VI. But to turn our attention to the songs received by the Committee. No one of them was deemed to satisfy all the requirements of the needed hymn; and so the prize was not awarded.* The decision was, * REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE UPON A NATIONAL HYMN. The undersigned, having been requested to act as a Committee upon a Prize National Hymn, accepted the office doubtfully, and with some reluctance. They doubted the efficacy of the means proposed to the end which was sought; they were reluctant to assume the function of deciding for their fellow-citizens a question which it seemed to them could really be settled only by general consent and the lapse of time. And deeply as the events of the present momentous period of our country's history stir the heart of every true American, and strong as the tendency appeared among persons in all parts of the land, and of all grades of culture, to give a lyric expression to patriotic feeling, they still felt that the chances were very slight of obtaining at the call of a Committee and by the offer of a prize, a National Hymn which would live in the hearts and upon the lips of the American people. Therefore, although they did not feel at liberty to decline the service asked of them, they expressly reserved to themselves, in their published conditions of competition, "the right of rejecting all contributions, whatever their merit, should none of them be deemed suitable." The event has fully justified their apprehensions. They received nearly twelve hundred manuscripts in answer to their call, of which about one-third furnished new music as well as words. To the ex however, not that all the hymns were devoid of lyric merit. Far from it. The number of those which amination and comparison of these, the Committee addressed themselves at the earliest moment, and gave to the task very much more time than they supposed that they would be called upon to give. Every manuscript received was opened in Committee, read, and duly considered. Every musical composition was performed once; and those found sufficiently meritorious to be worthy of more careful examination were heard in solo and chorus. With comparatively few exceptions, the hymns sent in proved to be of interest only to their writers as rhymed expressions of personal feeling or fancy. Of these exceptions many were excluded from special consideration as being purely devotional, or because they were written either to the national airs of other peoples, or to those in certain vogue with us, the acknowledged insufficiency of which was the reason for the appointment of this Committee. After a careful and repeated consideration of the remainder, the Committee are unanimously of the opinion that, although some of them have a degree of poetic excellence which will probably place them high in public favor as lyrical compositions, no one of them is well suited for a National Hymn. They, therefore, make no award. Propositions were made for public performances of those hymns which the Committee should think worthy of such distinction; but, upon due consideration, it was deemed most advisable not to accept them. In accordance, however, with one of the conditions of competition, the most meritorious and noticeable of the songs received, have been placed in the hands of publishers (Messrs. RUDD & CARLETON), and will be issued in a volume at their risk; the publication, if profitable, inuring to the benefit of a patriotic fund. The remaining manuscripts, with their accompanying envelopes (unopened) containing the writers' names, have been destroyed. The money placed at the disposal of the Committee, will be accounted for by their Treasurer to the gentlemen who subscribed it. The Committee having thus absolved itself of its functions, according to its published conditions of competition, its members beg to inform the various competitors that it no longer exists as a body, and that they, as individuals, have no further power or responsibility upon this subject. GULIAN C. VERPLANCK, HAMILTON FISH, GEORGE T. STRONG, JOHN A. DIX, RICHARD GRANT WHITE, MAUNSELL B. FIELD. NEW YORK, August 9th, 1861. were noticeable for poetic excellence, however small in proportion to the multitude that were sent in, was quite as great as could reasonably have been expected, especially when the reluctance of poets of high and long established reputation to enter upon such a competition is considered. Of the winnowings from the immense heaps threshed out of twelve hundred brains, various causes, some of which have been mentioned elsewhere, have left but a few for our examination. But the style and the merits of these are so characteristic, that they offer us, not only their intrinsic beauties, but fine examples in illustration of our theme. NATIONAL HYMN. Words and Music by RICHARD STORRS WILLIS. I. Anthem of liberty, Solemn and grand, Wake in thy loftiness, Sweep through the land! Light in each breast anew Patriot fires, Pledge the old flag again— Flag of our sires! Fling all thy folds abroad, Banner of light! Wave, wave forever, Flag of our might! Amen! Amen! Anthem of Liberty, Sol-emn and grand, Wake in thy lofti-ness, Sweep thro' the land! Light in each breast a-new Patriot fires! まま And to each traitor-scheme Ruinous shock! Wake the old banner word! Union forever! Once and again !- God it maintain ! Amen! Amen! III. Shades of our forefathers, Pass through the land, Pledge the old flag a - gain-Flag of our sires! Fling all thy folds a-broad, Ban-ner of light! Segue Coro. |