implicitly -dramatic, while in all its lyric features it is set firmly into the -Evangelical liturgic scheme. The text and musical construction of the -"Messiah" have no connection with any liturgy; it is concert music of a -universal religious character, almost devoid of narrative, and with no -dramatic suggestion whatever. Each is a triumph of genius, but of genius -working with quite different intentions. - -In the formal arrangement of the St. Matthew Passion Bach had no option; -he must perforce comply with church tradition. The narrative of the -evangelist, taken without change from St. Matthew's Gospel and sung in -recitative by a tenor, is the thread upon which the successive divisions -are strung. The words of Jesus, Peter, the high priest, and Pilate are -given to a bass, and are also in recitative. The Jews and the disciples -are represented by choruses. The "Protestant congregation" forms another -group, singing appropriate chorals. A third element comprises the company -of believers and the "daughter of Zion," singing choruses and arias in -comment upon the situations as described by the evangelist. It must be -remembered that these chorus factors are not indicated by any division of -singers into groups. The work is performed throughout by the same company -of singers, in Bach's day by the diminutive choir of the Leipsic Church, -composed of boys and young men. Even in the chorals the congregation took -no part. The idea of the whole is much the same as in a series of old -Italian chapel frescoes. The disciple sits with Christ at the last -supper, accompanies him to the garden of Gethsemane and to the -procurator's hall, witnesses his mockery and condemnation, and takes his -station at the foot of the cross, lamenting alternately the sufferings of -his Lord and the sin which demanded such a sacrifice. - -Upon this prescribed formula Bach has poured all the wealth of his -experience, his imagination, and his piety. His science is not brought -forward so prominently as in many of his works, and where he finds it -necessary to employ it he subordinates it to the expression of feeling. -Yet we cannot hear without amazement the gigantic opening movement in -which the awful burden of the great tragedy is foreshadowed; where, as if -organ, orchestra, and double chorus were not enough to sustain the -composer's conception, a ninth part, bearing a choral melody, floats -above the surging mass of sound, holding the thought of the hearer to the -significance of the coming scenes. The long chorus which closes the first -part, which is constructed in the form of a figured choral, is also built -upon a scale which Bach has seldom exceeded. But the structure of the -work in general is comparatively open, and the expression direct and -clear. An atmosphere of profoundest gloom pervades the work from -beginning to end, ever growing darker as the scenes of the terrible drama -advance and culminate, yet here and there relieved by gleams of divine -tenderness and human pity. That Bach was able to carry a single mood, and -that a depressing one, through a composition of three hours' length -without falling into monotony at any point is one of the miracles of -musical creation. - -The meditative portions of the work in aria, recitative, and chorus are -rendered with great beauty and pathos, in spite of occasional archaic -stiffness. Dry and artificial some of the _da capo_ arias undoubtedly -are, for that quality of fluency which always accompanies genius never -yet failed to beguile its possessor into by-paths of dulness. But work -purely formalistic is not common in the St. Matthew Passion. Never did -religious music afford anything more touching and serene than such -numbers as the tenor solo and chorus, "Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen," -the bass solo, "Am Abend, da es kuehle war," and the recitative and -chorus, matchless in tenderness, beginning "Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh' -gebracht." Especially impressive are the tones given to the words of the -Saviour. These tones are distinguished from those of the other personages -not only by their greater melodic beauty, but also by their -accompaniment, which consists of the stringed instruments, while the -other recitatives are supported by the organ alone. In Christ's -despairing cry upon the cross, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," this -ethereal stringed accompaniment is extinguished. What Bach intended to -signify by this change is not certainly known. This exclamation of Jesus, -the only instance in his life when he seemed to lose his certainty of the -divine cooperation, must be distinguished in some way, Bach probably -thought, from all his other utterances. Additional musical means would be -utterly futile, for neither music nor any other art has any expression -for the mental anguish of that supreme moment. The only expedient -possible was to reduce music at that point, substituting plain organ -chords, and let the words of Christ stand out in bold relief in all their -terrible significance. - -The chorals in the St. Matthew Passion are taken bodily, both words and -tunes, from the church hymn-book. Prominent among them is the famous "O -Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" by Gerhardt after St. Bernard, which is used -five times. These choral melodies are harmonized in simple homophonic -style, but with extreme beauty. As an instance of the poetic fitness with -which these chorals are introduced we may cite the last in the work, -where immediately after the words "Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave -up the ghost," the chorus sings a stanza beginning "When my death hour -approaches forsake not me, O Lord." "This climax," says Spitta, "has -always been justly regarded as one of the most thrilling of the whole -work. The infinite significance of the sacrifice could not be more -simply, comprehensively, and convincingly expressed than in this -marvellous prayer." - -This wonderful creation closes with a chorus of farewell sung beside the -tomb of Jesus. It is a worthy close, for nothing more lovely and -affecting was ever confided to human lips. The gloom and agony that have -pervaded the scenes of temptation, trial, and death have quite vanished. -The tone is indeed that of lamentation, for the Passion drama in its very -aim and tradition did not admit any anticipation of the resurrection; -neither in the Catholic or Lutheran ceremonies of Good Friday is there a -foreshadowing of the Easter rejoicing. But the sentiment of this closing -chorus is not one of hopeless grief; it expresses rather a sense of -relief that suffering is past, mingled with a strain of solemn rapture, -as if dimly conscious that the tomb is not the end of all. - -The first performance of the St. Matthew Passion took place in the Thomas -church at Leipsic, on Good Friday, April 15, 1729. It was afterwards -revised and extended, and performed again in 1740. From that time it was -nowhere heard until it was produced by Felix Mendelssohn in the Sing -Academie at Berlin in 1829. The impression it produced was profound, and -marked the beginning of the revival of the study of Bach which has been -one of the most fruitful movements in nineteenth-century music. - -A work equally great in a different way, although it can never become the -object of such popular regard as the St. Matthew Passion, is the Mass in -B minor. It may seem strange that the man who more than any other -interpreted in art the genius of Protestantism should have contributed to -a form of music that is identified with the Catholic ritual. It must be -remembered that Luther was by no means inclined to break with all the -forms and usages of the mother Church. He had no quarrel with those -features of her rites which did not embody the doctrines which he -disavowed, and most heartily did he recognize the beauty and edifying -power of Catholic music. We have seen also that he was in favor of -retaining the Latin in communities where it was understood. Hence it was -that not only in Luther's day, but long after, the Evangelical Church -retained many musical features that had become sacred in the practice of -the ancient Church. The congregations of Leipsic were especially -conservative in this respect. The entire mass in figured form, however, -was not used in the Leipsic service; on certain special days a part only -would be sung. The Kyrie and Gloria, known among the Lutheran musicians -as the "short mass," were frequently employed. The B minor Mass was not -composed for the Leipsic service, but for the chapel of the king of -Saxony in Bach's honorary capacity of composer to the royal and electoral -court. It was begun in 1735 and finished in 1738, but was not performed -entire in Bach's lifetime. By the time it was completed it had outgrown -the dimensions of a service mass, and it has probably never been sung in -actual church worship. It is so difficult that its performance is an -event worthy of special commemoration. Its first complete production in -the United States was at Bethlehem, Pa., in the spring of 1900. It is -enough to say of this work here that all Bach's powers as fabricator of -intricate design, and as master of all the shades of expression which the -contrapuntal style admits, are forced to their furthest limit. So vast is -it in scale, so majestic in its movement, so elemental in the grandeur of -its climaxes, that it may well be taken as the loftiest expression in -tones of the prophetic faith of Christendom, unless Beethoven's Missa -Solemnis may dispute the title. It belongs not to the Catholic communion -alone, nor to the Protestant, but to the Church universal, the Church -visible and invisible, the Church militant and triumphant. The greatest -master of the sublime in choral music, Bach in this mass sounded all the -depths of his unrivalled science and his imaginative energy. - -There is no loftier example in history of artistic genius devoted to the -service of religion than we find in Johann Sebastian Bach. He always felt -that his life was consecrated to God, to the honor of the Church and the -well-being of men. Next to this fact we are impressed in studying him -with his vigorous intellectuality, by which I mean his accurate estimate -of the nature and extent of his own powers and his easy self-adjustment -to his environment. He was never the sport of his genius but always its -master, never carried away like so many others, even the greatest, into -extravagancies or rash experiments. Mozart and Beethoven failed in -oratorio, Schubert in opera; the Italian operas of Gluck and Haendel have -perished. Even in the successful work of these men there is a strange -inequality. But upon all that Bach attempted--and the amount of his work -is no less a marvel than its quality--he affixed the stamp of final and -inimitable perfection. We know from testimony that this perfection was -the result of thought and unflagging toil. The file was not the least -serviceable tool in his workshop. This intellectual restraint, operating -upon a highly intellectualized form of art, often gives Bach's music an -air of severity, a scholastic hardness, which repels sympathy and makes -difficult the path to the treasures it contains. The musical culture of -our age has been so long based on a different school that no little -discipline is needed to adjust the mind to Bach's manner of presenting -his profound ideas. The difficulty is analogous to that experienced in -acquiring an appreciation of Gothic sculpture and the Florentine painting -of the fourteenth century. We are compelled to learn a new musical -language, for it is only in a qualified sense that the language of music -is universal. We must put ourselves into another century, face another -order of ideas than those of our own age. We must learn the temper of the -German mind in the Reformation period and after, its proud -self-assertion, led to an aggressive positiveness of religious belief, -which, after all, was but the hard shell which enclosed a rare sweetness -of piety. - -All through Bach we feel the well-known German mysticism which seeks the -truth in the instinctive convictions of the soul, the idealism which -takes the mind as the measure of existence, the romanticism which colors -the outer world with the hues of personal temperament. Bach's historic -position required that this spirit, in many ways so modern, should take -shape in forms to which still clung the technical methods of an earlier -time. His all-encompassing organ style was Gothic--if we may use such a -term for illustration's sake--not Renaissance. His style is Teutonic in -the widest as well as the most literal sense. It is based on forms -identified with the practice of the people in church and home. He -recognized not the priestly or the aristocratic element, but the popular. -His significance in the history of German Evangelical Christianity is -great. Protestantism, like Catholicism, has had its supreme poet. As -Dante embodied in an immortal epic the philosophic conceptions, the hopes -and fears of mediaeval Catholicism, so Bach, less obviously but no less -truly, in his cantatas, Passions, and choral preludes, lent the -illuminating power of his art to the ideas which brought forth the -Reformation. It is the central demand of Protestantism, the immediate -personal access of man to God, which, constituting a new motive in German -national music, gave shape and direction to Bach's creative genius. - -It has been reserved for recent years to discover that the title of chief -representative in art of German Protestantism is, after all, not the sum -of Bach's claims to honor. There is something in his art that touches the -deepest chords of religious feeling in whatever communion that feeling -has been nurtured. His music is not the music of a confession, but of -humanity. What changes the spirit of religious progress is destined to -undergo in the coming years it would be vain to predict; but it is safe -to assume that the warrant of faith will not consist in authority -committed to councils or synods, or altogether in a verbal revelation -supposed to have been vouchsafed at certain epochs in the past, but in -the intuition of the continued presence of the eternal creative spirit in -the soul of man. This consciousness, of which creeds and liturgies are -but partial and temporary symbols, can find no adequate artistic -expression unless it be in the art of music. The more clearly this fact -is recognized by the world, the more the fame of Sebastian Bach will -increase, for no other musician has so amply embraced and so deeply -penetrated the universal religious sentiment. It may well be said of Bach -what a French critic says of Albrecht Duerer: "He was an intermediary -between the Middle Age and our modern times. Typical of the former in -that he was primarily a craftsman, laboring with all the sincerity and -unconscious modesty of the good workman who delights in his labor, he yet -felt something of the tormented spiritual unrest of the latter; and -indeed so strikingly reflects what we call the 'modern spirit' that his -work has to-day more influence upon our own thought and art than it had -upon that of his contemporaries."[75] - - - -The verdict of the admirers of Bach in respect to his greatness is not -annulled when it is found that the power and real significance of his -work were not comprehended by the mass of his countrymen during his life, -and that outside of Leipsic he exerted little influence upon religious -art for nearly a century after his death. He was not the less a typical -German on this account. Only at certain critical moments do nations seem -to be true to their better selves, and it often happens that their -greatest men appear in periods of general moral relaxation, apparently -rebuking the unworthiness of their fellow citizens instead of -exemplifying common traits of character. But later generations are able -to see that, after all, these men are not detached; their real bases, -although out of sight for the time, are immovably set in nationality. -Milton was no less representative of permanent elements in English -character when "fallen upon evil days," when the direction of affairs -seemed given over to "sons of Belial," who mocked at all he held -necessary to social welfare. Michael Angelo was still a genuine son of -Italy when he mourned in bitterness of soul over her degradation. And so -the spirit that pervaded the life and works of Bach is a German -spirit,--a spirit which Germany has often seemed to disown, but which in -times of need has often reasserted itself with splendid confidence and -called her back to soberness and sincerity. - -When Bach had passed away, it seemed as if the mighty force he exerted -had been dissipated. He had not checked the decline of church music. The -art of organ playing degenerated. The choirs, never really adequate, -became more and more unable to do justice to the great works that had -been bequeathed to them. The public taste relaxed, and the demand for a -more florid and fetching kind of song naturalized in the Church the -theatrical style already predominant in France and Italy. The people lost -their perception of the real merit of their old chorals and permitted -them to be altered to suit the requirements of contemporary fashion, or -else slighted them altogether in favor of the new "art song." No -composers appeared who were able or cared to perpetuate the old -traditions. This tendency was inevitable; its causes are perfectly -apparent to any one who knows the conditions prevailing in religion and -art in Germany in the last half of the eighteenth and the early part of -the nineteenth centuries. Pietism, with all its merits, had thrown a sort -of puritanic wet blanket over art in its protest against the external and -formal in worship. In the orthodox church circles the enthusiasm -necessary to nourish a wholesome spiritual life and a living church art -at the same time had sadly abated. The inculcation of a dry utilitarian -morality and the cultivation of a dogmatic pedantry had taken the place -of the joyous freedom of the Gospel. Other more direct causes also -entered to turn public interest away from the music of the Church. The -Italian opera, with its equipment of sensuous fascinations, devoid of -serious aims, was at the high tide of its popularity, patronized by the -ruling classes, and giving the tone to all the musical culture of the -time. A still more obvious impediment to the revival of popular interest -in church music was the rapid formation throughout Germany of choral -societies devoted to the performance of oratorios. Following the example -of England, these societies took up the works of Haendel, and the -enthusiasm excited by Haydn's "Creation" in 1798 gave a still more -powerful stimulus to the movement. These choral unions had no connection -with the church choirs of the eighteenth century, but grew out of private -musical associations. The great German music festivals date from about -1810, and they absorbed the interest of those composers whose talent -turned towards works of religious content. The church choirs were already -in decline when the choral societies began to raise their heads. Cantatas -and Passions were no longer heard in church worship. Their place in -public regard was taken by the concert oratorio. The current of -instrumental music, one of the chief glories of German art in the -nineteenth century, was absorbing more and more of the contributions of -German genius. The whole trend of the age was toward secular music. It -would appear that a truly great art of church music cannot maintain -itself beside a rising enthusiasm for secular music. Either the two -styles will be amalgamated, and church music be transformed to the -measure of the other, as happened in the case of Catholic music, or -church song will stagnate, as was the case in Protestant Germany. - -After the War of Liberation, ending with the downfall of Napoleon's -tyranny, and when Germany began to enter upon a period of critical -self-examination, demands began to be heard for the reinstatement of -church music on a worthier basis. The assertion of nationality in other -branches of musical art--the symphonies of Beethoven, the songs of -Schubert, the operas of Weber--was echoed in the domain of church music, -not at first in the production of great works, but in performance, -criticism, and appeal. It is not to be denied that a steady uplift in the -department of church music has been in progress in Germany all through -the nineteenth century. The transition from rationalism and infidelity to -a new and higher phase of evangelical religion effected under the lead of -Schleiermacher, the renewed interest in church history, the effort to -bring the forms of worship into cooperation with a quickened spiritual -life, the revival of the study of the great works of German art as -related to national intellectual development,--these influences and many -more have strongly stirred the cause of church music both in composition -and performance. Choirs have been enlarged and strengthened; the soprano -and alto parts are still exclusively sung by boys, but the tenor and bass -parts are taken by mature and thoroughly trained men, instead of by raw -youths, as in Bach's time and after. In such choirs as those of the -Berlin cathedral and the Leipsic Thomas church, artistic singing attains -a richness of tone and finish of style hardly to be surpassed. - -The most wholesome result of these movements has been to bring about a -clearer distinction in the minds of churchmen between a proper church -style in music and the concert style. Church-music associations -(evangelische Kirchengesang-Vereine), analogous to the Catholic St. -Cecilia Society, have taken in hand the question of the establishment of -church music on a more strict and efficient basis. Such masters as -Mendelssohn, Richter, Hauptmann, Kiel, and Grell have produced works of -great beauty, and at the same time admirably suited to the ideal -requirements of public worship. - -In spite of the present more healthful condition of German Evangelical -music as compared with the feebleness and indefiniteness of the early -part of the nineteenth century, there is little assurance of the -restoration of this branch of art to the position which it held in the -national life two hundred years ago. In the strict sense writers of the -school of Spitta are correct in asserting that a Protestant church music -no longer exists. "It must be denied that an independent branch of the -tonal art is to be found which has its home only in the Church, which -contains life and the capacity for development in itself, and in whose -sphere the creative artist seeks his ideals."