Category 7 · Teaching, Performance Practice and Style · Compiled 30 October 2026

Conducting, Tempo and Interpretation, 1890–1925

How the Choirmasters and Organists of America, and the English Masters They Read, Taught the Beat, the Pace of the Hymn, the Pointing of the Psalm and the Voice of the Boy

27 Sources Read55 Practice Records25 Tempo Entries17 Persons of the Index

What did the American choir of 1910 sound like, and who told it how fast to sing? This study answers from the choirmasters’ own handbooks. 27 books, hymnals, editions and journal articles were read; 17 of them are by men in the People Index. They yield 55 statements of practice, 45 of them American.

Five subjects run through the books. The first is the organist as conductor. Mr G. Edward Stubbs of St Agnes’ Chapel, New York, writes that at service “the organist is practically the conductor of the music”, and Dr Messiter of Trinity conducted from the organ seat. The second is tempo. Dr Lutkin of Evanston warns against both hurrying and “intolerable dragging”.

The third is the Anglican chant, whose hurried recitation Buck, Stubbs and Hall each name as the besetting fault. The Episcopal Church’s New Hymnal, whose Joint Commission counted Hall, Parker, Noble and Lutkin among its members, settled the matter by printed rule: one pace for recitation and inflection. The fourth is the boy’s “thin” or head register, taught by soft descending scales. The fifth is the new, more orchestral style of organ playing, which Mr Harvey Gaul of Pittsburgh set against an American habit of playing by the metronome mark.

The metronome marks themselves are set out below. Messiter’s hymnal of 1893 prints a mark for every tune. The English Hymnal of 1906 prints slower ones and complains that English congregations sing too fast. Lutkin, in 1910, expected his American readers to find even moderate marks too slow.

Every quotation was checked against the text of the book it comes from. Each statement is graded Documented, Probable or Reported. Gramophone records of the period are listed, but their speeds have not been measured; that work remains to be done.

27Sources

55Practice records

45American records

25Tempo entries

11Teaching methods

8Recordings listed

17Index persons linked

Principal Findings for the United States

Each finding rests on the texts cited, which are quoted verbatim in the table of practices below.

1. The organist conducts from the bench.

Stubbs states that at services “the organist is practically the conductor of the music” (Practical Hints, p. 25). Buck notes that, unlike the orchestra, the organist “ordinarily sits with his back turned to the singers”. Messiter, at Trinity in 1870, “played the chancel organ, conducting from the organ seat”. Dickinson in 1922 teaches the nod at verse ends and a freed hand “to direct the choir”. Bridge’s English primer gives the organist “three duties”: pace, ensemble and pitch.

Sources: Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 25; Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. VII; Messiter, History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church, pp. 135–136; Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IV; Bridge, Organ Accompaniment of the Choral Service, § 12

2. Metronome marks enter the American hymnal.

Messiter’s Trinity hymnal of 1893 prints a mark for every tune, as “the editor’s judgment of a dignified and suitable tempo”. He places his speeds between Hymns Ancient and Modern and Barnby’s Hymnary. His minim marks (Aurelia 92, Eventide 96) are well above the English Hymnal’s of 1906 (Aurelia 70, Eventide 66).

Sources: Messiter, The Hymnal (1893), preface, p. vii; The English Hymnal (1906), preface (d)

3. “The impetuous American”.

Lutkin prints marks from an unnamed “noted authority” and expects them to “be considered too slow by the impetuous American”. He calls forcing the speed “no greater fault than intolerable dragging”. He also reports an unaccompanied Litany hymn “sung about twice too fast” to hold the pitch.

Sources: Lutkin, Music in the Church, pp. 94–96

4. Hurried recitation, the chant’s chief fault.

Buck names “Hurrying the recitative and retarding the ‘spoken’ (half) notes”. Stubbs: “Good chanting is like the flowing of a quiet brook.” Hall: “Satisfactory chanting is the exception in America … Do not sing too fast.” The New Hymnal’s rules (1916/1918) settled it: “The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections.”

Sources: Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. V; Stubbs, Practical Hints, pp. 65–66; Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, pp. 47–48; The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724

5. Head voice, taught downward, and its limits.

Stubbs, after Curwen, teaches the boy’s “thin” register by soft descending scales, the “downward extension of the thin register”. Hall (1906) holds that the voice “should be confined almost throughout its entire compass” to the head register. His preface, however, takes issue with those who demand head tone everywhere. Stubbs offers E. J. Hopkins’s Temple Church choir as the model: “Quality, not quantity”.

