OLDEN TIkE MUSIC
IN THE CONNECTICUT VaLLEY
by
COLLINS G. BURNHAM,
FROM THE LIBRARY OF
REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D
BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO
THE LIBRARY OF
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
piTUdoa
NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE
$3 A YEAR
Vol. XXIV. No 1,
MARCH.
1901.
Contents
John Boyle O'Reilly
Ropes Of Sand. Illustrated
a Tulliilwi li Pnnni ii
Frontispiece Amelia H. Botsford
rffe
i.„~~i p..
Olden Time Music in the Connecticut Valley.
Illustrated. Collins G. Burnharn
A Curious New Hampshire Character.
Clara Spalding Ellis
,^....,—t II I llfDMIIHI II
The City Of Rochester. Illustrated. Raymond H. Arnot Q,UO Vado? A Poem .... Mary Augusta Case A Dangerous Diverson. A Story . . E. Carl Litsey Sojourner Truth. With Portraits. Lillie B. Chace Wyman Nocturne. A Poem with illustration. . M. T. Maltby
What Ireland has Done for America.
Illustrated. F. Spencer Baldwin The First News. A Poem . . Frank Walcott Hutt
The Heart of a Red Man. A Story.
Esther Talbot Kingsmill Fanny Fern at the Hartford Female Seminary.
Ethel Parton Sealed Orders, A Story . . Leigh Gordon Giltner Editor's Table
1!
31 53 54 59 67
68 85
86
94
99
107
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Copyright, 1901, by Warren F. Kellogg. Entered at Boston Post Office at Second Class Mail Matter.
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Vol. XXIV. No. 1.
A LULLABY.
By Richard Burton.
A WITHERED face with great brown eyes That gazed through unwept tears ; A smile on the mouth in motherwise, And tender, full of years.
Stretched on the sand a man, not old,
With features warped by sin, And bad, albeit now death-cold,
All passion dead within.
But ever the mother sat above
Her son and rocked and sang, As though deep stirred by baby-love.
While thus her cracked voice rang:
"Sun-gold thy hair, darling, Sleep, thou art fair, darling, Shut down thy pretty eyes ; Father is on the sea, Nobody's by but me, Sleep, for the waters rise."
So sang the fish-wife, bending o'er Her boy, just drowned and dead ;
Crazed in her mind, the days of yore Kept revel in her head.
"When thou art old, darling, Grown brave and bold, darling, Then thou shalt have a wife ; Now thou art only mine, Little and fair and fine. Helpless in all thy life."
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
The man lay still, and the sullen look
Was ever on his face ; His deeds read dark in the judgment book;
His lot had been disgrace.
But the mother hugged the body wet, Gray-haired, and dazed in brain.
As I walked away she was singing yet, Over and o'er again:
' 'Tis time to wake, darling, See! light will break, darling, Yonder across the quay ; Come, wee one, kiss me now Soft on my cheek and brow ; Wake for the love of me,
My boy, my joy, — For the love of me, — for me!"
OLDEN TIME MUSIC IN THE CONNECTICUT
VALLEY.
By Collins G. Burnham.
THE part of the Connecticut Val- ley with which this article deals is its Massachusetts section. The sources of information concern- ing church music are local — old rec- ords, sermons and other publications of the pastors, but chiefly old music books published in the Valley. It is difficult to obtain exact information
concerning the books that were used in a particular church. Psalm and tune book was not generally a subject of church record.
The music in the New England churches at the beginning of the eighteenth century was generally in a deplorable condition. Unsingable versions of the Psalms, loss of skill in
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
13
reading music, the deaconing of the Psalms and other causes made the service of song a doleful affair. There is abundant evidence of the sad neg- lect of psalmody till it became a de- batable question whether to sing or not to sing. The desire for an im- provement in this part of worship was awakened by the ministers, who be- gan to preach and to publish on the "Reasonableness of Regular Sing- ing." Those who preferred the irreg- ular way of singing made "cases of conscience" of the matter and stren- uously .opposed the innovation. The period of improvement began near the close of the first quarter of the cen- tury.
Church music in the Valley felt the influence of Jonathan Edwards, the fervid preacher and profound thinker, who was pastor at Northampton from 1727 to 1750. The revivals in that town during his pastorate made a deep impression upon New Eng- land. The churches of the valley shared in the influences of this "awakening." Church music received an impetus at this time. A disposi- tion "to abound" in the "divine exercise" of singing was manifest. Especially was this the case at Northampton. There the people sang
with greater fervor than formerly in the public worship. They sang in pri- vate houses when a few met ; they sang on the streets on their way to or from the religious services. There was criticism o.f the singing in private houses. Edwards himself complained of its "mismanagement." Psalm singing was a serious affair with the people of those days, and the singing at private houses was not always at- tended with that reverence and deco- rum that were deemed fitting to such a "holy act." It was feared that "a mere nothing" would be made of the exercise if, while two or three were singing Pslams or hymns, others in the room continued their conversa- tion or their work, paying no more re- gard to the sacred music than to "a common song for amusement and di- version." This was before William Billings produced the "Psalm Singer's Amusement." The New England fathers of this earlier period would have raised their hands in vigorous protest against the irreverence of con- necting amusement with psalmody even in the title of a book that ven- tured to go to church to assist in the solemnities of singing. The singing in the streets received more serious criticism. The practice was putting
^Cicygtgsgag'g'g*
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THE
NorthamptonColle&ion/SACRED HARMONY
Im r & R E E PARTS.
C O NT AIMING,
I. A Pun and Coxcist INTRODUCTION to the Ghoukoi of MUSIC.
II. A Urge Number of PSALM TUNES, idecud from ihe mofi approved and eminent Authors. Adapted to all the different MlTfcf-j and Ken ufed in Churches.
ill A Number of LENGTHY PIECES of jrvEeat vcmtl each, many of which arc compositions wive < ac 1 o« t p-* ttSMto, and calculated for the use of Churches and other occasions ; — with » Number of univerfally approver! AN THLMS.
by ELIAS MAN N.
And tver againft citing cwet,
Lif IBt in '."■■'( I. , 1i;n 1 in ;
In n .rc> ■ itt <r.ir\y 3 wintiuig bout
Of iinktJ (weft, en ling ri.-.v
With " ■ i ,-,
mutt runnioi; j
Publtjhed According to A8 of Congrefs .
P« i »r r. o, Typographeatfy, at NORTHAMPTON,
by DANIEL WRIGHT fi? CO.
SOLD by ih«ni .., Mo*tm*«
f ; by (Kt pi.iic.pal Bof* feller* in Boston j »n<J bf Natmah
t^3l00¥3C*
14
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
SfliSSaOA @&©!&&c
REVISED EDITION.
new wine irfto the old bottles of New England church customs ; and some believed it should not be done.
Mr. Edwards found no valid objec- tion to the innovation, but advised care in its introduction. "I suppose," he argued, "none will condemn sing- ing merely because it is performed in the open air ; and if it may be per- formed by a company in the open air, doubtless they may do it moving as well as standing still." In this, as in other matters pertaining to psalmody,
Air. Edwards was both prudent and progressive. He thought it requisite, however, where the introduction of this practice was desired, to gain "the consent of the governing part of the worshipping societies." The custom had possibilities of strife ; its intro- duction might disturb "the peace and union of such societies." The cau- tious handling of this subject by this eminent divine shows how reverently the fathers regarded sacred music and how strong were their convictions concerning its proper exercise.
In his "Faithful Narrative," Mr. Edwards bears testimony to the skill of his congregation in singing. "Our congregation excelled all that ever I knew in the external part of the duty before, the men generally carrying regularly, and well, three parts of music, and the women a part by themselves ; but now they were evi- dently wont to sing with unusual ele- vation of heart and voice, which made the duty pleasant indeed." Two of the three parts which the men sang were the bass and the air ; the third was probably the tenor, though some men may have coquetted with the counter, a part which generally was taken by the women.
Jonathan Edwards took an ad-
ENGLISH EXTRACTS,
O R
Hampjhire Mufical Magazine.
No. I.
