For God and Country: Scriptural Exegesis, Editorial Intervention, and Revolutionary Politics in First New England School Anthems

Home , Asunder (software), Daniel Read, Justin Morgan, Oliver Holden, Supply Belcher, William Billings

A dissertation submitted to the

Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory of the College-Conservatory of Music

Molly K. Williams

BA, Lipscomb University, 2005

MM, University of Cincinnati, 2010

Committee chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD

Abstract

Since 1991 music of the First New England School has become readily accessible through critical editions. The compilers of these volumes edited the music, traced the compositional styles and methods of these composers, and documented their biographies.

However, no one has explored how composers of this era edited scripture and sacred poetry for anthems and how these editorial acts might reflect the politics of the Colonial and Federal

Periods. Anthems afforded composers more creative liberty than strophic genres such as plain tunes and fuging tunes. Because anthems are long, through-composed works, composers had wide latitude regarding the text they set; most drew from Biblical scripture, sacred poetry, or a combination of the two. This study traces the texts that First New England composers chose and how composers edited them for anthems. In some cases, composers employed straightforward, unedited sections of scripture, but in most cases, they or their collaborators edited scripture and drew on diverse literary sources. This study addresses such issues as musical setting, geographical locale, and politics. Included are where composers lived, what their personal religious practices may have been, and how involved they were in politics and civic activities.

The methodology includes an original data set of eighteenth-century anthem texts, including when they were first published, if and how the source texts were edited, the general topic of each anthem, and each scriptural citation. This study builds on recent scholarship on ministers’ use of scripture during the American Revolutionary War. This study examines the texts from First New

England School anthems in a similar manner, showing the similarities and differences in the way that preachers and composers quoted, edited, and employed Biblical scripture and sacred poetry during a period of political turmoil and revolution.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. bruce mcclung, for his guidance and encouragement as I completed this project. I always left our meetings with a renewed sense of purpose. His assistance and edits always helped crystalize my ideas. Dr. Jonathan Kregor and Dr.

Stephanie Schlagel served on my committee and their questions helped clarify my thoughts.

They both offered a welcome perspective to my work. As a program advisor, Dr. Mary Sue

Morrow helped me navigate the program requirements throughout my time in Cincinnati and I am grateful for her guidance. I am grateful to Thomas Riis and the American Music Research

Center staff at the University of Colorado at Boulder for the Visiting Scholar Fellowship and their help with my research during my time there. The AMRC has an extensive collection of tunebooks and researching in their collection helped put these works in historical context.

Friends of CCM helped fund the fellowship, for which I am thankful. I would also like to thank the staff at the Barbour Library at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Their Warrington

Collection has several hymnals and wonderful resources on the eighteenth-century church in

America that was most helpful to my research. I am most grateful to friends and family for their support as I worked toward this goal. I could not have completed this project without the help of family and friends who are like family who happily watched our son. Of course I am so thankful to my husband for his support throughout this long process. His loving encouragement helped me keep perspective and complete this dissertation.

CONTENTS

List of Examples...……………………………………………………………………………….vii

List of Tables….………………………………………………………………………………... ..ix

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………….……xi

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………… ...... 1

Chapter 1

“Such an excellent body of divine poetry”: Sacred Poetry in the Anthem ……………………...17

Chapter 2

Bound Kings and Fettered Nobles: Revolutionary Politics in the Anthem……………………… ……….45

Chapter 3

Heterogenously Protestant: Denominational Tenets in the Early American Anthem ……...... …70

Chapter 4

Boston and the Northern Territory: Geography and the Early American Anthem ………………89

Chapter 5

Other Topics in the Early American Anthem……………………………………………… …..113

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… …...138

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………… …155

Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………… ..164

Belcher, Supply. “Ordination Anthem.” The Collected Works, ed. Linda Davenport. Music of the New American Nation 5, ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 1996 Routledge. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Billings, William. “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear Attend.” The Complete Works of William Billings. Vol. 3 ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 1990 American Musicological Society Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Billings, William. “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor.” The Complete Works of William Billings. Vol. 3, ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 1990 American Musicological Society Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Morgan, Justin. “Judgment Anthem.” Two Vermont Composers: The Collected Works of Elisha West and Justin Morgan. Music of the New American Nation 7, ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 1997 Taylor and Francis. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Read, Daniel. “A New Anthem for Fast Day.” Collected Works: Daniel Read, ed. Karl Kroeger Recent Researches in American Music 24 ed. John Graziano. Copyright © 1995 A-R Editions. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Swan, Timothy. “Anthem from the 150th Psalm,” Nym Cooke, Psalmody and Secular Songs: Timothy Swan. Recent Researches in American Music 26 ed. John Graziano. Copyright © 1997 A-R Editions. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

List of Examples

Example 1.1 Tate and Brady, Psalm 150…………………………………………… …………..24

Example 1.2 Timothy Swan, “Anthem from the 150th Psalm,” New England Harmony, 1801 ...24

Example 1.3 Timothy Swan, “Anthem from the 150th Psalm,” mm. 1–11, New England Harmony (1801)…………………………………………………………………… …….26

Example 1.4 William Billings, “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear Attend,” The Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781).……………………………………………………………………………… ……27

Example 1.5 William Billings, “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear Attend,” mm. 38–46, Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781)……………………………………………………………… ……….29

Example 1.6a Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” Massachusetts Harmony (1803)………………………………………………………………..………... 30

Example 1.6b Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 4, used by Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” Massachusetts Harmony (1803)………………………………………………………… 30

Example 1.6c Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 3 as in Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” Massachusetts Harmony (1803)………………………………………………………… 31

Example 1.6d Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 7, Psalms of David (1719)…………………….. 31

Example 1.7 Isaac Watts, Stanza 6, Psalm 65, Psalms of David (1719), used by William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” Independent Publication, (1792)………..………………... 32

Example 1.8 William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” mm 55 – 71, Independent Publication (1792).…………………………………………………………………….... 34

Example 1.9 Isaac Watts, Stanza 2 Psalm 150, Psalms of David (1719), used by William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” Independent Publication, (1792)………………... 35

Example 1.10 John Cennick, “Lo He Cometh,” A Collection of Sacred Hymns (1749)…...... 39

Example 1.11 Justin Morgan, “Judgment Anthem,” mm. 1–6 and 19–23, The Federal Harmony (1790)…………………………………………………………………………. …………40

Example 2.1 William Billings, “Independence,” The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778)……………………………………………………………………………...…….. 53

Example 2.2 Deuteronomy 32:43, used by William Billings, “Peace, God is King,” Independent Publication (1783)…………………………………………………………………… …..54

vii

Example 2.3a Psalm 149, Authorized Version…………………………………………… …….55

Example 2.3b Psalm 149, used by Hans Gram, “Bind Kings with Chains,” Worcester Collection (1794)……………………………..……………...……………………………………… 56

Example 2.4 Hans Gram, “Bind Kings with Chains,” Worchester Companion (1794)…….. ….58

Example 3.1 Samuel Holyoke, “Hear Our Prayer,” mm. 55–66, The Christian Harmonist (1804)………………………………………………………………………... …………..77

Example 3.2 Daniel Read, “A New Anthem for Fast Day,” mm. 59–72, The Columbian Harmonist (1794)…………………………………………………………………… …...78

Example 3.3 Text from Jeremiah 9 and Isaiah 3, from Oliver Holden “Anthem” Sacred Dirges…George Washington (1800)…………………………………………………… .81

Example 3.4 Oliver Holden, Funeral Anthem, The Union Harmony (1796)………………… ...81

Example 4.1 Elias West, “Deliverance Anthem,” The Musical Concert (1802)……………… ..97

Example 4.2 Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem” mm. 161–72…………………... ………..105

Example 4.3 Supply Belcher, “An Anthem of Praise: Make a Joyful Noise,” The Harmony of Maine (1804)……………………………………………………………………… ……108

Example 4.4 Stanza 2, Hymn 143b from The Gospel Hymn Book as used in “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” The Northern Harmony (1808)…………………………………….. …110

Example 5.1 William Billings, “Blessed is He that Considereth the Poor,” mm. 139–154, The Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781)…………………………………………………….. 118

Example 5.2 Jacob Kimball, “Charity Anthem,” Essex Harmony (1800)…………………….. 120

Example 5.3 William Billings, “Funeral Anthem, Samuel the Priest,” Suffolk Harmony (1786)..……………………………………………………………………………….… 132

viii

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Psalm 104:1, Comparison between the Book of Common Prayer and King James Version..…………………………………………………………………………….… ....35

Table 1.2 Comparison of Isaac Watts “Breathing Toward the Heavenly Country” and Lewis Edson “The Beauty of My Native Land”………………………………………………... 36

Table 2.1 Comparison of Versions of Psalm 21……………………………………………….... 52

Table 2.2 Comparison of Isaiah 11:9, Authorized Version and William Billings “Peace, God is King”…………………………………………………………………………………….. 54

Table 2.3 William Billings, “Lamentation over Boston” and Its Biblical sources...……………. 67

Table 3.1 Comparison of Psalm 68:19, Authorized Version and Samuel Holyoke, “Anthem for Thanksgiving. .…………………………………………………………………………...75

Table 3.2 Comparison of Holyoke and Read, Psalm 143…………...…………………...... 76

Table 4.1 Comparison of Psalm 35, Authorized Version and Book of Common Prayer...... 96

Table 4.2 Rhyming Verse and Possible Scriptural Sources, Elias West, “Mount Paran,” The Musical Companion (1802)……………………………………………………………... 98

Table 4.3a Comparison of Psalm 132, Authorized Version and Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem,” Northern Harmony (1808)....………………………………………………. .103

Table 4.3b Psalm 132, Authorized Version and Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem,” from Northern Harmony (1808)……………………………………………………………………... 104

Table 4.4 Comparison of Thomas Scott, “Hymn 106,” Bristol Baptist Collection (1769) and Supply Belcher, “An Anthem for Easter,” Harmony of Maine (1794) .……………….. 107

Table 4.5 Comparison of Psalm 148:7–10 and Stanzas 3, 4, and 5 of Hymn 143b from The Gospel Hymn Book as used in “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” The Northern Harmony (1808) ...... ….111

Table 5.1 William Billings, “Blessed is He that Considereth the Poor,” The New England Psalm Singer (1770)……………………………………....………………………………...... 114

Table 5.2a Comparison of Proverbs 19:17, Authorized Version and Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781)..……………...... 116

Table 5.2b Comparison of Psalm 68:5 and James 1:27–28, Authorized Version, and Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement, 1781 …...117

Table 5.3. Comparison of William Billings, “Blessed Is He That Considereth the Poor,” The New England Psalm Singer (1770), “Blessed Is He That Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm- Singer’s Amusement (1781), and Jacob Kimball, “Charity Anthem,” Essex Harmony (1800)……………………………………….. ………………………………………….122

Table 5.4 Changes in 1 Kings 8:30 in Elias Mann’s “Anthem no. 1: For Dedication or Ordination,” Northampton Collection of Sacred Harmony (1797)...………………….. 126

Table 5.5 Comparison between Authorized Versions and William Billings, “The Beauty of Israel,” of 2 Samuel 26–27. .……………………………………………………………131

Table 5.6 Comparison of Jacob French, “Farewell Anthem,” New American Harmony (1789) and William Billings, “The Dying Christian’s Last Farewell,” Continental Harmony (1794)……………………………………………………………………………… …...133

List of Figures

Figure 3.1 Samuel Holyoke, Christian Harmonist (1804), title page..………………………….. 71

Introduction

Of all the genres of eighteenth-century psalmody, anthems afforded composers more creative liberty than strophic genres such as plain tunes and fuging tunes. In Karl Kroger’s two- volume edition of early American anthems, he includes pieces that fit the definition of anthem according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, William Billings’s own definition of anthem, and the common-practice distinction observed by Billings’s contemporaries. Grove Music Online identifies anthems as sacred, choral compositions originating in sixteenth-century England adopted and used in eighteenth-century America as the primary form of non-congregational psalmody. Composers usually employed prose texts for anthems, but some incorporated metric poetry.1 Billings described an anthem as a “divine song, generally in prose,” and added that any sacred song “not divided into metre” may be called an anthem.2 Despite these definitions, composers sometimes used metric portions of poetry interspersed with prose and still termed those anthems.

Like other musical practices of First New England School composers, the anthem had been modeled after the music of British parish church composers. Before 1760 congregational, metric psalms were the most popular and widespread form of sacred music in the American colonies. “Regular Singing” reforms of the 1720s had been undertaken to improve the singing and musical literacy of congregants, resulting in singing schools. This newfound and widespread musical literacy had led to the establishment of church choirs. Although choirs were an

1 Ralph T. Daniel, et al. “Anthem,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 28, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2248032.

2 Karl Kroeger, Early American Anthem, Recent Researches in American Music Vols. 36–37 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 2000), ix; William Billings, The Continental Harmony, 1794.

1 unintended by-product of singing reforms, their existence soon created the need for challenging music. In turn, singing masters began composing anthems, which appeared in tunebooks published in the American colonies beginning in the 1760s. The first anthems published in the colonies were those of British composers and served as models for American composers. James

Lyon’s Urania (1761) contained some anthems by British composers, and a few by Lyon himself and British immigrant William Tuckey.3 Josiah Flagg’s Sixteen Anthems (1766), intended for

“those who have made some proficiency in the art of singing,” demonstrates an interest in musical forms more complex than strophic psalm tunes and hymns. Indeed, Flagg forgoes the typical “Rules of Music” that introduced most eighteenth-century tunebooks and instead offered singers only pronunciation instructions.4 Daniel Bayley reprinted William Tans’ur’s Royal

Melody Complete (1754–1755) and Aaron Williams’s Universal Psalmodist (1763) in two volumes under the title The American Harmony (1773). Although the anthems in these collections were mostly the work of British composers, Flagg and Bayley helped disseminate the anthem to singing schools in the American colonies. William Billings’s The New-England

Psalm-Singer (1770) contained five of his own anthems. Subsequent First New England School composers took up the genre, including Samuel Babcock, Daniel Belknap, Oliver Brownson,

Amos Bull, Jacob French, Jacob Kimball, Daniel Read, and Timothy Swan.5

My dissertation examines the texts that First New England composers chose for their anthems. While special events usually prompted composers to pen an anthem, my research goes

3 Kroeger, Early Anthems, ix.

4 Josiah Flagg, Sixteen Anthems (Boston: Flagg, 1766).

5 Ralph T. Daniel, The Anthem in New England before 1800 (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1966), 40–41; Richard Crawford and Laurie J. Sampsel, “Psalmody,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 28, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/ music/A2252198.

2 beyond categorizing these pieces according to the occasions for which they were composed. I study how composers chose and edited texts for their anthems. By exploring these works from this perspective, I determine how place and politics might have influenced their choices. In some anthems, the composer employed straightforward, unedited sections of Biblical scripture. But in many cases, he edited scripture and drew on diverse Biblical sources or sacred poetry.

Composers’ geographic locale also affected which sacred texts they employed. For example, because William Billings lived in Boston, his choice of texts with political overtones can be attributed to his urban and rebel sensibilities. Elizabeth Crist has demonstrated that some of his music, such as the strophic hymn CHESTER, displays patriotic sentiments.6 These would have been common and potentially welcome by singers in Boston as it was a locus for agitators of the

American Revolution. I also explore what these composers’ personal religious practices may have been and how involved they were in political and civic activities. How composers chose texts and the manner in which they or their literary collaborators edited them sheds new light on the anthem in Colonial and Federal America.

Background: The First New England School of Composers

In the early eighteenth century, clergy called for musical reforms in New England.

Congregants usually practiced “lining-out” in which one leader sang a phrase, which the congregants repeated. This practice became known as the “Old Way” or “Usual Way” of singing.

The tempo was often slow and irregular, and congregants added embellishments in their responses, creating heterophony. Ministers such as Cotton Mather and Thomas Symmes found this practice inappropriate for the ideal worship setting and called for reforms, particularly in music education. This resulted in the establishment of singing schools and the publication of

6 Elizabeth Crist, “‘Ye Sons of Harmony’: Politics, Masculinity, and the Music of William Billings in Revolutionary Boston,” William and Mary Quarterly 60 (2003): 333–54.

3 tunebooks in New England. By 1720 singing schools were an established practice, and itinerant

“singing masters” traveled around New England where they taught participants to read music and to sing in parts.7

Singing schools relied on the available church music from the English parish church tradition, but the need for additional musical material led to American tunebook publication. The first tunebook published in the American colonies was James Lyon’s 1761 Urania, containing pieces composed by native-born composers. Daniel Bayley’s The American Harmony (editions published between 1769 and 1774) included the work of English composers William Tans’ur and

Aaron Williams.8 William Billings’s first tunebook, The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770), was the first tunebook devoted to the work of a single native-born composer. Daniel Read’s The

American Singing Book was the second such collection published in 1785.9 Billings, Read, and other early American composers continued to publish tunebooks containing their own music and that of their contemporaries until the early nineteenth century.

In addition to improving congregational singing, the reforms of the 1720s resulted in the creation of singing schools, increased native tunebook publications, and the first group of

American composers with a unified style. H. Wiley Hitchcock coined the term “First New

England School” for these composers, recognizing their biographical and musical similarities.10

Active between 1770 and 1820, most were Anglo-Celtic and their music descended from the

7 Richard Crawford, America’s Musical Life (New York: Norton, 1993), 31–35.

8 Richard Crawford and Nym Cooke, “Bayley, Daniel,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 28, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/ grove/music/ 02387.

9 Karl Kroeger,ed., Daniel Read: Collected Works, Recent Researches in American Music vol. 24 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 1995), xvi.

10 H. Wiley Hitchcock, Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1969), 13.

English parish churches and the works of British composers William Tans’ur and Aaron

Williams.11 First New England School composers were often self-taught and learned to read music in singing schools. Most were trained as tradesmen and composed part-time. Their music sounds archaic today with the frequent use of minor key, reliance on modes, and the predominance of perfect consonances.12 William Billings was the most prolific and influential

First New England School composer and published six tunebooks between 1770 and 1794.13

Other composers of the First New England School compiled their own tunebooks and sometimes collaborated with one another. By the early nineteenth century, the next generation of musical reformers such as Lowell Mason criticized the musical style of the First New England School composers and advocated for sacred music that adhered to European compositional practices.

Composers and compilers such as Andrew Law, Oliver Holden, and Samuel Holyoke composed and published music more closely aligned with European musical principles. Lowell Mason was the most prominent of these reformers and actively promoted the European style of harmony and voice-leading.14 As these reforms spread, First New England School music was pushed out of the urban centers and into the rural shape-note tradition in the South where it flourished.

Eighteenth-century anthems had been historically used for important days of celebration or commemoration. By far the most important eighteenth-century New England holiday was

Thanksgiving. Although Christmas and Easter are the most important Christian seasons, the

11 Gilbert Chase, America’s Music, from Pilgrims to Present 3rd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987), 136; Charles Hamm, Music in the New World (New York: Norton, 1983), 154.

12 Hamm, Music in the New World, 154.

13 Karl Kroeger, “Billings, William,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed February 1, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/03082.

14 Hamm, 163.

Anglican church was the only denomination to celebrate them in eighteenth-century America.

Church building dedications were an occasional, but important event if the life of a congregation.

There were also anthems appropriate for common occasions such as ordinations, weddings, funerals, and memorials services, but such events did not always merit a new composition. For a composer to pen a new anthem for a specific event, the honoree would have been well-known and connected in the community.15 An example would be Oliver Holden’s anthem “A Funeral

Anthem” from the publication Sacred Dirges, Hymns, and Anthems Commemorative of the

Death of General George Washington.16 Finally, churches in urban areas of New England had charitable societies that met for annual meetings. These were overseen clergy and may have also had anthems performed. Some anthems had no specific designated occasion, but they could have been used at celebrations for Election Day, Independence Day, or fraternal and masonic meetings.17

Scope

Although First New England composers were an important and distinctive group in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century America, their music is not the only distinctive repertory of this era. Indeed there are several contemporaneous distinctive musical traditions that are outside the scope of this study. The Moravians were known for their traditions of choral music and instrument making. The Ephrata Cloister and its congregants were known for their singing, but also their hand-copied hymnals with illuminations.

15 Kroeger, Early American Anthems, viv–xvii.

16 Oliver Holden, Sacred Dirges, Hymns, and Anthems Commemorative of the Death of General George Washington (Boston: Thomas and Andrews, 1800).

17 Kroeger, Anthems, viv–xvii.

The Moravian church in America began with immigrants from Saxony, but the tradition itself began in what was Bohemia. Moravians settled in two regions of the American colonies:

Pennsylvania and North Carolina. While Moravian music included choral genres, such as hymns and anthems, their repertory also included solos and duets appropriate for some of their services.

The musical style had been influenced by European composers such as C. P. E. Bach and J. F.

Reichardt. Until the nineteenth century, this was a German language tradition. In addition to the choral music, Moravians were also known for their instrument making, particularly the organ maker Daniel Tannenberg and the guitar maker C. F. Martin. The Moravian tradition varies from the First New England School in many ways. These composers and congregants were based outside the urban centers of the Northeast and their church was not one of the two “state- sanctioned” denominations with which First New England School of composers were often associated, placing this tradition outside the scope of this study.

The Ephrata Cloister was a monastic community in eastern Pennsylvania affiliated with the German Baptists. In addition to their celibate male and female communities, they also recognized “married” congregants. The Cloister established singing and writing schools as wholesome activities. The Cloister began in the 1730s and lasted until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Like the Moravians, this tradition is outside the scope of this study in both religion and geography.

Similarly, the Shakers were also a small group of Christian believers. Although Shaker communities existed in New England, the musical and religious tradition was very different. The

Shakers were a dissenting group from the Quakers in seventeenth-century England. Shakers composed hymns for their worship services, but also included spontaneous music and dance.

Like the Ephrata Cloister, the Shakers developed a specialized musical notation that allowed them to notate their music.

Literature Review

First New England School composers received a spate of scholarly attention during and after the U.S. bicentennial. American music histories from the mid-twentieth century showed the ways these composers were similar to one another in vocation, education, and style. H. Wiley

Hitchcock, Charles Hamm, Daniel Kingman, and Richard Crawford focus on William Billings because of his writings about music and overt patriotism in some of his music, particularly in his hymn CHESTER. Gilbert Chase has shown that each composer of the First New England School has distinct characteristics despite their musical and biographical similarities. Kingman describes the tunebooks to introduce the various genres of eighteenth-century psalmody. Crawford uses

Daniel Read as a case-study to explain the fuging tune. Charles Hamm devoted a sizeable portion of his chapter on early American sacred music to the characteristic style and similarities between the composers’ biographies.18

Dissertations from the 1990s offer historical introductions, stylistic analyses, and in some cases the first modern editions of this music, shedding light on a particular composer’s biography, idiosyncratic style, and his compositional process. For example, Linda Davenport’s dissertation explores the context and history of psalmody in Maine. She explores how Supply

Belcher and James Lyon served as predecessors to nineteenth-century compilers who lived in that state. Further, she shows how these nineteenth-century collections are distinct from contemporary collections in other areas of New England in that they contain genres that were

18 Chase, 128–39; Richard Crawford, The American Musical Landscape (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993), 40–46; Hamm, Music in the New World, 140–72; Hitchcock, 9–16; Daniel Kingman, American Music: A Panorama (New York: Schirmer, 1998), 116–20.

8 then old-fashioned, such as the fuging tune.19 Daniel Jones’s dissertation explores Elias Mann’s compositions in the context of New England psalmody. Mann worked in rural and urban locations, and Jones shows how locale influenced in Mann’s tunebook compilations. To wit, he compiled and published his Northampton Collection in the town of Northampton. A typical tunebook for a local singing master, it contains a small pool of local composers and tunes organized pedagogically for a singing school. Mann’s Massachusetts Collection draws from a larger cross section of composers than Northampton Collection and its organization is better suited for church use.20 Maxine Fawcett-Yeske’s dissertation demonstrates how the fuging tune became a distinctly American genre and explores it as a cultural product of eighteenth-century

New England.21 Laurie Sampsel shows how Samuel Babcock is an archetypal First New England

School composer, as opposed to the exceptional figures of William Billings and Andrew Law.22

Nym Cooke’s dissertation explores how these composers came in contact with one another, personally, musically, and geographically. He shows that William Billings and Daniel Read, in particular, influenced other composers and helped create the style that is so characteristic of eighteenth-century American sacred music.23

Because First New England composers’ music is so different than contemporaneous cultivated music, scholars have found it difficult to analyze the music using the same methods

19 Linda Davenport, “Maine’s Sacred Tunebooks, 1800–1830: Divine Song on the Northeast Frontier” (PhD diss., University of Colorado at Boulder, 1991).

20 Daniel Jones, “Elias Mann (1750–1825): Massachusetts Composer, Compiler, and Singing Master” (PhD diss, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1991).

21 Maxine Fawcett-Yeske, “The Fuging Tune in America, 1770–1820: An Analytical Study” (PhD diss., University of Colorado at Boulder, 1997).

22 Laurie Sampsel, “Samuel Babcock (1760–1813): Archetypal Psalmodist of the First New England School of Composers” (PhD diss., University of Pittsburgh, 2009).

23 Nym Cooke, “American Psalmodists in Contact and Collaboration, 1770–1820” (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1990).

9 for eighteenth-century European music. Some have looked at non-musical elements outside of music to show its cultural and social value. In The American Musical Landscape, Richard

Crawford explores economics as a method for understanding this repertoire. Using music of

William Billings as a case study, Crawford demonstrates that some American music might be studied to show how usefulness dictates dissemination.24 Elizabeth Crist takes another tack, choosing to study the politics of the composer’s CHESTER and EUROPE. She demonstrates that

Billings’s use of gendered language matches that of political figures at the time, suggesting that his use of language intentionally placed him in the same company as well-known patriots. Crist also examines Billings’s writing and the frontispieces of his collections in this context.25 In yet another approach, Kay Shadle demonstrates that First New England composers embodied the eighteenth-century focus on individuality and acts of devotion. She shows that religious life and social life were intertwined, and psalmody was a way for participants to engage in an activity that enriched the whole person: mind, body, and soul.26 Crawford, Crist, and Shadle have produced original insight into the works of these composers by drawing from economics, politics, and religious history, respectively.

There has been little scholarship on the anthem as a genre. In his two-volume collection of Early American Anthems, Karl Kroeger has likened the anthem of a psalmodist to the symphony of a European composer. Anthems represented the height of creativity for a psalmodist, as composers endeavored to produce their best work with anthems.27 Ralph Daniel’s

24 Richard Crawford, “William Billings (1746–1800) and American Psalmody: A Study of Musical Dissemination,” in The American Musical Landscape (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 111–50.

25 Crist, “Ye Sons of Harmony,” 333–54.

26 Kay Shadle, “Singing with Spirit and Understanding: Psalmody as Holistic Practice in Late Eighteenth- Century New England” (PhD diss., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2010).

27 Kroeger, Early American Anthems, x.

1968 monograph, The Anthem in New England Before 1800, revealed the mechanics of the genre and suggested that the simple compositional style was appropriate for both the self-taught tradesmen who composed them and the amateur choir members who sang them.28 In discussing

Billings’s harmony, he shows the composer’s preference for common-chord progressions and traces how his voicing of chords changed over time. Since Karl Kroeger’s study in 2000, there has been no scholarship on the anthem or its social or cultural context, or how composers or their collaborators edited scripture and sacred poetry for their anthems. My dissertation is the first to do so.

There has been a recent study on sermons during the Colonial and Federal eras. James

Byrd’s Sacred Scripture, Sacred War explores the clergy’s use of scripture during the American

Revolution.29 He shows the different ways that scripture galvanized American colonists to take up arms. By pointing out common stories and thematic content frequently cited by ministers leading up to and during the American Revolution, Byrd has revealed which scriptures were most often used by clergy. He also shows how the meaning or emphasis of these narratives changed over the course the Revolutionary War.

Methodology

First New England composers could have worked with literary collaborators, poets or writers, to edit the scripture and sacred poetry they set in anthems, but there is no evidence for such a practice. The composer often cited the source for an anthem’s text, but no First New

England composer credited a collaborator. Some composers cite an entire psalm, when only a few verses are employed, and in other cases the source citation simply reads “various.” There

28 Daniel, The Anthem in New England.

29 James Byrd, Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013).

11 does not appear to be a common practice for citing the source of an anthem’s text. In the case of

William Billings, no evidence survives that he worked with a poet or writer; indeed, his love of words and his own literary flights of fancy have been well documented. Murray Barbour uses

Billings’s scriptural adaptations as examples of his imaginative and extensive knowledge of the

Bible. The two most interesting examples he cites are the patriotic anthems “Retrospect” and

“Lamentation Over Boston.” Barbour provides examples of paraphrase and textual quodlibet to demonstrate Billings’s comfort with the Psalms, Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and

Jeremiah, and New Testament gospel accounts.30 David McKay and Richard Crawford have also discussed Billings’s literary aspirations. Billings edited a magazine for a time and there is evidence that he wrote and published a religious satire piece.31 Based on the evidence of

Billings’s other writings and the style of the texts he chose, McKay and Crawford conclude that

Billings penned most of the unattributed text in his tunebooks and altered the scripture used in his anthems. Furthermore, McKay and Crawford have shown the likelihood that Billings himself engraved and printed his psalm tune supplement, Music in Miniature (1779), and The Psalm-

Singer’s Amusement (1781). If this is the case, the seven anthem texts contained in The Psalm-

Singer’s Amusement certainly likely assembled by the composer himself.32 Karl Kroeger has also considered text-music relationships in his research and concluded that Billings was responsible for the text.33 Although, composers and compilers might list the textual or poetic sources of their

30 Murray J. Barbour, The Church Music of William Billings (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1960), 8–12.

31 David McKay and Richard Crawford, William Billings of Boston: Eighteenth-Century Composer (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975), 122.