Sources: Stubbs, Practical Hints, pp. 38–46; Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, ch. I

6. Against the metronome: the French model.

Gaul, 1918: “The French do not play Bach with the exaggerated tempo that Americans employ … all we catch is a metronome mark.” Goodrich (1917) credits French touch with “the finest nuances of rhythm, accent and phrasing”. Dickinson (1922) teaches rubato and agogic accent as organ technique.

Sources: Gaul, "Bonnet–Bossi–Karg-Elert" (MQ 1918); Goodrich, The Organ in France; Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IX

7. Pulse over speed in the hymn.

Lutkin (1910) asks that slow hymns “maintain the rhythmic unity of the larger pulses”. Truette (1919) asks the organist “to mark the rhythm distinctly” and forbids adding a count for a stop change. Dickinson cures a dragging congregation by touch: “play slightly staccato, or marcato”.

Sources: Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 166; Truette, Organ Registration, p. 120; Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IV

8. An old quarrel at Trinity.

Messiter records that in 1858 Henry S. Cutler sought to “brighten up the music by taking it in a quicker tempo; and this was received with some disapproval”. The debate between brightness and dignity was half a century old by the Edwardian years.

Sources: Messiter, History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church, p. 74

Hymn Tempo: Three Tables Compared

Metronome marks for the same tunes. Messiter and the English Hymnal give minim beats, read from the page scans. Lutkin’s table gives no note value, so it cannot be compared directly.

Tune	Messiter, Hymnal (New York, 1893)	English Hymnal (London, 1906)	Lutkin’s “noted authority” (1910, unit not stated)
Aurelia	minim = 92 No. 491	minim = 70 No. 489, p. 636	96 p. 96
Eventide	minim = 96 No. 12	minim = 66 No. 363, p. 504	100 p. 96
Ewing	minim = 100 No. 408	—	100 p. 96
St Anne	—	minim = 50 No. 202, p. 291	66 p. 96
St David	minim = 76 No. 391	—	—
Old Hundred	—	—	80 p. 96
St George's Windsor	—	—	92 p. 96
Ellers	—	—	104 p. 96
St Gertrude	—	—	104 p. 96
Paradise	minim = 100 No. 394	—	—
Witness	minim = 76 No. 393	—	—

Messiah in New York, 1912

Chorus marks in the Schirmer vocal score edited by T. Tertius Noble and revised by Max Spicker, read from the page scans. The edition’s unsigned note does not say who set the marks.

Chorus	Marking	Page
"And the glory of the Lord"	♩ = 112	p. 16
"For unto us a Child is born"	♩ = 76	p. 66
"His yoke is easy"	♩ = 69	p. 98
"All we like sheep"	♩ = 92	p. 122
"Hallelujah"	minim = 72	p. 193
"Since by man came death"	Grave ♩ = 60	p. 210

All Tempo Entries

Work / tune	Source	Marking	Unit	Year	Page / no.	Read from	Note
St Anne ("O God our help")	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	66	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text	Unit not given
Old Hundred	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	80	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
St George's Windsor	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	92	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
Aurelia	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	96	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
Eventide	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	100	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
Ewing	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	100	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
Ellers	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	104	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
St Gertrude	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910, from unnamed "noted authority"	104	not stated	1910	p. 96	OCR text
Aurelia	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 92	minim	1893	No. 491	page image
Eventide	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 96	minim	1893	No. 12	page image
Ewing	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 100	minim	1893	No. 408	page image
St David	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 76	minim	1893	No. 391	page image
Witness	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 76	minim	1893	No. 393	page image
Paradise	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893) Messiter, Hymnal 1893	minim = 100	minim	1893	No. 394	page image
St Anne	The English Hymnal (1906) English Hymnal 1906 ("Slow and dignified")	minim = 50	minim	1906	No. 202, p. 291	page image
Aurelia	The English Hymnal (1906) English Hymnal 1906 ("In moderate time")	minim = 70	minim	1906	No. 489, p. 636	page image
Eventide	The English Hymnal (1906) English Hymnal 1906 ("Slow")	minim = 66	minim	1906	No. 363, p. 504	page image
Messiah: "And the glory of the Lord"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	♩ = 112	crotchet	1912	p. 16	page image
Messiah: "For unto us a Child is born"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	♩ = 76	crotchet	1912	p. 66	page image
Messiah: "His yoke is easy"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	♩ = 69	crotchet	1912	p. 98	page image
Messiah: "All we like sheep"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	♩ = 92	crotchet	1912	p. 122	page image
Messiah: "Hallelujah"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	minim = 72	minim	1912	p. 193	page image	Minim beat
Messiah: "Since by man came death"	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912) Schirmer 1912, ed. Noble, rev. Spicker	Grave ♩ = 60	crotchet	1912	p. 210	page image
Psalm 137 vs Psalm 138 (relative)	Richardson, The Psalms Richardson 1903	"at least twice as slowly"	relative	1903	pp. 28–29	OCR text	Verbal, relative tempo only
Litany hymn ("Saviour, when in dust")	Lutkin, Music in the Church Lutkin 1910 (heard performance)	"about twice too fast"	relative	1910	p. 95 n.	OCR text	Verbal report of a performance

The Practices, Person by Person

Filter by topic, region or evidence. Names in the People Index are linked.

