Posts Tagged ‘history’

The Covenanted Uniformity in Religion of the Westminster Standards, Worship, and Exclusive Psalmody

April 17th, 2011

The title page of each of the documents contained in the Westminster Standards includes the phrase, “as a part of the covenanted uniformity in religion betwixt the churches of Christ in the kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland.” This shows that the Westminster Standards, including the “Directory for Public Worship”, were produced in fulfillment of the Solemn League and Covenant.

The “Directory for Public Worship,” as a part of the covenanted uniformity in worship, mandated only the singing of Psalms in public worship.

There is not any evidence that the Westminster Assembly ever discussed the making of a separate “hymnal” (full of man-made compositions), and no such item was ever presented to Parliament, as was all the work of the Assembly. Neither was any such thing presented to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Westminster Standards were ecclesiastically ratified by that General Assembly.

The original intent of the framers of the Westminster Standards regarding worship is clearly derived from this information. It also means that ministers who have taken vows, without mental reservation, to uphold these Standards, are guilty of perjury if they practice anything other than exclusive Psalmody, even in ignorance.

There is plenty of documentation of the debates concerning translators, publication, and the civil and ecclesiastical approval of the Psalter. But there isn’t any discussion regarding any effort to produce a hymnal composed of uninspired songs among this documentation.

This is truly amazing, if a human “hymnal” had indeed ever been considered (never mind ratified by the different levels of church and civil government) as in keeping with the covenanted uniformity in worship aimed at by these divines — given the “strict regulativist” makeup of both the Westminster Assembly and the Scottish General Assembly.

On top of this, these divines did not even need to mention the judaizing heresy of the use of musical instruments in public worship, because that was not an issue among the Reformed folk of the day.

The political rulers of that time eliminated the use of organs in public worship, “along with other remains of Popery,” since they knew what the Scriptures said about these matters. (This article has been adapted from “Saul in the Cave of Adullam by Reg Barrow.)

For more information about Biblical worship (following the Regulative Principle of Worship), ecclesiastical history and the Reformation, please visit PuritanDownloads.com. There are many Reformation theology resources at that site.

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Mark A Cella Performing Arts – Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Works

August 3rd, 2010

Mark A Cella Brings You Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Works

First page of Mendelssohn’s Jubilate Deo from the Moldenhauer Archive (1847). Performing Arts Reading Room, Library of Congress.

Sacred music retained a position of major significance throughout Felix Mendelssohn’s career as a composer, beginning with sacred choral songs performed at the Berlin Singakademie in 1821 and concluding with the Three Motets, op. 69, completed in the summer of 1847. Intended for both church and concert hall, his sacred works in particular have spawned divergent threads of discussion including the detection of underlying Jewish influences in the music or text selection or evaluating the composer’s success in integrating a musical composition with autonomous artistic claims into a functional liturgical work. Polemics aside, during his lifetime Felix was undoubtedly a highly acclaimed composer of sacred music and his accomplishments in this genre are extraordinary: two completed oratorios of lasting popularity, over two dozen large sacred works, psalm settings and cantatas, and as many shorter pieces including motets and anthems. Notably, this oeuvre shows a remarkable flexibility as he produced settings of Latin texts from the Roman Catholic liturgy, German settings suitable for use in Lutheran Germany, and English canticle settings written specifically for Anglican Evensong. Transparent in his sacred works is a veneration of J.S. Bach, especially of his chorale cantatas and Passion, as well as a powerful debt to G.F. Handel’s oratorios and anthems.

Mark A Cella Performing Arts – Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Works

There are three sacred music manuscripts in Mendelssohn’s hand which are held in the collections of the Library of Congress’s Music Division:

1. Psalm 95, Kommet herzu Lasst uns mit Danken, op. 46, no. 2, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra; an incomplete manuscript located in the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation Collection; 2. Elijah: “Introduction” and “Overture,” arranged by the composer for piano duet (found in The Moldenhauer Archives – The Rosaleen Moldenhauer Memorial, American Memory); 3. Three Motets, op. 69, a complete manuscript with many corrections and a passage omitted from the published editions.

The manuscript for the op. 69 Motets is of special interest as these settings comprise Mendelssohn’s last completed choral works. They include two Evensong canticles, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, and a setting of the 100th Psalm, Jubilate Deo, for the morning service; all were intended for use in Anglican services. The Jubilate Deo for four-part chorus and organ was originally requested by his publisher, Edward Buxton, in January of 1847 and was finished in haste before Felix arrived in London on April 8. The remaining two Evensong canticles are said to be the only works composed in June 1847, a time Felix spent in isolation with his family as they grieved the sudden loss of their sister Fanny that May. By July, Felix dispatched the manuscript along with a letter of instructions to Buxton, manager of the Ewer & Co. publishing firm in London. That letter, dated July 7, 1847 and excerpted below, is part of the Library of Congress’s Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation Collection.

