ABSTRACT
The term 'sacred song' could be used to denote anything from a simple hymn to a complex ballad of the Russell gran scena variety based on a religious theme. There were, in addition, collections of songs being published for Sunday School use from the 1830s onward which proved influential. The need for simplicity and directness in these songs for children was an important ingredient of the gospel-hymn style. Sacred Songs and Solos was published by Morgan & Scott in London in 1873, the year Moody and Sankey made their triumphant tour of Britain. A favourite device used in the choral refrains of gospel songs is that of 'echo voices', usually male voices echoing a phrase sung by female voices. The combination of enthusiasm for sacred song and for blackface minstrel song prepared the ground for the visit to Britain of the Jubilee Singers, also in 1873.
