"Kind reader, no doubt you remember that about ten years ago I published a book entitled 'The New England Psalm-Singer;' and truly a most masterly performance I then thought it to be. How lavish was I of encomium on this my infant production! 'Welcome, thrice Welcome, thou legitimate Offspring of my brain, go forth my little book, go forth and immortalize the name of your Author: may your sale be rapid and may you speedily run through ten thousand Editions,' said I, 'Thou art my Reuben, my first born; the beginning of my Strength, the Excellency of my Dignity, and the Excellency of my power.' But to my great mortification I soon discovered it was Reuben in the sequel, and Reuben all over; I have discovered that [326] many pieces were never worth my printing or your inspection.
"It is the duty of Christians 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 audible and gravely ordered; but the chief care must be to sing with understanding and with grace in the heart, making melody unto the Lord. That the whole congregation may join therein, 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 to be appinted by him and the other ruling officers, do read the psalms line by line, before the singing thereof."
Billings's other publications were "Music in Miniature," "Psalm Singers' Amusement," "Suffolk Harmony," and "Continental Harmony." Though the crudest of musical works, for he was entirely unacquainted with harmony and musical rules, they had an immense influence. He was the pioneer, and the path he cleared was soon crowded with his successors. The most prominent of these were Andrew Law, born at Cheshire, Conn., in 1748, who published many books and taught in most of the New England States; Jacob Kimball, born at Topsfield, Mass., in 1761, who published the "Rural Harmony;" Oliver Holden, of Charlestown, Mass., who published the "American Harmony," "Union Harmony," and "Worcester Collection," and wrote the favorite tune "Coronation;" Samuel Holyoke, [327] born at Boxford, Mass., in 1771, author of the "Harmonia Americana" and "Columbian Repository;" Daniel Reed, born at Rehoboth, Mass., in 1757, who published the "American Singing-Book" and "Columbian Harmony;" Jacob French, born at Stoughton, Mass., in 1754, who issued a work entitled "Harmony of Harmony;" Timothy Swan, born at Suffield, Conn., in 1757, who published "Federal Harmony" and "New England Harmony," and wrote the familiar tunes "Poland" and "China;" John Hubbard, who wrote many anthems and treatises on music; Dutton, of Hartford, Conn., who issued the "Hartford Collection," and wrote the tune of "Woodstock;" Oliver Shaw, born at Middleborough, Mass., in 1799, who was totally blind, but became a very successful teacher and composer. Gould says that his compositions were "truly original," and one of them, "There's Nothing True but Heaven," was repeated night after night by the Boston Handel and Haydn Society.
The era of psalm composers was followed by that of the singing-school teachers, who exerted a mighty influence upon sacred music and musical taste. At the same time numerous societies were organized, among them the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, which was born April 20, 1815, and still exists,--a vigorous growth from the little gathering which gave its first concert on Christmas, Dec. 25, 1815, singing the first part of "The Creation" and selections from Handel's works, and was pronounced [328] by an enthusiastic critic of that time "the wonder of the nation." The great singing-teachers were Thomas Hastings of Washington, Conn., Lowell Mason of Mansfield, Mass., Nathaniel D. Gould of Chelmsford, Mass. Still later came George F. Root, Woodbury, Dyer, Bradbury, Ives, Johnson, and others, whose labors, both as composers and teachers, are familiar to all lovers of sacred music even at this day. The old-fashioned singing-school, however, has disappeared. The musical convention still survives in rural places. The great festivals, oratorio societies, the modern concert stage, even the opera, have all had their effect upon sacred music. The paid choir of professional musicians marks a long departure from the robust Puritan psalm-singers; its music is equally remote from the jingling tunes of Billings which "tickled the ears" of the colonists.
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APPENDIX.
The following chronological list is intended to present to the reader a statement of the more important sacred music which has been written during the last two centuries, with its composers and dates, for the purposes of reference.