[76] - -On the other hand, a hopeful sign has appeared in recent German musical -history in the foundation of the New Bach Society, with headquarters at -Leipsic, in 1900. The task assumed by this society, which includes a -large number of the most eminent musicians of Germany, is that of making -Bach's choral works better known, and especially of reintroducing them -into their old place in the worship of the Evangelical churches. The -success of such an effort would doubtless be fraught with important -consequences, and perhaps inaugurate a new era in the history of German -church music. - - - - - CHAPTER X - THE MUSICAL SYSTEM OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND - - -The musical productions that have emanated from the Church of England -possess no such independent interest as works of art as those which so -richly adorn the Catholic and the German Evangelical systems. With the -exception of the naturalized Haendel (whose few occasional anthems, Te -Deums, and miscellaneous church pieces give him an incidental place in -the roll of English ecclesiastical musicians), there is no name to be -found in connection with the English cathedral service that compares in -lustre with those that give such renown to the religious song of Italy -and Germany. Yet in spite of this mediocrity of achievement, the music of -the Anglican Church has won an honorable historic position, not only by -reason of the creditable average of excellence which it has maintained -for three hundred years, but still more through its close identification -with those fierce conflicts over dogma, ritual, polity, and the relation -of the Church to the individual which have given such a singular interest -to English ecclesiastical history. Methods of musical expression have -been almost as hotly contested as vital matters of doctrine and -authority, and the result has been that the English people look upon -their national religious song with a respect such as, perhaps, no other -school of church music receives in its own home. The value and purpose of -music in worship, and the manner of performance most conducive to -edification, have been for centuries the subjects of such serious -discussion that the problems propounded by the history of English church -music are of perennial interest. The dignity, orderliness, tranquillity, -and graciousness in outward form and inward spirit which have come to -distinguish the Anglican Establishment are reflected in its anthems and -"services," its chants and hymns; while the simplicity and sturdy, -aggressive sincerity of the non-conformist sects may be felt in the -accents of their psalmody. The clash of liturgic and non-liturgic -opinions, conformity and independence, Anglicanism and Puritanism, may be -plainly heard in the church musical history of the sixteenth, -seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, and even to-day the contest has -not everywhere been settled by conciliation and fraternal sympathy. - -The study of English church music, therefore, is the study of musical -forms and practices more than of works of art as such. We are met at the -outset by a spectacle not paralleled in other Protestant countries, -_viz._, the cleavage of the reformed Church into two violently hostile -divisions; and we find the struggle for supremacy between Anglicans and -Puritans fought out in the sphere of art and ritual as well as on the -battlefield and the arena of theological polemic. Consequently we are -obliged to trace two distinct lines of development--the ritual music of -the Establishment and the psalmody of the dissenting bodies--trying to -discover how these contending principles acted upon each other, and what -instruction can be drawn from their collision and their final compromise. - -The Reformation in England took in many respects a very different course -from that upon the continent. In Germany, France, Switzerland, and the -Netherlands the revolt against Rome was initiated by men who sprung from -the ranks of the people. Notwithstanding the complication of motives -which drew princes and commoners, ecclesiastics and laymen, into the -rebellion, the movement was primarily religious, first a protest against -abuses, next the demand for free privileges in the Gospel, followed by -restatements of belief and the establishment of new forms of worship. -Political changes followed in the train of the religious revolution, -because in most instances there was such close alliance between the -secular powers and the papacy that allegiance to the former was not -compatible with resistance to the latter. - -In England this process was reversed; political separation preceded the -religious changes; it was the alliance between the government and the -papacy that was first to break. The emancipation from the supremacy of -Rome was accomplished at a single stroke by the crown itself, and that -not upon moral grounds or doctrinal disagreement, but solely for -political advantage. In spite of tokens of spiritual unrest, there was no -sign of a disposition on the part of any considerable number of the -English people to sever their fealty to the Church of Rome when, in 1534, -Henry VIII. issued a royal edict repudiating the papal authority, and a -submissive Parliament decreed that "the king, our sovereign lord, his -heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and -reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England." The -English Church became in a day what it had often shown a desire to -become--a national Church, free from the arbitrary authority of an -Italian overlordship, the king instead of the pope at its head, with -supreme power in all matters of appointment and discipline, possessing -even the prerogative of deciding what should be the religious belief and -manner of worship in the realm. No doctrinal change was involved in this -proceeding; there was no implied admission of freedom of conscience or -religious toleration. The mediaeval conception of the necessity of -religious unanimity among all the subjects of the state--one single state -Church maintained in every precept and ordinance by the power of the -throne--was rigorously reasserted. The English Church had simply -exchanged one master for another, and had gained a spiritual tyranny to -which were attached no conceptions of right drawn from ancestral -association or historic tradition. - -The immediate occasion for this action on the part of Henry VIII. was, as -all know, his exasperation against Clement VII. on account of that pope's -refusal to sanction the king's iniquitous scheme of a divorce from his -faithful wife Catherine and a marriage with Anne Boleyn. This grievance -was doubtless a mere pretext, for a temper so imperious as that of Henry -could not permanently brook a divided loyalty in his kingdom. But since -Henry took occasion to proclaim anew the fundamental dogmas of the -Catholic Church, with the old bloody penalties against heresy, it would -not be proper to speak of him as the originator of the Reformation in -England. That event properly dates from the reign of his successor, -Edward VI. - -It was not possible, however, that in breaking the ties of hierarchical -authority which had endured for a thousand years the English Church -should not undergo further change. England had always been a more or less -refractory child of the Roman Church, and more than once the conception -of royal prerogative and national right had come into conflict with the -pretensions of the papacy, and the latter had not always emerged -victorious from the struggle. The old Germanic spirit of liberty and -individual determination, always especially strong in England, was -certain to assert itself when the great European intellectual awakening -of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had taken hold of the mass of -the people; and it might have been foreseen after Luther's revolt that -England would soon throw herself into the arms of the Reformation. The -teachings of Wiclif and the Lollards were still cherished at many English -fire-sides. Humanistic studies had begun to flourish under the auspices -of such men as Erasmus, Colet, and More, and humanism, as the natural foe -of superstition and obscurantism, was instinctively set against -ecclesiastical assumption. Lastly, the trumpet blast of Luther had found -an echo in many stout British hearts. The initiative of the crown, -however, forestalled events and changed their course, and instead of a -general rising of the people, the overthrow of every vestige of Romanism, -and the creation of a universal Calvinistic system, the conservatism and -moderation of Edward VI. and Elizabeth and their advisers retained so -much of external form and ceremony in the interest of dignity, and fixed -so firmly the pillars of episcopacy in the interest of stability and -order, that the kingdom found itself divided into two parties, and the -brief conflict between nationalism and Romanism was succeeded by the long -struggle between the Establishment, protected by the throne, and rampant, -all-levelling Puritanism. - -With the passage of the Act of Supremacy the Catholic and Protestant -parties began to align themselves for conflict. Henry VIII. at first -showed himself favorable to the Protestants, inclining to the acceptance -of the Bible as final authority instead of the decrees and traditions of -the Church. After the Catholic rebellion of 1536, however, the king -changed his policy, and with the passage of the Six Articles, which -decreed the doctrine of transubstantiation, the celibacy of the clergy, -the value of private masses, and the necessity of auricular confession, -he began a bloody persecution which ended only with his death. - -The boy king, Edward VI., who reigned from 1547 to 1553, had been won -over to Protestantism by Archbishop Cranmer, and with his accession -reforms in doctrine and ritual went on rapidly. Parliament was again -subservient, and a modified Lutheranism took possession of the English -Church. The people were taught from the English Bible, the Book of Common -Prayer took the place of Missal and Breviary; the Mass, compulsory -celibacy of the clergy, and worship of images were abolished, and -invocation of saints forbidden. We must observe that these changes, like -those effected by Henry VIII., were not brought about by popular pressure -under the leadership of great tribunes, but were decreed by the rulers of -the state, ratified by Parliament under due process of law, and enforced -by the crown under sanction of the Act of Supremacy. The revolution was -regular, peaceful, and legal, and none of the savage conflicts between -Catholics and Protestants which tore Germany, France, and the Netherlands -in pieces and drenched their soil with blood, ever occurred in England. -Amid such conditions reaction was easy. Under Mary (1553-1558) the old -religion and forms were reenacted, and a persecution, memorable for the -martyrdoms of Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Hooper, and other leaders of the -Protestant party, was carried on with ruthless severity, but without -weakening the cause of the reformed faith. Elizabeth (1558-1603) had no -pronounced religious convictions, but under the stress of European -political conditions she became of necessity a protector of the -Protestant cause. The reformed service was restored, and from Elizabeth's -day the Church of England has rested securely upon the constitutions of -Edward VI. - -With the purification and restatement of doctrine according to Protestant -principles was involved the question of the liturgy. There was no thought -on the part of the English reformers of complete separation from the -ancient communion and the establishment of a national Church upon an -entirely new theory. They held firmly to the conception of historic -Christianity; the episcopal succession extending back to the early ages -of the Church was not broken, the administration of the sacraments never -ceased. The Anglican Church was conceived as the successor of the -universal institution which, through her apostasy from the pure doctrine -of the apostles, had abrogated her claims upon the allegiance of the -faithful. Anglicanism contained in itself a continuation of the tradition -delivered to the fathers, with an open Bible, and the emancipation of the -reason; it was legitimate heir to what was noblest and purest in -Catholicism. This conception is strikingly manifest in the liturgy of the -Church of England, which is partly composed of materials furnished by the -office-books of the ancient Church, and in the beginning associated with -music in no way to be distinguished in style from the Catholic. The -prominence given to vestments, and to ceremonies calculated to impress -the senses, also points unmistakably to the conservative spirit which -forbade that the reform should in any way take on the guise of -revolution. - -The ritual of the Church of England is contained in a single volume, -_viz._, the Book of Common Prayer. It is divided into matins and -evensong, the office of Holy Communion, offices of confirmation and -ordination, and occasional offices. But little of this liturgy is -entirely original; the matins and evensong are compiled from the Catholic -Breviary, the Holy Communion with collects, epistles, and gospels from -the Missal, occasional offices from the Ritual, and the confirmation and -ordination offices from the Pontifical. All these offices, as compared -with the Catholic sources, are greatly modified and simplified. A vast -amount of legendary and unhistoric matter found in the Breviary has -disappeared, litanies to and invocations of the saints and the Virgin -Mary have been omitted. The offices proper to saints' days have -disappeared, the seven canonical hours are compressed to two, the space -given to selections from Holy Scripture greatly extended, and the English -language takes the place of Latin. - -In this dependence upon the offices of the mother Church for the ritual -of the new worship the English reformers, like Martin Luther, testified -to their conviction that they were purifiers and renovators of the -ancient faith and ceremony, not violent destroyers, seeking to win the -sympathies of their countrymen by deferring to old associations and -inherited prejudices, so far as consistent with reason and conscience. -Their sense of historic continuity is further shown in the fact that the -Breviaries which they consulted were those specially employed from early -times in England, particularly the use known as the "Sarum use," drawn up -and promulgated about 1085 by Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, and generally -adopted in the south of England, and which deviated in certain details -from the use of Rome. - -Propositions looking to the amendment of the service-books were brought -forward before the end of the reign of Henry VIII., and a beginning was -made by introducing the reading of small portions of the Scripture in -English. The Litany was the first of the prayers to be altered and set in -English, which was done by Cranmer, who had before him the old litanies -of the English Church, besides the "Consultation" of Hermann, archbishop -of Cologne (1543). - -With the accession of Edward VI. in 1547 the revolution in worship was -thoroughly confirmed, and in 1549 the complete Book of Common Prayer, -essentially in its modern form, was issued. A second and modified edition -was published in 1552 and ordered to be adopted in all the churches of -the kingdom. The old Catholic office-books were called in and destroyed, -the images were taken from the houses of worship, the altars removed and -replaced by communion tables, the vestments of the clergy were -simplified, and the whole conception of the service, as well as its -ceremonies, completely transformed. Owing to the accession of Mary in -1553 there was no time for the Prayer Book of 1552 to come into general -use. A third edition, somewhat modified, published in 1559, was one of -the earliest results of the accession of Elizabeth. Another revision -followed in 1604 under James I.; additions and alterations were made -under Charles II. in 1661-2. Since that date only very slight changes -have been made. - -The liturgy of the Church of England is composed, like the Catholic -liturgy, of both constant and variable offices, the latter, however, -being in a small minority. It is notable for the large space given to -reading from Holy Scripture, the entire Psalter being read through every -month, the New Testament three times a year, and the Old Testament once a -year. It includes a large variety of prayers, special psalms to be sung, -certain psalm-like hymns called canticles, the hymns comprising the chief -constant choral members of the Latin Mass, _viz._, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, -and Sanctus--the Te Deum, the ten commandments, a litany, besides short -sentences and responses known as versicles. In addition to the regular -morning and evening worship there are special series of offices for Holy -Communion and for particular occasions, such as ordinations, -confirmations, the burial service, etc. - -Although there is but one ritual common to all the congregations of the -established Church, one form of prayer and praise which ascends from -cathedral, chapel, and parish church alike, this service differs in -respect to the manner of rendering. The Anglican Church retained the -conception of the Catholic that the service is a musical service, that -the prayers, as well as the psalms, canticles, and hymns, are properly to -be given not in the manner of ordinary speech, but in musical tone. It -was soon found, however, that a full musical service, designed for the -more conservative and wealthy establishments, was not practicable in -small country parishes, and so in process of time three modes of -performing the service were authorized, _viz._, the choral or cathedral -mode, the parochial, and the mixed. - -The choral service is that used in the cathedrals, royal and college -chapels, and certain parish churches whose resources permit the adoption -of the same practice. In this mode everything except the lessons is -rendered in musical tone, from the monotoned prayers of the priest to the -figured chorus music of "service" and anthem. The essential parts of the -choral service, as classified by Dr. Jebb,[77] are as follows: - -1. The chanting by the minister of the sentences, exhortations, prayers, -and collects throughout the liturgy in a monotone, slightly varied by -occasional modulations. - -2. The alternate chant of the versicles and responses by minister and -choir. - -3. The alternate chant, by the two divisions of the choir, of the daily -psalms and of such as occur in the various offices of the Church. - -4. The singing of all the canticles and hymns, in the morning and evening -service, either to an alternated chant or to songs of a more intricate -style, resembling anthems in their construction, and which are -technically styled "services." - -5. The singing of the anthem after the third collect in both morning and -evening prayer. - -6. The alternate chanting of the litany by the minister and choir. - -7. The singing of the responses after the commandments in the Communion -service. - -8. The singing of the creed, Gloria in excelsis, and Sanctus in the -Communion service anthem-wise. [The Sanctus has in recent years been -superseded by a short anthem or hymn.] - -9. The chanting or singing of those parts in the occasional offices which -are rubrically permitted to be sung. - -In this manner of worship the Church of England conforms to the general -usage of liturgic churches throughout the world in ancient and modern -times, by implication honoring that conception of the intimate union of -word and tone in formal authorized worship which has been expounded in -the chapters on the Catholic music and ritual. Since services are held on -week days as well as on Sundays in the cathedrals, and since there are -two full choral services, each involving an almost unbroken current of -song from clergy and choir, this usage involves a large and thoroughly -trained establishment, which is made possible by the endowments of the -English cathedrals. - -The parochial service is that used in the smaller churches where it is -not possible to maintain an endowed choir. "According to this mode the -accessories of divine service necessary towards its due performance are -but few and simple." "As to the ministers, the stated requirements of -each parochial church usually contemplate but one, the assistant clergy -and members of choirs being rarely objects of permanent endowment." "As -to the mode of performing divine service, the strict parochial mode -consists in reciting all parts of the liturgy in the speaking tone of the -voice unaccompanied by music. According to this mode no chant, or -canticle, or anthem, properly so called, is employed; but metrical -versions of the psalms are sung at certain intervals between the various -offices." (Jebb.) - -This mode is not older than 1549, for until the Reformation the Plain -Chant was used in parish churches. The singing of metrical psalms dates -from the reign of Elizabeth. - -The mixed mode is less simple than the parochial; parts of the service -are sung by a choir, but the prayers, creeds, litany, and responses are -recited in speaking voice. It may be said, however, that the parochial -and the mixed modes are optional and permitted as matters of convenience. -There is no law that forbids any congregation to adopt any portion or -even the whole of the choral mode. In these variations, to which we find -nothing similar in the Catholic Church, may be seen the readiness of the -fathers of the Anglican Church to compromise with Puritan tendencies and -guard against those reactions which, as later history shows, are -constantly urging sections of the English Church back to extreme -ritualistic practices. - -The music of the Anglican Church follows the three divisions into which -church music in general may be separated, _viz._, the chant, the figured -music of the choir, and the congregational hymn. - -The history of the Anglican chant may also be taken to symbolize the -submerging of the ancient priestly idea in the representative conception -of the clerical office, for the chant has proved itself a very flexible -form of expression, both in structure and usage, endeavoring to connect -itself sometimes with the anthem-like choir song and again with the -congregational hymn. In the beginning, however, the method of chanting -exactly followed the Catholic form. Two kinds of chant were -employed,--the simple unaccompanied Plain Song of the minister, which is -almost monotone; and the accompanied chant, more melodious and florid, -employed in the singing of the psalms, canticles, litany, etc., by the -choir or by the minister and choir. - -The substitution of English for Latin and the sweeping modification of -the liturgy did not in the least alter the system and principle of -musical rendering which had existed in the Catholic Church. The litany, -the oldest portion of the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Cranmer and -published in 1544, was set for singing note for note from the ancient -Plain Song. In 1550 a musical setting was given to all parts of the -Prayer Book by John Marbecke, a well-known musician of that period. He, -like Cranmer, adapted portions of the old Gregorian chant, using only the -plainer forms. In Marbecke's book we find the simplest style, consisting -of monotone, employed for the prayers and the Apostles' Creed, a larger -use of modulation in the recitation of the psalms, and a still more -song-like manner in the canticles and those portions, such as the Kyrie -and Gloria, taken from the mass. To how great an extent this music of -Marbecke was employed in the Anglican Church in the sixteenth century is -not certainly known. Certain parts of it gave way to the growing fondness -for harmonized and figured music in all parts of the service, but so far -as Plain Chant has been retained in the cathedral service the setting of -Marbecke has established the essential form down to the present day.