Davison's 'Church Music' Describes Four Century Trend to Mediocrity

Church music in its present state calls for neither pride nor optimism, according to Archibald T. Davison '06, James Edward Ditson Professor of Music.

His book entitled "Church Music," just published by the Harvard University Press, represents a lifelong study of music in the Protestant Church from the 16th century to the present.

The music historian and former organist and choirmaster of the University, concluded that there is a vast repertoire of great sacred music. However, he says that lack of criticism has allowed a quantity of trite and inappropriate music to get into the service.

In his study Davison points out what he thinks has led to the degradation of the works. Following the 16th century, the composers writing for highly trained choirs surrendered to the advances in musical techniques calculated to produce dramatic and sentimental effects "suitable to the opera, but not to the church."

Furthermore, the layman's insistence on singing and hearing the familiar in church made it difficult for choirmasters to avoid "dull repetitions of old, shoddy, mediocre hymns."

No Distraction

"The ideal church music," says Davison, "should never be a distracting end in itself, but should exist to heighten the significance of the texts to which it is set and to be an ally of the attitude of worship."

In the best church music, Davison finds that the technical elements which make a "sacred" style include an irregular rhythmic structure which fulfills the texts, rather than a distracting, strongly-accented, steadily-beaten pulse. He thinks music written in modes other than the familiar major and minor scales is effective in producng an other-worldly, non-secular atmosphere.