Music and the Church

The history of church music goes right back to the faith's roots in Judaism with its strong traditions of psalm singing and chanting. We know that the church in the Roman period continued to use the Old Testament psalms but also created their own hymns to Christ and God. (Ephesians chp 5 vs. 19)

One of the most famous of the early hymn writers was Ambrose, a bishop of Milan (339-397), who is credited with writing hymns to keep up the courage of his congregation while they were under siege in their basilica by troops of the Emperor!

Pope Gregory I introduced plainsong into the churches and monasteries. These are Latin words set to a "plain" kind of music with no rhyme or metre. This style of singing is still in use in worship. Later centuries also took the original Latin songs and brought them up to date eg 0 come, o come Emmanuel which is compiled from the Advent antiphons.

In England very few hymns were sung by congregations before the 17th century. The first Anglican hymn book was George Wither's "Hymnes and Songs of the Church" of 1623, it was not very popular. Most of our 17th century hymns were originally written as poems and only later set to music eg Let all the world in every corner sing (George Herbert) and Let us with a gladsome mind (John Milton).

The pioneers of congregational hymn singing were the Baptist movement, especially Isaac Watts who produced over 600 hymns, many of which are still used today eg When I survey the wondrous cross and Jesus shall reign where'er the sun.

The first successful hymn book written for the Church of England was John and Charles Wesley's "The Collection. of Psalms and Hymns" (1737). Their many famous hymns include Hark the herald angels sing, Rejoice the Lord is king, and Love divine all loves excelling.

Hymns had become an important vehicle for teaching theology, nevertheless there were many in the Church of England who considered hymn singing to be illegal. In 1819 a test case was brought against a Sheffield vicar, Thomas Cotterill, who used a hymn book in services. His victory led to hymn singing becoming accepted within the Church of England.

Between 1800 and 1880 two hundred and twenty hymn books were produced by the Church of England alone. The most famous of these is the popular "Hymns Ancient and Modern" (1861) which has sold over 150,000,000 copies. This book encouraged the idea of every hymn having its own particular tune, which had not before been the practice.

Two of the most famous Victorian hymn writers are;

John Mason Neale - a great translator of ancient hymns - All glory laud and honour, Of the Father's love begotten, Good King Wenceslas.

Mrs Cecil Frances Alexander - she wrote especially for children - All things bright and beautiful, There is a green hill far away, Once in royal David's city.

Although some of the older hymns remain popular, many others have been written this century and it is probable that your own school hymn book will consist chiefly of twentieth century songs and hymns. Many of the old tunes have also been replaced with modern ones and these have helped to bring certain hymns up to date. Here is a short list of twentieth century hymns which figure in the television programme "Songs of Praise's" top one hundred;

Our God reigns; Shine, Jesus, shine; Lord of the Dance; Lord of all hopefulness Lord of all joy; Make me a channel of your peace; Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord.

This summary does not take into account the many excellent pieces of music written for use in church services which were composed for choirs rather than congregations eg anthems or oratorios such as Handel's Messiah. These may still be heard as part of a cathedral choir's repertoire or as concert performances. From the nineteenth century onwards more good music began to be written for church choirs and this will probably still figure in the regular Sunday worship at your parish church.

It is important to remember that music in church should be at the service of the worshippers, it is not a performance. A chant or hymn is not music sprinkled with text - it should be a vehicle of teaching, prayer or celebration. Why not take this opportunity to look at some of the songs your own school uses in collective worship - do they have a significant role in what you are undertaking in worship, or are they simply selected for their jolly tunes not their content?