Containinc— Three ANTHEMS, and several HYMN and PSALM Tunes, suited to all different occa- sions, where singing is required, of the plain worshiping tunes. — Extracted principally from the Magda- len Chapel Collection of Hymns, where the most pious and eminent professors of Divinity and Music were employed, and lent their peculiar aid in that Religious Institution.
Numbers to contain 32 pages, and sold for 25 cents each — at Northampton.
fZ5* If the firs; number should meet with encouragement, another number of different tunes will be offered next season.
PmUt COD,from nho.
J. HUNTINGTON, Compiltr.
PRLNTED JIT NORTHAMPTON— FOR THE COMPILER.-
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
15
■ I
H^**MHHH^-)Ni *•#-**
DEERFIELD COLLECTION
Of
SACRED MUSIC.
tfOMPlUD fRO.V THE MOST APPROVED AUTHOR** OF ANCIENT AND MODERN %'
TIMES.
INTED IOR 3. & I. BUTLER CnuiniCUt, PiMtri.
1>
*-iMHkw>*-&- $•*-*• ^MkMMhjs-^*-:* fr**^^-*-*-* ^5HHNH^*4-*-*-*-iHHt!+#*:
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vanced position in relation to the in- troduction of hymns in religious ser- vices. Psalms were sung- at the com- mencement of the eighteenth century. Critics of the "Great Awakening" were disturbed at two innovations, the unusual use of singing in religious services and the introduction of "hymns of human composure." Hitherto in New England the churches had held that the only di- vinely authorized manual of praise was the inspired Psalter. They used English versions of the Psalms of David. Great was the contest be- tween the Psalm books and hymn books. It was like the famous battle which Dean Swift reported between the ancient and modern books in Saint James's Library. In this con- flict the Psalms were the "ancients," intrenched in the customs, beliefs and prejudices of a century of New Eng- land church life. Many sharp skir- mishes and some pitched battles were fought before the "ancients" acknowl- edged the right of the "moderns" to a part in public worship and Psalms and hymns agreed to dwell together in harmony between the same leath- ern covers.
Mr. Edwards took the part of the "moderns" in this conflict. In his "Thoughts on the Revival" he wrote: "I am far from thinking that the book of Psalms should be thrown bv in our
public worship, but that it should al- ways be used in the Christian church to the end of the world ; but I know of no obligation we are under to confine ourselves to it." He considered that it is "really needful that we should have some other songs than the Psalms of David." He discovered no command to limit Christians m their praises to the forms of words found in the Bible, and considered it unrea- sonable that the church should be confined to words of the Old Testa- ment, which speaks "of the glorious things of the Gospel that are infinitely the greatest subjects of her praise," only under "a vail," and mentions the Redeemer's name only "in some dark figure."
In Mrs. Edwards's personal rela- tion we have illustration of the use of hymns at this period ; and the men- tion of names shows that other clergy- men besides her distinguished hus- band appreciated their value. On one occasion, when people had gathered at the parsonage, she states that "a melting hymn" of Dr. Watts was read. The "truth and reality" of the things mentioned in it so strongly im- pressed her and stirred her religious emotions so deeply, that she leaped from her chair unconsciously. Two other hymns were read, whose influ- ence continued the ecstatic condition of the good woman. Watts's hymns
16
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
China. C M.
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j*^v->*.-;rry-
"powerfully affected" her at other times. Thus we perceive that at the period of the "Great Awakening" ministers in the Valley used hymns to excite and deepen religious emotions, and that Christian people, as many times since? were expressing their reli- gious experiences in terms of Watts's hymns.
The churches of the Valley owe a large debt to the Northampton pastor for the enrichment of their plain order of service by the use of hymns. How long the controversy over the intro- duction of hymns lasted, we cannot determine. There were straggling skirmishes in the Valley churches after the crisis of the battle. Dr. Joseph Lathrop, pastor of the First Church of West Springfield (1756-1820), argued in his day in favor of hymns. He used nearly the same arguments that Edwards employed. "In this Gospel age our psalmody ought not to be confined to the small portion of Scripture which is called 'the book of psalms.' If in the days of David it was thought necessary that on ex- traordinary occasions a new song should be sung, surely now we may s:ng some new songs on the glorious occasion of the Gospel." Dr. Lathrop's pastorate did not begin till after the great revivalist had moved from the Valley, and their publications are more than a half century apart.
The period of the "Awakening" marks also the beginning of the rule of Isaac Watts over the realm of the singing seats and pews. Edward
Chapin, a member of the First Church of Springfield, wrote in his diary un- der date of August 6, 1747: "This day ye inhabitants of ye 1st Parish assem- bled in ye New Meeting-House, the Revd Mr Breck discoursed on ye first v of ye 84 Ps. Sang ye same psalm in ye fore'n Dr Watts Ver- sion." A book of Watts's hymns was owned by another member of that parish. It was printed and bought the same year, 1742, and is one of the earliest American reprints. When Watts came, he came as unto his own. Nowhere has he been revered more than in the New England churches ;
.in . and ji.\ . anil . . Liis high commauds obej .
HYMN 46....Dunstan. Truro.
Invitations of tht Gospel. Matth 11.28
a. 1 HARK! tis a kind — alluring sound ; 'Tis Jesus' welcome voice 1 hear : In him the God of mercy calls ; Let all the tribes of men give ear.
i. 2 " Come unto me---yc sons of toil ;
" On me your heavy burdens cast: m. •' Effectual aid — my arm shall give,
" Till all your weary days are past."
t. 3 " Children of so rrow— hither come, " Who pass the lonely night in tears :
m. " My watchfnl eye shall guard you well, " And solace all your woes and fears."
t. 4 " Hither ye sons of want — approach, '• Ye hungry — thirsty — naked poor;
c. " For you a rich repast is spread, " And every kind relief is sure "
<. 5 " Sinners, with contrite spirits, come; " Forsak" your wandering ways-and live " Your keen remorse — my grace shall sooth a- "My hands immortal blessings give "
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
17
and the churches of the Valley early welcomed him. His Psalms were un- doubtedly used first. Some editions had no hymns, others had . a few hymns as an appendix. The same appendix is also found in some edi- tions of Tate and Brady's Psalms. Finally his Psalms and his three books of hymns and spiritual songs became inseparable companions. Watts ruled over his New England subjects for long years. The sover- eignty of the English king was over- thrown, but the rule of the father of English hymnology continued. He is no longer sole ruler, but his name is still revered.
One hundred years ago Northamp- ton was a centre for the publication of music books. An edition of Watts's Psalms and Hymns was printed there by William Butler in 1799. An im- portant appendix to this book con- tains versifications of these Psalms which Dr. Watts had not "imitated in the language of the New Testa- ment." There are thirteen selections from the pen of "the ingenius Mr. Joel Barlow of Connecticut," as an appendical sentence styles him. He was moved to this work by the call of the General Association of Connect- icut, and published his corrections and enlargement of Watts's Psalms in 1785. Joel Barlow is an interest- ing figure, not only in New England psalmody, but in the life of his time. He was a man of many parts and lived a varied life. He was a chap- lain in the Continental army, an edi- tor, a lawyer, a politician, a friend of science, a patron of inventors, a land agent, an ambassador, a citizen of two republics, and in some measure wliat he wanted to be — a poet. The Con- necticut ministers paid a high tribute to his talent and his character when they trusted to his care the sacred ark of their psalmody.
This Psalm book shows that the increasing sense of national life af- fected psalmody. There was no call to revise Watts in colonial days ; but the vigorous Americanism of this
period called for changes in those Psalms which had been "locally ap- propriated,"— that is, contained ref- erences to Great Britain. "A Song for Great Britain" was the title of the 147th Psalm.
"O Britain, praise thy mighty God, And make his honors known abroad; He bade the ocean round thee flow; Not bars of brass could guard thee so."
THE.
NEW AND IMPROVED
CAMP MEETING
HYMN BOOKs
BEING A CHOICE SELECTION
OF
FROM THE MOST APPROVED AUTHORS.
DESIGNED TO AID IN THE
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DEVOTION OF CHRISTIANS.