[78] - -The most marked distinction between the choral mode of performing the -service, and those divergent usages which have often been conceived as a -protest against it, consists in the practice of singing or monotoning the -prayers by the minister. The notion of impersonality which underlies the -liturgic conception of worship everywhere, the merging of the individual -in an abstract, idealized, comprehensive entity--the Church--is -symbolized in this custom. Notwithstanding the fact that the large -majority of congregational hymns are really prayers, and that in this -case the offering of prayer in metrical form and in musical strains has -always been admitted by all ranks of Christians as perfectly appropriate, -yet there has always seemed to a large number of English Protestants -something artificial and even irreverent in the delivery of prayer in an -unchanging musical note, in which expression is lost in the abandonment -of the natural inflections of speech. Here is probably the cause of the -repugnant impression,--not because the utterance is musical in tone, but -because it is monotonous and unexpressive. - -It is of interest to note the reasons for this practice as given by -representative English churchmen, since the motive for the usage touches -the very spirit and significance of a ritualistic form of worship. - -Dr. Bisse, in his _Rationale on Cathedral Worship_, justifies the -practice on the ground (1) of necessity, since the great size of the -cathedral churches obliges the minister to use a kind of tone that can be -heard throughout the building; (2) of uniformity, in order that the -voices of the congregation may not jostle and confuse each other; and (3) -of the advantage in preventing imperfections and inequalities of -pronunciation on the part of both minister and people. Other reasons -which are more mystical, and probably on that account still more cogent -to the mind of the ritualist, are also given by this writer. "It is -emblematic," he says, "of the delight which Christians have in the law of -God. It bespeaks the cheerfulness of our Christian profession, as -contrasted with that of the Gentiles. It gives to divine worship a -greater dignity by separating it more from all actions and interlocutions -that are common and familiar. It is more efficacious to awaken the -attention, to stir up the affections, and to edify the understanding than -plain reading." And Dr. Jebb puts the case still more definitely when he -says: "In the Church of England the lessons are not chanted, but read. -The instinctive good taste of the revisers of the liturgy taught them -that the lessons, being narratives, orations, records of appeals to men, -or writings of an epistolary character, require that method of reading -which should be, within due bounds, imitative. But with the prayers the -case is far different. These are uttered by the minister of God, not as -an individual, but as the instrument and channel of petitions which are -of perpetual obligation, supplications for all those gifts of God's grace -which are needful for all mankind while this frame of things shall last. -The prayers are not, like the psalms and canticles, the expression, the -imitation, or the record of the hopes and fears, of the varying -sentiments, of the impassioned thanksgivings, of the meditative musings -of inspired individuals, or of holy companies of men or angels; they are -the unchangeable voice of the Church of God, seeking through one eternal -Redeemer gifts that shall be for everlasting. And hence the uniformity of -tone in which she seeks them is significant of the unity of spirit which -teaches the Church universal so to pray, of the unity of means by which -her prayers are made available, of the perfect unity with God her Father -which shall be her destiny in the world to come." - -The word "chant" as used in the English Church (to be in strictness -distinguished from the priestly monotoning), signifies the short melodies -which are sung to the psalms and canticles. The origin of the Anglican -chant system is to be found in the ancient Gregorian chant, of which it -is only a slight modification. It is a sort of musically delivered -speech, the punctuation and rate of movement being theoretically the same -as in spoken discourse. Of all the forms of religious music the chant is -least susceptible to change and progress, and the modern Anglican chant -bears the plainest marks of its mediaeval origin. The modifications which -distinguish the new from the old may easily be seen upon comparing a -modern English chant-book with an office-book of the Catholic Church. In -place of the rhythmic freedom of the Gregorian, with its frequent florid -passages upon a single syllable, we find in the Anglican a much greater -simplicity and strictness, and also, it must be admitted, a much greater -melodic monotony and dryness. The English chant is almost entirely -syllabic, even two notes to a syllable are rare, while there is nothing -remotely corresponding to the melismas of the Catholic liturgic song. The -bar lines, unknown in the Roman chant, give the English form much greater -steadiness of movement. The intonation of the Gregorian chant has been -dropped, the remaining four divisions--recitation, mediation, second -recitation, and ending--retained. The Anglican chant is of two kinds, -single and double. A single chant comprises one verse of a psalm; it -consists of two melodic strains, the first including three measures, the -second four. A double chant is twice the length of a single chant, and -includes two verses of a psalm, the first ending being an incomplete -cadence. The double chant is an English invention; it is unknown in the -Gregorian system. The objections to it are obvious, since the two verses -of a psalm which may be comprised in the chant often differ in sentiment. - -The manner of fitting the words to the notes of the chant is called -"pointing." There is no authoritative method of pointing in the Church of -England, and there is great disagreement and controversy on the subject -in the large number of chant-books that are used in England and America. -In the cathedral service the chants are sung antiphonally, the two -divisions of the chorus answering each other from opposite sides of the -choir. - -There are large numbers of so-called chants which are more properly to be -called hymns or anthems in chant style, such as the melodies sometimes -sung to the Te Deum and the Gloria in excelsis. These compositions may -consist of any number of divisions, each comprising the three-measure and -four-measure members found in the single chant. - -The modern Anglican chant form is not so old as commonly supposed. The -ancient Gregorian chants for the psalms and canticles were in universal -use as late as the middle of the seventeenth century. The modern chant -was of course a gradual development, and was the inevitable result of the -harmonization of the old chant melodies according to the new system with -its corresponding balancing points of tonic and dominant. A few of the -Anglican chants sung at the present day go back to the time of the -Restoration, that is, soon after 1660; the larger number date from the -eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The modern chant, however, has never -been able entirely to supplant the ancient Plain Song melody. The -"Gregorian" movement in the Church of England, one of the results of the -ritualistic reaction inaugurated by the Oxford Tractarian agitation, -although bitterly opposed both on musical grounds and perhaps still more -through alarm over the tendencies which it symbolizes, has apparently -become firmly established; and even in quarters where there is little -sympathy with the ritualistic movement, musical and ecclesiastical -conservatism unites with a natural reverence for the historic past to -preserve in constant use the venerated relics of early days. Sir John -Stainer voiced the sentiment of many leading English musical churchmen -when he said: "I feel very strongly that the beautiful Plain Song -versicles, responses, inflections, and prefaces to our prayers and -liturgy should not be lightly thrown aside. These simple and grand -specimens of Plain Song, so suited to their purpose, so reverent in their -subdued emotion, appeal to us for their protection. The Plain Song of the -prefaces of our liturgy as sung now in St. Paul's cathedral are note for -note the same that rang at least eight hundred years ago through the -vaulted roof of that ancient cathedral which crowned the summit of the -fortified hill of old Salisbury. Not a stone remains of wall or shrine, -but the old Sarum office-books have survived, from which we can draw -ancient hymns and Plain Song as from a pure fount. Those devout monks -recorded all their beautiful offices and the music of these offices, -because they were even then venerable and venerated. Shall we throw them -into the fire to make room for neat and appropriate excogitations, fresh -from the blotting-pad of Mr. A, or Dr. B, or the Reverend C, or Miss D?" - -It must be acknowledged, however, that the Gregorian chant melodies -undergo decided modification in spirit and impression when set to English -words. In their pure state their strains are thoroughly conformed to the -structure and flow of the Latin texts from which they grew. There is -something besides tradition and association that makes them appear -somewhat forced and ill at ease when wedded to a modern language. As -Curwen says: "In its true form the Gregorian chant has no bars or -measures; the time and the accent are verbal, not musical. Each note of -the mediation or the ending is emphatic or non-emphatic, according to the -word or syllable to which it happens to be sung. The endings which follow -the recitation do not fall into musical measures, but are as unrhythmical -as the reciting tone itself. Modern music, and the instinctive observance -of rhythm which is an essential part of it, have modified the old chant -and given it accent and time. The reason why the attempt to adapt the -Gregorian tones to the English language has resulted in their -modification is not far to seek. The non-accented system suits Latin and -French, but not English. Aside from the instinct for time, and the desire -to make a 'tune' of the chant, which is a part of human nature, it is a -feature of the English language that in speaking we pass from accent to -accent and elide the intervening syllables. The first attempts to adapt -the Gregorian tones to English use proceeded strictly upon the plan of -one syllable to a note. Of however many notes the mediation or cadence of -the chant consisted, that number of syllables was marked off from the end -of each half-verse, and the recitation ended when they were reached."[79] -The attempt to sing in this fashion, Curwen goes on to show, resulted in -the greatest violence to English pronunciation. In order to avoid this, -slurs, which are no part of the Gregorian system proper, were employed to -bring the accented syllables upon the first of the measure. - -Doubtless the fundamental and certainly praiseworthy motive of those who -strongly desire to reintroduce the Gregorian melodies into the Anglican -service is to establish once for all a body of liturgic tones which are -pure, noble, and eminently fitting in character, endowed at the same time -with venerable ecclesiastical associations which shall become fixed and -authoritative, and thus an insurmountable barrier against the intrusion -of the ephemeral novelties of "the Reverend C and Miss D." Every -intelligent student of religious art may well say Amen to such a desire. -As the case now stands there is no law or custom that prevents any -minister or cantor from introducing into the service any chant-tune which -he chooses to invent or adopt. Neither is there any authority that has -the right to select any system or body of liturgic song and compel its -introduction. The Gregorian movement is an attempt to remedy this -palpable defect in the Anglican musical system. It is evident that this -particular solution of the difficulty can never generally prevail. Any -effort, however, which tends to restrict the number of chants in use, and -establish once for all a store of liturgic melodies which is preeminently -worthy of the historic associations and the conservative aims of the -Anglican Church, should receive the hearty support of English musicians -and churchmen. - -If Marbecke's unison chants were intended as a complete scheme for the -musical service, they were at any rate quickly swallowed up by the -universal demand for harmonized music, and the choral service of the -Church of England very soon settled into the twofold classification which -now prevails, _viz._, the harmonized chant and the more elaborate figured -setting of "service" and anthem. The former dates from 1560, when John -Day's psalter was published, containing three and four-part settings of -old Plain Song melodies, contributed by Tallis, Shepherd, and other -prominent musicians of the time. From the very outset of the adoption of -the vernacular in all parts of the service, that is to say from the reign -of Edward VI., certain selected psalms and canticles, technically known -as "services," were sung anthem-wise in the developed choral style of the -highest musical science of the day. The components of the "service" are -to be distinguished from the daily psalms which are always sung in -antiphonal chant form, and may be said to correspond to the choral -unvarying portions of the Catholic Mass. The "service" in its fullest -form includes the Venite (Ps. xcv.), Te Deum, Benedicite (Song of the -Three Children, from the Greek continuation of the book of Daniel), -Benedictus (Song Of Zacharias), Jubilate (Ps. c.), Kyrie eleison, Nicene -Creed, Sanctus, Gloria in excelsis, Magnificat (Song of Mary), Cantate -Domino (Ps. xcviii.), Nunc dimittis (Song of Simeon), and the Deus -Misereatur (Ps. lxvii). Of these the Venite, Benedicite, and the Sanctus -have in recent times fallen out. These psalms and canticles are divided -between the morning and evening worship, and not all of them are -obligatory. - -The "service," in respect to musical style, has moved step by step with -the anthem, from the strict contrapuntal style of the sixteenth century, -to that of the present with all its splendor of harmony and orchestral -color. It has engaged the constant attention of the multitude of English -church composers, and it has more than rivalled the anthem in the zealous -regard of the most eminent musicians, from the time of Tallis and Gibbons -to the present day. - -The anthem, although an almost exact parallel to the "service" in musical -construction, stands apart, liturgically, from the rest of the service in -the Church of England, in that while all the other portions are laid down -in the Book of Common Prayer, the words of the anthem are not prescribed. -The Prayer Book merely says after the third collect, "In quires and -places where they sing here followeth the anthem." What the anthem shall -be at any particular service is left to the determination of the choir -master, but it is commonly understood, and in some dioceses is so -decreed, that the words of the anthem shall be taken from the Scripture -or the Book of Common Prayer. This precept, however, is frequently -transgressed, and many anthems have been written to words of metrical -hymns. The restriction of the anthem texts to selections from the Bible -or the liturgy is designed to exclude words that are unfamiliar to the -people or unauthorized by ecclesiastical authority. Even with these -limitations the freedom of choice on the part of the musical director -serves to withdraw the anthem from that vital organic connection with the -liturgy held by the "service," and it is not infrequently omitted from -the daily office altogether. The object of the fathers of the Church of -England in admitting so exceptional a musical composition into the -service was undoubtedly to give the worship more variety, and to relieve -the fatigue that would otherwise result from a long unbroken series of -prayers. - -The anthem, although the legitimate successor of the Latin motet, has -taken in England a special and peculiar form. According to its derivation -(from ant-hymn, responsive or alternate song) the word anthem was at -first synonymous with antiphony. The modern form, succeeding the ancient -choral motet, dates from about the time of Henry Purcell (1658-1695). The -style was confirmed by Haendel, who in his celebrated Chandos anthems -first brought the English anthem into European recognition. The anthem in -its present shape is a sort of mixture of the ancient motet and the -German cantata. From the motet it derives its broad and artistically -constructed choruses, while the influence of the cantata is seen in its -solos and instrumental accompaniment. As the modern anthem is free and -ornate, giving practically unlimited scope for musical invention, it has -been cultivated with peculiar ardor by the English church composers, and -the number of anthems of varying degrees of merit or demerit which have -been produced in England would baffle the wildest estimate. This style of -music has been largely adopted in the churches of America, and American -composers have imitated it, often with brilliant success. - -The form of anthem in which the entire body of singers is employed from -beginning to end is technically known as the "full" anthem. In another -form, called the "verse" anthem, portions are sung by selected voices. A -"solo" anthem contains passages for a single voice. - -The anthem of the Church of England has been more or less affected by the -currents of secular music, but to a much slighter extent than the -Catholic mass. The opera has never taken the commanding position in -England which it has held in the Catholic countries, and only in rare -cases have the English church composers, at any rate since the time of -Haendel, felt their allegiance divided between the claims of religion and -the attractions of the stage. In periods of religious depression or -social frivolity the church anthem has sometimes become weak and shallow, -but the ancient austere traditions have never been quite abrogated. The -natural conservatism of the English people, especially in matters of -churchly usage, and their tenacious grasp upon the proper distinction -between religious and profane art, while acting to the benefit of the -anthem and "service" on the side of dignity and appropriateness in style, -have had a correspondingly unfavorable influence so far as progress and -sheer musical quality are concerned. One who reads through large numbers -of English church compositions cannot fail to be impressed by their -marked similarity in style and the rarity of features that indicate any -striking originality. This monotony and predominance of conventional -commonplace must be largely attributed, of course, to the absence of real -creative force in English music; but it is also true that even if such -creative genius existed, it would hardly feel free to take liberties with -those strict canons of taste which have become embedded in the unwritten -laws of Anglican musical procedure. In spite of these limitations English -church music does not wholly deserve the obloquy that has been cast upon -it by certain impatient critics. That it has not rivalled the Catholic -mass, nor adopted the methods that have transformed secular music in the -modern era is not altogether to its discredit. Leaving out the wonderful -productions of Sebastian Bach (which, by the way, are no longer heard in -church service in Germany), the music of the Church of England is amply -worthy of comparison with that of the German Evangelical Church; and in -abundance, musical value, and conformity to the ideals which have always -governed public worship in its noblest estate, it is entitled to be -ranked as one of the four great historic schools of Christian worship -music. - -England had not been lacking in eminent composers for the Church before -the Reformation, but their work was in the style which then prevailed all -over Europe. Some of these writers could hold their own with the -Netherlanders in point of learning. England held an independent position -during "the age of the Netherlanders" in that the official musical posts -in the schools and chapels were held by native Englishmen, and not, as -was so largely the case on the continent, by men of Northern France and -Flanders or their pupils. This fact speaks much for the inherent force of -English music, but the conditions of musical culture at that time did not -encourage any originality of style or new efforts after expression. - -The continental development of the polyphonic school to its perfection in -the sixteenth century was paralleled in England; and since the English -Reformation was contemporary with this musical apogee, the newly founded -national Church possessed in such men as Tallis, Byrd, Tye, Gibbons, and -others only less conspicuous, a group of composers not unworthy to stand -beside Palestrina and Lassus. It is indeed good fortune for the Church of -England that its musical traditions have been founded by such men. Thomas -Tallis, the most eminent of the circle, who died in 1585, devoted his -talents almost entirely to the Church. In science he was not inferior to -his continental compeers, and his music is preeminently stately and -solid. Besides the large number of motets, "services," etc., which he -contributed to the Church, he is now best remembered by the harmonies -added by him to the Plain Song of the old regime. Tallis must therefore -be regarded as the chief of the founders of the English harmonized chant. -His tunes arranged for Day's psalter give him an honorable place also in -the history of English psalmody. - -Notwithstanding the revolutions in the authorized ceremony of the Church -of England during the stormy Reformation period, from the revised -constitutions of Henry VIII. and Edward VI. to the restored Catholicism -of Mary, and back to Protestantism again under Elizabeth, the salaried -musicians of the Church retained their places while their very seats -seemed often to rock beneath them, writing alternately for the Catholic -and Protestant services with equal facility, and with equal satisfaction -to themselves and their patrons. It was a time when no one could tell at -any moment to what doctrine or discipline he might be commanded to -subscribe, and many held themselves ready loyally to accept the faith of -the sovereign as their own. Such were the ideas of the age that the -claims of uniformity could honestly be held as paramount to those of -individual judgment. Only those who combined advanced thinking with -fearless independence of character were able to free themselves from the -prevailing sophistry on this matter of conformity _vs._ freedom. Even a -large number of the clergy took the attitude of compliance to authority, -and it is often a matter of wonder to readers of the history of this -period to see how comparatively few changes were made in the incumbencies -of ecclesiastical livings in the shifting triumphs of the hostile -confessions. If this were the case with the clergy it is not surprising -that the church musicians should have been still more complaisant. The -style of music performed in the new worship, we must remember, hardly -differed in any respect from that in use under the old system. The -organists and choir masters were not called upon to mingle in theological -controversies, and they had probably learned discretion from the -experience of John Marbecke, who came near to being burned at the stake -for his sympathy with Calvinism. As in Germany, there was no necessary -conflict between the musical practices of Catholics and Protestants. The -real animosity on the point of liturgies and music was not between -Anglicans and Catholics, but between Anglicans and Puritans. - -The old polyphonic school came to an end with Orlando Gibbons in 1625. No -conspicuous name appears in the annals of English church music until we -meet that of Henry Purcell, who was born in 1658 and died in 1695. We -have made a long leap from the Elizabethan period, for the first half of -the seventeenth century was a time of utter barrenness in the neglected -fields of art. The distracted state of the kingdom during the reign of -Charles I., the Great Rebellion, and the ascendency of the Puritans under -Cromwell made progress in the arts impossible, and at one time their very -existence seemed threatened. A more hopeful era began with the -restoration of the Stuarts in 1660. Charles II. had spent some years in -France after the ruin of his father's cause, and upon his triumphant -return he encouraged those light French styles in art and literature -which were so congenial to his character. He was a devotee of music after -his fashion; he warmly encouraged it in the Royal Chapel, and a number of -skilful musicians came from the boy choirs of this establishment. - -The earliest anthems of the Anglican Church were, like the Catholic -motet, unaccompanied. The use of the organ and orchestral instruments -followed soon after the middle of the seventeenth century. No such school -of organ playing arose in England as that which gave such glory to -Germany in the same period. The organ remained simply a support to the -voices, and attained no distinction as a solo instrument. Even in -Haendel's day and long after, few organs in England had a complete pedal -board; many had none at all. The English anthem has always thrown greater -proportionate weight upon the vocal element as compared with the Catholic -mass and the German cantata. In the Restoration period the orchestra came -prominently forward in the church worship, and not only were elaborate -accompaniments employed for the anthem, but performances of orchestral -instruments were given at certain places in the service. King Charles -II., who, to use the words of Dr. Tudway, was "a brisk and airy prince," -did not find the severe solemnity of the _a capella_ style of Tallis and -Gibbons at all to his liking. Under the patronage of "the merry monarch," -the brilliant style, then in fashion on the continent, flourished apace. -Henry Purcell, the most gifted of this school, probably the most highly -endowed musical genius that has ever sprung from English soil, was a man -of his time, preeminent likewise in