The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Does anyone here collect religious music?


Paul

"Religious music" covers a wide range. I'm sure the answer to your question is "yes".

I have several Black Gospel records that I really enjoy. Some Catholic Hymns. Also, religious themed Christmas music. That being said, I not sure I can claim to "collect religious music" as a particular collecting goal. But, I have several religious records in my collection.

The reason why I ask is that I have six cylinder records of religious music I want to sell. Four are hymns and one is a sermon. If anyone is-interested, I’ll list them on the music trader forum.

I collect some, but don’t have too many in my collection.

I’d collect some black gospel music if I had more access to some. If I find any Billy Sunday’s stuff I’d pick it up.

I have one friend who likes them. He's a part-time preacher who sometimes plays them after his sermons. When I buy a group of records, if there are any religious ones, I just put them aside for him and give them to him when he comes through town.

I have only a few. One was a real discovery, a Columbia flag with the Fisk Univ Jubilee Quartet or so, singing Exekiel saw the wheel, and another I like very much is a ortho Victor with Do you call that religion, by other vocal group. I believed they're colored (sorry, don't know the right term) by their voices and singing style. These vocal groups are fenomenal!

Occasionally I will collect them--if they're Catholic records particularly, as Catholic hymnody was undergoing some very interesting changes in the early 20th century under the leadership of Pope Pius X who rewrote some of the laws on church music. I also collect documents on the period some of which reflect technological advancements at the time--in the 1940s and '50s there were papers coming out on church music & regulations on it, saying the pipe organ has pride of place, the reed organ may be used if it's not too reedy-sounding, and that electronically amplified reed organs are right out. Phonographs or automatic organs are also forbidden...Fun bits of minutiae. Those old-time bishops and cardinals would've had a stroke if they heard the drum machine on a modern electronic church-organ...Perfectly ghastly stuff.

I collect most of my religious stuff as sheet-music, though--just got the Gregorian Institute Hymnal of 1945 which catalogs 10 albums of 46 double-sided discs on the back of it. Currently I'm looking for those recordings.

Unfortunately they are scarce & phenomenally expensive, but I think, musically speaking, they're worth it. (If you like old music it doesn't get much more old-school than Gregorian chant in Latin.)

I get the sheet music because it's easy to duplicate and music that isn't played, is lost forever. To keep this (and a bunch of 19th and 20th-century popular music alive) I bought an old 1890s parlor "pump organ" and got into playing that. Looks like a combination of a roll-top desk and a Stair-Master and sounds pretty good. Thinking about buying an 1870s model soon to get a few extra stops & a sub-bass but in the meantime my 11-stop L&B has to do. It's 130 years old this year, might blow a gasket at any time, but -- sounds like heaven -- so I play the hell out of it!

O! Dem Golden Slippers, podcast number 121, seems to be quite popular.

It's one of the later Diamond Disc records that was electrically recorded.

Marc