in order to get rid of
' Angels, sing on, your faithful watches keeping, Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above."
It is a curious development of the brotherhood of Christians which makes ' our o^vn Hymnal ' necessary to each section of the Christian Church. They are all the same in doctrine, and contain very much the same hymns. Nevertheless the Free vies with the U.P., and both with the Estabhshed, in new hymnals ; while the less important bodies decline to use any of them. All of them contain much that is good — the Free being probably the most cosmo- politan ; all of them contain too much that is bad — the U.P. being the least satisfactory. Is it impossible to have a General Committee to select a general hymnal ? New editions might be easily arranged as experience would suggest and novelties demand. One argument only did I ever succeed in extracting from an office-bearer with regard to this matter : ' We make a good deal of money off our Hymnal ' ! But surely the proceeds of a general Hymnal could be divided without strife. The uniform want of success in attempts to fix one tune for each hymn in any large collection is a strong plea for allowing a little freedom to one who has studied the subject as every organist ought to have done. There are two reasons for this plea, for the want of success in this matter shows itself as much in ridiculous choice of tune as in a choice which can very easily be improved upon. I shall give one example of each to illustrate my meaning. It is asking a musician to degrade himself and his art when he is required to use the arrangement of the ' Dead March in Saul " as a hymn tune. And for the second illustration, I would only ask a congregation to sing Faber's hymn, ' My God, how wonderful Thou art,' to the fine old tune ' St. Matthew,' and they would at once acknowledge its extraordinary fitness. Hymns are the peculiar property of the congrega- tion, and I shall now proceed to give a few general directions as to their proper sesthetic rendering. The congregation would do well to accept the organist's view as expressed through his choir in order to secure uniformity : — Firstly, in key. Much of the flat singing in our congregations proceeds from carelessness. Members say, ' I know that tune quite well,' and pay no attention to the playing over. Consequently they often begin a little flat, and that is a fault which never mends in such cir- cumstances. Uniformity is desirable. Secondly, in speed. There are three causes for the ' handicap ' with which our hymns usually begin. The organist 1 U.P. Hymnal. frequently makes the mistake of playing the tune over at a difi'erent rate from that at which he pro- poses to accompany it. One line (of a well-known tune) at the correct sjieed would be much better than eight at a different speed. The carelessness I mentioned before is another cause, and it is in this matter much more pronounced. The congregation should rise to their feet with a clear idea of the key and speed, and begin immediately with the choir. These are the considerations which make the prac- tice of re-delivering the number of a hymn after the playing over unadvisable. There should be nothing between the example and the singing. And the last cause for this want of unanimity lies with those who differ from the views expressed by the organist, and who, regardless of the inconvenience they cause, liold on their own way to the distraction of their neigli- bours. These should remember that such differences of opinion are inseparable from any considerable assembly, and be content to give up their opinions for the good of all, or to effect their reform in a more considerate way. There are, however, more subtle artistic require- ments which our congregations would do well to think of hefore standing up to sing. Some verses should be louder, some softer, — nay, some lines and even words fall on the ear with a meaning and effect never dreamt of when they receive proper emphasis of loudness or softness. There remain two other means of giving words a wonderful embodiment in song, but they are more difficult for those who have not the advantage of practising together as a choir has. One is by a momentary pause between two phrases in apposition or in opposition, or which require to be separated for the sake of coherence. As an example of apposition, take the hymn ' When wounded sore the stricken soul ' (No. 77 in the U.P. Hymnal), and sing it to some tune like Purcell's ' Burford,' which gives the necessary divi- sion of the third line. The change of accent in the third verse avoids monotony of effect, and the fourth verse without any break relieves the whole. pi- J— j- -^-- w eEs y. --p3=pEi-p^£ii?:z A V- '^ V. I. One on ly hand — a V. 3. One on ly stream — a V. 4. His heart is touched with pierc - ed hand, stream of bldod. An example of opposition, heightened in this case
