Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 1

WhydoMasonssingOdes?ThegoalofourceremoniesistomakealastingimpressionuponeveryMason.Forthispurposewemayuseseveralmeansthatcouldotherwisebedispensedwith,iftheobjectofmakingaMasonwassolelytoreciteanumberofphrases.Musiciseminentlycalculatedasameanstothisend.Itisalsoacomponentofourritual,anenhancementtothelodgeexperience.Unfortunately,ourMasonicritualsaresomewhatdeficientinnotgivingmorepreciseinformationaboutwhereourmusiccomesfromorwhenitistobeemployed.ThesingingofOdesbytheBrethrenduringMasonicritualisapartofourtradition,notjustinNorthCarolinabutthroughoutFreemasonry.ByincludingseveralodesalongwiththenamesofspecifictunestowhichtheycouldbesungintheNorthCarolinaLodge(“Bahnson”)Manualof1892,theGrandLodgeofNorthCarolinaintended,thenandnow,thatmusicbeperformedduringourritual.ThesixMasonicOdesintheBahnsonManualappearaslyricswithoutprintedmusic.Theyare,however,tobesungtospecificwell-knownhymnsorfolktunes.Thishavebeenindicatedeitherbythefirstlineofthesongusuallysungtothattune,suchas“Nearer,MyGod,toThee”,orbythehymntunes'ownnames,suchas‘OldHundred’and‘Arlington’.Aseventhitem,“HarkfromtheTomb”(p.57)appearswithatuneintheGrandLodge’s1892manuscriptoftheBahnsonManual,butnotunewasincludedintheprintedversion,amatterthatisundergoingfurtherinvestigation.TherelianceonfamiliartunestowhichMasonicodesweresungisamatterofconvenience,sothatamyriadofMasoniclyricscouldbesunginstantaneouslywithouthavingtolearnnewsongs.In1892,andeventoday,church-goingMasonswouldknowmostofthetunesmentionedintheBahnsonManual,andcouldthereforesingMasoniclyricstothemwithouthavingtolearnnewtunes.ThisiscertainlytrueforatleastoneoftheScottishtunes,AuldLangSyne,thoughitisdifficultforustoknowhowpopularBonnyDoonwasamongNorthCarolinaMasonsin1892.RightWorshipfulBrotherDwightM.“Mack”Sigmon’sresearchonNorthCarolina’sMasonichistorytellsusthat“themajorityoftheBahnsonManualwasobtainedandassembledbyBahnsonfromabookassembledandwrittenbyThomasSmithWebbin1797whichinturnwastakenfromwritingsfromWilliamPrestonofEnglandyearsearlier.“ThisappliestotheOdesaswell.Theywereselected,generallywithlyricsandtherecommendedtunesintact,fromseveralcollectionsofMasonicsongs.ThisdocumentrepresentsaportionofongoingresearchintoNorthCarolina’srichMasonicmusicalheritage.Weinvitescholarlyparticipation,andwillbehappytoansweranyquestions.TheGrandLodgeofNorthCarolina’sAd-HocMasonicMusicCommitteeSeptember2016

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 2

OPENING(p.7):“GreatGod,BeholdBeforeThyThrone”[Tune-OldHundred.LM]Lyrics:ThefirstOdeintheBahnsonManual,“GreatGod,beholdbeforethythrone,abandofbrotherslowlybend”,isaMasonicadaptationoftheChristianhymn“GreatGod,BeholdBeforeThyThrone,aBandofChildrenLowlyBend”,firstpublished[Fig.1]asHymn#83inAmericanSundaySchoolPsalmody;Or,HymnsAndMusic,ForTheUseOfSunday-SchoolsAndTeacher'sMeetings;WithAManualOfInstruction(Philadelphia,1832).TheMasonicadaptationoftheselyrics[Fig.2]wastheworkofGeorgeWingateChase,inTheMasonicHarp:ACollectionofMasonicOdes,Hymns,Songs,&c.(Boston,1858).Adaptationandaugmentationofnon-MasoniclyricsforMasonicpurposesisacommonpractice,asshownbyacomparisonoftheoriginalandMasonically-adaptedversionsbelow.

Fig.1.#83,AmericanSundaySchoolPsalmody(1832) Fig2.#110,Chase’sMasonicHarp(1858)Tune:‘OldHundred’isthemostfamoushymntuneinProtestantism,andthetunetowhich“TheDoxology”istraditionallysung.ItsnamereferstoitsoriginasthemusicalsettingforPsalm100intheGenevaPsalterof1551.Psaltersaresettingsofthe150PsalmsofDavidreworkedasrhymingpoemsinverse,allowingthemtobesunginsteadofread,theprecursorstohymnals.“L.M.”referstothemeterofeachverseofthispoem,anabbreviationfor‘LongMeter’.Longmeterconsistsoffourlines,eachofwhichcontainseightbeats(syllables.)Beginningaround1700,themeterforeverytuneaswellaseverysetoflyricswasindicatedinhymnalsandMasonicSongbooks,usinganumericalorletterabbreviation(L.M.isalsorepresentedby8.8.8.8.),tohelpsingersmixandmatchlyricswithotherappropriatetunes.AswithmostMasonicsongbooks,someofthetunesintheBahnsonManualhavemetersindicated,usefulinformationforfindingandusingothertunesthatfittheselyrics.