32 Ibid., 107–8.

33 Karl Kroeger, “Word-Painting in the Music of William Billings,” American Music 6 (1988): 41–64.

12 pieces, no evidence survives from title pages or tunebook prefaces that the musical pieces were composed in collaboration with others.34

Only in a few cases do manuscript anthem drafts survive for pieces included in printed editions. The American Antiquarian Society holds the manuscripts of Timothy Swan, most of which are single leaves. Nym Cooke has transcribed these in modern notation alongside the versions that were included in his critical edition of Swan’s work. The main difference between the manuscript and printed copy are small repetitions of text. The more substantial text adaptations appear in both versions. Similarly, the New Haven Colony Historical Society houses manuscript copies of some of Daniel Read’s music. These are available in modern notation in

Karl Kroeger’s Daniel Read: Collected Works.35 These manuscripts demonstrate that Read composed his anthem “O Praise the Lord” as early as 1776 before he published it in 1785. In

Read’s case the difference between the two show that he streamlined the text and used fewer repetitions of psalm verses in the published versions.

In order to study the texts and musical settings of First New England School anthems, I have created a data set to catalogue the texts by the original source of the anthem, the date of publication, the source of the text, which version of the text is used, and if the text has been altered (see Appendix). In this data set is indexed all citations to Biblical scripture and sacred poetry set by these composers. In many of the critical editions of these anthems the scriptures are referenced, but in my index I cite each chapter and verse for the anthems I studied or I identify the sacred poetry as much as possible. I employed this index to trace patterns and important themes in these categories. I also used these textual themes in my study of doctrine, place, and

34 Samuel Holyoke, The Christian Harmonist (Salem: MA: 1804).

35 Karl Kroeger, Daniel Read: Collected Works (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 1995).

13 politics. In addition to making use of modern critical editions, I was also able to view the extensive tunebook collection at Karl Kroeger’s research material at the American Music

Research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I also consulted the Barbour Library’s

Warrington Collection at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Both locations gave me the opportunity to see the anthems as they were printed in tunebooks. This underscored their place in

American psalmody.

In addition to textual analysis, I examine word painting to demonstrate the degree to which a composer musically depicts the text. In Karl Kroeger’s 1988 article, “Word Painting in the Music of William Billings,” he demonstrates five methods of word painting that Billings employed in his music: melisma, melodic direction, onomatopoeia, pace and tempo, and musical texture.36 Since I approach the anthems through the Biblical scripture and sacred poetry they set, analyzing the music for examples of word painting underpins the notion that composers artfully create these anthem texts. By combining textual editing and word painting with other aspects such as biographical information, doctrine, and place, I view these anthems in a new context. To varying degrees, First New England composers confronted Biblical scripture and sacred poetry in an artful way. Some drew on a wide variety of scripture within one anthem. Through this editorial intervention, composers artfully created anthem texts. Studying these curated anthem texts in addition to examples of word-painting demonstrates another area of the composer’s interpretation of Biblical scripture and sacred poetry. Some of these anthem texts were artfully composed of the most popular sacred literature of the day.

The churches where these composers and singing masters taught classes, and the composers’ personal denominational affiliations are both important factors in my study.

36 Kroeger, “Word-Painting.”

Denominational affiliation also serves as a fruitful parameter, as these composers represent different New England protestant affiliations. For example, Amos Bull served in the Anglican church at the Trinity Charity School in New York City, and subsequently attended the Hartford

Episcopalian church after the Revolutionary War. During his time in Hartford, he also served as the choir director for the South Congregationalist Church. Viewing these pieces in light of denominational affiliations demonstrates other ways that composers chose and edited Biblical scripture and sacred poetry.

My conclusion provides a comparison between my own study and James Byrd’s Sacred

Scripture, Sacred War. He created a database of every scriptural reference in sermons between

1674 and 1800 to show how ministers chose specific portions of the Bible to refer to politics of the American Revolution. While his data set demonstrated the most popular scriptural references, it also revealed important themes and topics related not only to the American Revolutionary

War, but also to important events before and after it, such as the French and Indian War. Byrd demonstrated how ministers used scripture to garner support for the war effort. Colonial and

Revolutionary-era ministers alike used Psalm 144:1, “Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight,” to balance preparedness and trust in God.37

Although this verse remained popular during the Revolutionary War, colonists were forced to recognize flaws in David’s character as they sought to throw off the monarchy. While David’s character as a soldier remained unassailable, his corruption in pursuit of power as king became an equally important facet of his persona.38 Byrd also shows that preachers during the Seven

Years War drew on Psalm 137 to show that God sanctioned violence.39

37 Byrd, 103.

38Ibid., 109 and 107.

Like these preachers, Billings adapted Psalm 137 for his anthem “Lamentation Over

Boston” to refer to his own place of residence, one of the most conflict-ridden cities of the

Revolutionary War. By changing “Zion” to “Boston,” Billings asserted that Boston and the colonies were the promised land of God’s people. Similarly, by changing the Israelites to

Americans, Billings claimed God’s protection and providence for the colonists. Byrd shows that preachers’ use of this same psalm was a call to arms and an affirmation of Americans political goals. Billings’s “Lamentation Over Boston” similarly claimed God’s will and protection for the colonists.

39 Ibid., 107.

Chapter 1

“Such an excellent body of divine poetry”: Sacred Poetry in the Anthem

Despite the commonplace definition of the anthem, a through-composed piece of music in which the composer sets prose text, First New England composers drew on a growing body of sacred poetry. This poetry gained popularity and secured a place in the private devotional lives of eighteenth-century American Christians. Its adaptation for use in First New England anthems testifies to this acceptance. By using sacred poetry alongside Biblical scripture, composers created artful anthem texts that served their liturgical purpose and demonstrated the composer’s ability to create meaningful texts that make use of the wide variety of sacred text available to them.

Sacred poetry was among the most important genres of literature in the American colonies. In fact, the first book published in the English-language colonies in 1640 had been a psalter, the Bay Psalm Book printed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It had been undertaken by colonial ministers who believed worshippers were in need of a psalter better suited to the

American sensibilities than the two versions brought by the settlers: the Ainsworth psalter by the pilgrims and the so-called Sternhold and Hopkins psalter by the puritans. The sacred poetry in the Bay Psalm Book was used for both private devotion and public worship.1 Metric and prose psalms were at the heart of personal devotion and congregational worship where they were sung and recited. The practice of “lining out”—in which the clergy, Clerk, or Deacon, would read a

1 Charles Hamm, Music in the New World (New York: Norton, 1983), 9; Allen Britton, Irving Lowens, and Richard Crawford, American Sacred Music Imprints, 1698–1810: A Bibliography (Worchester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1990), 12.

17 line of a psalm, then the congregation would sing the same line—became common practice in areas where the congregants either could not read or did not have access to a psalter.2

Sacred poetry and biblical scripture in meter and prose were the primary sources for composers of sacred music in colonial and federal America. Although anthems are through- composed and lend themselves to prose texts, composers also set metrical texts, or poetry, in their anthems. This chapter explores the types of texts chosen by composers of anthems, particularly those pieces that utilized metered poetic texts. I also address several questions. How did the body of sacred poetry come to exist in the colonies alongside the proliferation of tunebooks for use in singing schools and worship? Were these works of poetry readily welcomed into the worship realm? What were the arguments for and against incorporating sacred poetry into public worship and private devotions? Which poets and works did composers of the First

New England School set in their anthems? In what way did composers edit or change this poetry for use in their anthems? Was William Billings typical in his use of poetry or exceptional when considered alongside his contemporaries? What poets did composers use in their sacred music, and what might this suggest about the circulation of these texts?

Early American hymnody publications were central in the dissemination of sacred poetry in colonial and federal America. By its ninth edition in 1698, the Bay Psalm Book contained both metrical poetry and tunes, which were intended for congregational use. The state of singing in congregational worship prompted clergy to call for efforts in musical literacy, leading to the establishment of singing schools, which spread throughout New England. One unintended outcome of this effort was the establishment of a tunebook publishing industry. Tunebooks designed for these singing school began to be published in the 1720s. Two of the first were

2 Lining out is described in a variety of sources, most disparagingly in the introduction to William Billings’s The Continental Harmony (1794).

Tuft’s An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes and Walter’s The Grounds and Rules of

Musick.3 Both of these contained singing instructions and tunes that could be used with any metric translation of the psalms. Although Tufts and Walter did not contain texts, tunebooks were often bound with an edition of metrical psalms. Congregants or singing students matched tunes with psalms of correlating meter.4 In the 1760s publishers began to underlay tunes with text. James Lyon’s Urania (1773) was the first published in what is considered the “British modern ideal,” or for the music to be a setting for a specific text. In American Sacred Music

Imprints, Briton, Lowens, and Crawford assert that Urania was the first American example of sacred music printing as an art form and that the composer/compiler had control of these text/tune correlations.5

This mid-eighteenth-century change in music printing affected sacred poetry, namely the genre peaked in popularity. Although the Bay Psalm Book had been extremely popular, it went out of fashion with congregants. New psalters with updated language grew in popularity and use.

Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady’s New Version came to replace the Sternhold and Hopkins.

Replacing a psalter could be a democratic process in some churches. For example, the members of the Congregational church in Plymouth, Massachusetts held a meeting, discussed their options, and voted their preferences alongside the minister.6

The most popular eighteenth-century sacred poems were Isaac Watts’s Psalms of David

Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship,

3 Richard Crawford, “Watts for Singing: Metrical Poetry in American Sacred Tunebooks, 1761–1785,” Early American Literature 11 (1976); 140–41.

4 Ibid.

5 Britton, Lowens, and Crawford, 12.

6 Hamm, 38.

19 and his publication Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Watts’s poetry enjoyed popularity in both

England and in colonial America. He had originally published his Hymns and Spiritual Songs in

1707, and the first American edition appeared as early as 1720 in Boston. In Philadelphia

Benjamin Franklin printed an edition of Watts’s hymns in 1741. Watts had originally published his Psalms of David in London in 1719, and a decade later Franklin had issued a version in

Philadelphia.7 Watts’s work gained broad use in the colonies by the 1760s. Local histories and the popularity of texts in tunebooks reveal that most congregational churches were using Watts’s psalter by the 1780s.8 For example, in 1770 the Congregational church in Plymouth sought a different psalter, so they voted on either Bay Psalm Book or Tate and Brady’s New Version.

Although Watts’s psalter was mentioned in the meeting proceedings, there was a strong reaction against it, so congregants compromised on Tate and Brady. By 1786 the same congregation voted to adopt Watts’s psalter with little disagreement.9 Additionally, Watts’s Hymns became so widely used that they were bound with his psalter. Evans-Shoemaker’s Early American Imprints

Bibliography cites nearly two hundred entries for Watts’s poetry in early American tunebooks, demonstrating the scope and widespread adoption of his work.10

Even William Billings revealed his admiration for Watts in the introduction to

Continental Harmony (1794). Billings cited Watts as an expert in matters related to singing and worship, and suggested that Watts’s work be placed, not necessarily equal to the Bible, but that it be given a place of importance in private devotion given its widespread use in public worship. In

7 Ibid.

8 Britton, Lowens, and Crawford, 12.

9 Hamm, 43–44.

10 Crawford, “Watts for Singing,” 140.

20 his explanation of singing practice, Billings expressed this opposition to “lining out,” or as he termed it, “reading between the lines.”11 He found the practice needlessly repetitive, disruptive to proper music making, and insulting to the congregants. “Lining out,” writes Billings, was necessary in the event that congregants could not read or did not have access to their own books, a situation that the composer believed no longer existed. To support his own view, Billings cited

Isaac Watts’s own position, writing: “I expect this doctrine will meet with some opposition in the country, but let who will concur or dissent, I think myself highly honoured in having the approbation of the pious and learned Dr. Watts (that great master of divine song) who in his writings has declared himself to be of the same opinion.” Additionally, Billings claimed that continuing the practice of “reading between the lines” would hinder families from incorporating psalms into their private devotion:

Among the many other absurdities which always take place where this contemptible practice of reading between the lines is still kept up, this one may be added, viz. the great tendency it has to shut such an excellent body of divine poetry (as is contained in the psalm and hymn book now in vogue among us) out of private families; for where the singing is carried on without reading, the performers must (of necessity) be furnished with books; on the other hand, there are many who excuse themselves from procuring books in this manner, viz. why should I be at this unnecessary expense, when I am enabled (by the help of the Clerk, or Deacon) to sing without it? Ironically, I answer, and why need we be at the expense of purchasing a bible, or trouble ourselves with perusing it at home, so long as we may, by going to meeting once a week, hear a chapter or two gratis.12

Billings’s introduction to The Continental Harmony reveals Watts’s place in American psalmody. First, Billings believed Watts to be not only an authority on Christian worship but also

11 Billings, Continental Harmony (Boston: Thomas and Andrews, 1794), 18–19.

12 Ibid.

21 his hymns and psalter to be popular and widely used. Second, Billings claimed that Watts’s poetry was worthy of devotional study alongside the Bible.

Despite Watts’s widespread popularity and use in the United States by the late eighteenth century, adopting his poetry for public worship was not a forgone conclusion. As late as 1790 some ministers in rural areas were preaching and publishing sermons against the use of Watts’s psalter and hymns. The arguments ranged from ideological differences to specific doctrinal discrepancies. One such ideological difference had to do with the psalms that Watts had versified in his collection. In Watts’s own words, he had omitted or changed psalms that he had believed to be “opposite to the Spirit of the Gospel: Many of them foreign to the State of the New-

Testament.”13 Watts’s detractors argued that employing his psalter would institutionalize omitting scripture from worship, which according to these ministers was tantamount to blasphemy.14 Thomas Clark took issue with Watts’s motives for writing poetry. Clark quoted from Watts’s introduction where he explains that in his experience parishioners participated with

“absent or unconcerned minds,” which came from the “matter and words to which we confined our songs.” Clark considered this argument the height of arrogance, explaining that since the psalms had been inspired by the Holy Spirit and used by Luther, one could not fault the psalms if worshippers had “absent and unconcerned minds.” To bolster his argument, Clark included anecdotes from believers whose childhood conversions were a result of psalm singing.15 In response to Watts’s claim that some psalms are contrary to the teaching of spirit of the New

Testament and therefore inappropriate in contemporary worship, Clark claimed that Martin

13 Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (London, 1719), 46.

14 Thomas Clark, Plain Reasons Why Neither Dr. Watts’ Imitations (Albany, NY: Balentine and Webster, 1783), 7.

15 Ibid.

Luther had reconciled the Old Testament with the New. He also argued that the punishment and vengeance in some of the psalms that Watts had omitted were better understood as the natural or divine consequences of disobedience to God’s laws. Clark claimed that through the Holy Spirit the psalmist David serves as a “type of Jesus Christ,” and because Christians are commanded to worship with Psalms, the Psalmist should be trusted.16

Other ministers did not believe that the New Testament commanded that music in sacred worship be limited to psalms. Jonathan Edwards maintained that Christians should not be restricted to the Old Testament. He described the teachings of the New Testament that were prefigured in the Old as “under a veil” and “hidden as a dark figure.” He considered it impractical to expect that the Christian church should forever rely on only the psalms. Edwards did, however, believe that the psalter “should be used in the Christian church, to the end of the world.”17

Despite some resistance, not only did Watts’s poetry become a staple in American psalmody but composers also incorporated it in their anthems. In addition to Watts’s poetry, First

New England composers set the poetry of, among others, John Cennick, Philip Doddridge,

Thomas Gibbons, Perez Morton, Samuel Occom, Alexander Pope, Joshua Smith, and George

Whitefield. In addition to drawing from these poets, composers also employed the old-fashioned versifications of the psalms by Tate and Brady, and Sternhold and Hopkins. Indeed, James Lyon, who composed and published the earliest tunes and anthems in the colonies, employed texts taken from Tate and Brady, and Sternhold and Hopkins in Urania (1761).

16 Ibid., 11.

17 Although Clark’s arguments are made much later than those by Edwards, the latter seems to be responding to the same arguments that Clark had made. (Jonathan Edwards, Some Thoughts on the Present Revival [Boston, 1743], 406–7).

Two First New England composers used a portion of the Sternhold and Hopkins setting of Psalm 18. In Lyon’s Urania, he titled his setting of Psalm 18, “Two Celebrated Verses Set to

Music.” Lyon’s setting uses just two verses and he does not modify them. Billings also used these same verses without significant alteration in his anthem “The Lord Descended” from The

New-England Psalm-Singer (1770).18

Timothy Swan also used a Tate and Brady text that Lyon had previously set. Swan’s longer setting of Psalm 150 was included in his New England Harmony (1801). Swan edits this versification by including more line repetitions and emphasizing specific words in his musical setting. Despite these repetitions and musical emphases, Swan’s version is still a straightforward presentation of the psalm (see Examples 1.1 and 1.2).19

Example 1.1. Tate and Brady, Psalm 150.

Let the shrill trumpets warlike voice, make rocks and hills his praise rebound; Praise him with harp’s melodious noise, and gently psaltry’s silver sound. Let virgin troops soft timbrels bring, and some with graceful motion dance. Let instruments of various strings with organs join’d his praise advance.20

Example 1.2. Timothy Swan, “Anthem from the 150th Psalm,” New England Harmony (1801.)

Let the shrill trumpet’s warlike voice, trumpet’s, trumpet’s warlike voice Let the shrill trumpet’s warlike voice

18 In Nym Cooke’s dissertation, he details the ways Billings’s setting of this text within the larger anthem is similar to Lyon’s setting of the same text. He uses this specific example to demonstrate the ways Billings had been influenced by Lyon and his Urania collection. (Nym Cooke, “American Psalmodists in Contact and Collaboration, 1770–1820,” [PhD diss., University of Michigan, 1990]).

19 Timothy Swan, Psalmody and Secular Songs, ed. Nym Cooke (Madison, WI: American Music Society, 1990).

20 Tate and Brady, New Version of the Psalms, 58.

Make rocks and hills his praise rebound; his praise rebound, rebound, his praise rebound; Praise him with harp’s, praise him with harp’s, praise him with harp’s melodious noise and gentle psaltry’s silver sound. Let virgin troops soft timbrels bring And some with graceful motions dance; And some with graceful motions dance. Let instruments of various strings With organs join, his praise advance. With organs join, his praise advance, With organs join, with organs join, with organs join his praise advance With organs join his praise advance, etc. Hallelujah, Praise the Lord, Amen.

Swan’s setting follows the typical form: a series of contrasting sections that are distinct in texture. Some sections have solos, some have some imitation, and there are sections of homophony as well. Word painting is not prevalent throughout, but the beginning of the anthem reflects the text describing a trumpet. In the bass part, each repetition of “trumpet’s, trumpet’s warlike voice” features an arpeggio that imitates a trumpet call (see Example 1.3).

Example 1.3. Timothy Swan, “Anthem from the 150th Psalm,” mm. 1–11, New England Harmony (1800).

Another anthem in Lyon’s Urania is based on the Tate and Brady versification of Psalm

97. This psalm describes the sovereignty and power of God. Lyon omitted four stanzas of the original, but these omissions do not change the rhyme scheme or overall theme. He may have omitted them because they do not lend themselves to song. For example, stanza seven includes the line “Confounded be there impious host” and stanza nine includes the phrase “Above earth’s

26 potentates enthron’d.”21 The edited version maintains the theme laid out in the first stanza,

“Jehovah reigns, let all the earth rejoice,” but seems to use stanzas that better lend themselves to a musical setting.

Of the approximately twenty eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century anthems with poetry, Watts is best represented with nine anthems as his psalm and hymn poetry gained in popularity.22 Billings’s anthem “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear” from The Psalm Singer’s Amusement

(1781) uses one verse from Watts to introduce communion topic. The verse calls all to the communion feast regardless of their station in life:

Let every mortal ear attend, and every heart rejoice The trumpet of the gospel sounds with an inviting voice.

Watts’s verse thus serves as both an introduction to the anthem and a call to worship (see

Example 1.4). Billings then set selected verses from Isaiah 55 and Revelation 22.

Billings employed Watts’s poetry in two additional anthems, both from Continental

Harmony (1794): “Deliverance” and “Peace, God is King.”23 When Billings set poetry from one source, such as Watts, he often used it alongside other verse and prose from a variety of sources.

When Billings set poetry in an anthem, he treated it the same as Biblical prose: varied sources interspersed with one another and ordered to make a dramatic impact.

Example 1.4. William Billings, “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear Attend,” The Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781).

Watts Hymn, I, 7, 1 Let every mortal ear attend, and every heart rejoice. The trumpet of the gospel sounds with an inviting voice. Hark! Hear the Invitation.

21 Ibid., 37.

22 Several composers set Watts’s poetry to music in Set Pieces as well.

23 Billings, “Peace, God is King” is discussed in Chapter 2.

Isaiah 55: 1–2 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your sould delight itself in fatness. Rev. 22: 17, 20 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let him that heareth say, “Come.” And let him that is athirst “Come,” And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Billings reflects the poetry musically in a similar way to Swan’s treatment of “trumpet.”

Although Billings does not imitate a trumpet call, the repetition of the text “the trumpet of the

Gospel” is active, particularly in the tenor part. Billings repeats the first two lines in each of the voices so that are imitated at the same time, until all the voices join together in a cadence on

“inviting voice.” Billings uses the imagery of the trumpet to create a musically active texture among all the voices (see Example 1.5).

Example 1.5. “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear Attend,” mm. 38–46, The Psalm Singer’s Amusement (1781).

Elias Mann’s “Anthem for Dedication” uses a portion of Watts’s long meter versification of Psalm 132. Watts versified verses 5, 13–18 and titled this psalm, “At the settlement of a church or the ordination of a minister.” Watts draws on the portion of the psalm that emphasizes

God’s dwelling place, welcoming the sinner and poor, and the saints’ praise of God. (See

Example 1.6a).

Example 1.6a. Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” Massachusetts Harmony (1803).

Where shall we go to seek and find an habitation for our God, A dwelling for the Eternal Mind, Amongst the sons of flesh and blood.

Mann used the first six stanzas of this psalm, with instances of repetition and omission. In many cases he repeated an entire poetic phrase. This repetition maintains the rhyme scheme of the psalm but emphasizes certain aspects. Repeating the second of each couplet maintains symmetry, but the dramatic effect demonstrates the actions of God in meeting the needs of sinners and the poor. For example, Mann’s musical setting of stanza 4 repeats the last poetic phrase of each couplet (see Example 1.6b).

Example 1.6b. Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 4, used by Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” from Massachusetts Harmony (1803).

Here I will meet the hungry poor, And fill their souls with living bread; And fill their souls with living bread. Sinners who wait before my door, With sweet provisions shall be fed, With sweet provisions shall be fed.

In other instances, Mann repeats text for dramatic effect. His setting of stanza 3 repeats the entire first half of the couplet. Instead of repeating the second half, he repeats the word

“forever” instead of the phrase “saith the Lord.” This repetition does not maintain the metric symmetry of the couplet because the first half has eighteen syllables and the second has seventeen (see Example 1.6c).

Example 1.6c. Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 3, used by Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” from Massachusetts Harmony (1803).

Here will I fix my gracious throne Here will I fix my gracious throne And reign forever, forever, forever, forever, saith the Lord.

In Watts’s versification of the psalms, he endeavored to update them so they could be understood and applicable to Christians of his time. The last quatrain of Psalm 132 relates to the New

Testament by describing Jesus’s arrival and reign (see Example 1.6d).

Example 1.6d. Isaac Watts, Psalm 132, Stanza 7, Psalms of David (1719).

Jesus shall see a numerous seed Born here t’uphold his glorious name; His crown shall flourish on his head, While all his foes are cloth’d with shame.

Mann ends his setting with the stanza 6, omitting Watt’s final stanza. There could be several possible explanations for why he did this. One might be the different tone of the last two stanzas.

Stanza 6 ends on a triumphant tone: “The son of David here shall reign, And Zion triumph in her

King.” Mann repeats the first part of the couplet and portions of the second. Stanza 6 is more uplifting and celebratory than what is found in the final stanza.

William Cooper’s “Anthem for Thanksgiving” contains varied text sources, including several scriptural passages, in addition to psalms, and psalms from Watts’s collection. Cooper’s anthem text is reminiscent of Billings’s mixing of a broad variety of scripture within a single piece. All the text Cooper chose is appropriate for a day of thanksgiving, either emphasizing

God’s great works or descriptions of praise. Cooper used prose from both the King James

Version and the Book of Common Prayer. Among the various biblical passages, Cooper interspersed rhyming couplets from Watts’s psalms.

Cooper sets two sections of poetry within his “Anthem for Thanksgiving.” The first is

Watts’s common meter setting of Psalm 65. Cooper set the last stanza of the third part of Psalm

65, which Watts entitled “The Blessings of the Spring; or, God Gives Rain,” which describes

God’s power to bring growth and harvest through spring rains. Cooper edits the stanza by repeating the final two lines and expressive words within each line. He did so in a way that the repeated lines match one another metrically (see Example 1.7).

Example 1.7. Isaac Watts, Stanza 6, Psalm 65, Psalms of David (1719), as found in William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving.”

The various months thy goodness crowns, How bounteous are thy ways, The bleating flocks o’erspread the downs, And shepherds shout thy praise. The bleating, bleating flocks o’erspread, o’erspread the downs, And shepherds shout, shout, shout, and shepherds shout thy praise.

Cooper offsets the final two lines musically by starting a new section distinct from the one before in meter and texture. The anthem opens in a duple meter with all four voices in a homophonic statement that ends in a half cadence. The next section is a more decorative duet between the alto and tenor closing with an imitative benediction that incorporates all the voices. There are no overt instances of word-painting in this opening section, but the change in texture musically delineates Cooper’s text choices.

Cooper set Watts’s poetry in triple meter with a duet between the treble and bass. The treble part is very decorative and active while the bass part is completely syllabic. After the first couplet, Cooper moves to a duple section marked “Brisk” (see Example 1.8) in which each part enters in imitation. Of Kroeger’s five word-painting categories, Cooper used onomatopoeia and pace and tempo.24 The word “bleating” is set melismatically each time. The first iteration of

24 Karl Kroeger, “Word-Painting in the Music of William Billings,” American Music 6 (1988): 41–64.

“shout” in the treble is preceded with rests, making it stand apart. After this, it is set melismatically over two or more measures in each part for the last iteration.

Musical Example 1.8. William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” mm 55–71, Independent Publication (1792).

The subsequent use of poetry in Cooper’s anthem is Psalm 150. This psalm is in common meter and the second stanza builds the drama as the anthem comes to a close. The second stanza describes God’s love as greater than any human praise could capture. This stanza is composed of

34 four couplets in an ABAB rhyme scheme. Cooper repeats the second couplet in its entirety and repeats the second line of each couplet (see Example 1.9).

Example 1.9, Isaac Watts, Stanza 2, Psalm 150, Psalms of David (1719), as found in William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving.”

Let all your sacred passions move, Whilst you rehearse his deeds, Whilst you rehearse his deeds, But his great work of saving love Your highest praise exceeds, But his great work of saving love Your highest praise exceeds, Your highest praise exceeds.

While all the text in Cooper’s “Anthem for Thanksgiving” focuses on praise and thanksgiving, the prose psalm uses similar language to the poetry, which creates a textual quodlibet. Psalm 104 preceeds the versification of Psalm 150 and is taken from the Book of

Common Prayer. Although both the Book of Common Prayer and the Authorized Version of

Psalm 104 describe superlative praise for God (see Table 1), the Book of Common Prayer version uses the phrase “Thou art become exceeding glorious.” There are repetitions in the remainder of the Psalm verse, but Cooper transitions from Psalm 104 into the text quoted above in Example 1.9. The choice of the Book of Common Prayer version instead of the Authorized

Version draws a parallel between the specific language of Watts’s poetry and Psalm 104.

Table 1.1, Psalm 104:1, Comparison between the Book of Common Prayer and King James Version. Text from the anthem begins after the colon on the left side of the table.

Book of Common Prayer (used in anthem) King James Version Praise the Lord, O my soul: O Lord my God, Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art become exceding glorious, thou art thou art very great; thou art clothed with clothed with majesty and honour. honour and majesty.

Lewis Edson composed an anthem utilizing Watts’s sacred poetry rather than his psalm versifications. “An Anthem: The Beauty of My Native Land,” employs poetry from Watts’s

Horae Lyricae and Divine Songs, a collection of original and translated sacred poetry. The text for Edson’s anthem is the latter, taken from a poem in Watts’s collection “Breathing Toward the

Heavenly Country.” Watts categorized this work as an imitation of a poem by the Polish Jesuit

Mathias Casimire Sarbiewski (1595–1640), whose poetry inspired seventheenth- and eighteenth- century English poets.25

Edson edited Watts’s poem by omitting large parts of it. Watts’s original poem is thirty lines, of which Edson chose seventeen. He organized the text in four quatrains with a non- rhyming line in the middle. The first three quatrains follow an enclosed rhyme scheme (ABBA), and the last is an alternating rhyme scheme. The line of non-rhyming text serves as the beginning of the sentence that is completed by the following quatrain (see Table 1.2).

Table 1.2. Comparison of Isaac Watts, “Breathing Toward the Heavenly Country,” Horae Lyricae and Divine Songs, Boston (1854) and Text from Lewis Edson’s “An Anthem: The Beauty of My Native Land,” The Social Harmonist, 3rd ed., New York (1803). Watts, “Breathing Toward the Heavenly Edson, “An Anthem: The Beauty of My Country.” Native Land. The beauty of my native land The beauty of my native land Immortal love inspires; Immortal love inspires, I burn, I burn with strong desires, I burn, I burn with strong desires, And sigh, and wait the high command. And sigh, and sigh and sigh and wait, and wait the high command. There glides the moon her shining way, And shoots my heart thro’ with a silver ray; Upward my heart aspires: A thousand lamps of golden light, Hung high, in caulted azure, charm my sight, And wink and beckon with their amorous fires. O ye faire glories of my heavely home, O ye fair glories of my heav’nly home, Bright sentinels, who guard my Father’s Bright centinels who guard my father’s court, court, Where all the happy minds resort, Where all the happy, happy minds resort, When will my Father’s chariot come? When will my father’s chariot come?

25 Maren-Sofie Roestvig, introduction to The Odes of Casimire, translated by G. Hils (Los Angeles: William /Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, 1953), i.

Must ye for ever walk the ethereal round? For ever see the mourner lie An exile to the sky, A pris’ner of the ground? Descend, some sining servants from on Descend some shining servants from on high, high, Build me a hasty tomb; Build me a hasty tomb: A grassy turf will raise my head; A grassy turf will raise my head, The neighbouring lilies dress my bed, The neighb’ring lillies dress my bed, And shed a cheap perfume. And shed a sweet perfume. Here I put off the chains of death, Here I put off the chains of death, My soul too long has worn; My soul too long has worn: Friends, I forbid one groaning breath, Friends I forbid one groaning breath, Or tear to wet my urn; Or tear to wet my urn. Raphael behold me, all undress’d Hallelujah (3x) amen. Here gently lay this flesh to rest; Then mount and lead the path unknown, Swift I pursue thee, flaming guide! On pinions of my own.

