381 P. M. The Noble Dead. 1 CALL them from the dead For our eyes to see; Prophet-bards, whose awful word W. J. Fox. Shook the earth, "Thus saith the Lord," A glorious company! 2 Call them from the dead For our eyes to see: Sons of wisdom, song, and power, 3 Call them from the dead For our eyes to see: Forms of beauty, love, and grace, That made it life to be - 4 Call them from the dead Vain the call will be; But the hand of Death shall lay, On eyes which then shall see CHANTS, AND SELECTIONS FOR CHANTING. REMARKS. - THE design, in appending to this Collection of Hymns a compilation of Chants, and Selections for Chanting, is, to furnish to congregations the means of joining in this most devotional style of sacred music; and, with this view, the chants inserted have been selected or composed rather with reference to simplicity and ease of performance, than to striking musical effect. No progressions, either of harmony or melody, have been admitted, except of a natural and easy kind, and the parts kept entirely within the compass of the voices for which they are intended. It is believed that the musical abilities usually found among the members of congregations will enable them, with a little attention to the subject, to join, under the lead of a competent chorister, and more certainly under the lead of a good choir, in the chant; and that its occasional use will not only be highly interesting and salutary in itself, but that it will heighten, by contrast, the effect of the sacred melodies and harmonies now so generally used in connection with metrical psalmody. CHANTS, generally, are either of two, three, or four strains; and each strain consists of the chanting note, or chord, and a cadence of either two or of three measures. The chanting note, or chord, is expressed by a single note, or chord, filling one measure, but which is to be continued, without regard to time, sufficiently long to recite that portion of the verse to which it is applied, with due regard to articulation, accent, punctuation, and expression. The cadences are to be sung in time. Some chants are not this regular construction, and good effects are often produced by these peculiar chants. SELECTIONS FOR CHANTING have generally been made from the Scriptures; but there is no good reason why they should be exclusively so made. Metrical compositions generally, and particularly those of a devotional or suppliant character, can be most effectively performed in this manner. Many hymns, which are, on account of irregularity in the accent or in the structure of the stanzas, ill adapted to a common tune, and therefore are either excluded from our hymn books or but seldom used, may be retained and performed in this way with the best effect. Chanting should be performed, generally, with much less power of voice than is requisite in singing common tunes; and, perhaps, the best rule which can be adopted is, to use no more exertion than would be necessary in reading the verse to an audience, and, above all, to keep the voice subservient to the general effect produced by the choir or congregation. MARKS USED IN THESE SELECTIONS: The dash (-), which marks the places where the breath may be most advantageously taken. The breath should never be drawn except at a pause. The upright dash (|), which corresponds to the bars of the chant, and marks the portions of the verse to be applied to the measures of the cadences. The double dash (=), which signifies that a syllable is to be continued through the measure. The points(), which assign the syllables in a measure to the first or last half of a measure. THE COMPILER. NOTE TO MINISTERS. The number of the SELECTION, and not that of the Chant, should be given out from the pulpit. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. |