Lowell Mason (1792-1872), American music educator, tune-book compiler, and composer, was called the "father of singing among the children." He was the outstanding American music educator for over half a century and was the leading reformer of American church music.

Lowell Mason, born in Medfield, Mass., on Jan. 8, 1792, was basically self-taught in music. At the age of 13 he learned the rudiments from a local schoolmaster, and he directed singing schools in the area while still a teen-ager. Moving to Savannah, Ga., in 1812, he served as organist-choirmaster of the Independent Presbyterian Church while earning his living as a bank clerk. He also began to study harmony and composition.

By 1820 Mason had compiled a collection of psalm and hymn tunes in which he utilized many melodies then popular in England, some snippets from such masters as Handel, Haydn, and Mozart, and a few of his own compositions. The collection was...