Person	Topics	What was taught or practised	In their words	Source	Year	Evidence
George Edward Stubbs	conducting	In the Episcopal choral service the organist is the conductor at service; rehearsal is where the choirmaster drills. Stubbs writes from St Agnes' Chapel, Trinity Parish, New York.	“At services the organist is practically the conductor of the music.”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 25	1888/1897	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	voice training	Two registers for boys, "thick" (chest) and "thin" (head). Coarse boy tone comes from forcing the thick register upward. He adopts Curwen's terminology.	“The quality of the thick register is comparatively coarse, harsh, and reedy, while that of the thin is soft, pure, and flute-like.”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, pp. 38–39	1888/1897	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	voice training	Method: soft descending scales from the top of the voice, carrying the thin register downward. If the pupil breaks into the thick register, he goes back to the top.	“The chief points involved in the preceding directions are : 1st, downward extension of the thin register ; 2d, the cultivation of pure tone without sacrificing quality to power.”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 45	1888/1897	Documented
E. J. Hopkins 1818–1901	voice traininginterpretation	Stubbs offers American choirmasters a model in the Temple Church, London, quoting Curwen: a small choir, soft blended tone, and accompaniment shaped by a choir that can sing unsupported.	“With a choir of twelve boys and six men, Mr. Hopkins realizes his ideas of Quality, not quantity”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, pp. 45–46	1888/1897	Reported
George Edward Stubbs	chanttempo	Anglican chanting: hurrying the recitation is the chief fault. The ideal is an even flow between verses.	“Good chanting is like the flowing of a quiet brook. There should be no haste, no jerky effect, no hitch between verses.”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 66	1888/1897	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	chanttempodiction	Names the cause of bad chanting.	“One prolific cause of this is hurrying helter skelter over the recitation”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 65	1888/1897	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	accompanimentinterpretation	Soft accompaniment and restraint in dynamics. Loud playing is named as the commonest fault.	“Too much forte playing is perhaps the most common fault.”	Stubbs, Practical Hints, p. 69	1888/1897	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	voice training	Adult male altos: Stubbs defends the trained falsetto against the charge that it damages the voice.	“the harmlessness and usefulness of falsetto singing when practiced intelligently”	Stubbs, Adult Male Alto, preface	1908	Documented
George Edward Stubbs	interpretationstyle	Against display settings written for the American quartet choir. Supports the shift to chancel choirs of men and boys.	“anthems and settings to the Canticles which were invented with the sole purpose of affording personal display to the members of quartet choirs”	Stubbs, "Secularization" (MQ 1916)	1916	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	voice training	Hall gives qualified support to the head register: the boy voice is confined almost entirely to the thin register, but blended. He takes issue with teachers who require head tone over the whole compass.	“the child voice should be confined almost throughout its entire compass to the "thin" or "head" register”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, ch. I (preface qualifies it)	1906	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	conductingdiction	Rehearsal method: in drills on diphthongs and final consonants, the choirmaster beats time so that the whole choir starts and releases together.	“the choir-master should beat time”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, ch. VII–VIII	1906	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	chanttempo	Psalm-chanting tempo. Hall warns against racing between the Decani and Cantoris sides.	“Do not sing too fast.”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, p. 48	1906	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	chanttempo	Join a smoothly read recitation to the strict time of the chant, with no ritardando at the change from recitation to chant.	“Always endeavor to join a smoothly read recitation to the strict time of the chant without any "pulling up."”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, p. 48	1906	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	chant	Assessment of American chanting standards.	“Satisfactory chanting is the exception in America”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, p. 47	1906	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	accompanimentchant	Psalm accompaniment should not illustrate individual words ("realism").	“Young organists should guard against undue realism in accompaniments to psalms.”	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training, p. 50	1906	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	tempo	Hymn tempo: both forcing the speed and dragging are faults.	