Hymnals
The American Antiquarian Society has a vast and diverse
collection of early North American hymnals, including a large
number of volumes from the preeminent collections formed by Bishop
Robert W. Peach and Frank J. Metcalf. Beginning with the first
book printed on American soil, The Whole Booke of Psalmes,
commonly known as the Bay Psalm Book, the collection includes
compilations of sacred verses and music printed in North America
through 1876 and numbers well over 5,000 volumes. Although the
term "hymnal" may convey a nearly static and uninteresting concept
to modern ears, the Society's collection of early hymnals proves
otherwise.
The earliest hymnals in the collection consist of metrical
psalms, the various revisions of which remained popular throughout
the eighteenth century. Verses and tunes were often printed
separately, but early hymnals are also found with manuscript,
printed, or engraved tunes at the end of the work. The separately
published tunebooks often include one verse of text, but it is the
tune, obviously the more important element, that is labeled.
Another noteworthy characteristic of the tune books is the
introductory matter, usually a small primer on music, presenting
the "art of singing" or the "rules of psalmody." The
mid-eighteenth-century
hymnals display the new acceptance of original
lyrics, incorporating the prolific verses of Isaac Watts and
Charles Wesley. The period tunebooks reflect new styles and a
wider variety of tunes. It is the nineteenth-century works,
however, that include the greatest number and the greatest
diversity of hymns; folk hymns, revival hymns, gospel songs, and
spirituals are added to the repertoire of North American sacred
music, introducing such intriguing hymnal titles as Seaman's
Hymns, Millennial Praises, Hymns for the Ohio Lunatic Asylum,
and Revival and Camp Meeting Minstrel. Denominational hymnals in
the collection are numerous, but the standard modern-day hymnal of
tunes, coupled with many verses of text was not commonly published
until the second half of the nineteenth century. The breadth of
the collection continues to grow as unique or unusual hymnals are
added. Not to be underestimated in importance, the hymnals
collection at the Society reveals both obvious and subtle
religious, moral, social, and musical trends of the seventeenth,
eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.
The pre-1831 hymnals are fully cataloged, and are easily
accessible via the Imprints Catalog and online. Two works
helpful in identifying and locating pre-1821 tunebooks are Frank J.
Metcalf's American Psalmody (New York, 1917) and a checklist of
sacred tunebooks located at the Society, both available at the
readers' services desk. Nearly all of the post-1820 hymnals are
shelved as a separate collection, although a few find their way
into the Miniature Books collection by virtue of their size. A
detailed checklist of hymnals is available at the readers' services
desk. This catalog was begun as an author-title union list of
hymnals, and it continues to be annotated and updated with AAS
holdings. Included are all of the English-language hymnals found
at the Society, followed by a supplement of post-1820 North
American-printed foreign language hymnals, principally in German
and French. Another bibliographical tool, published by AAS, in 1990, is
American Sacred Music Imprints, 1698-1810: A Bibliography, by
Allen P. Britton, Irving Lowens, and Richard Crawford. The
collection is strongly supported by secondary sources, including
John Julian's definitive The Dictionary of Hymnology (London,
1907), annotated by Bishop Peach; numerous biographies of hymn
writers and composers; The Bibliography of American Hymnals,
published in microform and compiled by the Hymn Society of America;
early and contemporary periodicals; sound recordings; and many
denominational and topical bibliographies.
- Pamela Meizler, former Cataloger, North American Imprints Program
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For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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