Johann Conrad Beissel and Music of The Ephrata Cloister

Johann Conrad Beissel and Music of the Ephrata Cloister
Author(s): Lloyd G. Blakely

Source: Journal of Research in Music Education , Summer, 1967, Vol. 15, No. 2
(Summer, 1967), pp. 120-138
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for
Music Education
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Ld G. BMSly
Johann Conrad Beissel and Music of

the Ephrata Cloister
1 HE MUSIC of the Ephrata Cloister, which

evolved during the first half of the eighteenth century, exercised an in-
fluence upon the future of American music which is far greater than is
generally supposed. CConceived on the banks of the Cocalico in Lancaster
County, PennsylsZania, the hymn-tunes of the Cloister spread across the
Susquehanna into the valleys of the Antietam and Shenandoall, west
into the Alleghenies, and north into New England. William Billingsf the
Yankee tanner, was no doubt inspired in his musical eSorts by the pious
celibates of Ephrata.l
The Ephrata CCloister is one of the most interesting and unusual insti-
tutions of colonial America. In many aspects the Cloister was similar to
a medieval monastery. Income of the group was derived from communal
labor with work being looked upon as an integral part of the divine uror-
ship service. The community inhabitants were trained to endure priva-
tions. They slept on wooden benches. The entire life of the community
was chiefly devoted toward a mystical relation to God. Members kept the
sesentll day instead of Sunday. Afatrimony was discouraged antl complete
suppression of all sexual desire was expectecl. Singing came to be a
spiritual force in the lives of the pious.
Johann Conrad Beissel, born at Eberbach in the Palatinate in 1690,
brought under the influence of the Pietists, emigrated to America when
he was thirty years old. Following tile patterns set by his mentor Johann
Kelpius, the Wissahickon Ilermit, Beissel founded tlle Ephrata Cloister in
l732 and remainecl its spiritual leader until his death in 1768. A self-
taught person, he had but a scant acquaintance witll the church music o£
the Reformation period. At first he expressed his religious feelings in
prose antl poetry. A "wooer of the Virgin Sopilia," his style imitated that
of the FIeidelberg Pietists, being full of metaphors? extensive in mysticism
1 Julius F. Sachse, The ,llusic of the Ephrata Ctoister (Lancaster, Pennsylvania:

Author, 1903), p. 3.

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MUSIC OF THE EPHRATA CLOISTER 121
based on the Cabbala and Hermes Trismegustus and led by the concepts
of theRosenkreutzer.
Not content with the hymn tunes of the Geneva Church, which formed
the basis for the melodies of the early Ephrata hymns (lyrics), Beissel
became self-appointed Kapellmeister and proceeded to compose both
lyrics and melodies. His music, like the lyrics to which they were set,
contains many elements of mysticism. A member of the Cloister indicated
that Beissel "took his style from the music of nature . . . founded on the
tones of the Aeolian harp."2 He evolved a system of the composition of
music of his own and peculiar to the Cloister. It should be noted:
. . . that this music, with its peculiar system of harmony, was a native Penn-
sylvania product-the earliest and most distinctive system of music evolved in
the western world during the eighteenth century. Though crude in many of its
progressions nd often incorrect in its harmonies, yet, both from an historical
antl musical standpoint, it is unique and valuable, and, when sung with fervor
and feeling by the enthusiastic mystic celibates, it had unquestionably a charm
of its own.3
The music, although barred, was free. The accent of the word ruled.
Longer notes were given to the accented syllables, the shorter ones to the
unaccented. Sachse indicated that "the first and other notes were fre-
quently lengthened, probably to enable the voices to steady them-
selves . . . the emphasized words in the course of the hymns were also
frequently lengthened, so that we find indiscriminately three, four, five,
six, yes, even seven notes in tlle bar, which in modern music would have
but four."4
Tlle music was always subservient to the words and was chiefly sung
by female voices. The four-part llymns were sung by female soprano,
alto, tenor (second alto), and by male bass. The female voices were
written in the movable C clef, while the bass appeared in the F clef. In
the five-part scores a second male bass was added; the six-part composi-
tions added another female tenor. The seven-part music added a high
female voice, the parts consisting of two sopranos (high female voices),
one alto, two tenors (low alto), and a first and second bass. Richards
described this voice order as "counting from below, the first part is lower
bass; second, upper bass; third, female tenor; fourth, female treble; fifth,
counter, higll female voice; sixth, leading voice; seventh, second leading
voice."5
Much controversy surrounds descriptions of the manner of singing at
the Cloister. William M. Fahnestock, a member of the Cloister, stated:
2 JllliUS F. Sachse, "The Music of the Ephrata Cloister," The German Sectari(lns of
Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Chapter VI (1899-1900), p. 134.
s Henry M. M. Richards, "The Ephrata Cloister and Its Music," Publications of the
Lebaa10n County Historical Society, VIII (1921-1924), p. 298.
* Sachse, The Ger)17an Sectarians of Pennsylvat7ia, p. 134.
6 Richards, p. 299.

