Sunday Church Services: Sermons about Music

Part of review of services as the Canal Street Presbyterian Church on 06/12/70.

“…The pastor, Rev. Mr. Mitchell, preached a most eloquent sermon upon the subject of MUSIC, and selected his text from the 100th Psalm, fourth verse.

“The gentleman said that it was impossible to look without much interest on the movement that is now going on throughout the Presbyterian Church, as well as other churches, in regard to the improvements in church music. It is well known that throughout the land there has been a considerable indifference to music as an element in religious worship. The consequence has been that in the vast majority of churches the musical part of the services has been allowed to sink into a very low state indeed. The fine collections of tunes which are well adapted to public worship have been spoiled, either by ignorance of congregations not educated to sing or by leaving them for execution by the choirs, who are in no way fitted for this difficult and responsible duty. But we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there is a growing taste among our people which is destined, though it be slowly and gradually, to work out A GREAT REFORM.

“Many are feeling it a great absurdity to go to church merely to hear what the preacher has to say. They not only want to hear what the preacher has to say, but they want also to hear good and appropriate music, and unless a church has it it certainly will never have anything of a congregation.

“Mr. Mitchell was not so much in favor of fine singing by a choir as he was of good, heartfelt singing by the congregation. He said there are a great many who to this day object to having an organ in a church, because it will, as they say, lead to formality in religion rather than to worship of God in spirit and in truth. I would join, said the speaker, with those so far in saying that there are very many who are keenly agitating the subject of music during religious worship merely to gratify their taste for harmony. They say we will come to church if you GIVE US GOOD MUSIC, and it is confidently predicted that many of this class think that, were instrumental music adopted in our churches, they would be filled to overflowing every Sabbath. Mr. Mitchell would, however, distinguish between such persons and those who wish to introduce a better system of singing into the churches. The former are formalists, to begin with; they worship the mere furniture and the temple—yea, they worship the temple itself rather than God, whose worship is to be therein observed. But it by no means follows that the attention to forms only fosters and encourages the spirit of formalism….Instrumental music, liturgies and sacraments are of this earth, and must pass away and yield to those higher and nobler things of which they are nothing but mere public representatives. But so long as we are what we are, having eyes to see and ears to hear and hands to handle with, we cannot possibly dispense with forms.”

Long summary of the sermon at the Broadway Tabernacle Church, which was entitled “Music as Related to the Culture of the Soul and to the Felicity of Heaven.”

Provides a very long summary of the sermon at the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church about the role of music in worship, what constitutes appropriate worship music, etc.

Long summary of the sermon at Lyric Hall about music and included special portions about Beethoven’s sonatas and symphonies.

Long summary of the sermon at the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church about the role of music in worship, what constitutes appropriate worship music, etc.