. Edson’s omissions keep the focus on the earthly element of death, particularly the body of the dying person and those who are mourning him. Edson omits the imagery referring to the deceased’s soul ascending to heaven. In Watts’s poem, the imagery is of the heart flying through the sky. At the end of the text, Edson uses the verses that refer to the narrator’s soul breaking away from his spent body, but moves the focus immediately back to the mourners. Finally,

Edson leaves out the original poem’s final reference to the narrator’s arrival in heaven and his greeting by the angel Raphael. Edson maintained the narrative of death and the separation of the body and the soul present in Watts’s original poem, but with these text changes and omissions

Edson eschews much of the spiritual element of death.

Justin Morgan also edited poetry in a way that changed the narrative of the source material. In his “Judgement Anthem” from The Federal Harmony (1790) Morgan combined poetry about the end times from several poets, including Watts’s Horae Lyricae, “The Hour of

Judgment”; John Cennick’s “Lo, He Cometh,” and “The Great Assize” from A Collection of

Sacred Hymns (1749); and minister Samson Occom’s “On the Resurrection.” Morgan’s anthem was unusually popular for a First New England anthem and this piece was reprinted several times.26 John Cennick was associated with the ministries of John Wesley and George Whitefield before joining the Moravian church and working to establish it in Ireland. Cennick wrote collections of hymns for both adults and children. Although there is no evidence that Cennick ever visited in the United States, his poetry circulated here as well as England.27 Samson Occom was a Mohican who converted to Christianity under George Whitefield. He worked as a minister to his tribe after his conversion, but eventually became a Presbyterian minister and visited

England where he preached and raised funds for education in the United States. He published a collection of hymns in Connecticut in 1774.28

Morgan heavily edited and changed the order of the poetry thus creating an original narrative for his anthem different from the original sources. Morgan used much of stanzas two, three, five, and six of Cennick’s hymn (see Example 1.10). As they are set in the anthem, they appear as stanzas six, five, two, and three.29

26 Karl Kroger, Two Vermont Composers: The Collected Works of Elisha West and Justin Morgan, Music of the New American Nation: Sacred Music from 1780 to 1820 7 (New York: Garland, 1997), xxiii.

27 John Julian, “John Cennick,” in A Dictionary of Hymnology, Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations (New York: Dover Publications, 1957), 1:202.

28 John Julian, “Samson Occom,” A Dictionary of Hymnology, Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of All Ages and Nations (New York: Dover Publications, 1957), 2:542.

29 Charles Rogers, Lyra Brittanica, a Collection of British Hymns (London: 1867). Rogers refers to this text as a Dies Irae, printing this version alongside a version by Charles Wesley. He attributes the hymn to a publication of Cennick’s from 1752.

Example 1.10. John Cennick’s “Lo, He Cometh,” A Collection of Sacred Hymns (1749).

2 Now His merit by the harpers Through the eternal deep resounds; Now resplendent shines His nail-prints. Every eye shall see His wounds; They who pierced Him Shall at His appearance wail.

3 Every island, sea, and mountain, Heaven and earth shall flee away; All who hate Him must ashamed Hear the trump proclaim the day: Come to judgment. Stand before the Son of man.

5 Now redemption, long expected. See in solemn pomp appear; All His people, once despised. Now shall meet Him in the air. Hallelujah Now the promised kingdom’s come.

6 View Him smiling, now determined Every evil to destroy; All the nations now shall sing Him Songs of everlasting joy. O come quickly. Hallelujah, come. Lord, come

Morgan switches the order of the stanzas in this poem so that stanza three is the last to appear in the anthem and puts the focus on all people and creation coming to justice as a reaction to

Christ’s second coming.

Morgan used several examples of word painting, which emphasize his interpretation of the poetry. At the beginning of the anthem all the voices sing “Hark, Hark,” then rest before the anthem continues with a solo in the treble. In m. 21 at the end of the phrase “Hear the judgment

39 chariot roll,” Morgan sets the last word with an eleven-measure cadential figure, featuring step- wise melismas, creating an onomatopoeia with the long melisma on the word “roll.” After these examples of word painting at the beginning of the anthem, the remainder features syllabic setting of the text (see Example 1.11).

Example 1.11. Justin Morgan, “Judgment Anthem,” mm. 1–6 and 19–23, The Federal Harmony (1790).

Two Vermont Composers: The Collected Works of Elisha West and Justin Morgan. Music of the New American Nation 7, ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 1997 Taylor and Francis. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

The source for an unknown text used by Elisha West has revealed a connection between him, Samuel Holyoke, and Jeremiah Ingalls. Samuel Holyoke’s work is discussed in more detail

40 in Chapter 3, but Ingalls is best known among the First New England School composers for incorporating folk tunes into his hymnody, a practice that continued in the nineteenth-century southern singing school tradition. In 1807 in Northampton, Massachusetts, Elisha West published “An Anthem of Praise: The Mighty Lord, the Lord Hath Spoken” in The Musical

Companion (1807). He drew on a variety of psalms and a previously unknown hymn text, the fourth stanza of “Harvest Hymn” by Baptist minister Joshua Smith, whose work had been published in Exeter, New Hampshire. The hymn text appears in two other collections that antedate West’s work: one is Jeremiah Ingalls’s Christian Harmony (1805), and Samuel

Holyoke’s The Christian Harmonist (1804). Samuel Holyoke’s collection had been printed in

Salem, MA, and the title page reveals its purpose:

The Christian Harmonist: containing A set of Tunes adapted to all the Metres in Mr. Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, in the Collection of Hymns by Mr. Joshua Smith, and in Dr. Watts’s Psalms and Hymns. To which are added, Hymns on Particular Subjects, Set throughout; Two Anthems and a Funeral Dirge; The whole in a familiar Style intended for the use of the Baptist Churches of the United States.30

Holyoke’s collection had been evidently intended for the Baptist Church, as it included a work of a Baptist minister. Smith’s connection to Ingalls may have been simply geographical.

Smith’s hymns were published in Exeter, as was Ingalls’s tunebook, although Smith and Ingalls were both known for incorporating folk elements into worship settings. In the case of Smith, he incorporated folk texts into his sacred poetry, Ingalls did the same with folk music. Ingalls’s and

Holyoke’s publications both antedate West’s 1807 edition of The Musical Concert. While this does not necessarily imply influence, it does suggest that Smith’s hymns circulated among New

England composers.

30 Samuel Holyoke, The Christian Harmonist (Salem: Cushing), 1804.

Studying how First New England School composers chose sacred poetry demonstrates the various ways they edited these texts for use in anthems. Although anthems are understood to contain prose text, the use of poetry in anthems was in practice when James Lyon penned the very earliest American anthems. Timothy Swan’s setting of the same text as Lyon demonstrates the popularity of sacred poetry, even a psalter that had become considered old-fashioned.

William Billings’s use of poetry demonstrates that he was comfortable using sacred poetry alongside Biblical verse. In his “Let Ev’ry Mortal Ear attend” Billings sets several texts of invitation. Watts’s hymn alongside the Isaiah and Revelation text create a narrative of invitation and restoration that uses imagery of hunger and thirst that is appropriate for communion. Elias

Mann’s editorial intervention for his “Anthem of Dedication” changed the tone from the original poetry to fit his needs for the anthem; he ends on a more uplifting stanza than how the poem ends. Like Mann, Edson’s anthem text is a subtle change from the source material that nevertheless changes the focus of the anthem. In a similar way, Justin Morgan change of text order emphasized judgment instead of grace. Finally, William Cooper’s editorial intervention for

“Anthem for Thanksgiving” is particularly artful. He chose texts that created a quodlibet between the sacred poetry and the Biblical text in the anthem. In addition to these text changes, several of these composers utilized word-painting. Swan, Morgan, and Cooper used onomatopoeia, Billings used texture, and Cooper also used pace and tempo. Text editing along with these examples of word-painting demonstrates how deeply First New England composers engaged with these texts.

These examples of how composers used poetry in their anthems further problematize

William Billings’s place among First New England School composers. In one sense, these examples demonstrate that Billings drew on a wider swath of scripture than other composers.

However, William Cooper and Justin Morgan demonstrate an engagement with poetry and

42 scripture that is artful. Cooper creates a textual quodlibet with his choice of prose and poetry.

Justin Morgan drew on many poetic sources to create his anthem text. It can still be said that

Billings used a wider variety of Biblical scripture and sacred poetry, the examples of Cooper and

Morgan demonstrate that Billings was not the only composer familiar with many texts.31

Cataloguing the poetry set by composers in anthems demonstrates the breadth of repertory used by the First New England composers. Although strophic hymn repertory was greater and more frequently used, poetic text still made its way into the anthem repertory despite the common textbook definition of an anthem as a musical setting of a prose text. Despite the arguments against updated psalters and collections of hymns, this practice proliferated in both congregational forms of singing and in the anthem repertory. Surveying the writings of contemporary ministers and the composers themselves demonstrates that sacred poetry collections, as well as Biblical study, made up an important part of eighteenth-century personal devotion. Billings argued that both deserved a significant place in public worship and private devotion. The anthem was a public expression of faith and while Biblical scripture is the ultimate source of private devotional text, the growing body of sacred poetry was interpolated into these anthems because this verse had gained widespread popularity in part because of tunebook printing.

In some ways, this body of metrical poetry was particularly suited for anthems, as these pieces would have been performed by choruses for special occasions such as funerals and dedications. This study has also revealed an additional way that William Billings represents the era’s singular composer. While it appears from the dates of his publications that Billings

31 Laurie Sampsel argues that Samuel Babcock is a better example than Billings of an archetypal New England School composer based on his compositions, printing practice, and career. (Laurie Sampsel, “Samuel Babcock (1760–1813), Archetypal Psalmodist of the First New England School of Composers,” [PhD diss., University of Pittsburgh, 2009]: 2).

43 incorporated hymns into anthems before other composers, he constructed his anthem texts in a different manner from his contemporaries. He freely edited by repetition and omission any text he was setting, Biblical or not. Finally, studying poetic anthem texts has demonstrated the far- reach of specific poets, and that composers employed poetry to appeal either to their audience, as

Holyoke did in setting the poetry of Baptist minister Joshua Smith in a tunebook intended for

Baptist churches, or because it suited their own aesthetic purposes.

Chapter 2

Bound Kings and Fettered Nobles: Revolutionary Politics in the Anthem

The political leanings of William Billings can be documented through his writings and music; however, the question of revolutionary politics in the work of other First New England

School composers has not been previously explored. This chapter demonstrates three instances of expressing patriotism in the anthem. William Billings composed several anthems with specific patriotic references. These have been explored by other historians, but this chapter demonstrates how they fit into a specific vein of patriotism that had a long history among Christian scholars and political writers. Danish-American composer Hans Gram also composed an anthem that fits these sentiments. Gram’s anthem does not reference specific revolutionary events in the same manner as Billings, but his edits of Psalm 97 demonstrate a decidedly anti-monarchy theme.

Finally, Jacob French’s “Dedication Anthem” emphasizes God’s sovereignty. While God’s sovereignty is a common theme for Dedication Anthems, French’s work is more poignant in light of the political themes of the day. While the five anthems in this chapter demonstrate these political overtones, they are exceptional in the 128 anthem-texts I studied. There are other anthems by William Billings that contain political overtones, but the anthems discussed below are exceptional examples in the repertory instead of normative.

Unlike his contemporaries, Billings’s patriotism was overt in both his prose and choice of texts for musical setting. Murray Barbour has noted Billings’s skill at editing Biblical verse and providing his own texts, particularly for anthems as they offered an opportunity for creative text setting. Barbour has used Billings’s editorial interventions as examples of the composer’s imaginative and extensive Biblical knowledge, particularly in two of his most patriotic anthems,

“Retrospect” and “Lamentation Over Boston.” Citing examples of paraphrase and textual

45 quodlibet, Barbour has made the assertion that Billings was comfortable with different parts of the Bible: the Psalms; books of prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the four gospels.1

Elizabeth Crist’s work reveals additional aspects of Billings’s political leanings. Drawing on Mark Kann’s Republic of Men, she has posited that Billings’s writing demonstrates an adoption of masculine agency similar to the founding fathers.2 She has suggested that Billings’s use of language placed him in the same company as other well-known patriots. Billings was an acquaintance of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and he advertised his tunebooks in the well- known Boston Gazette and Country Journal, demonstrating his familiarity with and participation in Revolutionary circles. Crist draws on Billings’s own prose writing from the introductions of the The New-England Psalm-Singer (1774) and The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778). Crist has described Billings’s prose as rhetoric that asserts masculine agency in the same way that the founding fathers’ writing did. For example, responding to criticism of the music in The New-

England Psalm-Singer for its apparent lack of harmonic dissonance, Billings wrote a fanciful address to the “Goddess of Discord” and presented his discordant piece JARGON as a tribute to said Goddess. Crist also has shown that Billings’s description of composition displays masculine agency. He describes music as delivered, or birthed, from Dame Gamut. He had also described the major and minor modes as masculine and feminine respectively, assigning the moods of mirth and cheerfulness to major, and grief and melancholy to minor. Eventually, all song, the offspring of Dame Gamut, will be overtaken by the major mode at the Second Coming of Christ.

In this way, all song, in its fullness of expression, will be masculine.3

1 Murray J. Barbour, The Church Music of William Billings (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1960), 8–12.

2 Elizabeth Crist, “‘Ye Sons of Harmony’: Politics, Masculinity, and the Music of William Billings in Revolutionary Boston,” William and Mary Quarterly 60 (2003): 333–54; Mark Kann, A Republic of Men: The American Founders, Gendered Language, and Partriarchal Politics (New York: New York University Press, 1998).

While scholars have been quick to point out Billings’s patriotism, neither his anthems nor those of his contemporaries have been examined as they relate to common Revolutionary and

Federal themes, such as the transition from a monarchy to a republic, millennial issues, or calls to violence. In this chapter, I will examine the ways that First New England composers invoked these themes when choosing texts for anthems and show how some types of anthems were especially suited to these topics. This discussion relies on the work of historians who have focused on the prevalence of the Hebraic Republican model in the political discourse at the time of the revolution. Nathan Perl-Rosenthal has shown that preachers and writers used the Bible for their own ends when arguing for a particular model of government.4

Many historians have focused on the classic Republican model as the source for the shift in political thought among the colonists. However, Perl-Rosenthal has demonstrated that Hebraic

Republicanism, a political theory among Christian scholars that views the Hebrew Bible as a constitution for the perfect republic, was a prevalent theme and source for political writers of the

American Revolution. In addition, he traces Hebraic Republicanism through seventeenth century continental political writers who influenced those in England, and finally its influence on

Thomas Paine’s widely circulated pamphlet Common Sense. Beginning in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, continental academics and Hebraic Christians, such as Schickard,

Drusius, and Cunaeus, studied Old Testament and post-biblical Jewish rabbinical commentary in order to gain a Biblical example for modern governments. Drusius and Cunaeus asserted that the

Hebrew Republic had been an ancestor to modern Christian states, and the Bible offered a divinely instituted model of government. Although German professor and translator Schickard

3 Ibid.

4 Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, “The ‘Divine Right of Republics’: Hebraic Republicanism and the Debate over Kingless Government in Revolutionary America,” William and Mary Quarterly 66 (2009): 537.

47 studied and translated the same material, he came to the opposite conclusion, claiming that the

Old Testament and Jewish commentary supported a monarchy.5

These continental academics, in turn, were sources for prominent seventeenth-century

English politicians and political writers. In John Milton’s A Defence of the People of England

(1651), he drew on Schickard’s Old Testament translation of Devarim Rabbah (the book of

Deuteronomy and traditional commentary on it) to conclude that the Hebrew monarchy had been mandated by God out of exasperation with the Israelites, not as an ideal type of government.

Milton went on to claim that choosing a monarchic government was nothing short of institutionalizing idolatry.6 In his Discources Concerning Government (1698), Algernon Sidney bolstered Milton’s arguments by contending that republics were not only Biblically preferred but also divinely sanctioned. Sidney argued for a republican government, claiming that God, through the prophet Samuel, had rejected monarchies. In Sidney’s estimation, this condemnation had included limited monarchies, which political writers who wanted to reform the monarchy often invoked. Sidney also promoted the idea that God favored a kingless government, having ordained one for the Israelites. Perl-Rosenthal has made the argument that Sidney’s case for republicanism was uneschatological; he had wanted to argue for a republican civil government and the Bible had been the most convincing text available to him.7 The subsequent generation of political writers after the Glorious Revolution used part of Sidney’s argument, but because

English reformers had been satisfied with William III, they softened Sidney’s position, arguing that he had been pro-liberty and anti-corruption, like their current monarch. In the American

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid., 539.

7 Ibid., 540.

48 colonies, eighteenth-century political writers were careful to reject parliament, but proclaim allegiance to the king and constitution. Even as late as 1775, John Dickinson and members of the

Maryland Convention were still taking the same tack.8

By the time of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine’s widely distributed Common

Sense (1776) was explicitly anti-monarchic. His work drew on and promoted Hebrew

Republican arguments and helped convince colonists to accept the notion of a kingless government. Paine’s pamphlet built on a long history of Hebraic Republicanism, theories that he had probably first encountered in England by studying Milton in politically radical circles.9 Paine used the same Biblical passages that Milton and Sidney had, such as those from Judges and I

Samuel. Following Sidney’s lead, Paine worked to invalidate a monarchical government using the most widely accepted and authoritative text—the Bible.10

Paine’s Common Sense disseminated Hebraic Republicanist arguments in at least two ways. In addition to the large readership potential with a print run of 75,000 copies, readers and responders also promoted the principles. Rebuttals to Common Sense unwittingly promulgated the argument to people who otherwise would not have read it. Some critiques strengthened

Paine’s argument because they were not as strong as, or were unable to repudiate, Paine’s points.

The Reverend William Smith provided the most widely distributed rebuttal, and Paine himself responded to it in a series of letters. Smith had argued that the Hebrew political system was a theocracy, not a republican government, and that there should be other sources than Old

Testament scripture for Republicanism, bolstering his point with secondary sources.11 James

8 Ibid., 551.

9 Ibid., 552.

10 Ibid., 551.

11 Ibid., 558.

Chalmers also rebutted to Paine’s argument. Although he did not disagree with Paine’s findings that the Old Testament had described a monarchy, he found it irrelevant since in Christian belief

Mosaic Law had given way to Gospel dispensation. European states were not the heirs to the

Israelites, so their form of government was irrelevant to eighteenth-century governments.12

Paine’s Common Sense functioned as a part of the larger effort to discredit the British monarchy. When the revolutionary committee took power in the colonies, its leaders had identified the arguments in the pamphlet. Additionally, some clergy had used Hebraic

Republican arguments in general and arguments from Common Sense in particular. To wit, Peter

Whitney had delivered a sermon in 1776 titled American Independence Vindicated in which he drew on Paine’s pamphlet in outlining the Israelite commonwealth. If previous writers had been hesitant to overtly criticize the king, Whitney’s sermon outlined in detail the ways King George had proven himself deficient, all the while enumerating colonists’ lawful efforts to resolve their grievances peaceably.

Whitney and his clergy colleagues were comfortable drawing political conclusions from their Biblical studies, as many of them had academic backgrounds. Their parishioners, in turn, would have been equipped to follow and understand their arguments. All colonists had studied the Bible to some extent, and some were even familiar with Old Testament history. By 1765 religious literature was the most published genre in colonial America. Even during the

Revolutionary War, Christian devotional literature made up the majority of all published texts.

Parishioners insisted that their clergy’s sermons be published so that additional believers could study and benefit from them.13

12 Ibid., 559.

13 Patricia Bonomi, Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 4–5.

Indeed, in his introduction to Continental Harmony (1794), William Billings assumes a

Christian will be exposed to the Bible not only in meetings of the church assembly but also in everyday devotional study. Although historians have focused on the prevalence of millennial and republican scripture in Colonial America, Billings’s preface demonstrates that congregants were familiar with a wider swath of scripture than just the two books that deal with Hebrew republicanism. Billings’s assumption is supported by James Byrd’s research that has shown that political sermons in the Revolutionary era drew from history and concepts from both the Old and

New Testaments.14

With this political backdrop and context, some of the anthems of Billings, Hans Gram, and to a lesser extent Jacob French can be viewed in a new light. All three edited scripture to capture political currents of the Revolutionary War. William Billings’s political opinions have been well documented and studied, but those of Gram and French have not been previously explored. The following discussion will demonstrate the manner in which these composers followed Paine’s lead in using Biblical scripture to describe a new, kingless government.

Billings freely edited Biblical scripture and sacred poetry in the cause for a kingless government and went so far as to presumably pen original verse calling for God’s ultimate sovereignty over all lands in general, and the United States in particular. His “Independence”

(1778) reveals surface-level connections to Revolutionary ideals, such as the title, and deeper- level celebration of the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of any earthly sovereign. Billings begins “Independence” by using a metric psalm setting of Psalm 21. The Tate and Brady references “The king,” Watts changed the text to “Our Land,” and in the version Billings used the text is changed to “The States.” This syntactical change would have appealed to Billings in

14 James Byrd, Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 165.

51 this curated text for a patriotic anthem (see Table 2.1). This version of Psalm 21 appears in two other eighteenth-century publications. In his Select Harmony (1779) Andrew Law attributes a hymn entitled PSALM 21 to Amos Bull. Supply Belcher also composed a version of Psalm 21 as

UNION in his own The Harmony of Maine (1794).

Table 2.1. Comparison of Versions of Psalm 21.

Psalm 21, Tate and Brady. Psalm 21, Isaac Watts. Psalm 21, William Billings, “Indepedence.” The king, O Lord, with songs Our land, O Lord, with songs The States, O Lord, with of praise, of praise songs of praise Shall in thy strength rejoice; shall in thy strength rejoice; shall in thy strength rejoice; With thy salvation crown’d, And blessed with thy And blessed with thy shall raise salvation, raise salvation, raise To heav’n his cheerful to heaven their cheerful to heaven their cheerful voice.15 voice.16 voice.17

Billings’s interpolated refrain is even more pointed: “To the King they shall sing

Hallelujah.” After about forty measures of music in which the text alternates between other

Psalm verses and the “To the King…” refrain, Billings clarifies his position with the following text: “And all the continent shall sing, down with this earthly King. No King but God.” Billings eschews making an argument for a kingless government; instead, he assumes the participants and audience or congregation have already been convinced by the argument. Beyond Billings’s interpolations that explicitly call for, or recognize, a kingless government, he devotes the rest of the text to God’s sovereignty, implicitly asking for blessing on the United States (see Example

2.1).

15 Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, A New Version of the Psalms of David (London, 1696), 7.

16 Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (London, 1719), 46.

17 William Billings, The Singing Master’s Assistant (Boston, 1778), 91.

Example 2.1. William Billings, “Independence,” The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778).

May his blessing descend, world without end, on ev’ry part of the Continent. May Harmony and Peace begin and never cease and may the strength increase of the Continent. May American wilds be fill’d with his smiles and may the natives bow to our royal king. May Rome, France and Spain and all the World proclaim the Glory and the fame of our royal king. May His reign be glorious, America victorious and may the earth acknowledge God is the King.

Billings also set another anthem text that is not as explicitly patriotic as “Independence,” but emphasizes a heavenly king. “Peace, God is King” (1778) demonstrates the breadth of

Biblical scripture and sacred poetry that Billings employed in his anthems. He drew from the

Authorized Version and Book of Common Prayer Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Luke’s Gospel,

Revelation, and lines from Watts’s Hymns. Although the sources are varied, each references

God’s power. Billings begins with two unrelated verses from the Psalms: “God is the King of all the earth; and let all the people say, Amen.” Psalm 47 from the Book of Common Prayer reads:

“For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding,” and the last phrase is taken from Psalm 106:48 “and let all the people say, Amen.” Billings text calls attention to

God’s power and sovereignty on earth by stitching together edited and unedited scripture from

Deuteronomy, Isaiah, and Revelation. Deuteronomy 32:43 hails God’s sovereignty over nations of Israel, adversaries, and the earth (see Example 2.2).

Example 2.2. Deuteronomy 32:43 “Peace, God is King,” Independent Publication (1783).

Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

While Billings employed an unedited verse from Revelation 11:15 that could refer to the end times, he used it to emphasize God’s power in his own time: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” Indeed, Billings omits the second half of

Biblical verse, “and he shall reign for ever and ever,” which gives the text immediate significance. A similar occurrence is in the anthem’s last line where Billings employs a verse of

Isaiah 11 that also deals with heavenly imagery. Billings omits “in all my holy mountain,” again lending immediacy to his anthem text (see Table 2.2).

Table 2.2. Comparison of Isaiah 11:9, Authorized Version and William Billings “Peace, God is King.” Isaiah 11:9, Authorized Version. Isaiah 11:9, “Peace, God is King.”

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy They shall not hurt nor destroy: mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Historians have cited the prevalence of the book of Revelation in Colonial and

Revolutionary discourse to emphasize the importance of millennial thought in the sermons and writings of revolutionary ministers, namely, they believed Revelation predicted the ultimate success of America. However, James Byrd’s work demonstrates that war-related scripture in

Revelation was used by many ministers to comment on the present.18 Billings’s editing of the text for “Peace, God is King” demonstrates the popularity of the book of Revelation even though the composer employed it for different ends. He employed a verse from Revelation, but

18 Byrd, Sacred Scripture Sacred War, 142, 165.

54 specifically omitted the passage related to millennial themes, giving his anthem immediate relevance to the people who would have sang it.

Hans Gram also edited scripture in a manner that emphasized a kingless government by repetition, omission, and word order. Gram based his anthem “Bind Kings with Chains” on

Psalm 149 and is was published in the Worcester Companion (1794). The psalm Gram employs, unedited, emphasizes the control or power the Israelites had over earthly rulers, a call to rejoice, and a description of the capabilities of the saints over sinners and earthly rulers (See Example

2.3a).

Example 2.3a. Psalm 149, Authorized Version

Psalm 149 1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7 to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

Gram’s rendition of the psalm does not alter the psalm’s general meaning; however, the order and omission of verses heightens a “kingless” interpretation. The first few verses have repetitions that serve to amplify the psalm’s imagery. Gram’s order of verses in the first half and

55 omission of the last half of the psalm emphasize the saints’ power to serve justice on the

Israelites’ oppressors (See Example 2.3b).

Example 2.3b. Psalm 149, as used in Hans Gram, “Bind Kings with Chains,” Worchester Collection (1794).

4 For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people, he will beautify the meek with salvation, 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud upon their beds, 6 Let the high praises of God be on their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand, 9 To execute the judgment written: 8 Bind kings with chains, bind kings with chains, and nobles with fetters of iron, bind kings with chains, and nobles with fetters of iron. 9 This honor have all the saints.

Gram omits verse 7 and inserts verse 8 between the lines of verse 9. This editorial intervention removes any mention of the heathen or sinners and places the failings on earthly powers, specifically kings and nobles. Gram diminishes the spiritual aspect of the Psalm, combatting spiritual enemies or those who have succumbed to sin, and instead calls for justice on earthly oppressors. Additionally, he turns the phrase “bind kings with chains,” into the anthem’s central image.

Gram’s musical setting complements his text changes through repetition, articulation, and voicing. In contrast to the Biblical scripture, which reads like a prayer with the repetitions of

“Let…,” Gram alters the focus and mood of the psalm by setting “bind kings” in the bass, providing the foundation for the harmonic language and texture at the anthem’s close. The first iteration of “Bind kings with chains, and nobles with fetters of iron,” appears in the bass (m. 9, see Example 2.4), followed by a four-part adagio statement of verse 8: “This honor have all the saints.” A contrasting vivace section, lasting fifty measures, closes the anthem. In this final section, Gram alternates “Bind kings with Chains,” from verse 8 with “Praise ye the Lord,” from verse 1. The articulation in this section is very short, as the text is declaimed syllabically in

56 eighth notes. The “Bind kings” refrain moves through each part, creating a responsorial texture.

A homophonic statement for the final six measures closes the anthem.

Example 2.4. Hans Gram, “Bind Kings with Chains,” Worchester Companion, 1794.

Billings’s “Independence” and “Peace, God Is King” and and Gram’s “Bind Kings with

Chains” demonstrate that they were capable of Biblical exegesis for the sake of political ends.

These anthems are full of anti-monarchy sentiments in keeping with contemporary politics.

While the specifics of the arguments for and against Republicanism as found in the Bible are too specific for a piece of choral music, Billings’s and Gram’s choice of Biblical passages and the manner in which they edited them demonstrates that if they could not get as detailed as politicians and ministers, they could still make powerful political statements with their music.

While less overt than Billing’s and Gram’s anthems, the text in Jacob French’s

“Dedication Anthem” also emphasizes God as a heavenly king. It first appeared in the third edition of French’s tunebook Village Harmony (1797). He also reprinted it in his Harmony of

Harmony (1802). French edits the Biblical passage by reordering the words and interspersing one line of a psalm to carry the theme of a sovereign heavenly king. While the anthem does not have any patriotic themes, its focus on the sovereignty of God emphasizes the idea of God as King, not man; more specifically, French draws on scripture that refers to God as “King of Glory.”

The verses French sets in this anthem are Psalm 24:1–8, Isaiah 66:1–2, Psalm 100:4, and

Revelation 19:6–7. Psalm 24 juxtaposes God’s sovereignty over man and earth and God’s willingness to be among man and the anthem opens with text from Psalm 24. Although French uses verses 1–3 and 7, he opens the anthem with verse 7, sets verses 1 and 2, repeats verse 7, then sets verse 3 before moving to the other passages. Verse 7 reads, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” By opening with this verse and repeating it so soon in the anthem, the description of God as “King of glory” is established. This text is repeated toward the end of the anthem, this time elaborating on the idea of God as the King of glory. In this iteration French goes on to verse 8, which elaborates on the King of Glory theme. “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty” the next phrase is, “the Lord mighty in battle,” but French uses, “The Lord God merciful and gracious,” instead. The text, “Welcome king of glory to thy rest,” is added before the words of praise from

Revelation 19, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice; for the marriage supper of the Lamb is come and the bride hath made herself ready. Alleluia for the

Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” By using the Psalm 24 text at the beginning and the end of the anthem and interpolating other passages, French’s anthem clearly draws on the imagery of God as king.