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JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION
122
. . . The tones issuing from the choir imitate soft instrumental m

a softness and devotion almost superhuman to the auditor.... The whole is
sung on the falsetto voice, the singers scarcely opening their mouths, or moving
their lips, which throws the voice up to the ceiling, which is not high, and the
tones, which seem to be more than human, at least so far from common church
singing,
the appear to be entering from above, and hovering over the heads of
assembly.ff
Richards commented in 1922 that: "Some writers even dwell upon the
angelic or celestial quality of the vocal music as it floated through the
space of the large Saal when the responses were sung and reverberated
from gallery to choir."7 Warrington took issue with the falsetto presenta-
tion described by Fahnestock. His comments concerning the Ephrata
music, written in 1!}12J state that:
. . . erroneous impressions of Beissel and his music prevail, owing to the fact
that from and including the time when Brothers Lamech and Agrippa attempted
to describe his method, none who wrote or spoke about it have had any
knowledge of music as a saence. The common idea about the Ephrata celibates
singing in "Falsetto" arises from the fact that some of the upper parts for female
voices ran as high as A and B above the staff, and as these voices did not sing
the melody, but only an accompaniment, those unlearned might easily call these
high voices "Falsetto" without knowing what the term really meant.8
SINCING AT THE CLOISTER
The Superintendent [Beissel] was urged by his Guide to establish higher

schools, of which the singing school was the beginning.... The principles of
it are ... the same all over the world.... The whole art consists of seven notes,
which form two thirds and one octave, which are always sung in such a
way that you do not hear the tone which stands between two notes, thus occa-
sioning a sweet dissonance, which renders the art a great wonder . . . as every-
thing necessaly in the Settlement had to be stolen from the world-spirit, so
also in respect to singing. The Superintendent did not know anything about
it, except some notes which he had learned on the violin. But a certain house-
father, by the name of Ludwig Blum, was a master-singer, and was also versed
in composition; he once brought some artistic pieces to the Superintendent,
which induced him to make use of the Brother in his church building.... Now
those of the Solitary, of whom about seventy of both sexes were in the Settle-
ment, were selectexl who had talent for singing, and the above mentioned
Ludwig Blum, together with the Superintendent, arranged a singing-school . . .
and everything prospered for a time. But the Sisters at last complained to the
6 Statement made by William M. Fahnestock in fIazards Register of Penn.syhtania.

Quoted in Hans Theoelore Davi(l, "Hymns and Music of the Pcnnsylvania Seventh-l)ay
Baptists,"
7 The Atnerican-Cerman Rsiew, Vol. IX, no. 5 (Junc
Richards, p. 1934), pp. 6 .3G.
297.
8James Warrington, "An Announcement," a two-page tract indicating "There \Ntill

be Issued Shortly, to Subscribers Only, a Facsimile Reproduction of Beisscl's Treatise
on Music," (1901), housed in the Library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The
"Brothers Lamech and Agrippa" are the writcrs of the Chronicon of thc F,phrata
Cloister.

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Superintendent that they were sold to one man, and petitioned him to manage
the school himself, saying that they would steal the whole secret of the school-
master and hand it over to him . . . and now the Sisters told the Superintendent
everything they had learnt in the school, and as soon as they saw that he had
mastered the art, they dismissed their school-master.9
After Beissel had taught the first principles of singing, he divided the
group into five choirs, with five persons to each choir. The Sisters were
divided into three choirs, the upper, middle, and lower. During the sing-
ing of the choruses a sign was made for each choir, when to be silent,
and when to join in the singing. The three choirs had separate seats at
the table of the Sisters during love feasts. In antiphonal singing the
choirs went alternately up and down the table. There were solos in each
chorale.
Not content with "having come into possession of so rich a treasure for
the praise of God''l° Beissel created his own system for the composition
of music and set forth these thoughts, along with a treatise on singing, as
a preface to the 1747 hymn book of the Ephrata press, Das Gesang Der
einsamen und verlassenen Turtel-Taube, Nemlich der Christlichen
Kirche (The Song of the Lonley and Forsaken Turtle-Oove, namely, the
Christian Church-a work best known as the Turtel-Taube.)
Granted, the work done by Beissel and his associates is, by con-
temporary standards, quite crude and inaccurate. It is significant, how-
ever, in that it belongs to the first attempts made on American soil to
compose sacred music; for that matter, music per se. Certainly his was the
first treatise on harmony to be published on this soil.
PREVIOUS TRANSLATIONS OF THE TREATISE

Five previous attempts have been made to translate this important
dissertation from its original German into English. Obvious errors and
inaccuracies are evident in these translations.
The Hark translation of the Chronicon Ephratense, kept by Brother
Lamech, and continued by Brother Jaebez (Johann Peter Muller), was
a literal transcription of the description of Beissel's "discovery" of the
art of song.l1 Sachse indicates that "the literary portion [of Beissel's
Treatise on Harmony] shows the evident pruning of Prior Jaebez.''l2
Hark found difficulty in doing the translation from the German. "The
original narrative is written in a German so peculiar as almost to deserve
to be called a distinct dialect. It has, of course, been impossible to reprs
duce in English all the involved sentences, ungTammatical constructions,
9 Brother Lamech and Btlother Agrippa, Chronicon Ephratensc: X History of thc

Community of thc Scacnth Day Baptists at Ephrata. Lancastcr County, Pcnnsylvania,
trans. by J. Max Hark (Lancaster, Pennsylvania: S. H. Zahm and Co., 1889), pp. 160-
161.
Sachse, The Music of thc Ephrata Cloister, p. 58.
Brother Lamech and Brother Agrippa, pp. 165-167.
12 Sachse, Thc Music of thc Ephrata Cloistcr, p. 52.