“My dear Sir, I send here the piece which I brought already to England for you and was prevented from looking over and finishing during that hurried but very pleasant stay in your Country. It completes the morning Service of which you published the first piece. I also send two new pieces forming the whole of an Evening Service, which are perhaps a little longer and more developed than usual in your Cathedral style; yet I hope they might be used, and I found much pleasure in occupying myself with them. You told me you wanted to have something of my manuscripts, and so I send this as I wrote it; but as there are several passages which might not be quite clear to the Engraver, it is quite necessary that you should send me the proofs of all the three pieces before they are published. This is also necessary because I beg you will submit the wording of them to Mr. Bartholomew…. If he finds passages where the English accent is wrong I beg he will alter them, but before these alterations are published I should like to know them…”

Mark A Cella Performing Arts – Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Works

Ewer’s London edition of the op. 69 Motets appeared in late 1847 and included an organ part and English texts; the first German edition introduced by Breitkopf & Hrtel the following year as Drei Motetten featured both German and English texts, deleted the organ accompaniment altogether, and instigated a host of significant changes in both the overall order and musical content.

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What Blues Instrumentals Will Always Set The Perfect Tone?

April 12th, 2010

If you want to set a melancholy tone in your home or office, get yourself some good ole fashion blues instrumental music. Unwind, relax, and sit and reminisce on good times. The low bass, hypnotic piano, and bluesy sound is great for getting away from it all. Blues is known all over the world for its ability to shake the senses and bring out emotions.

Blues has a history. It did not magically appear. It got its start way back in the 19th century. It began with African American workers. Working hard in the fields, the blues kept these mens spirits high. It gave them a release from the turmoil of life. Sung in church it gave them inspiration. Sung at play it gave them a release from the days trials and tribulation. The Blues have survived over 100 years. It has been the backbone of rock and roll and other popular genres of music today.

Instrumental blues music has its own characteristics, its own private way of curing the blues. Blues is dramatic, enchantment, rhythm that allows you to escape reality. The lyrics are depressed, repressed, a dark side of life. The lyrics are a way of expressing misery and woe. Instrumental blues is a way of leaving the lyrics behind and bringing the woe of your emotions to the forefront. It is a way to place the lyrics of your emotions within the music, rid you of the artists interpretation, and claim the music for your own. It inspires, cradles, and holds you in a way that an artists lyrics just cannot do.

Blues instrumental music is great for a bunch of different things. In the office, in the classroom, and public places it is great background choice. In the office it keeps workers motivated. Its a way to help pass time and stay focused. At school it helps stir creativity, inspire thought, and keep students moving forward towards their goals. In public places, it calms nerves, keeps customers cool, and gives folks a place to relax.

Blues instrumental music is easy to come by these days and can set the mood in your home or office in an instant. Whether you choose to download tracks or search out old vinyl classics from your local music store, your toes will soon be tapping to some of the most innovative and stylistically appealing music of all time.

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The Best Free Stream Of Instrumental Music Online

April 8th, 2010

The internet is the place to look for free online streaming instrumental music. The only problem is where to find it. It is packed full to the rim of free online radio stations that play all types of instrumental genres to include jazz, classical, blues, and even new age.

To give you a head start on your search, Ill point you in the direction of a few places Ive found to be some of best sites to listen to instrumental music online.

The best place in my opinion to get free instrumental music online is AOL radio. Its the perfect place to go when you just want to relax and unwind for awhile. They always have something there for me to meditate by. I especially love their classical section that offers all of the greats like Bach and Beethoven. Another thing that is great about AOL radio is that the music is free and is rarely interrupted with annoying commercials.

Need that lift or that extra get up in your step? Then do like I do and visit one of my favorite Christian instrumental music sites online, crosswalk radio. They are known for having some of the most popular new age Christian contemporary instrumentals along with a well balanced mix of old. All you have to do is register with the Salem Web Network All-Pass System and you are granted access to some great pick me up instrumentals.

