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40 The National Music of America.
" Bay Psalm-book ; " it was not used in Salem until 1667. The following extract from the Church Records of Plymouth will show how long and faithfully that organisation had clung to Ainsworth :
"May 17th, 1685. The Elder stayed the church after the public worship was ended, and moved to sing psalm 130th in another translation, because in Mr. Ainsworth's translation, which we sang, the tune was so difficult few could follow it — the church readily concented thereunto."
In 1692 the Plymouth brethren began to use the "Bay Psalm-book," as may be seen from the following extract from their records :
" Aug. 7th, 1692. At the conclusion of the Sacrament the pastor called upon the church to express their judgments about this motion; the vote was this: when the tunes are difficult in the translation we use, we will sing the psalms now used in our neighbor churches in the Bay; not one brother opposed this conclusion. The Sabbath following, Aug. 14th, we began to sing the psalms in course according to the vote of the church."
The "in course" of the last sentence |
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