Wesley's school of thought caught on, Big Time, here in Wales ... but (it must be noted) not without a fight. I'd guess that most of us here have grown up with a choral tradition stemming from, or related to, JW's ideas but it weren't always thus.

At the beginning of the 19th century (if I may wax historical for a minute) Wesley's style of congregational singing was spreading all over the place - linked to the introduction of the Tonic Sol-Fa music notation. However, I've seen one very long ballad (of the moral exhortation style of ballad - not the Frankie 'n' Johnnie kind) condemning this kind of congregational singing out of hand. It was written by a Jane Hughes in, I think, 1820 and she cut the idea of tidy, all-together-now singing to shreds. If I remember correctly, she felt that notation restricted the free flow of emotion in the singing of hymns. The musicologist who showed me the ballad said that, as far as he could make out, the singing prior to that was probably very similar to the singing of psalms in the Western Isles in Scotland ... which is very ...eerie? Jane felt the spirit should progress the song, not one person's diktat.

I love listening to the Western Isles kinda stuff ... but I gotta admit that I enjoy it best in smaller doses. Still, it's a pity that one tradition completely one out against the other here in Wales (well, with a couple of minor exceptions perhaps, but that's another story...)

Interesting thread.

sian