Billings’s “Lamentation over Boston” (1778) is another example of editorial intervention in which he changes Biblical passages to address Revolutionary politics. Scholars have

62 addressed remarkable aspects of this anthem text and how Billings created it.19 He used Biblical and non-Biblical texts: Psalm 137, Jeremiah 3 and 31, and his own text from the satirical hymn

JARGON. The juxtaposition of his own verse with Biblical scripture provides another example of scriptural exegesis that is an indictment against the British government. Murray Barbour has cited this anthem to demonstrate the composer’s familiarity with diverse Biblical passages.20

Crist has pointed out that this anthem text, when viewed alongside the version presented in his prefatory material to the The Singing Master’s Assistant, demonstrate that the latter version can be understood as a collective rejection of the injustices that the British government committed against the colonies because Billings uses plural pronouns.21 Indeed, the composer’s use of personal, singular pronouns in this section of his anthem are in line with the personal, pleading tone of the rest of the anthem. As Crist has pointed out, in the context of his “Letter to the

Goddess,” the language seems more impersonal but appropriate for a group, lending credence to the political allusions that she has addressed.22 David Stowe has shown that Billings’s use of

Psalm 137 paved the way for its ubiquitous use in nineteenth-century protestant hymnody, particularly those influenced by African American spirituals. While Bostonians were not exiled to another land, they were occupied by the British military. Stowe writes, “The rhetoric of slavery certainly played a part in mobilizing English Americans in the struggle for independence, it would find a much surer resonance among African Americans, who had been kidnapped and exiled to a strange land.”23 Through his editing of Psalm 137, Billings changes the psalmist’s

19 David Stowe, “Babylon Revisited: Psalm 137 as American Protest Song,” Black Music Research Journal 32 (2012): 103.

20 Barbour, 4.

21 Crist, 350.

23 Stowe, 103.

63 lament over being in exile to sorrow in defeat of battle. Billings’s anthem text highlights feelings of bitterness and betrayal over the events of the Revolutionary War. His use of first-person singular pronouns not only gives the text a more personal tone in general, but also adapts the anthem text to contemporary sentiments.

As Barbour, Crist, and Stowe have pointed out, Billings edited the text for “Lamentation over Boston” to serve his own purposes by changing words, including repetitions, and adding non-Biblical text that he penned himself (see Table 2.3). The second section of text beginning

“As for our friends” is an as yet unidentified, although fairly generic, prayer for protection for loved ones.

Stowe’s interpretation of Billings’s adaptation of Psalm 137:3 and his use of JARGON adds another interpretive layer to this piece. Stowe has observed how personal Billings’s use of

JARGON is at the end of the anthem and how the “curse” as it appears in JARGON would be a very harsh consequence for a musician and composer.24 In Billings’s version of the psalm text, he omits verse 2 having to do with music, and edits verse 3 to refer to Bostonian’s specific plight.

Billings closes the anthem with verse 6, which is a call to remember their troubles. Thus, in the first half of the anthem, he focused on the violence and injustice perpetrated by the British, and the last portion is a call to remember Bostonian suffering.

Although Billings penned the text for the end of the anthem, this appearance of JARGON can be considered another example of text editing. It is unknown whether Billings wrote JARGON first for the letter to the “Goddess of Discord” or for this anthem, but the two appearances could not be more different. In the anthem, JARGON serves as an extension of the lamentation, fitting with the solemn nature of the anthem’s text. This is a far cry from the light-hearted manner in

24 Ibid., 104.

64 which it appears as an offering to the Goddess of Discord. After the letter to the Goddess,

Billings gives instructions for performing his satirical hymn. In it he calls for cacophonous sounds from the braying donkeys to wet fingers squeaking on glass. If all those fail to create the dissonance desired, Billings adds, “you may add this most inharmonical of all sounds, ‘Pay me what thou owest.’” In light of Billings’s political position, this phrase could be read as a representation of the taxation dispute between colonists and Britain, but this quotation is a reference to a parable that appears in Matthew 18. In this parable an unmerciful servant is cleared of his debt by his master. Despite being shown this mercy, this servant, in turn, demands repayment from another person. This phrase can be taken at face value, a simple expression of

Billings’s views on the exorbitant taxing and tariffs that led to the American Revolution.

However, the composer might also have been using the passage of the unmerciful servant as a commentary on British actions against the colonies. This interpretation is especially compelling since the anthem contains the phrase: “forbid that those who have sucked Bostonian Breasts should thirst for American Blood.” Billings’s twofold indictment of the British is clear. Not only did the British take advantage of Boston’s resources, “those who have sucked Bostonian breasts,” but also displayed a “thirst for American blood” in their violence against the colonists.

Billings’s use of Jargon in the anthem references its use in the introduction, and therefore references the parable from Matthew. Within this tunebook, all these scriptural references exist together and when considered together, deepen the poltical meaning of the work.

In “Lamentation over Boston,” JARGON serves as the righteous consequence of forgetting the loss experienced at the hand of the British. Indeed, Billings adds two more lines in the anthem that match the meter of the previous JARGON passage:

Let harmony be banish’d hence and consonance depart;

Let dissonance erect her throne and reign within my heart.25

These lines emphasize the new use for the erstwhile humorous diatribe. In the introduction of

The Singing Master’s Assistant, Billings used this hymn as satire in the face of the criticism that he did not make use of dissonance in his compositions. Here Billings calls on dissonance as a punishment, that it be the lone musical tool available to him in the event that he ever forgets

Boston, but that it also serves as the metaphorical anguish befalling anyone who forgets the

British injustices against the colonists that led to the war.

There are two ways that Billings may have used the Bible to express his displeasure with the British. Kroeger and Crawford identify the text beginning, “A voice was heard in

Roxbury…” from the book of Jeremiah 3:21, while David Stowe traces it to Matthew 2:18. The

Matthew citation is a quote from the prophet Jeremiah, so whether cited from the New Testament or Old, it is the same verse. However, there is another verse from Jeremiah 31 that may have served as the inspiration for this section. If Billings used Jeremiah 31:15 as his inspiration for the verse it may be a sharper indictment of the British than the Matthew 2/Jeremiah 3:21 passage.

The verse from Jeremiah 31:15 reads: “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” If Billings drew from this verse, he could have been making a comparison between the wayward Israelites and the British. This verse and the possible allusion to the parable of the unmerciful servant from the preface to the The Singing Master’s Assistant could be ways that Billings alluded to more injustices of the British drawing on the congregation’s knowledge of the Bible. In this way, Billings used the Bible to justify taking up arms against the

British, just as many contemporary ministers had.

25 Billings, The Singing Master’s Assistant (Boston, 1778), 102.

Table 2.3. “Lamentation over Boston” and Its Biblical Sources.

Psalm 137:1 Lamentation Over Boston: By the rivers of Bablyon there we sat down, By the rivers of Watertown we sat down and yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. wept, we wept, we wept when we remembered thee Oh Boston, when we remembered thee Oh Boston.

As for our friends, Lord God of heaven, preserve them, defend them, deliver and restore them unto us, preserve them, defend them, deliver and restore them unto us again.

For there they that carried us away captive For they that held them in bondage required required of us a song; and they that wasted us of them to take up arms against their brethren. required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of Forbid it, Lord God, forbid, forbid it, Lord the songs of Zion. God, forbid that those who have sucked Bostonian Breasts should thirst for American Blood.

Jeremiah 3:21 A voice was heard upon the high places, A voice was heard in Roxbury which echo’d weeping and supplications of the children of thro’ the Continent, weeping, weeping, Israel: for they have perverted their way, and weeping, weeping, weeping, weeping for they have forgotten the Lord their God. Boston, weeping for Boston because of their danger. Jeremiah 31:20 Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant Is Boston my dear town, is it my native place? child? For since I spake against him, I do For since their Calamity I do earnestly earnestly remember him still: therefore my remember it still. bowels are troubled for him; I will surely I do earnestly, I do earnestly I do earnestly have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. remember it still.

Psalm 137:6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue If I forget thee, if I forget thee, yea, if I do not cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not remember thee, Jerusalem above my chief joy. then let my numbers cease to flow, then be my muse unkind.

Then let my tongue forget to move and be ever confin’d Let horrid jargon split the air and rive my nerves assunder, Let hateful discord greet my ear as terrible as thunder. Let harmony be banish’d hence and consonance depart; Let dissonance erect her throne and reign within my heart.

“Lamentation over Boston” demonstrates Billings’s willingness to edit Biblical text to express his own patriotic sentiments. He drew on a wide variety of sacred texts and used his own writing alongside it. Like preachers and writers of the Revolutionary era, Billings was comfortable drawing conclusions from the Bible and using it to promote or bolster his own politics. Although this piece has already been discussed by scholars for its patriotic sentiments, in light of Stowe’s attribution of text to Matthew’s gospel heightens the political content of

Billings’s anthem text.

The anthems discussed in this chapter demonstrate that through editorial intervention composers either used Biblical scripture and sacred poetry for political ends or at the very least that these anthem texts demonstrate the extent to which composers were influenced by the political themes of the day. Perl-Rosenthal’s work reveals that Hebraic Republicanism was prevalent in the political discourse leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Biblical calls for a kingless government were prevalent among these writers and this sentiment is present in these anthem-texts. In his “Independence,” Billings chose sacred poetry that emphasized a heavenly king instead of an earthly one and this choice is emphasized by his original prose and verse at the end of the anthem.

In his “Dedication Anthem,” Jacob French repeats text from Psalm 24 in order to emphasize God as a “heavenly king.” Billings’s anthem “Peace, God is King” also emphasizes the importance of a heavenly king, but this anthem text also shows a use of Revelation verse that does not appeal to millennial sentiments. Billings edits this text so that the focus is on contemporary, earthly matters. This bolsters James Byrd’s assertion that millennial interpretations of Biblical scripture have been overemphasized by historians of Revolutionary

America.

Hans Gram’s editing of Psalm 149 in “Bind Kings with Chains” demonstrates that like

Billings he was also comfortable making adjustments to Biblical passages in order to address

Revolutionary arguments and rhetoric. Gram’s case is provocative because as a European immigrant to the Colonies, his politics were evidently changed by his experiences in

Revolutionary and Federal America. Because he composed this piece for the singing societies in

Newburyport, Gram edited Biblical verse for patriotic ends and to address contemporary events.

His modifications of Psalm 149 demonstrate that he, too, edited scripture in a way that must have resonated with American patriots recently liberated from kings and nobles.

Finally, Billings’s “Lamentation Over Boston” can be viewed in a new light. David

Stowe’s interpretation of this anthem text in light of Billings’s use of his own verse strengthens the understanding of the political nature of this text. By using his own verse from JARGON,

Billings alludes to his introduction to The Singing Master’s Assistant, which can be read as a deeper indictment of the British acts of violence against the North American colonies.

Chapter 3

Heterogenously Protestant: Denominational Tenets in the Early American Anthem

Although composers of the First New England School worked in a religious environment dominated by the Congregational Church, there are examples of Protestant denominational diversity among this group of composers through their tunebooks and personal lives. The majority of First New England School composers were associated with the Congregationalist

Church, but this chapter focusses on anthems that were associated with other Protestant denominations. Samuel Holyoke’s The Christian Harmony (1804) was compiled to fill the need for tunebooks that appealed to the Baptist Church. Oliver Holden was affiliated with the Baptist

Church as a teaching minister. Finally, the anthems of Amos Bull will be considered as he was affiliated with the Anglican Church through his early teaching career and as a parishioner, however, he served the Congregationalist Church as a choirmaster. After tracing the history and establishment of the Baptist Church in America and contextualizing the Anglican Church in the

New England colonies, this chapter will discuss the extent to which these anthems are reflective of these Protestant denominations.

Although other denominations were present in New England, the Congregationalist

Church was the most prevalent. Most churches that housed singing schools and used their tunebooks were Congregationalist. Despite its popularity, the Great Awakening increased the number of Protestant Christian denominations in colonial America. By the time of the American

Revolutionary War, Congregationalism was still the best represented, but other denominations had taken hold and were growing in number. One such denomination was the Baptist Church.

Samuel Holyoke compiled his hymnal The Christian Harmonist (1804) with the Baptist

Church in mind, particularly through the inclusion of poets whose verse would appeal to Baptists

(see Figure 1).

The Christian Harmonist: Containing a set of Tunes adapted to all the metres in Mr. Rippon’s Selection of Hymns, in the Collection of Hymns by Mr. Joshua Smith, and in Dr. Watts’s Psalms and Hymns. To which are added, Hymns particular subjects, set throughout; Two Anthems, and a funeral Dirge, with a Concise Introduction of Practical Principles. The whole in a familiar Style, designed for the use of the Baptist Churches in the Unites States.1

Figure 3.1. Title page, The Christian Harmonist (Salem Massachusetts: Joshua Cushing, 1804).

1 Samuel Holyoke, The Christian Harmonist (Salem Massachusetts: Joshua Cushing, 1804).

Holyoke’s designation for the Baptist Church implies that it was designed for the Baptist service, but why would this collection have appealed to Baptists in particular? Holyoke, or the printer, specifies the use of particular poets, which infers the Baptist’s acceptance and use of Rippon,

Smith, and Watts in their public devotional practices. The popularity of Isaac Watts was widespread, but Joshua Smith and John Rippon were also popular in the eighteenth-century

Christian landscape. New England remained a stronghold for Congregationalism and its offshoot, Unitarianism. Nevertheless, the Baptist Church in New England grew following the

Great Awakening.

There were two sects of Baptists in the American colonies who had their roots in

England. The first were Particular Baptists, so-called because they believed in limited atonement and the election of “particular” saints. The second were termed “General Baptists” who believed in individual free will and that Christ’s death was atonement for all. General Baptists had been considered more radical in seventeenth-century England, but both sects strongly maintained that a person’s righteousness in the face of God would be tied to their individual conversion experience. Thus, Baptists came to denounce infant baptism, because they believed that baptism was a demonstration of a believer’s conversion experience. Particular Baptists believed they could change the Church of England while remaining associated with it. As a result, they established churches in England. Over time these churches came to have more radical groups within them who split off and moved to the colonies in search of religious tolerance, thus the

Baptist Church aligned itself with Congregationalists and thrived in England, Wales, and eventually the mid-Atlantic colonies.2

2 Thomas Kidd, God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (New York: Basic Books, 2010), 44.

General Baptists believed from the outset that a personal confession of faith was required for one’s relationship with God. As a result of this belief, John Smyth came to reject much of the

Church of England’s teachings. Smyth and his followers believed it necessary to separate themselves completely from the Anglican Church. This group of General Baptists eventually immigrated to the American colonies, where Rhode Island had become associated with religious toleration, particularly for those associated with the Baptist faith. In Providence, Roger Williams established the first American Baptist Church in the seventeeth century after having problems with the Puritan tradition. Although Williams came to the decision to leave organized religion altogether because of corruption, the Baptist congregation he founded survived.3 Although that particular congregation split a generation later, there remained a Baptist population in Rhode

Island. In the second half of the seventeeth century, the appeal of the Baptist Church was felt in other areas of New England. The first president of Harvard resigned his post after deciding against infant baptism for his own child. In 1665 a Baptist Church was established in Boston, where the population grew over the next twenty-five years. In the early eighteenth century, the

Baptist Church in Connecticut grew as well. All the Baptist churches came to be associated with the Rhode Island Yearly Meeting of General Baptists.4 By the late eighteenth-century, Baptist church membership was second only to Congregationalist churches. Ezra Stiles calculated that by the year 1760, the Baptist population in all of New England was 21,000. While this number pales in comparison to his calculation of 440,000 Congregationalists, by the end of the eighteenth century, Baptists were the next most populous Protestant denomination ahead of

Quakers and Anglicans.5

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid.

Although the Baptist Church was not responsible for the Great Awakening, it benefited from eighteenth-century revivals and meetings. The reforms that Great Awakening ministers called for pushed some individuals into Baptist churches, even though the reforms had been targeted toward Congregationalist churches. The revivalists emphasized personal salvation, a skepticism of infant baptism, and the belief that baptism and communion alone were insufficient to ensure the achievement of God’s grace.6 These tenets comported with those of the Baptist

Church.

Although Samuel Holyoke was associated with the Congregationalist Church through his family, and presumably his personal life, he published a tunebook in the hope that it would find use with Baptists. Holyoke’s father was Elizur Holyoke, a minister ordained at Boxford,

Massachusetts where he remained until his death in 1806.7 Despite his personal connection to the

Congregationalist Church, Samuel Holyoke compiled The Christian Harmonist (1804) and specified that it would find use in the growing Baptist Church. Previously, Samuel Holyoke had worked with Oliver Holden to publish The Massachusetts Compiler (1795). Although this earlier tunebook does not have reference to the Baptist Church, perhaps he was inspired to compile a work for the growing denomination by Oliver Holden, an adherent to the Baptist faith.

The Christian Harmonist contains two anthems believed to be composed by Holyoke.

One is an anthem for Thanksgiving and the other is for a fast day, so each anthem has a specified use but not necessarily a liturgical purpose. During this period, Thanksgiving Day was not a set date every year, but the holiday had been celebrated with some regularity since 1789. There are

5 Patricia Bonomi and Peter R. Eisenstadt, “Church Adherence in the Eighteenth-Century British American Colonies,” The William and Mary Quarterly 39 (April 1982): 250.

6 Kidd, 281.

7 George Francis Dow, The Holyoke Diaries, 1709–1856 (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1911), xvi.

74 twelve anthems designated for Thanksgiving by the title, and several more that would be appropriate for the holiday. Holyoke did not do much to change the text he chose, but in his

“Anthem for Thanksgiving” he drew from various sources. He used a portion of Psalm 100 from the Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 68:19 from the Authorized Version, and the Minor

Doxology as found in the Book of Common Prayer. As far as editorial intervention, he mostly repeated clauses or whole sentences save for the Authorized Version of Psalm 68, verse 19 (see

Table 3.1).

Table 3.1. Comparison of Psalm 68:19, Authorized Version and Samuel Holyoke, “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” from The Christian Harmonist (1804).

Psalm 68:19 Psalm 68:19 Authorized Version Holyoke, “Anthem for Thanksgiving” Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us Blessed be the Lord God of our salvation, with benefits, even the God of our salvation who daily loadeth us with his benefits.

Holyoke rearranges the Biblical verse so that the first half names the Lord God as “blessed” and the second half qualifies the first.

The other anthem in Holyoke’s collection is intended for a Fast Day, which was celebrated in the New England colonies and states. The governor often proclaimed a Fast Day be observed in the spring before planting. Colonists observed this holiday by attending church, fasting, and refraining from secular activities. These days were reportedly unpopular, but as a testament to eighteenth-century compulsory church attendance, several anthems in the repertory are designated for Fast Days. There are six specifically titled for the holiday, although an anthem with a mournful text would probably have been appropriate. Holyoke uses text from the

Authorized Version, setting Psalm 143: 1–2. William Billings and Daniel Read also used Psalm

143 for their Fast Day anthems. The text for the Holyoke and Read versions are similar and

75 employ phrasing that is not in the Authorized Version of Psalm 143. After setting verses 1–2 of

Psalm 143, Holyoke and Read both set the text shown in the Table 3.2.

Table 3.2. Comparison between Holyoke and Read Settings of Psalm 143.

Samuel Holyoke, “Hear Our Prayer,” The Daniel Read, “A New Anthem for Fast Day,” Christian Harmonist, 1804 The Columbian Harmonist, 1794 O Lord, our God, we have sinn’d, we have Our sins are exceeding great, and have sinn’d against thee; our sins are exceeding reached unto the very heav’ns, and cry for great, our sins are exceeding great, and reach vengeance. unto the very heav’ns. For thy mercy’s sake, for thy mercy’s sake, Yet for they mercy’s sake, hear our pray’r, hear our pray’r. O Lord, hear our pray’r; O Lord, give ear unto O Lord, give ear unto our supplications, give our supplications, unto our supplications; ear unto our supplications For thy mercy’s sake incline thine ear unto us, incline thine ear unto us, and hear us, and hear us; for thy mercy’s sake, in Christ Jesus, give ear unto our supplications.

The first portion of this Fast Day text confesses sin. Both versions arrive at the idea that man’s sin reaches the heavens. Read’s version goes on to claim that man’s sin calls for, or requires, vengeance. Holyoke’s version repeats “Hear our prayer, and give ear to our supplications,” taken from Psalm 143:1. “For thy mercy’s sake incline thine ear unto us…” could be a paraphrase of

Psalm 17:6: “I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.” Holyoke uses additional verses from Psalm 17, but Read alludes to them as well. Although this exact phrasing is not found in any version of the Psalms I have found and the

Read and Holyoke versions are not identical, it appears that Holyoke was familiar with Daniel

Read’s anthem, or they both derived their anthem texts from the same source.

Holyoke utilizes word painting in two instances. Melodic direction to reflects the text,

“and reach unto the very heav’ns.” In each voice part, the last two words are set syllabically and ascend by step. The other instance is directly following and Holyoke utilizes texture to depict the

76 text. Up until this section, only three voices sing, but when Holyoke sets “hear our pray’r” for the first time, he utilizes all four. The change is particularly noticeable because the text “For thy mercy’s sake” is a duet between the Counter and Treble parts. Changing the texture at this point in the text emphasizes the corporate plea (see Example 3.1).

Example 3.1. Samuel Holyoke, “Hear Our Prayer,” mm. 55–66, The Christian Harmonist (1804). Early American Anthems. Recent Researches in American Music 36, ed. Karl Kroeger. Copyright © 2000 A-R Editions. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Daniel Read’s setting of this text is also expressive but subtler. He also used melodic direction and texture in the corresponding passages. In the setting of “and have reached unto the very heav’ns,” Read used an ascending melody in the tenor and bass parts, but he used contrary

77 motion in the alto. Read’s treatment of the next phrase also uses texture to express the words,

“Yet, for thy mercy’s sake, hear our pray’r.” This phrase starts as a duet but has tutti voices for

“hear our pray’r” (see Example 3.2).

Example 3.2. Daniel Read, “A New Anthem for Fast Day,” mm. 59–72, The Columbian Harmonist (1794).

Holyoke’s anthems do not specifically address a Baptist tenet. The use of the anthems for a Fast Day or Thanksgiving would have given these anthems wide appeal at a time when these occasions warranted compulsory church attendance. The Anthem of Thanksgiving relies on text associated with the Anglican Church: the Book of Common Prayer. This suggests that New

England and other portions of the North American colonies were heterogeneously Protestant, and this tunebook and the anthems within it may have appealed to a wide variety of denominations.

Oliver Holden was affiliated with the Baptist Church through his personal life and was an associate of Samuel Holyoke, with whom he collaborated for The Massachusetts Compiler.

Holden was a composer and compiler of sacred music at the turn of the nineteenth century, particularly active as a composer between 1792 and 1807.8 Like other First New England composers, he learned composition in singing schools before turning to compiling tunebooks. He became a proponent of European compositional style that came to replace the characteristic style of the early First New England School of composers.9 By 1791 Holden had joined the First

Baptist Church of Boston, from which he founded the First Baptist Church of Charlestown.

Holden and others split from that church to form the Second Baptist Church of Charlestown, believing that their former church did not adhere to strict discipline. Holden became a teaching minister of the new church, and at his death in 1844 he was a pew-holder of the Baldwin Place

Baptist Church of Boston.10

Although Holden seems to have composed all his music after he had converted to the

Baptist Church, hymnologist David Music notes that none of his music is specifically Baptist.

8 David W. Music and Paul A. Richardson, I Will Sing the Wondrous Story: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2008), 271.

9 Ibid., 272.

10 Ibid.

Holden composed his “Dedicatory Anthem,” based on Psalm 48, for the dedication of the building for the First Baptist Church of Charlestown, to which Holden gave the land and money for construction.11 Aside from this specific reference to the church in Charlestown, his anthems are similar to those by Holyoke in the The Christian Harmonist in that they are specific to an event, often a civic event. All anthems discussed in this chapter are specific to a civic celebration, including three Thanksgiving anthems, two funeral anthems, a dedication anthem, an ordination anthem, and an anthem for Fast Day.

For his anthem texts, Holden drew on Psalms from the Authorized Version, but his text selection demonstrates a mastery of the Bible that would have been expected from someone who served as a teaching minister and an author of hymn texts.12 Holden lightly edited the scripture he used, but for the most part he repeated and omitted parts for dramatic effect. In several of his anthems, Holden drew from diverse sources of scripture and in one he employed Timothy

Dwight’s sacred poetry.

Holden’s anthem that uses the most diverse sampling of scripture is a Funeral Anthem published in an 1800 collection to commemorate George Washington’s death. Holden used one

Psalm verse but drew mostly from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Holden knits together disparate verses concerning mourning, death, and judgment. For example, he uses a passage from Jeremiah 9. The people of Judah had pursued idolatry through setting up altars to Baal, altars where they should have been worshipping God, and burning their own children as sacrifices. God reveals to Jeremiah that the consequence of their sin is for Jerusalem to be destroyed. In response, Jeremiah mourns: “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes

11 Ibid., 273.

12 Ibid., 271.

80 a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people” (Jeremiah 9:1).

Holden drew the next text from later in the chapter, “for death has come up unto our windows, and is entered into our palaces…to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets” (Jeremiah 9:21). Holden does not use this entire verse, however. When he reaches the text, “…to cut off,” he moves to Isaiah 3. This passage, also about God’s judgment on Jerusalem and Judah, outlines what the Lord will take from his people as punishment, including supplies and goods, to “the mighty man, the man of war, the honorable man and the counsellor” (see

Example 3.3).

Example 3.3. Text from Jeremiah 9 and Isaiah 3 from Oliver Holden “Anthem” Sacred Dirges…George Washington (1800).

O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night. For death has come up to unto our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the mighty man, the man of war, the honorable man and the counsellor.

This anthem text demonstrates his broad knowledge of the Bible and his ability to artfully create an anthem text appropriate for solemn occasions.

In addition to his biblical command, Holden’s anthems demonstrate that he was also well-versed in sacred poetry. Although Isaac Watts was the most popular sacred poet at that time, Holden set a quatrain of Timothy Dwight’s “The Seasons Moralized” following an excerpt from Job 14. These two texts are related in their topical material and imagery. Both cite the brevity of life and the promise of the afterlife while evoking nature (see Example 3.4).

Example 3.4. Oliver Holden, “Funeral Anthem,” The Union Harmony (1796). Job 14:1–2, 11–12 1. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. 2. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not. 11. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, 12. so man lieth down and riseth not: ‘Till the heav’ns be no more, they shall not awake, they shall not awake not be raised out of their sleep.

Timothy Dwight, “The Seasons Moralized.” But the soul in gayest bloom, disdains the bondage of the tomb; Ascends above the clouds of ev’n And raptur’d hails, And raptur’d, hails her native heav’n.

Both texts reference similar imagery, including flowers. Job uses a simile of man as a flower, quick to bloom but short lived. This imagery is echoed in Dwight’s poem, “the soul in gayest bloom, disdains the bondage of the tomb.” In verse 12, Job discusses the promise of resurrection on Judgment day. This parallels the second half of Dwight’s quatrain, which describes the soul ascending into heaven in rapture.

Although there is nothing overtly Baptist about Holden’s anthems, he composed them for a specific civic celebration in mind. It appears that First New England School anthems were not as popular or useful for reprinting as hymns were, because few appear in Crawford’s Core

Repertory.13 But the repertory of Holyoke and Holden demonstrate that by the turn of the century, anthems were composed more often for specific events. This was evidently also the practice for Baptist congregations as well.

As Holyoke and Holden demonstrate, not all First New England composers were fully entrenched in the Congregationalist tradition. Amos Bull worked for Anglican, then Episcopal churches and was a member of Christ Church, an Episcopalian Church in Hartford after the

Revolutionary War. During the Revolutionary War, he had worked at New York’s Trinity

Church Charity School, also Anglican. The school and church were associated with loyalists.

Before Bull’s appointment as headmaster of Charity School, he had taught at singing schools in

New York.14 New York City was a center for loyalists at different times during the War, as can

13 Richard Crawford, The Core Repertory of Early American Psalmody, Recent Researches in American Music Vols. 11–12 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 2000).

14 Ruth Wilson and Laurie Sampsel, “Amos Bull,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 19 May 2016, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music.

82 be seen by the congregants associated with Trinity Church. When the Revolution gained traction,

Bull met the assistant rector of Trinity Church, Charles Inglis, while the composer was working for an Army commissary in Rhode Island.15 Despite Bull’s personal denominational affiliation, he also worked and composed to serve the singing school at the Second Congregational Church in Hartford.16

Bull served as headmaster of the Trinity Church’s Charity School from 1778 to 1782, during the Revolutionary War, a school which had both loyalist and Anglican connections through its funding source, leaders, and location. New York was the site of political action and upheaval from both sides, and although the Continental Army came to occupy the city, loyalists remained. In addition, King’s College, which would later become Columbia University after the war, was located in New York and helped preserve a strong connection between the colonies and

Great Britain. The Charity School had been funded through The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), the missionary arm of London’s Anglican Church. Charles

Inglis, Trinity Church’s assistant rector during the time that Amos Bull was at the Charity

School, had served as an SPG missionary in Delaware before moving to New York. Throughout the War, Inglis published loyalist pamphlets and continued leading prayer for George III despite growing political discord.17 Charles Inglis also moved in loyalist circles with other influential clergy such as Samuel Seabury and Myles Cooper in the middle colonies.18 In 1776 the acting

15 Karl Kroeger, Amos Bull: The Collected Works (New York: Garland, 1996).

16 Ibid.

17 David E. Maas, “Inglis, Charles,” American National Biography Online accessed Thu Sep 21 2017, http://www.anb.org/articles/01/01-00441.html.

