We often hear people express concern about losing ties to our Anglican heritage, which dates back about 500 years. One area that draws attention is music. To approach the question of what is official Episcopal music, we might look to our own denominational hymnbook, The Episcopal Hymnal (1982). Compiled by the Standing Commission on Church Music, this edition surely reflects what is both traditional and sanctioned. A brief sampling of selections from TEH ‘82 should shed some light on what is authorized and what is not.

First, a survey of origins will be useful. Of the 726 hymns in this book, several are Gregorian chants, which originated in the Middle Ages. They were codified under Pope Gregory in the 8th century and compiled in the Roman Catholic Liber Usualis. An example of chant (or “plainsong”) is Of the Father’s Love Begotten. Naturally, it existed only in Latin for centuries. Other chants in the hymnal include Russian Orthodox, Slovak and Czech.

Another source of hymns is the Lutheran chorale, having been composed specifically for the German Reformation to provide a singable alternative to chants. They were first found in collections by Johann Walther, Martin Luther’s right-hand man commissioned to bring music back to the people by providing singable tunes in the vernacular, i.e., German. An example of this is A Mighty Fortress (words by Luther with tune derived from a German tavern song and later harmonized by J. S. Bach, a devout Lutheran). Don’t forget Angels We Have Heard on High, also written by a Lutheran, Felix Mendelssohn, who incidentally was a convert from Judaism.

Many of our hymns are borrowed from the colonial American “Sacred Harp” school, found in songbooks like Virginia Harmony and David’s Psalter. Amazing Grace is an example of this, written by an ex-slaveship captain. A few, like Donald Fishel’s Alleluia No. 1 or Kathleen Thomerson’s I Want to Walk are recently composed and are associated with the non-denominational renewal movement of the late 60s/early 70s. Some come from other denominations like Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and even Shaker (Tis the Gift to be Simple).

Finally, let’s not forget Christmas carols, many of which are French in origin (Il est né), Negro Spirituals (Go Down Moses) and Hispanic folk songs (Duérmete, Niño Lindo). In fact, in the preface to our hymnal, the Commission states plainly they deliberately tried to represent the church’s diversity by selecting from non-European traditions such as Afro-American and Asian.

There are, of course, hymns written by professing Episcopalians/Anglicans, like Ralph Vaughn Williams’ For All the Saints, or Healey Willan’sO Lamb of God in the service music portion of the book, or Sir C. Hubert H. Parry’s “Jerusalem” set to O Day of Peace. And there are a few tunes by Thomas Tallis, Orlando Gibbons, and other notable Elizabethans who were chronologically close in history to Henry VIII’s break-away from Rome, but these are in the minority! (And if any William Byrd tunes had been picked by the hymnal committee, it would have been ironic indeed, since although he and Tallis held the copyright monopoly under Elizabeth I, Byrd was a lifelong Roman Catholic!) All in all, MOST of our hymnody was written by NON-ANGLICANS

After all is said and done, a survey of TEH ‘82 reveals that “Episcopal” music is really “Eclectic” music. Our church has borrowed from many traditions and put its seal of approval on it. So the next time you feel anxious that we are losing touch with our roots, just remember our musical roots spread out far and wide, and yet it is still an Anglican tree, perhaps stronger for its diversity!

P.S.: James and his wife were confirmed Episcopalian in 1979. Since this writing, Mr. Weinberg has left the Anglican communion due to corruption, heresy and unGodly politics in the Episcopal Church (ECUSA).

James began piano lessons at age 5 with his mother. In time he studied at a variety of private studios including the Eastman School. After high school, he entered SUNY Fredonia as an organ major, transferring to Stetson University in Deland FL. While raising a young family, James entered Peabody Teacher’s College in Nashville. Later he trained as a Navy broadcast journalist, and once a civilian again, spent five years as a classical radio announcer & producer at WPLN in Nashville. In 1985, James completed a bachelor’s degree in church music at Belmont College (cum laude) and returned for a master’s in music education, conferred in 1991. His area of emphasis for the M.M.E. degree was Elementary/Primary Pedagogical Methodology. His internship was at Montessori Academy in Brentwood teaching pre-school through 6th grade. Now in his 6th year of teaching piano at Belmont Academy in Nashville, James has 35 students. He is also organist at Belmont Heights Baptist Church. See http://88keys.8m.net

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During the Middle Ages, Catholicism was the central power in Europe. It was incorporated into every aspect of life and its power stretched to every corner of the known world. And one of the methods through which the Church asserted its power was music. Although modern churches regularly use music as a natural part of worship, the pairing of music and Christianity has not always been so straightforward. A thousand years ago, music was often regarded as sinful. The problem was, churchgoers tended to enjoy it, and the fathers of Catholicism understood that it could be used to strengthen people’s ties to the Church.