To listen to free online instrumental Christmas music, go to www.live365.com which has instrumental online radio stations where you can find all Jazz Christmas instrumentals, or a collection of traditional and non-traditional Christmas instrumentals in the new age genre, including ambient and Celtic. This is one of my favorite places to go to listen to Christmas instrumental music online because they have a great variety of instrumental Christmas music online radio stations so I can flip through them whenever a song comes on I dont like. The music is free for the listening with no sign up; however, it does have many more interruptions for ads than does AOL Radio. Live 365 does offer an option to subscribe and enjoy ad-free music. Depending on how much music you listen to, it might well be worth the price of subscription.

The number one spot online for great instrumental jazz music is My Music Stream. I go here to listen to all the latest and greatest jazz instrumentals and also to listen to some old jazz classics. Theres nothing like jazz. Its like the rebel of all music with its spontaneity and feel driven rhythms.

Score another point for My Music Stream. This is also the place I visit to get my instrumental mix of blues. Like jazz they have a wide variety of blues instrumentals that comfort me in my time of need.

Hopefully, these suggestions will get you started on your way to finding some of the best instrumental music on the web. Now you can build your list of the best places online to download or listen live to your favorite music instrumentals. Until next time

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Do Anyone Recall These 90s One Hit Bands?

February 15th, 2010

I loved the music of the 90′s and still do today. It was the decade that saw the arrival of so many bands that became huge successes such as Radiohead and Green Day, which are still huge even today.

But, there were those bands that after having wowed us with their number one hit, suddenly disappeared into the abyss quicker than they had first emerged, like the saying goes, they entered in like a bolt of lightning but flew out like the wind.

Having a look back at some of those ‘one hit wonders’ of the 90′s most people can ‘name that song’ and even the year it came out but no one ever remembers the name of the bands that sung them.

Take the song Breakfast At Tiffany’s for my first example. When this song emerged, the crowds went wild for it but as with many other one hit wonders, no one can recall the name of the band, can you?

You probably wouldn’t guess it after ten tries, it was Deep Blue Something, the exemplary one hit wonder of the 90′s.

Here’s another one. How about the song “The Way”? This one was released during the late 1990s, and many absolutely loved it. In fact, it still receives occasional airplay today. Unfortunately, the band was never ever to replicate the success shown in this song.

The Rembrandts, they are my third temporary sensation to make the list. Their hit song is played and listened to every day and many people wouldn’t even be able to put the name of the band to the hit song.

I’ll Be There For You, ring any bells? It was such a loved song in its time that it became the theme song for the TV show Friends, Oh now you remember! And as with all the rest, The Rembrandts faded away into obscurity.

But the questions is, who has helped produced the one hit sensations list for the 2000′s? That one is coming soon.

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Learn To Play The Violin Like A Pro Master-History Of The Violin Lesson

January 30th, 2010

What is the history of the violin. The violin history runs for centuries as an instrument that is used in various musical genres like classical, pop, jazz and country. It is a small, hollow stringed instrument with a long neck and four strings tuned from low to high; with each note having a perfect fifth to the one below it. This article covers the history of the violin. If you want to learn how to play the violin like a master pro go to this Violin Master Pro Site

The violin is made of different types of wood where the top is usually made of spruce while the sides and back are usually of maple. The fingerboard of the violin is usually made of ebony; however, sometimes ivory is used. Violin strings were originally made of gut but today they are made of different materials. The different kinds of violin strings give different tones and sound quality. Some violin strings also stay in tune, and last longer than the others. Violin strings today are usually metal, synthetic core or gut strings.

Metal violin strings produce pure, clear and loud tones and are easy to play. Beginners and intermediate players prefer using steel core strings. The synthetic core violin strings are made of the nylon perlon and produce subtler sounds than metal strings and dont have to be tuned often.

Today, there are also electric violins that send signals via an electrical pickup device. There are also electric violins that work only when plugged in. Electric violins have a solid body design with wiring and batteries found in its body. Being a new invention, electric violin makers today can use their imagination to decide on the shape of the electric violin.

It is best to shop in violin stores for a better range of violins. There are some violin stores that sell violins from several different manufacturers, and some that manufacture their own violins. Some violin stores also rent and sell used violins. As new violins cost between two hundred to twenty thousand dollars, beginners usually rent violins or buy used ones. Whatever your choice, make sure that your violin comes with a violin case to provide it protection from any damage.

I hope you enjoyed this violin history article. If you are looking for a more complete solution to learning the violin, from start to finish, this is your answer. Violin Master Pro Site is here.

ViolinMasterPro is your complete, online video package to learning how to play anything on violin. It is an inspiring complete solution to mastering the violin and is easy to apply. All you have to do is download the videos and mp3s in a step by step instructional sequence.

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