Worship and Music | Verena Ursenbach Hatch, Worship and Music in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Worship and Music in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be had as a single volume or in two separate bindings. One volume (separately reviewed) includes the first seven chapters of the complete book and deals with the worship service of the Latter-day Saint Church with special emphasis on architectural designs and functions. The balance of the book deals specifically with music in the L.D.S. Church. It is with this section of the book that this review is concerned.

In her introduction Mrs. Hatch expresses a firm conviction that such a book is needed because “there are some practices of human origin which ap pear to be theologically sound and which may be considered as obstacles to the complete realization of effective assembly worship. These traditions should receive objective scrutiny from time to time lest they deepen into dogma.” The music section of the book begins with a very short history of church music from Old Testament references to the restoration of the gospel in the nineteenth century. Highlights of events, places, and people are well presented and should be of interest to the layman as well as the amateur church musician. The frustration here is in its brevity and definition. The continuing history of Latter-day Saint church music is likewise exceedingly brief. The history does have continuity, if perforated with omissions, but much more interest and emphasis could be added here. The important word hymn often lacks clarity of definition between hymn text and hymn tune. 

The author points out that music education in the Mormon Church has lagged far behind, and she argues that the organist should be the director of hymn singing, as in the Protestant tradition. (Arguing against this is the lack of enough qualified and trained organists.) She also offers some excellent challenges to today’s L.D.S. musicians and states qualifications for musicians in the Church. “The Church musician does not have to lower his artistic sights to communicate to the common man. . . . Quality music can be simple.” She presents some excellent studies of conventional hymn texts and hymn tunes with brief explanations of poetic meter, syllabic emphasis, and tune construction. The author encourages Church musicians to be creative in bringing forth new music for the Church, especially hymn texts and tunes. “No typic ally 20th Century hymns are included in our Hymns 1950.” 

Even though the contemporary in music is touched upon, the descriptions given of good worship music are more past than future. This seems to be an attempt to catch up with the past rather than to contemplate the future. This reviewer agrees with the author in that church music may be forced into a much more contemporary pace because of the extremely rapid changes that are being forced upon each new generation. 

The volume concludes with criteria for selecting music for worship in the Latter-day Saint Church—an excellent guide—and also a practical discussion of organs and organ music. The final chapter should be especially helpful to the young Church organist. The author gives a brief summary of her philosophy of the purpose and power of worship, and she lists ample subject reference material. 

The music portion of Worship and Music should be of excellent help and interest to the amateur Church musician. All ward leaders can gain many useful helps and ideas from the entire volume. In spite of small weaknesses the book is sincere in spirit, positively written, easily read, and generous in ideas. If you feel any need for improvement in reverence in worship and music in worship, then read this book. 

It is the opinion of this reviewer that the Church will eventually see fit to enlarge its music program. The contemporary is being so rapidly forced upon the younger generations that this conclusion seems inevitable. An enlarged and revitalized General Church Music Committee would result in enlarged music programs at the ward level in preparation and training of Church musicians. Surely the new hymn-tunes of 1889 were a vast improvement over the gospel songs and folk ballads used to accompany the texts of Emma Smith’s hymn book of 1835. Another renaissance of hymn tunes for the Mormon Church may be as revolutionary as flying to the moon. Perhaps such efforts as Verena Hatch’s will hasten this day.

Worship and Music in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By Verena Ursenbach Hatch. Privately published, 1968. Pp. xv + 287. $5.95.