BY ORANGE SCOTT,
MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.
" 0, sing praises unto the Lord." SECOND EDITION.
PUBLISHED BY THE COMPILER.
E. AND G. MERRIAM, PRINTERS, BROOKFIELD. 1831.
The Northampton editor omits the offensive title, and this stanza is al- tered to read:
"Let Zion praise the mighty God, And make his honors known abroad; For sweet the joy our songs to raise. And glorious is the work of praise."
These changes do not satisfy the editor of the Brookfield (Mass.) Watts, who makes this "A Song for
i8
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
SPRINGFIELD COLLECTION
SACRED MUSIC.
CONTAINING
A VARIETY OF PSALM TUNES AND OCCASIONAL PIECES.
SELECTED FROM THE WORKS OF THE
MOST APPROVED EUROPEAN AUTHORS.
TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
A CONCISE SYSTEM OF RUDIMENTS.
BY SOLOMON WARRINER.
iby Warriner and Bontecou, and sold by them at their Store in Springfield." Sold also by Mankisg and Loring. and Charles Williams, Boston— by Warriner and Callendzr, Fittsneld— and by the principal Booksellers in the United States
MANNING AND LORING. PRINTERS, BOSTON NOV 1813
America," and in the exuberance of his patriotism calls:
"Columbia, praise thy mighty God."
There is a curious misprint in this book of a word in a stanza of the 48th Psalm:
"When natives tall and proud Attempt to spoil our peace, He sends his tempests roaring loud, And sinks them in the seas."
Though Watts must be amended to suit the patriotic saints and singers of the new nation, there was no occa- sion to change navies, the original reading, to natives. The same mis- take occurs in the Worcester edition (1786), by Isaiah Thomas. This, with other coincidences, suggests the de- pendence of Northampton upon Worcester for copy. "Natives" is not an alteration bv "the ingenius Mr. Joel Barlow."
A number of tune books were pub- lished at the Meadow City. One is the "Northampton Collection of Sa- cred Harmony," 1797, by Elias Mann. An old music book is interesting, if not profitable for instruction. Title- page, preface and introduction are features to be scanned. They shed
light upon the musical lore and taste and customs of the times, as well as upon the idiosyncrasies of the author or compiler. The title-page of this book is embellished according to cus- tom with a poetic quotation. The t salm book used Scripture, the tune book poetry, on the title-page. Elias iv±ann quotes from Milton:
'And ever against eating cares, Lap me in soft Lydian airs; In notes with many a winding bout, Of linked sweetness long drawn out; With wanton heed and giddy cunning, The melting voice through mazes running; Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony."
A dissertation is sandwiched be- tween the preface and introduction. The title is much more impressive than the subject matter of this high sounding but brief article. In it some ideas concerning expression are set forth. The author believed in har- mony between "sense and sound" in singing. "Moreover, not only the voice but the whole demeanor should conform to the subject. The grave, the gay, the melancholy, the cheer- ful should be accompanied by their correspondent tones and deportment. A choir under Mr. Mann's leadership
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
19
acting the grave and the gay might have been worth seeing, even if it was not skilful in
"Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony."
This book has the old nomencla- ture. The scale is the gamut ; the syllables are four, mi, fa, sol, la; in relation to time, the notes, beginning with the whole note and decreasing regularly, are semibreves, minims, quavers, semiquavers and demisemi- quavers ; the staff is a stave. There are three staves, the counter being the unusual one with the letter C on tne middle line. In reading by syl- lable the mi was the syllable to locate. \\ nen it was found the other syllables came in regular order above and be- low it — fa, sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, fa. Rules for finding mi in the different keys are given in all old tune books, usually in prose, but occasionally in limping verse. Its natural place was on B. The sharps and flats led it a wandering life, as these lines from "The Continental Harmony" show:
"By flats the mi is driven round Till forced on B to stand its ground. By sharps the mi's led through the keys, Till brought home to its native place."
"It is always considered as in its na- tive place on a pitchpipe," said Wil- liam Billings ; and there it was undis- turbed till the leader "set the tune." The music in this book represents thi taste of the times. It contains speci- mens of the compositions of Ameri- can authors like Billings, Holyoke, Holden and Swan. Mr. Mann also inserted a number of his own pieces, chiefly antnems. Although Mr. Mann expressed later a distaste for the fugue, and even at the date of this book is reported to have called it "a jargon of words and syllables," this collection caters to the prevailing taste and has numerous specimens of "jargon." This is a typographically printed book, which fact shows the enterprise of Daniel Wright & Co. in following the new style introduced by
that enterprising and veteran printer, Isaiah Thomas of Worcester.
Elias Mann lived at Northampton. He is referred to in the "Worshipper's Assistant" as "a great Master of Mu- sic." He taught singing schools, and was known as Master Mann. He published music and composed it. "Marlborough's Ghost" and "Andre's Ghost" are the titles of two songs by him advertised in the Massachusetts Magazine in 1789. Whether or not he gave musical treatment to the ghosts of other historic characters does not appear. He also published the "Massachusetts Collection of Sa- cred Harmony."
The "Worshipper's Assistant" (Northampton, 1799) has the rudi- ments of some new features. It is "designed only as an introduction to plain and simple music adapted to children and beginners in the art.'' The author, Solomon Howe, shows signs of revolt against the dominance of fugues, because they "run the words into such a huddle." The book, of the usual oblong shape, is an ap- proach to the tune and hymn book of later days. Its most noticeable fea- ture is its hymns. They mark a crude beginning in hymnology in the Val- ley. Mr. Howe "put his own hymns" to the tunes of the book. There is no special value in these hymns ; but it is worthy of note that, as Williams and Tansur had their imitators in the American Psalm tune writers, so the monosyllabic Watts had his imi- tators among American rhymesters. These old tune books were designed to serve in the singing school as well as in the choir. Mr. Howe gave this direction for the selection of a place for that important institution: "Choose a large, tight upper room, if possible, where a little fire will an- swer, for large fires are hurtful to the voice."
Two of the instrumental adjuncts of the olden-time choir, the flute and the bass viol, find recognition in "The Apollo Harmony," a Christian Psalm tune book that masquerades
20
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
62
CANON. For three voices
Would to God I had died for thee, my son'
IliigL^IIi=l#Bliii^i
under
used
each
a to of
Ab
pagan titfe. Diagrams are illustrate the fingering of these instruments. Jona- than Huntington, the compiler of this book, may have played the flute, for he seems to have had a special ten- derness for it and declared: "He that hath no music within his breast ought never to touch this instrument." This book attempts to solve the di- lemma of divided taste in the singing community. In the first decade of century protests were increasing frequency class of music which prevailed. The public was no longer unanimous in prefer- ence of the fugue. This compiler found that some would be pleased with Old Hundred, Bath, Plymouth and Wantage, while others preferred "light and airy tunes ;" so he pre- sented "a general assortment." There are musical contrasts. Bath and Do- ver, the stately measures of Handel's hymn tune, and the "light and airy" ones of Swan's fugue face each other from opposite pages and meet in har- mony whenever the book is closed. The divided taste in a parish often meant a divided choir. "The lovers
the present heard with against the hitherto had
Har. Sac. of crotchets and quavers" and "the votaries of minims and semibreves" sometimes carried their differences of taste to the extent that they would not sing together.
It is not always easy to accept the wisdom of these old books seriously. Jonathan Hunting- ton thus expounds accent: "A bar of music may be per- formed in compari- son to the shape of an egg, full in the middle and small at each end." His safe conclusion on an- other point is "to pronounce words in singing as plain as possible."
Some former owner of the writer's copy of "The Apollo Harmony" also possessed two numbers of "The Eng- lish Extracts, or Hampshire Musical Magazine," and bound them with it. The magazine consists of a few pages of music taken largely from the "Mag- dalen Chapel Collection of Hymns." Jonathan Huntington did the extract- ing. The magazine is of a later date (1809) than "The Apollo Harmony" (1807), and shows that the tide of preference was setting in so strongly in favor of better music that Mr. Huntington must needs publish a less "general assortment" of tunes.
