The First Tune Book.

In 1770 William Billings published The New-England Psalm Singer, a collection of more than one hundred anthems, hymns, and psalms that he had written. This volume was the first tune book compiled by a single American composer, as well as the first published collection of exclusively American music. The New-England Psalm Singer prefigured an outpouring of American tune books that began during the 1780s. By 1800 more than one hundred American tune books had appeared in print. Designed for singing schools, The New-England Psalm Singer provided tunes and instructions for training American singers.

Fuguing Tunes.

The New-England Psalm Singer includes the first "fuguing tunes" by an American composer, which exemplify how Billings drew on English church music for his tunes but still gave them a distinctive American cast. A fuguing tune is usually a song with passages that require different...