THE

PURITAN

HYMN AND TUNE BOOK;

Designed for

CONGREGATIONAL SINGING, SOCIAL MEETINGS,

AND THE FAMILY.

THIRD EDITION.

BOSTON:

CONGREGATIONAL BOARD OF PUBLICATION,

CHAUNCY STREET.

1859

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by

THE CONGREGATIONAL BOARD OF PUBLICATION,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
A. B. KIDDER'S MUSIC TYPOGRAPHY, BOSTON.

PREFACE.

THE history and claims of THE PURITAN HYMN AND TUNE BOOK can be expressed in few words. It has grown out of the necessities of the pastors and people, of those churches under whose auspices it appears, in their attempts to introduce "congregational singing.” Looking for helps, they found existing collections, designed for that purpose, TOO LARGE, cumbersome, and expensive, with so many hymns which are seldom or never read, and so many tunes which our congregations cannot sing, that they can be often used only by the awkward arrangement of singing a hymn in one part of the book to a tune in another.

To remedy these difficulties the idea was suggested of preparing a comparatively small manual, containing a few (38) tunes, standard, simple and familiar, such as we use at our social meetings and on anniversary occasions, when the people sing, adapted to a limited number of hymns, (337) selected by the pastors themselves, and, of course, regarded by them as the best within the range of their reading,—a task of no great difficulty, from the fact, which examination reveals, that our pastors and people read mainly the same hymns and sing the same tunes. Availing themselves of this fact, and aided by such professional assistance as they needed, they have prepared a book for their own necessities, developed in their attempts to promote singing in the "great congregation," the social meeting, and around the fireside.

To these have been added several (29) " Special Hymns and Tunes," most of which have been so long sung together that, in the popular mind, they seem wedded to each other—including a number of (so called) "Revival Melodies"- which may be sung in the regular way, or used for that impromptu singing, which often so well expresses the feelings of a religious meeting. Some of these are gems of music and poetry; others, with less of artistic merit, have been found, by trial, to be well calculated to kindle the feelings, move the heart, and raise the soul towards heaven. Seeing in sacred music and song the two-fold value of intrinsic merit and the hallowed associations of long continued and consecrated use, we have preferred, other things being equal, what has already become dear to the pious heart, by reason of such association and use. And yet we have not hesitated to insert some of more recent origin, because of their simple and popular character, and the promise they give of gaining a similar lodgment in the affections of the Christian church. With these exceptions, our plan is so far original, that we base our claim to the public favor upon the fewness and familiarity of the tunes and hymns selected, rather than upon their novelty and variety. Guided by the unequivocal marks which a persistent popularity has stamped upon the few, of the large and increasing numbers now be fore the Christian public, we have culled what seemed to us the choicest specimens, to be found within the range of sacred music and hymnology.

We have, of course, omitted many which find a place in larger collections. And yet we have aimed to secure the best, and those most highly prized and generally used. As our book is not designed for the use of choirs, only as they lead the congregation, when the people sing, we have not attempted to make it as full as we should, had our purpose been to supersede collec

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now in use. Recognizing the value and importance of choirs, we would still retain, for

their use, those that are now before the public; while we are simply anxious to add something for the closet, the fireside, the prayer meeting, and the people, when they sing congregationally.

Believing, as we do, when the Apostle urged the Christians he addressed to teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in their heart, that he gave not merely a specific command to a particular church, but utterance to a great principle of universal application, we think that all, who can, should sing not only in social and domestic worship, but, for a part of the time, at least, during the Sabbath service. To render such singing effective and impressive, it is obvious, that a few tunes, OFTEN REPEATED, and, of course, sung with increasing freedom and familiarity, will be far better than a larger number, sung with greater difficulty and by fewer numbers. This was the custom of primitive and Puritan times; and it was this that gave to sacred music its prodigious power over the popular mind and heart. To aid in reviving that custom and realizing once more that great, scriptural idea, has been our aim in preparing the manual, now submitted to the churches. If it shall accomplish, in any degree, that object, we shall be amply repaid for our labors.

In its preparation we have received aid from several, to whom our acknowledgments are due, especially to Dr. Worcester for his kind permission to use "Watts and Select" for our purpose, from which a large proportion of our hymns have been taken, although we have drawn freely from other sources. Our thanks also are due to the Mason Brothers for the privilege of using the tunes, protected by their copyright, of Dr. Mason and Prof. Root,-also to Messrs. Hastings, Woodbury, Pond and Dadmun, for tunes which we have inserted. By combining the topical and alphabetical arrangements in our Index of Subjects, and the use of different kinds of type, it has been compressed into brief compass, and so presented to the eye that it will readily fall upon the subject desired.

NOTE. It is of course competent for all, who may procure this book, to use it as it shall seem to them best. And yet it may not be out of place for the compilers to state distinctly the idea they have attempted to realize in its compilation. 1. To provide a manual of hymns and tunes for social, domestic and private worship, which shall be well adapted to increase the number of those who will thus be enabled to sing the praises of God. 2. To prepare a hand-book for the "great congregation," in addition to those employed when the choir sing, from which the pastor shall read and the people shall sing two or three times, as they shall decide. 3. As our theory requires that the hymn shall always be sung to the tune to which it is adapted, it is desirable, at the outset of its introduction, that there should be several congregational rehearsals, so that a sufficient number shall be prepared to sing all the tunes. Till that time arrives, it may be best for the pastor to read only hymns adapted to tunes, the people are prepared to sing. As the number of tunes is so small, and they are generally so familiar and simple, it will not require any great length of time or effort to secure all that is needed.