Allegri Miserere (1630). Arne Abel (1755); Judith (1764). Bach St. John Passion (1720); Magnificat in D (1723); St. Matthew Passion (1729); Christmas Oratorio (1734). Barnby Rebekah (1870). Beethoven Mount of Olives (1799-1801); Mass in C (1807); Mass in D (1822). Benedict St. Cecilia (1866); St. Peter (1870). Bennett Woman of Samaria (1867). Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts (1837); L'Enfance du Christ (1854). Brahms German Requiem (1868). Costa Eli (1855); Naaman (1864). [330] Cusins Gideon (1871). Crotch Palestine (1812); Captivity of Judah (1834). David Moses on Sinai (1846). Dvorák Stabat Mater (1875). Goldschmidt Ruth (1867). Gounod Messe Solenelle (1850); Tobie (1870); Redemption (1883); Mors et Vita (1885). Graun The Death of Jesus (1755); Prague Te Deum (1756). Handel First Passion Oratorio (1704); La Resurrezione (1708); Il trionfo del Tempo (1708); Utrecht Te Deum (1713); Second Passion Oratorio (1716); Esther (1720); Deborah (1733); Athalia (1733); Saul (1738); Israel in Egypt (1738); Messiah (1741); Samson (1742); Joseph (1743); Dettingen Te Deum (1743); Belshazzar (1744); Occasional Oratorio (1745); Judas Maccabæus (1746); Alexander Balus (1747); Joshua (1747); Solomon (1748); Susanna (1748); Theodora (1749); Jephtha (1751). Haydn Stabat Mater (1771); Return of Tobias (1774); Mariazeller Mass (1782); Imperial Mass (1797); The Creation (1796-98); Te Deum (1800); The Seasons (1800); The Seven Words (1801). [331] Hiller The Destruction of Jerusalem (1839). Horsley Gideon (1860). Kiel Requiem (1862); Christus (1866). Klein Job (1820); Jephthah (1828); David (1830). Lassus Penitential Psalms (1565); Vigiliæ Mortuorum (1565). Leslie Immanuel (1853); Judith (1858). Liszt Graner Mass (1854); Hungarian Coronation Mass (1856); Legend of Saint Elizabeth (1864); Christus (1866). Macfarren John the Baptist (1873); The Resurrection (1876); Joseph (1877). Mackenzie Rose of Sharon (1884). Marx Moses (1850). Massenet Mary Magdalen (1873); Eve (1875); The Virgin (1879). Mendelssohn Psalm cxv (1830); Psalm xcv (1835); St. Paul (1836); Hymn of Praise (1840); Elijah (1838-46); Christus (1844-47); Lauda Sion (1846). Meyerbeer God and Nature (1811). Mozart Coronation Mass (1779); Mass in C (1780); Mass in G (1785); Mass in B (1791); Ave Verum (1791); Requiem (1791). Neukomm Mount Sinai (1830); David (1834). Ouseley St. Polycarp (1854); Hagar (1873). Paine St. Peter (1873). Palestrina Papæ Marcelli Mass (1563); Stabat Mater (1589); Requiem (1591). [332] Pergolesi Stabat Mater (1736). Pierson Jerusalem (1852). Randegger Psalm cl (1872). Reinthaler Jephta (1856). Rossini Moses in Egypt (1818); Stabat Mater (1832-41); Messe Solenelle (1864). Rubinstein Tower of Babel (1870); Paradise Lost (1876). Schneider (Fr.) The Judgement of the World (1819); Paradise Lost (1824); Pharaoh (1828); Christ the Child (1829); Gideon (1829); Gethsemane and Golgotha (1838). Schubert Lazarus (1820). Schumann Paradise and the Peri (1843); Advent Hymn (1848); Mass and Requiem (1852). Schutz Passions' Music (1665). Spohr The Last Judgment (1812); The Last Things (1826); Calvary (1833); Fall of Babylon (1840). Stanford The Three Holy Children (1885). Sullivan The Prodigal Son (1869); Light of the World (1873); Martyr of Antioch (1880). Verdi Manzoni Requiem (1874); Pater Noster and Ave Maria (1880). Vogler Magnificat and Stabat Mater (1777). Wagner Das Liebesmahl der Apostel (1843). Winter Pilgrimage to Calvary (1792); Stabat Mater (1805).
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