Catholicism in the Long Nineteenth Century Lunchtime Seminar Series

“Take notice, this paper will witness against thee another day:” Intermediality in the Eighteenth-Century Hymnbook Trade.

Hymn and psalm books stood alongside popular collections of country dances as the core repertoire of the eighteenth-century music publisher. Catalogues of “divine music” show that the size of this market sustained an enormous volume of publishing activity. Members of the clergy rushed to print their versions of psalms and hymns and the market was large enough to sustain a wealth of publishers printing and selling sacred music alongside secular music as part of more diverse publishing practices. These individuals fought to distinguish their editions from the mass of hymn and psalm collections available by asserting their denominational identities, adopting promotional methods from the wider book trade, and developing distinct editorial and promotional methods.

This paper will explore how publishers, musicians, and clerical figures shaped their hymnbooks to compete in the growing market for sacred print. Through an analysis of the graphic and textual elements of printed hymnbooks (from the British Library and Durham’s Pratt Green Collection) it will show how hymnbooks were not only used to carry the practice of sacred music beyond the audial and spatial confines of church and chapel but show that hymnbook producers attached a range of paratexts and images to their musical editions which served their spiritual and commercial interests.

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Catholicism in the Long Nineteenth Century Programme 2023-24