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 3

CLOSING(p.8):“Brethren,WeMeetAgain”[Tune–NearerMyGodtoThee]Lyrics:ThepropertitlegiventothisMasonicpoemis“Brothers,GoodNight.”Itsoriginsareuncertain,thoughtheearliestidentifiableappearanceatpresentisinthe1888ProceedingsoftheGrandLodgeofNovaScotia,tobesungaftertheclosingchargeattheInstallationofOfficers.

Fig.3.Four-partarrangementin6/4(!)of“Brothers,GoodNight”formen’svoices.TheMysticChord.(1908)

Tune:“Brothers,GoodNight”isubiquitouslysungintheUnitedStatestoDr.LowellMason’stune,Bethany,thetunetowhichthehymn“Nearer,MyGod,toThee”issung.LowellMason(1792-1872)isregardedastheFatherofAmericanChurchMusic.HealsointroducemusicintotheBostonPublicSchoolSystem,thefirsttimethatmusicwasformallytaughtintheUnitedStates,publishedthefirstcollectionofSundaySchoolmusic,andcomposedmorethan1,600tunesforhymnsinging.Despitehissurname,hewasnotaFreemason.NordidheresideinLowell,Massachusetts,atownwhoseMasonicLodgetodayconsistsalmostexclusivelyofLowellMasons.

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 4

ENTEREDAPPRENTICE’SDEGREE(p.13):“Behold,HowPleasant”[Tunes:AuldLangSyneorArlington]Lyrics:ThisOdeisaparaphraseofthe133rdPsalm,inaversesettingthatpermitsittobesunginthemannerofahymn.AlthoughtheoriginaltextisfromHolyScripture,thissetting’sauthorhascleverlyextendedtheconceptof‘brethren’intheScriptureinto“theAcceptedBrotherhood,”makingthisadistinctlyMasonicOde.ItwasfirstpublishedinTheMasonicTrestle-Board,AdaptedToTheNationalSystemOfWorkAndLecturesAsRevised...ByTheUnitedStatesMasonicConvention...Baltimore,5843.Notetheremarkablecommentonthe‘moregeneralintroductionofMusicintotheLodges’[Fig.4]whichsuggeststhatsingingscriptureinsteadofrecitingitwasarecentinnovation.

Fig.4.“Behold!HowPleasant”asappearedinTheMasonicTrestle-Board(2ed,1846:p.29.)Tune#1-AuldLangSyne:ThisisthefirstoftwoOdesintheBahnsonManualforwhichachoicebetweenatraditionalfolktuneandahymnisgiven,ostensiblyincasetheBrethrendidnotknowtheScottishfolktuneAuldLangSyne.ThatAuldLangSynewasprobablyBahnson’spreferredtunefortheselyricsmaybeinferredfromtheFebruary1892autographmanuscript,wherethealternativehymntune“or‘Arlington’”wasaddedasanafterthoughttotherightoftheneatly-centered“AuldLangSyne.”

Fig.5:Separatesheet(insertedintotheworkingautographmanuscript)showingthelateradditionof“or‘Arlington”’asanalternativetunefortheOde,“Behold!HowPleasant.”

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 5

AuldLangSyneidentifiesthistraditionalScottishfolktunebythetitleofthepoem,byBrotherRobertBurns,usuallysungtoit.In1788,BrotherBurnswrotethatitwastobesungto“anoldsong,oftheoldentimes,andwhichhasneverbeeninprint,noreveninmanuscriptuntilItookitdownfromanoldman.”AuldLangSyneusesamusicalscaleconsistingofonlyfivepitchesperoctave,equivalenttoplayingonlytheraisedblackkeysonakeyboard.ThisscaleischaracteristicofmanyEnglish,ScottishandAmericanfolkmelodies,(Oh,Susannah!)andiscalledthe“pentatonic”(meaning‘fivetone’)scale.Tune#2–Arlington:ThistunearosefromadanceinEnglishcomposerThomasArne’s1762operaArtaxerxes.Arne’smostfamouscompositionisRuleBritannia.Thetunewassimplifiedandturnedintoahymnin1786,whereitappearedinSacredHarmony–ACollectionofPsalmtunes,AncientandMo-dern.(Boston,1788.[Fig.6]By1878,thetunehadbeencalledintoMasonicserviceinRobertMcCoy’sMasonicVocalManual(NewYork,1878)forthelyrics,“Nowwemustcloseourlaborshere”.