“Young and enthusiastic choirmasters are apt to force the speed at the expense of dignity, but too quick movement is no greater fault than intolerable dragging.”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, pp. 94–95	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	tempo	Lutkin prints a table of metronome marks from an unnamed "noted authority" and expects American readers to find them slow (see Tempo sheet).	“Some of these marks will doubtless be considered too slow by the impetuous American, whose restless blood clamors for excitement even in the hallowed precincts of the House of God.”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 96	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	tempoaccompaniment	Footnote: an unaccompanied Litany hymn was taken far too fast, apparently to keep up the pitch.	“sung about twice too fast”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 95 n.	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	conductingaccompaniment	The organist leads the congregation from the console when the singers waver.	“take the reins into his own hands and as unobtrusively as possible guide the singers”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 167	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	tempointerpretation	Rhythmic unity in slow hymns: quiet verses are played more deliberately, but the rhythmic outline must not be lost.	“One of the most difficult tasks is to play music in moderate or slow tempo and to maintain the rhythmic unity of the larger pulses.”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 166 n.	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	interpretationconducting	Verse distribution as interpretation: Barnby's Sarum ("For all the saints") with verses shared between choir, men in unison and congregation.	“can be made very attractive by distributing the verses after the following programme”	Lutkin, Music in the Church, p. 94	1910	Documented
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	tempoaccompaniment	Later statement (1930, outside the period): pulse matters more than speed.	“rhythm is of far more importance than tempo”	Lutkin, Hymn-Singing and Hymn-Playing	1930	Documented
Dudley Buck 1839–1909	chanttempo	Chant faults: treating the recitation as melody, and hurrying the recitation while dragging the "spoken" half-notes.	“Hurrying the recitative and retarding the "spoken" (half) notes.”	Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. V (p. 51 ff.)	1877/1880	Documented
Dudley Buck 1839–1909	chanttempo	The minim notation of chants does not imply a slower pace.	“does not make the tempo slower”	Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. V	1877/1880	Documented
Dudley Buck 1839–1909	conductingaccompaniment	Quartet-choir accompaniment: unlike the orchestra, the organist cannot see the singers, so the accompaniment has to support and follow without a conductor.	“The orchestra has a conductor, while at the organ the player ordinarily sits with his back turned to the singers.”	Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. VII (p. 68 ff.)	1877/1880	Documented
Dudley Buck 1839–1909	accompanimentstyle	Against organ interludes between hymn verses.	“they rarely form a connecting link between the verses of a hymn”	Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, ch. II	1877/1880	Documented
Frederick Bridge 1844–1924	conductingtempoaccompaniment	The organist is conductor as well as accompanist, with three duties.	“acts as conductor as well as accompanist, and has, therefore, three duties to perform at one and the same time ; namely, to regulate the pace, to keep together his forces”	Bridge, Organ Accompaniment of the Choral Service, § 12	[1885]	Documented
Frederick Bridge 1844–1924	tempoconducting	Hymns at a moderate pace. The choir should lead the congregation.	“The choir should lead the congregation, not run away from it.”	Bridge, Organ Accompaniment of the Choral Service	[1885]	Documented
Arthur Henry Messiter 1834–1916	tempo	Messiter prints metronome marks for every tune, which he places between Hymns Ancient and Modern and Barnby's Hymnary.	“Metronome marks are inserted throughout, representing the editor's judgment of a dignified and suitable tempo for congregational singing.”	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893), preface, p. vii	1893	Documented
Arthur Henry Messiter 1834–1916	tempo	Comparative positioning of his tempi.	“rather slower than those given in "Hymns Ancient and Modern," and rather quicker than those in Barnby's "Hymnary."”	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893), preface, p. vii	1893	Documented
Henry Stephen Cutler (not in dataset)	tempo	At Trinity Church, New York, in 1858, Cutler took the music faster, and some objected. This is Messiter's account written in 1906, so second-hand for 1858.	“brighten up the music by taking it in a quicker tempo; and this was received with some disapproval”	Messiter, History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church, p. 74	1858 (pub. 1906)	Reported
Arthur Henry Messiter 1834–1916	conducting	Trinity Church, 1870, with orchestra and choir far apart: Messiter at the chancel organ conducted from the organ seat.	“I played the chancel organ, conducting from the organ seat”	Messiter, History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church, pp. 135–136	1870 (pub. 1906)	Documented
