The purpose of the study was to examine nineteenth century church music practices. This was done by 1) studying the attitudes displayed in the church periodical of The Wesleyan Methodist Connection (later, Church) of America; 2) locating and analyzing 44 tunes suggested in Miriam's Timbrel, a hymnal published for the Connection in 1853. This church was formed by people who seceded from a number of different denominations over the issue of slavery. It therefore represented the music practices of several American Protestant groups of the time.Findings1. Vocal music dominated music worship practices.2. Congregational singing was emphasized; every worshipper was urged to participate.3. Choirs were permitted but were often criticized and many thought their membership and music should be carefully regulated.4. There was much controversy over instrumental music; from 1845 to 1899 the church Discipline recommended that congregations dispense with its use.5. The history of each suggested tune was studied. Sources were discovered to be primarily European, either by actual composition or by influence.6. The tunes were grouped in categories according to origin: 1) the "better music" school of Lowell Mason and his coworkers, twelve tunes; 2) parlor songs by known composers, twelve; 3) folk song origin, nine; 4) European sacred sources, six; 5) European secular sources, four; 6) early American hymn tune, one.Similar characteristics were discovered among the tunes.The majority displayed:A 6- or 7-tone scaleMelodic range o f a 7th-9thFour or eight line stanzasConjunct melody linesSyllabic or slightly neumatic settings Common duple, triple, or quadruple meters Repetitive rhythmic patternsGenerally slow harmonic rhythm Simple harmonic structuresMajor keys with less than four sharps/flatsNon-traditional poetic meters.The tunes were relatively simple, easily learned, and in the popular styles, sacred and secular, of the nineteenth century.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/177347 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Kindley, Carolyn E. |
| Contributors | Mackey, Elizabeth J. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 329 leaves : music ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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