The Christian Lyre (Joshua Leavitt)
General Information
Title: The Christian Lyre
Editor - Compiler: Joshua Leavitt
Description: A very popular and influential book. After mid-1833, the two volumes and supplement were bound together. Volume 1 was printed with "Patent Notes" (FaSoLa 4-shape notation) in 1832; music is the same as other editions of Volume 1.Leavitt was apparently not a musician, so he hired an editor for these works. "The editor Leavitt hired was a promising young musician named Deodatus Dutton, Jr., a divinity student in New York and an organist of some reputation" (Downey 1986, quoting Stribling 1976).
"The Christian Lyre was commenced in November, 1830, as a monthly repository of music and hymns, for social worship. Vol. I., containing six No's, or 216 pages, was completed the first of April, and Vol. II. the first of October, 1831. At that time, there had been published no less than Nine Editions of Vol. I., each edition consisting of 2000 copies." (Preface to 1837 edition of the Supplement)
Apparently each monthly "number" was 36 pages, which means the first 72 pages were published in 1830, the rest in early 1831.
External Links
References
- Davis, Hugh H. 1969. The Reform Career of Joshua Leavitt, 1794-1973. Ph. D. Dissertation, Ohio State University, 403 pp.
- Downey, James C. 1986. Joshua Leavitt's The Christian Lyre and the beginnings of the popular tradition in American religious song. Latin American Music Review 7(2):149-161.
- Kane, Paula. 1980. American Revival Songs, 1820–1850: The Christian Lyre and Spiritual Songs for Christian Worship. Fenwick Scholar Thesis, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. 179 pp.
- Stribling, Cynthia. 1976. "Joshua Leavitt's The Christian Lyre: An Historical Evaluation. M. A. Thesis, William Carey College.
Volumes
Volume 1
Publication date and place: 1830 by Jonathan Leavitt in New York, New York, 216 pp. Additional Editions in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1837 (includes Vol. 2 in 1833 and following). – Volume 1
Editions of Volume 1
Ed. | Yr. | Pp. | Scan | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1830 | 216 | [1] | No indication of edition, no subtitle. Copyright October 16, 1830. Issued monthly starting November, 1830, first 72 pages in 1830 (ending with Marseilles). Pages 73-216 in early 1831. |
3 | 1831 | 216 | [2] | Come and Welcome on p. 73, replacing duplicate of Expostulation. |
5 | 1831 | 216 | [3] | Come and Welcome on p. 73, replacing duplicate of Expostulation. |
8 | 1831 | 216 | [4] | Farewell on p. 106; The Rock of Our Salvation on p. 107. |
1832 | 216 | [5] | "First Patent Note Edition." Vol. 1 only, music the same as Ed. 16 of 1832. | |
16 | 1833 | 216 | (a)[6] (b)[7] |
No apparent differences in music from 1832. Bound with 16th Edition Vol. 2 and (a) 1831 Supplement (b)Undated Supplement. |
18 | 1833 | 216 | [8] | No apparent differences in music from 1832. Bound with 1833 Vol. 2 and 1831 Supplement. |
18 | 1837 | 216 | [9] | Apparently a reprint of eighteenth edition from 1833. Bound with 1833 Vol. 2 and 1837 Supplement. |
19 | 1839 | 216 | [10] | Bound with 1839 Vol. 2 and 1839 Supplement. |
26 | 1842 | 216 | [11] | Apparently a reprint of eighteenth edition from 1833. Bound with 1842 Vol. 2 and 1842 Supplement. |
Volume 2
Publication date and place: 1831 by Jonathan Leavitt in New York, New York, 216 pp. Additional Editions in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1837 (includes Vol. 1 in 1833 and following). – Volume 2
Editions of Volume 2
Ed. | Year | Pp. | Facsimile | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1831 | 216 | First issued October, 1831. | |
1833 | 216 | Edition not numbered, dated 1833. No apparent differences in music from 1832. |
Supplement
Supplement to The Christian Lyre, Containing More Than One Hundred Psalm Tunes, Such as are Most Used in Churches of All Denominations.
Publication date and place: 1831 by Jonathan Leavitt in New York, New York, 106 pp. Additional Editions in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1837 (Bound with Vols. 1 and 2 in 1833 and following). – Supplement
Works at CPDL
Title | Year | Arranger | Lyricist | First Line | Vo. | Voices | Meter |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brightest and best of the stars of the morning | 1831 | Reginald Heber | 1 | Unison | 11 10. 11 10 | ||
Charleston | 1799 | Robert Robinson | Come, thou fount of every blessing Mercy, O thou son of David |
4 | SATB | 87. 87 | |
Eden of Love | 1835 | E. C. Tillou | How sweet to reflect on these joys that await me | 4 | SATB | 12 11. 12 11. D | |
Happiness | 1813 | Charles Wesley | O how happy are they Who their Savior obey | 2 | TB | 669. 669 | |
Solicitude | 1813 | Joseph Swain | O thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight | 2 | TB,SB | 11 8. 11 8 | |
Star in the East | 1831 | Deodatus Dutton | Reginald Heber | Hail the blest morn, see the great mediator | 2 | TB | 11 10. 11 10 with refrain |
Wallace | 1830 | Deodatus Dutton | Jared Waterbury | Soldiers of the cross, arise / Lo, your Captain | 2 | SB,TB | 77. 76. D |