Hymns
Psalms were not sung from that standard Bible text, but from a Psalter, a translation of the Psalms into "meter", a form that puts the rhythm of the words into a standardized pattern, so they will fit the music. Some Psalms were traditionally linked to specific tunes. There is a tune named "the old 100th" because it was associated with the 100th Psalm. You probably know this tune as the Doxology (Praise God, from whom all blessings flow...) But for the most part a local church would know a few tunes and sing all the songs to those few tunes. I will soon be adding TAB for several psalter and hymn tunes to this page.
Several hymns were written in America, during and after the Revolutionary War, that mix religion with patriotism. I will soon post the lyrics to these hymns.
Here is a link to an on-line copy of the Scottish Psalter of 1650. The language is a little awkward at first for the 21st century tongue, but I encourage you to begin singing some of these metrical Psalms. You will experience the Psalms in a whole new way.
Here is a link to a resource for tunes to which the Psalms have been sung. This site includes many tunes more modern than the period of our focus, but also includes many tunes from the 17th and 18th centuries. The musical notation is absent (I will be including sites for that later, as well as providing zitter TAB), but midi files will let you hear the tunes.
Here is a link to the most popular hymn tunes of the 17th and 18th centuries as measured by the number of publications in which they appeared between 1698-1810.
Here is a link to a brief history of the development of hymnody from Luther through the 18th century, and another brief history including different aspects.
Several hymns were written in America, during and after the Revolutionary War, that mix religion with patriotism. I will soon post the lyrics to these hymns.
Here is a link to an on-line copy of the Scottish Psalter of 1650. The language is a little awkward at first for the 21st century tongue, but I encourage you to begin singing some of these metrical Psalms. You will experience the Psalms in a whole new way.
Here is a link to a resource for tunes to which the Psalms have been sung. This site includes many tunes more modern than the period of our focus, but also includes many tunes from the 17th and 18th centuries. The musical notation is absent (I will be including sites for that later, as well as providing zitter TAB), but midi files will let you hear the tunes.
Here is a link to the most popular hymn tunes of the 17th and 18th centuries as measured by the number of publications in which they appeared between 1698-1810.
Here is a link to a brief history of the development of hymnody from Luther through the 18th century, and another brief history including different aspects.