O for a thousand tongues to sing, #493

Hymn # 493         O for a thousand tongues to sing

Words:                 Charles Wesley

Tune:                    Azmon

Composer:          Carl Gotthilf Glaser

This important text by Charles Wesley has suffered at the hands of past Revision Committees of the Hymnal.   It entered the Hymnal in 1871; was deleted in 1874; reentered in 1892, but was deleted in H16.  Restored in H40, the text is here matched with a tune [Azmon] associated with it in the hymnals of many other denominations.

This hymn opened John Wesley’s definitive A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists (London, 1780) and has continued with the exception (1935) as the opening hymn of every official American hymnal in the Methodist Episcopal tradition since that time. 

In 1739, for the first anniversary of his conversion, Charles Wesley wrote an eighteen-stanza text beginning "Glory to God, and praise and love." It was published in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740), a hymnal compiled by Wesley and his brother John. The version in our Hymnal  comes from stanzas 1, 7-9, and 11-12 of this longer text. Wesley acquired the title phrase of this text from Peter Böhler, a Moravian, who said to Wesley, "If I had a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ with them all" (Böhler was actually quoting from Johann Mentzner's German hymn "O dass ich tausend Zungen hätte").

Here is the 15th verse now omitted …

Harlots, and publicans, and thieves
In holy triumph join;
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.

Enjoy this festive rendition: YOUTUBE

Sources:   Hymnary. org and The Hymnal 1982 Companion

Two Favorites: Come, thou font of every blessings & Glorious things of thee are spoken

I missed last week’s edition of Hymn Notes so here’s two for this week. Two of my favorites.

# 686     Come, thou fount of every blessing

Words:    Robert Robinson

Tune:  Nettleton, melody from A Repository of Sacred Music

This is one of my favorite hymns, and maybe one of your favorites, too. The imagery formed from the text, paired with a simple beautiful tune, is so moving. 

In 1752, a young Robert Robinson attended an evangelical meeting to heckle the believers and make fun of the proceedings. Instead, he listened in awe to the words of the great preacher George Whitefield, and in 1755, at the age of twenty, Robinson responded to the call he felt three years earlier and became a Christian. Another three years later, when preparing a sermon for his church in Norfolk, England, he penned the words that have become one of the church’s most-loved hymns.

Using imagery of Christ as the giver of living water and the shepherd gathering his sheep back into the fold, this hymn reminds the worshiper of the ever bountiful grace of God. Like Robinson, we too are “prone to wander,” and are quick to seek redemption through our own power. But God continues to bring us back from our wandering, until, songs of praise on our lips, we dance forever before the mount of His redeeming love.

Here’s a stirring offering from the Choral Society of Middle Georgia, Mercer University Choir and Mercer Center for Strings, from their performance at Carnegie Hall.  YOUTUBE

# 522                     Glorious things of thee are spoken

Words:                 John Newton

Music:                   Austria

Composer:          Franz Joseph Haydn

For a substantial period of his life, John Newton was accustomed to writing hymns, often at a rate of one each week, exploring the same biblical themes of his preaching.  Presumably, “Glorious things of thee are spoken” shares its origins with a sermon Newton preaches on Isaiah 33:20-21 sometime before February 1779.  The hymn is fairly close paraphrase of the scriptural passage. It first appeared in print in Newton’s Olney Hymns in 1779.  The only modification to Newton’s text is in stanza 2, where “… Ever will their thirst assuage?” replaces “… Ever flows their thirst t’assuage?” 

The hymn is one of the best loved in the English tradition, particularly due to its connection with the tune AUSTRIA, an almost exclusive association that lasted until the beginning of the Second World War, when an alternative tune, Abbot’s Leigh, [Hymn 523] was offered.  But here is the original from the Robert Shaw Chorale.

YOUTUBE

Forty days and forty nights, #150

# 150 Forty days and forty nights

Words:  George Hunt Smyttan

Music:  Aus der Tief rufe ich, melody attributed to Martin Herbst, harmonized by William Henry Monk

George Hunt Smyttan (1822-1870) wrote three poems for Lent, one of which became this hymn. It was published in the March 1856 edition of The Penny Post and was revised five years later in Hymns Fitted to the Order of Common Prayer (1861), by Francis Pott.

George H. Smyttan was an Anglican clergyman who published three collections of verse. Smyttan moved in 1859 to Germany, where he died at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, unknown and friendless. He was buried in a pauper’s grave, and his name was entered in the burial registry only as “Smyttan, England.”

Martin Herbst (1654-1681) is believed to have written this tune, but it is named HEINLEIN after Paul Heinlein (1626-1686), another German composer to whom it was attributed in the past. The tune also has been called AUS DER TIEFE, for the German text with which it appeared in a 1676 hymnbook.

Martin Herbst was born in Nürnberg, Germany, and became a Lutheran pastor. He served as rector for the school and pastor of the church at Eisleben in 1680 but died of the plague the following year, at age twenty-seven. This is one of three tunes attributed to Herbst.

