Complete Encyclopaedia of Music/A/Anthem singing

by John Weeks Moore

Anthem singing. As the proper execution of psalmody requires the voices of all in the congregation who can sing, the singing of anthems should be confined to the choir. In the ancient Jewish church, persons were expressly appointed by God to conduct his praises, and the assembled congregation occasionally united in the loud chorus. So also in the primitive church, and in the church of England, anthems are performed by a choir, to which the congregation are supposed to listen with devout sentiments. The form of the anthem is naturally derived from the structure of some of the Psalms, in which we frequently find the soliloquy, the dialogue, and the chorus. Thus, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble," is the voice of a company encouraging a priest in his intercession. He then expresses his confidence in these words : "Now know I that the Lord helpeth his anointed." Then all join together in supplication : "Save Lord, and hear us when we call upon thee." The solo, the verse, and the chorus, in church music, express all these turns of the sacred poetry, when properly applied. But as anthems are not often introduced in the service of our churches, and as it is presumed they will only be attempted when there is an able and well-instructed choir, under the direction of' an experienced leader, further observations are not required in this place.