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sociated in the minds of all with low or frivolous ideas, are "adapted" to the use of the church. The effect of this upon a person of any musical sensibility is about the same as if the words of these songs were slightly changed and then "adapted" to religious uses. It would take no surprising literary talent to transform the popular song,

"Old dog Tray's ever faithful,

Care can't drive him away,"

into a hymn on the faithfulness of the Saviour; and it would be hardly a worse outrage on Christian taste and sensibility than to take the tune and use it in public worship. The frivolous love-song,

"Thou, thou reign'st in this bosom,

There, there hast thou thy throne,"

might with very slight alterations have been inserted in Plymouth Collection, under the head of "Christian Experience; Penitence and Consecration;" and it would have been about as offensive to decorum as the adaptation which has actually been made on page 206, of the tune of that song, under the name "Coral."

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We will mention a few other deformities of this sort. "Opal," on page 274, to the words, "Jesus, I my cross have taken," is a familiar old song, "Fresh and strong the breeze is blowing.' "Emerald," on page 430, is a lackadaisical sentimental song of Haynes Bailey, "Shades of evening, close not o'er us." On page 150, that paltry little jingle, "The Watcher," is given, without alteration, under the name "Gilead." On page 339, under the appropriate title "Bruce," we have the capital old war-song, "Scots wha' hae wi' Wallace bled," adapted by dint of various slurs and small notes, to three hymns, two by Whittier, and one by Philip James Bailey, and all three of different meters. On page 373 is a tune, "All's Well," said to be a "Western Melody;" it is adapted to the hymn,

"What's this that steals upon my frame?

Is it death?

That soon will quench this vital flame?
Is it death?"

We recognize here the face of an old friend, slightly disguised. It is that jolly old tune, "Begone, dull care." But instead of

"My wife shall dance, and I will sing
And merrily pass the day,"

we sing as solemnly as we can,

"If this be death, I soon shall be

From every pain and sorrow free."

The tune on page 129, "Bdellium," is best known in this country as associated with a Methodist hymn, "Saw ye my Saviour." It was originally the air of a song too indecent to be tolerated even by the unfastidious taste of Robert Burns, who made use of the tune for new words of his own. There are too many that know the tune as "Saw ye my ain love," to make it fit for the use of the church. Even a "newly converted opera air" would be more tolerable than such a tune as this; and so no doubt the editor of the Plymouth Collection thought when he inserted the celebrated "Prayer from Zampa," (p. 113.)

There are other instances than these we have mentioned, but the above are sufficient. We shall be surprised if the good sense of the churches adopting this book does not demand an expurgated edition.

Thus far we have been speaking of the merits of this work, as a collection of church music. Something further must now be said of its value as a collection of congregational tunes.

On the subject of congregational tunes we do not hold any such extreme views as those which are urged by Mr. Mason and other eminent musicians. We are certain that very plain chorals, in equal notes, are not the only good tunes for congregations; we are not altogether certain, even, that they are the best. We have noticed that a congregation will often move together with more exactness when the tune has some characteristic rhythmical form, than when it follows the old grave choral movement. We quite agree, too, with the Introduction to this book, that the churches must "employ tunes which have melodies which cling to the memory and touch the feelings or the imagination." According to Mr. Mason's theories of church music, Ariel is a very bad tune for a congregation,impossible in fact for them to sing properly. And so he recommends them to try a good plain choral from the German Psalter instead. It is all in vain. The people will sing "Ariel," and will not sing the German choral. Everybody learns "Ariel." Everybody likes "Ariel." Everybody sings "Ariel." Therefore "Ariel" is a good tune;-thanks to Mr. Mason for writing it.

The reader will see from these remarks that we are not guilty of that sort of "Pharisaism in Music" which is complained of in the Introduction to the Plymouth Collection. But there are certain obvious laws of music, which must be complied with in a book for congregational singing, some of which are grossly violated in the book before us. For instance, to sing the tunes here given, as they are printed, would require

VOL. XIV.

7

a soprano voice with a compass of nearly two octaves, viz, from A below the staff, to G above it. It is needless to say that these extremes are out of the reach of the ordinary voices of the congregation.

In the new music of the book, simplicity does not seem to have been greatly consulted, either in point of rhythm or of melody. The greater part of the new music is such as an ordinary choir could not safely undertake without careful practice. But one of the greatest annoyances even to good singers in the use of this book, will be found in the various shifts which are made to adapt to one tune several hymns of various fantastic meters. These are sometimes indicated by rubrical directions, and sometimes not.

The most serious objection to the book, in practical use, will be the bad adaptation of hymns to tunes. This is an unavoidable result of the plan of the work. The attempt is made to arrange thirteen hundred hymns in the order of subjects, and at the same time to print them in connection with appropriate tunes. But the laws of musical adaptation do not coincide with any such order of subjects. Often two hymns which greatly resemble each other in the general tone of sentiment, and which accordingly good taste and the religious affections of the churches have long associated with the same tune, are put far apart in the order of subjects, and thus the old association is necessarily broken up. Often, too, hymns on the same topic, but totally unlike one another in style and sentiment, must be indiscriminately grouped under one tune, which is good for only one, or for neither of them. Often, in a peculiar meter, in which there are but one or two serviceable tunes, there will be perhaps twice as many hymns, which no liberality of construction can bring together under the same topic, and it becomes necessary either to violate the order of arrangement or to manufacture a series of new tunes to be scattered through the book to accompany these hymns. Let the reader look with us though the first part of the book and we shall see illustrations of these points, and perhaps of some others.

