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42 The National Music of America.
"York," "Windsor," "Cambridge," "St. Davids," " Martyrs," " Hackney " (or " St. Marys," as it was sometimes called),1 the iooth, 115th, 119th, and 148th psalm-tunes. Here are a few of the directions printed in the book, for the guidance of the singers.
" Observe how many notes compass the tune is. Next the place of your first note; and how many notes above and below that; so as you may begin the tune of your first note, as the rest may be sung in the compass of your and the people's voices, withÂout squeaking above or grumbling below."
These directions naturally referred to the setting or pitching of the tune, in a day when pitch-pipes and tuning-forks did not exist.
If there had been a quarrel when the " Bay Psalm-book" came in to replace Ainsworth's collection, there was an absolute tempest when singing by note was to replace sing-
1 Ritter (" Music in America") not only confounds Puritans and Pilgrims, but gives " Hackney" and " St. Marys " as two different tunes, in an important list, (p. 9), a decided and very remarkable error. |
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