It is only due to the patriotism of Northampton to note the existence of an "American Musical Magazine," published there for the Hampshire Musical Society in 1800. When, how- ever, a higher standard of music was required, resort was had of necessity to the Old World. This is not to the discredit wholly of the New World. The early American teachers had lim- ited resources. They came hardly at all into contact with the best music of the Old World, but in half a centurv
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
21
from the publication of the first American books of original music they led the singing public to de- mand music of a higher standard, which only the Old World could give. It is easier to criticise the crudities of these earlier composers and teachers than to appreciate the importance of their pioneer work.
A book of original music belonging to the Valley is "The New England Harmony," by Timothy Swan. It was published at Northampton in 1801. A peculiarity of the author is his disuse of the accidentals. Sharps and flats he regarded as useless char- acters in vocal music. He inserted them in this book as key signs to ac- commodate the weaker brethren, but did not use them elsewhere.
The early composers of the Valley are not always known to fame. It is rare to find mention of them in the old histories of music, like Hood's and Gould's. Both Gould and Rit- ter mention Timothy Swan, but their notices are brief, confused and unre- liable. Timothy Swan was born at Worcester, Massachusetts , July 23, 1758. At the age of sixteen, while at Groton, Massachusetts, he at- tended a singing school for three weeks. This brief period comprised his only term of instruction. He came to Northfield, Massachusetts, about 1775. The early composers of music and teachers of singing in New England generally had a trade. Mu- sic was not a sure means of livelihood. Timothy Swan learned to make hats at Northfield, and while so doing be- gan to practise the making of Psalm tunes. His first music was written in two parts. Montague was his first tune in four parts. He moved in 1782 to Suffield, Connecticut, where he lived over twenty-five years and composed most of his music. "The Songster's Assistant," a book of songs, the music of which is mostly by him, was published there by the firm of Swan and Ely. The man whose singing school career as a pu- pil ended in three weeks gave many
others longer periods of instruction in the many singing schools he taught. The migrations of Timothy Swan have helped to confuse the brief no- tices of him which some have made. His last years were passed at North- field, where he died, July 23, 1842. He is remembered as the author of China, the most famous of his tunes. Those who recall its weird strains will appreciate the remark of an old singing teacher: "His tunes were remarkable for originality as well as singularity — unlike any other melodies." The hymn,
"Why do we mourn departing saints,"
is joined to this tune. The compiler of "The American Vocalist" (1849) wrote: "Old Windham and China have acted as pallbearers for half a century." To-day saints and sinners are buried to other music, and the memory of China and its author is fading.
The old music book of Springfield is the "Springfield Collection," by Solomon Warriner. It was published in 1813, and was designed to furnish choirs and worshipping assemblies with "standard church music of the plainest kind." If Springfield seems less forward in producing musical publications than her sisters of the Valley, she can plead the higher qual- ity of her collection. A glance at its pages shows the predominance of notes with white faces. The faces of the notes of these old books reveal, like the faces of men, much of their character. The "Massachusetts Col- lection of Church Music," Greenfield, 1823, defines a semibreve as "a round white note." "The minim is a white note with a stem ; the crotchet is a black note with a stem ; and the quaver is a black note with a stem and a hook." The music of Ameri- can composers showed many "black notes" with stems and hooks. In the ancient and more regular music the "white notes" were in the majority. The Springfield and later the Deer- field collections made selections from
22
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
Wamril Seal*— Mi i
EXPLANATION OF THE SCALES.
ppi^^llii
Key Faw, sol, law, faw, sol,
J^F
pHpE^Eg^^^l
PLAIN SCALE of NATURAL NOTES for the GERMAN FLUTE. The black dots reprefent the holes which are to be flopped, and the vacancies are to be led open. The three upper fingers, reprefent the firfl, fecond and third fingers of the upper hand, and the four lower fingers reprefent the firft, fecond, third and fourth fingers of the lower hand.
|
UftHjnd D E |
if F |
1 G 0 |
1 A 0 |
B |
i c 0 |
i D o |
1 J — E |
1 F • |
§ a 0 |
A |
II B C * 0 |
1 D O |
E |
|
|
3 " 10 |
0 |
0 |
O |
0 |
« |
# |
# |
0 |
0 |
0 |
o |
0 |
|
Bight Hand | |
0 |
0 0 # |
o 0 0 |
o 0 0 |
o 0 0 |
o 0 o |
0 0 0 |
0 0 0 |
0 0 0 |
o 0 o 0 |
o o o o |
0 0 0 |
0 0 0 |
o o 0 |
o 0 0 |
|
0 |
|||||||||||||||
|
3 ' |
|||||||||||||||
"the most approved authors." This superlative term of commendation was applied with little discrimination to all the products of European com- posers which came into the hands of American compilers, and, like the present '"made in Germany," the label was upon many inferior articles.
This book knows only the four old syllables, fa, sol, la, mi; but it discards the old counter clef, lowers the coun- ter score, calls it the second treble, and gives the part to alto voices. Mr. Warriner insisted that the air should be sung by women, and adopted the present arrangement of parts. This made a very important improvement in the manner of sing- ing, one of the most valuable that could be advocated at that time. Our singers go to Father Kemp's book for music for the old folks' concert
and sing the old tunes as there ar- ranged, which is the modern, not the old arrangement of parts. The honor in this country of first giving the air to treble voices has been claimed for Solomon Warriner and the "Spring- field Collection." An earlier advocate of the change was Andrew Law, the inventor of "patent notes," as may be seen by reference to his music books. This collection was well received. Thomas Hastings expressed the opin- ion that its melodies would "continue in favor for many years, perhaps for centuries to come." The individual future of this daughter of psalmody was marred by an early marriage. The "Musica Sacra," jointly edited by Thomas Hastings and Solomon Warriner, is the Utica and Springfield collections united. This book was a successful one. In its earlier editions
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
23
appears a single survivor of a species of church music now extinct, — the canon, as it was commonly called. A footnote explains that it should be "more properly denominated a round." David's lament, "O, Absa- lom, my son, my son," becomes more doleful as it is wailed out in the minor tones of this sacred round. A queer specimen of this class of music to find a place in a Psalm tune book is "Scot- land's Burning." It appears in an- other Northampton book, "The Mas- sachusetts Compiler of Sacred Har- mony." The harmony may be in this canon, but the sacredness is surely wanting.
Solomon Warriner is a conspicuous figure in the history of music in West- ern Massachusetts. He was born at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1778, and died at Springfield, where most of the years of his long life were passed, in June, i860. He was known as Colonel Warriner, for he drilled mili- tiamen as well as choirs. For more than forty years he was the leader of the large choir of the First Church, Springfield. He was president of its musical society and head of the mu- sical life of Springfield. On all pub- lic occasions when music graced the program, Colonel Warriner was in demand, with his trained singers. As teacher, leader and publisher, he had a wide influence. He also composed music. Two pieces ascribed to S. Warriner appear in "The Apollo Har- mony." Gould mentions him as one of those "who taught with success and deserve and will have a place in the memory of the lovers of sacred music." An editorial notice at the time of his death says: "Colonel War- riner was the great authority and standard in all musical matters in all this region and did more than any other to elevate the style of sa- cred music in Western Massachu- setts."
The Valley can point to several col- lections of hymns. The "Springfield Hymns" bring together two well- known names, Rev. William B. O.
Peabody, D. D., their compiler, and Samuel Bowles, their publisher. Dr. Peabody was the pastor of the Uni- tarian Church of Springfield from October, 1820, until his death, in May, 1847. This collection was pro- duced to meet "the wants and feel- ings" of his own congregation. The selections are drawn from a wide field, though the hymns of Watts and Dod- dridge form the basis of the collec- tion. This is an edited collection. The editor's object was to provide, "not a book of devotional poetry to be read, but hymns to be sung;" so he abridged and altered hymns to suit his purpose, and in some instances re- stored hymns to their original forms. Dr. Peabody followed the example of Watts, who wrote "Divine and Moral Songs" for children, and of Doddridge, who taught the principles of religion to children in "Plain and Easv Verse," by producing a cate- chism in verse for children. The first of the fourteen questions is, "Who made you?" and the brief answer is:
"The God in whom I ever trust Hath made my body from the dust; He gave me life, he gave me breath, And he preserves me still from death."