AUS DER TIEFE (also called HEINLEIN) was published in the Nürnbergisches Gesang-Buch (1676-77) as a setting for Christoph Schwamlein's text based on Psalm 130 "Aus der Tiefe rufe ich" ("Out of the Depths I Cry"). In that songbook the tune was attributed to "M. H.," initials that are generally accepted to refer to Martin Herbst (b. Rothenbach, Germany, 1654; d. Eisleben, Germany, 1681). Herbst was educated in theology and philosophy at the universities of Altdorf and Jena. In 1680 he became rector of the gymnasium (high school) and pastor of St. Andrew Church in Eisleben. The following year he died of the plague.

Enjoy this from St. John’s in Detroit.  YOUTUBE

Praise the Lord, rise up rejoicing, #334

# 334  Praise the Lord, rise up rejoicing

Words:  Howard Charles Adie Gaunt

Music:  Alles ist an Gottes Segen, melody attributed to Johann Balthasar Konig, harmonized by Johann Lohner, after chorale version by Johann Sebastian Bach

This post-communion text was first published in the British supplementary hymnal 100 Hymns for Today (1969). As a hymn of thanksgiving, fitting for the Eucharistic (thanksgiving) character of the Lord's Supper, the text rejoices in the victory of Christ on the cross (st. 1), the ingathering of Christ's people, his body (st. 2), and the Christian's task in the world (st. 3).

Howard C. A. Gaunt (b. Birmingham, England, 1902; d. Winchester, England, 1983) wrote this hymn during his tenure as precentor at Winchester Cathedral in southern England. “Tom” Gaunt was ordained in the Church of England and spent much of his Career in education. He was headmaster of Malvern College (1937-1953) and head of the English department at Winchester College (1953-1963). He was also chaplain, then Precentor at Winchester Cathedral until retirement in 1973. A number of his hymn texts were first published in 100 Hymns for Today.

ALLES 1ST AN GOTTES SEGEN is a splendid tune that matches Gaunt's text well, giving it a lot of lift. Johann Löhner composed the first-known version of ALLES IST AN GOTTES SEGEN, published in Der Geistlichen Erquick-Stunden . . . Poetischer Andacht-Klang (1691). Löhner's parents died before he was fifteen, and he was adopted by his sister and brother-in-law, who also became his organ teacher. From 1670-1672 he traveled to Vienna, Salzburg, and Leipzig, both to study and to perform, but then returned to Nuremberg, where he remained the rest of his life. Löhner served as a singer (tenor) and organist in several churches, including the Frauenkirche (1672-1682), the Spitalkirche (1682-1694), and the Lorenzkirche (1694¬-1705). Known especially for his devotional songs for home singing, he also composed small operas, canons, and hymn tunes. The harmonization is by J. S Bach. 

Here's a lovely setting for organ.  No singing this time, but I think you’ll like this. 

YOUTUBE

Songs of thankfulness and praise, #135

Hymn # 135  Songs of thankfulness and praise

Words:  Christopher Wordsworth and F. Bland Tucker

Christopher Wordsworth

Music:  Salzburg, melody by Jakob Hintze and harmonized by J.S. Bach

Christopher Wordsworth (b. Lambeth, London, England, 1807; d. Harewood, Yorkshire, England, 1885), nephew of the great Romantic poet William Wordsworth, wrote this hymn in five stanzas. It was published in his Holy Year (1862) John 3:13-17 with the heading "Sixth Sunday after Epiphany." Wordsworth described the text as follows:

“[It is a] recapitulation of the successive manifestations of Christ, which have already been presented in the services of the former weeks throughout the season of Epiphany; and anticipation of that future great and glorious Epiphany, at which Christ will be manifest to all, when he will appear again to judge the world.”

The didactic text teaches the meaning of Epiphany–the manifestation of Christ in his birth (st. 1), baptism, miracle at Cana (st. 2), healing of the sick, power over evil, and coming as judge (st. 3). Originally the refrain line was "Anthems be to thee addressed, God in man made manifest." The revised refrain borrows Peter's confession, "You are the Christ!" (Mark 8:29), and makes that our corporate confession as we acknowledge the 'Word become flesh" who lived among us. Wordsworth was a prolific author and the most renowned Greek scholar of his day. Included in his works are Memoirs of William Wordsworth (1851), Commentary on the Mole Bible (1856-1870), Church History (1881-1883), innumerable sermons and pamphlets, and The Holy Year (1862), which contained 117 of his original hymns as well as 82 others written for all the Sundays and Christian holy days according to the Book of Common Prayer. Wordsworth was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, where he distinguished himself as a brilliant student. He later taught at Trinity College and was headmaster of Harrow School (1836-1844). Ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1835, he was canon of Westminster in 1844, a country priest in Stanford-in-the-Vale, Berkshire (1850-1869), and then Bishop of Lincoln (1869-1885) His writings are numerous, and some of them very valuable. Most of his works are in prose. His "Holy Year; or, Hymns for Sundays, Holidays, and other occasions throughout the Year," was published in [1862], and contains 127 hymns.