18 Timothy Jacobson, Charity & Merit: Trinity School at 300 (Lebanon, NH: New England University Press, 2009), 51.

83 headmaster Richard Hildreth fled New York City because of growing anti-loyalist sentiments before the British took control for the remainder of the War. Upon Hildreth’s return to the city, the school experienced a lower enrollment, perhaps because of the school’s association with

Tories. In subsequent years the school’s enrollment recovered.19

Inglis’s association with Seabury and Cooper demonstrate the strong loyalist association of Trinity Church’s Charity School. Like Inglis, Samuel Seabury had also been a missionary through London’s SPG, served in New Jersey and New York, remained a loyalist, and finally became the first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Although

Seabury was born in Connecticut, his father was also a missionary under the SPG. Seabury was imprisoned in Connecticut for writing against the Continental Congress and was forced to close his church.20 Myles Cooper was a British Anglican minister who came to the American colonies in the early 1760s to work at Kings College. He remained loyal to the crown and encountered resistance as war became imminent. He was in good company at the University, as Cooper and others at Kings College sought to solidify relations between the colonies and Great Britain, and to promote the Anglican Church in the colonies. In 1775 Cooper fled the city to a British ship in harbor, and after escaping a mob on campus in a separate incident, he permanently sailed for

Great Britain the same year.21 These three clergy evince the close association between Trinity

Church and loyalists during the American Revolution and set the context for the Charity School during Amos Bull’s tenure.

19 Ibid.

20 Donald S. Armentrout. “Samuel Seabury,” American National Biography Online, accessed September 21 2017, http://www.anb.org/articles/08/08-02332.html.

21 Eugene R. Fingerhut. “Cooper, Myles,” American National Biography Online, accessed September 21 2017, http://www.anb.org/articles/02/02-00092.html.

Amos Bull published all of his anthems in The Responsory (1795), which was printed in

Worchester, Massachusetts by Isaiah Thomas. Despite the late publication date, some scholars maintain that Bull may have composed some of these pieces while serving as headmaster of

Trinity Charity School.22 John Stickney’s collection Gentlemen and Lady’s Musical Companion

(1774) included a piece by Bull, suggesting that he was composing by that time. Bull is distinguished among First New England composers as he composed and published twelve anthems, a number greater than most of his contemporaries.

Bull’s anthems, on the surface level, might suggest a specifically liturgical use that favored churches that were more in line with the Church of England than with the

Congregational churches. The title page of The Responsory reads: “The Responsary; A

Collection of Church Musick, Set with Second Trebles, instead of Counters, And peculiarly adapted to the use of the New England Churches. Together with A few Useful Rules of

Psalmody.” Bull emphasizes that his collection is appropriate for church use, and “Responsary” probably refers to the psalm after the daily reading from the liturgical calendar. Many tunebooks were printed with singing schools in mind and targeted these institutions, printing helpful rudiments that could be used in the singing school. Bull specifies, however, that his collection was useful for New England churches.

Bull’s specification of churches and a responsary reifies the blurred lines between personal devotion and congregational worship that existed in the New England households.

Although the earliest colonists to New England were separatist Puritans, as the population grew, so did the variety of Protestant denominations. Missionaries from the SPG had been sent to foster growth in the Anglican Church. These ministers served the people of their region whether or not

22 Kroeger, Amos Bull, ix.

85 they were Anglican, so they ended up reinforcing Book of Common Prayer practices in these

Puritan communities.23 Although many Puritan and Congregational churches were skeptical of anything that resembled “popish liturgy,” many congregations adapted all or some of the worship elements from the Book of Common Prayer. If not in the public assembly, Anglican ministers could introduce the daily practices from the Book of Common Prayer for use in the home, thus blurring the distinction between private devotion and public worship.24

Collectively, the texts set in First New England School anthems fit the pattern of heterogeneously Protestant but diverse in sources. In general, the Psalms are the most often set

Biblical texts. Amos Bull’s anthems demonstrate his religious affiliations and practices. For most of his anthems, Bull set psalm verses. For others, he drew from the Authorized Version of the

Bible without much editorial intervention. For the nine anthems based on the Psalms, Bull set psalm verses from the Book of Common Prayer. He used passages form the prophets for two anthems, one from Isaiah, and the other from Habbakuk. Of the other three anthems, one was occasional based on the Christmas narrative from Luke’s gospel. In the index to The Responsary, this anthem is referred to as a “Christmas Anthem.” There are several First New England

Christmas anthems, but Jesus’ birth had not yet become an important celebration for churches outside the Anglican tradition. Indeed, celebrating Christmas was decriminalized in the eighteenth century, with some colonists boasting that life went on without any disruption on

Christmas day.25 Christmas anthems were relatively rare in the repertory of First New England

23 Morgan Dix, A History of the Parish of Trinity Church (New York: GP Putnam and Sons, the Knickerbocker Press, 1898), 1:158.

24 Ibid.

25 Claudia Durst Johnson, Daily Life in Colonial New England (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002), 150.

School composers; Karl Kroeger includes four in his Early American Anthems.26 Because the

Congregationalist Church was such a stronghold in New England, First New England School composers would not have much opportunity or reason to compose Christmas music, be it for church or community activities.

Bull made minor edits to his anthem texts before setting them. With some exceptions, he often used text repetition and omissions to clarify the meaning. In his Christmas anthem, Bull set the angel’s text from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel with no alterations. After the text from verse 14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” Bull adds the following:

Break forth in songs, break forth in songs, rejoice, rejoice, ye sons of men. Break forth in songs, break forth in songs, sing, sing together, ye redeemed of the Lord.

This unidentified text fits the mood of the passage.

Considering these anthems from a denominational perspective has its challenges. While multiple Protestant denominations are represented among First New England composers, composers’ itinerancy, the singing school tradition, the position of missionaries and ministers from the Anglican Church, and the use of diverse books for personal devotion helped create a heterogeneously Protestant environment. Additionally, in order for tunebooks to be marketable, it was preferable to make them appealing to many of the Protestant denominations present in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century New England. Perhaps this explains the prevalence of occasional anthems, such as the case of Holden and Holyoke. The text used by these different composers demonstrates the widespread use of sacred poetry for anthems and composers’ preference for psalm versions. Holyoke employed different versions of the psalms for his

26 Karl Kroeger, Early American Anthem, Recent Researches in American Music Vols. 36–37 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 2000).

87 anthems. However, Holden and Bull seemed to prefer Biblical passages more closely affiliated with their respective denominations: Holden used the Authorized Version of the Psalms, and

Bull used settings from the Book of Common Prayer and composed a Christmas anthem. Bull’s apparent preference for the Book of Common Prayer does not imply that this version was preferred only by Anglican composers. Indeed, many composers used this version of the psalms in their anthems. The example of the Book of Common Prayer and Amos Bull demonstrates the challenge of tracing denominational tenets in Early American anthems.

Chapter 4

Boston and the Northern Territory: Geography and the Early American Anthem

Although William Billings is often considered a typical First New England School composer, his music reflects particular sensibilities. He was particularly patriotic, outspoken, a literary maven, and an idiosyncratic composer. Although he traveled to teach singing schools, his anthems can best be viewed from the perspective of a thoroughly urban composer. This chapter explores the impact of a composer’s location on his anthems.

Region and location are important elements of eighteenth-century sacred music in general. Compilers of the Norumbega Harmony (2003), a present-day tunebook compiled by the singing community of the same name in the Boston area, bring together and celebrate the First

New England singing school tradition and its revival in the twentieth century. This tunebook features hymns and a few anthems from eighteenth-century composers, as well as contemporary pieces composed by participants in present-day singing schools. The historical pieces are organized by region because the singing school and its compositional practice also bears some geographic distinction. Norumbega Harmony recognizes one city and four regions: Boston, rural

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and eastern New York, and Maine.1 Another geographic element to First New England composers and singing school teachers is their itinerancy. In this context, Justin Morgan’s anthems may possess some of the elements of urban composers because of his travels, despite his residency in Vermont.

This chapter examines in turn the anthems of composers who lived in and around Boston, those who lived further from Boston, and those composers who settled in Maine, far from the

1 Stephen Marini, introduction to Norumbega Harmony: Historic and Contemporary Hymn Tunes and Anthems from the New England Singing School Tradition (Oxford: University of Mississippi Press, 2003), xv–xvi.

89 urban sensibilities of Boston. Composers from Boston share some commonalities in repertory and the themes in their compositions. In particular, there is little evidence of rural composers engaging in political discourse through their anthems like the urban composers. Urban composers seemed to compose more anthems in general, and they were more likely to have composed Fast Day anthems. The preponderance of disestablishment churches in rural areas may explain paucity of Fast Day anthems. Although Vermont can be considered to be far from the urban centers of New England, these composers and singing-school teachers were well-traveled and itinerant. Despite his geographic separation, Elisha West drew on a wide variety of sources for his anthems, and composed a “Deliverance Anthem” with violent themes reminiscent of

Billings’s politically charged anthems.2 In this chapter, composers from Maine are the final group considered. Their anthems demonstrate trends and topics that are distinct from the rest of the composers.

William Billings’s overt politics in his music can be understood in relation to his residence in Boston. That Billings composed several anthems and pieces with overt political connections and referencing the Revolutionary War speaks not only to his personal politics but also to his geographic location. Boston was known as a center for political activity leading up to the American Revolutionary War, so it is no surprise that Billings’s music reflects these events.

His version of Psalm 137 demonstrates both his politics and geographic location. In

“Lamentation Over Boston,” Billings referenced specific towns in and around Boston, citing the violence that transpired in Watertown, Roxbury, and Boston. That some of Billings’s anthems are so overtly political speaks to both his personal convictions and his urban sensibilities.

2 Billings’s political anthems are discussed in Chapter 2.

The same may be said for Hans Gram’s anthem “Bind Kings with Chains.” Gram may have ventured to pen an anthem with political overtones because he felt comfortable that it would appeal to an urban audience.3 Another distinction between urban and rural composers is the tunebooks their works appeared in, particularly if their anthems were composed for a specific publication. Gram’s “Bind Kings with Chains” appeared in the fifth edition of the Worcester

Collection (1794). Printer Isaiah Thomas issued this collection with the assistance of musicians, creating a tunebook that would become a model for others in this tradition. He included music considered favorites from Europe and the United States, as well as new music. The practice of including recognized favorites in a tunebook became a frequent practice for eighteeth- and early nineteenth-century compilers and helped the sales of their collections.4

Composers such as William Billings, Oliver Holden, Samuel Holyoke, Amos Bull, and

Daniel Read were active in urban areas and in regions with the longest history of singing school psalmody. These composers were often more prolific composers than their rural colleagues.

William Billings lived in and around Boston his entire life and was associated with important patriots during his time there. Oliver Holden and Samuel Holyoke were instrumental in promoting European taste in sacred music in the Boston area with their publication of The

Massachusetts Compiler (1795), an undertaking they completed with Danish-American composer Hans Gram. Amos Bull settled in Hartford, Connecticut and spent the Revolutionary

War years in New York City, where he worked at the Trinity Church as clerk and headmaster of

3 “Lamentation Over Boston” and “Bind Kings with Chains” are discussed in Chapter 2.

4 Allen Britton, Irving Lowens and Richard Crawford, American Sacred Music Imprints, 1690 – 1810: A Bibliography (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1990), 6–7.

91 the parish school.5 Daniel Read lived in Attleboro, Massachusetts for much of his early life, but settled in New Haven, Connecticut.

Other First New England composers lived away from urban centers, but lived close enough to visit or be associated with cities such as Boston. Samuel Babcock, Jacob French,

Jacob Kimball, and Abraham Wood are representatives. Timothy Swan lived in a more rural area of New England, but had exposure to the culture and ideas of urban New England through traveling preachers, teachers, and scholars.6 Composers such as Justin Morgan traveled to teach singing schools. Although he lived in Vermont, Morgan traveled to lead singing schools.7

Most of these composers were also affiliated with Congregational churches. Samuel

Babcock was the choir director at the Congregational Church in Watertown. If composers were not affiliated with a particular Congregational Church through their personal faith, they might still have a relationship with their local Congregationalist Church. For example, Amos Bull was a parishioner of the Hartford Episcopalian Church but choir director at South Congregational

Church for over two decades.8 There were some composers who were associated with other denominations. Oliver Holden’s religious affiliation has been discussed above, but Daniel Read was the choir director at the United Society Church in New Haven.9 The Congregational Church

5 Amos Bull’s career is discussed in Chapter 3.

6Nym Cooke, introduction to Psalmody and Secular Songs: Timothy Swan, Recent Researches in American Music 26 ed. John Graziano (Madison WI: A-R Editions, 1997), xvii–xviii.

7 Nym Cooke, “Justin Morgan,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed November 1, 2017, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/19128.

8 Ruth Wilson and Laurie Sampsel, “Amos Bull,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 28, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/ A2248531.

9 Richard Crawford and Karl Kroeger, “Daniel Read,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed January 28, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/ A2252270.

92 was the best-established church in New England, although upstart denominations were scattered throughout the region. This could impact the types of anthems these composers penned. Maine composers were likely to be affiliated with or at least compose music for disestablishment churches in the region and their adherents. In addition to biblical verse and Isaac Watts’s poetry, they also drew from poets associated with these denominations.

Composers in urban centers composed anthems for a variety of occasions, often addressing several topics. For all First New England composers, the most common occasions were Thanksgiving and an Ordination or Dedication. These topics are well represented in anthems by composers from populous regions. In addition to those occasions, composers from populous regions seemed to compose more anthems appropriate for a Fast Day. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Fast Days were decreed by the local governor, or later, by the president.10 William Bentley, a minister in eastern Massachusetts during this time, noted that Fast Day observances were unpopular with his congregants. They were often called for in

April but could be also held in response to a disaster.11 William Billings composed several anthems appropriate for a Fast Day, as did Jacob French, Daniel Read, Samuel Holyoke, and

Oliver Holden. Anthems that were particularly mournful or called for austerity could also be employed for a Fast Day observance even if they were not titled as such.12

Composer Jacob French composed his anthem “Rebellion: An Anthem for a Fast,” which was first printed in Village Harmony (1797) and then five years later in Harmony of Harmony

(1802). French draws on Biblical verse from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He edited the

10 Karl Kroeger, Early American Anthems, Recent Researches in American Music 36, ed. John Graziano (Madison WI: A-R Editions, 2000), xiv.

11 Ibid, xivnn22–24.

12 Chapters 3 and 5 contain other examples of Fast Day anthems.

93 scripture so that the anthem presents the ways that people have been sinful, how they need to acknowledge their sin, and what actions should be taken. Structurally, French uses the phrase

“Ah simple nation” as a refrain throughout the first half of the anthem. The anthem opens with

Isaiah 1:2, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,” “I, the Lord hath spoke; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. Ah, simple nation.” The anthem next outlines what Israel can do to remedy the situation with Isaiah 1:16: “Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.” Finally, French sets

Isaiah 1:17, which outlines what should replace their sinful behavior: “seek judgement, relieve the oppressed, plead for the widow.” As a result of these actions, God will wash their sin away and be among them so gloriously that they will have to hide from him: “Enter into the rock, and hide thyself in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly” (Isaiah 2:10).

William Billings also composed anthems for or appropriate to a Fast Day. His anthem

“Sanctify a Fast” from Continental Harmony (1794) uses Biblical verse from the book of Joel.

The passage outlines hardships of God’s people: they are living in drought conditions and are without resources. In response to this hardship, they call for a meeting and a fast. The passage describes the assembly, “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, O Lord, Spare thy people, for wherefore should the heathen say,

‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 1:17). Billings edits this passage and shortens it. The people ask for mercy so that they will not be ruled by the heathen who would mock their misfortune. Finally, the children of God hear from God that he will send rain, the drought will end, that their coffers of wheat, wine, and oil will be full. They will have plenty to eat and they are promised

94 deliverance for calling on the Lord. Billings lightly edits the passage from Joel and omits sections to create a more succinct narrative.

Oliver Holden published “An Anthem for Fast Day” in his own American Harmony

(1792). Holden drew on various psalms from the Authorized Version for this anthem, with some passages from the Book of Common Prayer. Holden does not use significant portions of any particular psalm, but instead stitches together single verses from different psalms, save for Psalm

80. He chose single verses that appeal to God to hear the faithful’s prayers and help them, but

Holden uses two verses to describe God’s relationship to the faithful: “Return, return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from heav’n, look down, look down from heav’n and visit this vine and the vineyard, and the vineyard which thy own right hand hath planted” (Psalm

80:14–15). The anthem ends with a cry to God for salvation and deliverance from sin.

Composer Elisha West (b. 1756) was associated with rural areas and his musical activity occurred while he lived in Vermont. His family moved from Plymouth, MA to southern Maine, where he lived until he moved to Woodstock, Vermont sometime 1790. Once settled, he earned a living as a farmer but also taught singing schools in the area.13 He composed five anthems and published them in his own tunebook, The Musical Concert (1802). The second edition of

Abraham Maxim’s The Northern Harmony (1808) also contains West’s “Anthem: Psalm 124.”14

In addition to mixing Biblical prose and sacred poetry in his anthems, he also editorially emended the text. West’s anthems demonstrate that he was well-read and facile at editing scripture. His anthems utilize the Authorized Version of the Psalms, the Book of Common

13 Karl Kroger, Two Vermont Composers: The Collected Works of Elisha West and Justin Morgan, Music of the New American Nation: Sacred Music from 1780 to 1820 7 (New York: Garland, 1997), xxi.

14 One such instance has already been discussed in Chapter 3.

Prayer, poetry by Joshua Smith, and passages from the Old Testament books of Isaiah and

Habbakuk.

West’s “Deliverance Anthem” appeared in both editions of The Musical Concert (1802 and 1807). For this anthem about vengeance, he drew on the Authorized Version of the Psalms and the Book of Common Prayer. Several of Billings’s anthems concern God’s wrath and vengeance, which may reflect Billings’s engagement in political events in Boston.15 However, the topic was unusual for other composers in general, and a composer such as West who was far afield from the political action of Boston. West opens the anthem with a passage from Psalm 7:

“Arise, O God, in thine anger, Lift up thyself because of the rage of thine enemies. Awake for me and come to judgment.” West draws on both the Authorized Version of the Psalms and the

Book of Common Prayer Version for both Psalm 7 and Psalm 35 (see Table 4.1) and makes a refrain out of Psalms 35:5–6. The passage of Psalm 35 calls upon God to exact revenge on those who trouble the speaker.

Table 4.1, Comparison of Psalm 35, Authorized Version and Book of Common Prayer.

Authorized Version, Psalm 35 Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 35 1 Plead my cause, O God, with them that 1 Plead thou my cause, O Lord, with them strive with me: and fight thou against them that strive with me: and fight thou against that fight against me. them that fight against me. 3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way 3 Bring forth the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. soul, I am thy salvation. 5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, and 5 Let them be as the dust before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them. the Angel of the Lord scattering them. 6 Let their ways be dark and slippery: and let 6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. the Angel of the Lord persecute them.

15 See Chapter 2.

Even though the two versions are similar, West used elements from each version in his anthem see Example 4.1). West’s use of repetition in Psalm 35:5–6 maximize the impact of these verses.

In the original, these verses mirror one another, and West’s setting amplifies this relationship.

Example 4.1. Elisha West “Deliverance Anthem” from The Musical Concert, 1802.

Plead my cause, O Lord God, plead my cause, with them that strive with me: and fight thou against them that fight against me. Draw out thy sword and smite the men that rise up against me. Let their ways be dark and slippery; let them be like chaff before the wind, Let their ways be dark and slippery. Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away with the angel of the Lord pursuing them for the angels they shall chase them. For the angels they shall chase them.

In his “Mount Paran,” West also employs diverse sources and employs repetition and paraphrase. In this anthem he draws from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk before quoting

Psalm verses and some unidentified sacred poetry. Like in his “Deliverance Anthem,” West depicts power and vengeance. In particular, the verses that open the anthem draw on imagery of

God’s power over expansive and immoveable objects: heavens and mountains. The passage from

Habakkuk references specific places from the Old Testament and describes the glory of God:

“God came from Timon and the holy one from Mount Paran. His glory cover’d o’er the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.” The verse from Psalm (18:9) continue this imagery: “He bow’d the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. And when the trumpet sounded long and loud.” West then skips to Psalm 18:13 but abbreviates it: “The Lord thunder’d in the heavens’ the highest gave his voice.” The original Psalm 18:13 read: “The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice: hail stones and coals of fire.” West shortens this verse so that it emphasizes the anthem’s previous passages. West moves to Psalm

18:10 and paraphrases that verse as follows: “He rode upon the cherubim and did fly. Yea, he did fly on the wings of the wind, for the salvation of his people.” Although West omitted the section in Psalm 18:13 that referenced hail and fire, he draws on Habakkuk for the same image, “Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.”

At the end of the anthem, West employed a section of rhyming verse that draws on several Psalm verses. The topic of this rhyming verse is praise through song (see Table 4.2).

Table 4.2. Rhyming Verse and Possible Scriptural Sources, Elias West, “Mount Paran,” The Musical Companion (1802).

Possible Psalm References Rhyming Verse from West’s “Mount Paran.”

Psalm 92:3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon Ye tribes all assemble his praises to sing. the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn The lute, harp, and timbrel in harmony bring; sound. Let instruments stringed their highest notes Psalm 150:3–6 raise, Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise With organs and cymbals sound loud in his him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon praise, sound loud in his praise, the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing With organs and cymbals sound loud in his that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the praise. Lord. Psalm 148:11–13 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, Let old men and infants in musical throng, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, With young men and virgins sing sweetly and maidens; old men, and children: Let them their song, sing sweetly their song, praise the name of the LORD: for his name With young men and virgins sing sweetly alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth their song. and heaven.

West’s use of scripture that describes God’s power for vengeance and violence calls into question the hypothesis that particularly violent texts were associated with urban composers or composers who composed anthems with Revolutionary politics. However, West’s use of this violent imagery is different than Billings’s because West does not reference specific events from

98 the Revolutionary War. West makes no reference to monarchy nor does he cite scripture that emphasizes God as king. While West’s imagery is that of a violent God, the specific anti- monarchy themes and references to British violence against colonists is lacking. West’s anthem may be read as a call for spiritual protection or a more generalized call for protection against threats unnamed.

Composers in Maine were the furthest from New England’s urban centers. William

Billings influenced the most successful Maine composer of psalmody, Supply Belcher, who served as a model for subsequent Maine composers. Although Maine was a settlement of

Massachusetts until 1820, the so-called Northern Frontier was distinct economically, politically, and culturally from Massachusetts. One of Maine’s economic sources was shipping, which was continually in flux from the time of the Revolution through the War of 1812. Those who lived on the river-ways and the coast were dependent upon an active shipping industry to thrive economically, and embargos thwarted the income of the Maine shipping industry.16 Aside from the shipping industry, Maine offered residents access to cheap farmland. As the urban areas in

New England became more crowded, families moved north and inland for access to additional land. More affluent families settled in New York and Vermont, poorer families settled in Maine because it was easier and less expensive to travel by boat.17 Maine became such a popular destination with New Englanders that the population quintupled from the time of the

Revolutionary War to Maine independence, 1784–1820.18

16 Linda Davenport, Divine Song on the Northern Frontier: Maine’s Sacred Tunebooks, 1800–1830, Composers of North America 18, ed. Dennison, et al. (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1996), 24.

17 Ibid., 18.

18 Ibid., 17n1. The population grew from 58,321 to 298,335.

Politically, Mainers were distinct from their Massachusetts counterparts. For decades, some Mainers longed for separation from Massachusetts, but it was not until 1820 that statehood was achieved. After the Revolutionary War, inland Maine residents were likely to be Democrat-

Republicans, while residents on the coast were more likely to be Federalists, supporting a large, centralized government. As these inland communities grew, so did the desire for smaller government. Frontier settlers were usually adherents to the Democratic-Republican form of government.19

The prevailing religious atmosphere in Maine closely followed political affiliation. As those on the Maine frontier supported a weak centralized government, so they also favored disestablishment churches. Social institutions had been slow to arrive in Maine, so this served as an escape for those who had grown tired of these institutions. Maine settlers were more likely to associate with Separate and Freewill Baptists, Universalists, Methodists, and Shakers than

Congregationalists. So strong was the disdain for the established church that Congregationalist ministers were reluctant to accept commissions to Maine. As a result, many Maine towns went without a preacher or established church, creating a space for itinerant preachers from disestablishment churches. As the Maine population grew, so did the size of these disestablishment churches: by 1820 Baptists and Methodists outnumbered Congregationalists.20

Two of the most famous early American composers associated with Maine were James

Lyon and Supply Belcher. Lyon moved to Maine in 1772 after printing his landmark tunebook,

Urania (1761). Although he came to be known as a transplant to Maine, scholar Linda

Davenport believe that he composed his music before he moved to Maine.21 Lyon holds the

19 Ibid., 20.

20 Ibid., 21.

100 distinction among American composers as the first to print a tunebook in the North American colonies, but his music is not considered in the First New England School compositional idiom that was popularized by subsequent composers such as William Billings, Amos Bull, and others.

Supply Belcher was a typical immigrant to the Maine territory. He had been born in

Stoughton, Massachusetts and had been a member of the Stoughton Music Society while living there. From Massachusetts, he moved to Hallowell, Maine before settling in Farmington. Once in

Farmington, Belcher became a pillar of the community as town clerk, selectman, and a state legislature representative. As a compiler of tunebooks, Belcher served as a model for subsequent

Maine composers. Although his Harmony of Maine contained all his own music, Belcher included a wide variety of types of pieces in his collection, making it marketable to both singing schools and churches.22 Belcher also included fuging tunes in his collection, a genre that continued to be popular in rural Maine long after it had fallen out of fashion in urban. Belcher also included a few anthems in his collection, demonstrating that, although they may have been called for in certain situations, they enjoyed limited usefulness to those on the Maine frontier.23

Another Maine composer was Abraham Maxim. Like Belcher, Maxim had been born in

Massachusetts and immigrated to Maine later in life in the 1790s. His 1801 marriage is the first official record of his new residence. In line with the trajectory of the development of the region,

Maxim’s new home was a farming community whose population doubled in the 1790s with new residents eager to take advantage of inexpensive land for their families.24 Also typical of Maine

21 Ibid. 21.

22 Linda Davenport, Supply Belcher (1751–1836): The Collected Works, Music of the New American Nation: Sacred Music from 1780 to 1820 5 (New York: Garland, 1997), xxii.

23 Davenport, Divine Song, 82–83.

24 Ibid., 90.

101 residents was Maxim’s association with disestablishment churches. Although there is no evidence of Maxim’s joining the Universalist Church, he appeared to be at least sympathetic to this new denomination, signing a petition for the incorporation of a Universalist parish church in

Turner. He also described his Northern Harmony (1808) as appropriate for the “Church

Universal.” The strongest evidence for Maxim’s support of the Universalist Church is his use of

Universalist poets in his hymnbook, The Gospel Hymn Book (1818). This book allowed

Universalists a source of poetry that fit their beliefs to use with tunes they already knew.25

From the next generation of Maine composers, Charles Robbins spent most of his life in

Maine. His family settled in Greene in 1788 when Robbins was six. By profession, Robbins was a cabinet maker then a tavern proprietor. Scholars believe that Robbins may have attended the singing schools of Supply Belcher and Abraham Maxim. Linda Davenport demonstrates that the best evidence of Robbins’s and Belcher’s acquaintance is that latter’s music appears in

Robbins’s Columbian Harmony: five of the seven pieces Robbins included of Belcher’s appear to be first printings.26

In their own ways, each of these composers represent the Maine geographic territory as outlined by Davenport. Belcher and Maxim fit the model of Massachusetts immigrants to the

Maine territory, and although Robbins was younger than Belcher and Maxim, his family settled in Maine under the same circumstances during his childhood. All of them also fit into the mold of First New England composers as they all pursued non-musical careers, appeared to have learned music at singing schools, and were otherwise self-taught musicians. Maxim, in

25 Ibid., 94–97.

26 Ibid., 135.

102 particular, seems to have espoused the rural Maine penchant for association with the disestablishment by his church affiliations.

Supply Belcher composed four anthems setting a mixture of Biblical verse and sacred poetry. Three of these anthems had their only printing in Belcher’s own tunebook, The Harmony of Maine (1794), but his “Ordination Anthem” was printed in two tunebooks: the sixth edition of the Worcester Collection (1797) under Oliver Holden and Charles Robbins’s The Columbian

Harmony (1805). Belcher chose verse from a wide swath of the Bible for his “Ordination

Anthem,” utilizing four books from the Old and New Testaments: the Authorized Version of the

Psalms, First Kings, Isaiah, and Revelation. Belcher pieced together his text, in order to emphasize the indwelling of God on the earth and praise. Belcher omitted, repeated, and paraphrased Biblical verse. The anthem opens with a passage that is loosely related to Revelation

15:3 followed by an edited version of Psalm 132:8–9 (see Table 4.3a).

Table 4.3a. Psalm 132, Authorized Version and Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem,” from Northern Harmony (1808). Psalm 132:8–9, Authorized Version Psalm 132:8–9, Belcher, “Ordination Anthem” Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark This day arise, arise and dwell among thy of thy strength. people, Thou and the ark of thy strength, Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; let thy saints, O Lord, be clothed with and let thy saints shout for joy. righteousness. And let thy saints sing, let them sing, let them sing with joyful joyfulness.

In Belcher’s version, he changed the beginning of the psalm to relate to the occasion, that God would be among His people. Belcher edits the next verse (Psalm 132:9) in a manner that might have been more appealing New England protestants in general, and those in Maine who had a propensity toward disestablishment. Belcher omits “priests” and instead speaks only of “saints.”

The change from “shout” to “sing” at the end of the passage can be understood as self-reflexive:

103 literally singing by a choir instead of shouting. Belcher applies this same editing practice later in the anthem when he sets Psalm 132:16 (see Table 4.3b).

Table 4.3b. Psalm 132, Authorized Version and Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem,” from Northern Harmony (1808).

Psalm 132:16, Authorized Version Psalm 132:16, Belcher, “Ordination Anthem” I will also clothe her priest with salvation, and I will deck her priests with my salvation, and her saints will shout aloud for joy her saints shall rejoice, shall rejoice, and sing.

Belcher’s version of Psalm 132 is succinct in the first half, but emphasizes music again in the second half. A change to this pattern occurs at the end of the anthem when Belcher sets Isaiah

12:6. In this instance, Belcher emphasizes the declamatory nature of the prophet by repeating

“shout”: “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the holy one of Israel in the midst of thee.”