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124 JOURNAL OF RESEARGH IN MUSIC EDUCATION
local idioms, mystical expressions, and ecclesiastical words and phrases-

and conveying a meaning to them often quite foreign to that which
ordinary correct usage gives them.''13
Sachse did the first complete translation of the Treatise from the
Turtel-Taube in the 1900 (first) edition of The German Sectarians of
Pennsylvania.l4 Self-satisfaction with his efforts was evidenced by the
statement:
It is now a great pleasure for the writer to be able to give the key to these
native Pennsylvania-German harrnonies. This was found by a careful study of
the different MS. exercises and the dissertations of Beissel upon his art of
singing. Careful translations of both have been made. The transposition into
modern notation of the musical exercises and tunes are by a gentleman of
Philadelphia who has made a study of hymn tunes and melodies. . . Acknowl-
edgments are also due him for suggestions during the course of the translation
of the technical dissertation.15
An interesting two-page "announcement" housed in the Library of

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and issued by James Warrington
indicated that "There Will be Issued Shortly (to Subscribers Only) a
Facsimile Reproduction of Beissel's Treatise on Music, which forms a
preface to the Tllrtel-T(lube, Ephrata 1747.... A translation, as literal
as possible, by a competent German and Musical scholar, will be given
page for page with the facsimile, so that competent persons can judge
for themselves, and the Treatise will be accompanied by an Introduction
and Notes...."lff The "Facsimile Reproduction" of the Treatise de-
scribecl by Warrington cannot be found. It is shown as an Entry in the
United States Cataloglle, 1902, and was so indicate(l in the l)oll and
Funke Bibliogrfxphy of the Epllrata Cloisters.l7 This Bibliography lists
Warrington as having published "A Bibliography of Church Music Books
Issued in Pennsylvania, witll Annotations," which "contains an extended
discussion on the music of the Cloister and subsequent commentaries
thereon.''l8 The true significance of the "announcement" lies in the
stinging criticism made of tlle earlier Sachse translation: "Sachse has
gathered together all the flying rumors and gossip and put upon them
the stamp of his approval. A sligllt glance at the original gives ample
evidence that not only is the 'critical' faculty lamentably absent from
this would-be historian, but that his knowledge of music and the English
language is so slight as to render his translation worthless to tlle stu-
13 Brother Lamech and Brother Agrippa, pp. iv-v.

'4 Sachse. The Certr7a?t Sectarians of Pennsylvania, pp. 152-160.
6 Sachse The German Sectarians of Pen?sylvania, p. 129.
16 Warrington p. 1.
17 Eugene D. Doll and Anneliese M. Funke, The Ephrata Cloisters, an Annotated
Bibliography (Philadelphia: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation Inc., 1944).
18 James Warrington "A Bibliography of Church Music Books Issued in Pennsyl-
*ania zith Annotations The Pennsylttania (>,erman) I, n. s. (1912).

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MUSIC OF THE EPHRATA CLOISTER
125
dent.''l Among otller faults fou

translation from the German of the terms Barrir and Toener used by
Beissel. Warrington correctly pointed out that these were terms appar-
ently coined by Beissel and even he had described tlleir meaning (which
Sachse had failed to discover in llis early translation).
Sachse was not to be defeated in his efforts! In a 1903 publication he
identified the Rev. J. F. Ohl, Mus. D., of Philadelphia, as being the per-
son responsible "For the [new] translation of the 'Dissertation' and for
the transposition of several musical numbers into modern notation."20
He defended his previous translation by stating:
The attention of the writer has been repeatedly called, by musicians and
other competent musical judges, to certain glaring errors in the music as printed
in the musical chapter of his work, and supposed to have been a correct transla-
tion of the Ephrata scores into modern notation. The writer greatly regrets the
inadvertent introduction of this erroneous matter into his work-mistakes for
which he can hardly be held responsible. In compiling the chapter on the
Ephrata music [German Sectarians, Vol. II, Chapter VI, pp. 127-160] the writer,
not being an expert skilled in the rules of harmony, nor proficient in instru-
mentaI music, entrusted the transposition of several specimen pieces into modern
notation to the hands of a person whom he believed to be a competent and
practical musician-one who claimed to have some knowledge of this kind of
mUsic.2l
Sachse indicated tllat lle llad seen fragments of tlle Dissertation trans-
lated into Englisll, proving that it was printed in Englisil, but tllat the
title ancl concluding pages were missing. He did indicate that Beissel
defined, in a footnote to llis Treatise, the terms Barrir and Toener,
stating tllat "in ordinary language tlle former stands for tenor, the latter
for alto.""4
Were Sacllse to llave used the Ephrata Codex as a basic reference he

would not llave made tlle glaring errors wllicll appear in his 1900 and
1903 translationst23 Numerous errors are evident in llis descriptions of
specific notes witllin chord patterns. Tlle Codex edition of the Turtel-
Taube is notable in one specific instance wllen a most obvious correction
was made in tlle original by tlle substitution of tlle letter A for a previous
letter incorrectly written. (Commt der F im Coral vor so dienst ihm im
Barir d er A lznd irn toneor unsl Bas der D). Tlle 1900 translation given
is: "If tlle F occurs in a clloral, lle is serveel in barrir and bass by tlle D
and A in tenor."24 Tlle 1903 translation reads: "lf F occurs in tlle
19 \Varrington, "An Anllouncemellt," p. 1.
t' Sachsc, T/le Music of the EbSlrata Cloisters p. 1.
21 Sachse, The M71sic of the EpSlrata Cloisters p. 22.
24 Sachsc, The Mlesie of the Ephrat(l Cloister, p. 73.
23 Die Bittre Gute oder Das Gesa^1g Der Einsllt7len Turtel-Taube (1747), housed in
the l,il)rary of Congrcss, Mllsic dSectioll. Thc book is best known as the Ephrata Co(lex.
This is the book preparc(l by thc Brothers of thc Cloistcr, containing Beissel's original
tllncs, and prcsented to him.
24 Sachse, The Gexman Sectarians of Pennsylvania) pp. 154-160.

