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Q.
Why does the Presbyterian Hymnal omit Amens from hymns?
There are a number of appropriate uses and meanings of Amen, but that attached to hymn singing is as a response signifying agreement. Such use goes back to St. Ambrose (4th century A.D.) at the time of the Arian heresy about the nature of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. The Arians believed that Jesus was half human and half divine; the orthodox position was and is that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. In counter to the Arians, St. Ambrose wrote a number of hymns in support of the orthodox position, which, it is believed, were sung in procession outdoors. The final stanzas of these hymns were doxologies restating the church's position. People in the streets who heard these hymns being sung would respond with "Amen", signifying their agreement with what they had just heard.
Such hymns entered monastic life and were used routinely in the daily offices where they would be sung antiphonally by sections of the choir; the entire community would respond with Amen after the final doxological stanza. The important points here are that Amen was a response; that is, it was said (or possibly sung) not by those who had actually sung the hymn, but by people who had heard it sung and wanted to voice agreement. Also, it is historically a response, not to the hymn itself, but rather to what is said about the Trinity in the concluding doxology.
During the period of the Oxford Movement in the middle of the nineteenth century, many ancient Latin hymns (by St. Ambrose and others) were rediscovered, translated into English verse, and published in a number of hymn collections for congregational use. The translators and compilers apparently failed to note the responsive nature the Amens in these hymns and Amen was attached to the end to be sung by everyone. This, of course, is redundant since it is not necessary for the people to express agreement with what they themselves have just sung.
This practice was soon followed by non-conformist groups (the Anglicans, apparently, being thought to know their business liturgically) and spread. To their credit, the Anglicans fairly quickly saw the error of their ways and have largely abandoned the practice, as have most other denominations that have given thought to the matter
The musical consideration involved is that the combination of chords (technically,
a plagal cadence) in the typical Amen is much weaker and less final sounding
than the chords with which most hymn tunes end. Hymn tunes are, after
all, complete compositions and it makes no more musical sense to tack
a plagal cadence on to the end of one of them than it does to attach one
to the end of, for example, a Beethoven symphony.
