voice in praising God in the congregation was deemed an unlawful practice; and this by Protestant Dissenters, (not Quakers,) among whom a curious controversy on the subject arose in the end of the seventeenth century. Whether singing in public worship had been practically discontinued during the times of persecution to avoid informers, or whether the miserable manner in which it was performed gave persons a distaste to it, so it appears, that in 1691 Mr. Benjamin Keach published a tract entitled, The Breach Repaired in God's Worship; or, Psalms, Hymns, &c., proved to be a Holy Ordinance of Jesus Christ. The fact of such a controversy, doubtless, seems most absurd to us, especially when we learn that Mr. Keach was obliged to labour earnestly, and with a good deal of prudence and caution, to obtain the consent of his people to sing a hymn at the conclusion of the Lord's Supper. After six years more they agreed to sing on the thanksgiving days; but it required still fourteen years more before he could persuade them to sing every Lord's day; and then it was only after the last prayer, that those who chose might withdraw without joining in it! Nor did even this satisfy these scrupulous consciences; for after all a separation took place, and the inharmonious seceders formed a new Church in May's Pond, where it was above twenty years longer before singing the praises of God could be endured.' + Now, however, with the exception of the Quakers, all Christian communities are agreed as to the Christian duty and privilege of singing in the church, congregation, or Christian assembly. That the practice of sacred music is of very remote antiquity, no one can doubt. Bishop Ken thinks it was coeval with the creation of man; and this is also the idea conveyed by Milton, who makes Adam and Eve give utterance, in their morning hymn,' to the sentiments of the 'Benedicite, omnia opera,' specially recognising the angelic songs of laud as the first and * See article Psalmody, in Watson's Theological Dictionary. + Louis XIV. prohibited singing among the French Protestants,' says Gaultier, in his Histoire Apologétique. 'Devotional singing was prohibited, whether in public worship, in the streets, or the fields, or in private houses. The order to this effect was not only published in the usual manner, but a printed notice was served upon each Protestant housekeeper. A mechanic at Castres somewhat confused the Roman Catholic functionaries, by returning his copy of the said notice with the following verse written on it: "Jamais ne cesserai De magnifier le Seigneur : En ma bouche aura son honneur Tant que vivant serai.-Ps. xxxiv. 1.”' Life of Claude Brousson, p. 14, note. London, 1853. noblest employment of those cherubim and seraphim who 'continually do cry:' 'Speak, ye who best can tell, ye sons of light, The first musical attempts of the earliest races and nations appear to have been devoted to religious purposes. This was especially the case with the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Independently, also, of devotional considerations, the study of this science was regarded as an excellent system of mental culture, and as such was at a remote period inculcated among the most celebrated nations of antiquity. The song of Miriam is not only remarkable because of its antiphonal character, (of which we shall say more hereafter,) but also as showing the general prevalence of singing among the Israelites of her day. Mr. Latrobe says it is impossible to determine the nature of the instruments mentioned in Psalm cl., as six versions-the Latin from the Hebrew, the Chaldee paraphrases, the Syriac, Vulgate, and Arabic-all differ in their interpretations. The same uncertainty prevails as to the headings of the Psalms. Tindal supposes they were designed to enable the choir to give out the tune, as they generally refer to melodies or instruments. But, in fact, as regards the nature of the Jewish music in the palmy days of the temple worship, we can but form vague speculations, as it is mere matter of doubtful tradition. Professor Smith, of Dublin, speaking of the Jewish plain song or recitative method of reading the Scriptures, says: The Hebrews to this day chant in a style of recitative the whole Bible, after the manner it was supposed to have been delivered to them from the mouth of Moses, in the same way that he received it from Mount Sinai.'* An eminent and learned Jewish writer on the Bible says in explanation, that when Moses received the law, it was given to him not only with the sound of trumpets but with song. The Jews have been in consequence prohibited from repeating the Bible in any other manner than as it was recited by Moses; and the air of the recitative is supposed to have been handed down faithfully from father to son until about the fifth century, A.D., when Rabbi Aaron Ben Asser invented certain characters to represent the accent and true tone that were given to each word, by which * From a newspaper report of a Lecture, delivered in Trinity College, in Trinity term, 1852. means the original recitative or chant has been preserved to this day. These singular characters, about twenty-seven in number, are judiciously placed under each word in the Bible; and that the reader might not fail in the true expression, they are even placed with great caution under the very letter that must be accented in the word, so that every person must chant with the one expression. Another authority (Burney, History of Music, vol. i., p. 251) quotes the opinion of a High Priest against the modern Jewish chanting; deeming it an innovation, as all music, vocal and instrumental, was banished from the synagogues after the destruction of Jerusalem. To reconcile the apparent discrepancy between the statements of Drs. Smith and Burney, it may be said that the former speaks of the public reading of the Bible in a recitative or plain song, such as was in fact used in reading the lessons in our cathedrals previous to the Restoration in 1660; while the latter refers to the plain chant, used by the Jews in singing the Psalms of David, a species of music from which all the subsequent varieties of chant in the Christian Church are without doubt derived. Although the High Priest quoted by Burney deemed the modern Jewish chanting an innovation, yet Burney remarks, with reference to the same chant, that it is still cultivated by the Jews in Germany; and from its resemblance to Persian music, (traditionally believed to have been borrowed from the Jews,) he is of opinion that the modern Jewish chant preserves the ancient character. It was our privilege on one occasion to hear the Psalms for the Sabbath day (xcii. and cxxv.) chanted in Hebrew in the synagogue in the Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, at Paris. The music was simple and plaintive, but the expression was indescribable. Whether from the suitability of the Hebrew language for such a purpose, or the felicity of execution, or both, it is not easy to determine; but of one thing there could be no doubt the superiority of the royal psalmist's own words, sung to the ancient chants, to any modern translation or music of the same class. It is a matter of surprise and regret, considering the importance attached in the Jewish economy to the musical part of the Temple service, and the minute details in the Old Testament regarding those whose office was 'to praise *This was, and still is, the usage in Romish countries. Les leçons se chantent recto tono, ou presque recto tono. C'est donc une sorte de lecture à baute voix: de là l'usage de se servir également des verbes lire ou chanter une leçon.'