Fig.6:Thefirstappearanceofthetune“Arlington”,named“Artaxerxes”,asahymn.SacredHarmony(1788).

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 6

FELLOWCRAFT’SDEGREE(p.41):“Come,Craftsmen,Assembled”[Tune:PortugueseHymn.11s]Lyrics:ThisOdewasinwidespreadusesometimebefore1850,andappearedinThomasPowers’MasonicMelodies:AdaptedToTheCeremoniesAndFestivalsOfTheFraternity(Boston:1844)inauniquearrangementinwhichapairofsingers(the‘Duet’)wouldsingtwolines,theneveryoneelse(the“Cho(rus))repeatedthoselines.Soonthereafter,numerousMasonicSongbooksincludedit.[Fig7.]

Fig.7:“Come,Craftsmen”inanearlyandunusualvocalarrangement.Powers.MasonicMelodies(1844).

Tune:IntheearliestMasonicpublicationsofthisOde,itwassungtothetuneofapopularEnglishsongcalled“WhatFairy-LikeMusic.”ComposedinLondonandfrequentlyperformedinthe1830sonstageandinthehomeasavocalduet,thefulltitleis:“Whatfairylikemusic!:agondalasongorduetassungbyMissLoveandMr.Braham:withthemostenthusiasticapplauseattheTheatreRoyalDruryLane/thepoetrybyMrs.CornwallBaronWilson;themusicbyJosephdePinna.”Publicenthusiasmforthissongeventuallywaned,andalongwithit,thefamiliarityneededtousethetuneinMasonicsongbooks.Bythe1870sMasonicmusiclookedtoothertunestoaccompanythispowerfulMasonicOde.Giventheunusualmeter,fourlinesofelevensyllableseach(indicatedintheBahnsonManualas“11s”),notfewfamiliartunesexistedtowhichthisOdecouldbesung.TheBahnsonManualselectedthetunethatMalmene’sFreemason’sHymnalused,“ThePortugueseHymn.”Thisextremelypopulartuneappearedinmany19thc.AmericanShape-Notehymnalsas“Plenary”,butitismostcommonlyknowntodayas“AdesteFideles”,thetunetowhichwesingtheChristmashymn“OCome,AllYeFaithful.”Theoriginofthetune“AdesteFideles”iscomplicatedandhasnobearingonitsusebyFreemasonry.Itwascalled“PortugueseHymn”,thenamebywhichitappearsintheBahnsonManual,becausetheDukeofLeeds,attendingaconcertatthePortugueseembassychapelinLondonin1795,wassoimpressedbythetunethathecommissionedafullermusicalarrangementofitbemade.Thiswasperformedtwoyearslater,inthefamous"ConcertofAncientMusic"series,whereitwascalled"ThePortugueseHymn"simplybecausetheDukemistakenlyassumedthatthetunewasoriginallyPortuguese.

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 7

MASTERMASON’SDEGREE,1stSection:(p.54-55):“LetUsRememberinOurYouth”Lyrics:ThisOdeisaparaphraseofHolyScripture,Ecclesiastes12:1-7.Byimposingregularmeteronthesewords,theyweretransformedintoversesthatcouldbesung,aswiththeEnteredApprentice’sOde,“Behold,HowPleasant.”RabbinicaltraditionholdsthatEcclesiastes,whoseauthoridentifieshimselfonlybythepseudonym“theGatherer”and“sonofDavid,KingofJerusalem”waswrittenbyKingSolomon,inhisoldage,asasummaryofthemeaningoflifeandthebestwaytolive.ThisOdemadeanearlyappearanceinCharlesW.Moore’sMasonicTrestle-Board(Boston,1846),andwassoonadoptedbymostAmericanMasonicsongbooksandintegratedintotheritualofmanyGrandJurisdictions.TheBahnsonManualusesonlytwoofthethreeversesshowninFig.8,butseparatesthemvisuallysotheyappeartobefourverses.Thiswasostensiblydoneforclarity,incasetheyweresungtothealternatehymntune,Hamburg,whichisonlyhalfthelengthoftheScottishtune,BonnyDoon.Thatthefirsttwoversesbothbeginwith“LetUs”suggeststhatthetwo-verserenditionmayfeelpoeticallysuperior.Moreover,whensungtoHamburg(oranyotherLongMetertune)thesecondverseinthefour-verserenditionbeginsinmid-phrase,with“or”.ThesetwoaspectsfavorperformanceofthisOdetothetuneBonnyDoon.