This catechism was published in 1823. It is not forgotten because it is in verse, but because catechisms in general are being forgotten. A num- ber of hymns follow the catechetical portion of this little book, some of which appear in the "Springfield Hymns ;" but the name of the author is modestly withheld. As a writer of hymns Dr. Peabody receives gener- ous recognition in "Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith" and in various hymnals. The following is his best known hymn:
"Behold the western evening light! It melts in deeper gloom; So calm the righteous sink away, Descending to the tomb.
"The winds breathe low — the yellow leaf Scarce whispers from the tree! So gently flows the parting breath When good men cease to be.
H
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
"How beautiful, on all the hills,
The crimson light is shed! 'Tis like the peace the dying gives
To mourners round his bed.
"How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast! So sweet the memory left behind. When loved ones breathe their last.
"And lo! above the dews of night The vesper star appears! So faith lights up the mourner's heart, Whose eyes are dim with tears.
"Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore; And thus the eyes that sleep in death Shall wake, to close no more."
Samuel Willard, D. D., was an- other minister interested in church music. From 1807 to 1829 he was pastor of the First Church of Deer- field. Dr. Willard sought the im- provement of church music chiefly along' three lines, simplicity in the style of music, pronunciation and adaptation of hymn and tune. In a lecture delivered at Greenfield, March 19, 181 T, he affirmed that for about thirty years there had rarely been such a thing heard in a great part of the churches as a tune of "the an- cient, regular, simple, moderate style." He found in the Deerfield church "the same profane kind of singing that prevails everywhere in the country," and immediately inau- gurated a reform. Soon he could write: "A thorough change took place this day in the musical part of public worship. Instead of all light and frolicsome tunes, we had all grave and solemn, namely, Aylesbury, Windsor, Dalston, Wells and Old Hundred." The "Deerfield Collection" (1814), which he compiled, represents the reaction to a more simple style of music: This was a book for the "Old Hundred Singers," for the title of this ancient tune furnished a term of re- proach by which the lovers of the "frolicsome tunes" designated the lovers of the "grave and solemn tunes." Dr. Willard, like other min- isters interested in the improvement
of singing, preached from the text, "I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." His rule in singing was to pronounce according to the best usages of com- mon speech. Accordingly it was al- lowable to sing 11m for am, nn for an, and urgain for again. "That is the way we speak, and if we would not appear awkward or affected, we must sing in the same manner." The rule for pronunciation on slurred notes is emphatic. "Never without necessity re- peat the same sound." He gives ex- amples of the different sounds into which the vowels and diphthongs might be resolved and the necessity of repetition be avoided. Thus hate might be sung on slurs as heh-ete, pine as pur-ene, true as tre-oo, voice as vaw-ece, and found as faw-oond. In deference to the flocks on the Deerfield hills, or for some other rea- son, the caution is given to avoid "the bleating sound of a and 00 (faa-oond), as it is too frequently pronounced." Singers were taught to pronounce the vowel sound at once in syllables end- ing in a consonant and dwell upon the consonant sound to fill out the time of the note; but if the consonant could not be sounded by itself they were directed to reduce the time to the natural length of the vowel rather than "drawl out the vowel to the full measure of the note." Dr. Willard delivered a lecture at Heath to a sing- ing school. He complimented the singers on their good work in several particulars, but hoped they would "cultivate with persevering attention a clear, forcible and pathetic pronun- ciation." This good minister pre- ferred the tunes which have "a pen- sive air." He objected to fugues, because "their apparent contri- vance is extremely unfavorable to pathos."
The most distinctive feature of Dr. Willard's labors to improve psalmody appears in his two works, "Regular Hymns" (1824) and "Poetry and Music Reconciled" (1830). The first book consists of original hvmns com-
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
25
posed by Dr. Willard to illustrate the harmony that he considered should invariably exist between the poetic and musical emphasis. The real dif- ficulty was that tune and hymn were poorly mated. Milton's
"Sphere-born harmonious sisters, Voice and Verse,"'
were discordant. The good doctor discovered perpetual contradictions between "sound and sense." The natural emphasis of music and of words did not coincide. He believed that music should "render emphatical words that were emphatical." It dis- pleased him that the name of God, or heaven, or hell, was sometimes re- duced in the musical performance to the lowest degree of insignificance, while an a, an is, a to, an and, or some "other insert word," is swelled into "bombastic and stupid importance." He believed that "the emphatic points of a hymn should be so ar- ranged as to render it possible for the musical emphasis to act in union with them." In the first book he composed hymns according to this belief; in the second he "arranged" the hymns of other authors to con- form to his unique theory, and made them like his own "regular." The following is one of the "arranged" hymns, taken from "Poetry and Mu- sic Reconciled:"
1 "Guide us, O thou great Jehovah, t Pilgrims through this barren land; We are weak, but thou are mighty; m All our hopes on thee depend;
Bread from heaven grant us, till we want no more.
t 2 "Open, Lord, the crystal fountain. Whence reviving waters flow; g Let the fiery, cloudy pillar m Lead us all our journey through. Strong deliverer, still be thou our strength and shield.
3 "When we tread the verge of Jordan, t Bid our anxious fears subside; g Thou, whose arm is our salvation, S Land us safe on Canaan's side. a Songs of praises we will ever give to thee."
A hymn composed by Dr. Willard.
AGAINST UNREASONABLE FEARS.
"Cease my heart to dread the morrow; Hush thine anxious cares to rest; Let no unavailing sorrow Ever throb within thy breast.
"All that loving care confessing,
Whence thy present comforts flow, Humbly wait each future blessing; Leave with Him each future woe.
"Under his all-wise direction, Guard against impending harm; Still with his divine protection, Cease from every vain alarm."
The first hymn shows some of the marks of musical expression that Dr. Willard employed in his books to as- sist the singers. These signs above words, between words, before lines and in the middle of lines sometimes gave a hymn a resemblance to an al- gebraic equation.
These books received favorable mention in the review columns of re- ligious denominations. They evi- dently indicated a defect. The point at issue was the better adaptation of tune and hymn. In the old choirs, with their book of tunes and their book of hymns, this was the work of the leader, whose resources and taste were not equal to a task so delicate and important. Dr. Willard's reme- dy for the defect was to fit the words to the model of the tune. The reme- dy was too mechanical.
The author of these books was a man of varied interests. His zeal for a reform of church music led him to train his singers and sometimes to act as their leader in the service of song. His pastorate was at the time of the Trinitarian and Unitarian con- troversy, and a ministerial council that did not install him and another that did, naturally made him conspic- uous as a leader of the latter forces in this section. He was an abolitionist, and he favored total abstinence. He prepared text-books for public schools, and like other ministers fitted boys for college. He also published pamphlets on educational, political
26
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
and musical subjects ; and the town's historian records that "to his inspira- tion and aid Deerfield is largely in- debted for her beautiful shade trees." Deerfield was his residence, with only a few years' exception, from the be- ginning of his pastoral work to his death. The historic house now called m his honor the Willard House, be- came his home. There he lived and worked. Failing sight caused him to abandon the pastoral office, but did not diminish his activities. Most of his literary work was done after he be- came blind.
There was another attempt in the Valley to remedy the want of adapta- tion of hymns and tunes. It is pro- mulgated in a book of vest pocket size, entitled "Music Adapted to Lan- guage." Thi| is a hymn and tune book in one, like Dr. Willard's. A "new and simple notation" is intro- duced. The music, by a "new and easy method of variation," is made to conform to language. The author was William Bull of Shelburne. Dr. Willard acknowl- edged some indebtedness to Mr. Bull. The two approached the same prob- lem from different directions. One adapted hymns to the tunes, the other tunes to the hymns. In his new sys- tem of notation, Mr. Bull followed Andrew Law in discarding the staff, and the Rev. John Tufts, the first publisher of a tune book in New Eng- land, in using the initial leters of the syllables in place of notes. He used the common notes, however, for pur- poses of illustration. The date of this book is 1819; and it is a unique addi- tion to the collection of the Valley.