F. Bland Tucker

I do not know exactly how the 4th verse by Bishop F. Bland Tucker came to be part of the hymn, but this Wikipedia entry about him sheds light on his wide and deep influence on the Episcopal church, including 22 years at Rector at Christ Church, Savannah.  Wikipedia--Bishop Tucker

The tune SALZBURG, named after the Austrian city made famous by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was first published anonymously in the nineteenth edition of Praxis Pietatis Melica (1678); in that hymnbook's twenty-fourth edition (1690) the tune was attributed to Jakob Hintze (b. Bernau, Germany, 1622; d. Berlin, Germany, 1702). Hintze is known mainly for his editing of the later editions of Johann Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica, to which he contributed some sixty-five of his original tunes. The harmonization by Johann S. Bach is simplified from his setting in his Choralgesänge (Rejoice in the Lord [231] and The Hymna1 1982 [135] both contain Bach's full harmonization.

Enjoy this from the University of the South's School of Theology, Chapel of the Apostles. YOUTUBE

God of Grace and God of Glory, #594

# 594     God of Grace and God of Glory

Author:                Harry Emerson Fosdick

Tune:                    CWM RHONDDA

Composer:          John Hughes

From Hymnary.org

Harry E. Fosdick was a well-known and controversial preacher in the early twentieth century. After Fosdick left his positon at one church, John D. Rockefeller asked him to become pastor of Park Avenue Baptist Church in New York City, but Fosdick thought the church was too wealthy, and agreed only on condition that a new church would be built in a less fashionable place. The site selected for Riverside Church was on the banks of the Hudson, not far from Harlem. Fosdick wrote this hymn at his summer home in Maine in 1930 for the opening service of Riverside Church that fall. It was sung as the processional hymn for that service on October 5 and again at the dedication service on February 8, 1931. The first publication was in Praise and Service by H. Augustine Smith in 1932.

This hymn is a prayer for God's help for the church to live in God's power and love with generosity and progress toward social justice. Each stanza concludes with a two-line petition for wisdom and courage that was originally meant to be sung to one musical phrase. However, when it is sung to CWM RHONDDA, the final line of each stanza must be repeated to extend the text to fit the tune. This results in a needless repetition of the second part of the petition.

CWM RHONDDA is a well-known Welsh tune. It was written in 1907 by John Hughes, a Welshman who spent most of his life as a railway worker. The tune name literally means “Rhondda valley,” after the Rhondda River that flows through a coal-mining district of Wales. This tune has great vigor, and was at first circulated only in leaflet form because hymnal editors considered it too vigorous to be a proper hymn tune. They eventually succumbed to popular pressure, and since the 1930s the tune has been included in many hymnals, often with multiple texts, [most notably Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah].

Fosdick did not like the use of this tune for his text, having written it specifically to fit the three phrases of the tune REGENT SQUARE. When asked about the tune change, he wrote, “My secretary has already written you the answer to your question about my hymn's divorce from 'Regent Square' [familiar to us as the tune for the Christmas carol Angels from the Realms of Glory] and remarriage to 'Cwm Rhondda.' The Methodists did it! And both here and abroad they are being followed” (quoted in Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Paul Westermeyer, p. 562).

Here is a rousing rendition for you from a performance in Atlanta.   The instruments are magnificent but unfortunately do drown out the singers a bit.  Enjoy! YOUTUBE

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, #488

# 488 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Words:  Irish, ca 700.  Versified by Mary Elizabeth Bryne, and translated by Eleanor H. Hull

Tune:  Slane, Irish ballad melody

Source:  Hymnary.org

According to mythology, when St. Patrick was a missionary in Ireland in the 5th century, King Logaire of Tara decreed that no one was allowed to light any fires until a pagan festival was begun by the lighting of a fire on Slane Hill. In a move of defiance against this pagan ritual, St. Patrick did light a fire, and, rather than execute him, the king was so impressed by his devotion that he let Patrick continue his missionary work. Three centuries later, a monk named Dallan Forgaill wrote the Irish poem, “Rop tú mo Baile” ("Be Thou my Vision), to remember and honor the faith of St. Patrick. Forgaill was martyred by pirates, but his poetry lived on as a part of the Irish monastic tradition for centuries until, in the early 20th century, Mary Elizabeth Byrne translated the poem into English, and in 1912, Eleanor Hull versified the text into what is now a well-loved hymn and prayer that at every moment of our lives, God would be our vision above all else.