Fig.9:Firstappearanceof“LetUsRemember”fromp.53ofMasonicTrestle-Board(1846)

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 8

Tune#1:BonnyDoon:Correctlyspelledas“BonnieDoon’,thisisnotactuallyanancientScottishfolktune,butan18thc.compositionmeanttosoundlikeone,bylimitingthemelodytothepentatonicscaleasdescribedinthenarrative(above)overAuldLangSyne.In1791,BrotherRobertBurnswroteapoementitled,“YeBanksandBraeso'BonnieDoon”andsetouttofindasuitabletunesothatitcouldbesung.Thebeautifultunehechose,perhapshismostpopularsongtoday,wascomposedbyanamateursingerinEdinburgh,BrotherJamesMiller,withafewhelpingtouchesfromaprofessionalorganist.Fromthattimesince,thetuneitselfhasbeennamedafterhispoem,BonnieDoon.ThisisaveryusefultuneforMasonstoknow,becauseitisthesamesettingtowhichMasonssingBrotherRobertBurns’muchbeloved“FarewelltotheBrethren”attheclosingofMasonicsocialgatherings.Tune#2–Hamburg:Thissimplehymntune,composedbyLowellMason(composerfor“Bethany/Nearer,MyGod,toThee)in1824,makescleveruseofaverylimitedrangeofonlyfivenotes.Itfirstappearedinthe3rdeditionoftheHandelandHaydnMusicSocietyHymnal(Boston,1825),whereitissaidtohavebeeninspiredbyanancientGregorianchant.Ofthefourlines(orstaffs)ofmusicinFig10(below),themelodyisnotwhereonemightexpectittobe,ontheuppermostline,butisfoundonthethirdlinedown.Thiswasdonesoorganistscouldmoreeasilyaccompanythehymnbyreadingthemelodyandthebasslinedirectlybelowit.Thosewhoreadmusicwillobservethattheoriginaltunehassincebeenslightlyaltered.

Fig10.Firsteditionofthehymntune“Hamburg”fromtheHandel&HaydnSocietyHymnalof1825.

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 9

MASTERMASON’SDEGREE:(p.56):“SolemnStrikestheFuneralChime”[Tune:Pleyel’sHymn.7s]Lyrics:ThisOdeisusedinmanyAmericanGrandJurisdictionsandisgenerallyreferredtoas“thedirge.”“Dirge”isaMiddleEnglish(1175-1250AD)termmeaning“afuneralsongortune,oroneexpressingmourningincommemorationofthedead,aswellasanycompositionresemblingsuchasongortuneincharacter,asapoemoflamentforthedeadorsolemn,mournfulmusic.”Thisaptlyexplainsitsplacementandpurposeinour3rddegreeaswellasMasonicfuneralsinmanyGrandJurisdictions.ItsauthorisBrotherDavidVinton,bestknownforpublishingaselectionentitled“Masonic,SentimentalandHumorousSongs,Duets,Glees,Canons,RoundsandCanzonets”underthetitleTheMasonicMinstrel(Dedham,MA;1816),animmenselypopularMasonichymnalthatsold12,000copies.BrotherDavidVintonhadstrongtiestotheCarolinas.ThoughbornandraisedinRhodeIsland,hewasanitinerantMasoniclecturer,particularoftheYorkRite,intheSouthernUnitedStates.In1821,hewasbroughtuponMasonicchargesbytheGrandLodgeofNorthCarolinaformakingmanuscriptnotesofMasonry.In1833,hediedatRussellville,KY,andwasinterredwithoutbenefitofaMasonicburialandprocessionthatmighthaveincludedhisownOde,wereitnotforhis“lapseofsobriety.”

Fig11.PublicdenouncementofDavidVintonbytheGLofNC.RaleighRegister(Raleigh,NC)18May1821,p.4.

Narrative for the North Carolina Lodge “Bahnson” Manual Odes 10

Tune:Pleyel’sHymn:Thistuneisverypopulartodayasasettingforthechildren’shymn,“ChildrenoftheHeavenlyKing”andseveralotherhymns.Themusicisfromthe4thStringQuartet,op.7(1791)byBrotherIgnazJosephPleyel.Whereverthe“Masonicdirge”issung,itisalwaysweddedtothistune,whichexistsinavarietyofvocalarrangementsinmanyMasonicsongbooksandAhimanRezons(BooksofConstitutions)frommanyGrandJurisdictionsacrosstheUnitedStates.

Fig.12.Earlyprintingof“SacredStrikes”settoPleyels’Hymn.Bro.LukeEastman’s,MasonicMelodies(1825)

BothPleyelandhisbrilliantlysuccessfulcompositionteacher,FranzJosephHaydn,wereFreemasons.Pleyel’scareerascomposerandperformer,thoughlessstellar,wascomplimentedbybuildingexquisitepianosofhisdesignandmanufacture,whichChopinwassaidtohavepreferredoveranyother.AdHocMasonicEducationCommittee,2016.Version1.0