Edward Hitchcock sermon no. 148, "Power of Musick," 1823 February

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Creator	Hitchcock, Edward, 1793-1864
Title	Edward Hitchcock sermon no. 148, "Power of Musick," 1823 February
Dates	1823-02
Abstract	Edward Hitchcock's sermon on the influence of music on all aspects of human experience, based on 1 Samuel 16:23 ("And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took an harp and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed and was well and the evil spirit departed from him."). Hitchcock introduced himself "as one who makes no pretensions to an accurate acquaintance either with the science or the practice of musick [sic]." He therefore declined to speak about melody or harmony. He did, however, "take occasion to direct your attention to the power of musick [sic] generally on the passions and affections." He quoted James Beattie in order to distinguish a passion from an affection and noted that "musick [sic] not only does not encourage malevolent passions but tends to destroy them...." Hitchcock stated that the effects of music on passions and affections could be described by two general statements. "Musick [sic] tends to soften down & eradicate the more corrupt & savage passions & affections of the heart." And, it "tends to excite[,] cherish and strengthen those passions & affections that are agreeable[,] useful & holy." He then proceeded "to an elucidation of these two propositions by an appeal to sacred & profane history." Hitchcock noted on the first page the two places where he had delivered this sermon in 1823.
Notes	The finding aid gives the title of this sermon incorrectly as "Power of Music." Except on three occasions in the sermon, Hitchcock consistently wrote "musick."
Physical Description	1 item (21 pages), A strip of paper has been attached to the inside margin of page 17 of the booklet in order to insert additional text. The folder also contains a portion of a loose sheet of paper with text written on one side. Parts of this leaf are missing, with the result that the full meaning of the text is difficult to discern.
Languages	English
Place of Creation	Massachusetts
Genre	Sermons
Subject	Hitchcock, Edward, 1793-1864 – Sermons
Subject	Sermons, American – Massachusetts – 19th century
Subject	Music – Moral and ethical aspects – Sermons
Subject	Music – Physiological aspects – Sermons
Subject	Music – Psychological aspects – Sermons
Part of	Edward and Orra White Hitchcock Papers
Finding Aid	View the finding aid for this item's collection
Repository	Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Shelf Location	Box 7 Folder 9
Rights	Public Domain: This material has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. While Amherst College Archives & Special Collections claims no rights or authority over this material, we do ask that any publication or use of this material cite the Archives & Special Collections at Amherst College as the source of the images and the repository where the original documents can be found.