MUSIC AND THE ANGLO-CATHOLIC TRADITION 

When attending an Anglo-Catholic service, that is, a liturgy in the catholic tradition of Anglicanism (which in the United States finds its expression in the Episcopal Church), one generally will be struck by its aesthetic characteristics: incense, processions, elaborate vestments, a host of altar servers, and a distinct musical style, all seemingly grounded in the ancient. Although it took the 19th century Oxford Movement (that movement which began the revival of Anglican Catholicism) several generations to reach the kind of ritual complexity one now normally experiences, there were several important traits and principles at work right from the start. One sign of a “high church” priest was one who “intoned” the liturgy, meaning that the prayers and many other parts of the liturgy were chanted, rather than merely recited. Second, as much as we think of the great English choral tradition as world famous, known for its services of daily choral Evensong in cathedrals and collegiate chapels, the greatest musical influence of the Oxford Movement was a revival of vested choirs, usually of men and boys, in parish churches. (Although cathedral choirs of men and boys had existed nearly without interruption, by the beginning of the nineteenth century they were in a very sorry state indeed, and parish church music was generally worse. The average parish choir consisted of a motley crew of singers and instrumentalists who belted and scratched out simple metrical psalm tunes, known as “west gallery choirs.”)

We can trace many reforms to one particularly interesting chapel and choir, namely that of the Teachers College of St. Mark’s in Chelsea, London, and its music director, the Rev. Thomas Helmore. Helmore was appointed as Precentor and Vice-President of the College in 1842. One of his main duties was to conduct daily chapel services with the College Choir. The music lists of that time period indicate that Helmore introduced Gregorian Chant as well as anthems of William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, in addition to Latin motets by Palestrina, Victoria, and Marenzio, music that already was over two hundred years old. (Also of note was the fact that the chapel had no organ; all services were sung unaccompanied.) Gradually, the chanting of the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer and the revival of Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony began to become more commonplace with more and more so-called high church parishes. Today, we might take some of this for granted, as many Episcopal/Anglican churches have fine choirs who chant and sing music from those time periods with great regularity (a definite win for the Oxford Movement!).

What then are the chief principles and characteristics of music in the Anglo-Catholic tradition? We take serious the command of the psalmist: “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalm 69:9): we experience the transcendence and the mystery of God through the senses; through sound, smell, taste, and touch. Great sacred art is a way in which we delight in God, though architecture, stained glass, sculpture, painting, and sound. The role of the choir is not to perform music merely for its own sake, but to genuinely sing the liturgy, to give it greater heights of expression. Therefore Anglo-Catholic choirs usually chant the portions of the Mass sometimes called the minor propers (the Introit, Alleluia, and so on), biblical texts that change from week to week. Many Anglo-Catholic parishes with strong choral traditions retain the medieval tradition of the choir singing Mass settings, the fixed parts (the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei). Lest we think that the congregation does not actively participate, we must remember that the faithful chant all the dialogues (“The Lord be with you,” “and with thy spirit”, etc.), the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and, of course, hymns! Many of the Oxford movement priests and musicians, for whom congregational singing was vitally important, wrote superb hymns such as Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty (Nicaea), or the revival of ancient, Gregorian tunes such as O come, O come, Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel).

In the end, the aim was to reconnect the Anglican Church to its pre-Reformation state in continuum, rather than viewing the reformation as a break with the past. When attending an Anglo-Catholic parish today, one will see a great deal of variety of practice. Most have the texts of the Book of Common Prayer as their foundation, and the ritual often comprises quite traditional practices informed to a greater or lesser extent by the fruits of the 20th century Liturgical Movement. One might experience a blend of English or Latin. Beyond these stylistic traits, however, at the heart of Anglo-Catholic parishes, one will find the worship of the Lord in the beauty of holiness, the prayerful celebration of the sacraments, and a spirit of devotion among the members of those communities.