Saint David

March 1 is the feast day of the patronal saint of Wales, Saint David (or Dewi Sant in Welsh). He was a sixth-century monk and later Archbishop of Wales, said to have converted thousands from the pagan Celtic tribes to Christianity. St. David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire was built after he was made a saint in the twelfth century, on the site of one of his monasteries. He is usually depicted in art with a dove on his shoulder or hovering near him, and he is also closely associated with water, as fresh springs are said to have erupted in the Welsh countryside to mark many of the milestones of his life.

There are hymns specifically written for Saint David, many probably untranslated into English. You can see one at this page (of uncertain provenance) with several other legends about his life and works. However, I thought I would take this day of Welsh celebration to gather together several of the Welsh hymn tunes already used here over the last three years. The tunes of Wales were said to be rousing melodies, some from older folk melodies, simple for a congregation to learn and remember, and were not from a high church tradition. This is probably still true today - you will probably know many of these even if you did not see them the first time around on the blog. I like them all.

HYFRYDOL - Love divine, all loves excelling (and also here and here)

CWM RHONDDA - God of grace and God of glory (also here)

ST. DENIO - Immortal, invisible, God only wise

ABERYSTWYTH - Watcher, tell us of the night

TON-Y-BOTEL - Jesus Christ, eternal Savior

LLANGLOFFAN - Sometimes a light surprises

BRYN CALFARIA - Look, O look, the sight is glorious

RHOSYMEDRE - O Source of Life divine

MEIRIONYDD - You hide within the lily

RHUDDLAN - Light's abode, celestial Salem

These are most, if not all, of the Welsh tunes I've used, and I'm sure there are more to come (the familiar AR HYD Y NOS has not yet appeared, for example).

St. David's Day is also an occasion for large gatherings of Welsh choirs, particularly in the male choir tradition, and many of these hymn tunes were probably sung somewhere today. If you want to hear more of these tunes, searching for any of the tune names above at YouTube will probably bring up a rendition or two (or more) sung exuberantly by a Welsh male choir.

P.S. - Our commenter Leland is looking for some information on a particular Welsh hymn (the text, not the tune) at his blog, if anyone here happens to know more about it.

The Feast of the Ascension

Today is the "official" feast day marking the Ascension of Jesus, though most churches will observe the day on this coming Sunday.

Many hymns for this day focus on the actual going-up portion of the story from Acts 1:1-11: (Jesus) was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. But another theme of the Ascension expressed in hymns and prayers is Jesus taking his place in heaven as Ruler and Sovereign.

Look, O look, the sight is glorious:
As we see thee, Jesus, now;
From the fight returned victorious,
Every knee to thee shall bow;
Crown thee, crown thee,
Crown thee, crown thee,
Crowns become the Victor’s brow,
Crowns become the Victor’s brow.

Mortals crown thee! angels crown thee!
Rich the trophies thou dost bring;
On the seat of power enthrone thee,
While the vault of heaven rings;
Crown thee, crown thee,
Crown thee, crown thee,
Jesus, praise to thee we sing,
Jesus, praise to thee we sing,

Soldiers in derision crowned thee,
Mocking thus thy rightful claim;
Saints and angels now acclaim thee,
Own thy title, praise thy name;
Crown thee, crown thee,
Crown thee, crown thee,
Spread abroad the Victor’s fame,
Spread abroad the Victor’s fame.

Hark, those bursts of acclamation!
Hark, those loud triumphant chords!
As thou tak'st the highest station;
Claiming sovereignty's rewards!
Crown thee, crown thee,
Crown thee, crown thee,
O what joy the sight affords!
O what joy the sight affords!

Thomas Kelly, 1809; alt.
Tune: BRYN CALFARIA
William Owen, 1852

BRYN CALFARIA (Mount Calvary in Welsh) is a rather rambunctious tune by William Owen (1813- 1893), first matched with the text Gwaed y groes s'yn codi fynny in Owen's collection Y Perl Cerdderol (1852). Owen reportedly composed his first hymn tune at the age of eighteen, but this one is certainly the most well-known of them.

P.S.: The window above is from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA.

One Year Ago: The Feast of the Ascension
and Ascension Sunday

Fresh Supplies of Love

O Source of life divine,
Who hast a table spread,
Supplied with mystic wine
And everlasting bread,
Preserve the life thyself hast giv'n,
And feed and train us up for heav'n,
And feed and train us up for heav'n.

Our thirsting souls sustain
With fresh supplies of love,
Till all thy life we gain,
And all thy fullness prove,
And, strengthened by thy perfect grace,
Behold without a veil thy face,
Behold without a veil thy face.

Charles Wesley, 1745; alt.
Tune: RHOSYMEDRE (6.6.6.6.8.8.8.)
John David Edwards, 1840

Charles Wesley occasionally wrote short hymns, too. They weren't all fourteen verses long, like Come, O thou Traveller unknown, or eighteen verses, like O for a thousand tongues to sing. This one really was only two verses long, first published in 1745 in his collection titled Hymns on the Lord's Supper. The minor changes made (mostly before we got to it) were to help it fit this particular tune better.

RHOSYMEDRE was one of three Welsh hymn tunes that Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged into organ preludes in 1920 (the other two were HYFRYDOL and BRYN CALFARIA). You can find performances of them on YouTube though I can't vouch for them - using dial-up right now.

P.S. The illustration above is a communion table from Elizabethan times, from Sunningwell Church in Bristol.