There was a period of extempo- raneous hymn making in New Eng- land contemporaneous with the mul- tiplication of sects. These hymns are crude in taste and often ungram- matical in construction, and the books into which they were gathered are sectarian in the most obnoxious form. This phase of religion and hymnology is illustrated in a book sent forth into the world from Green-
field, in 1818, under the innocent title of "Selection of Hymns from Best Authors, by Elders Paul Hines and Jonathan Wilson." It contains selec- tions from the standard hymn writers and also numerous productions by unknown and unnamed rhymesters. The following stanzas of one hymn will indicate for whom this selection was made and also its character:
"Come all who are New Lights indeed, Who are from sin and bondage freed; From Egypt's land we've took our flight. For God has given us a New Light.
"Though by the world we are disdain'd And have our names cast out by men; Yet Christ our Captain for us fights. Nor death, nor hell, can hurt New lights.
"Come sinners with us New Lights join. And taste the joys that are divine; Bid all your carnal mirth adieu, Come join and be a New light, too."
The customs in singing prevailing in other parts of New England were observed in the Valley. The psalms and hymns were lined or deaconed. The minister read the psalm or hymn to be sung, then the deacon or leader named the tune, gave the pitch and read line by line for the congregation to sing after him. The advent of the singing school, which developed the choir, and the multiplication of music and hynm books were the chief causes for the passing of this unmusical practice. It must also be acknowl- edged that "the repeating tunes," as the fugues were sometimes called, aided this reform. When the choir was struggling with the entangled measures of "a repeating tune," the reading but added another voice to the confusion. The good deacon would have been required to practise vocal jugglery and speak parts of two or three lines at the same time. There is record at Northfield, in 1770, that "hereafter the singers shall sing al- together without the deacon's read- ing the psalm line by line, except at the Lord's table." Ten years later Rrimfield omitted the reading at one of the two Sunday services. This
OLDEN TIME MUSIC.
27
custom lingered in some churches longer than in others, as musical de- velopment was unequal then as now.
The singing school trained young men and maidens for the choir. Jonathan Edwards preached that "parents ought to be careful that their children are instructed in singing, that they may be capable of perform- ing that part in divine worship.'" Others taught that it was the duty of parents to make sacred harmony a part of the religious education of their children ; and Dr. Lathrop exhorted people who could not sing to contrib- ute money for the support of psalm- ody. The singing school was recog- nized also as a social factor and val- uable as a substitute for amusements that were morally obnoxious.
The bass viol, the violin, the flute and the clarionet were the common musical instruments taken into the singing seats.
The settlement of questions of church music by the town meeting may seem an unwarrantable interfer- ence of the town with the church, un- til we remember that the town per- formed the functions of the parish in those early days. It raised the salary of the minister, built the meeting- house, voted money for bass viols and for singing schools, chose the leader of the singing or delegated the privi- lege to the singers, and in some in- stances made minute regulations for the performance of singing. A Wil- braham town meeting, through a committee, made a list of tunes
which might be sung, and no others were to be sung in public worship without "consent." A custom that is illustrated in the Wilbraham rec- ords is the beating of time with the hands by the congregation. A com- mittee of ten appointed by the town to consider "the Broken state of this town with regard to singing," recom- mended, "As the Beating with the hands in the congregation when sing- ing is offensive to some, it be laid aside as quick as may be and confine the same to the school only." The manner of beating time for measures having four beats, as explained by Elias Mann, was: "Let the ends of the fingers fall, then the heel of the hand ; thirdly, raise the heel of the hand, and fourthly throw up the ends of the fingers."
These old books take us back into another world of church music. The customs of that world have passed away. The bass viol and the old in- struments are gone from the singing gallery ; the choir, the fugue, the old psalm book, the old tune book, the deacon reading the psalm, the counter singer — all have gone. The old customs have given place to better ones. They represent a stage in the musical development of the Valley and of the country. From these beginnings has arisen a broader musical culture. The old music pre- pared the way for the new, and a fairer temple of praise is being erected on the foundations of the olden-time psalmody.
OF PRINC?> MAR 3 1937 v
A CURIOUS NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARACTER.
By Clara Spalding Ellis.
EVERY New England town has its odd character, furnishing amusement or wonder for his contemporaries, and forming a fa- vorite topic for "grandpa" in later years, when pressed for reminiscences by a rising generation. The most in- teresting "character" in the writer's native town was the oft quoted "Doctor Jones." Frequently at the dinner table did our father repeat this rhyme for the pleasure of his children:
"Cursed be the owls That picked these fowls, And leftithe bones For Doctor Jones."
Many children of larger growth have queried, in the past hundred years, "Who was Doctor Jones?" for the allusions to him have been nu- merous in more than one township. Soon after the Revolution a stranger appeared in the village of Hollis, New Hampshire, who announced himself as John Jones, an Englishman, the only son of a British army officer, born early in the eighteenth century. He was eccentric in manner and dress, but was always gentlemanly, and ere long so endeared himself to the community that he was received with a cordial welcome whenever he chose to present himself at any door. Many times he partook thus infor- mally of the family meal, when he could be depended on to offer grace in some impromptu but neat and ap- propriate manner.
He bought four acres in the north- ern part of the town, on what is called Mooar's Hill, and built a small house, which he named "Lone Cottage," and there he dwelt in solitude. He was the first person to introduce grafted fruit into Hollis. He set out an orchard of choice varieties, which he tended with great care. He also cul- 28
tivated many kinds of shrubs, flowers and herbs. He supported himself by preparing medicinal herbs, growing some in his garden and searching the woods for others. He mixed various nostrums, and peddled them in Hollis and neighboring towns, until he be- .came known as "Doctor Jones." On these long walks from house to house he wore a broad-brimmed hat with a mourning weed around it and a long plaid dressing gown, and carried two baskets, one bearing the name of "Charity," the other that of "Pity." In these were his herbs and medi- cines, some "Liberty tea," juniper berries in their season, scions for grafting, etc., which he exchanged for other articles.
He also sold copies of verses of his own composition, particularly a ballad composed before his arrival in Hol- lis, which was entitled "The Major's Only Son and His True Love." It contained forty stanzas, and recited the story of his woes ; for the erratic "Doctor" was the victim of an unfor- tunate love which clouded his whole life. After his story became known to the townspeople he was regarded wi.th the peculiar interest and sympa- thy that the hero of a tender but hope- less attachment never fails to excite. His father, it was learned, belonged to a good family and possessed inde- pendent means. The only son was educated for the ministry, and when but twenty years of age received and accepted a call to preach. He had a bright intellect, a poetical tendency, and much native wit and humor. A promising career seemed opening for the young man ; but all was changed by the power of an ardent affection, which had been inspired by a girl to whom his family were opposed,
"Because she was of low degree, And came of a poor family."
A CURIOUS NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARACTER.
29
The lovers were separated, and the mind of young Jones became unset- tled, while the hapless maiden sank into an early grave. England had no further charm for her adorer, and he became a wanderer. After travelling extensively over the American col- onies he sought a quiet place in which to pass his declining years ; and there, close to the homestead of the writer's paternal grandfather, in Southern New Hampshire, he lived, devoted to the memory of his lost love. He was often heard singing the verses of "The Major's Only Son," as he pottered about his lonely home ; and eighty years ago it was a favorite song with the young people of Hollis, who learned the lines by heart and ques- tioned their parents, with interest and sympathy, about the strange charac- ter whose grave, uniquely marked by his own order, was that of an alien in a strange land. The ballad opens as follows :
"Come all young people far and near, A lamentation you shall hear, Of a young man and his True-Love, Whom he adored and prized above All riches."
The displeasure of his father and mother with the station of their only child's inamorata is next de- scribed, and then a new element of trouble — the anger of the girl's father when he learns that his daughter is scorned because of her lowly birth.
"My daughter is as good as you,"
the irate man declares when John is visiting his house one day ; and then the ballad says,
"Turned this young man without his door. And told him to come there no more."
