To What Extent Did the Changes in Ritual Practices and Theological Ideas of the Church of England Impact on the Music of Parish Churches in the Nineteenth Century?

To what extent did the changes in ritual practices and theological ideas of the Church of England impact on the music of parish churches in the nineteenth century? Stephen Barker Music Department MMus Church Music July 2008 2 Abstract The ritual practice and theological ideas of the Church of England underwent significant change in the nineteenth century which had a vast influence on music used in its worship. Hymns were authorised to be used which caused a prolific period of hymn writing. Latin hymns from before the Reformation were translated and sung to their original plainsong melodies. Gallery bands were displaced by the re-introduction of the organ; robed choirs were placed in the chancel as found in cathedrals. Churches in Canterbury and surrounding area provide a focus for this essay and the impact these changes had on them is assessed. 3 Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Table of figures ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: From the roots of an English Church ........................................................................ 10 Chapter 3: A New Direction from Oxbridge .............................................................................. 15 The Oxford Movement ................................................................................................................. 15 The Cambridge Camden Society ................................................................................................ 16 Chapter 4: Congregational Music – The Hymn ........................................................................... 19 Hymn Texts ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Hymn Tunes .................................................................................................................................... 29 Hymns Ancient and Modern and other Hymnals ................................................................... 33 Chapter 5: Parish Church Musicians .............................................................................................. 39 The Gallery Band ............................................................................................................................ 40 Robed Choirs .................................................................................................................................. 43 The Organ ........................................................................................................................................ 50 Repertoire, and the Canterbury District Choral Union ....................................................... 55 Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 60 Appendix A .......................................................................................................................................... 63 4 Appendix B ........................................................................................................................................... 64 Appendix C .......................................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix D .......................................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix E ........................................................................................................................................... 71 Appendix F ........................................................................................................................................... 74 Appendix G ........................................................................................................................................ 115 Appendix H ........................................................................................................................................ 117 Appendix I .......................................................................................................................................... 118 Appendix J .......................................................................................................................................... 120 Appendix K ........................................................................................................................................ 124 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 132 5 Table of figures Figure 1. Pages from Merbecke's The Booke of Common Prayer Noted (1550) showing music to be used at the Communion ......................................................................... 11 Figure 2. The opening of Merbecke's setting of the opening of the Gloria in excelsis in English ................................................................................................................................ 12 Figure 3. The opening of a 10th century Gloria in excelsis from a Vatican source (Yale University) ......................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4. A realisation of the previous two figures using modern notation clearly shows how Merbecke's opening phrase is based on the 10th century Latin setting. This would have ensured that the transition from the Latin to the English text was smooth, using familiar musical phrases. The note spacing of the Merbecke has been deliberately stretched so that corresponding notes line up vertically. ............................................................................................................................................. 12 Figure 5. An extract from a page of the British Magazine, 1833, showing a translated Latin hymn from the Roman Breviary submitted as a piece of 'Sacred Poetry'. However, with each group of four lines conveniently arranged to 'common metre' it would be quite possible to sing this as a hymn to any number of tunes. ............................................................................................................................................. 25 6 Figure 6. The first harmonisation of the hymn tune 'Lauds' as printed in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). In this version, the Sarum plainsong melody has been subjected to a strict rhythmical setting. This has, however, caused some problems in the last two bars of the verse which are set in 3/2 rather than the 4/2 of the rest of the tune. ............................................................................................ 32 Figure 7. The second harmonisation of the hymn tune 'Lauds' as printed in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). In this version the Sarum plainsong melody has been harmonised in such a way that gives it a more free sense of rhythm; the use of the minim notation is not to be treated strictly as it was in Figure 6. ................ 32 Figure 8. The Village Choir by Thomas Webster, 1847. This painting captures the spirit of the gallery band with groups of singers gathering around a few copies, children singing from the front rows and a few instrumentalists (here it appears a ‟cello and bassoon are playing the bass on the right of the painting and a clarinet leading on the left). It was usual for the leader of the gallery band to stand at the front with his back to the musicians in full view of the congregation who would have turned round to face the gallery. ........................................................... 43 Figure 9. In a medieval church like St Stephen's, Canterbury (Hackington is the village name for what is now a suburb of Canterbury) the building leant itself to the repositioning of a choir to the proportionally large chancel. Before this, small groups of singers were within the nave; there is no record of there ever being a gallery at St Stephen‟s. ................................................................................................. 46 7 Figure 10. Floor plan of St Mary Bredin Church, Canterbury, c. 1867 shows that, like in many churches built after the Reformation, no space was available in the chancel for a robed choir. ............................................................................................. 46 Figure 11. When designing new churches for worship in the mid-nineteenth century, architects returned to medieval floor plans and incorporated spaces for a robed choir, as in this floor plan of St Gregory's Church, Canterbury (the building is now an open plann performance area for the Music department of Canterbury Christ Church University) ...................................................................... 47 Figure 12. A map showing the location of parish churches which were members of the Canterbury District Choral Union in 1870. An interactive version of this map is available by visiting <http://maps.google.co.uk>

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