Church music in post-Armistice thanksgiving services

[WilliamRev]

A friend of a friend is in need of information, and I said that I thought I knew some people who might be able to help. He asks: 

 

“Does anyone know anything about the music sung in national services of thanksgiving after the Armistice of 1918? I know that the King and Queen attended a service at St Paul's on 12 November 1918, but I haven't been able to find any information about music that may have been used at the service. Was there a major service at a later date? I'm putting together a concert of music from British composers before, during and immediately after WW1, charting the change of national mood, and would be keen to know what was what might be termed the 'official (church) music response' to the end of the War. Who can help?”

 

Thanks, William

Edited 9 December , 2017 by WilliamRev

[Kath]

In their account of Church Services papers usually list the hymns & music.

 

Kath.

[Acknown]

See the British Newspaper Archive at: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (currently three free searches, then subscription. But free at library, I think). The Times of 13 Nov 18 reported that the hymns sung were:

• Processional: 'Praise my soul the King of Heaven'.
• 'All people that on earth do dwell'.
• 'For all the Saints'.

The Te Deum was also sung, as was the National Anthem. I didn't look further, but some other papers may also have described the service. I don't know if The Times hymn list is exhaustive. 

Here's an interesting paper: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/17312/1/ww1 cathedrals.pdf. The author describes the development of Church music at Durham, St. Paul's and York Cathedrals during and after the war.  Examples are given and the author relates that a copy of ‘The Form Of Prayer For Use In Time Of War was given to all Cathedrals, which lists seven hymns. That should help you with your composer list.

Acknown

[seaJane]

St Paul's Cathedral also has a librarian and archivist who may be able to advise in more detail: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/history-collections/the-collections

 

sJ

[WilliamRev]

Many thanks for these suggestions, which I have passed on; any more thoughts will be very welcome too.

 

William

[kenf48]

The Service at St Pauls was reported in The Times as note above, it began with the band of the Welsh Guards ‘who gave a well chosen and excellently performed programme of music’ while the great and the good took their seats.  Then the choir and the clergy with the Archbishop of Canterbury closing the procession went down the nave to await the arrival of the King and Queen (have you seen the Pathe News clip?)      On their arrival he cheers and great bells only ceased as the procession made its way back up the nave singing  ‘Praise my Soul the King of Heaven’.  

 

Their then followed details of the service which is probably worth quoting in full as the format was more or less followed around the country the following Sunday:-

’The service which was taken by the Rev. W. P.Beasley Sub-Dean was short.  Prayers and responses preceded the general singing of Psalm xivi., “God is our Hope and Strength”.  The lesson, which was read from the pulpit by Cnon Simpson was the 40th Chapter of Isaiah, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people”; and it was followed by the singing -accompanied by the band of the Welsh Guards - of the hymn “All people that on earth do dwell”.  Those who may have heard “land of my Fathers” sung by thousands of Welshmen at the eisteddfod  will be able to imagine the emotional weight and force of this general expression of feeling and aspiration.

Then came the responses and two or three special prayers followed by the singing of the hymn “For All the Saints” to the noble tune composed by Mr Ralph Vaughan Williams who has been for four years and more a soldier in the British Army.  During the singing of this hymn the Archbishop and other clergy left the choir and went to the sanctuary, in preparation for the solemn Te Deum which was to follow.  At the conclusion of the Ted Deum the Archbishop said the prayer and pronounced the Blessing; and when the service was over the Royal party were conducted in procession back to the west door; and the huge crowd, lingering still and listening to the organ (played by Mr Macpherson) and to the Welsh Guards band, began slowly and with no small difficulty to disperse.”

 

After the war, in the twenties, Armistice Day was was marked by a service of national remembrance at the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.  
It began with the National Anthem, then a brief service around the Cenotaph concluding with ‘O God our help in ages past” followed by the Lord’s Prayer, two minutes silence and “The Last Post’; after laying their wreath the Royal Party moved to Westminster Abbey for another short service over he grave, ending with the sounding of ‘Reveille”. In the next decade, beginning in 1929 there was a change of focus and the ceremonies became less militaristic and more about peace and the ‘futility of war’.