SLANE is an old Irish folk tune associated with the ballad "With My Love on the Road" in Patrick W. Joyce's Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909). It became a hymn tune when it was arranged by David Evans (PHH 285) and set to the Irish hymn "Be Thou My Vision" published in the Church Hymnary (1927). SLANE is named for a hill in County Meath, Ireland, where St. Patrick's lighting of an Easter fire–an act of defiance against the pagan king Loegaire (fifth century)–led to his unlimited freedom to preach the gospel in Ireland.

Our hymnal includes 3 verses. However, Hymnary.org shows 5 verses.  Here are the omitted ones – shown as verse 3 and 4.  Our hymnal’s third verse would be the 5th.  You decide for yourself why they were not included in the 1982 Hymnal.   I rather like them …

3 Be thou my battle shield, sword for my fight;
be thou my dignity, thou my delight,
thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tow'r:
raise thou me heav'n-ward, O Pow'r of my pow'r.

4 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Here is a lovely rendition featuring the soloist Nathan Pancheco. I don’t know him but I do like this. Hope you do.  YOUTUBE

I come with joy to meet my Lord, #304

# 304 I come with joy to meet my Lord

Words:  Rev. Brian Wren

Tune: Land of Rest

Brian Wren, theologian, activist, and one of the major forces among contemporary hymn writers today, wrote this text.  It is one of his first efforts as a hymn writer and has gained widespread acceptance through inclusion in most major English language hymnals.

This hymn was written in 1968 for his congregation at Hockley, Essex, “to sum up a series of sermons on the meaning of communion.”  The text begins with the individual worshiper, who comes “with joy to meet my Lord”; moves into the corporate dimension, “the new community of love”; and ends in the spirit of the dismissal in the Eucharist, “together we’ll live and speak his praise.”

This tune, based on Sacred Harp tune from the mid 1800’s, was originally called “Longing for home” and was linked with the text “O, land of rest.”  Different harmonizations were developed over the years.  In 1938, Annebel Morris Buchanan printed the current version in Folk Hymns of America and it was adopted for the 1940 Hymnal, also matched with “Jerusalem, my happy home,” # 620. 

Here’s a nice offering from Grace -St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.  Not sure what city .. FACEBOOK

Strengthen for service, Lord, #312

# 312 Strengthen for service, Lord

Words:  Syriac Liturgy of Malabar

Music:  Malabar, David McKinley Williams

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Source:  Hymnary.org

About A.D. 307 there was born at Nisibis, in northern Mesopotamia, Ephraem or Ephraim Syrus, the most celebrated father of the Syrian church, and famous not only as a theologian, but also as a poet and hymn-writer. Historians differ as to the details of his life; but it is known that having first been a pupil of James, bishop of Nisibis, he finished his education at Edessa, where for the rest of his days he chiefly resided. He visited Basil at Caesarea, in Cappadocia, and by him he was ordained to the office of deacon. He died at Edessa in June, 373. Ephraim was a most voluminous writer of commentaries, expository sermons, hymns, and metrical homilies. Metrical Homilies, first mentioned in connection with him, are a peculiar kind of composition, to which we know of nothing in other literature exactly similar. The tracts in verse explanatory of the Christian religion, circulated by missionaries in some parts of India, and which the people like to read aloud in a kind of chant, seem most nearly to resemble them. The Homilies are in metre, i.e. in lines containing a fixed number of syllables, e.g. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 12, as the case may be, and are divided into strophes, but differ from hymns proper in their greater length and more decidedly didactic character. We might have supposed them to be poems intended to be simply read, but from notes found on manuscripts giving directions as to the singing, it appears as though, at least in some cases, they were actually sung or chanted in connection with religious services.

Malabar region refers to the historic and geographic area of southwest India, covering the districts of Kerala Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod. This hymn was not familiar to me.  But it is lovely.  Here is a wonderful rendition by St. John’s in Detroit. YOUTUBE

O love, how deep, how broad, how high, #448

# 448   O love, how deep, how broad, how high

Text:    Latin, 15th century, translated by Benjamin Webb

Music: Deus tuorom militum

Jesus Christ, by Mikhail Vasilevich Nesterov

One of the benefits of the Oxford and the Cambridge-Camden Movements was the rediscovery of the vast liturgical and musical resources of the early and medieval Church.  Today, largely through the work of John Mason Neale and his colleagues, we enjoy a wealth of Greek and Latin hymnody from these periods, of which this text is a superb example.

Though this text has been attributed to Thomas à Kempis due to similarities with his famous devotional book, The Imitation of Christ, it is likely an anonymous text. Written in the fifteenth century, the Latin original had twenty-three stanzas. Benjamin Webb translated eight of them into English. These were published in The Hymnal Noted in the early 1850s.

The text is fairly stable, with a few variations in the wording of some lines and some differences on exactly which stanzas are included. Some hymnals include a stanza beginning “He sent no angel to our race” as the second, but most omit this one. Though there is some variation in the last doxological stanza, most hymnals have the one beginning “All glory to our Lord and God,” which refers back to the first stanza in its second line, “For love so deep, so high, so broad.”

