ABSTRACT
The practice of hymnody is one of the most important aspects in understanding its appeal and significance to Christians of many traditions, including Methodists. The liturgical spaces, the positioning and use of musical instruments within them, the status and function of musicians, and the experience of congregational participation all present insights into the practice of hymnody and the ways it has changed within Methodism. This chapter highlights both broad trends within Methodism and the individuality of the experience at a local level. The different buildings used by the Methodist Society at Elvet, Durham, and the musical instruments and practices that have taken place within them, illustrate how the influence of broader trends both within and beyond Methodism have been played out in a local setting. Accounts of musical practice in nineteenth-century Primitive Methodism in the North of England reveal points of convergence with and divergence from the practice of hymnody in urbanised Wesleyan contexts.