 

In “A War Imagined’ Samuel Hynes notes that during the war the National Anthem was sometimes sung four or five times during concerts, and formed an essential part of the Thanksgiving Service.  Hynes discusses some length Elgar's contribution to music during the war.  In Hertford the Wesleyans sang Land of Hope and Glory, while the Anglicans sang in addition to the National Anthem, the “Hallelujah Chorus”, the Te Deum and a recessional hymn.

 

The form of Service circulated immediately after the Armistice can be downloaded

https://www.pbs.org.uk/downloads/thanksgiving-1918.pdf

 

Ken

 

 

 

 

[WilliamRev]

Thanks Ken! I have passed this on to the chap who needed help.

 

William

Edited 9 December , 2017 by WilliamRev

[WilliamRev]

Thanks once more to everyone who helped - the chap who asked for the info (called David) was overwhelmed by the stuff that you all came up with, which was exactly what he needed.

 

William

[David_Underdown]

Stretching the time period somewhat the Ralph Vaughan Williams arrangement of Old Hundredth (All people that on earth do dwell) made for the 1953 Coronation is particularly celebratory with its instruction to use "All available trumpets" see http://imslp.org/wiki/The_Old_Hundredth_Psalm_Tune_(Vaughan_Williams%2C_Ralph (though note that the score is still copyright in the UK of course).

 

Going back the other way, one of Sir Arthur Sullivan's last works was the Te Deum setting he composed for the post-Boer War services.

[MBrockway]

Not quite a Service of Thanksgiving, rather the Memorial Service for the Fallen of the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade held at Westminster Abbey on 22 July 1919.

 

The details of the music may still be useful to your friend.

 

Mark

 

[Source KRRC Chronicle 1919, pp.100-101]

 

... and the cover of the Order of Service ...

 

Edited 14 December , 2017 by MBrockway
Order of Service cover added for interest

[MBrockway]

In my KRRC material, I also have this order of service for the appointed National Day of Thanksgiving on Sunday 06 July 1919.  Frustratingly though I only have two of the pages and none of the music is present.  I include it for interest nonetheless and it made lead you to a more complete copy.

 

Mark

 

[MBrockway]

On 09/12/2017 at 16:06, WilliamRev said:

A friend of a friend is in need of information, and I said that I thought I knew some people who might be able to help. He asks: 

 

“Does anyone know anything about the music sung in national services of thanksgiving after the Armistice of 1918? I know that the King and Queen attended a service at St Paul's on 12 November 1918, but I haven't been able to find any information about music that may have been used at the service. Was there a major service at a later date? I'm putting together a concert of music from British composers before, during and immediately after WW1, charting the change of national mood, and would be keen to know what was what might be termed the 'official (church) music response' to the end of the War. Who can help?”

 

Thanks, William

 

William,

Bearing in mind the section from your friend of a friend highlighted in red above, he might well find this additional clipping from my KRRC material useful.

 

It gives the details of the musical content of a concert held at the Albert Hall on Sat 15 Dec 1917 commemorating the First Seven Divisions - i.e. the Old Contemptibles.

 

It's not a religious service clearly, but it should definitely be relevant to your friend's concert.

 

Mark

 

[Ron Clifton]

It is interesting to note that one hymn which often appeared on such occasions is Charles Wesley's "O God, our help in ages past". It is still sung regularly at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday, and indeed was used today at the service in St Paul's in memory of the Grenfell Tower fire. Its words would appear to be acceptable to faiths other than Christians, which must contribute to its continuing popularity.

 

Ron

[WilliamRev]

David Ron and Mark,

 

Many thanks for this additional information!!

