Paul Hammond's Essay

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Paul Hammond is a scholar from Oklahoma Baptist University. As a researcher in hymnology he wrote remarkable essays related to hymns and revival in America such as From Calvinism to Arminianism: Baptist and the Second Great Awakening” and “A Study of the Revival Spiritual WARRENTON.” In this essay, Hammond points out specific historical characteristics that define the hymn tune WARRENTON. According to him, this particular hymn tune is a perfect example of the nineteenth century revival hymnody which also can facilitate readers’ understanding of the main revival concepts presented in the religious music from the nineteenth century. Therefore, Hammond’s purpose is to show that the tune WARRENTON works as an illustration that clarifies the study …show more content…

First, he affirms that The Southern Harmony and The Sacred Harp are hymnals where the tune WARRENTON can be found (26). Those hymnals were significant because they worked as a tool for teaching choral singing during the American colonial era. Hammond also explores different thoughts about who wrote the tune as observed in the second paragraph of his essay. Moreover, the author explains why the tune WARRENTON could be easily classified as a revival spiritual hymnal. According to him, a variety of revival hymnbooks have the tune WARRENTON but with different tune names (26). Hammond’s essay is focused on the history of the tune Warrenton where he analyses a few collections of hymns books that have this particular tune. For instance, according to the collection Joshua Leavitt’s The Christian Lyre from 1831, the tune Warrenton can be identified as THE FEMALE PILGRIM, which is a dialogue between the narrator and a pilgrim (27). The author asserts that Louis F. Benson considers that Leavitt’s collection could have a more popular style if it is compared to Lowell Mason’s style (28). Hammond also elucidates the meaning and the origins of the tune Warrenton by affirming that this tune could also have originated from a secular tune because of the repeated notes at the beginning of the tune melody. In fact, those repeated notes are characteristics of folk hymns …show more content…

The author also makes a short analysis of two Boston publications associated with the evangelist Jacob Knapp that present the tune WARRENTON as a popular revival tune. Both of these publications refer to the female Pilgrim (31-32). Moreover, these two publications present the tune in three-part harmony with the melody in upper voice, which reveals the format for revival hymnals around that time. The author states that the tune WARRENTON found popular acceptance in the Northern version with the female pilgrim text, while the Southern version used the text “Come, thou fount of every blessing.” (33). One of the strengths of this essay is that Hammond’s purpose had as main foundation the study of a hymn tune that was influenced by revivalist concepts since it was part of several revival hymnal books such as The Southern Harmony and The Sacred Harp. The author achieves his goals by showing a list of hymn collections where the tune WARRENTON can be found, studied, and analyzed. His sources of study is reliable and solid since those hymnals and collections are fundamental resources that confirm the history and the identity of the church in America during the

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