To Keep In Tune So Long: "Worship Wars" in the Development of Anglo-American Psalmody, 1560-1800

The development of Anglo-American psalmody was impacted by the shifting tides of the culture around it. Exiled Protestants in the 1560s brought a distinctly homophonic style from the continent, which merged with the prevailing polyphonic psalmody of Tudor England. Publishers such as John Day, Thomas Este, and Thomas Ravenscroft published and codified the "common tunes," which led to controversy due to differing traditions of which tunes should be placed with certain texts. Two distinct methods of teaching psalmody were introduced; the singing school in Scotland, and the "lining-out" method in England. As these traditions were brought to America in the 1700s, the "lining-out" method began to be seen as a sign of the rural class, and the singing school a sign of the middle class, leading to a cultural divide. In England, Isaac Watts and his followers called for a reformation in psalmody, putting themselves directly at odds with the "Old Version" of the Psalms. In America, psalmody expanded upon market trends from England, allowing the fuguing tune to become a standard feature of tunebooks. Through composers such as William Billings, psalmody was used to support the American Revolution. Finally, composers such as Amos Pilsbury and Daniel Belknap used innovative harmonic techniques near the end of the eighteenth century.