I Am No Music Scholar

Fascinating post from Dan Kimball on reactions to musical innovations. Here’s a sample —

I am no music scholar, but I feel I know appropriate church music when I hear it. Last Sunday’s new hymn – if you can call it that – sounded like a sentimental love ballad one would expect to hear crooned in a saloon. If you insist on exposing us to rubbish like this – in God’s house! – don’t be surprised if many of the faithful look for a new place to worship. The hymns we grew up with are all we need.

This letter was written in 1863 and the song they were concerned about was the hymn “Just As I Am“.