Walter Henry Hall 1862–1935	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
Horatio Parker 1863–1919	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
T. Tertius Noble 1867–1953	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
Peter C. Lutkin 1858–1931	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
Wallace Goodrich 1871–1952	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
Miles Farrow	chanttempo	Signatory of the Joint Commission whose New Hymnal printed rules for chanting: one pace for recitation and inflection, and accents of good reading. The rules are a Commission text, not signed individually.	“The words should be sung at the same pace in the Recitations and Inflections”	The New Hymnal (1916/1918), pp. 723–724	1916/1918	Probable
T. Tertius Noble 1867–1953	tempoconducting	The Schirmer Messiah (1912) under Noble's editorship prints metronome marks for the choruses (see Tempo sheet). The unsigned note leaves the choruses to "competent chorus conductors". The marks are tied to the edition; Noble's personal authorship of them is not stated.	“competent chorus conductors”	Handel, Messiah, ed. Noble (Schirmer 1912), introductory note	1912	Probable
Harvey B. Gaul 1881–1945	tempointerpretationstyle	Gaul (Pittsburgh) contrasts French Bach playing with American speed and literalism.	“The French do not play Bach with the exaggerated tempo that Americans employ. They catch the mood of the fugue or toccata; all we catch is a metronome mark.”	Gaul, "Bonnet–Bossi–Karg-Elert" (MQ 1918)	1918	Documented
Harvey B. Gaul 1881–1945	interpretationstyleregistration	The new organ style of Bonnet, Bossi and Karg-Elert: "orchestral" light and shade, and staccato alongside legato.	“It is no longer a matter of lifeless legato, but approaches an orchestra performance, with light and shade, delicacy and force.”	Gaul, "Bonnet–Bossi–Karg-Elert" (MQ 1918)	1918	Documented
Clarence Dickinson 1873–1969	tempoaccompaniment	Countering a congregation that drags: touch, not speed, is the remedy.	“When a congregation is dragging the tempo play slightly staccato, or marcato”	Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IV	1922	Documented
Clarence Dickinson 1873–1969	conducting	Directing from the console: the organist cues the choir with a nod and frees a hand by substitution to direct.	“employs one hand to direct the choir”	Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IV	1922	Documented
Clarence Dickinson 1873–1969	tempointerpretation	Rubato and agogic accent taught as organ technique.	“tempo rubato”	Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing, ch. IX, p. 45	1922	Documented
Everett E. Truette 1861–1933	accompanimenttemporegistration	Hymn accompaniment: play the melody clearly, support the harmony, and mark the rhythm. A slight ritard for a stop change is allowed, but no added counts.	“to mark the rhythm distinctly”	Truette, Organ Registration, p. 120	1919	Documented
Everett E. Truette 1861–1933	registrationtempo	Registration must not break the metre.	“one ought not to add a count or two in one measure”	Truette, Organ Registration, p. 120	1919	Documented
Wallace Goodrich 1871–1952	interpretationregistrationstyle	A report from Boston on French touch and phrasing as a model.	“the finest nuances of rhythm, accent and phrasing are obtained”	Goodrich, The Organ in France	1917	Documented
John Stainer 1840–1901	tempo	A standard definition of rubato in the Stainer & Barrett dictionary (Novello, London and New York).	“Tempo rubato represents the alteration made in the time, when some notes are held for more, and others for less than their strict duration.”	Stainer & Barrett, Dictionary, p. 389	1898	Documented
A. Madeley Richardson (not in dataset)	chanttempo	Chanting pace and accent should follow cultured reading of poetry.	“should be similar to the reading of poetry by a person of culture”	Richardson, Church Music, § 126, p. 72	1904	Documented
A. Madeley Richardson (not in dataset)	chanttempo	Each psalm has its own pace. The penitential psalm is taken at least twice as slowly as the jubilant one.	“at least twice as slowly as”	Richardson, The Psalms, § 60–61, pp. 28–29	1903	Documented
English Hymnal (music editor)	tempo	English Hymnal preface (d) "Speed": English congregations sing much too fast. The marks assume a fairly large building.	“The present custom in English churches is to sing hymns much too fast.”	The English Hymnal (1906), preface (d)	1906	Documented
English Hymnal (music editor)	tempointerpretation	Free rather than mechanical hymn rhythm.	“a stiff clock-work rendering should be avoided”	The English Hymnal (1906), preface (d)	1906	Documented
Henry Coward (not in dataset)	conductingvoice training	Sheffield choral method: staggered breathing allocated by surname initials, so that the line is never broken.	“whose name initials commence from A to H”	Coward, Choral Technique and Interpretation, p. 67	1914	Documented
Francis E. Howard (not in dataset)	voice training	An American public-school supervisor argues on a "scientific" basis for head voice in children.	“head-voice”	Howard, The Child-Voice in Singing, preface	c.1898	Documented
Charles W. Pearce (not in dataset)	chantinterpretation	Against the Anglican chant: musical and verbal accent should coincide.	“complete coincidence between musical and verbal accentuation”	Pearce, "Futility of the Anglican Chant" (MQ 1920)	1920	Documented

