The Hale Lectures - Church Music in History and Practice Studies in the Praise of God

THE HALE LECTURES- CHURCH MUSIC IN HISTORY AND PRACTICE: Studies in the Praise of God BY WINFRED DOUGLAS. Originally published in 1937. FOREWORD: A VAST literature has been developed, both in Europe and in America, on the subject of Church Music. During the past cen tury, the entire body of existing Choral Music of the earEer Christian ages has been subject to the processes of comparative analysis. A treasure of musical praise which had long been lost to the world has been restored to practical use, largely through the religious devotion and the technical skill of tike French Benedictine Congregation of St. Pierre, Solesmes, and of the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society in England. Simi lar care in allied fields of research has provided us with a scientific Liturgiology, and with exhaustive studies in the die velopment of the Christian Hymn. We have at the present < la no lack of authoritative source books available for the farther research of scholars. Nor do we lack a lood of popular bodb about Church Music; either small technical manuals for the or ganist and choirmaster, or stories about the HyiEais - aad ' writers, and the better known religfeus compc^ efs, fer fe< fe Clergy and laity. We do lack a book, solidly based on the scientific! scholars, and yet free from needless prof essiond which treats of both the text of the liturgical services arid iie words of the hymns, together with the music which has grown up with them, as parts of an indivisible whole attuned to high purpose, the worship of God in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The invitation of the Committee of the Hale Lectureship Foundation to deliver a series of lectures on Church Music en couraged me to attempt this extensive synthesis, which neces sarily involved some treatment of three of the subjects pre scribed in the bequest, ( a) Liturgies and Liturgies, ( b) Church Hymns and Church Music, and ( c) Treatment of events hap pening since the beginning of what is called the Oxford Movement, in 1833.