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[German Version] (Jan 9, 1848, London – Feb 23, 1917, London), hymnwriter and leading British hymnologist at the turn of the 20th-century, with specialist knowledge of early English hymnody. He acquired his early expertise from D. Sedgwick, the London antiquarian and pioneer hymnologist. Brooke was consultant and contributor to the monumental Dictionary of Hymnology, and the author of Old English Psalmody (1916). His researches led to the discovery of rare hymnological sources, including J. Wesley's Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1737), which he …

[German Version] is a practice developed from antiphonal singing (Antiphon), where different groups of performers sing and/or play in a sequence of alternation. In the late Middle Ages the alternation was between Gregorian chant and polyphony. In the Reformation era, alternatimpraxis included congregation, choir, and organ (Responsive singing). Following the practice of the Wittenberg …

[German Version] Term for a choral motet, derived from ἀντιφωνή, antiphon; originally used for a polyphonic setting of the plainsong melody of an antiphon. At the Reformation the antiphon became a distinctive genre of Anglican church music: a freely composed setting of a text, usually from the Psalms. By the 17th century an independent accompaniment, usually organ, became …

[German Version] The term is derived from the Italian “aria,” “air,” usually designating an independent composition for a single voice, but sometimes applied to a vocal duet, trio, etc. An aria is normally accompanied by one or more instruments. The earliest use of the term appeared at the end of the 14th century and indicated a style or manner of singing or p…

[German Version] I. History of the Discipline – II. Modern Research I. History of the Discipline Hymnology, as the scientific study of Christian hymnody with regard to its origins, development, and practice, is a subdivision of practical theology, but closely related to other disciplines. Hymnology has its roots in the 12th century philological and theological commentaries and glosses (scholia) to the office hymns of the church year. An early and popular example is the Liber hymnorum of Hilary of Poitiers, found in numerous manuscripts, and published as Expositio hymnorum (Paris …

[German Version] (1810, Falmouth – Aug 14, 188, Formby). Methodist preacher and one of the early British hymnologists, specialized in Methodist hymnody (Church song). After his ordination in 1835, Christophers served circuits in Devon, Cornwall, and Lancashire. His most significant hymnological writings are Hymn-Writers and Their Hymns (1866, 31870), a topical survey of English hymnody, The Epworth Singers and Other Poets of Methodism, 1874 (US edition), published in England as The Poets of Methodism, 1875, a study of the hymns of J. and C. Wesley and other Methodist hymn writers, Th…

[German Version] (Jun 22, 1888, Woodridings Pinner, Harrow, London – Dec 25, 1961, Deddington, Oxfordshire) was an Anglican pastor and a hymnologist of international repute. He studied in Cambridge (B.A. in 1910, M.A. in 1914, D.Litt. in 1955), received ordination in 1911 and 1912, and was pastor in Deddington from 1924 until 1961. He became one of the first members of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, was one of its chairmen at his death, and published many scholarly articles in its Bulletin over the years. Frost's major publication, English and Scottish Psalm and Hymn T…

[German Version] (Nov 20, 1812, Baltimore, MD – Apr 8, 1887, Baltimore, MD), a Methodist and the earliest American hymnologist. Between 1832 and 1857 he was a partner in the family timber merchant business and from 1861 to 1879 he held minor positions in the federal government in Baltimore. He wrote poetry, articles for journals, and was the co-editor (1836–1838) of the weekly newspaper Baltimore Monument. Creamer developed an interest in hymnody, especially the hymns of Methodism. Through contacts with booksellers in England Creamer assembled a…

[German Version] There are two primary traditions of English church music. 1. Contemporary English church music, sung by choirs of men and boys in cathedrals and collegiate chapels, has its roots in the flowering of Catholic polyphony of the Renaissance, especially the mass compositions of Richard Shepherd, John Taverner, and Christopher Tye et al. The reformations of the 16th century under Edward VI and Elizabeth I reconstituted the old choral foundations as well as creating new ones. A musical style that clarified rather …

[German Version] (Sep 24, 1843, Brooklyn – Dec 5, 1887, New York), son of the songwriter G. Duffield, Jr., was a Presbyterian pastor, hymnologist, and poet. He translated Bernard of Clairvaux's Hora Novissima (1867) and contributed a number of his own songs and translations to the hymnal Laudes Domini (1884). Duffield authored two comprehensive, but not always accurate, hymnological studies: English Hymns, Their Authors and History (1886, 31888) and The Latin Hymn Writers and Their Hymns, ed. R.E. Thompson (1889). Robin A. Leaver Bibliography J. Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, 189…

[German Version] I. Terminology The German word Gottesdienst (“worship,” lit. “service of God”) is attested since the 13th/14th century as a German translation of Latin cultus (Cult/Worship). It came into common use in the 16th century, especially in Luther’s works. Starting with an ethical understanding of the word, Luther himself used it as a technical term for the common celebration of the Word of God, as it evolved from the evangelical reform of the Catholic sacrifice (IV) of the mass. For centuries the term Gottesdienst remained limited to this specific form of worship of …