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Abstract

This paper highlights the transition in church music during the First Great Awakening in Colonial America. It argues that hymns and new psalmody had a mutually beneficial relationship in the Awakening, as they aided one another in emphasizing personal salvation experiences. Prior to the Awakening, English-speaking churches in Colonial America sung almost exclusively literal translations of Psalms in a more formalized call-and-response format. While current scholarship on the First Great Awakening broadly analyzes the primary tensions and debates within New England churches regarding changes in music, it does not provide a comprehensive overview of the introduction of hymns in Colonial America. Despite this important shift in church music, most studies of the Great Awakening only scratch the surface of music’s importance to the revival ethos. This paper analyzes primary source documentation concerning the response to and significance of hymns and new psalmody in Colonial America. The writings of Great Awakening figures including Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Isaac Watts provide key insights into this transition and are supplemented by personal journals and newspapers from the period. Hymns were a major factor in the spread of the Great Awakening and gave individuals the means to express how the preaching impacted their lives. Instead of singing literally translated Old Testament Psalms, churches and individuals began to sing songs that reflected their personal faith. The revival spirit encapsulated by these hymns alongside individual conversion and personal expression of faith were key features of the First Great Awakening that ultimately shifted the colonies closer to the American Revolution. Further, many of the hymns from this period became central to several church denominations in early America. Ultimately, this study underscores the central yet understudied role of music in the Great Awakening.

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