lli. < Ihristian Church. The service of the early Church usually opened with psalmody; but the author of the Apostolical Constitutions prescribes firsl the reading of the i ild T( -i.. and then the Psalms. The service was usually performi d in the standing posture ; and as to the
maimer of pr nidation, the plain son-- was sometimes
used, being a gentle inflection of the voice, not much different from reading, like the chant in cathedrals; at other times more artificial compositions were used, like our anthem-. As to the persons concerned in singing, sometimes a single person sang alone, but the most an- cient and general practice of the Church was lor the
whole assembly to unite with one heart and voice in celebrating the praises id' God. After a time alternate psalmody was introduced, when the congregation, di- vidillg themselves into two parts, repeated the psalms by course-, verse for verse, one in response to another, and not. as formerly, all together. The mode of singing all together was called symphony, while the alternate mode was termed antiphony, and in the Wesl responso- ria, the singing by responsals. This latter manner of conducting the psalmody originated in the Eastern ( Imroh. and is attributed to bishop Ignatius of Antioch, who tlourished in the early part of the 2d century. It
passed into the Western in tie time of Ambrose, bishop
of Milan. But in a short time antiphonal (q. v.) sing- ing became the general practice of the whole < hurch, and the ecclesiastical historian Sorrales informs us that the emperor Theodosi us the lounger and hi- sisters were accustomed to sing alternate hymns together every morning in the royal palace. Augustine was deeply affected on hearing the Ambrosian Chant at Milan, and describes his feelings in these words: - The voices flowed in at my ears, truth was distilled into my heart, and the affection of piety overflowed in sweet tears of joy." Eusebius tells us that Ambrose brought his famous mel- odies to Milan from Antioch. These Ambrosian melo- dies, and the mode of their performance by canonical singers, continued in the Western (hurch till the time oi Gregory the Great, who was devotedly zealous in the cultivation of sacred music, having been the first to in- troduce singing-schools at Rome. Gregory separated the chanters from the clerical order, and exchanged the Ambrosian Chant for a style of singing named, after himself, the Gregorian Chant (q. v.), besides introducing musical notation by Roman letters.
It seems to be a point fully established that antipho- nal singing, and. as Sir John Hawkins conside rs it. the commencement of Church music, originated in the churches of the Last, particularly those of Antioch. Cae- sarea. and Constantinople. The Greek fathers, Basil and Chrysostom. were the original instructors of the choral service in their respective churches. From the Last Ambrose carried it to Milan, whence it was trans- ferred to Rome, and afterwards passed into France, Ger- many, and Britain. Pope Damasus ordained the alter- nate singing of the Psalms, along with the Gloria /'i(///aud Hallelujah; in A.D. 384, Siricius introduced the Anthem; in A.D. 507, Symmachus appointed tin1 Gloria in Excelsis to be sung; and in A.D. 690 the Gregorian Chant was brought into use. When Greg- ory, in A.D. 620, sent his chant into Britain, such was the opposition manifested to its introduction into the Church that 1200 of the clergy fell in the tu- mult which ensued; and it was not until fifty years after, when pope Vitalian sent Theodore the Greek to till the vacant see of Canterbury, that the British clergy were prevailed upon to admit the cathedral service in
accordance with the Romish ritual. Besides the psalms,
which had been used from the earliest times, and short doxologies and hymns consisting of verses from the Holy Scriptures, spiritual songs, 'especially those from Ambrose of Milan ami Hilary of Poitiers, came to he- useel in public we.rship in the- Western Church. The Te /hum. often styled -the' Song of St. Ambrose." is generally supposed to have been composed jointly by him and St. Augustine early in the 1th century, though arch- bishop Usher ascribes it to Nicetius, ami supposes it not tei have been composed till about A.D. 500, Considerable opposition, it is true', was manifested te> the introduction of such meTe' human compositions into divine worship, hut the' unobjectionable purity id' their Sentiments 1. d
to their adoption by many churches. The complaint, however, began to be raised that Church music hail de- viated from its ancient simplicity. It wa- especially objected that secular music, or an imitation of the' light airs of tie' theatre', was introduced in the- devotions of the cimr.h. it was also ohjee'te-el that more regard was had to i hi' sw eetnesfl of the composition than to the
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sense and meaning; thereby pleasing; the ear. without raising the affections of the soul. Thus the Egyptian abbot Pambo, in the 4th century, inveighed against the introduction of heathen melodies into the psalmody of the Church. About this time Church music began to be cultivated more according to rule. In addition to the Psalter and canonical singers, Church choristers were appointed, who sang sometimes alone, sometimes interchangeably with the choirs of the congregation. In the 4th century the custom began to be introduced into some churches of having a single person lead the psalmody, who began the verse, and the people joined him in the close. See Acrostics; Hypopsalma. This individual was called the phonuscus or precentor, and he is mentioned by Athanasius as existing in his time in the Church of Alexandria. But difficulties and abuses arose from the growing neglect of musical culti- vation ; and, with a view of restoring public decency and order, the Council of Laodicea, in the year 3G3, considered it necessary to forbid the laity to sing in church at all, except in certain simple chants of a pop- ular description. One principal reason was probably the adoption by the Arians of hymnology as a means of spreading their heresy. At first the difficulty had been overcome by providing similar compositions for the orthodox. Augustine himself made a psalm of many parts, in imitation of the 119th, to preserve his people from the errors of the Donatists. Hilary and Ambrose likewise made many hymns, which were sung in their respective churches. (A complete collection of all the ancient hymns, etc., in use in the different ser- vices of the Romish Church has been published by Her- mann Adalbert Daniel, entitled Thesaurus Hymnoloyicus, etc. [Halle, 1841 sq.].)