Hymnological research in the USA

The study of hymns has been approached in many ways in the USA. The initial development of hymnology as a field of study with rigorous standards took place in the second half of the 19th century as the scientific method of inquiry was incorporated into university education. This application of these standards and of increasingly exacting means of studying textual, musical, and historical aspects of the literature can be traced through extant publications. Influential books constitute the principal evidence reviewed in this article. Methodist Hymnology (New York, 1848) by David Creamer* was the first hymnal companion in the USA. Complementary to hymnals of the Methodist Episcopal Church and...

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