Considerations on the History of Ecclesiastical Music of Western Europe

Extract

It has been suggested to me that the subject of Ecclesiastical Music treated from the historical point of view might prove suitable and interesting for a paper to be read before this Association. It appears, however, too large a subject for a single paper, and moreover there are some branches of it which trench too much upon questions of religious observance to be fitting matter for such a meeting as the present. Under these circumstances it seems best, on the whole, to confine our attention this afternoon to a few important considerations arising out of the historical aspect of Church Music, some of which, as it appears to me, have not hitherto received that amount of attention which they deserve.