Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

There was a grand, wild freedom, an energy of motion in the old“fuging times” of that day well expressed the heart of the peoplecourageous in combat and unshaken in endurance. …Whatever thetrained musician might say of such a tune as “Old Majesty” [by Billings],no person of imagination or sensibility could hear it renderedby a large choir without deep emotion. And when back and forthfrom every side of the church came the different parts shouting,On cherubim and seraphimFull royally He rode,And on the wings of mighty windsCame flying all abroad,there went a stir through many a stern and hard nature, until thetempest cleared off in the words:He sat serene upon the floodsTheir fury to restrain,And He as Sovereign Lord and KingFor evermore shall reign.To Stowe’s account, I can add my impressions of a few characteristicpieces, impressions that might give a further insight into the nature ofthe New England folk soul. Billings’ anthem “The Rose of Sharon” has afreshness and exuberance, a spring-like joy, coming from the folk-coloredmelodic lines and the dance-like rhythms as well as from the enthusiasmwith which he attempts his compositional devices. In Swan’s fuging tune“Montague,” or the anonymous “New Jordan,” the rugged modal harmoniesand the rough, vigorous cascading and colliding of the voices in thecontrapuntal sections build an impressive effect of homespun grandeur. Amood of stillness, of inward listening and openness to the spirit, is createdby the haunting, reflective quality of Goff’s fuging tune “Sutton-New,” orMorgan’s plain tune “Amanda.” These pieces, and others like them, canhave a powerful effect on singers today.The music was usually conceived independently of any specific setof words. Although the words of some old hymns can offer much on whichto contemplate, many seem remote and irrelevant today. The music itself,however, can make accessible the living sources of the spiritual impulsesthat inspired the people of New England and so helped to shape Americandestiny.85