The first stanza extols the extent of God’s love that prompted Christ to come and redeem us, and the final stanza is a doxology. The intervening stanzas tell the story of Christ’s life, from birth to ascension.

DEUS TUORUM MILITUM (sometimes called GRENOBLE) was published in France in the 1753 Grenoble Antiphoner as a setting for the text "Deus tuorum militum" (“The God of Your Soldiers”). One of the finest French diocesan tunes from the eighteenth century, it represents a departure in Roman Catholic hymnody from the older chant style. Sing with vigor.

Here’s a rousing rendition from St. Bart’s: YOUTUBE

How bright appears the Morning Star, #497

497 How bright appears the Morning Star

Words:  William Mercer, after Philipp Nicolai

Music:  Wie schon leuchtet, melody attributed to Philipp Nicolai, arranged and harmonized by J. S. Bach

From:  Hymnary.org

Philipp Nicolai (b. Mengeringhausen, Waldeck, Germany, 1556; d. Hamburg, Germany, 1608) lived an eventful life–he fled from the Spanish army, sparred with Roman Catholic and Calvinist opponents, and ministered to plague-stricken congregations. Educated at Wittenberg University, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1583 in the city of Herdecke. However, he was soon at odds with the Roman Catholic town council, and when Spanish troops arrived to reestablish Roman dominance, Nicolai fled. In 1588 he became chief pastor at Altwildungen and court preacher to Countess Argaretha of Waldeck. During that time Nicolai battled with Calvinists, who disagreed with him about the theology of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. These doctrinal controversies were renewed when he served the church in Unna, Westphalia. During his time as a pastor there, the plague struck twice, and Nicolai wrote both "How Bright Appears the Morning Star" and "Wake, Awake." Nicolai's last years were spent as Pastor of St. Katherine's Church in Hamburg.

From:  http://holytrinitydiolex.org/hymn-notes-10/

The original text to this German chorale was written by Lutheran pastor Philip Nicolai around 1599 for his chorale tune WIE SCHON LEUCHTET DER MORGENSTERN.  However, that text has been altered many times by other writers and editors and bears little resemblance to the original.  The altered version in Hymnal 1982 (H82) is the version that entered Hymnal 1916 (H16) and has become one of our most beloved Epiphany season hymns.

Nicolai’s tune WIE SCHON LEUCHTET DER MORGENSTERN is commonly known as the “Queen of Chorales.”  This tune occurs in our hymnal in two different forms—its original rhythmic form (#496) and the metric (#497) form harmonized by J.S. Bach and used in several of his cantatas and organ works. Many organ compositions through the centuries are based on this tune.  The prelude today presents such a composition by Pachelbel.

Enjoy this from St John’s in Detroit.  The organ may be a little too loud form some tastes, but I love it. What a sound!!!   YOUTUBE

Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding, #59

# 59       Hark!  A thrilling voice is sounding

Words:  Latin, ca 6th century

Tune: MERTON

Composer:  William Henry Monk

From the 1982 Hymnal Companion

As is the case with several carols and anthems for Advent and Christmas in current common use, this text and tune with its descant have gained greater acceptance and use in the Episcopal Church through their inclusion in a recording of Advent Lessons and Carols by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge.

The hymn is found in two 10th century sources.  The hymn abounds with scripture references; indeed every line in the Latin original can reasonably be associated with a passage from scripture, if not a direct reference, at least a reflection.  The translation by Edward Caswall, which appeared in his Lyra Catholica [1849] preserves most of the biblical references. 

The word “hark” is a perfectly good word but for some reason it seems to appear mostly at this time of year in Advent and Christmas hymns.   Defined as “to listen carefully, to be attentive,” it surely is the correct word for our waiting and watching during the Advent season. 

MERTON, composed by William Henry Monk, first appeared in the Parish Choir, 1850, and in the first addition of Hymns: Ancient & Modern [1861] for which Monk served as musical editor and was the person who suggested the title for that historic collection.  The tune’s title is thought to refer to Walter de Merton, founder of Merton College, Oxford, England.

Here’s a video of the hymn from St. Bart’s in New York. Make sure to listen to the end to hear the descant in verse 5.  YOUTUBE

"Sleepers, wake!" A voice astounds us, #61

# 61 “ Sleepers, wake!” A voice astounds us

Words:  Phillip Nicolai

Music:  Wachet Auf, melody Hans Sachs and P. Nicolai, arranged and harmonized by J. S. Bach

This hymn makes my Lutheran heart go pitty pat – wonderful words and that glorious Bach harmonization.  Enjoy.