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126 JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MUSIC EDUCATION
melody it is served by D in the tenor and bass, and by A in the alto."25

The correct translation is: "If an F appears in the soprano, A will be
in the second alto [Barrir] and D in the first alto [Toener] and bass."
Again, were Sachse (or J. F. Ohl, his "acknowledged" authority on
music) to have referred to the tables supplied by Beissel and illustrated
in the Codex, it would be apparent that the latter translation is the
correct and obvious one! Numerous other similar instances occur in the
1903 translation.
An unfinished work by Ernst translates a portion of the Treatise on

harmony.26 The authors immediately fell into the trap experienced by
Sachse in the translation of the statement beginning "If F occurs in the
melody . . ." Again, it appears that the Codex was not used as a basic
reference.
TRANSLATION OF THE TREATISE27

A Short, Yet Very Thorough, Description of the Manner and Make-up of
the Heaven-sent, Sublime and Divine-as well as Very Useful-Gift of the Art of
Song, Greatly Ennoblevl and Highly Ranked by God, Which is Useful, as Well
as Necessary, in God's Church.
If we were to describe the benefits which have come to us in conjunction
with this matter [reflections upon the Art of Song], we would probably have to
go on ad infinitum since in discovering this great gift we have mastered extra-
ordinary sublime matters. We have not only profited by the usefulness of the
material presented, we have also become aware of man's divorce from God-
how nothing essential is left to man of that which is truly good, not even a pale
reflection which could at least present a picture of the truth; only a pure and
untrammeled nothingness incapable of being an image or sample of the real
thing. This discovety made us very small and lowly in our own eyes.
Yet in this particular study we gathered more than we ever before experiencexl
in many years of suffering for the faith. Because this sublime knowledge has
taken from us all our acquired common wealth and beauty, we can first of all
boldly say, and it is certainly necessary to know this-particularly in view of
this great Divine gift and discipline which we discovered; this to be sure we want
to mention first of all, that there is no single son of Adam and Eve, to whom
so much was left of the treasures of the kingdom of God, that man could
produce one single distinct Ton [sound] that would fit into this teaching, much
less beautify a real song. In this regard it is not surprising that the shortcoming
26 Sachse, The Music of the Ephrata Cloister, p. 73.
26 James E. Ernst, Ephrata} A Histon (Pmthumously Edited With A
by John Joseph Stoudt), (Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania G
Society, 1963), pp. 244-245.
7 The author is deeply indebted to Paul and Henrietta Guenther of th
Campus, Southern Illinois University, for their invaluable assistance in
which follows. Copies of the original manuscript were shown to sev
Germany in the summer of 1965 in an attelnpt to have the translatio
each instancF the recipient chose not to undertake the difficult task of
document into English. The statement made by Hark, translator of th
1889 was indeed echoed: "The original narative is written in a Germ
almost to deserve to be called a distinct dialect."

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M USIC OF THE EPHRATA CLOI.STER 127
of the sound is always this, that it does not achieve the real pitch which must
appear in this sublime Art of Song. This indicates that man nortnally is of
down here [of the earth], while the sublime Art of Song comes from above
[from the heavens]; which is also the reason for the constant falling and drop-
ping of the pitch. Under all circumstances some defect will be evident when
the voice strives for the higher notes.
After much important reflection we have concluded that this is man divorced
from God in his inability to grasp the essence of the Divine.
Therefore, we want to make a beginning here, because this is the first step.
Before we go on, however, we want to take one step backwards and first briefly
contemplate what else is part of this sublime Art. It isn't our intention to add
extensive verbal praise to the God-given Art of Song because it already has an
abundance of such praise sufficient to speak for itself. Therefore we won't waste
much time with these things but consider the subject itself. In passing we will
only indicate the essence of the Almighty Spirit and by what means we can make
ourselves beloved by Him so that we may become like Him.
May the wisdom from above which has hitherto been our secret adviser,
guide, and sacred instruction in all of our ways, and which llas unsealexl and
made clear this sublime gift [the Art of Songl, cause everyone to act so as to
please God and to be esteemed by men. Then the gift which is needed for the
practice of this sublime Art will also be given.
Although surely many uninstructed often pass careless judgment as if they
would by means of this God-ennobled and esteemed Art of Song harmonize with
the spirit of the world, we will not concede this at all, but will rather try to
prove the opposite. For this important matter we will use neither alien color
nor unnecessary embellishment. We will, rather, stick solely to the human
voice as it is moved by the emotions of heart and spirit to sing praise and hotlor
to the Almighty. For if this secret and hidden wisdom had not revealed itself
to us, this Divine Art would have remained an unsolved puzzle and sealed letter.
We will not concede that the spirit of this world possesses an Art which is
necessary for the enjoyment of heavenly matter; rather we ascribe the origin of
this Art to Paradise-although it has died, just as man died out of the kingdom
of Heaven. But like man who, reawakened through the right spirit, will again
be able to return to the heavenly kingdom, so it will be with this matter:
Awakened by the proper spirit, the Art of Song will return to Paradise, which
is its place of origin and its home.
Let us then make a beginning and speak to the subject and report as
briefly as possible by what means and occasion we have been able, spiritually
and bodily, to gain easy access to this highly esteemed Art and then to continue
as circumstances require. Above all, let it be said, God's virtue must be seen
in its highest degree; on the peak of perfection and over everything, if one
intends, in the proper spirit, to be first a disciple and then master.
It is further necessary, in this sublime and Divine Art, that master and
disciple know how important it iS, in addition to everything else, that they, first
of all, attempt to make themselves agreeable, pleasing, and beloved by the spirit
of the sublime and I)ivine virtue. This Art, according to our knowledge and
experience, contains the purest and noblest spirit of eternal heavenly virginity.
This, to be sure, calls for the efforts of an angelic life. The pampering of the
body must be severely restricted and watched so that the voice becomes more
angelically heavenly supple and clean and not crude, harsh, and bitter through

