Isaac Watts, "The Father of English Hymnody"

Isaac Watts, "The Father of English Hymnody"

When congregational singing developed in England in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, Thomas Cranmer and other English reformers took less inspiration from the hymn-singing Lutherans, and more from the exclusive psalm-singing Calvinists. English dedication to psalmody was strengthened in the wake of Mary I’s reign. A devout Catholic, she attempted to bring the Church of England, founded by her father Henry VIII, back under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Many English Protestants fled to Calvinist countries like the Netherlands to escape persecution, and when they eventually returned to England, they brought back the Calvinist singing tradition of metrical psalm texts, sung to short, memorable tunes.

Welcome to The Cecilia Page

As part of our ongoing mission to provide the ministry of worship music to our Parish family during the season of COVID-19, we introduce a blog on sacred music. Designed to be informative, accessible, and uplifting, we hope that The Cecilia Page offers an encouraging supplement to our musical offerings in the Parish newsletter and Sunday Morning worship publications.

St. Cecilia was a 3rd or 4th century Italian martyr, and is the patron saint of music. She is frequently depicted as a young woman playing the organ or other musical instruments. The image above is Saint Cecilia and an Angel, by Italian Renaissance …

St. Cecilia was a 3rd or 4th century Italian martyr, and is the patron saint of music. She is frequently depicted as a young woman playing the organ or other musical instruments. The image above is Saint Cecilia and an Angel, by Italian Renaissance artists Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639) and Giovanni Lanfranco (1582–1647).