Photo of Christ Church by Raymond Knapman, CC BY-SA 2.0
Murdered anthems and improper psalms?
VOICES & INSTRUMENTS
Tutor: Sally Drage
Location: Christ Church (URC), Port Sunlight
Reviewers: Ruth Stock & David Roberts
West Gallery Workshop 9th March 2013
After a couple of false starts (due to an overnight electrical failure) the West Gallery workshop ‘Murdered Anthems and Improper Psalms’ with Sally Drage ran in the splendid setting of the large late Victorian Christ Church (URC) in Port Sunlight, Wirrall on 9th March with a small (but perfectly formed) ensemble of 17 singers and musicians. It was an interesting instrumental balance ranging from violins, recorders, an oboe, curtal to a trombone! Sally’s enthusiasm for this music made this a most enjoyable day, helped by anecdotes unearthed by her research into the context of the pieces. The number taking part was perhaps a disappointment, but made for a sociable group and also offered the flexibility for participants to both sing and play, when the occasion arose.
We started early in the repertoire with a simple but lovely 3 part anthem by Blow ‘To God I make my prayer’ dated 1701, which would have been sung very slowly. Sally revealed that a good deal of such music was probably performed quite slowly with significant pauses. Most probably the singers kept the beat (tactus) themselves, as the leaders of the choir were at the back rather than the front. In a number of the pieces the tune was in the tenor part which led to interesting textures and harmonies. Also, when the women in the congregation sang that same tune an octave higher, further harmonic interest would have been created. We don’t know exactly how choirs were trained but there is evidence they learned the fa sol, forerunner of the tonic solfa system. Those trained would, in the early period, have been young men, though in northern towns such as Oldham there are records of mixed choirs by the mid seventeenth century. Instrumentalists were invariably male, though there is one reference to a musician called Phoebe, who as she shoed horses, may not have been very ‘ladylike’. We also know little of early instrumentation: up to about 1740 choirs were probably still singing unaccompanied, or with perhaps a bass instrument.
But gradually more instruments appear. We had great fun with the very jolly setting (probably originally a dance tune) of Psalm 133 ‘O what a happy thing it is’ by Thomas Collins (fl 1790) – one of a group of musicians in Nuneaton, who wrote plenty of parts for a wide variety of instruments (the trombone came into its own). ‘Dr. Haydn’ also contributed six three part anthems (though as Sally said – Haydn could do with three parts what others needed six for) and we essayed Psalms 50 and 26 included in William Deshair Tattershall’s “Improved Psalmody” of 1794.
There was considerable crossover between sacred and secular music – which was partly what made it so objectionable to some members of the clergy. It was deemed to be too frivolous, despite the fact that the musicians themselves found great enjoyment in performing them. The more enterprising musicians from northern towns and cities, travelled to London and came back with the latest compositions by fashionable composers. At the end of the eighteenth century everyone’s favourite composer was Handel. A number of the compositions we attempted were very “handelian” in style, reminiscent of his oratorios with flowing contrapuntal lines. We had the opportunity to try out a three part ‘Dead March in Saul’ arranged by Edward Miller of Doncaster (c.1800) with highly contrasting verses and chorus. With its mournful advice “to be sung over a grave”, the sombre music opened with the line “Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb” and then progressed to an affirmative and triumphalist chorus with the words “Break from thy throne, illustrious morn…” Large Sunday Schools in places such as Manchester and Stockport had quantities of Handel mss which were used for fundraising performances most probably in suitably adapted versions. This included a setting of the anthem ‘Teach me O Lord’ by John Fawcett of Bolton which includes his own take on the Hallelujah Chorus. We also had fun with the anonymous ’Praised be the Lord’ from the mid eighteenth century publication “Ten
Full Anthems for the use of Country Choirs”. As well as familiar texts with settings of “Hark the Herald” and ‘Immanuel’ (or “ All Hail the Pow’r”) which had travelled from England to America and back to a Welsh choirbook.
Even though in the mid nineteenth century the bands and ‘country choirs’ were suppressed in Anglican churches, in non-Conformist churches (and a number of pubs) the traditions continued. It is encouraging to know that professional musicians, such as cathedral organists, saw there was money to be made in these anthems and psalms and contributed a large portion of the repertoire which, according to Sally, largely remains unexplored. After such an enjoyable day it is hoped that we get many more opportunities to engage with this varied and fascinating part of our musical heritage.
Ruth Stock & David Roberts
First published in April 2013 Newsletter.