Philipp Nicolai (b. Mengeringhausen, Waldeck, Germany, 1556; d. Hamburg, Germany, 1608) lived an eventful life–he fled from the Spanish army, sparred with Roman Catholic and Calvinist opponents, and ministered to plague-stricken congregations. Educated at Wittenberg University, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1583 in the city of Herdecke. However, he was soon at odds with the Roman Catholic town council, and when Spanish troops arrived to reestablish Roman dominance, Nicolai fled. In 1588 he became chief pastor at Altwildungen and court preacher to Countess Argaretha of Waldeck. During that time Nicolai battled with Calvinists, who disagreed with him about the theology of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. These doctrinal controversies were renewed when he served the church in Unna, Westphalia. During his time as a pastor there, the plague struck twice, and Nicolai wrote both "How Bright Appears the Morning Star" and "Wake, Awake." Nicolai's last years were spent as Pastor of St. Katherine's Church in Hamburg.

WACHET AUF is usually regarded as composed by Philipp Nicolai, but he may have borrowed parts of the tune from other sources such as the melody “Silberweise” by Hans Sachs (1494-1576) or the fifth Gregorian psalm tone. It was published with this text, for which it is named, in Nicolai's Freuden-Spiegel in 1599. Like many German chorale tunes, WACHET AUF has two versions for the rhythm. The original version is called the rhythmic version, because it retains the variety of note values as the composer wrote them, while in the isorhythmic version, the notes are adjusted to a more regular rhythm, often by making all notes of equal value.

This hymn was based on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. The opening stanza calls the followers of Christ to be roused and alert for His Second Coming. Stanza 2 describes the joyous scene when the Bridegroom returns and takes His bride, the church, in to the wedding feast. Finally, the third stanza adores the Lamb of God and describes the glorious scene in heaven, as given in Revelation 19 and 21, where the saints will worship in song forever.

In 1731, J. S. Bach wrote a cantata (BWV 140) at Leipzig based on this hymn for the 27th Sunday after Trinity, the last possible Sunday before Advent in the Lutheran liturgical calendar of the time. Advent was a penitential season in Leipzig, during which ornate music like a cantata was not performed. Hence, this hymn provided the basis for Bach's last opportunity for free musical expression before Christmas. WACHET AUF is the main melody for three of the seven movements, one of which was later reworked for the well-known setting of this tune in the Schübler Chorales for organ. WACHET AUF has been called the King of Chorales (another Philipp Nicolai tune, WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET, is the Queen). It is very popular in settings for the organ, which is the instrument most closely associated with chorale tunes. Preludes, postludes, and improvisations in various styles abound in collections such as “Improvisations for the Christmas Season, Set 1,” the Advent suite “The King of Glory Comes,” and “Advent Postludes for Organ.”

Enjoy this performance of Bach’s Cantata.  Glorious. YOUTUBE

Crown him with many crowns, #494

# 494     Crown him with many crowns

Author:   Matthew Bridges

Tune:     Diademata

Composer:  George Elvey

From Hymnary.org

One of the most effective and simple costume changes is to put on a hat. When you walk off stage and return wearing a top hat, you are suddenly a different person. A “man of many hats” is someone who can be a different person in different contexts or crowds. This hymn declares that we are to crown our Lord with many crowns, but this does not mean that Jesus is a “man of many hats.” Christ was not simply a prophet, He was not simply the carpenter’s son, and He was not simply human, nor simply divine. Rather, this call to “crown him with many crowns” is a simple and yet profound declaration that Christ is many things, and everything. He is Lord of all, to be crowned for many things that all add up to Him being Savior of the world. Each crown represents a different aspect of who Christ is – Lord of life, Lord of love, Lord of years, Lord of heaven, the Lamb upon the throne. Christ is King, Servant, Lamb, Shepherd, and we celebrate this all-encompassing, paradoxical nature of our Savior by crowning Him the Lord of all.

The original text was written by Matthew Bridges, and later revised in his second edition of Hymns of the Heart, published in 1851. Another text was written by Godfrey Thring, who wrote, “The greater part of this hymn was originally written at the request of the Reverend H. W. Hutton, to supply the place of some of the stanzas in Matthew Bridges’ well-known hymn, of which he and others did not approve; it was afterwards thought better to rewrite the whole, so that the two hymns might be kept entirely distinct” (Lutheran Hymnal Handbook). Thring’s original second verse is now commonly paired with Bridges’ original stanzas. There are a great number of variations of this hymn text. Almost no two hymnals include the exact same arrangement of phrases or number/order of verses.

