To the Very Reverend Howard H. Clark, Dean of Ottawa
Preface
This book is not intended for experienced Anglican organists and choirmasters, who are already in possession of the information contained within its covers.
It is hoped that it may serve as a guide to church musicians who, unfamiliar with Anglican services and traditions, find themselves called upon to prepare music for the services of that church. It often happens that an organist and choirmaster of recognized ability, upon taking service, or desiring to take service in an Anglican church, is bewildered by the ritual and forms with which he has never had an opportunity of becoming acquainted.
And, more particularly, these pages are designed for the assistance of organists and choirmasers in smaller communities. Too often, our village and country churches (and there are thousands of them) find it necessary to engage the services of any musician who happens to be available, whatever his ability or experience. If he is not an Anglican, he is sorely in need of instruction: even if he is conversant with the services, he may know no other standard than that established in his own parish by a line of indifferent or uninformed predecessors. He may have few or no opportunities of hearing and observing services in other Anglican churches, and so lack the advantage of comparing his own work and methods with those of more experienced colleagues. Because of a necessarily limited outlook, he may fail to raise the music of his parish church to the highest possible standard.
For such there is, as far as I know, no written work to serve as a manual. The Prayer Book itself, while setting forth the services to be used, offers little advice as to how they are to be conducted; the many psalters and service books available may easily confuse the uninitiated by their diversity. This book has been written in an attempt to overcome this lack - to inform, stimulate and encourage the thousands of organists and choirmasters upon whom the church relies for the preservation of its heritage of church music.
This manual would fail in its purpose if it left in the mind of the reader the impression that an attempt was being made to set forth a rigid, unalterable formula for the music of the church. Each parish has its own local customs and traditions: in some places the services are plain, mostly said; in others, music is used wherever possible. The organist is advised to respect local usage, and to avoid sudden or drastic changes which might upset the congregation. For the intelligent preparation of his work, however, he should be familiar with the traditions and trends of church music, and the general broad principles followed by Anglican cathedral choirs for centuries.
In order that the work may prove useful to the several branches of the Anglican communion, references are made to the Books of Common Prayer of the Church of England, the Church of England in Canada, and the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America. In the interests of brevity, these are referred to as the English, Candadian and American books respectively.
Throughout the book, the term "rector" is rather loosely used to denote the minister, whether he is actually a rector, a vicar, or a priest-in-charge. This is the general practice in Canada and the United States, although in England the distinction is more strictly observed.
Charles L. Etherington
Fergus, Ontario
February, 1952