Six Sabbath Melodies ; the Words selected from the Holy
Scriptures. Com- posed, and humbly dedicated, by permission, to her Majesty Queen Adelaide, by R. ToPLIFF.
The best of these melodies is the first, "By the rivers of Babylon "; which has the merit of novelty of structure, good harmony and decla- mation. Of the general design of the work we fear little is to be said in approval. The attempt to dress up songs for Sundays with words from the Bible and a mundane accompaniment, compromises sacred and se- cular things in a way that the sincerely religious may well object to. If sacred music be wanted, the field is large and of the best : in such pieces as the Sabbath Melodies, the " sacredness " for the most part expires with the words, while the devotion of music (for that it truly has) is continually deficient.
Previous page