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the grossness of food; becoming incapable of producing the proper sound, so

that instead of proper singing there will be heard ill-mannereil rasping and
panting.
It is then particularly necessary to know what kinds of food will make th

mind alert and tile voice supple; or, by contrastr which will make the m
crude hazy, and heavy. Certainly all meat dishes, whatever their names, w
disagree with us and will cause no little trouble to a pilgrim in search of q
eternity. To this must also be added the animal food stuffs which we so wrong
absorb. Milk makes one heavy and constricted. Cheese makes one ardent a
fiery and greedy for other unpermissible things. Butter makes one lazy
heavy and fills one with excessive well-being so that he doesn't feel like sin
or praying. Eggs arouse many variegated strange lusts. Honey makes- clear
and a merry mind, but not a clear voice. Of bread and pastry, it must be s
that there is nothing better for an alert mind, antl the ease of nature, t
wheat and buckwheat. Although they appear externally different, they have
same merits when used, be it bread or pastry. As to other simple produc
nothing is better than potatoes, carrots, and other roots. Beans are heavy,
one up too much, and awaken unclean desires. Above alI it has to be noted t
the Spirit of the sublime Art, being pure, chaste, and virginal, cannot tole
any unclean, tainted, and sinful passion which so excites the blood of you
people and stirs it that they certainly become entirely useless and inactiv
mind, heart, voice, and senses. Among older people it brings forth the ess
of evil, the quality indigenous to Hell, and consequently bars the chaste a
pure spirit from achieving Heaven in heart, mindf and voice.
As concerns drinking, it has loxlg been known that nothing guarantees t
straight and narrow path more readily than clear innocent water, straight f
the well or in the form of a very thin soup with a little bread in it. All o
boiled potables which turn the healthy nature of water into an unnat
delicacy must be considered sinful, useless, and ill-advised, like many oth
foods which we don't consider worth enumerating here; which, through m
and diverse vain desire, find their good innocent nature changed to somet
else as a delicacy. We don't even mention the ill-mannered filling-up of
belly, since we have only those in mind who are already in all matters figh
the battle of the spirit according to rule and law. Therefore, have no tru
with loose-living dissolute men. The strength to achieve Godly virture has n
ing to do with the selection of any kind of food. Were it so, we would wish t
completely liberated from the latter need and would be able to live a com
pletely Enochian, supernatural, and spiritual life. Then the heavenly mir
Song, would sound of itself without the accretion of things which are transit
and do not reach eternity. Furtllermore} we don't propose to waste too m
time on this or that subject, but to continue and get to our purpose. But
we still want to say, that if we should undertake to deal with all ramifica
of the matter we would find neither goal, measure} or end.
We shall spare no effort to explain the matter the best we can, but also a
leaving to those who are understanding and experienced something to disc
and to think about; and we shall be as short as we can.
It would appear that the originator of the Ephrata singing scho

Ludwig Blum, was rather solidly grounded in the fundamentals o

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principles of the Art of Song and that the Sisters of the Cloister did in-
deed "steal the whole secret of the schoolmaster and lland it over to him
[Beissel]."28 The instructions which follow, in a continuation of the
Treatise, certainly bear this out.
The main thing, and the most useful that a master dealing with beginners
must keep in mind, is not just to teach the A-B-C, or to let them sing the seven
letters of the scale and then right away continue with terzen un.d springen [thirds
and intervals] before they have penetrated into the peculiarities of each letter.
Sometimes they don't even know what they have learned. A special effort
must be made to draw out the quality and sound of each letter. This requires
such industry as cannot be described here. It takes a lot of effort until someone
can produce the proper sound: Either the voices will sound too harsh or the
sound comes out wrong without reaching the proper pitch. There can be no
slackening until it becomes clear how far one seems to be able to go.
If nothing appears to help, one should quit working for awhile with such
students so that one's disposition may not suffer. If, however, a student has
learned to do justice to each letter, no effort should be spared that the voice
be made pliable and the nature of each letter understood, so that, when the
work continues, the instructor may know how to deal with the student's
mistakes and defects. This is the time to lay the groundwork for everything
that is necessary, and yet so much can be done wrong that many years would
hardly suffice to correct it.
We shan't say anymore about this but will now demonstrate the nature of
a four-part song and will show which letters are suited to the choral function
of each voice for any and all melodies.
The key of each tune in four voices shall be demonstrated in tables which
follow: Also shown will be the way of retrieving a melody which has gone flat,
so as not to reproduce it outside of its proper framework.
It is important to know that no more than three letters can be used for
the four voices, consequently the fourth voice is always the octave. The three
letters appear always, and with every melody, right at the start, so that the
four voices can be established. It must be noted that the three letters which
.appear in the beginning of the song are Lords and Masters on which the whole
must be based from beginning to end. The letters at the end of the song must
be the same as those at the start.
Before continuing with the translation of the Treatise it is necessary to

define the terms Barrir and Toener used by Beissel. Warrington, and
later Sachse, indicates that the terms were apparently coined by Beissel.
He indicates "that by Barrir he means what is commonly known as alto."29
For purposes of uniformity and clarity in this translation it becomes more
appropriate to translate his term Toener as "first alto" and the term
Barrir as "second alto." The four voices described by Beissel will be con-
sidered, therefore, as soprano, first alto, second alto, and bass. The trans-
lation continues:
28 Brother Lamech and Brother Agrippa.