 

William

[David_Underdown]

Interesting to see Vaughan Williams, Parry and Howells featuring there.  I already mentioned RVW's setting of Old Hundredth, his Pastoral Symphony draws on his wartime experiences (private in RAMC and then commissioned into RGA, although overage for both), in the 1930s as the Nazis began their rise he wrote "Dona nobis pacem" which again draws on Whitman's poetry for much of its text (though combined with words from the mass and biblical passages).  The Parry used is one of his "Songs of farewell", Parry himself was a victim of the Spanish flu epidemic.  Howells did not serve in the war due to having developed Graves' Disease and receiving experimental early radiotherapy to cure it.  He was of course a close friend of Ivor Gurney, they, plus Ivor Novello, all being articled to Herbert Brewer at Gloucester Cathedral at the same time.

[MBrockway]

I knew I had more on this!

 

Have now located the Order of Service from the Armistice Thanksgiving Morning Prayers held at Westminster Abbey on Sun 17 Nov 1918.

 

In outline it looks very similar to the St Paul's Service described earlier in the topic, though with the music simplified somewhat (as might be expected for Morning Prayer):

• Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (I assume Ken's "Psalm xivi " higher up is a typo for xlvi)
• Isaiah LXV as the 1st Lesson
• Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven as the main hymn

 

The anthem God's Goodness hath been great to thee is a motet by Frederick Bridge, the abbey's organist and choirmaster, to words by Shakespeare (Henry VI Part 2).  This was probably specific to this Westminster Abbey service.  Likewise Bridge's settings for the Te Deum and Benedictus.

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited 19 December , 2017 by MBrockway

[MBrockway]

The Order of Service for the Thanksgiving Day services held on Sun 17 Nov 1918 determined by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York was printed in full in the The Times of Fri 15 Nov (pp. 2 and 13).

 

I hope this version is legible - double clicking on it, should open a larger version in another window I think ...

 

 

© Times Newspapers Ltd.

 

 

Edited 19 December , 2017 by MBrockway

[David_Underdown]

The "Te Deum" is of course one of the standard canticle at Mattins (morning prayer), though it's interesting that if part III "Form of Praise and Thanksgiving" were to be used (as set out in the Times article) then effectively it's used as an anthem instead, with one of the alternative canticles substituted earlier in the service.  At Westminster the choice of the "Benedictus" as the second canticle is also interesting, there the "Te Deum" is more usually paired with the "Jubilate" (Psalm 100).  The "Benedictus" has a slightly more consoling tone than the rejoicing of the "Jubilate".  The Benedictus is:

 

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;

And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us : in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets : which have been since the world began;

That we should be saved from our enemies : and from the hands of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers : and to remember his holy Covenant;

To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham : that he would give us;

That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies : might serve him without fear;

In holiness and righteousness before him : all the days of our life.

And thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people : for the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God : whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;

To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death : and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

 

While the Jubilate is:

 

1  O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands:
2  serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
3  Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4  O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise;
be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
5  For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

 

We've also seen that the Old 100th was a popular hymn at these services, which is of course a different translation of Psalm 100.

 

This slightly unusual pairing perhaps makes it more likely that the settings of the Canticles were composed by Bridge specifically for the occasion.  A quick Google isn't finding much of trace of it as a well setting certainly.

[MBrockway]

And of course Psalm 46 is always associated with Deliverance from a mighty enemy.

[MBrockway]

1 hour ago, David_Underdown said:

This slightly unusual pairing perhaps makes it more likely that the settings of the Canticles were composed by Bridge specifically for the occasion.  A quick Google isn't finding much of trace of it as a well setting certainly.

 

 

The motet to words by Shakespeare that was used for the Anthem, dates from 1916.  It may originally have been written for the Royal Choral Society rather than the choir of Westminster Abbey.  Sir Frederick Bridge was their conductor.

 

 

Musical Times 1916, p.258, 01 May 1916

 

 

The other two settings might well be specially written: Bridge would have routinely composed such pieces with the choir.