November 22 marks the commemoration of the patron saint of music, Saint Cecilia, in some places. Her connection to music is perhaps a bit more tenuous than some of the legends which have sprung up around her would suggest, but it is that connection which is most remembered today.
Oh, let the organ swell the lay,
In honor of this festive day;
Let earth's harmonious choirs proclaim
Cecilia's ever-blessed name.
Rome gave the virgin martyr birth,
Whose holy skill has filled the earth,
And from the early dawn of youth,
She fixed herself on song and truth.
Then, from the world's bewild'ring strife,
In peace she spent her holy life,
Teaching the organ to combine
With voice, to praise the Lamb divine.
Cecilia, with a two-fold crown
Adorned in heav'n, we pray, look down,
Upon us exiled here below,
On earth your music here bestow.
Charles Constantine Pise, 1851; alt.
Tune: EASTWICK (L.M.)
T. Tertius Noble, 1900
I believe the "two-fold crown" refers to her standing as both virgin and martyr.
The Reverend Charles Pise, an American, was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in 1825 and served parishes in Washington DC and Brooklyn. He was also the first Catholic chaplain of the US Senate who served for a term. This hymn was first published when added to an American edition of Edward Caswall's Lyra Catholica in 1851.
P.S. One of the most unusual tributes to Cecilia was recorded by the Andrews Sisters during World War II: The Shrine of St. Cecilia, which can be heard on YouTube.
Seven Years Ago: If Jordan Above Me Shall Roll
Six Years Ago: Saint Cecilia
Five Years Ago: Successive Cecilias
Seven (Liturgical) Years Ago: The Feast of Christ the King
Five (Liturgical) Years Ago: The Feast of Christ the King
Three (Liturgical) Years Ago: The Feast of Christ the King
I've thought for a while that we just do not have enough variety in the hymns we sing at Evensong (which we have twice a month from September through May). It seems like every other time we sing either Christ, mighty Savior, O Trinity of blessed light, or O gracious light, Lord Jesus Christ). Admittedly, some that we don't usually sing are slightly twee, as the Brits say (Now the day is over). And the main reason there aren't as many evening hymns in contemporary hymnals as there used to be is that fewer churches have any sort of evening worship. I've looked in older hymnals from time to time for something to resurrect, but many of those hymns suffer from excessive sentimentality (like Hark, hark my soul).
But here's one that I came across in an 1848 hymnal (A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion) that seems fairly acceptable. The language is slightly, but not overly archaic. And it just happens to match pretty well to a tune of T. Tertius Noble (the guy from the other day).
How shall we praise thee, Lord of light!
How shall we all thy love declare!
The earth is veiled in shades of night,
But heav'n is open to our prayer.
That heav'n so bright with stars and suns,
That glorious heav'n which has no bound,
Where the full tide of being runs,
And life and beauty glow around.
We would adore thee, God sublime,
Whose power and wisdom, love and grace,
Are greater than the round of time,
And wider than the bounds of space.
Help us to praise thee, Lord of light!
Help us thy boundless love declare;
And, while we fill thy courts tonight,
Aid us, and hearken to our prayer.
John Bowring, date unknown
Tune: EASTWICK (L.M.)
T. Tertius Noble, c.1900
You may notice - no alt.! In the old days we would have changed "Lord" but I'm a little more flexible now. I generally like alliteration, and as long as "Lord" is only one of the many names of God, and is not used in 90% of all hymns, I don't mind using it now and then.
The arching lines of Noble's tune and the (admittedly) high range seem appropriate for a hymn that aspires to heaven and talks about the attributes of God being "wider than the bounds of space."
I doubt that this hymn is in any modern hymnal, but in these days of music notation software there's no reason why it couldnt be used.
P.S. The most perfect evening hymn (and probably the biggest crowdpleaser), is here. We don't sing it very often, though. I assumed that someone in authority believed it to be too "vulgar" for our Anglo-Catholic worship, though I've been told that isn't the case.