DIADEMATA was composed for this text by George J. Elvey in 1868. Albert Bailey writes, “This is another of those hymns that can be sung at different paces, but which don’t lend themselves to changes in volume. Rather, Crown Him…builds with pomp, the second half of each verse making you want to stand to sing” (The Gospel in Hymns, 76)

Here’s a rousing singing at Westminster Abbey celebrating the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. YOUTUBE

Lord of all Hopefulness, #482

# 482 Lord of all hopefulness

Words:  Jan Struther

Music:  Slane, Irish ballad melody

Christ, Book of Kells

Source:  Hymnary.org

Joyce Torrens-Graham (b. Westminster, London, England, 1901; d. New York, NY, 1953) wrote many poems and essays under the pen name of Jan Struther (derived from her mother's maiden name, Eva Anstruther). She wrote this text at the request of Percy Dearmer, with whom she prepared the enlarged edition of Songs of Praise (1931). It was first published in that hymnal to the tune SLANE. According to Frank Colquhoun, the text "is a work with a warm human touch, a healthy spiritual tone, and well merits its popularity." It is one of the best examples of the "all-day" hymn texts (dealing with the whole day, from morning to evening). The four stanzas begin by addressing God in terms of his attributes and then ask for specific blessings for morning, noon, evening, and night. Displaying a consistent literary structure, the text, according to Dearmer, "is indeed a lovely example of the fitting together of thought, words and music." In addition to her pen name, Struther also had the married names of Mrs. Anthony Maxtone Graham and, from a second marriage, Mrs. Adolf Kurt Placzek. During World War II she moved with her children to New York City and remained there until her death. In England she is best known for her novel Mrs. Miniver (1940), which consists of sketches of British family life before World War II. Immensely popular, the book was later made into a movie. Struther also wrote comic and serious poetry, essays, and short stories, published in Betsinda Dances and Other Poems (1931), Try Anything Twice (1938), The Glass Blower (1941), and, posthumously, The Children's Bells (1957). Songs of Praise (1931) included twelve of her hymn texts.

SLANE is an old Irish folk tune associated with the ballad "With My Love on the Road" in Patrick W. Joyce's Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (1909). It became a hymn tune when it was arranged by David Evans (PHH 285) and set to the Irish hymn "Be Thou My Vision" published in the Church Hymnary (1927). SLANE is named for a hill in County Meath, Ireland, where St. Patrick's lighting of an Easter fire–an act of defiance against the pagan king Loegaire (fifth century)–led to his unlimited freedom to preach the gospel in Ireland.

Enjoy the choir at Ely Cathedral YOUTUBE

Here, O my Lord, #318

# 318

Here, O my Lord

Words:  Horatius Bonar

Music: Nyack by Warren Swenson

Horatius Bonar was born at Edinburgh, in 1808. His education was obtained at the High School, and the University of his native city. He was ordained to the ministry, in 1837, and since then has been pastor at Kelso. In 1843, he joined the Free Church of Scotland. His reputation as a religious writer was first gained on the publication of the "Kelso Tracts," of which he was the author. He has also written many other prose works, some of which have had a very large circulation. Nor is he less favorably known as a religious poet and hymn-writer. The three series of "Hymns of Faith and Hope," have passed through several editions. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872

Dr. H. Bonar's elder brother, Dr. John James Bonar, St. Andrew's Free Church, Greenock, is wont after each Communion, to print a memorandum of the various services, and a suitable hymn. After the Communion on the first Sunday of October, 1855, he asked his brother, Dr. H. Bonar, to furnish a hymn, and in a day or two received this hymn (possibly composed before), and it was then printed, with the memorandum, for the first-time. It was published in Hymns of Faith and Hope, first series, 1857, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "This do in remembrance of me."…  In literary merit, earnestness, pathos, and popularity, this hymn ranks with the best of Dr. Bonar's compositions. [Rev. John Brownlie] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Enjoy this congregational setting, at an unidentified Orlando church.  YOUTUBE

For All the Saints, from their labor rest, #287

# 287 - For All the Saints, from their labor rest

Words: William Walsham Haw

Tune:     Sine Nomine

Composer:  Ralph Vaughan Williams

Text:

This text was written by William W. How, a bishop of the Anglican Church, and first published in Horatio Nelson's Hymns for Saints' Days in 1864. There is considerable variance between hymnals as to which of the eleven original stanzas are included (typically six to eight are selected). Two things are universally agreed upon: that the first two of the original stanzas are always included (“For all the saints” and “Thou wast their rock”), and the original fourth and fifth are never sung. Two more things are agreed upon with rare exception: that the original third stanza is omitted (“For the Apostles”), and that the last stanza is included (“From earth's wide bounds”). There is considerable variance on which of the remaining five original stanzas are sung.

There are also differences in wording between different hymnals. Some merely modernize the language (i.e., “Thou wast their rock” becomes “You were their rock”). Other changes, as well as the choice of which stanzas to include, appear to reflect a desire to slightly soften the theme of the Church militant, which is heavily present in the text.

After the great “Hall of Faith” passage in Hebrews 11, the writer to the Hebrews calls the saints who are still on earth to emulate those who have gone before: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us …” (Hebrews 12:1, ESV). What were the accomplishments of this “great cloud of witnesses?” They “… conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, … quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness …” (Hebrews 11:33-34, ESV). That sounds rather glamorous! But “Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword” (Hebrews 11:36-37, ESV). What a contrast!

