THE CHURCH PRAISE BOOK, A Selection of Hymns and Tunes FOR CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. EDITED BY MELANCTHON WOOLSEY STRYKER, AND HUBERT PLATT MAIN. TONIC SOL-FA EDITION, EDITED BY THEODORE F. SEWARD. BIGLOW & MAIN, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 1888. Copyright 1881, by BIGLOW & MAIN. NOTICE.-Many hymns and tunes in this collection, not elsewhere specified, as well as adaptations of hymns and tunes, and arrangements of music, are the copyright property of the publishers, and must not be used without their written consent. M 2121 598 1888 PREFACE. HIS manual is offered to the Church as a compact hand-book for the united praise of the entire congregation-"young men and maidens, old men and children." It is a critical selection from the ever enriching store of Christian song;-not a library. It is believed, however, that its seven hundred and twenty-eight hymns will abundantly meet all the requirements of public worship, and be found, in many themes, exceptionally rich. The music, widely chosen, is neither frigid nor flippant, but lovable, and, because devout, enduring. The book is an advance, but a conservative one; by no means presuming against the resonant memories of the American Church, nor, with a startling originality, disjoining the wedded hands of old and cherished adaptations. It, however, contains much more music than any similar collection, and, with what is familiar and precious, is blended the stately river-flow of the noblest German chorals, and the best of the modern, but already classic, English church-songs, whose purity and fervor are deep wells of worship, and whose clear melody and decisive movement will rapidly endear them to the very children. We venture to say that an honest study will find none of the book impracticable or uninteresting. Great labor has been given to secure the utmost accuracy in the authorial data. We believe that, in this regard, no similar American book can show more scrupulous editing. Familiarity of use will find the indices sufficient for a book of these contents; the simple but careful classification, with the clear page-headings, rendering superfluous an array of stanza-lines, topics, scripture texts, etc. 3 |