Accordingly, music was eventually incorporated into Catholic worship, and vise versa. The sheet music of the era is often adorned with religious frescos. The monasteries and abbeys of the period created and stored huge quantities of sheet music, up to 4000 texts at a time in some cases. Indeed, it was this mass production of recorded music that led to the evolution of square notation. The monks needed a universal way to record and recognize the music written by their peers in other monasteries; square notation made this possible.

However, church was not the only place a person living in the Middle Ages would hear music, not by a long shot. Also common at the time were wandering poets, or troubadours, who were the keepers and purveyors of secular music. Some of the oldest surviving sheet music was written by these people, who were encouraged in their work by patrons such as Eleanor of Aquitaine. The area of Provence, modern day southern France, was particularly known for its troubadours, and the region is said to have been known as The Land of Song.

The Church is known to have fought the advent and proliferation of secular music, which it would certainly have regarded as sinful in the extreme. However, fortunately for us, it was unable to stem the music’s spread. The most popular topic of such secular music was that of courtly love, which may explain why the Church was so against it. Courtly love deals with situations in which lovers are unable to consummate their feelings, usually because one or both is wed to another. This theme is still famous today thanks to the well-known story of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot. Other popular secular topics included the seasons, the crusades, beautiful women, and nature, all of which were idealized and exalted in song. Such songs would never have become as ubiquitous as they were, however, without the sheet music produced by the troubadours of the age.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music.

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While early traditions of the church are sometimes seen as far different from modern practices, congregational singing was always an important element in the early church. From the earliest days of the church, the practice of singing psalms has taken place. To a large degree, psalm singing is a carry-over from synagogues. The elementary form grew from the practice of morning and evening prayers. Over the years, the styles of psalm singing have changed as cultures as well as musical tastes have evolved throughout time. In the last few years, the practice of singing has experienced a strong resurgence. One of the primary events that led to this resurgence occurred when Latin gave way to vernacular within the church. As a result, new settings needed to be composed. This was an important change within the tradition because it then made it possible for the congregation to take part in singing the psalms in a more meaningful way. That tradition of singing has carried over into modern times. Today, singing within the church is considered to be a favored part of worship. Depending on the nature of the hymn, singing within the church can allow the congregation to express the various moods of worship.

The Pope has said that singing in choir and receiving choir training can provide an education in peace as well as in life. He pointed out that when worshippers sing together, the practice commands the attention of each person so that they are able to walk together in peace.

This is exhibited in stunning clarity when The Priests perform together. In fact, when The Priests were receiving vocational training in Rome, their unique and combined talent was discovered and truly appreciated for the first time. The group, which had already sung together for many years, was chosen by the private secretary of the Pope to perform for him. They then went on to perform in the Vatican choir. Although the group later returned to Ireland to serve in different parishes, they have continued their love of singing and have continued to perform together.

Today, the Priests are continuing the long tradition of singing in the Catholic Church. Their ability to share their amazing combined talent and their unique expression of favorite hymns will be greatly broadened when their debut album is released this coming fall. Although the tradition has not historically included seeing priests become recording artists, this move will no doubt provide great benefit to the church.

Peter Ruppert is an avid fan of catholic hymns. Find out more about Catholic Hymns on the official The Priests website

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It was during the Medieval Period that the first church dramas began to appear. As Richard Courtney, famous drama teacher and theatre scholar, pointed out that the Mass itself of course has the seeds of drama – chanted dialogue and a theme of action, but not the essential quality of impersonation.

Impersonation began with the trope sung during the night before Easter. A trope was an extra chant written to accompany church music on special occasions. In the Mass, the trope had been sung by the choir. When repositioned, it became a separate little scene performed at Matins on Easter morning; much like a tiny opera, three people impersonated the Marys and one the angel before an improvised sepulchre.

Eventually, the small-scale tropes evolved into more complex dramatizations of Easter and Christmas stories. The Bible stories were enacted in the church by priests. As these plays achieved a wide popularity, the dramas began to be written in the vernacular and performed outside the church proper, although still on the church grounds.

Through this linguistic and spacial separation, the church dramas became more secularized. Eventually, the audio dramas were produced and performed by laypersons, guild members who would enact cycles of miracle plays based upon biblical stores and the lives of the saints. These plays included many secular and temporal elements of farce and mime that appealed to the medieval audiences.

Given this story, it is no wonder that the Catholic (and other sects) Church continues to be a most natural environment for drama and theatre. During the 1950s and the 1960s, at the beginnings of the Off-Broadway avant-grade movement in New York City, several churches provided homes for gifted theatre artists.

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