Mason, Lowell. The Hallelujah: A Book for the Service of the Lord; containing Tunes, Chants, and Anthems, both for the Choir and the Congregation; To which is prefixed, The Singing School, A Manual for Classes in Vocal Music, with Exercises, Rounds, and Part Songs, for Choir Practice; also, Musical Notation in a Nutshell; A Brief Course for Singing Schools; intended for Skillful Teachers and Apt Pupils. New York: Mason Brothers, (1854). First Edition. [12223]
Oblong, brown cloth tape over the spine, printed paper over stiff card, 6 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches. Binding is edge-worn and soiled. 368 generally clean pp., foxing, lacks the final blank leaf. Fair. Hardcover.
"Thomas B. Smith, Sterotyper and Electrotyper...John A. Gray, Printer" on the copyright page.
The first 96 pp. are the Singing School, &c.
Music is in four parts with round notes.
Lowell Mason (1792-1872), Massachusetts-born hymn composer, music publisher, one of the founders of public school music education in the United States. He is credited with composing over 1600 hymn tunes.
"To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, had derived advantage from the work of this great man." - Hall, Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (1914).