Musically, Belcher subtly depicts the difference between singing and shouting. Early in the anthem, he sets the text for “singing” homophonically, then repeats it with polyphonic entrances. The treble and tenor enter first with a rhythmic melisma on the word “sing,” then the alto and bass enter and have the text in sustained rhythms (mm. 30–36). Conversely, Isaiah 12 is presented homophonically in all parts. The rhythmic profile is quarter and eighth notes (mm.

161–74) (see Example 4.2).

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Example 4.2. Supply Belcher, “Ordination Anthem” mm. 161–72.

In “Ordination Anthem” Belcher edits Biblical verse in ways to emphasize the occasion for which he composed the anthem, namely, the indwelling of God on earth upon the occasion of the ordination of a minister. He emphasizes the act of praise, God’s response to his people,

God’s power, and the impetus to praise. Belcher achieves this with text repetitions, but he does it most effectively at the anthem’s beginning where he paraphrases Psalm 132.

Belcher draws from sacred poetry in a well-known Baptist collection for his “Easter

Anthem.” Thomas Scott (1705–1775) had been an English clergyman who worked for most of

105 his career in the Presbyterian Church in Ipswich until 1774. His hymns appeared in Enfield’s

Hymns for Public Worship (1772) and in his own Lyric Poems (1773).27 Despite these publications, Scott’s hymns appear to have most widely circulated in John Ash and Caleb

Evans’s A Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (also known as Bristol Baptist

Collection) (1769) where it was misattributed to Thomas Gibbons until the third edition (1778).

Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnody claims that the poem circulated in the United States through

Rippon’s Selection (1787).28 There are differences between the version in the Bristol Collection and the one Belcher sets in his anthem. The imagery, poetic meter, subject, and most of the poetry is similar, but in the first stanza Belcher changes the middle lines of poetry but retains the meaning. The second stanza has changes to the first and last lines. The former uses declamatory verse, giving more opportunity for musical interest. Similarly, the latter has been modified to allow for poetic iteration. The third stanza has the most significant changes. While both versions deal with the assumption of Christ, Belcher’s version focuses the last two stanzas on the angel’s praise of Christ. Finally, the differences between the fourth stanzas demonstrate a change to the poem’s meaning. Both also use similar imagery to describe Christ being welcomed into heaven; however at the end of the stanza, the Bristol version makes reference to Christ reigning in heaven with God, and Belcher’s version focuses on Christ and does not mention God in discussing the heavenly reign (see Table 4.4 below).

27 John D. Julian, A Dictionary of Hymnology: Origin and History of Christian Hymns and Hymnwriters of All Ages and Nations, Together with Biographical and Critical Notices of Their Authors and Translators (New York: Dover Publications, 1957), 1020.

28 Ibid., 69.

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Table 4.4. Comparison of Thomas Scott, “Hymn 106” and Supply Belcher, “An Anthem for Easter” from The Harmony of Maine (1794).

Thomas Scott, Hymn 106, “The Resurrection Supply Belcher, “An Anthem for Easter: and Ascension,” Bristol Collection, (1769).29 Angels Roll the Rock Away,” The Harmony of Maine (1794). 1. Angels, roll the Rock away, Angels roll the rock away, Death yield up thy mighty Prey: Den of death resign thy prey; See! He rises from the Tomb, see the saviour quit the tomb, Glowing with immortal Bloom glowing with immortal bloom.

2. ’Tis the savior, Angels, raise Shout, shout ye seraphs, Gabriel raise Fame’s eternal trump of Praise; fame’s eternal trump of praise. Let the Earth’s remotest bound, Let the earth’s remotest bound, Hear the Joy-inspiring Sound echo to the blissful sound echo to the blissful sound 3. Now, ye Saints, lift up your Eyes, Saints of God, lift up your eyes, Now to Glory see him rise See the conqu’ror scale the skies, In long Triumph up the Sky, troops of angels on the road, Up to waiting worlds on high Hail and sing, hail and sing, hail and sing th’incarnate God.

4. Heaven displays her Portals wide, Heav’n unfolds its portals wide, Glorious Hero through them ride; Matchless hero through them ride, King of Glory, mount Thy Throne King of glory mount thy throne, Thy great Father’s and thy Own boundless empire is thy own. (2x) Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, amen and amen.

Belcher’s use of this poetry can be seen in light of the popularity of disestablishment churches in

Maine. Each of the collections from which Scott created this poem, Scott’s own, Rippon’s

Selection, and the Bristol Collection, are from the Baptist Church and therefore may have been particularly popular or circulated in the Maine territory.30

29 [John Ash and Caleb Evans], A Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (Bristol: W. Pine, 1769), 86.

30 Ibid.

107

Belcher’s “Funeral Anthem” is also based on a poem by a disestablishment theologian.

The poem is believed to have been written by Abner Kneeland who started his career as a Baptist minister. He then converted to Universalism, and his religious views became so far removed from the mainstream that he was tried for blasphemy in Boston in 1836. Belcher’s “Funeral

Anthem” appeared in Harmony of Maine (1794). As Abner Kneeland was born in 1774, he seems young to have had sacred poetry circulating and set by a Northern Territory composer.

However, Kneeland did go on to compile tunebooks for Universalists and non-sectarians.31

Belcher did not edit Kneeland’s poem. The poem’s subject is the death of a Christian, his earthly body going back to the earth and his soul ascending to Christ in heaven, as experienced by the living loved one. Death is portrayed as another command of Christ under the authority of God.

The text balances the mourner’s sorrow over the death of her loved one with the imagery of the joyful promises of heaven.

Belcher’s fourth anthem in The Harmony of Maine is without a specific occasion or purpose, but is simply titled after Psalm 100. Belcher sets the entire psalm with a benediction from 1 Timothy. Belcher did only mild editing of the Biblical verse for this anthem. Most of the edits were repetitions of phrases. The only other type of editing was a synonym in verse 5 from

“For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting” to “For Jehovah is full of goodness and his mercy is everlasting.” Based on the content of the anthem, this piece would have been appropriate for Thanksgiving Day (see Example 4.3).

Example 4.3. Supply Belcher, “An Anthem of Praise: Make a Joyful Noise,” The Harmony of Maine (1804). 1. Make a joyful noise, unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2. Serve the Lord with gladness, Come before his presence with singing. 3. Knowing ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. We are his people, his people, his people, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

31 Julian, 1576.

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4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise, Be thankful unto him, and bless his name, be thankful unto him and bless his name. 5. For Jehovah is full of goodness, and his mercy is everlasting, for Jehovah is full of goodness, and his mercy is ever, ever, everlasting; And his truth will endure to all generations, his truth will endure to all generations (2x) 1 Tim 1:17 Now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory, honour and glory, honour and glory, Through Jesus Christ, both now and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. Amen.

In their subject matter and function, Supply Belcher’s anthems are typical for an eighteenth-century First New England School composer. Aside from more prolific and idiosyncratic composers like William Billings, Belcher’s anthems have a specific purpose in a civic and religious context: “An Ordination Anthem,” “Funeral Anthem,” “Easter Anthem,” and

“Anthem for Praise” are appropriate for particular occasions. Belcher’s choice of poetry fit with the social and religious observations of and about Maine at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The further from the more cosmopolitan river towns and coastline, the more welcome and plentiful were practitioners of disestablishment churches such as Baptists and Universalists.

Belcher’s anthems demonstrate that distinction as well, as he drew from poetry that was associated with both of these disestablishment denominations.

Abraham Maxim was another typical Maine territory immigrant in his professional and his religious affiliations. Records show that he signed a petition in support of the incorporation of a Universalist Church in Maine, but his hymn collection The Gospel Hymn Book (1818) was compiled with this church in mind. This collection of religious poetry gave Universalist parishioners a collection to their denomination for use with music from tunebooks they may have already owned.32 In the introduction to The Gospel Hymn Book, Maxim writes that this publication is designed to demonstrate the doctrine of Restoration of Christ through his

32 Davenport, Divine Song, 98.

109 mediation of sin for all people. This book was printed “To furnish the Church Universal with a variety of Hymns, breathing that spirit of Universal Love and Benevolence which is the effusion of the faith in the Gospel of the Grace of God.” He goes on the say that this grace will save the whole human race, without exception.33 Maxim’s introduction specifies the idea of Universal atonement, which was specific to this denomination.

Maxim’s collection included “Anthem of Praise,” which drew from the Authorized

Version of the Psalms. Maxim edits the psalm by inserting text repetitions, which emphasize the end of musical phrases with small melismas. Maxim’s other anthem is designated for

Thanksgiving and demonstrates how he may have appealed to Universalist parishioners. The text of the anthem is taken from Maxim’s Gospel Hymn Book. This poem is not attributed to a specific author, but a search reveals two instances of this text: Maxim’s anthem in The Northern

Harmony (1808) and The Gospel Hymn Book (1818) more than a decade later.

The poem itself is one of praise to Christ specifically and does not mention God. The first quatrain is in praise to Christ, offering songs and anthems to Him in reverence to his sovereignty.

The next section praises a bountiful harvest and land (see Example 4.4).

Example 4.4. Stanza 2, Hymn 143b from The Gospel Hymn Book as used in “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” The Northern Harmony (1808).

Health and plenty bless our land Bounty of a might hand, Love and mercy both appear, Smiling goodness crowns the year Smiling goodness crowns the year

The poem then goes through individual elements of nature that live in praise to God, reminiscent of the middle section of Psalm 148:7–10 (see Table 4.5).

33 [Abraham Maxim], The Gospel Hymn Book, Being a Selection of Hymns (n.p. 1818), iii–iv.

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Table 4.5. Comparison of Psalm 148:7–10 and Stanzas 3, 4, and 5 of Hymn 143b from The Gospel Hymn Book as used in “Anthem for Thanksgiving,” The Northern Harmony (1808). Psalm 148: 7–10 Hymn 143b Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, Yellow fields lift up their voice, and all deeps: Trees with fruitfull praise rejoice; Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy Copious flow’rs refresh the hills, wind fulfilling his word: Nature’s bosom grateful thrills. Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all Scatter’d round the verdant vale, cedars: Notes of lowing herds prevail; Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and From the holy mountains brow. flying fowl Bleating flocks are heard below

The poem closes with a call for all to join the shepherds’ song of gratitude in praise of a plentiful harvest.

Although this poem does not draw on the specific theological beliefs about atonement and salvation that Maxim specifies in his introduction, it is nevertheless connected to disestablishment denominations by its inclusion in The Gospel Hymn Book. Maxim’s introduction to The Gospel Hymn Book demonstrates his connection with the Universalist

Church. Maxim may have authored this poem himself as it appeared in two of his publications.

Charles Robbins’s “Anthem for Thanksgiving Day” was included in his Columbian

Harmony (1805). Although there is no evidence of this anthem being reprinted or the tunebook going through multiple editions, it represents an anthem by a composer active in rural areas.

Robbins’s anthem commemorating Thanksgiving Day is based on the Authorized Version of the

Psalms. As Thanksgiving was the most popular holiday in New England for a time, celebrations involved civic gatherings at local churches and anthems performed for these occasions. In a region where there were sparse congregations and churches and Christians did not stand too often on ceremony from week to week, a special occasion anthem, like ones for Thanksgiving, were the most common types of anthems in these collections. Robbins employs a variety of verses from psalms and edited them by omitting portions of some verses.

111

Considering these anthems by region demonstrates another distinct facet of New England

School composers. Political motivation and religious affiliation seem to have influenced anthem composition to an extent, and geographic locale adds another layer of interpretation. Composers from more populous regions, particularly those around Boston, had more use for anthems in general. Their place in civic celebrations was well established, and these pieces were also performed during regular worship. There are more anthems by composers in urban areas than by those in rural regions. As far as topic is concerned, First New England composers had need for

Thanksgiving, Praise, Ordination, and Dedication anthems. Composers in less populous or rural areas did not have as much use for Fast Day anthems. Anthems with patriotic themes seem to be more prevalent in composers associated with urban areas. Additionally, composers who drew on diverse scripture and edited Biblical scripture and sacred poetry were more often from urban areas. Elisha West, however, proves to be an exception. His “Deliverance Anthem” depicts God as vengeful and calls on action from him. West’s “Mount Paran” also demonstrates that he was familiar with diverse parts of the Bible and could put together an artful anthem-text from a variety of sources. Denominational affiliation also merged with geographical considerations to make disestablishment poets popular with Maine composers. Similarly, perhaps the unpopularity of the Congregationalist Church in Maine contributed to the fact that composers in the Northern

Territory eschewed Fast Day anthems. While one cannot completely untangle politics, religion, and geography, this chapter has demonstrated that locale can offer a perspective from which to interpret this body of sacred music.

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Chapter 5

Other Topics

Throughout this study I have demonstrated the ways in which eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century composers editorially emended and chose Biblical verse and sacred poetry in their anthems. Each chapter explored a specific aspect of these anthem texts: poetic sources,

Revolutionary politics, denominational affiliation, and geographic location. Despite these topics and the representative anthems that were analyzed, there are other anthems that do not fit neatly into one of these three categories. This chapter will examine other topics that are represented in the First New England School anthem repertory such as those that were penned for charity meetings, dedication services, and funerals, and anthems that depict Judgment Day. These anthems demonstrate that some composers edited Biblical verse and sacred poetry while others did not. Funeral anthems seemed to offer the most opportunity to edit, perhaps because many composers drew on the book of Revelation and adapted it for their own situation.

Charity meetings were an occasion that may have demanded an anthem. These annual meetings were held by Charity societies that consisted of women who helped the poor in their region. Karl Kroeger found only three anthems specified for use at a Charity meeting, although a text that emphasizes caring for the poor would have been appropriate for this occasion. Indeed, composers used Biblical verse that included mandates for caring for the poor and needy as discussed below. Minister William Bentley observed that by 1805, a Charity meeting in Salem,

Massachusetts was a small, casual affair, and that the ministers who presided these meetings

113 organized it similar to a church service. In this meeting they observed prayer, had readings, and listened to a sermon.1

William Billings composed two and Jacob Kimball penned one charity anthem. Both composers began with Biblical verse from Psalm 41, then employed different passages.

Billings’s first charity anthem was printed in The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770). Billings set part of Psalms 41 and 36, and also a passage from Matthew’s gospel and 1 Corinthians.

Billings edits the Biblical passage by omitting portions, which clarifies the anthem’s message:

God calls his people to acts of charity and He will bless those who heed this calling. The anthem begins with Psalm 41:1–2: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” In the second verse, Billings omits the phrase “and he shall be blessed upon the earth” after the first phrase. Billings therefore chose Biblical verse that emphasizes God’s protection over those who protect the poor instead of the promise of earthly blessing: the Lord will deliver him, preserve him, keep him alive, and not deliver him to his enemies. Aside from using the first verse of Psalm 41 as a refrain, Billings also drew on passages from the New Testament. He cites Matthew 5, the teachings of Jesus, and part of 1 Corinthians

(see Table 5.1).

Table 5.1. William Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The New-England Psalm-Singer (1770).

Matthew 5:7, 1 Corintians 14:1, 13:3, William Billings, “Blessed is He,” The New Authorized Version England Psalm Singer Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy mercy. 1 Corinthians 14:1

1 Karl Kroeger, Early American Anthem, Recent Researches in American Music 36–37 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 2000), xvi.

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Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, Follow after charity, but rather that ye may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these There is faith, hope, charity, but the greatest three; but the greatest of these is charity. of these is charity

Billings leaves out part of the 1 Corinthians 14 passage that references spiritual gifts, instead addressing the practical and immediate need of those less fortunate. In Billings’s changes to this scripture in the first half of the anthem, he keeps the focus on the present; the parts of scripture that promise spiritual gifts and rewards are omitted, but the promise of God’s earthly protection is emphasized.

Billings changed the focus in the second part of the anthem. In the anthem’s next section,

Billings sets Psalm verse in repetition. He sets part of Psalm 41:1 from the beginning, then follows it with the first part of verse 3 from the same Psalm. “Blessed is he that considereth the poor….The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing.” Billings then sets another portion of Matthew’s gospel, using the second part of Matthew 25:34 and 35. “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink.” Although Matthew goes on to specify welcoming the homeless as well, Billings omits that portion and focuses instead on feeding the needy. Billings limited this anthem text to feeding the poor despite the directive to also care for the homeless. Billings uses Psalm 41:13 to conclude the anthem, serving as a doxology of sorts, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.”

Each scriptural emendation demonstrates Billings’s purpose for the anthem: God’s call to works of charity and his promise for those who follow this call. In the first portion of the anthem,

Billings chose passages that demonstrate their rewards would be earthly: the Lord will “preserve him…keep him alive…wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” In the second half of

115 the anthem, Billings chose text that broadened the scope of the anthem, “Come…inherit the kingdom….” Billings anthem-text provides scriptural directives to charity, then demonstrates a progression of God’s promises from the earthly realm to the heavenly realm. He does this through the scripture he chose and his editorial interventions.

Billings’s other charity anthem appeared in The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement (1781) and in it he used the same scripture as his first Charity anthem, with other Biblical passages that call for acts of mercy and charity. Although Billings uses the same text from Psalm 41 for the beginning of the anthem, he does not outline the blessings for believers as he did before. After using the same Psalm 41 and 1 Corinthian passages as before, Billings moves to different verses that call for acts of charity. He quotes from Proverbs and James for calls of charitable action. He edits each of these passages to make them succinct, including the first one, Proverbs 19:17 (see Table

5.2a).

Table 5.2a. Comparison of Proverbs 19:17, Authorized Version and Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement, 1781.

Proverbs 19:17, Authorized Version Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement, 1781 17. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth He that giveth to the poor he lendeth to the unto the Lord; and that which he hath given Lord and he will repay it. will he pay him again.

Billings shortens the verse to put the focus on giving to the poor.

Billings next employs Psalms 68:5 and James 1:27; both are passages that call the believer to care for specific groups of people. (see Table 5.2b).

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Table 5.2b. Comparison of Psalm 68:5 and James 1:27–28, Authorized Version, and Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement, 1781.

Psalm 68:5 and James 1:27 – 28, Authorized Billings, “Blessed is He that Considereth the Version Poor,” The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement, 1781 Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, and a judge of the A father to the fatherless, the Widow’s God widows, is God in his holy habitation. and Guide. James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the Father is to visit the widow and fatherless, widows in their affliction, and to keep himself and to keep himself unspotted from the world. unspotted from the world.

Billings juxtaposes these two Biblical verses to demonstrate the imperative to care for widows and orphans. His editing of Psalm 68 distills the message and dovetails with the passage from

James. The final passage in this anthem is from Psalm 106 and serves as a benediction.

Billings used various textures to express the text, but the only example of word painting is the use of texture during the “benediction” portion of the anthem (Psalm 106:48). Billings repeats “everlasting” using a polyphonic texture, until the homophonic “Praise the Lord, Amen.”

Similarly, in the next section of text, “let all the people say amen” Billings used a polyphonic texture. The active and polyphonic texture reflects the content of the words, that many people are praising God by saying Amen (see Example 5.1).

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Example 5.1. William Billings, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor,” The Psalm- Singer’s Amusement (1781).

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Jacob Kimball’s “Charity Anthem” first appeared in his Essex Harmony (1800), which is mostly devoted to his own music and pieces by Samuel Holyoke. Kimball dedicated this collection to the Essex Musical Society, a group that had been formed in 1797 and which he joined a year later.2 Holyoke had been a founding member of this society and contributed some music to Kimball’s collection. Kimball hoped that his collection would have a similar impact as the society in its mission to refine musical tastes, create wholesome diversion, and elevate the devotional lives of believers. He writes: “The following Work is inscribed: with an ardent wish that it may contribute, in some small degree, towards furthering the object of the Society; the ameliorating and refining the Taste for Music in this Country; and that it may have a tendency to increase innocent amusement, as well as to exalt the feelings in public devotion….”

Like Billings, Kimball used the beginning of Psalm 41, but he goes on to set a passage from Ecclesiastes, then a verse of unidentified sacred poetry. Kimball edits the text by repeating phrases, but the text repetition does not alter the original meaning. Like Billings’s anthems,

Kimball’s espouses that caring for, or “considering,” the poor will reward the believer with the

Lord’s help in times of trouble, his comfort in times of sickness, and his promise of heaven.

After an unidentified hymns, Kimball used the passage from Ecclesiastes enforcing that the charitable Christian will be paid back what they give to others (see Example 5.2).

Example 5.2. Text of Jacob Kimball, “Charity Anthem,” Essex Harmony (1800).

God will secure his peace below, Pronouncing all his sins forgiv’n; And when death give the fatal blow. Receive the spotless soul to heav’n And when death give the fatal blow. Receive the spotless soul to heav’n Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters and after many days thou shalt find it.

2 Richard Crawford, “Kimball, Jacob,” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed 12 July 17, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/ music/A2249967.

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Kimball employs the text of this anthem to demonstrate that those who care for the needy will garner blessing: help in hardship, deliverance from enemies, protection from sickness, and eternal reward. In sum, all that is given away by the faithful will return to them.

Each of these three anthems was intended for use at a charity meeting, so Billings and

Kimball both set directives to care for the less fortunate. In each anthem, the composer begins with Psalm 41, but each composer represents this directive to care for the poor and rewards for charitable Christians in various ways and to different ends. Billings subtly, but effectively, manipulates Biblical verse to give his two anthems distinct meanings. In his first Charity anthem

(1770), Billings’s editorial intervanetions to Biblical scripture demonstrate the progression of

God’s promises to those who follow his commands. His anthem text culminates with the ultimate reward: a place in the kingdom of God. His second charity anthem (1781) places less emphasis on God’s promise of rewards and instead underscores the Biblical directive to care for specific groups in need, orphans and widows, in addition to the call to care for the poor in general.

Billings juxtaposes two Biblical verses that call for their care and edits the passages to clarify the meaning. Musically, Billings used the word-painting device of texture to emphasize the

“benediction” portion of his 1781 anthem. This decorative, polyphonic devise dramatically underscores Billings’s artfully crafted anthem text that preceeds it.

Billings’s use of Biblical verse in these anthems shows more artistry than Kimball.

Billings drew on related, but diverse Biblical scripture to craft a cohesive text. The result is an admonition to the listeners to heed God’s directive to serve the less fortunate. Billings’s text diverge in source and focus, but they are both a musical lesson to the singers or audience.

Kimball’s anthem is on a similar topic, but he used sacred poetry and a passage from

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Ecclesiastes. They are somewhat related to the topic, but their juxtaposition does not clarify the anthem’s message.3

William Billings, “Blessed Is William Billings, “Blessed Is Jacob Kimball, “Blessed Is He that Considereth the He that Considereth the He that Considereth the Poor,” (1770). Poor,” (1781). Poor,” (1800). Psalm 41: 1-2 Psalm 41: 1-2 Psalm 41:1–2 (BCP) 1. Blessed is he that 1. Blessed is he that 1. Blessed is he who considereth the poor: the considereth the poor: the considereth the poor and Lord will deliver him in time Lord shall will deliver him in needy. of trouble. time of trouble. The Lord will deliver him in Blessed is he that considereth Blessed is he that considereth the time of trouble. the poor. the poor. 2. The Lord will preserve 2. The Lord will preserve 2. The Lord will preserve him him, and keep him alive; and him, and keep him alive; and keep him alive, and he thou wilt not deliver him unto and thou wilt not deliver him will not deliver him into the the will of his enemies. unto the will of his enemies. will of his enemies. The Lord will comfort him; Matthew 5: 7 Matt. 5: 7 upon the bed of languishing, 7. Blessed are the merciful: 7. Blessed are the merciful: the Lord will comfort him for they shall obtain mercy. for they shall find mercy upon the bed of languishing:

1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 14:1 Unknown poetic text 1. Follow after charity, Follow after Charity, God will secure his peace below, 1 Corinthians 13: 13 1 Cor 13:13 pronouncing all his sins 13. There is faith, hope, There is faith, hope, and forgiv’n; charity, but the greatest of charity; but the greatest of and when death gives the these is charity. these is charity. fatal blow, receive the spotless soul to Blessed is he that considereth Blessed is he that considereth heav’n, the poor. the poor. And when death gives the fatal blow, Psalm 41: 3 Psalm 41: 3 receive the spotless soul to 3. The Lord will strengthen 3. The Lord will strengthen heav’n. him upon the bed of him upon the bed of languishing. languishing. Ecclesiastes 11:1

3 Comparing Billings and Kimball underscores Kroeger and observation that Billings had become masterful at creating anthem-texts by the time he printed The Psalm-Singer’s Assistant. Karl Kroeger, introduction to The Complete Works of William Billings 3 (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press and The American Musicological Society), xviii.

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Cast thy bread upon the Psalm 34: 6 Proverbs 19:17 waters, cast thy bread upon 6. The poor man cried, and He that giveth to the poor he the waters, and after many the Lord heard him, and lendeth to the Lord and he days thou shalt find it. deliver’d him from all his will repay it. Hallelujah, etc. trouble.

Matthew 25: 34-35 Psalm 34: 6 34. Come, ye blessed of my 6. The poor man cried, and Father, inherit the kingdom the Lord heard him, and prepared for you from the saved him out of all the his foundation of the world. troubles. 35. for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was a Psalm 68:5–6 thirsty, and ye gave me drink: A father to the fatherless, the Widow’s God and Guide.

James 1: 27 27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is to visit the widow and fatherless to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Psalm 41: 13 Psalm 106: 48 13. Blessed be the Lord God 48. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and of Israel from everlasting to to everlasting. Amen and everlasting: and let all the amen. people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord.

Although the dedication of a church building was a rare event in the life of a congregation, more dedication anthems survive than charity anthems, probably because these days marked a significant moment in a church’s history. Unlike the occasion for Charity meetings, the dedication of a meetinghouse was an extravagant affair. William Bentley attended the dedication of a meetinghouse in Salem, MA. He noted that there were so many in attendance that more than half were unable to find seats. There are several Dedication Anthems in the repertory composed by various composers, Kroger identified twelve by eleven different

123 composers.4 Some are appropriate for a dedication service based on the text, but were not specified for the event by the composer or in the tunebook. Some of these dedication anthems have been considered in other chapters on account of their specific themes or the source material for their text.5

In Abraham Wood’s “Dedication, An Anthem Psalm 132,” he employed Watts’s versification of Psalm 132. Wood’s anthem appeared in The Columbian Harmony (1793), a collection that contains many of Joseph Stone’s music as well.6 Although this poem is the only anthem-text, Wood still termed this piece an anthem. He edited the poem to emphasize the habitation place of God, or Zion. Wood omits Watts’s final verse, as this verse places Psalm 132 in a New Testament context.

Wood repeats the phrases “Where shall we go, where shall we go, where shall we go” in the first line of the poem. After this homophonic, repetitive introduction, he sets the next phrase,

“To seek and find,” antiphonally between the high and low voices. In the second stanza, Wood repeats phrases of the text again to create varied musical texture. For example, for “the God of

Jacob chose the hill of Zion for his ancient rest,” Wood repeats the phrase, “of Zion” using homophonic eighth notes in all voices. The eighth-note repetition is contrasted with the sustained notes in the next phrase, “for his ancient rest.” For “And Zion is his dwelling still, His church is with his presence blesst,” Wood sets the beginning imitatively. The voices come together homophonically on the final repetition.

4 Kroger, Anthem, xv.

5 Elias Mann, “Anthem for Dedication,” is discussed in Chapter 1; Jacob French, “Dedication Anthem” is discussed in Chapter 2.

6 Joseph Stone and Abraham Wood, The Columbian Harmony (Worcester: Isaiah Thomas, 1793).

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Wood also employs text repetition in the sixth stanza for dramatic effect. As before, he repeats phrases to emphasize Zion as the Lord’s dwelling place. Wood states the first phrase of

“The Son of David here shall reign, And Zion triumph in her King” twice, and the second phrase three times, with a decorative melisma on the final repetition of “triumph.” After this phrase,

Wood appends the Doxology which substitutes for Watts’s final verse about Jesus triumphing over his foes. This change again places the emphasis on Zion as the habitation of God. Although he did not extensively edit Watts’s Psalm 132, Wood’s changes and repetitions emphasize

“Zion” for the dedication of a new church building. By omitting Watts’s final quatrain that speaks of Jesus rule in heaven and frames the psalm in a Christian context, Wood reinforced an earthly habitation for God in keeping with the theme of a Dedication.

Elias Mann’s “Anthem No. 1: For Dedication or Ordination” draws on the Psalms and 1

Kings from the Old Testament. Mann’s choice of texts create an anthem appropriate for celebrating a church building or the ordination of a minister. He edits the Biblical passages by employing repetition and some syntactical changes. For the beginning of the anthem, Mann sets passages from Psalm 122 and 65. The former calls worshippers to the house of the Lord and the latter references Zion as the Lord’s dwelling place. To close the anthem, Mann set several verses from 1 Kings 8 that emphasize the dwelling of the Lord.7 1 Kings 8 tells the story of King

Solomon, the Psalmist David’s son, summoning the leaders of Israel to move the ark of the covenant out of Zion to Jerusalem. Mann’s verses for this anthem are taken from Solomon’s speech of where and how God would interact with the Israelites. Although God is greater than any earthly place, they build a house for him. Then the Israelites ask Him to hear and answer their prayers and receive their worship from the place they built in His honor. The anthem text

7 The 1 Kings text was previously unidentified.

125 closes with Solomon’s blessing over the Israelite leaders and praising the Lord for his notice of his chosen people, in this case that he gave them rest. Mann chose passages to emphasize the significance of the Lord’s location to the people of God, appropriate for a local church’s desire to have a new place of worship or minister.

Mann also omitted several Biblical phrases to emphasize the meaning of the anthem. The original text of 1 Kings 8:28 reads, “Yet have thou respect to the pray’r of thy servants, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee today.” Mann omitted everything after the clause “O Lord my God.”

Although the verse goes on to ask for God to hear the Israelite’s prayers, Mann omits the repetition of the request. He elides “O Lord my God,” into the next verse, “that thine eyes may be open towards this house night and day.” This verse goes on to elaborate on the worshipper praying to God, but again Mann omits the rest, keeping the focus on the “house of God.”

The changes to 1 King 8:30 serve twin purposes for this anthem: a dedication for a church building or an ordination of a minister. Mann changes the verse for a contemporary setting, making it appropriate for a dedication service. He omitted the portion of the verse that refers to the people of Israel and changed the text about where their prayers go: “when they pray in this place,” instead of “when they pray toward this place.” Again, this change makes the anthem appropriate for worshippers celebrating a new building (see Table 5.4).