-Observations sur le Chant Grégorien, C. J. Patu. The intonation of the Lessons, Gospel and Epistle, was put an end to by the Convocation which in 1661 revised the Common Prayer Book. See Wheatley on the Common Prayer, p. 141. Antiquity of Antiphonal Singing. 89 the Lord,' and in the case of a people so separate and peculiar as the Hebrews undoubtedly are, that the music which they used should have come to be only matter of tradition and conjecture. A few sacred airs of incontestable antiquity were said to have been derived by the early Christian Church from the Jews; they are of the class denominated 'chorale,' being fixed metrical compositions, analogous to those sung to our hymns, and are so distinguished from the chant, the length of which is variable. One instance may be adduced of a well-known Jewish tune, called 'Leoni,' the date of which is referred to the Babylonish captivity: it is very generally used by the modern Jews, and in the Christian Church is arranged to the hymn commencing, 'The God of Abram praise.' As the proclamation of the Gospel began at Jerusalem, as the first Church was formed there, and as the Apostles and Evangelists issued thence, it is natural to suppose that the Jewish element would be very prominent in the primitive ecclesiastical arrangements of the Christian congregations. The most ancient Church music appears to have been a recitative chant of the simplest kind; and from the fact, that among the early converts 'not many mighty, not many noble, were called,' and that the sacred assemblies were commonly held in secret, for fear of persecution, we may perhaps infer the absence in general of written compositions, leaving the performance of this part of worship dependent on rude and unlearned tradition. The style and method of singing were, doubtless, derived from the Jews; and the performance, we may safely conclude, was antiphonal. In the well-known passage from Pliny's letter to Trajan, the learned Roman not only testifies to their custom of meeting together on a stated day, before it was light, but adds, They were accustomed to sing among themselves, alternately, a hymn to Christ, as God.'* Andrew Fuller says, 'It is manifest the original singing was much of it responsive; and that justice cannot be otherwise done to it.' The judicious Hooker argues for its antiquity, speaking of it as a thing which all Christian Churches in the world have received, and a thing which so many ages have held.' And Mr. Binney says, 'Their singing was alternate and responsive. I wish the practice had not been discontinued.'† As the early Church music was not regulated by any given system, it came naturally to be influenced, to a certain extent, by the Pagan predilections of the converts; from which cause resulted an endless variety of style. * Carmenque Christo quasi Deo dicere secum invicem.'-Epist., lib. x., ep. 97. (A.D. 107.) For further information as to the antiquity of antiphonal singing, see Wheatley on the Common Prayer, p. 130. In the time of Constantine, special attention was directed to it: 'when,' says Eusebius, music, choirs, services, and hymns, were established at Antioch;' from whence St. Ambrose, the reputed author of that universal hymn, Te Deum Laudamus, is said to have brought to Milan the chants known by his name; and, during the Trinitarian controversy, processional singing was introduced by the Arians. Gregory I., who became Pope in 590, produced a revolution in Church music, by arranging the 'tones' or 'modes' since named after him, and which, according to some, were his own invention. This species of music was called cantus planus, canto fermo, or 'plain song,' from its gravity. He increased the previously existing modes from four to eight, adopted Roman instead of Greek characters, and, with a view to conciliate prejudice, introduced Greek and Hebrew terms, e.g., Kyrie eleison,' 'Hallelujah,' &c. He established a famous singing school, which lasted for three hundred years after his death, and in which were to be seen the couch whereon he reclined while giving musical instruction, and the whip used by him, not only as an emblem of authority, but, alas for our degenerate days! as a serviceable instrument of communicating knowledge. To him is also ascribed the invention of the Gregorian notes, which, with certain modifications, subsequently introduced, are now used only in the Romish and Greek Churches, but are otherwise valueless, except as subjects of interest to musical antiquaries. In the Greek Church, the plain chant is still sung, to the exclusion of all other music, and in no case is an instrumental accompaniment allowed. The great and peculiar charm of the original Gregorian music was its simplicity; but this was not suffered to remain; for, in a short time, it received many additions, and underwent many modifications. M. Patu, in his work, Quelques Observations sur le Chant Grégorien, says, 'Ce qui nous parait certain, ou du moins probable, c'est que, moins de deux siècles après Saint Grégoire, le Chant Grégorien n'existait plus que dans un petit nombre de passages perdus dans la masse des additions.' About the year 1022, Guido, a monk of Aretium, endeavoured to re-establish the principles of the primitive song.† Acting under the authority of Charlemagne, he reduced the tones from fifteen to eight; ‡ and his further improvements may be stated * * Partial exceptions to this statement exist at All Saints, Margaret Street, St. Barnabas, et hoc genus omne. For a modern English work, see Helmore's Directory of Plain Song. Tonus est acuta enuntiatio vocis, harmoniæ differentia, et quantitas quem vocis accentu vel tenore consistit, cujus genera in quindecim partes musici diviserunt.'-St. Isidore, lib. iii. Dans le chant Ambrosien on reconnait encore quatorze tons distincts. Ce fut Charlemagne qui décida dans la sagesse, que huit tons étaient suffisants, et ordonna la suppression des autres comme inutiles.'-Patu, sup. cit., p. 10. |