Page 16, under the tune "Greenville," it was convenient to put Montgomery's version of Psalm xci,

"Call Jehovah thy salvation."

But "Greenville" is under the title "Sabbath and Sanctuary," and so Psalm xci, has to come under that category. And so with the hymn "The Lord Jehovah reigns," on page 19.

On page 21, we come to the next topic, "The Bible;" and here, under the tune "Meriden," are four very excellent and favorite hymns on the value of the Scriptures; so that “Meri

den" can only be sung in reference to this subject, and not only this, (which is a small consideration,) but when the Bible Society's agent preaches, there is serious danger that "Meriden" would be sung three times.

On page 32, is the sublime hymn of Watts, "Great God, how infinite art thou." It is set here to a very suitable and excellent tune, "Nottingham." We believe that it is generally sung to Dundee, and nothing could be more appropriate. But this tune, the "Old Hundredth" of the Common Meters, is wanted at the other end of the book among the sacramental hymns, and cannot be sung, except at the Lord's table.

On page 36, is the one hundredth psalm, Long Meter, "Ye nations round the earth rejoice." It is set to the fine old Gregorian tune "Hamburg," but really the Old Hundredth psalm will not go properly in anything but the Old Hundredth Psalm-Tune, and that is several pages further on. And when we find it we do not find those other words indissolubly associated with it, the 117th psalm, "From all that dwell below the skies," for these are on page 163, together with the 72d psalm, "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun," and other equally appropriate selections, under the head of Christian Experi ence! and are adapted to a very good, but not a very wellknown tune by Mr. George Kingsley, called "Ware."

On page 48, under the head, "God-Adoration," to that excellent tune "Lyons," we have the appropriate hymns, "O praise ye the Lord, prepare your glad voice," and "Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim." But the page is not yet full, and hymns in this meter are not common, and so we have-still under the title "Adoration"-a sentimental sort of piece about spirits revisiting the earth, beginning:

"How dear is the thought that the angels of God

May bow their bright wings to the world they once trod."

On page 74, is that most beloved of Christian hymns, "When I survey the wondrous cross," but it is adapted to a moderately good new tune, that favorite piece "Luton" not being in the book at all, and the other Long Meter tunes being elsewhere engaged.

On page 89, is the Easter Hymn, "Christ, the Lord, is risen to-day." It is printed with a new tune, "Pearl," for "Pleyel's Hymn" is expressive only of Christian experience, and Nuremburg" is wanted in the Anti-Slavery department, where it is set to three hymns on Human Rights; one by Mrs. Follen, one by James Russell Lowell, and one by Montgomery.

On page 90, is Montgomery's version of Psalm xxiii, "The

Lord is my Shepherd, no want shall I know;" but as the Portuguese Hymn is more than a hundred pages distant, and that universal favorite, "Hinton," is not in the book, a new tune, "Agate," is inserted, which was evidently manufactured for the emergency.

On page 99, the beautiful hymn of Mrs. Steele, "Come, weary souls, with sins distressed," is printed under the disgusting Irish-like air which we have before mentioned, in connection with the words,

"Come, children, drink the balmy dew,
O glory, hallelujah!"

On pages 100, 101, under the tune "Wells," are printed eight of the very best hymns of "Warning and Invitation." Now when a minister wants one hymn of this sort, he is very apt to want two or three; and at certain times, as for instance during a "protracted meeting," such hymns are sung continually, service after service. In such circumstances congregations would be apt to grow grievously tired of "Wells."

From these examples, taken from the first hundred pages of the book, it will be sufficiently evident to most readers that choirs and congregations generally would not be content to follow the adaptations of this book. It will take but a few lines to show that even were they to undertake it with ever so good a will, they could not if they would.

Suppose after the introduction of Plymouth Collection, the minister should read hymn 96, "Begin my soul the exalted lay." The tune set to it is a new composition by Mr. Charles Beecher, not very easy for inexpert singers to read, and not very easy for them to sing after they have learned it. In Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, it would go smoothly enough no doubt, aided by the mighty organ, and the great choir of competent singers. But to one practically acquainted with the state of music in the churches generally, and the nature of the materials in most country choirs, and very many city choirs, it is plain that this tune would be impracticable; the leader of the choir would be compelled straightway to resort to "Carmina Sacra," for Ariel. The same difficulty would be found in the majority of the tunes in Plymouth Collection; as will be seen from the following list of the tunes in the Common Particular Meter, from the Metrical Index. "Advent, Arnon, Aurora, Bremen, Carmel, Caspian, Cedron, Emma, Ganges, Watchword, Willowby." And in order that the musical reader may have the means of fairly judging how much of the book would be entirely new to most choirs and congregations,

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