Table 5.4. Changes to 1 Kings 8:30 in Elias Mann’s “Anthem No. 1: For Dedication or Ordination,” Northampton Collection of Sacred Harmony (1797).

1 Kings 8:30, Authorized Version Mann, Anthem no. 1: For Dedication or Ordination And harken thou to the supplications of thy Harken thou to the supplications of thy servants, and of thy people Israel when they servants, and when they pray in this place, pray toward this place, and hear thou in hear, hear thou in heav’n, and when thou heaven thy dwelling place, and when thou hear’st, forgive. hearest, forgive.

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Mann’s editing of Biblical verse for this anthem is subtle, but effective, in making the anthem fit the occasion for which it was intended and making it accessible for turn of the nineteenth-century congregations. The Psalm verses he chose emphasized “location,” in keeping with the Dedication anthem. The minor changes of omitting “Israel” streamlined the text, and the change in directional language made the anthem accessible. All these changes demonstrate that he was willing to edit Biblical scripture for aesthetic and practical purposes.

Oliver Holden composed “A Dedicatory Anthem” for the dedication of a meeting house in Charlestown and published it in Boston in 1800. Holden founded two Baptist churches in

Charlestown sometime after 1791, so this piece was likely intended for the First or Second

Baptist Church of Charlestown. Holden included this piece in his Plain Psalmody, or

Supplemental Music (1800), a small collection that contained mostly new music. Holden intended this collection to be used alongside larger collections in circulation.8 He specified that although this anthem had been composed for the dedication of a specific meeting house, it would be appropriate for any dedication.

Holden chose a psalm that emphasizes God’s position, and edited the psalm by repeating and omitting phrases. Holden employed Psalm 48:1, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.” This verse praises the Lord and calls for worship while focusing on location. Holden’s first instance of repetition occurs in verses 3 and 8:

“God is known in her palaces for a refuge. [v. 3] As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of our God; God will establish it forever. [v. 8]” Holden omits a phrase about the “city of the

Lord of hosts” perhaps because he found it repetitious with the remainder of verse 8. In Holden’s

8 Oliver Holden, Plain Psalmody, or Supplemental Music (Boston: Thomas and Andrews, 1800).

127 setting of verse 11, he uses repetition and omission to keep the focus on the Lord’s position in

Mount Zion and the Israelites’s praising the Lord. “Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of

Judah be glad.” Holden repeats the whole verse but also repeats phrases within to emphasize the importance of place. This psalm verse ends with “because of thy judgements” but Holden omits this phrase. His editing creates a nuanced dedication text that is Biblical and applicable to the occasion.

Bartholomew Brown composed his anthem “Hail Glorious Day” for a dedication of the

Sterling, Massachusetts Meeting House. Belknap published this piece in his Evangelical

Harmony (1800), a collection containing works by only American composers. Brown attributed the text to “P. Cleveland” who might be Benjamin Cleveland, a Baptist known for compiling

Hymns on Different Spiritual Subjects, a collection of hymn texts by several authors. The beginning of this text is a rhymed quatrain of sacred poetry but is followed by unrhyming prose.

Brown’s anthem differs from other dedication anthems because he does not set Biblical verse. Cleveland’s text does not emphasize place in the same way as the Psalms commonly used for dedication anthems do, but instead praises to God and Jesus and asks for acceptance of man’s gifts to them. Instead of focusing on God’s dwelling place, Cleveland’s text asks for blessing on the building and elaborates how the structure will glorify God:

For thee we built, to thee we dedicate this temple, to thee we dedicate this temple. Here may the humble soul repair, and catch the melting sounds of gospel truth. Here shall the infidel hear his doom, and tremble as he hears, while loud reechoes the almighty’s praise. From ev’ry added mouth shall virtue’s anthem flow; each infant tongue shall lisp a Hallelujah to his parent’s God.

This is reminiscent of Psalm 48 and 65, and even 1 Kings 8, but Cleveland writes from a New

Testament perspective that gives this anthem a different sensibility than the other eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century dedication anthems.

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These examples of Dedication Anthems demonstrate that some composers would edit these texts to appeal to their contemporary audience. Composers drew on similar texts for this event and one of the most common was the call for God to dwell in Zion. Indeed, many editorial interventions outlined above highlight that imagery. Whether composers set Biblical verse or sacred poetry, they were comfortable changing the text to suit their needs.

Like Dedication anthems, there are several Funeral anthems in the repertory. Kroeger outlines two uses for these pieces. The more customary practice was probably for their use at church on the Sunday following a parishioner’s death. Prominent people in the church and community would have had their own elaborate funeral service. Although anthems in general were not circulated and reprinted like other repertory of the First New England School, compilers often included funeral anthems in their tunebooks, which speaks to their usefulness.9

Billings’s “A Funeral Anthem” was first printed in The Singing Master’s Assistant

(1778). It was reprinted at least fifteen times throughout New England and the surrounding territories before 1820. Billings set Revelation 14:13, which refers to the resurrection and blessings of Christians upon their death:

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write from henceforth, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.

Billings did not edit the passage for this anthem but did repeat a few small phrases. Such as

“from their Labours” and “which do follow.”

Billings also set a sacred poem for another funeral anthem. “The Dying Christian to His

Soul” appeared in Billings’s The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement (1781), but was also reprinted by

New England compilers over the next twenty years. Although Billings termed this piece an

9 Kroeger, Anthems, xv.

129 anthem, he set a poem by Alexander Pope without much editing. In “Vital spark of heav’nly flame,” Pope imagines the soul giving up the human body and finally arriving in heaven. The imagery promotes the idea that death is the victory of a Christian life, so the pain of dying is replaced by the relief from suffering.

Two of Billings’s funeral anthems employ passages from the books of Samuel, Old

Testament books that recount the reign of Saul, David, and Solomon. Billings did not specify the first of these two anthems as a “funeral anthem,” but the text is mournful and would have been appropriate for such an occasion. This passage recounts David’s mourning over the loss of King

Saul and Saul’s son Jonathan. Saul had been anointed King of the Israelites. Although he had a male heir, the Lord appointed King David to be Saul’s successor. Saul became obsessed with

David and his success in battle and eventually tried to kill him. Despite this contentious relationship, David and Saul’s son Jonathan became close friends, like brothers. Upon Saul’s death, David recognized him as an anointed King and mourned him in these verses.10 Billings repeats sections and employs 2 Samuel 1:19 as a refrain throughout the anthem: “how the mighty have fallen.” This refrain breaks the anthem into three sections. The first is drawn from verses

19–20 of the same chapter, “The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how the mighty are fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of As’kelon; lest the daughters of the

Philistines rejoice; lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.” Billings repeats the last phrase, “lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph,” several times to conclude this section.

Billings uses repetition to delineate the middle section as well. He sets the text from verses 23 and 24: “Saul and Jonathan were lovely, and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.” Billings

10 1 Samuel:15–18.

130 adds to the first phrase, “altogether lovely” after lovely, and then repeats the comparison to eagles and lions. To close this section, Billings repeats “how the mighty are fallen” (see Table

5.5).

Table 5.5. Comparison of Authorized Version of 2 Samuel 26–27and William Billings, “The Beauty of Israel”.

2 Samuel 1:26–27, Authorized Version “The Beauty of Israel,” William Billings, The Psalm-Singer’s Amusement (1781). I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: O Jonathan O Jonathan very pleasant hast very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thou been very pleasant hast though been unto me thy love to me was wonderful, passing the thy love to me was wonderful, was wonderful, love of women. was wonderful, passing the love of Women How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished How are the mighty fallen.

For the last section, Billings edits Biblical scripture and simplifies these verses and creates a more personal tone. By changing the text to “O Jonathan, O Jonathan,” he keeps a more personal, mournful tone. Billings omits the reference to weapons in the final phrase, keeping the focus on mourning a death instead of recalling a battle.

Billings’s other funeral anthem that references the Old Testament is “Funeral Anthem:

Samuel the Priest.” Billings included this piece in his Suffolk Harmony (1786), and Jacob French reprinted it in Harmony of Harmony (1802). Billings begins the anthem by referencing the death of Samuel the Priest from 1 Samuel 25:1. This story includes the Israelites mourning Samuel, and David also lamenting him. Billings then appends passages from the Psalms and the book of

Job and from the way he frames the text, it appears all the subsequent verses are David’s mourning from the wilderness. Although some of this mourning can indeed be found in the

Psalms, the passage from Job recounts his lamentations after God allowed Satan to take

131 everything from him.11 Billings used two different sections of the Bible to create a lamentation framed by the death of an important Old Testament figure. Perhaps this anthem would be appropriate for the funeral of a well-respected church member or even a minister.

Like “The Beauty of Israel,” Billings uses a refrain, here he uses Job 19:21, “Have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.” This refrain divides the anthem into different sections and the method of mourning changes as well. After the introduction and initial lamentation, the mourning statement concerns the speaker’s loneliness:

“Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.” After another text-refrain, the mourner recounts the depth of his sorrow: “I am watery with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” (see Example

5.3).

Example 5.3. William Billings, “Funeral Anthem, Samuel the Priest,” Suffolk Harmony (1786). Psalm 119:25 and 28 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Job 1: 21 Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

The anthem closes with man’s impotence in the face of God’s omnipotence.

Billings’s final funeral anthem is based on a text that had been used by Jacob French years before. Some scholars have attributed this text to French himself, but Kroeger calls it an

“anonymous source.”12 Although it is unclear if French penned the text himself, he certainly set it to music, and French’s version was in circulation in the decade before Billings included it in

11 The first chapters of the book of Job.

12 Karl Kroeger, Karl Kroeger, introduction to The Complete Works of William Billings 4 (Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press and The American Musicological Society), 313.

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Continental Harmony (1794). French’s anthem circulated widely and achieved popularity. An account of a memorial service for George Washington held in February of 1800 in Connecticut lists the French text as the anthem after the eulogy.13 French’s anthem also enjoyed several printings in New England tunebooks between 1783 and 1798.14 Finally, this piece is one of the

First New England pieces to survive in the Southern tunebook tradition, as it was included in the

The Sacred Harp (1844). French’s and Billings’s texts differ in some specifics, but they are very similar in length, imagery, and trajectory (see Table 5.6).

Table 5.6. Comparison of Jacob French, “Farewell Anthem,” New American Harmony (1789) and William Billings, “The Dying Christian’s Last Farewell,” Continental Harmony (1794).

Jacob French William Billings My friends, I am going a long and tedious My friends, I am going a long journey never journey, never to return. I am going a long to return, Fare you well, my friends. journey, never to return. Fare ye well, my friends, fare ye well.

And God grant we may meet together in that And God grant we may meet in that land of world above, where trouble shall cease, and harmony where the wicked cease from harmony shall abound. troubling and where the weary are at rest; Where pleasures dwell forevermore and joys that never fade.

Hark, Hark, my dear friends for death has My friends, I am summon’d to appear at the called me and I must go and lie down in the great tribunal, fare you well, my friend, fare cold and silent grave, where the mourners you well, my friends. cease from mourning, and where the prisoner is free; where the rich and poor are both alike. Fare ye well, fare ye well, fare ye well my friends.

13 David Brooks, An Eulogy on the Death of George Washington, Delivered at Guilford [CT], February 22, 1800.

14 Oliver Brownson, Select Harmony (New Haven, CT: 1783, 1791); Jacob French, The New American Melody (Boston, MA: 1789); Asahel Benham, The Federal Harmony (New Haven, CT: 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796); Jacob French, The Psalmodists’ Companion (Worchester, MA: 1793).

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Each anthem can be divided into three sections. In both, the speaker begins by addressing his friends. The next phrase speaks the hope they have in their faith that they will see one another again. Each version elaborates on blessings to which they can look forward together in heaven.

Both versions reference eternal “harmony,” where trouble and wickedness will stop, but Billings elaborates more than French. The next section includes their summons to eternity. In this section,

French elaborates more than Billings, but again, the speaker bids farewell to friends. Billings references a “great tribunal” but French’s version lists more about the promise of heaven: no more mourning, and freedom from legal and economic oppression.

Jacob Kimball’s “Funeral Anthem” was first printed in his collection The Rural Harmony

(1793), and then was reprinted several times in compilations by Oliver Holden over the next ten years. Kimball sets this text in a straightforward manner. He repeats phrases, but he does not alter the original. The passage Kimball chose is from Revelation and recognizes the blessing of

Christians who die and can enjoy the reward of heaven: “I heard a great voice from heav’n, saying unto me, ‘Write from henceforth, write from henceforth, write, blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord.’ ‘Even so,’ saith the spirit, ‘for they rest from their labors, their works do follow them.” Although his anthem is not an example of editorial emendation of diverse Biblical passages, Kimball’s straightforward setting of the inspirational and comforting text from

Revelation made for a popular and oft-printed anthem.

Daniel Read included a funeral anthem in The Columbian Harmonist (1794). Read used passages from the Old and New Testaments, including the book of Revelation. Like Kimball’s anthem, Read’s uses a short text with few emendations. Read omitted portions of the Biblical verses to clarify the anthem’s topic. The first verse he sets is Ecclesiastes 7:2. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men.” Read

134 leaves off the last clause, “and the living will lay it to his heart,” to emphasize the “house of mourning” and the certitude of death. Similarly, Read omits part of the verse from Hebrews

9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Read only set

“For it is appointed unto all men to die” and again keeps the focus on death instead of judgment.

He closed the end of the anthem by using a portion of Revelation 14:13, “and blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”

Oliver Holden composed two funeral anthems: one to commemorate the death of George

Washington and the other was first printed in The Union Harmony (1796).15 The latter includes a passage from Job and a quatrain from Timothy Dwight’s “The Seasons Moralized.” Holden does not edit the passage from Job, save for a repetition at the end of the prose section. This passage concerns the brevity of life, although Job does not reference the Resurrection or the promise of an afterlife for believers. This sentiment is provided by the final quatrain:

But the soul in gayest bloom, Disdains the bondage of the tomb; Ascends above the clouds of ev’n And raptur’d hails, And, raptur’d hails her native heav’n

Holden’s “Funeral Anthem” demonstrates his knowledge of the Old Testament and of sacred poetry. His combination of the Job passage with the Dwight verse creates a succinct but artful contemplation on mortality and the afterlife.

Judgment Anthems are similar in topic to Funeral Anthems, but they focus on the return and resurrection of Christ, the destruction of the earth, the reward of heaven, but also the doom of the unrighteous. William Billings, Jacob French, and Justin Morgan each composed a judgment anthem. Justin Morgan’s “Judgement Anthem” was discussed in chapter 1. Morgan

15 Holden’s anthem commemorating Washington is discussed in Chapter 3.

135 used several poetic sources for this anthem, which give an account of the last day including

Christ’s return, the angels praise, and the descent to hell of the lost.

Billings’s “And I Saw a Mighty Angel” may have been an appropriate anthem for use at a funeral, but the passages he chose emphasize the theology that Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture and above all earth and creation. Billings drew on Revelation 5, where an angel wonders who can break the seals and open the book. Billings employs omission and repetition to focus on the power of Christ and his fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. Billings does not set text that refers to the destruction of the earth, but he does set verses 9–10, which speaks of God’s promise to his people: “he hath redeemed us to God and hast made us kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

French’s judgment anthem, “The Heavenly Vision,” was included in the appendix to the

Worcester Collection (1786) and was one of several pieces to receive a first printing in that collection. Unlike French’s “Funeral Anthem,” “The Heavenly Vision” did not find a place in the repertory. This piece imagines the Last Day. French paraphrased several passages from

Revelation, using different verses from different chapters to create a narrative. French opens the anthem with Revelation 7:9. This chapter goes on the recount the hoards of people, angels, elders, and beasts worshipping God. French employs this passage to mourn the destruction of the world and the arrival of the “great day of wrath” from Revelation 6.

As shown in this chapter, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century composers edited

Biblical scripture and sacred poetry to fit specific occasions. Some of these anthems had very explicit purposes, particularly anthems composed for the dedication of a new church building.

The Charity anthems of Billings and Kimball demonstrate the former’s talent at crafting artful anthem texts by using a wide variety of scripture. Billings’s anthem can also be understood as

136 teaching texts; his editorial interventions create “lessons” on charity. Funeral anthems provide some of the richest examples of text editing and piecing together seemingly disparate sections of the Bible to craft a narrative to suit the occasion. These charity, dedication, funeral, and judgment anthems demonstrate Billings’s command over Biblical scripture, but they also reveal the artistry of his colleagues. Elias Mann’s “Anthem for Dedication or Ordination” demonstrates his knowledge of Biblical literature and an ingenuity in making the text applicable to a particular situation. Similarly, Billings’s setting of sacred poetry is distinct from his colleagues since he chose sacred poetry rather than Biblical passages. These anthems demonstrate that even without political or sectarian motivations, First New England composers still were comfortable selecting and editing scripture to suit their aesthetic and practical needs.

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Conclusion

James Byrd’s Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution demonstrates the importance of the sermon as a call to action during wartime. He categorizes scriptural usage by ministers before and during the American Revolutionary War into four categories: the Exodus narrative, calls to violence through the story of Deborah the judge, the use of King David, and calls to civil obedience through the writings of Paul and Peter. Although the scripture documented by Byrd and that used by First New England School composers are not completely synonymous, comparing the two demonstrates broad themes that appear in both, while showing the ways sermons and anthems were distinct in civic and liturgical scope and purpose.

The most popular scriptures quoted by ministers during this era were the admonitions by

Jesus’ disciples Peter and Paul to submit to the government, appealing to Christians’ civic responsibility. In these passages, Paul and Peter urge early Christians to submit to earthly authority as established by God. In Romans 13:1–3, Paul writes:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.

Similarly, 1 Peter 2:13–16 calls for submission and obedience:

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

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Not surprisingly, these passages were hotly debated not only in the North American colonies, but throughout the history of the Christian Church. Byrd shows how these passages were used to encourage Apostolic loyalism. In other words, Christians should be obedient to the laws of government officials. In England the harshest critics of the American Revolution from the pulpit were Methodist preachers John Wesley and John Fletcher. While Wesley pleaded with American patriots to come to their senses and resolve their complaints diplomatically, Fletcher asserted that the revolution was England’s debt for participating in the slave trade. The American patriots, therefore, were all the more hypocritical for asserting their oppression while participating in slavery.1 In the American colonies, Charles Inglis, Anglican preacher at Trinity Church in New

York, railed against the Revolution. He also preached that subjects have a responsibility to honor the king, even if the king appears to be a tyrant, as the revolutionaries argued.2 Pro-revolutionary preachers countered these assertions by arguing that Biblical scripture did not necessarily require absolute submission. Benjamin Mayhew asserted that obedience to rulers who were unjust and tyrannical was not required, just as submission and obedience to a murderous husband or father was not reasonably expected of his wife or children. Additionally, Mayhew maintained that obedience to ministers who did not work but demanded tithes was equally unreasonable. He concluded that obedience and submission are dependent upon how justly kings and those in authority perform their duties.3

The second most cited Biblical passage in war-time sermons was the Exodus story. Byrd extrapolates several themes from sermons based on this scripture. This story held appeal for the

1 James Byrd, Sacred Scripture, Sacred War: The Bible and the American Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 120.

2 Ibid., 120–23.

3 Ibid., 125.

139 revolutionaries in three ways. First, they identified with the oppressed Israelites and equated

King George’s lack of protection to the acts of Pharaoh. American revolutionary patriots also believed that there was a plan in place to reduce the North American colonies to slave outposts.

Historians have posited that this paranoia could be linked to the Enlightenment belief that the

“power of human decisions to influence great events.”4 In this way, George III’s inability to act on behalf of his subjects in the face of Parliament’s oppressive taxes made him, like Pharaoh, complicit in their rebellion. Second, this story served as a call for violence as God had a direct hand in the violence against the Egyptians. Third, and related, revolutionaries concluded that since God had a hand in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, God was a God of violence.

The Exodus narrative also served as a call for violence for the revolutionaries. During the song of Moses found in Exodus 15, Moses praises God and recounts how the Israelites were delivered from Egypt with his help. Within that song, Moses asserts, “The Lord is a man of war” before detailing the ways God helped the Israelites. Exodus 15:3–6 reads:

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

This passage became an eighteenth-century call for violence, particularly in the face of calls for peace from pacifist North American colonists.

Tied to this idea that “the Lord is a man of war” was the theme of God’s direct intervention in the American Revolution and presumably in the lives of congregants. Particularly compelling was God’s power over nature. When the weather compelled the British to give up ground or withdraw, Patriot ministers compared these circumstances to the Egyptian army

4 Ibid., 47–8.

140 realizing the God of Israel was against them and cause the sea to overtake them. In Exodus, God manipulated nature for a desired outcome. He moved the Red Sea so that the Israelites would escape them and then he washed Pharaoh’s army away when He moved it back. God’s violence and control over nature provided a powerful motivation for American colonists.

Eighteenth-century colonial ministers also used the story of Deborah the judge as

Biblically sanctioned violence and vengeance. In this episode of the Israelite people, God used two women to kill an opposing general end a war. As far as war stories go, this story is particularly grisly. The heroine, Jael, offers hospitality to Sisera, an enemy of Israel, and when he is sleeping, she drives a tent peg through his skull. In the story, God, through Deborah, told the

Israelites that He would deliver them through the actions of a woman. In the song of Deborah

(Judges 5:23–27), she invokes a curse upon Meroz, a region or people that refused help to Israel:

Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.

In the post-Revolutionary War period, preachers and politicians invoked this Old

Testament curse as a way to deal with loyalists in the aftermath of war. Although politicians such as George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Alexander Hamilton advocated for the return of property to former Tories, others did not share their magnanimous attitude. The preacher

Nathaniel Whitaker continued to invoke the curse of Meroz in the song of Deborah. Patriots like

Whitaker invoked Deborah’s curse for those who had been loyalists during the war.5

5 Ibid., 88–91.

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Before the American Revolutionary War, the idea of David as a perfect hero of war had come not only from his military prowess, but also from his piety and devotion to God. David’s example demonstrated the balance between confidence in war and reliance upon God’s power and favor, a balance ministers sought to impart to soldiers.6 A true hero was only thus if he did not succumb to hubris and instead relied upon God for his strength. Ministers and even the

Continental Congress used the story of David and Goliath to make an appeal for money, patriotism, and men for the purpose of facing such a large and powerful adversary.7 David therefore became inextricably tied to the patriotic cause as the Revolutionaries prevailed against the Goliath British army, and if they failed, they failed with such courage that it must have come from a divine source.8 Despite their confidence that the “American David” would be looked upon favorably by God, ministers worried about the revolutionaries maintaining their piety, and therefore God’s favor, in battle.9

The other aspect of David’s character that captured the imagination of American

Revolutionaries was his work as a psalmist. Byrd notes that historians have emphasized apocalyptic scriptures during this period, but the Psalms were cited five times more frequently than the Book of Revelation. He posits several reasons for the popularity of the Psalms among eighteenth-century preachers. As the longest book in the Bible, the Book of Psalms offered the most source material. The Psalms were also very much embedded in the liturgical practice of colonial churches both through readings and music, so it was a repertory that which many worshippers would have been familiar. Because David was the presumed author of the Psalms,

6 Ibid., 96.

7 Ibid., 99.

8 Ibid., 98.

9 Ibid., 102.

142 known as a “man after God’s own heart,” the bountiful pleas and petitions to God for violence against his enemies were appealing for eighteenth-century ministers. In this way, ministers posited that David the warrior was successful and sanctified through his piety displayed as a psalmist. Psalm 124 is the most referenced of David’s poems in Byrd’s study:10

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Although David was the most righteous king of the Israelites and a Biblical example of a just monarch, he posed some problems for revolutionary ministers and political writers. Thomas

Paine gave a widely circulated explanation of David’s historical position. Paine asserted that

David had been a military leader rather than a monarch.11 In turn, patriot ministers asserted that upon David’s coronation, he lost the virtue he attained as a soldier-poet. Indeed, as the American patriots argued, his reign took a turn for the worse. The story of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband was followed by the betrayal of his son Absalom. What’s more, ministers compared the eventual fracture of David’s monarchy under his grandson Rehoboam to the American patriot’s right to revolt. 1 Kings 12 is the sixth most cited Biblical passage in

Byrd’s research and it tells of Rehoboam’s tyrannical rule over the Israelites that led to a civil war and two different kingdoms for the Israelites. With this legacy, revolutionaries understood that while David’s virtue on the battlefield and his pen proved to be fruitful examples for

10 Ibid., 108. William Billings uses Psalm 124 in his anthem “Retrospect.” Elisha West used a version of the whole Psalm in his anthem “Psalm 124,” printed in Abraham Maxim’s Northern Harmony (1808).

11 Ibid., 110.

143 patriots, his demise as king and his fractured kingdom proved the revolutionaries cause by demonstrating that monarchy corrupted even the most faultless servants of God.12

Despite the popularity of these Biblical passages among ministers before and during the

American Revolutionary War, many of these verses are sparse in the anthem repertory of the

First New England School. There are several possible reasons for this. One is that many of the anthem texts analyzed here were published shortly after the Revolutionary War. Perhaps the popularity of these texts did not continue with the new republic. Biblical verses that contained language of praise are more prevalent in the anthem repertory than those calling for war. In the case of New Testament scriptures popular with eighteenth-century ministers, the teachings are too nuanced for a piece of music. For example, calls for or against obedience to government officials were accompanied by minister’s teachings on this topic. Anthems do not afford teaching to that extent. Byrd’s study demonstrates that the passages on the Christian civic duty to obey rulers were invoked by both patriots and loyalists. Those who supported the patriot cause believed that obedience follows a just ruler. Conversely, loyalists seized on this passage as proof that the revolutionaries were misguided.

Some eighteenth-century anthems do reference violent acts and the Day of Judgement from the Book of Revelation. Elisha West’s “Deliverance” uses Psalm verses that reference God fighting for His believers and portrays Him as a defender.13 Justin Morgan’s “Judgement

Anthem” refers to the violence of Judgement Day, particularly to the judgment of sinners. One of the most popular calls to violence that Byrd cites comes from the Book of Jeremiah, “Cursed is he who keeps his sword back from blood.” Billings chose this verse for his anthem “Retrospect”

12 Ibid., 115.

13 Elisha West, The Musical Concert (Northampton, MA: 1807).

144 in The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778). In this anthem, Billings recalls the violence of war but celebrates the promise of peace. By combining the passage from Jeremiah with a pacifist text from Isaiah in which he prophesies peace and calls for men to “beat your swords into plowshares.”

Byrd isolated several elements of the Exodus story that preachers used during the

American Revolutionary period. One the most popular of which was the comparison of the

American colonists to the Israelite slaves and King George III to Pharaoh. A second aspect was that God defended the patriots in His power over nature. God’s dominion and power over nature resonated with the patriots as they found providential meaning in climate change or weather conditions that proved favorable during revolutionary battle. Themes of nature are prevalent in the anthem repertory. Nature imagery can be found in psalms and biblical texts of praise, so it stands to reason that many anthems invoke this imagery as well. Additionally, many anthems make reference to God’s dominion over nature. Although the anthems do not refer to God’s use of nature for violence to defend of his chosen people, God’s power over nature and imagery is prevalent in both sermons and anthem texts. In his anthem “O Lord, Revive Thy Work,” Amos

Bull uses scripture from the prophet Habakkuk in which God’s power is demonstrated through his power over nature: “He stood, and measured the earth; he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow; his ways are everlasting.”14 Eliakim Doolittle drew on scripture that demonstrated God’s power over nature in his anthem “Ho! Ev’ry One that Thirsteth.” Doolittle used verses from Isaiah 55 for his anthem, ending with verse 12: “For ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their

14 Amos Bull, The Responsary (Worcester, MA: 1795).

145 hands.” Samuel Babcock used Isaiah 40 for his anthem “Comfort Ye, My People.” Verse four reads: “Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and ev’ry mountain and hill made low.”15

There are also several anthems that use the imagery of nature, but do not use it to display the power of God. These anthems are based on Song of Songs, a love poem by King Solomon that is rife with imagery from nature to describe his beloved. Jacob French closes his “Song of

Songs” thus: “For, lo, the winter is o’er past, the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.”16

Although Byrd’s and my studies are based on related source material, there is limited overlap between the two. Two areas of overlap are passages describing God as a defender of His people and God’s having power over nature. Sermons and anthems served distinct functions in the church service. The eighteenth-century sermon was a lengthy and detailed exegesis meant to encourage and admonish the congregants to live a Christian life. While this purpose could also be fulfilled by sacred music in a church service, the opportunity for extended scriptural exegesis was present only in the sermon. Texts that are more suited to music are poetic, metric, employ imagery, and recount short narratives that were presumably well known by the congregants.

Another reason for the difference between sermon and anthem texts might be the occasional nature of the anthem. Because of their occasional nature, anthems were not typically

15 Other examples include: Samuel Babcock, “Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Dwelling Place,” Middlesex Harmony (Boston: 1795); Amos Bull, “104th Psalm,” The Responsary (Worcester, MA: 1795); Oliver Holden, “Funeral Anthem: Man That Is Born of a Woman,” The Union Harmony (Boston, MA: 1796); Elisha West, “An Anthem of Praise: The Mighty Lord, the Lord Hath Spoke,” The Musical Concert (Northampton, MA: 1807) and “Mount Paran,” The Musical Concert (Northampton, MA: 1802); and “Anthem, Psalm 124,” Northern Harmony (Boston MA: 1806).

16 Jacob French, “Song of Songs,” The Psalmodist’s Companion (Worcester, MA: 1793); others are William Billings, “I Am the Rose of Sharon,” Singing Master’s Assistant (Boston, MA: 1778); William Billings, “I Am Come Into My Garden,” and “I Charge You O Daughters,” Continental Harmony (Boston, MA: 1794).

146 reprinted in tunebooks and there are no anthems in Richard Crawford’s Core Repertory of

Psalmody.17 Most anthems composed with a particular purpose in mind and others were sung for specific occasions, such as to commemorate the death of someone well-known, or for

Thanksgiving, Dedication, or a Fast Day. Similarly, sermons could be specific to an occasion, but most were given on a regular basis. Additionally, First New England School composers were more likely to choose single verses from the Bible and create to their own narrative throughout the anthem. As demonstrated above, ministers often employed long narratives or entire chapters.