Teaching Method by Institution

Institution / setting	Place	Method	People	Sources	Evidence
St Agnes' Chapel, Trinity Parish	New York	Boy-choir training by soft descending scales in the "thin" register. Organist as conductor at service. Chant drill against hurried recitation.	George Edward Stubbs	Stubbs, Practical Hints; Stubbs, Adult Male Alto	Documented
St James' Church / New Music Review	New York	Choirmaster beats time in vowel and consonant drills. Qualified head-register teaching. Chanting rules: no "pulling up", antiphonal breathing.	Walter Henry Hall	Hall, Essentials of Choir Boy Training	Documented
Northwestern University; Hale Lectures 1908–9	Evanston and Chicago, Ill.	Hymn tempo and rhythm. Organist guides from the console. Verse distribution between choir and congregation. A cappella choir directed by Lutkin (recording credited).	Peter C. Lutkin	Lutkin, Music in the Church; Lutkin, Hymn-Singing and Hymn-Playing	Documented
Trinity Church	New York	Hymnal with metronome marks throughout (1893). Organ-seat conducting (1870). Account of the 1858 tempo change under Cutler.	Arthur Henry Messiter	Messiter, The Hymnal (1893); Messiter, History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church	Documented
Joint Commission on the Hymnal (Episcopal)	USA	Printed chanting rules: same pace in recitation and inflection; accents of good reading.	Walter Henry Hall, Horatio Parker, T. Tertius Noble, Peter C. Lutkin, Wallace Goodrich, Miles Farrow	The New Hymnal (1916/1918)	Probable
Organ teaching treatise (Schirmer)	New York	Chant accompaniment, quartet-choir accompaniment without a conductor, against interludes.	Dudley Buck, Samuel P. Warren	Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment	Documented
Organ teaching (Boston)	Boston	Registration within strict metre; marking rhythm in hymns.	Everett E. Truette	Truette, Organ Registration	Documented
Trinity Church, Boston; New England Conservatory	Boston	French touch and phrasing as a model for American organ teaching.	Wallace Goodrich	Goodrich, The Organ in France	Documented
Brick Presbyterian Church	New York	Console direction of the choir (nod, hand substitution). Staccato against dragging. Rubato taught as technique.	Clarence Dickinson	Dickinson, Technique and Art of Organ Playing	Documented
Novello Music Primers (Westminster Abbey)	London → USA	Organist as conductor-accompanist: pace, ensemble and pitch.	Frederick Bridge, John Stainer	Bridge, Organ Accompaniment of the Choral Service; Stainer & Barrett, Dictionary	Documented
Sheffield Musical Union	Sheffield	Staggered breathing by surname initials; taking breath with the conductor's beat.	Henry Coward (not in the index)	Coward, Choral Technique and Interpretation	Documented

The Gramophone Witness

Period recordings in archive.org and the Library of Congress National Jukebox. Their tempi have not been measured; durations are given as found.

Recording	Performers (as credited)	Label / matrix	Date	Duration	Note
"Oh God, our help in ages past" (St Anne, Croft)	Trinity Male Choir (Victor); credits incl. Lambert Murphy, Royal Dadmun, Charles Harrison	Victor, matrix B-26289/3	1922-04-06	2:59	Library of Congress National Jukebox transfer. "Trinity" here is a Victor label name; credits list individual recording artists and do not name Trinity Church, New York.
Dudley Buck, Festival Te Deum No. 7 in E flat, Op. 63 No. 1	Trinity Choir with Victor Orchestra; credits incl. Frank C. Stanley, Harry Macdonough	Victor, matrix CC-8722/00	1910-03-16	5:19	A recorded performance of a Buck service setting during the period; abridged to fit one side (duration 5 min 19 s).
"Angels from the realms of glory" (Regent Square, Smart)	Trinity Choir (Victor); credits incl. Olive Kline, Elsie Baker, Lambert Murphy, Reinald Werrenrath	Victor, matrix C-18533/2	1916-10-06	3:55
"The Son of God goes forth to war" (tune by H. S. Cutler)	Trinity Male Choir	Zonophone 3547, matrix 4952	n.d.	2:53	Cutler was organist of Trinity Church, New York, 1858–65 (Messiter 1906).
Stainer, The Crucifixion (complete set)	Trinity Choir; Richard Crooks, Lawrence Tibbett; Mark Andrews at the organ	His Master's Voice D 1817–1821 (matrices 42-621 to 42-724)	n.d. (not in archive record)	4:43	Duration given is side 1. Mark Andrews is credited "at the organ". Date not in the archive record.
"For All the Saints" (Sine Nomine, Vaughan Williams)	Choir of the Temple Church, London; G. Thalben-Ball, organist and conductor	HMV B 2615, matrix 2-4805	1927	2:58	English comparison; just after the study period.
Mendelssohn, "Hear my prayer" pt 1	Ernest Lough; Temple Church choir; G. Thalben-Ball	HMV C 1329, matrix CR 1020-6A	1927–28	4:13	English boy-treble production two generations after E. J. Hopkins (Temple organist 1843–98).
"Quaecumque sunt vera"	A Cappella Choir of Northwestern University	Northwestern University label (matrix not legible)	n.d.	3:04	Label credits: J. Scott Clark and Haydn as writers, and P. C. Lutkin, under the roles "words by; arranged by; director". Which role is Lutkin's is not clear from the record.

