What is the anthem?
One of the most natural forms of human expression is singing. It is therefore not surprising that when people worship the deity they believe, they sing. Singing during worship occurs in every religion around the world. The anthem, in itself, is generally considered to be the territory of Christian faith, although other religions have their own version of the anthem. In this sense, the anthem for most of Western music is a plan. The most popular songs have verses and choir, sung with a defined melodic line. They take it directly from the anthem form, although not every hymn has a choir.
The anthem found its origin in Jewish worship because the psalms were sung in the temple and synagogues. After Christianity became an established religion, these psalms were still popular in churches, because most of the first Christians had Been raised in the Jewish faith. These structures were modified by St. Benedict in the sixth century, when he worked on the development of what is now called Gregorian Chant.
The monks and nuns sang various prayers and psalms at certain hours of the day, leading to the divine office or the liturgy of the clock, when many orders, especially the monastery, still sing every day. The whole mass service was mostly sung. Chant, by the way, involves singing a certain number of words on the same note, while the tone rises or decreases at the end of the line. It is difficult to do it well and requires a lot of practice. Therefore, it was difficult for the average assembly to fully accept.
On the time of Protestant Reformation, restlessness with singing grew up and then sang completely in Latin, the language of the Church. The worshipers wanted to sing in their own language, or "in vernacular." As the Protestant church became more established, great composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, wrote beautiful choral pieces that were to be sung by groups. Gradually church music advanced to choirs singing many songs in service.
Dr. Isaac Watts is considered the "father of the English hymn" and is POver 700 anthem. His work at the end of the 17th and early 18th century brought the anthem to the place of respect and admiration in the church. He wrote words on a beloved Christmas carol "joy to the world" and other anthem, such as "When I examine the amazing cross" and "God, our help in the past". These are considered to be some of the great anthems of the Christian Church and can be found in almost every Protestant anthem.
other well -beloved hymns such as "Amazing Grace" and "how great art" are somewhat more modern and reflect the changing musical tradition. The anthem has changed somewhat over the last 75 years, reflecting more sounds of secular music. Some believers accept new anthem forms, while others prefer classic forms. Both have a lot to offer and teach worshipers or scholars of sacred music.