29 \garrington, p- 2-

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If the melody [soprano line] uses the letter C, E is the note in the second
alto [BaTrir] and G in the first alto [Toener]. Thus the first alto and bass
begin on G. This order may, however, be interchanged if the melody does not
start with C Nevertheless these letters must remain together and begin and
end the tune.
The other four letters, that is F-A-B-D, should be recognized as servants
and it shall be told how they must serve their fellow-servants, so that they
may harmonize. Although we will eventually show everything in the tables
which follow, we will yet take the trouble of explaining which must be the
two associates of each of these letters.
If an F appears in the soprano, A will be in the second alto and D in the
first alto and bass. A in the soprano has a D in the second alto and bass, and
F in the first alto. If B appears in the sopranol D will be the letter in the
second alto. On occasion the D will also appear in the bass, otherwise G
appears in the first alto and bass. D in the soprano calls for B in the second
alto and G in the first alto and bass. In this manner a melody in the key of C
[Major] can be properly set for four voices.
And now we will show how a song that has dropped in pi tch can be
properly rescued without violation of its character. The thing to know is that
such an operation is based on the letter which governs the melody [soprano
line]. Should the letter be C, one can produce another C as follows: Sing
C-D-Eb. As soon as the proper pitch of Eb has been established go back, call
this pitch C and continue the song. It comes out right.
Now we shall progress from the key of C [Major] to the key of A [Minor]
and demonstrate how the three masters, which form the four voices, begin and
end the tune, and how the remaining four servants are assigned their duty.
In this case A is the chief master of the tune [appears as the soprano note].
The second alto has a C, sometimes the bass also; otherwise the first a}to and
bass have an E. These are the four key voices in the melodies in A [Minor].
The four servants which cooperate are F-G-B-D. An F in the soprano calls
for A in the second alto and D in the first alto and bass. G in the melody has
C in the second alto and bass? E in the first alto. The soprano B calls for G:
in the second alto, E for the first alto and bass. D [in the melody] has B in
the second alto, G in the first alto and bass.
If the song goes flat proceed as follows: I must take the C, which I have
now called A, and ascend to a new C. Once I have the new C, I go back and
make my A sound correctly and continue the song with this A.
We now have thorough infortnation how to set the key of A [Minor]
into four voices, and how to raise the melody in this key when it has fallen.
Let us now pass from the key of A [Minor] and go to the key of Bb [Major]
and describe its characteristics. In the key of Bb the chief Lords and Masters
are Bb-D-F. Bb is the key-note of the melody, D governs the second alto
F the first alto and bass; although Bb remains as Lord and Master in the bass.
This is a "dead give-away" that Beissel did, indeed, have more than an
adequate knowledge of tonic triad harmonization; otherwise why should
he have emphasized that the Bb is the Lord and Master: that is} the one
tone governing the structure o£ the other voices (wiewol doch allerdings
im bas der B selbsten Oberster, Herz und Meister bleibet). One can

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speculate that perhaps Beissel was also more than familiar witll the
harmonization of a figured bass. The "system" he devised, tllat of
harmonization with fixed rules related to the tone appearing in the
soprano line rather than the bass, is indeed nothing more than a devia-
tion of simple harmonic realization related to the bass line. The ex-
planation for his "system" of realization from the soprano line is closely
tied in with his entire religious and mystical feelings. Heaven is above,
thus the significance and extreme emphasis of tlie soprano line. Hell is
below: . . . woraus zu merken dass der naturliche Mensch von unten
her und von der Erden diese hohe Kunst aber von oben her und vom
Himmel . . . (from which it should be noted that man is of down here-
the earth-the Art of Song comes from above-from Heaven). The bass
line, therefore, could never dominate the harmonization. Although
Beissel never uses the German word "Sopran," we might assume that he
knew the term, or the Italian "sovrano" (the English word "soprano"
being a variant of this term), meaning supreme, or sovereign. Such a
thought would enter into his concepts of mysticism rather nicely!
The four servants [in the key of Bb] are G-A-C, and D$. The melody note
G has a C in the second altoand bass. The first alto must be the D: [Eb].
It might perhaps be better to have D: [Eb] also for the bass.
A in the soprano has C for the second alto, F for the first alto and bass.
C in the melody takes A in the second alto, F in the first alto and bass. D#
[Eb] in the soprano uses a C in the second alto and bass, G in the first alto.
If the pitch has fallen, one should consider the Bb as if it were G, let the
voice ascend the proper number of degrees, get another Bb, and continue
accordingly.
It is extremely interesting to speculate how proper pitch was arrived at

in the Cloister. There is no record, of any sort, of any instrument being
used by the Pious other than that of the human voice. Perhaps one of
the Sisters (or Brothers) had perfect pitch. Perhaps Beissel himself had
such a gift. In any event it would appear that perhaps the movable "do"
system was being used along with some source of a fixed pitch. Beissel's
method of "raising the pitch, once it has fallen" seems to place heavy
emphasis upon a simple "think" system, adopting the most natural, and
certainly the earliest, interval experienced by the human voice-the minor
third. His"system" advocates that whatever pitch is being produced, in
this case supposedly a Bb, will probably have flatted the minor third:
that is, down to G. Therefore, one must use the G as a foundation (the
"thinking point") and sing back up a minor third, back to another Bb,
and thus the proper new pitch is found. The mystical relationship be-
tween Heaven and Hell is again evident. Man must always strive for
that which is above-after he has fallen. Beissel continues:
Let us now look at melodies where G is the Ruler and Bb and D are
partners [G Minor]. Here the matter is quite wondrously different! Altogether
different letters [notes] are made to do service in the three other parts.