Soon after this unhappy scene the maiden's health failed ; she was con- fined to her chamber and slowly pined away. Shortly before her death she sent her brother for her lover, and talked with him a long time, speaking mournfully of her sickness and broken heart. She gave him the en-
gagement ring and several trinkets, saying :
"Keep them for my sake, And always when these rings you see, Remember that I died for thee."
A few months ago the writer was shown these mementoes by the de- scendant of a young man to whom the "Doctor" became so attached that he bequeathed him the precious relics and other property, by a will dated January 1, 1791. There were two slender, broken gold bands, with in- scriptions faintly discernible — the one which he had worn to bind the troth, and the one taken from the finger of the dying girl — a pair of sleeve links and an old-fashioned brooch, mutely telling the tale that never grows old and thrills the heart of all humanity.
The grief of the bereaved youth is thus described:
"Tears down his cheek as fountains run. He cried, alas! I am undone. No comfort ever shall I have, While I go mourning to my grave."
He attended the funeral, so the song tells us,
"Dressed in black from top to toe. And after that distracted run. And so forever was undone, And wandered up and down, alone."
Hollis people relate many anec- dotes illustrating his oddity and humor. He was known to all the country roundabout, and his whim- sical wit and quick repartee were so enjoyed that he was sometimes ban- tered simply for the purpose of pro- voking one of his characteristic an- swers. Particularly was this the case during the sessions of the courts at Amherst, the county seat, which it was his habit to attend, the lawyers finding much amusement in his com- pany. Once, on the occasion of a din- ner to the judges, he was placed at the second table. He regarded this as an indignity, and was not pleased with the viands remaining from the first table ; so, instead of giving thanks in his usual manner at the end of the re-
30
A CURIOUS NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARACTER.
past, he delivered the lines quoted in tne beginning of this article, "Cursed be the owls," etc., as expressive of his feelings.
He would not tell his age, always evading the question with some whimsicality. A lady customer of uncertain years, when buying some tea of him, made an attempt to dis- cover when he was born. In reply he told her that she might ask him as many questions on the subject as she was years old. The woman was so nettled that she called him "an old cracked fiddle of one doleful tune," and demanded friat he take back his tea and return her money ; whereupon the "Doctor" made use of his ready rhyming faculty and, without a moment's hesitation, said:
"Phebe, my dear, my own sweet honey, You've got your tea and I've got my money."
Having been educated for the min- istry, he enjoyed attending the meet- ings of the Hollis Association of Min- isters, a noted organization in those days, and sometimes proposed ques- tions for discussion. One of these is said to have been, "Was there ever a man that had a tongue which never told a lie, or a heart which never had an evil thought?" The question was decided unanimously in the negative, and the decision was backed up by quotations from Scripture. The "Doc- tor" declared that they were wrong and he could prove it. He went out for one of his baskets, uncovered it,
and showed them in triumph the head and heart of a sheep, exclaiming, "There is a tongue that never told a lie and a heart that never had an evil thought — and they are both mine." He died on the fourteenth of July, 17Q6. His gravestone had been ready for some years, prepared by three young men whom he laughingly
THE OLD HOLLIS CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD.
called his adopted sons. They be- longed to families residing in the part of town where he had settled, and he associated with them more intimately than with other persons, and remem- bered them in his will. The stone, a large slab of slate, was completed ac- cording to his directions, with the ex- ception of a space left for the date of his demise. The epitaph was his own composition, and may still be seen in the old cemetery at the rear of the Hollis Congregational Church, in the centre of the town. Visitors stop and gaze in curiosity, and ask to hear the story of "Doctor Jones," while they read:
"In youth he was a scholar bright, In learning he took great delight, He was a Major's only son, It was for love he was undone."
l ne Connecticut vu<nicny.
Vol. II. April, May, June, 1896. No. 2.
OLD TIME MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.
BY N. H. ALLEN.
The organ which did service in Trinity Church, Newport, for more than a century was not accepted cheerfully when first presented by Bishop Berkeley to the town in Massachusetts bearing his name. Indeed, it was so stoutly opposed that it lay in its original packing several years ; and as sentiment had not changed, it was taken to Newport, where the people were readier to accept it, and it there became known as a famous instrument. In Middletown there was a case with similar features. The Episcopalians had been slowly increasing in numbers before 1750, and had long desired to erect a modest church edifice, but there was oppo- sition from the authorities, and no suitable lot could be procured because of it. At length a low, boggy piece of land was granted, as good for nothing else ; but there were men of force, notably the broth- ers-in-law, Joseph Wright and Richard Alsop, who were ready to go ahead, rathei than wait longer, and by draining and filling make a safe spot on which to erect a church. Christ Church was finished in 1755, and Richard Alsop imported an organ from England and presented it to the parish. In 1785 his brother, John Alsop, then residing in New York, presented a bell, and this bell is still in use in Trinity Church. This organ, ornamented with the crown and mitre, stirred up strife enough, and no doubt increased the ill-will that was manifested towards this church for many years. It remained in place, however, until near the end of the century, and soon after its removal the church edifice itself was destroyed. In Hartford, the first organ was in Christ Church. It was built not far from i8co, and was a home product. George Catlin was the maker, and his shop on the Windsor road was about opposite the north cemetery. This organ was a small affair, hardly more than five or six feet square, a mere "box of whistles." It does not appear that it was purchased outright at first ; for the agreement with Mr. Catlin was, that he should receive two dollars per Sun- day for its use, out of which he was to provide a suitable person to play the instru- ment. It evidently became the property of the parish later, for in 1812 another organ was built by Catlin and Bacon, which cost five hundred dollars, and the old organ was taken by the builders at a valuation of one hundred and fifty dollars. In 1829 a subscription was started for the purpose of raising seven thousand dol- lars, a part of which was to be applied to the purchase of a third organ when the
HENRY W. GREATOREX.
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OLD TIME MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.
new church should be finished. This organ was the one built by the Hook Broth- ers of Boston, on which Downes and Wilson played so many years and which has but recently given place to a fourth and much larger instrument. Before the third organ was purchased, some orchestral instruments were used, and money was appropriated to hire a teacher of singing, and the name of Mr. Ives, mentioned in the last chapter, appears as one of these teachers. Christ Church maintained at the time a musical society, from which the choir was no doubt recruited, and which gave occasional sacred concerts in the church.
From 1795 to r799 the First Ecclesiastical Society, now popularly known as the Center Church, voted fifteen pounds yearly "for the encouragement of psalm- ody." From 1800 to 1807 the society voted fifty dollars yearly for the same purpose, and from 1808 to 1813, one hundred dollars yearly ; thence on to 1820, with the excep- tion of one year, with a yearly appropriation of seventy-five dollars. In the records of the society may be found the following entry:
"At a special Meeting of the First Ecclesiastical Society in the Town of Hartford, legally warned and held at the North Conference House in said Hartford on the first day of June, 1822, warned at the request of the subscribers for an Organ for the Brick Meeting House in said society,
"Andrew Kingsbury, Esqr., was chosen Moderator.
"Voted, That this Society will cheerfully accept of an Organ now offered to be pro- cured and put up by individuals of the Society for the use of the same, and will, when said Organ is procured prepare a place for the same in their House of Public Worship, keep said Organ in proper condi- tion for use, and a suitable Organist for the same."
[Does this mean that the organist was to be kept in proper condition for use?]
"Voted, That Mr. Lynde Olmsted be appointed in conjunction with the Society's committee to carry into effect the above vote."
Another entry in the records of the year 1822 is as follows : "Upon the Petition of Daniel Colt, as President, Flavel Goldthwaite, Thomas Smith, George W. Bolles, and Christopher C. Lyman, as officers of the Jubal Society of Hartford, whose object is the improvement of the members of said Society in the scientific and practical knowledge of Music, etc., praying for the use of the Meeting House four evenings in the year, to exhibit their performances, with liberty to sell Tickets of admission for defraying the expenses they may incur, etc., as per petition on file. It was on the Petition —
"Voted, That the Society's Committee be authorized to permit the Jubal Society to perform Sacred music in the Meeting House with open doors, and with liberty of a Contribution, but without any sale of Tickets."