opera, and much of his church music -betrays the influence of the gay atmosphere which he breathed. But his -profound musicianship prevented him from degrading his art to the level -of the prevailing taste of the royal court, and much of his religious -music is reckoned even at the present day among the choicest treasures of -English art. As a chorus writer he is one of the first of the moderns, -and one who would trace Haendel's oratorio style to its sources must take -large account of the church works of Henry Purcell. - -With the opening of the eighteenth century the characteristics of the -English anthem of the present day were virtually fixed. The full, the -verse, and the solo anthem were all in use, and the accompanied style had -once for all taken the place of the _a capella_. During the eighteenth -and early part of the nineteenth centuries English choir music offers -nothing especially noteworthy, unless we except the Te Deums and -so-called anthems of Haendel, whose style is, however, that of the -oratorio rather than church music in the proper sense. - -The works of Hayes, Attwood, Boyce, Greene, Battishill, Crotch, and -others belonging to the period between the middle of the eighteenth and -the middle of the nineteenth centuries are solid and respectable, but as -a rule dry and perfunctory. A new era began with the passing of the first -third of the nineteenth century, when a higher inspiration seized English -church music. The work of the English cathedral school of the second half -of the nineteenth century is highly honorable to the English Church and -people. A vast amount of it is certainly the barrenest and most -unpromising of routine manufacture, for every incumbent of an organist's -post throughout the kingdom, however obscure, feels that his dignity -requires him to contribute his quota to the enormously swollen -accumulation of anthems and "services." But in this numerous company we -find the names of such men as Goss, Bennett, Hopkins, Monk, Barnby, -Sullivan, Smart, Tours, Stainer, Garrett, Martin, Bridge, Stanford, -Mackenzie, and others not less worthy, who have endowed the choral -service with richer color and more varied and appealing expression. This -brilliant advance may be connected with the revival of spirituality and -zeal in the English Church which early in the nineteenth century -succeeded to the drowsy indifference of the eighteenth; but we must not -push such coincidences too far. The church musician must always draw some -of his inspiration from within the institution which he serves, but we -have seen that while the religious folk-song is stimulated only by deep -and widespread enthusiasm, the artistic music of the Church is dependent -rather upon the condition of music at large. The later progress in -English church music is identified with the forward movement in all -European music which began with the symphonies of Beethoven, the operas -of Weber and the French masters, and the songs of Schubert, and which was -continued in Berlioz, Wagner, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and the -still more recent national schools. England has shared this uplift of -taste and creative activity; her composers are also men of the new time. -English cathedral music enters the world-current which sets towards a -more intense and personal expression. The austere traditions of the -Anglican Church restrain efforts after the brilliant and emotional within -distinctly marked boundaries. Its music can never, as the Catholic mass -has often done, relapse into the tawdry and sensational; but the English -church composers have recognized that the Church and its art exist for -the people, and that the changing standards of beauty as they arise in -the popular mind must be considered, while at the same time the serene -and elevated tone which makes church music truly churchly must be -reverently preserved. This, as I understand it, is the motive, more or -less conscious, which actuates the Church of England composers, -organists, and directors of the present day. They have not yet succeeded -in bringing forth works of decided genius, but they have certainly laid a -foundation so broad, and so compounded of durable elements, that if the -English race is capable of producing a master of the first rank in -religious music he will not be compelled to take any radical departure, -nor to create the taste by which he will be appreciated. - -English church music has never been in a more satisfactory condition than -it is to-day. There is no other country in which religious music is so -highly honored, so much the basis of the musical life of the people. The -organists and choir masters connected with the cathedrals and the -university and royal chapels are men whose character and intellectual -attainments would make them ornaments to any walk of life. The -deep-rooted religious reverence which enters into the substance of -English society, the admiration for intellect and honesty, the healthful -conservatism, the courtliness of speech, the solidity of culture which -comes from inherited wealth largely devoted to learning and the -embellishment of public and private life,--have all permeated -ecclesiastical art and ceremony, and have imparted to them an ideal -dignity which is as free from superstition as it is from vulgarity. The -music of the Church of England, like all church music, must be considered -in connection with its history and its liturgic attachments. It is -inseparably associated with a ritual of singular stateliness and beauty, -and with an architecture in cathedral and chapel in which the -recollections of a heroic and fading past unite with a grandeur of -structure and beauty of detail to weave an overmastering spell upon the -mind. Church music, I must constantly repeat, is never intended to -produce its impression alone. Before we ever allow ourselves to call any -phase of it dry and uninteresting let us hear it actually or in -imagination amid its native surroundings. As we mentally connect the -Gregorian chant and the Italian choral music of the sixteenth century -with all the impressive framework of their ritual, hearing within them -the echoes of the prayers of fifteen hundred years; as the music of Bach -and his contemporaries stands forth in only moderate relief from the -background of a Protestantism in which scholasticism and mysticism are -strangely blended,--so the Anglican chant and anthem are venerable with -the associations of three centuries of conflict and holy endeavor. -Complex and solemnizing are the suggestions which strike across the mind -of the student of church history as he hears in a venerable English -cathedral the lofty strains which might elsewhere seem commonplace, but -which in their ancestral home are felt to be the natural speech of an -institution which has found in such structures its fitting habitation. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - CONGREGATIONAL SONG IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA - - -The revised liturgy and musical service of the Church of England had not -been long in operation when they encountered adversaries far more bitter -and formidable than the Catholics. The Puritans, who strove to effect a -radical overturning in ecclesiastical affairs, to reduce worship to a -prosaic simplicity, and also to set up a more democratic form of church -government, violently assailed the established Church as half papist. The -contest between the antagonistic principles, Ritualism _vs._ Puritanism, -Anglicanism _vs._ Presbyterianism, broke out under Elizabeth, but was -repressed by her strong hand only to increase under the weaker James I., -and to culminate with the overthrow of Charles I. and the temporary -triumph of Puritanism. - -The antipathy of the Puritan party to everything formal, ceremonial, and -artistic in worship was powerfully promoted, if not originally instigated -by John Calvin, the chief fountain-head of the Puritan doctrine and -polity. The extraordinary personal ascendency of Calvin was shown not -only in the adoption of his theological system by so large a section of -the Protestant world, but also in the fact that his opinions concerning -the ideal and method of public worship were treated with almost equal -reverence, and in many localities have held sway down to the present -time. Conscious, perhaps to excess, of certain harmful tendencies in -ritualism, he proclaimed that everything formal and artistic in worship -was an offence to God; he clung to this belief with characteristic -tenacity and enforced it upon all the congregations under his rule. -Instruments of music and trained choirs were to him abomination, and the -only musical observance permitted in the sanctuary was the singing by the -congregation of metrical translations of the psalms. - -The Geneva psalter had a very singular origin. In 1538 Clement Marot, a -notable poet at the court of Francis I. of France, began for his -amusement to make translations of the psalms into French verse, and had -them set to popular tunes. Marot was not exactly in the odor of sanctity. -The popularization of the Hebrew lyrics was a somewhat remarkable whim on -the part of a writer in whose poetry is reflected the levity of his time -much more than its virtues. As Van Laun says, he was "at once a pedant -and a vagabond, a scholar and a merry-andrew. He translated the -penitential psalms and Ovid's Metamorphoses; he wrote the praises of St. -Christina and sang the triumphs of Cupid." His psalms attained -extraordinary favor at the dissolute court. Each of the royal family and -the courtiers chose a psalm. Prince Henry, who was fond of hunting, -selected "Like as the hart desireth the water brooks." The king's -mistress, Diana of Poitiers, chose the 130th psalm, "Out of the depths -have I cried to thee, O Lord." This fashion was, however, short-lived, -for the theological doctors of the Sorbonne, those keen heresy hunters, -became suspicious that there was some mysterious connection between -Marot's psalms and the detestable Protestant doctrines, and in 1543 the -unfortunate poet fled for safety to Calvin's religious commonwealth at -Geneva. Calvin had already the year before adopted thirty-five of Marot's -psalms for the use of his congregation. Marot, after his arrival at -Geneva, translated twenty more, which were characteristically dedicated -to the ladies of France. Marot died in 1544, and the task of translating -the remaining psalms was committed by Calvin to Theodore de Beza (or -Beze), a man of a different stamp from Marot, who had become a convert to -the reformed doctrines and had been appointed professor of Greek in the -new university at Lusanne. In the year 1552 Beza's work was finished, and -the Geneva psalter, now complete, was set to old French tunes which were -taken, like many of the German chorals, from popular secular songs. The -attribution of certain of these melodies, adopted into modern hymn-books, -to Guillaume Franc and Louis Bourgeois is entirely unauthorized. The most -celebrated of these anonymous tunes is the doxology in long metre, known -in England and America as the Old Hundredth, although it is set in the -Marot-Beza psalter not to the 100th psalm but to the 134th. These psalms -were at first sung in unison, unharmonized, but between 1562 and 1565 the -melodies were set in four-part counterpoint, the melody in the tenor -according to the custom of the day. This was the work of Claude Goudimel, -a Netherlander, one of the foremost musicians of his time, who, coming -under suspicion of sympathy with the Huguenot party, perished in the -massacre on St. Bartholomew's night in 1572. - -A visitor to Geneva in 1557 wrote as follows: "A most interesting sight -is offered in the city on the week days, when the hour for the sermon -approaches. As soon as the first sound of the bell is heard all shops are -closed, all conversation ceases, all business is broken off, and from all -sides the people hasten into the nearest meeting-house. There each one -draws from his pocket a small book which contains the psalms with notes, -and out of full hearts, in the native speech, the congregation sings -before and after the sermon. Everyone testifies to me how great -consolation and edification is derived from this custom." - -Such was the origin of the Calvinistic psalmody, which holds so prominent -a place in the history of religious culture, not from any artistic value -in its products, but as the chosen and exclusive form of praise employed -for the greater part of two centuries by the Reformed Churches of -Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands, and the Puritan congregations -of England, Scotland, and America. On the poetic side it sufficed for -Calvin, for he said that the psalms are the anatomy of the human heart, a -mirror in which every pious mood of the soul is reflected. - -It is a somewhat singular anomaly that the large liberty given to the -Lutheran Christians to express their religious convictions and impulses -in hymns of their own spontaneous production or choosing was denied to -the followers of Calvin. Our magnificent heritage of English hymns was -not founded amid the Reformation struggles, and thus we have no lyrics -freighted with the priceless historic associations which consecrate in -the mind of a German the songs of a Luther and a Gerhardt. Efficacious as -the Calvinistic psalmody has been in many respects, the repression of a -free poetic impulse in the Protestant Churches of Great Britain and -America for so long a period undoubtedly tended to narrow the religious -sympathies, and must be given a certain share of responsibility for the -hardness of temper fostered by the Calvinistic system. The reason given -for the prohibition, _viz._, that only "inspired" words should be used in -the service of praise, betrayed a strange obtuseness to the most urgent -demands of the Christian heart in forbidding the very mention of Christ -and the Gospel message in the song of his Church. In spite of this almost -unaccountable self-denial, if such it was, we may, in the light of -subsequent history, ascribe an appropriateness to the metrical versions -of the psalms of which even Calvin could hardly have been aware. It was -given to Calvinism to furnish a militia which, actuated by a different -principle than the Lutheran repugnance to physical resistance, could meet -political Catholicism in the open field and maintain its rights amid the -shock of arms. In this fleshly warfare it doubtless drew much of its -martial courage from those psalms which were ascribed to a bard who was -himself a military chieftain and an avenger of blood upon his enemies. - -The unemotional unison tunes to which these rhymed psalms were set also -satisfied the stern demands of those rigid zealots, who looked upon every -appeal to the aesthetic sensibility in worship as an enticement to -compromise with popery. Before condemning such a position as this we -should take into account the natural effect upon a conscientious and -high-spirited people of the fierce persecution to which they were -subjected, and the hatred which they would inevitably feel toward -everything associated with what was to them corruption and tyranny. - -We must, therefore, recognize certain conditions of the time working in -alliance with the authority of Calvin to bring into vogue a conception -and method of public worship absolutely in contradiction to the almost -universal usage of mankind, and nullifying the general conviction, we -might almost say the instinct, in favor of the employment in devotion of -those artistic agencies by which the religious emotion is ordinarily so -strongly moved. For the first time in the history of the Christian -Church, at any rate for the first time upon a conspicuous or extensive -scale, we find a party of religionists abjuring on conscientious grounds -all employment of art in the sanctuary. Beginning in an inevitable and -salutary reaction against the excessive development of the sensuous and -formal, the hostility to everything that may excite the spirit to a -spontaneous joy in beautiful shape and color and sound was exalted into a -universally binding principle. With no reverence for the conception of -historic development and Christian tradition, the supposed simplicity of -the apostolic practice was assumed to be a constraining law upon all -later generations. The Scriptures were taken not only as a rule of faith -and conduct, but also as a law of universal obligation in the matter of -church government and discipline. The expulsion of organs and the -prohibition of choirs was in no way due to a hostility to music in -itself, but was simply a detail of that sweeping revolution which, in the -attempt to level all artificial distinctions and restore the offices of -worship to a simplicity such that they could be understood and -administered by the common people, abolished the good of the ancient -system together with the bad, and stripped religion of those fair -adornments which have been found in the long run efficient to bring her -into sympathy with the inherent human demand for beauty and order. - -With regard to the matter of art and established form in public worship -Calvinism was at one with itself, whether in Geneva or Great Britain. A -large number of active Protestants had fled from England at the beginning -of the persecution of Mary, and had taken refuge at Geneva. Here they -came under the direct influence of Calvin, and imbibed his principles in -fullest measure. At the death of Mary these exiles returned, many of them -to become leaders in that section of the Protestant party which clamored -for a complete eradication of ancient habits and observances. No -inspiration was really needed from Calvin, for his democratic and -anti-ritualistic views were in complete accord with the temper of English -Puritanism. The attack was delivered all along the line, and not the -least violent was the outcry against the liturgic music of the -established Church. The notion held by the Puritans concerning a proper -worship music was that of plain unison psalmody. They vigorously -denounced what was known as "curious music," by which was meant -scientific, artistic music, and also the practice of antiphonal chanting -and the use of organs. Just why organs were looked upon with especial -detestation is not obvious. They had played but a very incidental part in -the Catholic service, and it would seem that their efficiency as an aid -to psalm singing should have commended them to Puritan favor. But such -was not the case. Even early in Elizabeth's reign, among certain articles -tending to the further alteration of the liturgy which were presented to -the lower house of Convocation, was one requiring the removal of organs -from the churches, which was lost by only a single vote. It was a -considerable time, however, before the opposition again mustered such -force. Elizabeth never wavered in her determination to maintain the -solemn musical service of her Church. Even this was severe enough as -compared with its later expansion, for the multiplication of harmonized -chants and florid anthems belongs to a later date, and the ancient Plain -Song still included a large part of the service. Neither was Puritanism -in the early stages of the movement by any means an uncompromising enemy -to the graces of art and culture. The Renaissance delight in what is fair -and joyous, its satisfaction in the good things of this world, lingered -long even in Puritan households. The young John Milton, gallant, -accomplished, keenly alive to the charms of poetry and music, was no less -a representative Puritan than when in later years, "fallen on evil days," -he fulminated against the levities of the time. It was the stress of -party strife, the hardening of the mental and moral fibre that often -follows the denial of the reasonable demands of the conscience, that -drove the Puritan into bigotry and intolerance. Gradually episcopacy and -ritualism became to his mind the mark of the beast. Intent upon knowing -the divine will, he exalted his conception of the dictates of that will -above all human ordinances, until at last his own interpretations of -Scripture, which he made his sole guide in every public and private -relation of life, seemed to him guaranteed by the highest of all -sanctions. He thus became capable of trampling with a serene conscience -upon the rights of those who maintained opinions different from his own. -Fair and just in matters in which questions of doctrine or polity were -not involved, in affairs of religion the Puritan became the type and -embodiment of all that is unyielding and fanatical. Opposition to the use -of the surplice, the sign of the cross in baptism, the posture of -kneeling at the Lord's Supper, and antiphonal chanting, expanded into -uncompromising condemnation of the whole ritual. Puritanism and -Presbyterianism became amalgamated, and it only wanted the time and -opportunity to pull down episcopacy and liturgy in a common overthrow. -The antipathy of the Puritans to artistic music and official choirs was, -therefore, less a matter of personal feeling than it was with Calvin. His -thought was more that of the purely religious effect upon the individual -heart; with the Puritan, hatred of cultured church music was simply a -detail in the general animosity which he felt toward an offensive -institution. - -The most conspicuous of the agitators during the reign of Elizabeth was -Thomas Cartwright, Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of -Cambridge, who first gained notoriety by means of public lectures read in -1570 against the doctrine and discipline of the established Church. The -coarseness and violence of this man drew upon him the royal censure, and -he was deprived of his fellowship and expelled from the University. His -antipathy was especially aroused by the musical practice of the -established Church, particularly the antiphonal chanting, "tossing the -psalms from one side to the other," to use one of his favorite -expressions. "The devil hath gone about to get it authority," said -Cartwright. "As for organs and curious singing, though they be proper to -popish dens, I mean to cathedral churches, yet some others also must have -them. The queen's chapel and these churches (which should be spectacles -of Christian reformation) are rather patterns to the people of all -superstition." - -The attack of Cartwright upon the rites and discipline of the Church of -England, since it expressed the feeling of a strong section of the -Puritan party, could not be left unanswered. The defence was undertaken -by Whitgift and afterward by Richard Hooker, the latter bringing to the -debate such learning, dignity, eloquence, and logic that we may be truly -grateful to the unlovely Cartwright that his diatribe was the occasion of -the enrichment of English literature with so masterly an exposition of -the principles of the Anglican system as the _Laws of Ecclesiastical -Polity_. - -As regards artistic and liturgic music Hooker's argument is so clear, -persuasive, and complete that all later contestants upon the ritualistic -side have derived their weapons, more or less consciously, from his -armory. After an eloquent eulogy of the power of music over the heart, -Hooker passes on to prove the antiquity of antiphonal chanting by means -of citations from the early Christian fathers, and then proceeds: "But -whosoever were the author, whatsoever the time, whencesoever the example -of beginning this custom in the Church of Christ; sith we are wont to -suspect things only before trial, and afterward either to approve them as -good, or if we find them evil, accordingly to judge of them; their -counsel must needs seem very unseasonable, who advise men now to suspect -that wherewith the world hath had by their own account twelve hundred -years' acquaintance and upwards, enough to take away suspicion and -jealousy. Men know by this time, if ever they will know, whether it be -good or evil which hath been so long retained." The argument of -Cartwright, that all the people have the right to praise God in the -singing of psalms, Hooker does not find a sufficient reason for the -abolition of the choir; he denies the assertion that the people cannot -understand what is being sung, after the antiphonal manner, and then -concludes: "Shall this enforce us to banish a thing which all Christian -churches in the world have received; a thing, which so many ages have -held; a thing which always heretofore the best men and wisest governors -of God's people did think they could never commend enough; a thing which -filleth the mind with comfort and heavenly delight, stirreth up flagrant -desires and affections correspondent unto that which the words contain, -allayeth all kind of base and earthly cogitations, banisheth and driveth -away those evil secret suggestions which our invisible enemy is always -apt to minister, watereth the heart to the end it may fructify, maketh -the virtuous in trouble full of magnanimity and courage, serveth as a -most approved remedy against all doleful and heavy accidents which befall -men in this present life; to conclude, so fitly accordeth with the -apostle's own exhortation, 'Speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns and -spiritual songs, making melody, and singing to the Lord in your hearts,' -that surely there is more cause to fear lest the want thereof be a maim, -than the use a blemish to the service of God."