Psalmody Movement

The Psalmody Movement is a general term often used to cover a remarkable period of mass musical education in Britain having its roots in the dissenting congregational church singing organisations of late 18th century in regional Scotland and Northern England, which, by the mid-19th century, had become a vibrant metropolitan cultural institution, coinciding with radical developments in broader national schools policy, the latter owing much to the teaching methods used by the psalmody singing schools. It is sometimes also referred to as the 'choral revival'. The names most often associated with the 'movement' in Britain are John Curwen (1816–1880), Sarah Ann Glover (1785–1867) and John Pyke Hullah (1812–84), However it had its philosophical roots in Europe, particularly in the social idealism of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.

In Bernarr Rainbow's words 'As a result of the series of weekly massed singing classes introduced at Exeter Hall under government sanction, the people of London became more musically conscious between 1841 and 1843 than they had ever been.'^[1] Already known for his work among working men in Paris, Joseph Mainzer (1801-1851), had come to England in 1841 with his 'Singing for the Million' ideal of opening up musical education to the masses, by which period, however, Hullah had already established his own hugely successful classes in London at Exeter Hall. They were based on the system of popular musical education through choral singing devised by Paris School Inspector and musician, Guillaume Wilhem, the founder of the famous 'Orphéon' choral fests which had rapidly spread throughout France. Hullah's program had initially been designed as a school for the instruction of music masters of day and Sunday schools, but proved to be highly popular among the general public who flocked to Exeter Hall.^[2]

Wilhem's

References

↑ Bernarr Rainbow 1970, The Choral Revival in the Anglican Church 1839-1872, (London), p.43
↑ John Pyke Hullah', Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 1961, 5th ed. (London), pp.402-3.

Cowgill, Rachel and Peter Holman (eds) 2007, Music in the British Provinces, 1690–1914 Ashgate/
Curwen, John Spencer Studies in Worship Music - www.archive.org/stream/studiesinworship
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 1961, 5th ed. (London)
Rainbow, Bernarr 1970, The Choral Revival in the Anglican Church (1839–1872) 1970 (London); with special reference to PART 1/3 'The Cradle of the Movement', pp. 43–57.

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