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"The music in The Mother Church shall not be operatic"
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
During the December 2005 live chat event “How hymns provide comfort and healing” with Dr. Peter Hodgson, a visitor asked about the use of the word operatic in the music By-Law, Article XIX in the Manual of The Mother Church, regarding this statement: “The music in The Mother Church shall not be operatic, but of an appropriate religious character and of a recognized standard of musical excellence.” Here are some notes from the research paper Dr. Hodgson referred to in his response.
Harmony in services given in The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, was a great concern for Mary Baker Eddy. This is evidenced in the wording of early versions of the music By-Law in the Manual of The Mother Church, which states that the By-Law was “a necessary barrier to inharmony in the Church.”
From 1896 to 1905, the music provisions, which were introduced first as a disciplinary rule, were directed only to the singing in The Mother Church. Evidently the soloist was either neglecting or refusing to sing settings of Mrs. Eddy’s poems that the Directors had requested and Mrs. Eddy had approved.
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