[80] - -The just arguments and fervent appeals of Hooker produced no effect upon -the fanatical opponents of the established Church. Under the exasperating -conditions which produced the Great Rebellion and the substitution of the -Commonwealth for the monarchy, the hatred against everything identified -with ecclesiastical and political oppression became tenfold confirmed; -and upon the triumph of the most extreme democratic and non-conformist -faction, as represented by the army of Cromwell and the "Rump" -Parliament, nothing stood in the way of carrying the iconoclastic purpose -into effect. In 1644 the House of Lords, under the pressure of the -already triumphant opposition, passed an ordinance that the Prayer Book -should no longer be used in any place of public worship. In lieu of the -liturgy a new form of worship was decreed, in which the congregational -singing of metrical psalms was all the music allowed. "It is the duty of -Christians," so the new rule declares, "to praise God publicly by singing -of psalms, together in the congregation and also privately in the family. -In singing of psalms the voice is to be tunably and gravely ordered; but -the chief care is to sing with understanding and with grace in the heart, -making melody unto the Lord. That the whole congregation may join herein, -every one that can read is to have a psalm-book, and all others not -disabled by age or otherwise are to be exhorted to learn to read. But for -the present, where many in the congregation cannot read, it is convenient -that the minister, or some fit person appointed by him and the other -ruling officers, do read the psalm line by line before the singing -thereof."[81] - -The rules framed by the commission left the matter of instrumental music -untouched. Perhaps it was considered a work of supererogation to -proscribe it, for if there was anything which the Puritan conscience -supremely abhorred it was an organ. Sir Edward Deering, in his bill for -the abolition of episcopacy, expressed the opinion of the zealots of his -party in the assertion that "one groan in the Spirit is worth the -diapason of all the church music in the world." - -As far back as 1586 a pamphlet which had a wide circulation prays that -"all cathedral churches may be put down, where the service of God is -grievously abused by piping with organs, singing, ringing, and trowling -of psalms from one side of the choir to the other, with the squeaking of -chanting choristers, disguised in white surplices; some in corner caps -and silly copes, imitating the fashion and manner of Antichrist the Pope, -that man of sin and child of perdition, with his other rabble of -miscreants and shavelings." - -Such diatribes as this were no mere idle vaporing. As soon as the Puritan -army felt its victory secure, these threats were carried out with a -ruthless violence which reminds one of the havoc of the image breakers of -Antwerp in 1566, who, with striking coincidence of temper, preluded their -ravages by the singing of psalms. All reverence for sacred association, -all respect for works of skill and beauty, were lost in the -indiscriminate rage of bigotry. The ancient sanctuaries were invaded by a -vulgar horde, the stained glass windows were broken, ornaments torn down, -sepulchral monuments defaced, libraries were ransacked for ancient -service-books which, when found, were mutilated or burned, organs were -demolished and their fragments scattered. These barbarous excesses had in -fact been directly enjoined by act of Parliament in 1644, and it is not -surprising that the rude soldiery carried out the desires of their -superiors with wantonness and indignity. A few organs, however, escaped -the general destruction, one being rescued by Cromwell, who was a lover -of religious music, and not at all in sympathy with the vandalism of his -followers. Choirs were likewise dispersed, organists, singers, and -composers of the highest ability were deprived of their means of -livelihood, and in many cases reduced to the extreme of destitution. The -beautiful service of the Anglican Church, thus swept away in a single -day, found no successor but the dull droning psalmody of the Puritan -congregations, and only in a private circle in Oxford, indirectly -protected by Cromwell, was the feeble spark of artistic religious music -kept alive. - -The reestablishment of the liturgy and the musical service of the Church -of England upon the restoration of the Stuarts in 1660 has already been -described. The Puritan congregations clung with tenacity to their -peculiar tenets and usages, prominent among which was their invincible -repugnance to artistic music. Although such opinions could probably not -prevail so extensively among a really musical people, yet this was not -the first nor the last time in history that the art which seems -peculiarly adapted to the promotion of pure devotional feeling has been -disowned as a temptation and a distraction. We find similar instances -among some of the more zealous German Protestants of Luther's time, and -the German Pietists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At many -periods of the Middle Age there were protests against the lengths to -which artistic music had gone in the Church and a demand for the -reduction of the musical service to the simplest elements. Still further -back, among the early Christians, the horror at the abominations of -paganism issued in denunciation of all artistic tendencies in the worship -of the Church. St. Jerome may not inaccurately be called the first great -Puritan. Even St. Augustine was at one time inclined to believe that his -love for the moving songs of the Church was a snare, until, by analysis, -he persuaded himself that it was the sacred words, and not merely the -musical tones, which softened his heart and filled his eyes with tears. -As in all these cases, including that of the Puritans, the sacrifice of -aesthetic pleasure in worship was not merely a reactionary protest -against the excess of ceremonialism and artistic enjoyment. The Puritan -was a precisian. The love of a highly developed and sensuously beautiful -music in worship always implies a certain infusion of mysticism. The -Puritan was no mystic. He demanded hard distinct definition in his pious -expression as he did in his argumentation. The vagueness of musical -utterance, its appeal to indefinable emotion, its effect of submerging -the mind and bearing it away upon a tide of ecstasy were all in exact -contradiction to the Puritan's conviction as to the nature of genuine -edification. These raptures could not harmonize with his gloomy views of -sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. And so we find the most -spiritual of the arts denied admittance to the sanctuary by those who -actually cherished music as a beloved social and domestic companion. - -More difficult to understand is the Puritan prohibition of all hymns -except rhymed paraphrases of the psalms. Metrical versions were -substituted for chanted prose versions for the reason, no doubt, that a -congregation, as a rule, cannot sing in perfect unity of cooperation -except in metre and in musical forms in which one note is set to one -syllable. But why the psalms alone? Why suppress the free utterance of -the believers in hymns of faith and hope? In the view of that day the -psalms were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit and contemporary hymns -could not be. We know that a characteristic of the Puritan mind was an -intense, an impassioned reverence for the Holy Scripture, so that all -other forms of human speech seemed trivial and unworthy in comparison. -The fact that the psalms, as the product of the ante-Christian -dispensation, could have no reference to the Christian scheme except by -far-fetched interpretation as symbolic and prophetic, did not escape the -Puritans, but they consoled themselves for the loss in the thought that -the earliest churches, in which they found, or thought they found their -ideal and standard, were confined to a poetic expression similar to their -own. And how far did they feel this to be a loss? Was not the temper of -the typical Puritan, after all, thoroughly impregnated with Hebraism? The -real nature of the spiritual deprivation which this restriction involved -is apparent enough now, for it barred out a gracious influence which -might have corrected some grave faults in the Puritan character, faults -from which their religious descendants to this day continue to suffer. - -The rise of an English hymnody corresponding to that of Germany was, -therefore, delayed for more than one hundred and fifty years. English -religious song-books were exclusively psalm-books down to the eighteenth -century. Poetic activity among the non-conformists consisted in -translations of the psalms in metre, or rather versions of the existing -translations in the English Bible, for these sectaries, as a rule, were -not strong in Hebrew. The singular passion in that period for putting -everything into rhyme and metre, which produced such grotesque results as -turning an act of Parliament into couplets, and paraphrasing "Paradise -Lost" in rhymed stanzas in order, as the writer said, "to make Mr. Milton -plain," gave aid and comfort to the peculiar Puritan views. The first -complete metrical version of the psalms was the celebrated edition of -Sternhold and Hopkins, the former a gentleman of the privy chamber to -Edward VI., the latter a clergyman and schoolmaster in Suffolk. This -version, published in 1562, was received with universal satisfaction and -adopted into all the Puritan congregations, maintaining its credit for -full two hundred and thirty years, until it came at last to be considered -as almost equally inspired with the original Hebrew text. So far as -poetic merit is concerned, the term is hardly applicable to the -lucubrations of these honest and prosaic men. As Fuller said, "their -piety was better than their poetry, and they had drunk more of Jordan -than of Helicon." In fact the same comment would apply to all the -subsequent versifiers of the psalms. It would seem that the very nature -of such work precludes all real literary success. The sublime thought and -irregular, vivid diction of the Hebrew poets do not permit themselves to -be parcelled out in the cut and dried patterns of conventional metres. -Once only does Sternhold rise into grandeur--in the two stanzas which -James Russell Lowell so much admired: - - - The Lord descended from above, - And bowed the heavens most high, - And underneath his feet he cast - The darkness of the sky. - - On cherub and on cherubim - Full royally he rode; - And on the wings of all the winds - Came flying all abroad. - - -The graces of style, however, were not greatly prized by the Puritan -mind. Sternhold and Hopkins held the suffrages of their co-religionists -so long on account of their strict fidelity to the thought of the -original, the ruggedness and genuine force of their expression, and their -employment of the simple homely phraseology of the common people. The -enlightened criticism of the present day sees worth in these qualities, -and assigns to the work of Sternhold and Hopkins higher credit than to -many smoother and more finished versions. - -Sternhold and Hopkins partially yielded to Tate and Brady in 1696, and -were still more urgently pushed aside by the version of Watts in 1719. -The numerous versions which have since appeared from time to time were -written purely for literary purposes, or else in a few cases (as, for -example, the psalms of Ainsworth, brought to America by the Pilgrim -Fathers) were granted a temporary and local use in the churches. Glass, -in his _Story of the Psalter_, enumerates one hundred and twenty-three -complete versions, the last being that of Wrangham in 1885. This long -list includes but one author--John Keble--who has attained fame as a poet -outside the annals of hymnology. No other version ever approached in -popularity that of Sternhold and Hopkins, whose work passed through six -hundred and one editions. - -Social hymn singing, unlike liturgic choir music, is entirely independent -of contemporary art movements. It flourishes only in periods of popular -religious awakening, and declines when religious enthusiasm ebbs, no -matter what may be going on in professional musical circles. Psalm -singing in the English Reformation period, whatever its aesthetic -shortcomings, was a powerful promoter of zeal in moments of triumph, and -an unfailing source of consolation in adversity. As in the case of the -Lutheran choral, each psalm had its "proper" tune. Many of the melodies -were already associated with tender experiences of home life, and they -became doubly endeared through religious suggestion. "The metrical -psalms," says Curwen, "were Protestant in their origin, and in their use -they exemplified the Protestant principle of allowing every worshiper to -understand and participate in the service. As years went on, the rude -numbers of Sternhold and Hopkins passed into the language of spiritual -experience in a degree only less than the authorized version of the -Bible. They were a liturgy to those who rejected liturgies."[82] It was -their one outlet of poetic religious feeling, and dry and prosaic as both -words and music seem to us now, we must believe, since human nature is -everywhere moved by much the same impulses, that these psalms and tunes -were not to those who used them barren and formal things, and that in the -singing of them there was an undercurrent of rapture which to our minds -it seems almost impossible that they could produce. In every form of -popular expression there is always this invisible aura, like the supposed -imperceptible fluid around an electrified body. There are what we may -call emotionalized reactions, stimulated by social, domestic, or -ancestral associations, producing effects for which the unsympathetic -critic cannot otherwise account. - -Even this inspiration at last seemed to fade away. When the one hundred -years' conflict, of alternate ascendency and persecution, came to an end -with the Restoration in 1660, zeal abated with the fires of conflict, and -apathy, formalism, and dulness, the counterparts of lukewarmness and -Pharisaical routine in the established Church, settled down over the -dissenting sects. In the eighteenth century the psalmody of the -Presbyterians, Independents, and Separatists, which had also been adopted -long before in the parochial services of the established Church, declined -into the most contracted and unemotional routine that can be found in the -history of religious song. The practice of "lining out" destroyed every -vestige of musical charm that might otherwise have remained; the number -of tunes in common use grew less and less, in some congregations being -reduced to a bare half-dozen. The conception of individualism, which was -the source of congregational singing in the first place, was carried to -such absurd extremes that the notion extensively prevailed that every -person was privileged to sing the melody in any key or tempo and with any -grotesque embellishment that might be pleasing to himself. These -fantastic abuses especially prevailed in the New England congregations in -the last half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth -centuries, but they were only the ultimate consequences of ideas and -practices which prevailed in the mother country. The early Baptists -forbade singing altogether. The Brownists tried for a short time to act -upon the notion that singing in worship, like prayer, should be -extempore. The practical results may easily be imagined. About the year -1700 it seemed as though the fair genius of sacred song had abandoned the -English and American non-liturgic sects in despair. - -Like a sun-burst, opening a brighter era, came the Wesleyan movement, and -in the same period the hymns of Dr. Isaac Watts. Whatever the effect of -the exuberant singing of the Methodist assemblies may have had upon a -cultivated ear, it is certain that the enthusiastic welcome accorded by -the Wesleys to popular music as a proselyting agent, and the latitude -permitted to free invention and adoption of hymns and tunes, gave an -impulse to a purer and nobler style of congregational song which has -never been lost. The sweet and fervent lyrics of Charles and John Wesley -struck a staggering blow at the prestige of the "inspired" psalmody. -Historians of this movement remind us that hymns, heartily sung by a -whole congregation, were unknown as an element in public worship at the -time when the work of the Wesleys and Whitefield began. Watts's hymns -were already written, but had as yet taken no hold upon either dissenters -or churchmen. The example of the Methodists was a revelation of the power -that lies in popular song when inspired by conviction, and as was said of -the early Lutheran choral, so it might be said of the Methodist hymns, -that they won more souls than even the preaching of the evangelists. John -Wesley, in his published directions concerning congregational singing, -enjoined accuracy in notes and time, heartiness, moderation, unanimity, -and spirituality as with the aim of pleasing God rather than one's self. -He strove to bring the new hymns and tunes within the means of the poor, -and yet took pains that the music should be of high quality, and that -nothing vulgar or sensational should obtain currency. - -The truly beneficent achievement of the Wesleys in summoning the aid of -the unconfined spirit of poesy in the revival of spiritual life found a -worthy reinforcement in the songs of Isaac Watts (1674-1748). Although -his deficiencies in the matter of poetical technic and his frequent dry, -scholastic, and dogmatic treatment have rendered much the greater part of -his work obsolete, yet a true spiritual and poetic fire burns in many of -his lyrics, and with all necessary abatement his fame seems secure. Such -poems as "High in the Heavens, eternal God," "Before Jehovah's awful -throne," and "When I survey the wondrous cross" are pearls which can -never lose their place in the chaplet of English evangelical hymnody. The -relaxing prejudice against "uninspired" hymns in church worship yielded -to the fervent zeal, the loving faith, the forceful natural utterance of -the lyrics of Watts. In his psalms also, uniting as they did the -characteristic modes of feeling of both the Hebrew and the Christian -conceptions, he made the transition easy, and in both he showed the true -path along which the reviving poetic inspiration of the time must -proceed. - -What has come of the impulse imparted by Watts and the Wesleys every -student of Christian literature knows. To give any adequate account of -the movement which has enriched the multitude of modern hymn-books and -sacred anthologies would require a large volume.[83] No more profitable -task could be suggested to one who deems it his highest duty to expand -and deepen his spiritual nature, than to possess his mind of the jewels -of devotional insight and chastened expression which are scattered -through the writings of such poets as Charles Wesley, Cowper, Newton, -Faber, Newman, Lyte, Heber, Bonar, Milman, Keble, Ellerton, Montgomery, -Ray Palmer, Coxe, Whittier, Holmes, the Cary sisters, and others equal or -hardly inferior to these, who have performed immortal service to the -divine cause which they revered by disclosing to the world the infinite -beauty and consolation of the Christian faith. No other nation, not even -the German, can show any parallel to the treasure embedded in English and -American popular religious poetry. This fact is certainly not known to -the majority of church members. The average church-goer never looks into -a hymn-book except when he stands up to sing in the congregation, and -this performance, whatever else it may do for the worshiper, gives him -very little information in regard to the artistic, or even the spiritual -value of the book which he holds in his hand. Let him read his hymn-book -in private, as he reads his Tennyson; and although he will not be -inclined to compare it in point of literary quality with Palgrave's -_Golden Treasury_ or Stedman's _Victorian Anthology_, yet he will -probably be surprised at the number of lyrics whose delicacy, fervor, and -pathos will be to him a revelation of the gracious elements that pervade -the minor religious poetry of the English tongue. - -Parallel with the progress of hymnody, and undoubtedly stimulated by it, -has been the development of the hymn-tune and the gradual rise of public -taste in this branch of religious art. The history of the English and -American hymn-tune may easily be traced, for its line is unbroken. Its -sources also are well known, except that the origins of the first -settings of the psalms of Sternhold and Hopkins are in many cases -obscure. Those who first fitted tunes to the metrical psalms borrowed -some of their melodies (the "Old Hundredth" is a conspicuous instance) -from the Huguenot psalter of Marot and Beza, and others probably from -English folk-songs. There were eminent composers in England in the -Reformation period, many of whom lent their services in harmonizing the -tunes found in the early psalters, and also contributed original -melodies. All these ancient tunes were syllabic and diatonic, dignified -and stately in movement, often sombre in coloring, in all these -particulars bearing a striking resemblance to the German choral. Some of -the strongest tunes in the modern hymnals, for example, "Dundee," are -derived from the Scotch and English psalters of the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries, and efforts are being made in some quarters to -bring others of the same source and type into favor with present-day -congregations. This severe diatonic school was succeeded in the -eighteenth century by a taste for the florid and ornate which, in spite -of some contributions of a very beautiful and expressive character, on -the whole marked a decline in favor of the tawdry and sensational. If -this tendency was an indication of an experimenting spirit, its result -was not altogether evil. Earnest and dignified as the old psalm-tunes -were, the Church could not live by them alone. The lighter style was a -transition, and the purer modern school is the outcome of a process which -strives to unite the breadth and dignity of the ancient tunes with the -warmth and color of those of the second period. Together with the -cultivation of the florid style we note a wider range of selection. Many -tunes were taken from secular sources (not in itself a fault, since, as -we have seen, many of the best melodies in the Lutheran and Calvinistic -song-books had a similar origin); and the introduction of Catholic tunes, -such as the peerless "Adeste Fideles" and the "Sicilian hymn," together -with some of the finest German chorals, greatly enriched the English -tune-books. - -In comparatively recent times a new phase of progress has manifested -itself in the presence in the later hymnals of a large number of musical -compositions of novel form and coloring, entirely the product of our own -period. These tunes are representative of the present school of Church of -England composers, such as Dykes, Barnby, Smart, Sullivan, Monk, Hopkins, -and many others equally well known, who have contributed a large quantity -of melodies of exceeding beauty, supported by varied and often striking -harmonies, quite unlike the congregational songs of any other