An Introduction to America’s Music

40 PART 1 | FROM COLONIZATION THROUGH THE CIVIL WAR

members alone, Beissel’s music was not published; rather, in a spirit of devotion,

it was copied by hand, with elaborate decorations, in beautifully illuminated

choral books that have been preserved.

THE MORAVIANS

Another group of musically inspired separatists were the Moravians, or Uni-

tas Fratrum, who crossed the Atlantic in the 1740s and 1750s to create their

own communities in Pennsylvania (Nazareth, Bethlehem) and North Carolina

(Salem). Moravians encouraged the singing of elaborate anthems as well as

congregational hymns. And as community life grew more settled, organs were

introduced into the churches. David Tannenberg, a Moravian born in Saxony

but a Pennsylvania resident from 1749, became one of the most important Amer-

ican organ builders, with at least forty-two instruments to his credit. Moreover,

choral anthems were sometimes accompanied by orchestras formed by men of

K Conrad Beissel, founder and leader of the Ephrata Cloister in Pennsylvania, wrote both

words and music for many hymns, which were elegantly copied in illuminated manuscripts such

as this one.

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