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Let us begin with the three Masters. These melodies start with G, Bb, and D.
If the melody starts with G, these three letters will stick together inseparably
and will form the beginning of a tune in four parts; tllat is, as already stated,
the fourth part is the octave. It does not matter with which of these three
letters a tune begins. That we always commence our description with tlle
note which leads the melody is done for uniformity's sake. For that reason we
have also ill this report presented things as if all tunes begin with the letter which
dominates the melody; this obviously cannot be the case. In our further
description we willS therefore, continue to be governed by the special character-
istics of the melody.
This then is the manner of those melodies in the G tunes which have a
Bb [G Minor]. G in the melody takes Bb in the second alto, and D in the
first alto and bass. This then is the key; they remain together through the
entlre tune. However, when the G is sustained in the melody? the second alto
sings B [natural] instead of Bb. This is also the case with melodies in A
[Minor], in which the second alto sings C# to a sustainetl A in the melody.
ln this manner the four remaining letters, F, A, C and D: [Eb] are
Servants. F [in the melody] requires Bb in the second alto and bass, A in the
melody demands D in the first alto and bass, F# for the second alto. C calls for
A in the second alto, F in the first alto and bass. D: [Eb] requires G in the
second alto and C for the first alto and bass.
For the raising of the melody when it has gone flat, I refer you back to the
method used in the Bb tunes. It is the same.
We now come to the melodies in G that have B [natural] and Ft [that is,
G Major]. Here the G-B-D go together and make up the four main voices.
The others [Servants] are Ft-A-C-E.
FX has A in the second alto, sometimes also in the bass. The first alto and
bass have I). A in the melody calls for 1) in the second alto and bass, F# for
the first alto. C has the upper E for the second alto and A for the first alto and
bass. E calls for C in the second alto and bass, A in the first alto.
Raising the pitch when it has [allen is done as explained for the Bb tunes.
Now we hase only the 1f tunes which have F-A-C for the main voices. The
Servants are G-Bb-D, and E. G has C for second alto and bass, E for the first
alto. Bb [in the melody] calls for D in the second alto with G in the first
alto and bass. D [in the melody] has Bb in the second alto and bass, G in the
first alto. E calls for C in the second alto and bass and for A in the first alto.
At times G might be used in the first alto.
lf the pitch has fallen, we proceed as stated before; namely I get another
F by singing F, G, Ab. When I have the Xb I call it F and continue my song.
It will come out right
The above account described the Art of Song in the edition of the
Turtel-Taube known as the Ephrata Codex.3° This book contained nota-
tion for tlle hymns. The earlier editions, first printed in 1747 on the
Ephrata press, contairled only the hymrls (lyrics). Beissel continued his
discourse in the original edition by stating:
We have now imparted, as best we are able, the secret of our spiritual
work with Song. Although in the present instance we have more concern with
$° Die Bittrc &ute oder Das Gesang Der Einsametl Turtel-Taube.

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bJrJrJF vrfrF
hymns than with tunes, and a well-informed person might ask

has been said about notation, when none appears in the present work, we
have yet thought it proper to write this introduction; partly because it will
stimulate lovers of this noble and Paradisical Art to inquire further into
its secrets.
And now for a thorough indoctrination we shall put the entire matter on
six tables which will contain the entire theory; showing first of all the keys
of the four voices and then the remaining auxiliary voices.
The six tables, showing the method of harmonization, and the manner
of retrieving the fallen pitch, in the keys of IC Major, A Minor, Bb Major,
G Minor, G Major and F Major are shown below. The notation is taken
exactly from the original but transposed from the movable C clefs to the
appropriate treble or bass clef. A most obvious error occurs in the Table
for A Minor. The Bb appearing as the bass note in the cllord with F as the
soprano produces a secondary dominant! Such a "radical" chord was
unheard of in the Ephrata music. The note was copied as an indication
of the many errors which appear in the Cloister manuscripts.
A unique feature of the Codex version of the Turtel-Taube is the
appendage of three additional tables, following the six originally de-
scribed by Beissel. The literary style of the introduction to the addi-
tional tables is definitely that used by Beissel. One can only assume,
therefore, that Beissel was the author in this case. One small shred of
A PERFECT SPECIMEN OR KEY FOR EACH AND EVERY KIND

OF TUNE AND MANNER OF INSTANT, FAULTLESS,
FOUR-PART SINGING AND HARMONIZATION
TABLE FOR C MAJOR

Masters Method of Raising the Pitch Servants
b J F r r r r J 4 tr t F f f
4jj J ; J J J J J jj F J J
i} j J j j j J j Ij 4 J J X
XJ r J r 2 U J r 9 5 j f J F}

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_P_ -:
doubt exists, however. In illustrating the original six tables, Beissel was
quite careful, and accurate, in indicating the appropriate sharps and
flats in the key signatures. Not so, however, in the case of the three
additional tablesl The last table illustrated, A Major, did not have the
Ft in the key signature (although C# and G# were present). Perhaps the
Brother responsible for copying the manuscript was responsible for the
omission; perhaps Beissel failed to list the sharp. In any event it is not
used in any of the five parts in the score.
TABLE FOR A MINOR

t._ [1 e efl J
i X j J J j : i*J J J;
_
-9
v j J . ; j j x ! j :
:
I +
1[ 3 ¢ rJ 7 d J t g :
S;rA*
TABLE FOR Bb MAJOR
Masters Method of Raising the Pitch Seruants
P Sl Jt1