The most popular anthem texts were expressions of praise. According to my data set, the most popular Biblical passage comes from the Revelation 19:6 in which the Angels sing,

“Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” In his “Dedication Anthem,” Jacob French employs part of verse six and seven: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage supper of the Lamb is come, and the bride his wife hath made herself ready. Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Asahel

Benham used Revelation 19:5–7 in his anthem, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” from

Oliver Brownson’s Select Harmony (1783). Benham edited the verses omitting the preparatory verse and used only the parts of the verses about praise: “Praise our God, all ye his servants, and all that fear him, both small and great. Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us rejoice, and be glad and give honour unto him. Hallelujah, Amen.” In most instances of

Revelation 19:6, the composer isolated the verse “Alleluia…reigneth.”

A similar case occurs with Luke’s account of the nativity in four Christmas anthems.

Billings uses the angel’s message from Luke 2:10–14 in “Hark! Hark! Hear You Not.” Billings also employs sacred poetry from Watts alongside Luke’s narrative. Amos Bull published a

17 Richard Crawford, The Core Repertory of Early American Psalmody, Recent Researches in American Music 11–12 (Madison, WI: A-R Editions, 2000).

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“Christmas Anthem” in The Responsary (1795) and set Luke 2:10–14 with no emendations to the verses. His anthem closes with a paraphrase of Isaiah 52:7 “Break forth in songs, rejoice, ye sons of men. Break forth in songs sing together ye redeemed of the Lord.” Daniel Read’s “There

Were Shepherds: A Christmas Anthem” was printed in The Columbian Harmony (1794). He credits the anthem text to Handel’s Messiah, and he uses Handel’s recitative texts leading up the

“Glory to God” text. Similarly, Abijah Forbush’s anthem “Behold, I Bring You Glad Tidings” printed in his Psalmodist’s Assistant (1806) sets the Luke narrative in the context of the prophecies of peace from the Old Testament.

Several composers used a version of Luke 2:14 out of context alongside verses unrelated to the birth of Christ. Billings’s “Retrospect: Was Not the Day,” commemorates the violence of the Revolutionary War before using Old Testament prophecies of restoration and peace. Billings sets a version of the pacifist verse from Isaiah 2:4 “Beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruninghooks,” then Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace.” He omits the first portion of the angel’s song and uses “Peace be on earth, good will towards men.”18 Jacob French gives similar treatment to the Luke 2 in his “Lamentation Over Jerusalem.” French sets a mournful text and uses the New

Testament praise to demonstrate the promise of peace for believers. Billings uses this text to similar effect in “O Thou to Whom” from Continental Harmony (1794). Since this anthem is one of praise, does not begin with despair. Billings still uses Isaiah 52:7 to transition to the Luke 2 text.19 William Cooper uses this text in the same manner in his “Anthem for Thanksgiving.”

Indeed, Cooper also pairs this text of praise with Old Testament prophesy. Unlike those anthems

18 “Retrospect” was discussed in Chapter 2.

19 “Peace, God Is King” was discussed in Chapter 2.

148 previously discussed, Elisha West used this text in his “Anthem of Praise” and focused on the first portion of text, connecting it to Psalm 97:6: “The heavens shall declare his righteousness, his righteousness, the heavens shall declare his righteousness, and all the people shall see his glory.” He then uses Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest.”

Isaiah 52 was also popular among First New England School composers. In this case, the passage was poetic and descriptive. Verse 1 reads, “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, Jerusalem.” Another popular selection from this chapter is verse 7,

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy

God reigneth.” Composers used these verses in eight anthems. Of the eight, four of these were discussed above because composers used Isaiah 52 alongside Luke 2.20 Elisha West and Jacob

French used portions of this chapter in their “Jerusalem Anthems.” West chose verses 1 and 7–9, editing the text by omission and repetition, while French set only verse 1. Like West, Oliver

Holden used verses 1, 2, and 7 in his “An Ordination Anthem.” Samuel Holyoke published his anthem “Comfort Ye” in Harmonia Americana (1791) and used several verses from Isaiah, including 52:7 and 9.

Psalms that reference music were also a popular choice for First New England School composers, but they are not represented in Byrd’s study. One of the most often set was Psalm

100, whose text opens: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” was also used several times. Composers set verses from Psalm 100 in nine anthems. James Lyon used verses 1–4 and a doxology in his tunebook Urania (1761).

20 William Billings, “Retrospect,” and “O Thou to Whom,” Abijah Forbush, “Behold, I Bring You Glad Tidings,” and William Cooper, “Anthem for Thanksgiving.”

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Charles Robbins and Samuel Holyoke both utilized this text for Thanksgiving Anthems. Jacob

French isolated Psalm 100:4 in his Dedication Anthem, for which he used six different passages of Biblical scripture. Amos Bull used the Common Prayer Version of the Psalm in “O Be

Joyful,” which is slightly different from what is cited above, but the psalm verse still refers to the song of the worshipper. Similarly, Read also used this version of Psalm 100 in his anthem “O Be

Joyful” alongside the Authorized Version of verses from Psalm 68. Samuel Babcock used Psalm

100 alongside psalm-verses from Psalms 95 and 99 in his “Anthem: O Come Let Us Sing Unto the Lord.” Supply Belcher used Psalm 100:1–5 with repetitions and minor syntactical changes.

He followed these psalm verses with a benediction from 1 Timothy in his “Anthem of Praise.”

Along with nine other Psalms, Holyoke used Psalm 100:1 in his anthem “Praise Waiteth for

Thee, O God, In Sion.”

Byrd categorizes scriptural use by ministers during the American Revolution into three categories. The first was to instill a sense of Biblical militarism. While militarism and violence was not a prevalent theme in anthems, William Billings and Hans Gram used Bibilcal passages in their anthems to comment on Revolutionary politics. Billings did so in a variety of ways. He edited text to relate to past battles in “Lamentation Over Boston” and “Retrospect,” both from

The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778). He denounced the actions of the British army explicitly in “Lamentation Over Boston” and more subtly in “Mourn, Mourn” from Continental Harmony

(1794). In the latter, he refers to the fall of Pharaoh. Byrd’s study demonstrates that references to

Pharaoh at this time might bring to mind the violence against American patriots by the Egyptian ruler from the Exodus narrative. Finally, in some anthems Billings celebrated the patriot cause while contextualizing it from a Biblical standpoint as he did in “Independence” from The Singing

Master’s Assistant (1778) and “Peace, God is King” from an independent publication (1783).

150

Hans Gram edited Biblical verse for political ends in “Bind Kings with Chains.” These two composers come the closest to contemporary ministers in their use of Biblical scripture.

Byrd also reveals the diverse amount of scripture that eighteenth-century ministers used as they led their congregations. Although previous historians had focused on the use of the Book of Revelation in their discussion of religion and the American Revolution, Byrd’s study reveals that ministers taught the entire Bible, and their congregants must have been familiar with a broad swath of scripture. For their anthems, many eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century composers drew on the Psalms, but many used a diverse selection of scripture. Williams Billings certainly culled the most scripture in his anthems, but other composers also drew from the whole repertory of the Bible for their anthems. Oliver Holden used Old Testament prophets in his Thanksgiving

Day anthem “A Concluding Anthem for Thanksgiving.” He utilized three different Psalms, then used a verse from the prophet Nehemiah: “Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.” In his anthem commemorating the death of George Washington (1800), Holden used text from nine different passages from Isaiah,

Jeremiah, and the Psalms. In Daniel Read’s anthem “It Is Better to Go,” he used verses from

Ecclesiastes, Hebrews, and Revelation. Supply Belcher used five different passages in his

“Ordination Anthem”: one from Psalms, two from Revelation, one from 1 Kings 8, and one from

Isaiah 12. Elisha West used verses from the book Habakkuk, sacred poetry, and a concluding verse from Psalm 5 in “Mount Paran.” William Cooper used nine distinct scripture references in his “Thanksgiving Day Anthem” from an independent publication (1792). Cooper used six

Psalms, two of which were Watts’s versifications, two texts from Isaiah, and one from Luke.

Finally, eighteenth-century ministers drew on the Bible to build character during the

American Revolution. David the lyrical warrior provided some of the best material for these

151 preachers. Composers also sought to call forth some type of action. Many anthems were punctuated with Biblical songs of angels and call on the listener to take a Christian action.

Anthems for Charity meetings include calls to acts of service. Holden’s “Thanksgiving Anthem” includes an admonition to give to those who have nothing. While it may be a call to have a thankful heart or serve one’s neighbor instead of a call to arms, the use of Biblical verse for virtuous behavior is as present in anthem texts as it was in eighteenth-century wartime sermons.

Protestant denominational affiliation and geographical location affected the content of both sermons and anthems. Byrd demonstrates that ministers in the Anglican church were more likely to filter their Biblical interpretations for the cause of the loyalists. In denominations that espoused pacifism, patriot preachers used their sermons to counteract that belief. Preaching against pacifism also had a geographical component, as regions with high Quaker populations, such as in parts of Pennsylvania, were likely to be against the revolution.21 Both loyalists and patriots used the Bible to support their cause. Denomination and geographic subtleties exist in the anthem repertory as well. Although composers made use of the Book of Common Prayer and

Authorized Version of the Psalms, Amos Bull, an Anglican, used the Book of Common Prayer more frequently than he used the Authorized Version in his anthems. Of Bull’s twelve anthems, he composed eight that only use psalm verses, and in each of these he used the Book of Common

Prayer. Other composers, such as William Billings, Jacob French, and Daniel Read, used a combination of the two. Some composers appealed to a particular denomination in their anthems.

In The Massachusetts Compiler, Samuel Holyoke printed anthems, along with other sacred music, utilizing sacred poetry popular among Baptist congregations.

21 Byrd, 78.

152

Composers from Maine demonstrate other denominational subtleties. In addition to having composed less anthems in general, composers in the isolated region of Maine composed anthems for Thanksgiving, but there are few Fast Day anthems in their repertory. Maine composers also tended to utilize sacred poetry that was popular with Universalist churches, a denomination that took hold in that remote region. Conversely, William Billings’s patriotic anthems would have appealed to an urban audience, particularly one in the patriotit stronghold of

Boston. These regional subtleties were influenced by the needs of both congregations and communities.

In addition to the Biblical passages that ministers and composers drew from, composers relied on religious poetry for their work. While much of this was versified psalms, the use of non-Biblical sacred poetry grew in the anthem repertory as it did in psalmody at large.

Particularly in the anthem, composers combined this poetry with Biblical verse. The form of the anthem lent itself to combining prose and poetry: different text types could be set to multiple sections of contrasting styles and textures. Composers often used the textual variety to create stylistic variety. Because the focus on the eighteenth-century sermon was on Biblical exegesis, ministers did no rely as heavily on sacred poetry as First New England composers.

This study of the use of text in First New England School anthem repertory demonstrates the variety of ways these composers engaged in Biblical exegesis, Revolutionary politics and editorial intervention, because anthems were a through-composed prose genre, they offered a unique opportunity for Biblical interpretation. Some composers made use of this creative opportunity, none more so than William Billings. Despite his stature as the “father” of the First

New England School, Billings is an exceptional case in all ways. He composed the most politically charged anthems, indeed his anthem texts mostly closely align to the trends James

153

Byrd observed. He utilized the widest variety of texts in his anthems and demonstrated his vast knowledge of the Bible. While other composers utilized large swaths of scripture, Billings did so more consistently than his contemporaries. In addition to demonstrating that composers edited, interpreted, and musically depicted Biblical verse and sacred poetry in their anthems, they found a way to serve both God and country.

154

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Appendix

The two tables below index the scripture and poetry citations used in my study. Table A1 catalogues anthems that use Psalms only and includes anthems that used versifications of Psalms. Table A2 catalogues anthems that include any text from outside the Psalms.

Abbreviations used in the tables: AV – Authorized Version of the Bible BCP – Book of Common Prayer MTH – Collection containing Joshua Smith’s poetry Roscommon – Psalm versification by the Earl of Roscommon S & H – Sternhold and Hopkins TB – Tate and Brady

164

Perfections of God of Perfections

Fast Fast Day

Fear and FearHope and

Love

Fast Fast Day

Theme

(Y/N)

Text Edit Edit Text

1–2, 6–7 1–2,

1–3

Verses

143

133

100

Chapter

Psalm

the Bible the

Book of of Book

S &S H

BCP

Text Source Text

1770

1798

1795

Publication

Year of

The Lord Descended Lord The

Hear Prayer, O Lord My

As Hartthe Panteth

Hiram Anthem Hiram

Anthem: O Come Let us Sing Unto the Lord the Unto Let Sing us O Come Anthem:

Anthem: Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Dwelling Place Hast Been Dwelling Our Thou Lord, Anthem:

Title

Anthems That Use Psalms Only Psalms Use That Anthems

Billings

Benham

Babcock

Composer Table A1 Table

165

Thanksgiving

Patriotic

Fast Fast Day

Supplication, Fast Day Supplication,

Creation and Providence and Creation

12–14

1–2

25–30

1 to 4 to 1

st st 3

st st 1

107

Psalm

Original

Psalm

Lesser Dox

Psalm

Original

Psalm

Original

Psalm

BCP

Billings

BCP

Billings

TB TB

Billings

TB/Watts

BCP

1781

1778

1770

Thou, O God, Art Praised O God, Thou,

Euroclydon

Sing Ye Merrily Sing

Independence

Hear Prayer My

The Lord Is King Lord The

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 166

Fast Fast Day

Thanksgiving

Love

4–5

1–2

4–5

5–6, 7–8, 10–12 7–8, 5–6,

148

108

133

Billings

Doxology

Psalm

Billings

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Thomas Ken Thomas

Psalm

BCP

Billings

Roscommon

BCP

1794

1786

Variety

Sublimity

Sing Praises to the Lord Praisesthe to Sing

O Praise the Lord of Heaven of O Praise Lord the

O God, My HeartFixed My is O God,

Union, Behold How Good and Joyful and Good How Behold Union,

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 167

Guidance

Praise

Thanksgiving

Praise

Thanksgiving

Dedication

Fast Fast day

175

160

133

108

105

57, 73, 105, 108, 133, 160, 175 160, 133, 108, 105, 73, 57,

1–4, 6 1–4,

1–5

1–3

119

150

104

127

126

Psalm

BCP

P Milton

BCP

1795

1794

Thou Art My Portion, O Lord Portion, Art My Thou

O Praise God in His Holiness His in O Praise God

Praise the Lord, O My Soul O My Praise Lord, the

Psalm 90 Psalm

O Clap Your Hands Your O Clap

Except the Lord Build the House the Build Lord the Except

When the Lord Turnʼd Again Turnʼd Lord the When

Bull

Billings Billings Billings 168

Fast Fast Day

Praise

Fast Fast Day

Power God of

Ordination

Thanksgiving

1–4, 8 1–4,

162

156

153–54

149

145–46

139–43

137

12–13

1–2

14–17

8–10

8–11

1–4

1–2, 4 1–2,

121

120

119

117

139

132

100

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Hallelujah

BCP

1789

1803

1795

An Anthem from Psalm 119 Psalm from Anthem An

O Praise Lord the

Ponder My Words, O Lord Words, My Ponder

O Lord, Thou has Searched Me Out Thou O Lord,

Arise, O Lord, Into Thy Resting Place Resting Thy Into O Lord, Arise,

O Sing Unto the Lord the Unto O Sing

O Be Joyful

French

Cole

Bull

Bull Bull Bull 169

Fast Fast Day

Dedication

Praise

Patriotic, Sovereign Patriotic,

Thanksgiving

2–4

150

149

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

AV, BCP AV,

BCP

1792

1800

1809

1794

1789

An Anthem for Fast Dayfor Anthem An

A Dedicatory Anthem A Dedicatory

Anthem of Praise of Anthem

Bind Kings Kings Bind

Thanksgiving Anthem Thanksgiving

Holden

Herrick

Gram French

170

Sovereignty

Thanksgiving

Fast Fast Day

Thanksgiving

Doxology

1–2

125

117

143

100

Doxology

Unknown

Doxology

Psam

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Gloria Patri Gloria

Psalm

Unknown

Psalm

Doxology

BCP

Unknow

Doxology

BCP

1800

1793

1804

1792

An Anthem: From the 125 Psalm 125 the From Anthem: An

Anthem: O Come Sing Unto the Lord the Unto Sing O Come Anthem:

Anthem for Fast Dayfor Anthem

Anthem for Thanksgiving: O Be Joyful Thanksgiving: for Anthem

A Thanksgiving Anthem: the Lord Reigneth Lord the Anthem: A Thanksgiving

Kimball

Holyoke Holyoke Holden 171

Praise

Thanksgiving

Praise

Dominion of Christ of Dominion

Praise

Music

Joy and Rejoicing and Joy

Grace

Love, PeaceLove,

3–4

1–4, 11–2 1–4,

1–4

21b

1–6

9 10 9

9–10

5–6

1–2

Doxology

1–4

1–4, 8 1–4,

9–11

1, 7b, 7b, 1,

150

148

105

145

100

133

122

133

Psalm

T and B T and

BCP

T and B T and

S &S H

BCP

BCP/AV

BCP

1761

1790

Psalm 150 Psalm

Psalm 148 Psalm

Psalm 105 Psalm

Psalm 145 Psalm

Psalm 97 Psalm

Two Celebrated Verses Celebrated Two

Psalm 47 Psalm

Psalm 96 Psalm

Psalm 100 Psalm

Psalm 34 Psalm

Psalm 16 Psalm

Behold, Behold Behold,

Lyon

Lyon Lyon Lee 172

Praise

Thanksgiving

Praise

Thanksgiving

Fast Fast Day

Thanksgiving

Sovereignty

Dedication

Hallelujah

3–4

1–2

1–6

150

100

107

100

105

103

100

143

146

132

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

T and B T and

BCP

Watts

1761

1805

1795

1794

1811

1808

1803

Psalm 150 Psalm

Anthem for a for Thanksgiving Day of Anthem

O Praise the Lord, O My Soul O My O Praise Lord, the

O Be Joyful

Hear Our Prayʼr, O HearLord Prayʼr, Our

Pastoral Anthem Pastoral

Anthem of Praise of Anthem

Anthem for Dedication for Anthem

Swan

Robbins

Read

Olmsted Maxim Mann 173

Dedication

Fast Fast Day

Day Day Of Judgement

2nd part 2nd

132

50 (PM) 50

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Watts

1793

1807

1801

Dedication

Deliverance: An Anthem An Deliverance:

Psalm 50 Psalm

Wood

West Swan

174

Funeral

Thanksgiving

Easter

Funeral

Fast Fast Day

Theme

Y/N

Text Edit Edit Text

1–5

Verses

100

Chapter Chapter

I Tim

Psalm

Resurrection and Ascension and Resurrection

Ecclesiastes

Isaiah

Bible

Book of the the of Book

Kneeland

Scott, T Scott,

text

Source of of Source

1794

1805

1795

Publication

Year of

Funeral Anthem: Farewell, a Sad and Long Farewell Long aand Sad Farewell, Anthem: Funeral

An Anthem of Praise: Make a Joyful Noise aMake Joyful Praise: of Anthem An

An Anthem for Easter: Angels roll the Rock Away Rock the roll Angels Easter: for Anthem An

Anthem: Remember Now Thy Creator Thy Now Remember Anthem:

Anthem: Comfort Ye, My People My Ye, Comfort Anthem:

Title

Anthems Texts That Include Other Biblical Verse Sacred Poetryand Biblical Other Include That Texts Anthems

Belcher

Babcock

Babcock Composer Table A2 Table 175

Death

Resignation, Resignation,

Funeral, Funeral,

Charity

Thanksgiving

Easter

Ordination

34–35

5–7

9, 13 9,

27–28

13–14

8–10

132

II Samuel

Revelation

Psalm

Matthew

Psalm

1 Corinthians 1

Matthew

Psalm

Revelation

Isaiah

Revelation

I Kings

Psalm

Revelation

Unidentified

1778

1770

1783

1797

David's Lamentation David's

A Funeral Anthem A Funeral

Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor Poor the Is He Blessed Considereth that

Anthem: Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty God Lord Holy Holy Holy Anthem:

An Anthem for Easter: See from the Dungeon of the Deadthe of Dungeon the See from Easter: for Anthem An

Ordination Anthem Ordination

Billings

Benham Belknap Belcher 176

Patriotic

Boston, Boston,

Thanksgiving

Song of Songs of Song

Thanksgiving

20–21

10–11

7–8

1–5

6–7

1–2

137

106

120

116

Jargon

Psalm

Jeremiah

Psalm

Colosians

Ephesians

James

Song of Songs of Song

Romans

Psalm

Nehemiah

II Chron

Psalm

Exodus

Psalm

Billings

BCP

AV/BCP

1778

Lamentation Over Boston Lamentation

Is Any Afflicted Is Any

I Am the Rose of Sharon Rose of the I Am

Gratitude: I Love the Lord the I Love Gratitude:

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 177

Charity

Judgment

Patriotic

5–6

1–2

5–7

6–7

106

124

Psalm

James

Psalm

Proverbs

Psalm

1 Corinthians 1

Matthew Matthew

Psalm

Revelation

Luke

Isaiah

Original

Psalm

Jeremiah

Original

Jeremiah

Original

Jeremiah

Original

Psalm

Original

Billings

None

Billings

1781

1778

Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor 2 Poor the Is He Blessed Considereth that

And I Saw a Mighty Angel I Saw aAnd Mighty

Retrospect: WasDaythe Not Retrospect:

Billings Billings Billings 178

Funeral

Easter

Death and Resurrection Death and

Funeral

Communion

25, 28 25,

26–27

23–24

19–20

17, 20 17,

1–2

119

107

works

Original

Job

Psalm

Job

I I Samuel

Watts Hymns 1 Watts Hymns

Psalm

John

Genesis

Jeremiah

Matthew

Revelation

Isaiah

Genesis

Isaiah

Pope

I I Samuel

Revelation

Isaiah

Billings

Watts Watts I

1786

1781

ry Mortal Ear Attend Mortal ry

Samuel the Priest the Samuel

Who Is This That Cometh from Edom from Cometh That Is This Who

The Dying Christian to His Soul His to Christian Dying The

The Beauty of Israel of Beauty The

Let Let Ev

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 179

s Song

Solomon

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Fast Fast Day

Ascension Ascension

1–2, 6 1–2,

16–17

2–4

Unknown

10–14

Unknown

st 1 (v 12) (v st 1

Unknown

6–7

6, 7 6,

Unknown

116

Unknown

Song of Solomon of Song

Isaiah

Micah

Isaiah

Matthew

Horae Lyricae

Unknown

Luke

Unknown

Psalm

Unknown

Psalm

Hymns II Hymns

Watts

1794

1786

I Am Come into My Garden My into Come I Am

Hear Hear Heavens Oh

Hark! Hark! Hark! Hear Not You

Deliverance

Lift Up Your Eyes Your Up Lift

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 180

s Song

Funeral

Fast Fast Day

Ordination

Fast Fast Day

Solomon

French

23–24

17–20

18–19, 21 18–19,

8–12

French

115

132

French

Joel

Luke

Psalm

Isaiah

Psalm

Original

Psalm

Mal

Psalm

Joel

Original

Song of Solomon of Song

BCP

Billings

BCP

Billings

1794

The Dying Christians Last Farewell Christians Dying The

Sanctify a Fast Sanctify

O Thou to Whom all Creatures all Whom to O Thou

Mourn, Mourn Mourn,

I Charge You, O Ye Daughters I You, Charge

Billings

Billings Billings Billings 181

Praise

Sovereignty

Easter

Thanksgiving

18–20

6–9

9–10

1–4

1–2

106

Isaiah

Original

Hymn 10 Hymn

Luke

Revelation

Psalm

Deuteronomy

Psalm

1 Corinthians 1

Luke

Psalm

Exodus

Psalm

I Kings

Psalm

Billings

Watts

BCP

1795

1794

Arise, Shine, O Zion Shine, Arise,

Peace Is King God

The Lord Is Ris'n Indeed Is Ris'n Lord The

We Have Heard With Our Ears Our We Have Heard With

Bull

Billings Billings Billings 182

Promise

Thanksgiving

Fast Fast Day

Praise

Christmas

Y Y

Unknown

6–9

9 a 9

7 a 7

1 b 1

17–18

2–4

17–18

2–3

Unknown

10–11

150

104

103

126

Unknown

Isaiah

Hallelujah

Isaiah

Hallelujah

Luke

Isaiah

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Isaiah

Psalm

Isaiah

Doxology

Zepheniah

Habakkuk

Unknown

Luke

Hallelujah

Watts

BCP/AV

BCP

Watts

Unknown

1806

1792

1795

1786

1795

ry One that Thirsteth One that ry

Ho! Ev Ho!

Thanksgiving: The Lord Hath Done Hath Lord The Thanksgiving:

Anthem: Hear, O Heav'ns Anthem:

Sing, Sing Sing,

O Lord, Revive Thy Work Thy Revive O Lord,

Behold, I Bring You Tidings You I Bring Behold,

Doolittle

Cooper

Chandler

Carpenter Bull Bull 183

Dedication

Judgment

Happiness

Funeral

Dedication

Ordination

Christmas

Day of Judgment Day of

Heaven

15–17

14–15

6–7

7–8

4–5

1–2

1–3

100

132

French

19–27

11–14

1–4

Isaiah

Revelation

Zepheniah

French

Revelation

Psalm

Isaiah

Psalm

Descend from Heaven Descend from

Revelation

Psalm

Isaiah

Luke

Horae Lyricae

French?

Unknown

Townsend, Walter Townsend,

Watts

1797

1786

1793

1789

1797

1806

1803

Jerusalem

The Heavenly Vision Heavenly The

Happiness

Farewell Anthem Farewell

Dedication Anthem Dedication

Anthem for Ordination for Anthem

Behold, I Bring I Bring Behold,

Justice Anthem Justice

An Anthem: The Beauty of my Native Land Native my of Beauty The Anthem: An

French

Forbush Edson Edson 184

s Song

Resurrection

Funeral

Solomon

Fast Fast Day

10–12

9–10

11–12

1–2

16–18

2–6

13–14

48–49

1–2

1 Corinthians 1

Revelation

Song of Solomon of Song

Isaiah

Luke

Lamentations

1794

1806

1793

1797

1789

Resurrection

I Heard a Voice Great

Song of Songs of Song

Rebellion: An Anthem for a for Fast Anthem An Rebellion:

Lamentation for Jerusalem for Lamentation

Gram

Goff, Ezra Goff,

French French French 185

Thanksgiving

Amen

Hallelujah

144

119

136

Amen

Hallelujah

Isaiah

Psalm

Isaiah

Psalm

Hallujah

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Hallelujah +Amen Hallelujah

1808

1808 O Come Let Us O Come

Hardy 186

Ordination

Thanksgiving

Ordination

145

132

Isaiah

Nehemiah

Psalm

Isaiah

Revelation

Isaiah

Revelation

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

I I Kings

Psalm Psalm

Unknown

Revelation

Doxology

BCP

Unknown

1792

1809

An Ordination Anthem Ordination An

A Concluding Anthem for Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving for Anthem A Concluding

Hail Hail Hail

Holden Holden Harmon 187

Funeral

Thanksgiving

Funeral

105

147

149

121

149

8 quat. 8

Isaiah

Psalm

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Isaiah

Revelation

Psalm

Seasons

Job

Dwight

1800

1797

1796

A Funeral Anthem A Funeral

Thanksgiving Anthem Thanksgiving

Funeral Anthem Funeral

Holden Holden Holden 188

Thanksgiving

Promise, Peace Promise,

Praise

8–9

106

145

111

100

Psalm

Isaiah

Revelation

Isaiah

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

Revelation

Psalm

1793

1791

Anthem: O Lord, Thou Art My God Art My Thou O Lord, Anthem:

Anthem: Comfort Ye, My People My Ye, Comfort Anthem:

Anthem: Praise Waiteth for Thee for Praise Waiteth Anthem:

Kimball

Holyoke Holyoke

189

Easter

Judgment

Thanksgiving

Dedication

Funeral

Charity

Funeral

25–26

1, 4 1,

134b

56–57

27–30

12–13

1–2

21b

3–7

Unknown

122

On The Resurrection The On

The Day of Judgment Day The of

Unknown

1 Corinthians 1

Job

Choice Coll Choice

The Great Assize Great The

Lo, He Cometh Lo,

Horae Lyricae

The Gospel Hymn Book Hymn Gospel The

I I Kings

Psalm

Job

Ecclesiastes

Unknown

Psalm

Psalm Psalm

Revelation

Occoms

Cennick

Watts

BCP

1794

1790

1808

1797

1761

1800

1793

I Know that My Redeemer Lives My that I Know

Judgment Anthem: Hark, Ye Mortals, Hear Trumpet the Ye Hark, Mortals, Anthem: Judgment

Anthem for Thanksgiving for Anthem

Anthem no 1: For Dedication or Ordination or Dedication For 1: no Anthem

Anthem from Job 7 Job from Anthem

Blessed Is He that Considereth the Poor Poor the Is He Blessed Considereth that

Funeral Anthem: I Heard a Voice Great Anthem: Funeral

Read

Morgan, Justin Morgan,

Maxim

Mann

Lyon Kimball Kimball 190

s Song

Thanksgiving

Dedication

Solomon

Dedication

Christmas

Funeral

9–10, 13 9–10,

3, 5–18 3,

1, 7–9 1,

8, 10 8,

7–9

3–4

27–30

10–14

8–9

122

Divine Hymns Divine

Psalm

Habakkuk

Isaiah

Song of Solomon of Song

Psalm

I Kings

Psalm

Luke

Revelation

Hebrews

Ecclesiastes

Smith

1802

1801

1794

s Song

Mount Paran Mount

Jerusalem Anthem Jerusalem

Solomon

Dedication Anthem Dedication

There There Were Shepherds

It Is Better to Go (A New Funeral Anthem) (A New It Is BetterGo Funeral to

West

Swan

Swan Read Read 191

Resurrection

Thanksgiving

131

148

Hartford Coll. Hartford

Psalm

Harvest Hymn

Psalm Psalm

Psalm

MTH

1793

1802

Ascension, Jesus, Our Triumphant Head Triumphant Our Jesus, Ascension,

An Anthem of Praise of Anthem An Wood West 192