nation. -Composed for the noble ceremony of the Anglican Church, these tunes have -made their way into many of the non-liturgic sects, and the value of -their influence in inspiring a love for that which is purest and most -salutary in worship music has been incalculable. Much has been written in -praise of these new Anglican tunes, and a good deal also in depreciation. -Many of them are, it must be confessed, over-sophisticated for the use of -the average congregation, carrying refinements of harmony and rhythm to -such a point that they are more suitable for the choir than for the -congregation. Their real value, taken collectively, can best be estimated -by those who, having once used them, should imagine themselves deprived -of them. The tunes that served the needs of former generations will not -satisfy ours. Dr. Hanslick remarks that there is music of which it may -correctly be said that it once was beautiful. It is doubtless so with -hymn-tunes. Church art can never be kept unaffected by the secular -currents of the time, and those who, in opera house and concert hall, are -thrilled by the impassioned strains of the modern romantic composers, -will inevitably long for something at least remotely analogous in the -songs of the sanctuary. That is to say, the congregational tune must be -appealing, stirring, emotional, as the old music doubtless was to the -people of the old time, but certainly is no longer. This logical demand -the English musicians of the present day and their American followers -assume to gratify--that is, so far as the canons of pure art and -ecclesiastical propriety will allow--and, in spite of the cavils of -purists and reactionaries, their melodies seem to have taken a permanent -place in the affections of the Protestant English-speaking world. The -success of these melodies is due not merely to their abstract musical -beauty, but perhaps still more to the subtle sympathy which their style -exhibits with the present-day tendencies in theology and devotional -experience, which are reflected in the peculiarly joyous and confiding -note of recent hymnody. So far as music has the power to suggest definite -conceptions, there seems to be an apt correspondence between this -fervent, soaring, touching music and the hymns of the faith by which -these melodies were in most instances directly inspired. - -So far as there are movements in progress bringing into shape a body of -congregational song which contains features that are likely to prove a -permanent enrichment of the religious anthology, they are more or less -plainly indicated in the hymnals which have been compiled in this country -during the past ten or twelve years. Not that we may look forward to any -sudden outburst of hymn-singing enthusiasm parallel to that which -attended the Lutheran and Wesleyan revivals, for such a musical impulse -is always the accompaniment of some mighty religious awakening, of which -there is now no sign. The significance of these recent hymnals lies -rather in the evidence they give of the growth of higher standards of -taste in religious verse and music, and also of certain changes in -progress in our churches in the prevailing modes of religious thought. -The evident tendency of hymnology, as indicated by the new books, is to -throw less emphasis upon those more mechanical conceptions which gave -such a hard precision to a large portion of the older hymnody. A finer -poetic afflatus has joined with a more penetrating and intimate vision of -the relationship between the divine and the human; and this mental -attitude is reflected in the loving trust, the emotional fervor, and the -more delicate and inward poetic expression which prevail in the new -hymnody. It is inevitable that the theological readjustment, which is so -palpable to every intelligent observer, should color and deflect those -forms of poetic and musical expression which are instinctively chosen as -the utterance of the worshiping people. Every one at all familiar with -the history of religious experience is aware how sensitive popular song -has been as an index of popular feeling. Nowhere is the power of -psychologic suggestion upon the masses more evident than in the domain of -song. Hardly does a revolutionary religious idea, struck from the brains -of a few leading thinkers and reformers, effect a lodgment in the hearts -of any considerable section of the common people, than it is immediately -projected in hymns and melodies. So far as it is no mere scholastic -formula, but possesses the power to kindle an active life in the soul, it -will quickly clothe itself in figurative speech and musical cadence, and -in many cases it will filter itself through this medium until all that is -crude, formal, and speculative is drained away, and what is essential and -fruitful is retained as a permanent spiritual possession. - -If we were able to view the present movement in popular religious verse -from a sufficient distance, we should doubtless again find illustration -of this general law. Far less obviously, of course, than in the cases of -the Hussite, Lutheran, and Wesleyan movements, for the changes of our day -are more gradual and placid. I would not imply that the hymns that seem -so much the natural voice of the new tendencies are altogether, or even -in the majority of cases, recent productions. Many of them certainly come -from Watts and Cowper and Newton, and other eighteenth-century men, whose -theology contained many gloomy and obsolete tenets, but whose hearts -often denied their creeds and spontaneously uttered themselves in strains -which every shade of religious conviction may claim as its own. It is -not, therefore, that the new hymnals have been mainly supplied by new -schools of poetry, but the compilers, being men quick to sense the new -devotional demands and also in complete sympathy with them, have made -their selections and expurgations from a somewhat modified motive, -repressing certain phases of thought and emphasizing others, so that -their collections take a wider range, a loftier sweep, and a more joyful, -truly evangelical tone than those of a generation ago. It is more the -inner life of faith which these books so beautifully present, less that -of doctrinal assent and outer conformity. - -These recent contributions to the service of praise are not only -interesting in themselves, but even more so, perhaps, as the latest terms -in that long series of popular religious song-books which began with the -independence of the English Church. _The Plymouth Hymnal_ and _In -Excelsis_ are the ripened issue of that movement whose first official -outcome was the quaint psalter of Sternhold and Hopkins; and the contrast -between the old and the new is a striking evidence of the changes which -three and a half centuries have effected in culture and spiritual -emphasis as revealed in popular song. The early lyrics were prepared as a -sort of testimony against formalism and the use of human inventions in -the office of worship; they were the outcome of a striving after -apostolic simplicity, while in their emotional aspects they served for -consolation in trial and persecution, and as a means of stiffening the -resolution in times of conflict. The first true hymns, as distinct from -versified psalms, were designed still more to quicken joy and hope, and -yet at the same time a powerful motive on the part of their authors was -to give instruction in the doctrines of the faith by a means more direct -and persuasive than sermons, and to reinforce the exhortations of -evangelists by an instrument that should be effective in awaking the -consciences of the unregenerate. It is very evident that the hymnals of -our day are pervaded by an intention somewhat different from this, or at -least supplementary to it. The Church, having become stable, and having a -somewhat different mission to perform under the changed conditions of the -time, employs its hymns and tunes not so much as revival machinery, or as -a means for inculcating dogma, as for spiritual nurture. Hymns have -become more subjective, melodies and harmonies more refined and alluring; -the tone has become less stern and militant; the ideas are more universal -and tender, less mechanical and precise; appeal is made more to the -sensibility than to the intellect, and the chief stress is laid upon the -joy and peace that come from believing. It is impossible to avoid -vagueness in attempting so broad a generalization. But one who studies -the new hymn-books, reads the prefaces of their editors, and notes the -character of the hymns that are most used in our churches, will realize -that now, as it has always been in the history of the Church, the guiding -thought and feeling of the time may be traced in popular song, more -faintly but not less inevitably than in the instructions of the pulpit. -When viewed in historic sequence one observes the growing prominence of -the mystical and subjective elements, the fading away of the early -fondness for scholastic definition. Lyric poetry is in its nature -mystical and intuitive, and the hymnody of the future, following the -present tendency in theology to direct the thought to the personal, -historic Christ, and to appropriate his example and message in accordance -with the light which advancing knowledge obtains concerning man's nature, -needs, and destiny, will aim more than ever before to purify and quicken -the higher emotional faculties, and will find a still larger field in -those fundamental convictions which transcend the bounds of creeds, and -which affirm the brotherhood of all sincere seekers after God. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - PROBLEMS OF CHURCH MUSIC IN AMERICA - - -In the foregoing sketch of the rise and growth of music in the Western -Church no account was taken of a history of church music in America. If -by art history we mean a record of progressive changes, significant of a -persistent impulse which issues in distinctive styles and schools, the -chronicles of ecclesiastical song in this country hardly come within the -scope of history. No new forms or methods have arisen on this side of the -Atlantic. The styles of composition and the systems of practice which -have existed among us have simply been transferred from the older -countries across the sea. Every form of church music known in Europe -flourishes in America, but there is no native school of religious music, -just as there is no American school of secular music. The Puritan -colonists brought with them a few meagre volumes of metrical psalms, and -a dozen or so of tunes wherewith to sing them in the uncouth fashion -which already prevailed in England. They brought also the rigid -Calvinistic hostility to everything that is studied and uniform in -religious ceremony, and for a century or more they seemed to glory in the -distinction of maintaining church song in the most barbarous condition -that this art has ever suffered since the founding of Christianity. It -was not possible that this state of affairs could endure in a community -that was constantly advancing in education and in the embellishments of -life, and a bitter conflict arose between puritanic tradition and the -growing perception of the claims of fitness and beauty. One who would -amuse himself with the grotesque controversies which raged around this -question among the pious New England colonists, the acrid disputes -between the adherents of the "usual way" and the "rulable way" of singing -psalmody, the stern resistance to choirs and to organs, and the quaint -annals of the country singing-school, may find rich gratification in some -of the books of Mrs. Earle, especially _The Sabbath in Puritan New -England_. The work of such reformers as William Billings in the -eighteenth century and Lowell Mason in the nineteenth, the first concerts -of the Handel and Haydn Society, the influx of the German culture -shifting all American music upon new foundations, are all landmarks which -show how rapid and thorough has been our advance in musical scholarship -and taste, but which also remind us how little of our achievement has -been really indigenous. - -In spite of the poverty of original invention which forbids us to claim -that American church music has in any way contributed to the evolution of -the art, there is no epoch in this art's history which possesses a more -vital interest to the American churchman of the present day. We have -found amid all the fluctuations of ecclesiastical music, mediaeval and -modern, Catholic and Protestant, one ever-recurring problem, which is no -sooner apparently settled than new conditions arise which force it once -more upon the attention of minister and layman. The choice of a style of -music which shall most completely answer the needs of worship as the -conceptions and methods of public worship vary among different -communities and in different epochs, and which at the same time shall not -be unworthy of the claims of music as a fine art,--this is the historic -dilemma which is still, as ever, a fruitful source of perplexity and -discord. The Catholic and Episcopal Churches are less disturbed by this -spectre than their non-liturgic brethren. An authoritative ritual carries -its laws over upon music also; tradition, thus fortified, holds firm -against innovation, and the liturgic and clerical conception of music -gives a stability to musical usages which no aberrations of taste can -quite unsettle. But in the non-liturgic churches of America one sees only -a confusion of purposes, a lack of agreement, an absence of every shade -of recognized authority. The only tradition is that of complete freedom -of choice. There is no admitted standard of taste; the whole musical -service is experimental, subject to the preferences, more or less -capricious, of choir-master or music committee. There is no system in the -separate societies that may not be overthrown by a change of -administration. The choir music is eclectic, drawn indiscriminately from -Catholic, German, and English sources; or if it is of American -composition it is merely an obvious imitation of one of these three. The -congregational music ranges from the German choral to the "Gospel song," -or it may, be an alternation of these two incongruous styles. The choir -is sometimes a chorus, sometimes a solo quartet; the latter mainly forced -to choose its material from "arrangements," or from works written for -chorus. Anon the choir is dismissed and the congregation, led by a -precentor with voice or cornet, assumes the whole burden of the office of -song. These conditions are sufficient to explain why a distinct school of -American church music does not exist and never can exist. The great -principle of self-determination in doctrine and ecclesiastical -government, which has brought into existence such a multitude of sects, -may well be a necessity in a composite and democratic nation, but it is -no less certainly a hindrance to the development of a uniform type of -religious music. - -There would be a much nearer approach to a reconcilement of all these -differences, and the cause of church music would be in a far more -promising condition, if there were a closer sympathy between the standard -of music within the Church and that prevailing in educated society -outside. There is certainly a diversity of purpose between church music -and secular music, and corresponding distinctions must be preserved in -respect to form and expression. A secularized style of church music means -decadence. But the vitality of ecclesiastical art has always seemed to -depend upon retaining a conscious touch with the large art movements of -the world, and church music has certainly never thrived when, in -consequence of neglect or complacency, it has been suffered to become -inferior to its rival. In America there is no such stimulating -interaction between the music of the Church and that of the concert hall -and the social circle as there has been for centuries in Germany and -England. The Church is not the leader in musical culture. We are rapidly -becoming a musical nation. When one sees what is going on in the opera -houses, concert halls, colleges, conservatories, public schools, and -private instruction rooms, contrasting the present situation with that of -fifty years ago, the outcome can easily be predicted. But the music of -the Church, in spite of gratifying efforts here and there, is not keeping -pace with this progress, and the Church must inevitably suffer in certain -very important interests if this gap is permitted continually to widen. - -There are many causes for this state of affairs, some incidental and -avoidable, others lying in the very nature of music itself and the -special service which the Church requires of it. Perhaps the chief -difficulty in the way of a high artistic development of religious music -is the opinion, which prevails widely among the most devout, that music -when allied to worship must forego what seems the natural right of all -art to produce pleasure as an end in itself, and that it must subordinate -itself to the sacred text and employ its persuasive powers solely to -enforce divine truth upon the heart,--meaning by divine truth some -particular form of religious confession. Whether this view is true or -false, whenever it is consistently acted upon, it seems to me, music -declines. - -Now it is evident that music is less willing than any other art to assume -this inferior station. Architecture serves a utilitarian purpose, the -pleasure of the eye being supplementary; painting and sculpture may -easily become didactic or reduced to the secondary function of ornament. -But of all the arts music is the most sensuous (I use the word in its -technical psychologic sense), direct, and penetrating in its operation. -Music acts with such immediateness and intensity that it seems as though -it were impossible for her to be anything but supreme when she puts forth -all her energies. We may force her to be dull and commonplace, but that -does not meet the difficulty. For it is the very beauty and glory of -music which the Church wishes to use, but how shall this be prevented -from asserting itself to such an extent that devotion is swept away upon -the wings of nervous excitement? Let any one study his sensations when a -trained choir pours over him a flood of rapturous harmony, and he will -perhaps find it difficult to decide whether it is a devotional uplift or -an aesthetic afflatus that has seized him. Is there actually any -essential difference between his mental state at this moment and that, -for instance, at the close of "Tristan und Isolde"? Any one who tries -this experiment upon himself will know at once what is this problem of -music in the Church which has puzzled pious men for centuries, and which -has entered into every historic movement of church extension or reform. - -A little clear thinking on this subject, it seems to me, will convince -any one that music alone, in and of itself, never makes people religious. -There is no such thing as religious music _per se_. When music in -religious ceremony inspires a distinctly prayerful mood, it does so -mainly through associations and accessories. And if this mood is not -induced by other causes, music alone can never be relied upon to create -it. Music, even the noblest and purest, is not always or necessarily an -aid to devotion, and there may even be a snare in what seems at first a -devoted ally. The analogy that exists between religious emotion and -musical rapture is, after all, only an analogy; aesthetic delight, though -it be the most refined, is not worship; the melting tenderness that often -follows a sublime instrumental or choral strain is not contrition. Those -who speak of all good music as religious do not understand the meaning of -the terms they use. For devotion is not a mere vague feeling of longing -or transport. It must involve a positive recognition of an object of -worship, a reaching up, not to something unknown or inaccessible, but to -a God who reveals himself to us, and whom we believe to be cognizant of -the sincerity of the worship offered him; it must involve also a sense of -humility before an almighty power, a penitence for sin, a desire for -pardon and reconciliation, a consciousness of need and dependence, and an -active exercise of faith and love. Into such convictions music may come, -lending her aid to deepen them, to give them tangible expression, and to -enhance the sense of joy and peace which may be their consequence; but to -create them is beyond her power. - -The office of music is not to suggest concrete images, or even to arouse -definite namable sentiments, but rather to intensify ideas and feelings -already existing, or to release the mind and put it into that sensitive, -expectant state in which conceptions that appeal to the emotion may act -unhampered. The more generalized function of music in the sanctuary is to -take possession of the prepared and chastened mood which is the -antecedent of worship, to separate it from other moods and reminiscences -which are not in perfect accord with it, and to establish it in a more -complete self-consciousness and a more permanent attitude. This -antecedent sense of need and longing for divine communion cannot be -aroused by music alone; the enjoyment of abstract musical beauty, however -refined and elevating, is not worship, and a musical impression -disconnected from any other cannot conduce to the spirit of prayer. It is -only when the prayerful impulse already exists as a more or less -conscious tendency of the mind, induced by a sense of love and duty, by -the associations of the time and place, by the administration of the -other portions of the service, or by any agencies which incline the heart -of the believer in longing toward the Mercy Seat,--it is only in alliance -with such an anticipatory state of mind and the causes that produce it -that music fulfils its true office in public worship. It is not enough to -depend upon the influence of the words to which the music is set, for -they, being simultaneous with the music, do not have time or opportunity -to act with full force upon the understanding; since the action of music -upon the emotion is more immediate and vivid than that of words upon the -intellect, the latter is often unregarded in the stress of musical -excitement. However it may be in solo singing, it is not possible or even -desirable that the words of a chorus should be so distinct as to make the -prime impression. Those who demand distinct articulation, as though the -religious effect of church song hung solely upon that, do not listen -musically. At any rate they see but a little way into the problem, which -is concerned not with the effect of words but of tones. The text and -music reinforce each other when the words are known to the hearer before -the singing begins, aiding thus to bring about the expectancy of which I -have spoken, and producing that satisfaction which is felt when musical -expression is perceived to be appropriate to its poetic subject. - -The spirit of worship, therefore, must be aroused by favoring conditions -and means auxiliary to music,--it is then the province of music to direct -this spirit toward a more vivid consciousness of its end. The case is -with music as Professor Shairp says it is with nature: "If nature is to -be the symbol of something higher than itself, to convey intimations of -him from whom both nature and the world proceed, man must come to the -spectacle with the thought of God already in his heart. He will not get a -religion out of the mere sight of nature. If beauty is to lead the soul -upward, man must come to the contemplation of it with his moral -convictions clear and firm, and with faith in these as connecting him -directly with God. Neither morality nor religion will he get out of -beauty taken by itself." - -The soundest writers on art maintain that art, taken abstractly, is -neither moral nor immoral. It occupies a sphere apart from that of -religion or ethics. It may lend its aid to make religious and moral ideas -more persuasive; it may, through the touch of pure beauty, overbear -material and prosaic interests and help to produce an atmosphere in which -spiritual ideas may range without friction, but the mind must first have -been made morally sensitive by other than purely artistic means. It is -the peculiar gift of music that it affords a speedier and more immediate -means of fusion between ideas of sensuous beauty and