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;i Jf;-CJtfff
1t j;S Jo tIJt r_
1 clf
The introduction to the three additional tables reads: "Here ends the
matter of the Songs and patterns described above. Since, llowever, some
other tunes have emerged, which so far have remained unknown, we will
therefore add the same on here for a definite conclusion; and, to be sure,
put here their key and all other appurtenances according to the pre-
viously described arrangement."
The inconsistency shown by Beissel in his "method" of raising the
pitch is extremely interesting. As indicated by the Tables, his melodies in
C Major, C Minor, A Major, A Minor, G Major, G Minor, and F Major
TABLE . FOR G MINOR

Masters Method of Raising the Pitch Seruants
t J C r f f 4 P J J 4 tol rl IJ r
t; J J 4 J; 2 J0 4 iWS J J
fJ r f X C Xf f J + EW920 C r J r
XJ J X f X ' X J J N; 3;
TABLE FOR G MAJOR

Mastcrs Mcthod of Raising thc Pitch Seruants
;J 2;JX24 +$2 J J J
\v f- f:w
t 44 J;44 2 22 ti2 J j
¢ J: X t ai : J:

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, J o-2 d
all use the tonic of the key as a starting basis for the retrieval of the
pitch: that is, start from the tonic tone, sing up a minor third, and con-
sider that as the new (retrieved) pitch. It is not so, however, in his
melodies in Bb Major and Eb Major. In the case of these two, Beissel
would have one consider that the tonic of the key had become lowered in
pitch by a minor third. One must, therefore, sing back up (a minor
third) to a new pitch-to the "original" tonic. In the key of Bb Major
TABLE FOR F MAJOR

Masters Method of Raising the Pitch Servatlts
ib j 2 J P r C J J j AS,0 Q i1 L FJ C f r
*; j J J Q j j j j {b X J X J
4
+X J 4 j
tJ j f f 2r r J J iS tr;2
'9W; Q j jf jS J J
ADDITIONAL TABLES
TABLE FOR E b MAJOR

Masters Method of Raising the Pitch senJattts
W ; ¢ g f r S g ¢ t L I
<r f t'Ir
; j J 1X J ; J J J Q I
j; J j J J J x J
A; r r r rxL r ¢ r C :%f f r
O; J r S S f f J r J

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--
-_-.a
wl.,-f.
2o10
*rv1/nk
____ f f^
W----tU-Wb2>tt,
=- 1D:E_
_LS
"one should consider the Bb as if it were G, let the voice ascend the
proper number of degrees, get another Bb, and continue accordingly." The
implication of the Table for retrieving the pitch in the liey of Eb might
TABLE FOR C MINOR

Masters MetSlod of Raising the Pitch Se7vants
L =X:o=<= =H= r <
+s _ 4
ri} ;; > d; d J th::
1 i b j ;
s . .t_ ,,, .,. _ .
f bS 1 t j [4 k- 1. s T=r:=
E; J
I
TABLE FOR A MAJOR
S
v ,LwF -Lva_ r -;
=a r 2$ 1$4=H=k >t1 [ ° t
§==ez ?
xt 7 J -
, * .
tPA;
Z i; a; X T
Fets
rf r Q =
w.. . - 't ::
be a paraphrase of the statement given for Bb: "one should consider the
Eb as if it weretC, let the voice ascend the proper number of degTees, get
another Eb, and continue accordingly."
The production of music at the Cloister ceased with the death of
Beissel. During his tenure as Prior the most significant music book subse-
quent to the Turtel-Taube was the Paradisische! Wunder-Spiel, released
in 1754. The collection contained some of the larger compositions of
Beissel. The last hymnal to come from the Ephrata press was the 1785
A usbund Geistreicher Lieder.
Brother Jabez (Peter Muller) became Vorsteher of the Cloister follow-
ing the death of Beissel in 1768. A member of the American Philo

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sophical Society, his friends included such important persons as Ben-

jamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Hopkinson, and George
Washington. In spite of his scholarly abilities (he was extremely well
versed in law, theology, languages, and science), he was not able to give
practical guidance to the Cloister. By 1770 the Cloister was an anach-
ronism. It was a composite of conflicting elements which had been
"held together by the powerful personality of Conrad Beissel.''31 Follow-
ing the War of the American Revolution the Cloister began to dissolve.
The death of Peter Muller, September 1796, left the Cloister leaderless.
The group ceased to exist.
The only significant remnant of the Ephrata Cloister was the "Monas
tic Society of Seventh Day Dunkers of Snow Hill." Located in Franklin
County, Pennsylvania, Snow Hill was closely patterned after Ephrata.
The music and singing were similar to that at Ephrata. Schools were
operated where history, music, theology, and other subjects were taught.32
The old musical scores from Ephrata were used. Snow Hill, like the
Society of the Solitary at Ephrata, faded from the American scene follow-
ing the Civil War.
The music of the Ephrata Cloister is not lost. Major collections of
the thousand or so hymn-tunes found in the manuscripts prepared by the
Brothers and Sisters of the Cloister are preserved in collections of
the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Free Library of Philadelphia,
the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society, and the Music Division of
the Library of Congress. A majority of these beautifully illuminated
manuscript books have been inspected and microfilmed by the author.
Initial efforts have been involved in editing and indexing the fourteen
reels of microfilm, constituting the largest single collection of the Ephrata
music in one source. However, much scholarly work remains if historians
are to have a thorough knowledge of the musical efforts of the Ephrata
Cloister. There, on the banks of the Cocalico, was the true beginning of
our American Musical Heritage.
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.
t Ernst, p. 345.
" Ernst, p. 353.

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Johann Conrad Beissel and Music of The Ephrata Cloister

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