Topics and Persons

Persons of the People Index with practice records, by topic (number of records).

Person	conducting	tempo	interpretation	voice training	chant	accompaniment	registration	diction	style	All
Frederick Bridge	2	2	·	·	·	1	·	·	·	2
Dudley Buck	1	2	·	·	2	2	·	·	1	4
Clarence Dickinson	1	2	1	·	·	1	·	·	·	3
Miles Farrow	·	1	·	·	1	·	·	·	·	1
Harvey B. Gaul	·	1	2	·	·	·	1	·	2	2
Wallace Goodrich	·	1	1	·	1	·	1	·	1	2
Walter Henry Hall	1	3	·	1	5	1	·	1	·	7
E. J. Hopkins	·	·	1	1	·	·	·	·	·	1
Peter C. Lutkin	2	6	2	·	1	3	·	·	·	8
Arthur Henry Messiter	1	2	·	·	·	·	·	·	·	3
T. Tertius Noble	1	2	·	·	1	·	·	·	·	2
Horatio Parker	·	1	·	·	1	·	·	·	·	1
John Stainer	·	1	·	·	·	·	·	·	·	1
George Edward Stubbs	1	2	2	3	2	1	·	1	1	8
Everett E. Truette	·	2	·	·	·	1	2	·	·	2

Also linked, through a source, method or recording only: Mark Andrews, Samuel P. Warren.

Sources

All links were opened on 30 October 2026 and returned the page.

G. Edward Stubbs, Practical Hints on the Training of Choir Boys (1888/1897 (12th ed., n.d.)). 12th ed., New York: H. W. Gray (agents for Novello); copyright 1888 (B. & J. B. Young) and 1897 (Novello). Prefaces dated 1888, 1892 and 1897. Stubbs was organist of St Agnes' Chapel, Trinity Parish, from 1892.. Treatise; 7 records.
G. Edward Stubbs, How to Sing the Choral Service: a manual of intoning for clergymen (1899). New York, 1899. Treatise; 0 records.
G. Edward Stubbs, The Adult Male Alto or Counter-Tenor Voice (1908). Preface dated St Agnes' Chapel, Trinity Parish, N.Y., January 1908; H. W. Gray. Treatise; 1 record.
G. Edward Stubbs, "Secularization of Sacred Music", The Musical Quarterly, Oct. 1916 (1916). JSTOR Early Journal Content copy. Article; 1 record.
Walter Henry Hall, The Essentials of Choir Boy Training (1906). New York: H. W. Gray (agents for Novello), copyright 1906; "reprinted from the New Music Review"; preface dated St James' Church, New York City. Treatise; 6 records.
Peter C. Lutkin, Music in the Church (Hale Lectures 1908–9) (1910). Milwaukee: Young Churchman Co., 1910. Treatise (lectures); 6 records.
Peter C. Lutkin, Hymn-Singing and Hymn-Playing (1930). Later than the study period; used only as a late statement by Lutkin. Pamphlet; 1 record.
Dudley Buck, Illustrations in Choir Accompaniment, with Hints in Registration (1877/1880). New York: G. Schirmer, 1880 (entered 1877); dedicated to Samuel P. Warren, Grace Church, New York. Reprinted 1888, 1892 and later. Treatise; 4 records.
Frederick Bridge, Organ Accompaniment of the Choral Service (Novello Music Primers, ed. Stainer) ([1885]). London & New York: Novello, Ewer and Co.; "second thousand". Primer; 2 records.
John Stainer and W. A. Barrett, Stainer and Barrett's Dictionary of Musical Terms (1898). Revised edition, 1898. Dictionary; 1 record.
Arthur Henry Messiter, A History of the Choir and Music of Trinity Church, New York (1906). New York: Edwin S. Gorham, 1906. History / memoir; 2 records.
Arthur Henry Messiter (ed.), The Hymnal, revised and enlarged … with music, as used in Trinity Church, New York (1893). New York: E. & J. B. Young; this copy (Benson collection, Princeton Theological Seminary) has a cutting from The Churchman, 31 Mar 1894, bound in. Hymnal (music edition); 2 records.
Charles L. Hutchins (ed.), The Church Hymnal, revised and enlarged (1894). Boston: Parish Choir; preface dated Concord, Mass., 1894. Hymnal (music edition); 0 records.
Joint Commission (Protestant Episcopal Church), The New Hymnal (1918). Preface signed by the Commission, incl. Walter Henry Hall, Horatio Parker, T. Tertius Noble, Peter Christian Lutkin, Miles Farrow, Wallace Goodrich, Winfred Douglas. Hymnal (music edition); 6 records.
[music ed. R. Vaughan Williams], The English Hymnal with Tunes (1906). London: Oxford University Press, 1906. Preface section (d) "Speed". Hymnal (music edition); 2 records.
T. Tertius Noble (ed.); Max Spicker (rev.), The Messiah (vocal score), ed. T. Tertius Noble, revised by Max Spicker (1912). New York: G. Schirmer, 1912 (Ed. 38). Introductory note unsigned. Performing edition; 1 record.
Everett E. Truette, Organ Registration (1919). Boston: C. W. Thompson, 4th ed., 1919. Treatise; 2 records.
Wallace Goodrich, The Organ in France (1917). Boston: Boston Music Co., 1917. Treatise; 1 record.
Harvey B. Gaul, "Bonnet—Bossi—Karg-Elert: Three Aperçus", The Musical Quarterly, July 1918 (1918). JSTOR Early Journal Content copy. Article; 2 records.
Clarence Dickinson, The Technique and Art of Organ Playing (1922). New York: H. W. Gray, 1922. Treatise; 3 records.
A. Madeley Richardson, Church Music (Handbooks for the Clergy) (1904). London: Longmans, 1904. Handbook; 1 record.
A. Madeley Richardson, The Psalms: their Structure and Musical Rendering (1903). London: Vincent, 1903. Treatise; 1 record.
A. Madeley Richardson, Modern Organ Accompaniment (1907). London: Longmans, 1907. Treatise; 0 records.
Henry Coward, Choral Technique and Interpretation (1914). London: Novello, [1914]. Treatise; 1 record.
Francis E. Howard, The Child-Voice in Singing (1898). New York: Novello, Ewer; 2nd ed. c.1898. Treatise; 1 record.
Charles William Pearce, "The Futility of the Anglican Chant", The Musical Quarterly, Jan. 1920 (1920). JSTOR Early Journal Content copy. Article; 1 record.
J. Spencer Curwen, Studies in Worship Music (first series) (1880/1888). London: Curwen. Cited by Stubbs for the "thick/thin" register terms and for the Temple Church choir. Treatise; 0 records.

