Music of the Eighteenth Century
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The tour guide tells us we have a free day! Some of us may explore Anglican Chant. Others have the opportunity to visit with George Handel, William Boyce and Maurice Greene. The book stores are open. We may browse through the many hymnals dating from the first half of the eighteenth century.
Those of us who choose Anglican Chant will learn that it is within the eighteenth century that this form of singing became popular. The Anglican Chant form was a direct outgrowth of the plainsong chant we met earlier. Plainsong began as a single line melody. Eventually parts were added to it which provided harmony. A musical short hand developed to organize notes and words in such a way as to provide formulas for singing. The ability to divide music into measures by the use of bar lines further trapped fluid chant into rigid, rhythmic phrases. (Beautifully sung chant does not lend itself to metronomic renditions.) The original concept of "speech set to flowing melody" evolved into strict time chanting unrelated to the natural rhythm of the words. The musical formula repeated itself verse after verse until the welcome “Amen."
Eighteenth century England was consumed in a hymn explosion. The book stalls are filled with many varieties of hymnals from that time. Two pathways were followed at the Reformation: Luther chose the path of hymn singing; Calvin chose psalm singing. Calvin disliked the frivolity of French song and was hostile to the elaborate ritual of the old church. He chose to ignore the historical development of the Latin Church and to reinstate the simpler conditions of the primitive church. Although initially both Luther and Calvin were influential, Calvin's influence prevailed. Psalm, not hymn singing, was the way of the church.
Slowly hymns came into use and a handful would be included in books of the times. The work was tentative until the appearance of Isaac Watts "Hymns and Spiritual Songs,” published in 1707. The title page states that the book includes an essay "Toward the Improvement of Christian Psalmody By The Use of Evangelical Hymns in Worship As Well As The Psalms Of David.” This was an evangelical, revival time. This was the time of splinter groups, the forming of protestant denominations. The necessity for expression gave birth to the hymns.
Portrait of Charles Wesley found on Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain.
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) wrote 6500 -10,000 hymns many of which are still popular including Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus (Advent), Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Christmas), Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise (Easter), and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. Our Hymnal 1982 includes twenty-three hymns of Wesley, seventeen of Isaac Watts, three of William Boyce, and five of Handel. (For more information see The Hymnal 1982 pages 1033-1038).
Portrait of George Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson found on Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain.
The famine of support for church music, the destruction of church organs and choir schools starved the church musicians until few were left. There is a void of musical giants in England. The name we are most likely to recognize is George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Handel was born in Germany but made his home in England. He traveled in Europe and absorbed much of the styles of the continent. Handel's output for the church is scant. His many oratorios were actually concert pieces. Oratorios were, in effect, operas without the expense of costume or staging based on sacred texts.
Detail of Maurice Greene from a painting of John Hoadly by Francis Hayman (1747) in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London; found on Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain
Portrait of William Boyce attributed to Mason Chamberlin the elder in the collection of the Royal College of Music; found on Wikimedia Commons; Public Domain
Maurice Greene (1695-1755) came under the influence of his friend, Handel. However, his sense of English style was too great to succumb entirely. His anthem, Lord, Let Me Know Mine End, brings to birth one of the finest works of any period where the accompaniment plays an integral part. Today's anthem is an example of the accompaniment coming into full partnership with the voices. This comes as a natural outgrowth of the style we learned about last week. The multi-voiced pieces which could stand unaccompanied began to give way to a style with a predominant melody relying on instrumental accompaniment. At first, the accompaniments were simple, skeletal chords providing harmony. Today we hear a duet between the organ and the voices. They are in equal partnership. "The counterpoint (the exchange between the organ and the voices) sends the wondering questions from one voice to another. The rests (periods of silence) are used as effectively as the notes. The slow dying end sounds like the coda of a great symphony.” (From: Phillips, C. H.: The Singing Church, Lowe & Bryd One Printers Ltd,. 1979. p. 187.)
William Boyce (1711-1779) was a student of Greene. He is well known as an editor and collector. He lived at a time when excellence was not pursued by many. The sense of vital music structure was waning. Boyce stands out as one marching to a different drummer. Although his output for the church was small, he held a standard of excellence. The Postlude today is a good example of his style. He wrote antiphonally for solo trumpet and echo effects. His compositions are more attractive than many others of his time because of their fresh and interesting rhythms and sparkling tunes.
