This study examines the relationship between the first major religious revival in the New England colonies and the change from psalmody to hymnody in the mid-eighteenth century through an approach which integrates the two fields of theology and church music. The termination date is 1770, and the focus is Protestant congregational song in the three groups most influenced by Puritan thought: the Congregationalists, the Presbyterians, and the Baptists.While much has been written separately about the change in eighteenth-century sacred song and the Great Awakening itself, there has been little research that attempts to place the psalmody/hymnody issue within the larger context of the changing theological milieu. This study first examines the theological and ecclesiastical structures which provided the context for Reformed worship, and then explores how fundamental changes in those structures and thought systems impacted congregational song. In order to comprehend the major changes which occurred in the mid-eighteenth century in colonial America, chapters on the Reformed Church and the beginning and spread of psalmody, the New England colonies to 1700, and the beginning of English hymnody are included.Conclusions1. The primary conclusion of this study is that the Great Awakening is the single most important factor in the change from psalmody to hymnody in the New England colonies. It is not a peripheral factor as indicated in much of the research. Rather, it provides both the rationale and the means for the transition in church song. The Great Awakening represented a basic theological change from a theocentric to an anthropocentric viewpoint that subsequently required alterations in sacred song. The revival movement, through its evangelistic spirit, also provided the vehicle by which this change in psalmody was effected.2. The agitation of the 1720s as evidenced in the tracts and treatises did not affect the transition directly. However, it is indicative of the increasing discontent with traditional Calvinist theology.3. The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts were not a primary reason for the change, but met the needs of the new anthropocentric theology of the Great Awakening that required a new language of praise. / School of Music
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181836 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Weiss, Joanne Grayeski |
| Contributors | Mackey, E. Jocelyn |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 3, iii, 208 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us--- |
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