Part of the mix is that original music that has survived was done by Mozart, Haydn, and others. I suspect much of it was lost. The largest compendium published first in Dublin and then in the US includes social music of the day, stuff to sing for 'fun', as opposed to ritual music.

Ritual music to some extent survived. Then it morphed in the US to parallel the social norms of the day. Bear in mind that the masonic experience, a fact which was 'secret', but now due to research and the net is to be inclusive and tolerant of all religions, creeds, skin colour etc. Thus the secret, that you would sup and fellowship with people who were not of your particular church etc.

The original music was not for organ, but scored as Mozart's was, for horns and strings, and voice.

So it is common to find pump organs, (reed organs) and other instruments sitting in corners of lodges, part of the furniture, but now unused. Organists are hard to come by.

And we have become more tolerant, and the present need for this type of thought is less important.

Some religions, (catholic of note) outright ban members from joining, because they cannot tolerate openness.

My present work is to figure out how to include music, at a reasonable cost, without muss and fuss.

But the history is interesting, certainly as it pertains to Sibelius, who quit mainstream composition to focus on ritual music, much of which is in the archives of the Grand Lodge of New York, who assisted the revival of the 'craft', in Finland.

I will do but a cursory examination of this, but hope to recreate some of the original music with some degree of authenticity.


Thanks for your insights.

PS, Perhaps a good example of a hymn which appears in books from most denominations is the Russian Hymn, and it is recognizable so I might use that as an example, done on numerous organs via sound fonts etc.

John Conley
Musica est vita