Page 155

Page 155

166 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Sacred Music

tion in the way of oral discourse, or in the manner of the Roman church chant in a melodiously

graduated delivery (or intonation), or 6. Congre- in the festival pomp of full-voiced gation and choir music; whether the congregation Choir. merely joins in spirit in the proffered

prayer, or directly expresses the same in song, as in the congregational hymn, is determined by custom and requirements, by circumstances and means, being indeed a matter of significance with reference to the practical effect and impressiveness of worship, but not, as such, a part of its essence and intrinsic value. Nevertheless, the Evangelical worship being theoretically and essentially a congregational act, this implies, of course, that the congregation as such shall take part in the same. And this it can best do in a collective way in the form of singing which groups a diversity of voices into a harmonic unity. Such singing is well established in Evangelical worship as the most suitable form for the congregation's collective activity. The congregation as a vehicle of divine service is not an indiscriminate mass of people, but consists of a variety of living individuals and groups of people, who differ in age and sex; accordingly it contains within itself a diversity of gifts and powers. Divine worship is an act or transaction of the congregation in proportion as the separate individuals actively and individually cooperate in the service; it. is a congregational act in the full sense of the term according as the gifts and powers latent in the congregation come into active play and minister to the service of edification by means of a lively presentation of the Gospel. Among gifts vouchsafed to the congregation, the gift of song stands in the front rank in relation to divine worship; especially the harmonic art when viewed as a preeminent factor for enhancing the effect of the Gospel to its utmost degree of impressiveness, thus powerfully promoting edification. Viewed in this light, as an instrument of edification of singular power and effectiveness, harmonic art, and, notably, cultivated singing, has its place in Evangelical worship; while in the same service the choir has its office in the way of expressive leadership. In this worship the choir is the exponent of musical art in the divine service, being a legitimate adjunct of the same only in so far as the purpose of edification demands that this art be coordinated as a homogeneous factor within the sphere of worship. The choir is not a necessary arrangement with reference to worship, its essence and realization; all this is complete even without the choir's cooperation. In fact the employment of a choir presupposes that the congregation already contains the proper intelligence for the artistic performances of the choir, and that this intelligence has been cultivated up to a certain degree; where this is not the case, there is no need of choir singing. But choir singing is a no less powerful than blessed instrument of congregational edification; and as such it has been duly valued by the congregation from the very outset.

The Reformation coincided with the age when the art of polyphony was ripening into classical perfection. This art

was quite distinctively the creation of the Church (see below Ix., 9, If S-4); hence the Reformation found artistic choral song at its height. Attached to the larger

7. The churches were permanent choirs, whose main- Chnrehes tenance was provided in part by the munifi- of the cence of princes and magistrates, in part by Reforms- means of endowments. But in case of the rising tion. Evangelical church the primary interest was not artistic singing, but congregational singing; and for its exponent and leader in Germany, not the trained choir was in question, but the school. All effort was accord ingly directed to the training of the growing congregation for the tasks devolving upon it in the divine service, by means of a zealous cultivation of singing in the school. Nevertheless the importance of artistic singing was fully valued by the Reformers. It was quite peculiarly owing to Luther that this instrument of congregational edification was retained. He urgently enjoined upon those in author. ity the duty of sufficient provision to this end, in cases where the congregations lacked resources and were not able to take the initiative. " Kings, princes and lords must support music, for it becomes great potentates and lords to maintain good liberal arts and the laws." Where no choir is present to serve the congregation with the glorious gift of music, then the like service devolves as an honorable duty upon the school. The princely chorister schools were expressly and positively institutes of art, and liturgical singing engaged only a part of their professional duties. Under their direc tion church music came to be more and more a concert per formance in the divine service. The artistic mission of the school choirs, however. accorded with the other tasks which the school had in charge. Their musical tasks were planned according to the needs of the congregation in the sanctuary, approximating more closely to the average intelligence and becoming more familiar to the congregation than the per formances of the professional art choirs. Thus the school choir came to serve as a musical training establishment for the whole congregation and from it the congregation de veloped the ability to help itself in case of need.

For example, when the choral institute, to which people had been accustomed, closed its doors-as did the residential chorister school at Torgau in 1530 on account of financial considerations, musically endowed citizens of the town associated themselves in the " Torgau Choris-

8. Gterman ter Society " with a view to practising and Singing rendering, under the leadership of the princely Societies. vocal master and precentor Johann Walther, the portions devolving upon the choir. The example of Torgau was followed by other towns. At the same time the growing delight in song and music led to as sociations which charged themselves with the cultivation of singing and in some cases especially sacred song (as at Reutlingen in Wiirttemberg, 1609; St. Gallen, 1620 and elsewhere). The popularity of Handel's oratorios toward the close of the eighteenth century and the rise of male sing ing societies in the early decades of the nineteenth century augmented the impulse to create musical associations, which gladly lent their services to the Church; these societies, how ever, were primarily artistic and secular. The revival of re ligious and ecclesiastical interest after the wars of liberation. which manifested itself particularly in the Reformation jubi lee festival (1817), led to the formation of societies devoted specifically to church song. They soon extended over all Germany and their activity has steadily become wider. In 1881 the fist " General Convention of the German Evan gelical Church Singing Societies " met at Stuttgart, and in the year of the Luther jubilee (1883) was organized the " Evangelical Church Singing Society for Germany," which in 1905 comprised twenty-two territorial and provincial societies, and 1 996 local societies and church choirs . The management is in the hands of a central committee whose duties are defined to be: (1) To promote the cause of Evan gelical church song by spoken and written means; (2) to work for cooperation of individual societies; (3) to assist societies in selecting and securing their music; (4) to call a general convention at least once every three years; (5) to represent the general interests abroad. A periodical, the Korrespondenzblatt des evanpelischen Kirchengesanpvereine Jar Deutschland, is published at Leipsic.

II. History: The essential ground form of the Roman Catholic church song is the choral (cantos Gregorianus, because its regulation and systemati-