I hope to get further information about this society for a subsequent chapter. It was probably the first choral society in Hartford of any importance, and pre-
AUSTRIAN PI AND.
OLD TIME MUSIC AND MUSIC I A XS.
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CO I A' Mill AN HART.
pared the way for the Beethoven and other societies which performed oratorio. No mention is made of the builder of the first organ for the Center Church. It may have been built by Catlin and Bacon, but if ordered elsewhere, I am inclined to think it was furnish- ed by William Goodrich of Boston, successor to Leavitt and forerunner of Appleton, and for his time the most suc- cessful organ-builder in New England.
In 1824 thesociety voted " to pay Lynde Olmsted one hundred dollars for his services in promoting Church Music the year past." The three follow- ing years, two hundred dollars were voted for an organist, and one hundred for "Church Musick."
At the Historical Society's rooms may be seen a subscription paper which was circulated in 1822, for the purchase of a bass viol for the Universalist Church, then located on Central Row. The list contains thirty-three names, and the sums subscribed range from six dollars down to fifty cents. With this paper is also preserved a bill of Hall & Erben, organ builders, dated New York, Jan. 15, 1827, for an organ set up at that time in the Universalist f| Church. The bill is made out to Wm. Connor. The organ was brought here in a sloop from New York. Mr. Henry Erben, the junior member of this firm, and then a very young man, afterwards became famous as an organ builder, and built many fine instruments. There are two of his organs now in use in Hartford, that in St. Patrick's Church, a very large instrument, and that in the Pearl street Congregational Church, which when new was probably the best organ in the city. If I mistake not, this Hall & Erben organ, built for the Universalist society, was, after many years' use, rebuilt by McCollom, who had a shop on Market street, and about whom more will be written later.
Taking a little jump to 1835, one comes ENGLISH , , n. upon an event of unusual importance and (side view.) interest in the musical annals of Hartford. Thomas Appleton of Boston had been commissioned to build an organ for the Center Church, which was to have three manuals and a heavy pedal, and was to be in all respects the equal of any organ in the country. The instrument was brought from Boston in the schooner
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Lydia, which arrived at the foot of State street on the 2d day of April. On Sun- day, the 17th of May, it was heard for the first time, and a great deal was made of the event. Lowell Mason, then at the height of his reputation, was invited to give an illustrated lecture on church music, and with him came Geo. James Webb of Boston to play the organ. A large chorus choir had been organized and drilled by Mr. Benjamin C. Wade of Springfield, Mass., and for this occasion all the other choirs of the city were invited to be present and take part. This was on the Mon- day following the first use of the organ, and was an occasion in which the whole city took a lively interest. Samuel A. Cooper was engaged at once as organist, and was an efficient worker, and from time to time gave oratorios with his choir. Neukomm's David was a work then in vogue, and was given by Mr. Cooper sev- eral times. He remained three years, and was succeeded by Henry W. Greatorex, an English organist, who was engaged for the place before leaving England. Mr. Greatorex was considered a remarkable player for the times, and enjoyed an unusual popularity. He remained but two years, left the city for a short period, and returned to play the organ in St. John's Church; remaining there several years. He subsequently went to Charleston, S. C, where he died. The name of Greatorex was popularly known throughout the country, twenty-five or thirty years ago, by a collection of original anthems and hymn tunes which he published. Greatorex came of a musical family. His father, Thomas Greatorex, was a highly educated and prominent musician ; at one time organist of the cathedral of Car- lisle, and for twenty-seven years conductor of the so-called Ancient Concerts in London, after which he was appointed to succeed Dr. Cooke as organist and mas- ter of the boys at Westminster Abbey. The likeness of Mr. Henry Greatorex, here given, is said to be excellent by some who knew him well. He was succeeded at the Center Church by Mr. Otto Jacobsohn, who played one year, and was fol- lowed by Mr. Joseph Monds, who remained five years. The next organist was Dr. James G. Barnett, who held the post twenty years. I shall have a good deal more to say about Dr. Barnett in the next chapter, when the history of the Beethoven Society is given, and shall then present a portrait of him. Since the last number of the Quarterly appeared, I have stumbled upon some rare and curious old instru- ments, to a description of which I will give the remainder of the allotted space.
In the Historical Rooms at Bristol is an upright piano that should interest the musical antiquary greatly. But little can be gleaned of its history, and it must speak for itself. It was made in Vienna by one Lautmann, and it has features that seem contradictory in trying to determine its age. The action, i. e., the hammers, jacks, etc., give evidence of great age. Judging by cuts given in various books, the hammers are very similar to those used soon after the piano-forte mechanism was invented. The Italian Christofori is said to have invented the piano-forte in 1709. Marius, a Frenchman, exhibited his invention to the Academy in Paris in 1716, while Schroeter first made his known in Germany in 1717. It is said that each of these men wrought in ignorance of the other's doings.
The Bristol piano, however, has a compass of six octaves, which is evidence of a considerably later date. Of course there is no iron bracing of any sort, as iron was first used for that purpose in American pianos, and not earlier than 1820.
The stringing is very light, and the tone could never have been strong. But much of the interest in this old piano lies in the accessories. There are four pedals, and in the space below the action is a drum and cymbals worked by the pedals, and also a harp imitation, which is probably something applied to the strings where the hammers strike them. The exterior, even in its present ruinous state, gives evidence of former beauty. There are many applied ornaments in
OLD TIME MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. 157
brass, and the front, both above and below the keyboard, is filled in with silk, which was once red, in wide plaiting. The instrument is evidently a hundred years old, and possibly much more than that.
Mr. Richards, who will show visitors the collection in which this piano stands, has an old instrument at his home, which he calls a Columbian harp. It is a rather rude affair, and a cut is here given. It is built into the box which serves as its case, is perhaps two feet and a half long and ten inches wide. The case is the rudest part of it, for the wood never knew the touch of a plane, and shows the original marks of the saw by which the boards were cut from the log. Inside more care has been taken, and the wood is well selected and finished. It has six or eight strings, about one-half of which have frets under them, and in this respect it is like a zither in principle. It is provided with/ holes, like a violin, and appar- ently has a sounding-board throughout half its length. It is evidently an instru- ment of little musical value, and is interesting chiefly as a curiosity.
Another instrument of even greater interest than the Austrian piano is the one described below by Mr. Marcus A. Casey, who has kindly permitted me to insert his copy.
fudge William L. Loomis of Suffield is the possessor of an ancient musical instrument known as the English lute, probably derived from the Spanish bandola. So far as is known, there is no other specimen in this country save the one in the United States National Museum at Washington. The body of that instrument is a little longer and more "pear-shaped" (as the lutanists say) than Judge Loomis's. The instrument in the museum was presented to Eleanor Parke Custis, step- daughter of Washington, by the General himself, and was played by her. It is now among the Washington relics. Both instruments were made by Longman & Brodrip, No. 26 Cheapside and 16 Haymarket, London.
Judge Loomis's lute belonged to his mother, who was an expert player, to the extent of its capabilities. As will be readily seen, the metal strings are struck by six hammers beneath the keyboard, on the principle of the piano-forte. The sys- tem for tuning is extremely complicated, and there are many reasons, apparent to musicians, why the instrument early fell into disuse. The workmanship and varnish are exceedingly fine, equaling that of many historic violins. The ancient instrument is tenderly preserved in the original case made for it.
Judge Loomis was at one time urged to present his instrument to the Smith- sonian Institution, that it might be preserved in companionship with the Custis relic. The Judge felt obliged to decline the request, stating in his reply that "its early associations, and not its intrinsic value, has caused it to be retained within the family and household, and no one at present could think of parting with it. It would be like removing the hearthstone, or the old brick oven, or the crane in the fireplace." Here and there, all through the Loomis mansion, are many articles of ancient design and use, including old china, bowls, vases, antique silver, old and curious paintings, chairs, tables, clocks, etc.
It is the intention to give more information as to the early organs of Hartford and vicinity in the next paper, and also of the musicians who were active in the first half of this century.