The stanzas of the hymn “For All the Saints” describe the common life of all the saints: the credit due to Jesus Christ for drawing us all to Him, the strength and guidance we continue to draw from Him, our joint communion in Christ, the continuing struggle against evil, and the coming day when the dead shall rise and we shall all worship together before God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No matter what path each of us travels, we all will enjoy the same glorious eternal life.

Tune:

In modern hymnals, this text is paired with SINE NOMINE, written for this text in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the well-known English composer. He wrote harmonizations for both unison singing and four-part harmony. The title SINE NOMINE means “without a name” in Latin; it may refer to the many saints whose names are known only to God (The New Century Hymnal Companion, ed. Kristin L. Forman, 361).

Before SINE NOMINE was composed, the most popular tune was SARUM, written in 1868 by Joseph Barnby, but this has fallen out of favor and almost never appears in modern hymnals.

Here's a lovely rendition by the Choir at King's College.  YOUTUBE

O God, our help in ages past, #680

# 680,  O God, our help in ages past

Words:  Isaac Watts,

Music:  St. Anne, melody by William Croft and harmonized by William Henry Monk

This is surely one of the most familiar and popular hymns in Christendom. The author is Isaac Watts (1674-1748), an English Christian hymn writer, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymn writer, he was recognized as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns .  For this hymn, he has built his text as a paraphrase of Psalm 90: 1-5 and was first published in 1791 in his volume “Psalms of David.”   The original version features 7 verses, but only 5 verses are included in our 1982 Hymnal, with the 1st verse repeated at the end.

The music’s tune is called St. Anne and was written by Dr. William Croft (1678-1727), organist of the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey and the leading composer of Queen Anne’s reign (1702-1707).  The tune name does not infer sainthood for Queen Anne but rather refers to Croft’s tenure as organist at St. Anne’s Church, Soho, from 1700-1711.  It was originally intended to be used with a version of Psalm 62. It was not until sometime later when set to Watts' text that the tune gained recognition.

Of note:  Among many other public settings, this hymn was sung in 1941 on board HMS Prince of Wales at a religious service attended by Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the conference creating the Atlantic Charter.  Also, it is one of very few hymns in our Hymnal where the first word of the verse is not capitalized – “under” at the start of verse 2.

YOUTUBE Enjoy this stirring choir and congregation at Westminster Abbey.  This is how hymns should be sung!

Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim, #535

# 535   Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim

Text:  Charles Wesley

Tune:  Paderborn

Composer:  Folksong arranged by Sydney Hugo Nicholson

The year this text was written, 1744, was a year of political and religious turmoil in Britain. The newly formed Methodist societies were suspected of being merely disguised Roman Catholic societies and were accused of attempting to overthrow the Crown. To strengthen and reassure his Methodist followers, Charles Wesley anonymously published Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution (1744). The original text, in seventeen stanzas, was the first of the "Hymns to be Sung in a Tumult." Of those stanzas,; the battle-song stanzas, which the small but heroic Methodist groups sang in the face of violent opposition, are now omitted. 

The text is a hymn of thankful praise to Christ for his victorious reign and for providing salvation for his people. It reveals the cosmic scope of Christ's kingdom and helps us to join our voices with the great doxology to Christ, the Lamb, as foretold in Revelation.

Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson MVO (1875 –1947) was an English choir director, organist and composer, now chiefly remembered as the founder of the Royal School of Church Music. He was organist at Barnet Parish Church, Lower Chapel, Eton College, Carlisle Cathedral, Manchester Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. Combined with his organist posts he edited the 'Hymns Ancient and Modern' supplement that was published in 1916, a task in which he was still engaged when the 1950 revised edition was being prepared.

This hymn has been paired with a number of tunes but only one, Paderborn, found its way into our Hymnal for this text.   You can find the other tunes in the Hymnal – Hanover {# 388]. Lyons [ # 533], and Laudate Dominum  [ # 432] to name a few.  If you do a search on YouTube of the hymn title, you can find some clips of the hymn being performed with a variety of tunes. You decide which you like best.    Here’s the hymn sung to Paderborn by the Aquia Church in Stafford, Virginia.  Listen to that organ!  And the choir member singing harmony. YOUTUBE

Christ, whose glory fills the skies, #7

#7 Christ, whose glory fills the skies

Words:  Charles Wesley

Music:  Ratisbon

Written by the great hymn writer Charles Wesley, this text was published in three stanzas in Hymns and Sacred Poems, compiled in 1740 by Charles Wesley and his" brother John. James Montgomery called it "one of Charles Wesley's loveliest progeny.” Titled "Morning Hymn" by Wesley, it is unusual in that it does not contain the customary reference to the previous night's rest or to the work and dangers of the day ahead. The text begins by placing the focus entirely on Christ, the "light of the world," the sun of Righteousness who rises with healing in his wings"; he is the "Dayspring" and "Daystar." Thus the "light of Christ" is to fill our lives and lead us forward "to the perfect day."

Enjoy this from the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Worchester, MA: YOUTUBE