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The great audiences, crowding the pews so that aisle chairs had to be put in, was in itself an inspiration; so was also the fine music with John Zundel at the organ and the large choir leading the vast congregation.
There have been more famous musicians engaged for Plymouth Church Choir during the past fifty years than in any other church in this country, if not in the world. Among the names I may mention are Zundel, Burnet, Stebbins, Wheeler, Thursby, Toedt, Sterling, Lasar, Damrosch, Warrenwrath, Camp, and many others. Of them all probably John Zundel came the nearest to Mr. Beecher's ideal.
Our first hymn book was a little one known as Temple Melodies. Mr. Beecher could not get along with this, and with the aid of his brother, Rev. Charles Beecher, and the organist, John Zundel, compiled and published the Plymouth Collection. This long held its place at the head of church hymnals and really worked a revolution in church music.
Zundel says they're not really her works at all, but were directly dictated by her dead friend. Previous to Judith's death, Mlle. Zundel says she never wrote a line of poetry. Here we have direct proof of an invisible intelligence directing this young lady to write poems which she admits she never wrote before her friend's death.
One of these friends was a girl, Judith's most intimate companion. A year after Judith's death this girl dreamed a dream. In the dream Judith appeared and commanded her to seize a pencil and write to dictation. The result was a series of poems of an exoteric character which are triumphs of meter and scan perfectly. They are published in the name of the girl friend, Mlle. S. Meyer Zundel, but Mlle.
Pinton's musicianship was not profound. He had begun life as an organ salesman. He manipulated the cabinet organ for impossible customers in Wisconsin, and he came to New York because he was offered a better chance. The inevitable church position occurred. Then came Zundel voluntaries and hard pedal practice.
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