those of devotional -experience than any other of the art sisterhood. It is the indefiniteness -of music as compared with painting and sculpture, the intensity of its -action as compared with the beauty of architecture and decoration, which -gives to it its peculiar power. To this searching force of music, its -freedom from reminiscences of actual life or individual experience, is -due the prominence that has been assigned to music in the observances of -religion in all times and nations. Piety falls into the category of the -most profound and absorbing of human emotions--together with such -sentiments as patriotism and love of persons--which instinctively utter -themselves not in prose but in poetry, not in ordinary unimpassioned -speech, but in rhythmic tone. Music is the art most competent to enter -into such an ardent and mobile state of mind. The ecstasy aroused in the -lover of music by the magic of his art is more nearly analogous than any -other producible by art to that mystic rapture described by religious -enthusiasts. Worship is disconnected from all the concerns of physical -life; it raises the subject into a super-earthly region--it has for the -moment nothing to do with temporal activities; it is largely spontaneous -and unreflective. The absorption of the mind in contemplation, the sense -of inward peace which accompanies emancipation from the disturbances of -ordinary life, those joyous stirrings of the soul when it seems to catch -glimpses of eternal blessedness, have a striking resemblance to phases of -musical satisfaction where the analytical faculties are not called into -exercise. Hence the readiness with which music combines with these higher -experiences. Music in its mystic, indefinable action seems to make the -mood of prayer more active, to interpret it to itself, and by something -that seems celestial in the harmony to make the mood deeper, stronger, -more satisfying than it would be if shut up within the soul and deprived -of this means of deliverance. Music also, by virtue of its universal and -impersonal quality, furnishes the most efficient means of communication -among all the individuals engaged in a common act; the separate -personalities are, we might say, dissolved in the general tide of rapture -symbolized by the music, and the common sentiment is again enhanced by -the consciousness of sympathy between mind and mind to which the music -testifies, and which it is so efficient to promote. - -The substance of this whole discussion, therefore, is that those who have -any dealing with music in the Church must take into account the inherent -laws of musical effect. Music is not a representative art; it bears with -it an order of impressions untranslatable into those of poetry or -painting. To use Walter Pater's phrase, "it presents no matter of -sentiment or thought separable from the special form in which it is -conveyed to us." It may, through its peculiar power of stimulating the -sensibility and conveying ideas of beauty in the purest, most abstract -guise, help to make the mind receptive to serious impressions; but in -order to excite a specifically religious feeling it must cooperate with -other impressions which act more definitely upon the understanding. The -words to which the music is sung, being submerged in the mind of a -music-lover by the tide of enchanting sound, are not sufficient for this -purpose unless they are known and dwelt upon in advance; and even then -they too need reinforcement out of the environment in which the musical -service is placed. The singing of the choir must be contrived and felt as -a part of the office of prayer. The spirit and direction of the whole -service for the day must be unified; the music must be a vital and -organic element in this unit. All parts of the service must be controlled -by the desire for beauty and fitness. Music, however beautiful, loses -something of its effect if its accompaniments are not in harmony with it. -This desideratum is doubtless most easily attained in a liturgic service. -One great advantage of an ancient and prescribed form is that its -components work easily to a common impression, and in course of time the -ritual tends to become venerable as well as dignified and beautiful. The -non-liturgic method may without difficulty borrow this conception of -harmony and elevation, applying it so far as its own customs and rules of -public worship allow. How this unity of action in the several factors of -a non-liturgic service may best be effected is outside the purpose of -this book to discuss. The problem is not a difficult one when minister, -choir leader, and church members are agreed upon the principle. In every -church there are sanctities of time and place; there are common habits of -mind induced by a common faith; there are historic traditions,--all -contributing to a unity of feeling in the congregation. These may all be -cultivated and enhanced by a skilfully contrived service, devised and -moulded in recognition of the psychologic law that an art form acts with -full power only when the mind is prepared by anticipation and congenial -accessories. - -This conclusion is, however, very far from being the end of the matter. -The most devout intention will not make the church music effective for -its ideal end if the aesthetic element is disregarded. There seems to be -in many quarters a strange distrust of beauty and skill in musical -performance, as if artistic qualities were in some way hostile to -devotion. This distrust is a survival of the old Calvinistic fear of -everything studied, formal, and externally beautiful in public worship. -In other communities the church music is simply neglected, as one of the -results of the excessive predominance given to the sermon in the -development of Protestantism. It is often deemed sufficient, also, if the -church musicians are devout men and women, in forgetfulness of the fact -that a musical performance that is irritating to the nerves can never be -a help to devotion. These enemies to artistic church music--hostility, -indifference, and ignorance--are especially injurious in a country where, -as in America, the general knowledge and taste in music are rapidly -growing. Those churches which, for any reason whatever, keep their -musical standard below the level of that which prevails in the educated -society around them are not acting for their own advantage, materially or -spiritually. President Faunce was right when he told one of the churches -of his denomination: "Your music must be kept noble and good. If your -children hear Wagner and the other great masters in their schools, they -will not be satisfied with 'Pull for the shore' in the church." Those -churches, for example, which rely mainly upon the "Gospel Songs" should -soberly consider if it is profitable in the long run to maintain a -standard of religious melody and verse far below that which prevails in -secular music and literature. "The Church is the art school of the common -man," says Professor Riehl; and while it may be answered that it is not -the business of the Church to teach art, yet the Church cannot afford to -keep its spiritual culture out of harmony with the higher intellectual -movements of the age. One whose taste is fed by the poetry of such -masters as Milton and Tennyson, by the music of such as Haendel and -Beethoven, and whose appreciations are sharpened by the best examples of -performance in the modern concert hall, cannot drop his taste and -critical habit when he enters the church door. The same is true in a -modified degree in respect to those who have had less educational -advantages. It is a fallacy to assert that the masses of the people are -responsive only to that which is trivial and sensational. In any case, -what shall be said of a church that is satisfied to leave its votaries -upon the same intellectual and spiritual level upon which it finds them? - -In all this discussion I have had in mind the steady and more normal work -of the Church. Forms of song which, to the musician, lie outside the pale -of art may have a legitimate place in seasons of special religious -quickening. No one who is acquainted with the history of religious -propagation in America will despise the revival hymn, or deny the -necessity of the part it has played. But these seasons of spiritual -upheaval are temporary and exceptional; they are properly the beginning -not the end of the Church's effort. The revival hymn may be effective in -soul-winning, it is inadequate when treated as an element in the larger -task of spiritual development. - -There is another reason for insistence upon beauty and perfection in all -those features of public worship into which art enters--to a devout mind -the most imperative of all reasons. This is so forcibly stated by the -great Richard Hooker that it will be sufficient to quote his words and -leave the matter there. Speaking of the value of noble architecture and -adornment in connection with public acts of religion, he goes on to say: -"We do thereby give unto God a testimony of our cheerful affection which -thinketh nothing too dear to be bestowed about the furniture of his -service; as also because it serveth to the world for a witness of his -almightiness, whom we outwardly honor with the chiefest of outward -things, as being of all things himself incomparably the greatest. To set -forth the majesty of kings, his vicegerents in this world, the most -gorgeous and rare treasures which the world hath, are procured. We think -belike that he will accept what the meanest of them would disdain."[84] - -In urging onward the effort after beauty and perfection in church music I -have no wish to set up any single style as a model,--in fact, a style -competent to serve as a universal model does not exist. There can be no -general agreement, for varied conditions demand diverse methods. The -Catholic music reformer points to the ancient Gregorian chant and the -masterpieces of choral art of the sixteenth century as embodying the -ideal which he wishes to assert. The Episcopalian has the Anglican chant -and anthem, noble and appropriate in themselves, and consecrated by the -associations of three eventful centuries. But the only hereditary -possession of the Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and other -non-liturgic bodies is the crude psalmody of the early Calvinists and -Puritans which, unlike the Lutheran choral, has none of the musical -potencies out of which a church art can be developed. In these societies -there is no common demand or opportunity which, in the absence of a -common musical heritage, can call forth any new and distinctive form of -ecclesiastical song. They must be borrowers and adapters, not creators. -The problem of these churches is the application of existing forms to new -conditions--directing the proved powers of music along still higher lines -of service in the epoch of promise which is now opening before them. - -In this era just upon us, in which new opportunities demand of the Church -in America new methods throughout the whole range of its action, music -will have a larger part to play than even heretofore. It is of great -importance that her service should be employed intelligently. Both -ministers and choir leaders should be aware of the nature of the problems -which ecclesiastic music presents. They should know something of the -experience of the Church in its historic dealings with this question, of -the special qualities of the chief forms of church song which have so -greatly figured in the past, and of the nature of the effect of music -upon the mind both by itself alone and in collusion with other religious -influences. How many ministers and choir-masters are well versed in these -matters? What are the theological seminaries and musical conservatories -doing to disseminate knowledge and conviction on this subject? In the -seminaries lectures are given on liturgiology and hymnology; but what are -hymns and liturgies without music? And how many candidates for the -ministry are prepared to second the efforts of church musicians in -musical improvement and reform? I am, of course, aware that in a few of -the seminaries of the non-liturgic denominations work in this department -of ecclesiology has been effectively begun. In the conservatories organ -playing and singing, both solo and chorus, are taught, but usually from -the technical side,--the adaptation of music to the spiritual demands of -the Church is rarely considered. Every denomination needs a St. Cecilia -Society to convince the churches of the spiritual quickening that lies in -genuine church music and the mischief in the false, to arouse church -members to an understanding of the injury that attends an obvious -incongruity between the character of the music and the spirit of prayer -which it is the purpose of the established offices of worship to create, -and to show how all portions of the service may act in harmony. - -The general growth in musical culture, which is so marked a feature of -our time, should everywhere be made to contribute to the benefit of the -Church. The teaching of music in the public schools should be a means of -supplying the churches with efficient chorus singers. The Church must -also offer larger inducements to musicians and musical students. Here we -touch upon a most vital point. If the Church wants music that is worthy -of her dignity, and which will help her to maintain the place she seeks -to occupy in modern life, she must pay for it. The reason why so few -students of talent are preparing themselves for work in the Church as -organists and choir leaders is that the prospect of remuneration is too -small to make this special study worth their while. The musical service -of the Church is, therefore, in the vast majority of cases, in the hands -either of amateurs or of musicians who are devoting themselves through -the entire week to work which has nothing to do with the Church. A man -who is trained wholly or chiefly as a pianist, and who gives his strength -and time for six days to piano study and teaching, or a singer whose -energy is mainly expended in private vocal instruction, can contribute -little to the higher needs of Church music. It is not his fault; he must -seek his income where he can find it. The service of the Church is a side -issue, and receives the benefit which any cause must expect when it is -given only the remnants of interest and energy that are left over from a -week's hard labor. There is a host of young musicians to whom church work -is exceedingly attractive. Let the Church magnify the importance of its -musical service, and raise its salaries in proportion, and an abundant -measure of the rising musical talent and enthusiasm will be ready at its -call. - -The musical problem of the non-liturgic Church in America is, therefore, -not one of creation, but of administration. Whatever the mission of the -Church is to be in our national life, the opportunities of its music are -not to be less than of old, but greater. It is evident that the notion of -conviction of sin and sudden conversion is gradually losing the place -which it formerly held in ecclesiastical theory, and is being -supplemented, if not supplanted, by the notion of spiritual nurture. The -Church is finding its permanent and comprehensive task in alliance with -those forces that make for social regeneration; no longer to separate -souls from the world and prepare them for a future state of existence, -but to work to establish the kingdom of God here on earth; not denying -the rights of the wholesome human instincts, but disciplining and -refining them for fraternal service. In this broader sphere art, -especially music, will be newly commissioned and her benign powers -utilized with ever-increasing intelligence. The Church can never recover -the old musical leadership which was wrested from her in the seventeenth -and eighteenth centuries by the opera, the choral society, and the -concert system, but in the twentieth she will find means of cooperating -with these institutions for the general welfare. - -The council of Carthage in the fourth century laid this injunction upon -church singers: "See that what thou singest with thy lips thou believest -in thy heart; and what thou believest in thy heart thou dost exemplify in -thy life." This admonition can never lose its authority; back of true -church music there must be faith. There comes, however, to supplement -this ancient warning, the behest from modern culture that the music of -the sanctuary shall adapt itself to the complex and changing conditions -of modern life, and while it submits to the pure spirit of worship it -shall grow continually in those qualities which make it worthy to be -honored by the highest artistic taste. For among the venerable traditions -of the Church, sanctioned by the wisdom of her rulers from the time of -the fathers until now, is one which bids her cherish the genius of her -children, and use the appliances of imagination and skill to add strength -and grace to her habitations, beauty, dignity, and fitness to her -ordinances of worship. - - - - - BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -List of books that are of especial value to the student of church music, -not including works on church history. Books that the author deems of -most importance are marked by a star. - - -*Ambros. Geschichte der Musik, 5 vols. and index. Leipzig, Leuckart, -1880-1887. - -*Archer and Reed (editors). The Choral Service Book. Philadelphia, -General Council Publication Board, 1901. - -*Bacon and Allen (editors). The Hymns of Martin Luther set to their -Original Melodies, with an English Version. New York, Scribner, 1883. - -Baeumker. Das Katholische-deutsche Kirchenlied. Freiburg, Herder, 1886. - -Burney. General History of Music, 4 vols. London, 1776. - -*Caecilien Kalendar, 5 vols.; Haberl, editor. Regensburg, 1876-1885. - -Clement. Histoire generale de la musique religieuse. Paris, Adrien le -Clere, 1861. - -Chappell. History of Music from the Earliest Records to the Fall of the -Roman Empire. London, Chappell. - -Chrysander. Georg Friedrich Haendel, 3 vols. (unfinished). Leipzig, -Breitkopf & Haertel, 1856-1867. - -*Coussemaker. Histoire de l'harmonie au Moyen Age. Paris, Didron, 1852. - -*Curwen. Studies in Worship Music, 2 vols. London, Curwen. - -Davey. History of English Music. London, Curwen, 1895. - -*Dommer. Elemente der Musik. Leipzig, Weigl, 1862. - -*Dommer. Handbuch der Musikgeschichte. Leipzig, Grunow, 1878. - -Duen. Clement Marot et la psautier huguenot, 2 vols. Paris, 1878. - -Duffield. English Hymns. New York, Funk, 1888. - -Duffield. Latin Hymn Writers and their Hymns. New York, Funk, 1889. - -Earle. The Sabbath in Puritan New England. New York, Scribner, 1891. - -Engel. Musical Instruments (South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks). -London, Chapman & Hall. - -*Engel. The Music of the Most Ancient Nations. London, Murray, 1864. - -Fetis. Biographie universelle des Musiciens, 8 vols. with 2 supplementary -vols. by Pougin. Paris, Didot. - -*Gevaert. La Melopee antique dans le Chant de l'Eglise latine. Gand, -Hoste, 1895. - -*Gevaert. Les Origines du Chant liturgique de l'Eglise latine. Gand, -Hoste, 1890. - -Glass. The Story of the Psalter. London, Paul, 1888. - -Gould. Church Music in America. Boston, Gould, 1853. - -*Grove. Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 4 vols. London, Macmillan, -1879-1890. - -*Haberl. Magister Choralis, tr. by Donnelly. Regensburg and New York, -Pustet, 1892. - -Haeuser. Geschichte des Christlichen Kirchengesanges und der Kirchenmusik. -Quedlinburg, Basse, 1834. - -Hawkins. General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 3 vols. -London, 1853. - -*Helmore. Plain Song (Novello's Music Primers). London, Novello. - -Hoffman von Fallersleben. Geschichte des deutschen Kirchenliedes bis auf -Luther's Zeit. Hannover, Ruempler, 1861. - -Hope. Mediaeval Music. London, Stock, 1894. - -*Horder. The Hymn Lover. London, Curwen, 1889. - -Hughes. Contemporary American Composers. Boston, Page, 1900. - -*Jakob. Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche. Landshut, Thomann, 1885. - -*Jebb. The Choral Service of the United Church of England and Ireland. -London, Parker, 1843. - -*Julian. Dictionary of Hymnology. London, Murray, 1892. - -Kaiser and Sparger. A Collection of the Principal Melodies of the -Synagogue. Chicago, Rubovits, 1893. - -*Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch; Haberl, editor. Regensburg, begun in -1886. - -Koch. Geschichte des Kirchenliedes und Kirchengesanges, 8 vols. -Stuttgart, Belser, 1866. - -*Koestlin. Geschichte des Christlichen Gottesdienstes. Freiburg, Mohr, -1887. - -*Kretzschmar. Fuehrer durch den Concertsaal: Kirchliche Werke. Leipzig, -Liebeskind, 1888. - -*Kuemmerle. Eucyclopledie der evangelischen Kirchenmusik, 4 vols. -Guetersloh, Bertelsmann, 1888-1895. - -Laughans. Geschichte der Musik des 17, 18 und 19 Jahrhunderts, 2 vols. -Leipzig, Leuckart, 1887. - -La Trobe. The Music of the Church. London, Seeley, 1831. - -Liliencron. Deutsches Leben im Volkslied um 1530. Stuttgart, Spemann, -1884. - -Malim. English Hymn Tunes from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time. -London, Reeves. - -*Marbecke. The Book of Common Prayer with Musical Notes; Rimbault, -editor. London, Novello, 1845. - -Maskell. Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England. - -McClintock and Strong. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and -Ecclesiastical Literature. New York, Harper, 1867-1885. - -*Mees. Choirs and Choral Music. New York, Scribner, 1901. - -Mendel-Reissmann. Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon, 11 vols. Leipzig, -List & Francke. - -Naumann. History of Music, tr. by Praeger, 2 vols. London, Cassell. - -*Neale. Hymns of the Eastern Church. London, 1882. - -*O'Brien. History of the Mass. New York, Catholic Pub. Soc., 1893. - -*Oxford History of Music, 6 vols.; Hadow, editor. Oxford, Clarendon -Press, now appearing. - -*Parry. Evolution of the Art of Music. New York, Appleton, 1896. - -Perkins and Dwight. History of the Handel and Haydn Society. Boston, -Mudge, 1883-1893. - -Pothier. Les Melodies gregoriennes. German translation by Kienle. - -*Pratt. Musical Ministries in the Church. New York, Revell, 1901. -Contains valuable bibliography. - -*Proctor. History of the Book of Common Prayer. London, Macmillan, 1892. - -Riemann. Catechism of Musical History, 2 vols. London, Angener; New York, -Schirmer. - -Ritter, A. W. Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels. Leipzig, Hesse, 1884. - -Ritter, F. L. Music in America. New York, Scribner, 1890. - -Ritter, F. L. Music in England. New York, Scribner, 1890. - -Rousseau. Dictionnaire de Musique. - -Rowbotham. History of Music, 3 vols. London, Truebner, 1885-1887. - -Same, 1 vol. - -Schelle. Die Sixtinische Kapelle. Wien, Gotthard, 1872. - -Schlecht. Geschichte der Kirchenmusik. Regensburg, Coppenrath, 1879. - -Schletterer. Geschichte der kirchlichen Dichtung und geistlichen Musik. -Noerdlingen, Beck, 1866. - -Schletterer. Studien zur Geschichte der franzoesischen Musik. Berlin, -Damkoehler, 1884-1885. - -*Schubiger. Die Saengerschule St. Gallens. Einsiedeln, Benziger, 1858. - -Spencer. Concise Explanation of the Church Modes. London, Novello. - -*Spitta. Johann Sebastian Bach, 3 vols., tr. by Clara Bell and J. A. -Fuller Maitland. London, Novello, 1884-1888. - -Spitta. Musikgeschichtliche Aufsaetze. Berlin, Paetel, 1894. - -Spitta. Zur Musik. Berlin, Paetel, 1892. - -*Stainer. The Music of the Bible. London, Cassell, 1882. - -Stainer and Barrett. Dictionary of Musical Terms. Boston, Ditson. - -Thibaut. Purity in Music, tr. by Broadhouse. London, Reeves. - -*Wagner, P. Einfuehrung in die gregorianischen Melodien. Freiburg -(Schweiz), Veith, 1895. - -Winterfeld. Das evangelische Kirchengesang, 3 vols. Leipzig, Breitkopf & -Haertel, 1845. - -Winterfeld. Johannes Gabrieli und sein Zeitalter, 2 vols. Berlin, -Schlesinger, 1834. - -*Wiseman. Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week. Baltimore, -Kelly, 1850. - - - - - INDEX - - - A - - Act of Supremacy, 325, 328, 329. - Agathon, pope, 110. - Agnus Dei, 90. - Ahle, 266. - Ainsworth, psalm-book of, 376. - Altenburg, 266. - Ambrose, St., 58; - introduces psalm singing into Milan, 66. - Anerios, the, 133, 168. - Anthem, Anglican, 346; - its different forms, 348; - periods and styles, 353. - Aria, Italian, origin of, 190; - its supremacy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 191; - its introduction into church music in Italy, 193, 269; - influence upon German church music, 267, 269, 318; - adoption into the cantata, 273; - into the Passion music, 276, 280. - Art, Catholic conception of religious, 70, 174; - Calvinist and Puritan hostility to art in connection with worship, - 363, 369, 372. - Asor, 23. - Assyrians, religious music among the, 12. - Attwood, 354. - Augustine, missionary to England, 117. - Augustine, St., quoted, 51, 67; - traditional author, with St. Ambrose, of the Te Deum, 58; - effect of music upon, 372. - - - B - - Bach, Johann Sebastian, his relation to German church music, 282, - 287, 289; - the Bach family, 284; - Bach's birth, education, and official positions, 286; - condition of German music in his early days, 287; - his organ music, 290, 292; - fugues, 292; - choral preludes, 295; - cantatas, 300; - style of his arias, 304; - of his choruses, 305; - Passion according to St. Matthew, 307; - compared with Haendel's "Messiah," 307; - its formal arrangement and style, 308; - performance by Mendelssohn, 312; - the Mass in B minor, 204, 211, 312; - national and individual character of Bach's genius, 314; - its universality, 316; - decline of his influence after his death, 317. - Bach Society, New, 322. - Bardi, 188. - Barnby, 355, 383. - Battishill, 354. - Beethoven, his Mass in D, 119, 200, 204, 210. - Behem, 229. - Benedictus, 88. - Bennett, 355. - Berlioz, his Requiem, 199, 200, 204. - Beza, 360. - Bisse, quoted, 338. - Boleyn, Anne, 326. - Bonar, 381. - Boniface, 118. - Bourgeois, 360. - Boyce, 354. - Brethren of the Common Life, 234. - Bridge, 355. - Buxtehude, 292. - Byrd, 350. - - - C - - Caccini, 188, 189, 190. - Calvin, his hostility to forms in worship, 358, 363; - adopts the psalms of Marot and Beza, 360. - Canon of the Mass, 89. - Cantata, German church, 270, 272; - origin and development, 273. - See also Bach. - Cartwright, his attack upon the established Church, 367. - Cary sisters, 381. - Cassell, quoted, 45. - Catherine, wife of Henry VIII., 326. - Celestine I., pope, 110. - Chalil, 22. - Chant, nature of, 40, 97; - the form of song in antiquity, 40; - its origin in the early Church, 51; - its systematic culture in the Roman Church, sixth century, 67. - Chant, Anglican, 336, 340; - Gregorian movement in the Church of England, 342; - first harmonized chants, 345. - Chant, Catholic ritual, epoch of, 93; - liturgic importance, 94, 99, 405; - general character, 95, 104; - different classes, 103; - rhythm, 105; - rules of performance, 105; - origin and development, 99, 109; - key system, 113; - mediaeval embellishment, 115; - extension over Europe, 117; - legends connected with, 122; - later neglect and revived modern study, 126; - use in the early Lutheran Church, 260; - "Gregorians" in the Church of England, 337, 341. - Charlemagne, his service to the Roman liturgy and chant, 118. - Charles II., king of England, his patronage of church music, 352. - Cherubini, mass music of, 204, 213. - Choral, German, sources of, 260; - at first not harmonized, 262; - later rhythmic alterations, 263; - its occasional adoption by Catholic churches, 264; - its condition in the seventeenth century, 265; - decline in the eighteenth century, 266; - choral tunes in the cantata, 274, 302; - in the Passion music, 280; - as an element in organ music, 290, 294; - use in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, 308, 309, 311. - Choral, or Cathedral mode of performing the Anglican service, 333. - Clement of Alexandria, quoted, 54; - his song to the Logos, 56. - Clement VII., pope, 326. - Colet, 327. - Common Prayer, Book of, 328, 330; - musical setting by Marbecke, 337, 369. - Communion, 90. - Congregational singing, its decline in the early Church, 48; - vital place in Protestant worship, 223; - in Germany before the Reformation, 228 _et seq._; - not encouraged in the Catholic Church, 240; - in the Church of Luther, 242; - among the Puritans, 376. - Constantine, edicts of, 62. - Constitutions of the Apostles, 47. - Cosmas, St., 60. - Counterpoint, mediaeval, growth of, 140, 148. - Counter-Reformation, 156, 264. - Cowper, 381, 387. - Coxe, 381. - Cranmer, 328, 329, 331, 337. - Credo, 88. - Croce, 168. - Cromwell, 369, 371, 372. - Crotch, 354. - Crueger, 266. - Curwen, quoted, 343. - Cymbals, 24, 26. - - - D - - Dance, religious, its prominence in primitive worship, 3; - twofold purpose, 5; - among the Egyptians, 6; - among the Greeks, 6; - in early Christian worship, 8. - David, his contribution to the Hebrew ritual, 24. - Day's psalter, 345. - Deutsche Messe, Luther's, 245, 247. - Dies Irae, 60. - Discant, first form of mediaeval part writing, 138. - Dubois, 217. - Durante, 213. - Dvorak, his Requiem, 204, 219; - Stabat Mater, 219. - Dykes, 383. - - - E - - Eccard, 271. - Eckart, 229, 231. - Edward VI., king of England, 327, 328. - Egyptians, religious music among the, 12. - "Ein' feste Burg," 251, 252, 253, 259, 264, 302. - Ekkehard V., quoted, 121. - Elizabeth, queen of England, 327, 329, 332, 358. - Ellerton, 381. - Ephraem, 57. - Erasmus, 327. - Eybler, 207. - - - F - - Faber, 381. - Faunce, quoted, 403. - Female voice not employed in ancient Hebrew worship, 29; - similar instances of exclusion in the modern Church, 30. - Festivals, primitive, 4; - in the early Church, 65. - Flagellants, 231. - Folk-song, as possible origin of some of the ancient psalm - melodies, 31; - German religious, before the Reformation, 228 _et seq._; - German secular, transformed into religious, 232; - folk-tunes as sources of the Lutheran choral, 261. - Formula Missae, Luther's, 245. - Franc, 360. - Franck, 218. - Frank, 266. - Frauenlob, 229. - Frescobaldi, 292. - Froberger, 292. - Fuller, quoted, 375. - - - G - - Gabrieli, Giovanni, 170. - Gabrielis, the, 93, 133, 170. - Galilei, 188. - Garrett, 355. - Gerhardt, 266, 311. - Gevaert, works on the origins of the Gregorian chant, quoted, 109. - Gibbons, 350, 352. - Gibbons, Cardinal, quoted, 75, 84. - Gigout, 217. - Gloria in excelsis, 58, 87. - Glossolalia, 44. - Goss, 355. - Gottfried von Strassburg, 229. - Goudimel, 154, 360. - Gounod, mass music of, 199, 200, 213, 216. - Gradual, 88. - Greeks, religious music among the, 14, 19; - Greek influence upon early Christian worship, 42, 63, 65; - relation of Greek music to Christian, 52. - Green, quoted, 117. - Greene, 354. - Gregorian Chant, see Chant, Catholic ritual. - Gregory I., pope, his traditional services to the ritual chant, - 107; - objections to this tradition, 108. - Gregory II., pope, 113. - Gregory III., pope, 113. - Grell, 212, 321. - Guilmant, 217. - - - H - - Haendel, 279, 297, 306, 319, 323, 354; - the "Messiah," 307. - Hammerschmidt, 266. - Harmony, virtually unknown in ancient music, 18; - beginnings in modern music, 130; - change from mediaeval to modern, 201. - Hartmann von Aue, 229. - Hasler, 271. - Hauptmann, 321. - Havert, 212. - Haydn, mass music of, 205, 208; - "The Creation" stimulates formation of choral societies in Germany, - 319. - Haves, 354. - Hazozerah, 22. - Heber, 381. - Hebrews, did not assign a superhuman source to music, 14; - their employment of music, 20; - nature and uses of instruments, 21; - ritualistic developments under David and Solomon, 24; - psalms and the method of singing them, 27. - Henry VIII., king of England, - declares himself head of the English Church, 325; - not the originator of the Reformation in England, 316; - changes in policy, 328. - Herve, 122. - Hezekiah, restoration of the temple worship by, 25. - Holmes, 381. - Hooker, author of _The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, - his defence of the music and art of the established Church, - 367, 404. - Hooper, 329. - Hopkins, 355, 383. - Horder, author of _The Hymn Lover_, 381 n. - Hucbald, 136. - Hus, founder of Bohemian hymnody, 233. - Hymn-books, early Bohemian, 233; - first Lutheran, 249; - Catholic German, 264; - recent American, 385. - See also Psalmody. - Hymns, their first appearance in Christian literature and worship, - 42, 46; - Greek hymns in the early Christian Church, 56. - Hymns, Bohemian, 233. - Hymns, English and American, 379 _et seq._; - "uninspired" hymns not permitted by Calvin and the Puritans, - 361, 373; - hymns of Watts and the Wesleys, 379; - beauty and range of the later English and American hymnody, - 380. - Hymns, Latin, 60, 235. - Hymns, Lutheran, historic importance of, 225, 303; - introduction into the liturgy, 247; - first hymn-books, 249. - See also Luther. - Hymns, pre-Reformation German, their history and character, 228; - not liturgic, 240. - Hymns, Syrian, 57. - Hymn-tunes, English, 382. - Hymn-tunes, German, see Choral. - - - I - - Ignatius, St., traditional introduction of chanting into the Church - by, 48. - Ildefonso, St, 118. - Instruments, how first used in worship, 3, 10; - their use in Egyptian ceremonies, 12; - among the Greeks, 14; - among the Hebrews, 21, 32; - not used in the early Church, 54. - - - J - - Jakob, quoted, 77, 175. - James, St., liturgy of, 49. - Jean de Muris, quoted, 146. - Jebb, quoted, 333, 335, 339. - Jews, see Hebrews. - John Damascene, St., 60. - John the Deacon, author of a life of Gregory I., 108. - Jomelli, 213. - Joaquin des Pres, 133, 154. - - - K - - Kahle, 376, 381. - Kiel, 212, 321. - Kinnor, 21. - Kretzschmar, quoted, 306. - Kunrad der Marner, 229. - Kyrie eleison, 57, 87; - popular use in Germany, 229. - - - L - - Lanciani, quoted, 63. - Lang, Andrew, quoted, 7. - Laodicea, injunction in regard to singing by council of, 50, 51. - Lassus, 93, 133, 154, 167, 172. - Latimer, 329. - Lemaire, quoted, 116. - Leo I., pope, 110. - Lesueur, 214. - "Lining out," 370. - Liszt, criticisms upon Paris church music, 206; - imagines a new style of religious music, 214. - Liturgy, Anglican, 329; - modes of rendering, 333 _et seq._; - intoning of prayers, 337. - Liturgy, Catholic, origin of, 81, 83; - language of, 82; - outline and components of, 87; - a musical liturgy, 92. - Liturgy, Luther's, see Formula Missae, and Deutsche Messe. - Liturgy of St. James, 49, 50; - of St. Mark, 49. - Longfellow, translation of "O gladsome light," 58. - Lotti, 133. - Louis IX., king of France, 148. - Luther, his service to German hymnody, 226, 243, 248; - his reform of the liturgy, 244; - his theory of worship, 245; - origin of his hymns, 250; - their spirit and literary style, 251; - nature of his work for congregational music, 258; - Luther not a composer of tunes, 259; - quoted, 260. - Lyric poetry, two forms of, 27. - Lyte, 381. - - - M - - Mackenzie, 355. - Marbecke, his musical setting of the English Prayer Book, 337. - Marot, psalm translations of, 359. - Martin, 355. - Mary, queen of England, reaction under, 329, 332. - Mass, theory of, 83, 91, 240; - different kinds of, 85; - in England, 328, 332. - See also Liturgy, Catholic. - Milman, 381. - Milton, 365. - Mixed mode of performing the Anglican service, 335. - Monk, 355, 383. - Montgomery, 381. - - - N - - Naninis, the, 168. - Neale, quoted on the Greek hymns, 59. - Nebel, 22. - Netherlanders, age of the, 149. - Neukomm, 207. - Newman, 381. - Newton, 381, 387. - Nicholas I., pope, 122. - Notker Balbulus, reputed founder of the Sequence, 121. - - - O - - Oblation of the Host, 88. - Offertory, 88. - Opera, invention of, 186, 188; - ideal and form of early Italian, 190; - opera and church, 193. - Oratorio, its rise in Germany and effect on church music, 319. - Organ music, its beginnings in Venice, 169, 171; - in the German Protestant Church, 269, 270, 290; - Bach's organ works, see Bach. - Organs, Puritan hatred of, 365, 370; - destroyed by the Puritans, 371. - Organum, 136. - Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, 331. - - - P - - Pachelbel, 292. - Palestrina, 93, 133, 151; - the Mass of Pope Marcellus, 152, 154; - myth of the rescue of church music by Palestrina, 152; - compared with Lassus, 173. - "Palestrina style," 158; - tonality, 158; - construction, 159; - tone color, how produced, 166; - aesthetic and religious effect, 173, 177; - limits of characterization, 178. - Palmer, 381. - Parallelism in Hebrew poetry, 28. - Parochial mode of performing the Anglican service, 335. - Passion music, German, 270, 272; - origin and early development, 274; - from Schuetz to Bach, Hamburg Passions, 280. - Passion play, 274. - Pater, quoted, 400. - Paul, St., his injunction in regard to song, 42; - allusion to the glossolalia, 44. - Pergolesi, 213. - Philo, 48. - Pietism, its effect on church music, 266, 319. - Plain Song, see Chant, Catholic ritual; also Chant, Anglican. - Plato, his opinion of the purpose of music, 14. - Pliny, his report to Trajan concerning Christian singing, 47. - Plutarch on the function of music, 15. - "Pointing," 341. - Post-Communion, 90. - Prayer Book, see Common Prayer, Book of. - Preface, 88. - Psalmody, Puritan, 369, 373; - methods of singing, 377, 405. - Psalms, how sung in the ancient Hebrew worship, 27; - adopted by the Christians, 41; - antiphonal psalmody in Milan in the fourth century, 66; - in Rome in the fifth century, 67; - in the Church of England, see Chant, Anglican; - metrical psalm versions, see Psalmody. - Psalter, Geneva, origin of, 359. - Psaltery, 23. - Purcell, 347, 352. - Puritanism, 324, 327, 358, 364 _et seq._ - Puritans, their hostility to artistic music, 365 _et seq._; - their attacks upon episcopacy and ritualism, 366, 369; - their ravages in the churches, 371; - their tenets and usages maintained after the Restoration, 372; - Puritan music in America, 390. - - - R - - Recitative, 188. - Reformation in England, its nature, causes, and progress, 325 _et - seq._ - Reinken, 295. - Reinmar der Zweter, 229. - Renaissance, its influence upon musical development, 185, 187, 272; - parallel between Renaissance religious painting and Catholic - Church music, 194. - Requiem Mass, 85. - Rheinberger, 212. - Richter, 321. - Ridley, 329. - Robert, king of France, 147. - Romanus, 119. - Rossini, religious music of, 207, 213. - - - S - - Sachs, 229. - St. Cecilia Society, 180, 212. - St. Gall, convent of, as a musical centre, 118. - Saint-Saeens, 217. - Sanctus, 88. - Savages, religious sentiment among, 2; - methods of religious expression, 3. - Schaff, quoted, 44. - Scheidt, 292. - Schleiermacher, 321. - Schola Cantorum, 181, 288 n. - Schop, 266. - Schubert, masses of, 199, 200, 211. - Schubiger, quoted, 119. - Schuetz, greatest German composer before Bach and Haendel, 277; - his education and musical methods, 277; - Symphoniae sacrae, 278; - dramatic religious works, 278; - Passion settings, 278; - his isolated musical position, 279. - Sechter, 207. - Seminaries, theological, and church music, 406. - Senfl, 264. - Sequence, 88; - origin and early character, 121. - "Service," Anglican, 345. - Shairp, quoted, 398. - Shophar, 22. - Sistrum, 23. - Six Articles, 328. - Smart, 355, 383. - Spencer, Herbert, quoted, 5, 15. - Speratus, 249. - Spitta, quoted, 322. - Stainer, 355; - quoted, 342. - Stanford, 355. - Sternhold and Hopkins, psalm version of, 375, 377. - _Stile famigliare_, 151, 158, 159. - Sullivan, 355, 383. - Swelinck, 292. - Symbolism, in ancient music, 11, 14. - Synagogue, worship in the ancient, 33; - modified by the Christians, 41. - Synesius, 57. - - - T - - Tallis, 168, 345, 350. - Tate and Brady, psalm version of, 376. - Tauler, 229, 231, 238. - Taylor, Bayard, quoted, 254. - Te Deum, 58. - Therapeutae, 48. - Thirty Years' War, 264, 265, 285. - Thomas a Kempis, 224. - Tones, Gregorian, 100. - Tones, psalm, see Tones, Gregorian. - Toph, 22. - Tours, 355. - Tractus, 88. - - - U - - Ugab, 22. - - - V - - Van Laun, quoted, 359. - Vehe, 264. - Venice, church music in, 168. - Verdi, his Requiem, 199, 200, 213, 218. - Vittoria, 133, 168. - - - W - - Wackernagel's collection of German pre-Reformation hymns, 228. - Wagner, P., quoted, 104. - Walther, Johann, 249, 259, 260, 264. - Walther von der Vogelweide, 229. - Watts, psalm version of, 376; - hymns, 379, 380, 387. - Wesley, Charles, 379, 381. - Wesley, John, 379. - Wesleyan movement, revival of hymn singing in the, 379. - Whittier, 381. - Wiclif, 327. - Willaert, 133, 168, 169. - Winterfeld, quoted, 170. - Wiseman, quoted, 76. - Witt, founder of St. Cecilia Society, 180. - Wrangham, 376. - - - - - Footnotes - - -[1]Brinton, _The Religions of Ancient Peoples._ - -[2]Brown, _The Fine Arts_. - -[3]Spencer, _Professional Institutions: Dancer and Musician_. - -[4]Lang, _Myth, Ritual, and Religion_. - -[5]A full account of ancient Assyrian music, so far as known, may be - found in Engel's _Music of the Most Ancient Nations_. - -[6]"Long ago they [the Egyptians] appear to have recognized the principle - that their young citizens must be habituated to forms and strains of - virtue. These they fixed, and exhibited the patterns of them in their - temples; and no painter or artist is allowed to innovate upon them, or - to leave the traditional forms and invent new ones. To this day no - alteration is allowed either in these arts, or in music at - all."--Plato, _Laws_, Book II., Jowett's translation. - -[7]Chappell, _History of Music_. - -[8]Erman, _Life in Ancient Egypt_, translated by Tirard. - -[9]See Plato, _Republic_, book iii. - -[10]Ambros, _Geschichte der Musik_. - -[11]Gen. xxxi. 27. - -[12]Ex. xix. - -[13]Jos. vi. - -[14]Num. x. 2-8. - -[15]2 Chron. v. 12, 13; xxix. 26-28. - -[16]2 Chron. xiii. 12, 14. - -[17]1 Sam. x. 5. - -[18]Chappell, _History of Music_, Introduction. - -[19]For extended descriptions of ancient musical instruments the reader - is referred to Chappell, _History of Music_; Engel, _The Music of the - Most Ancient Nations_; and Stainer, _The Music of the Bible_. - -[20]2 Sam. vi. 5. - -[21]2 Sam. vi. 14, 15. - -[22]1 Chron. xvi. 5, 6. - -[23]1 Chron. xxiii. 5. - -[24]1 Chron. xxv.; 2 Chron. v. 12. See also 2 Chron. v. 11-14. - -[25]2 Chron. xxix. 25-30. - -[26]Ezra iii. 10, 11. - -[27]Neh. xii. - -[28]_Synagogue Music_, by F. L. Cohen, in _Papers read at the - Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition_, London, 1847. - -[29]Ps. cxiii-cxviii. - -[30]Eph. v. 19; Col. iii. 16. - -[31]1 Cor. xii. and xiv. - -[32]Schaff, _History of the Christian Church_, I. p. 234 f.; p. 435. - -[33]1 Cor. xiv. 27, 28. - -[34]Chappell, _History of Music_. - -[35]Among such supposed quotations are: Eph. v. 14; 1 Tim. iii. 16; 2 - Tim. ii. 11; Rev. iv. 11; v. 9-13; xi. 15-18; xv. 3, 4. - -[36]_Constitutions of the Apostles_, book. ii. chap. 57. - -[37]Hefele, _History of the Councils of the Church_, translated by - Oxenham. - -[38]St. Augustine, _Confessions_. - -[39]Klesewetter, _Geschichte der europaeich-abendlaendischen Musik_. - -[40]For an exhaustive discussion of the history of the Te Deum see - Julian's _Dictionary of Hymnology_. - -[41]_Hymns of the Eastern Church_, translated, with notes and an - introduction by J. M. Neale, D.D. - -[42]Lanciani, _Pagan and Christian Rome_. - -[43]St. Augustine, _Confessions_, book ix. chap. 7. - -[44]St. Augustine, _Confessions_, book ix. chap. 6. - -[45]Gibbons, _The Faith of our Fathers_, chap. 24. - -[46]_Caecilien Kalendar_ (Regensburg), 1879. - -[47]Wiseman, _Four Lectures on the Offices and Ceremonies of Holy Week as - performed in the Papal Chapels, delivered in Rome, 1837_. - -[48]Jakob, _Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche_. - -[49]Sermon by Dr. Leonhard Kuhn, published in the _Kirchenmusikalisches - Jahrbuch_ (Regensburg), 1892. - -[50]O'Brien, _History of the Mass_. - -[51]Gibbons, _The Faith of our Fathers_. - -[52]The musical composition commonly called a Mass--such, for instance as - the Imperial Mass of Haydn, the Mass in C by Beethoven, the St. - Cecilia Mass by Gounod--is a musical setting of those portions of the - office of the Mass that are invariable and that are sang by a choir. - These portions are the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Benedictus, - and Agnus Dei. The musical composition called Requiem, or Mass for the - Dead, consists of the Introit--Requiem aeternam and Te decet hymnus, - Kyrie eleison, Dies Irae, Offertory (Domine Jesu Christe), - Communion--Lux aeterna, and sometimes with the addition of Libera me - Domine. These choral Masses must always be distinguished from the - larger office of the Mass of which they form a part. - -[53]It is worthy of note, as a singular instance of the exaltation of a - comparatively unimportant word, that the word Mass, Lat. Missa, is - taken from the ancient formula of dismissal, Ite, missa est. - -[54]Wagner, _Einfuehrung in die Gregorianischen Melodien_. - -[55]Sauter, _Choral und Liturgie_. - -[56]Gevaert first announced his conclusions in a discourse pronounced at - a public session of the class in fine arts of the Academy of Belgium - at Brussels, and which was published in 1890, under the title of _Les - Origines du Chant liturgique de l' Eglise latine._ This essay was - amplified five years later into a volume of 446 pages, entitled _La - Melopee antique dans le Chant de l' Eglise latine_. These works are - published by Ad. Hoste, Ghent. - -[57]Lemaire, _Le Chant, ses principes et son histoire_. - -[58]Green, _Short History of the English People_. - -[59]Montalembert, _The Monks of the West_, vol. ii. - -[60]Montalembert, _The Monks of the West_, vol. ii. - -[61]_Ibid._ - -[62]Ambros, _Geschichte der Musik_, vol. ii. - -[63]The offices, chiefly conventual, in which the chant is employed - throughout are exceptions to the general rule. - -[64]This distinction between harmony and counterpoint is fundamental, but - no space can be given here to its further elucidation. The point will - easily be made clear by comparing an ordinary modern hymn tune with - the first section of a fugue. - -[65]Mendelssohn, in his letter to Zelter describing the music of the - Sixtine Chapel, is enthusiastic over the beautiful effect of the - _abellimenti_ in Allegri's Miserere. - -[66]Winterfeld, _Johannes Gabrieli und sein Zeitalter_. - -[67]Jakob, _Die Kunst im Dienste der Kirche_. - -[68]Wackernagel, _Das deutsche Kirchenlied von der aeltesten Zeit bis zu - Anfang des XVII. Jahrhunderts_. - -[69]Hoffmann von Fallersleben, _Geschichte des deutschen Kirchenliedes - bis auf Luther's Zeit_. - -[70]Taylor, _Studies in German Literature_. - -[71]Koch, _Geschichte des Kirchenliedes und Kirchegesanges der - christlichen insbesondere der deutschen evangelischen Kirche_. - -[72]Bacon and Allen, editors: _The Hymns of Martin Luther set to their - Original Melodies, with an English Version_. - -[73]The performance of Bach's cantatas by the Catholic Schola Cantorum of - Paris is one of many testimonies to the universality of the art of - this son of Lutheranism. - -[74]Kretzschmar, _Fuehrer durch den Concertsaal; Kirchliche Werke_. - -[75]Arsene Alexandre, _Histoire populaire de la Peinture_. - -[76]Spitta, _Zur Musik: Wiederbelebung protestantischer Kirchenmusik auf - geschichtlicher Grundlage_. - -[77]Jebb, _Choral Service of the United Church of England and Ireland_. - -[78]An edition of Marbecke's Book of Common Prayer with Notes, edited by - Rimbault, was published by Novello, London, in 1845. - -[79]Curwen, _Studies in Worship Music_. - -[80]_Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, book v., secs. 38 and 39. - -[81]It appears from this injunction that the grotesque custom of "lining - out" or "deaconing" the psalm was not original in New England, but was - borrowed, like most of the musical customs of our Puritan forefathers, - from England. - -[82]Curwen, _Studies in Worship Music_. - -[83]This has been done by several writers, but by no other in such - admirable fashion as by Horder in his delightful book, _The Hymn - Lover_ (London, Curwen, 1889). - -[84]Hooker, _Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity_, book v. chap. 15. - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---This eBook includes the publisher information from its printed - exemplar; the text is in the public domain in the U.S. (author DoD - 1946). - ---The cover image was generated by volunteers for free use with this - eBook. - ---MIDI files were sequenced by volunteers for this eBook, and are - considered to be in the public domain. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Music in the History of the Western -Church, by Edward Dickinson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MUSIC IN HISTORY OF WESTERN CHURCH *** - -***** This file should be named 43208.txt or 43208.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/2/0/43208/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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