What Is Not Yet Known

No reliable tempo measurement of the period recordings was made. One attempt (Victor 1922 St Anne) gave an ambiguous result, so only durations and matrix numbers are listed.
The unnamed "noted authority" behind Lutkin's 1910 metronome table is not identified, and the note unit is not stated.
No full text of The Etude, The Diapason, The New Music Review (other than Hall's reprint) or AGO proceedings was accessed in this pass.
No pedagogical writing by Wilhelm Middelschulte, Horatio Parker, Lynnwood Farnam or Clarence Eddy on tempo or conducting was located in full text.
T. Tertius Noble's own writings on boy-choir training date from after 1925 and were not used. His personal authorship of the Messiah marks is not established.
Metronome marks in Hutchins' Church Hymnal (1894) and the Methodist Hymnal (1905) were not checked against page images.
Curwen is cited through Stubbs; the Curwen volume itself was downloaded but not quoted directly.
The study period strictly starts c.1890. Buck (1877/1880), Bridge ([1885]) and Messiter's 1858/1870 accounts are included because they were in print and in use in the period.

How This Study Was Made

Reading. Each book was read in the archive.org copy linked. Passages were found by searching the full text and read in context.
Quotations. Every quotation was matched by machine against the book’s text. Where the scan’s text misreads a letter (“tlie” for “the”), the quotation gives the printed word.
Metronome marks. The scan text garbles note symbols, so every mark in the tempo tables marked “page image” was read from the page itself.
Evidence. Documented: in the person’s own text. Probable: a committee rule or an edition’s marks credited to its members or editor. Reported: told by another writer, or from an unnamed authority.
Period. The study covers about 1890 to 1925. Buck (1877/1880), Bridge ([1885]) and Messiter’s accounts of 1858 and 1870 are included because the books were in print and in use through the period. Lutkin’s pamphlet of 1930 is marked as later.

Category 7 of the Church Music, 1880–1925 set. Workbook: performance-practice-1890-1925.xlsx / .ods (55 practice records, 25 tempo rows, 27 sources).