Saint Philip and Saint James

The Episcopal calendar of saints marks today as the commemoration of two saints: Philip and James. We've talked before about the multiple saints named James (here and here) -- this one seems to be James the Lesser, though there isn't complete agreement on that. Philip appears a bit more often in the New Testament, and apparently he is always the fifth in the lists of the twelve apostles.

Today's hymn by Cecil Frances Alexander uses familiar themes from John 14. Philip is one of the disciples asking questions of Jesus in this chapter.

Our chosen Way, and Truth of God
That Jesus came from heav'n to show,
One Life, that Christ's redeeming blood
Has won, for all the saints below.

The lore, from Philip once concealed,
To us is fully known in Christ,
Our great Creator is revealed
And all our longing is sufficed.

And still unwavering faith holds sure
The words that James wrote boldly down;
Each day we labor and endure,
And finally win the heav'nly crown,

O Way divine, through gloom and strife,
Bring us our Maker's face to see,
O heav'nly Truth, O precious Life,
At last, at last to rest in thee.

Cecil Frances Alexander, 1875; alt.
Tune: GLOUCESTER (L.M.)
Edward Hodges, 1841

Composer Edward Hodges was born in England, but crossed the ocean to accept church musician jobs first in Toronto then in New York City, where he was the organist at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan. He is best known for his hymn tune arrangement of the main theme from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, known to us as HYMN TO JOY. I also mentioned him (though not by name) last week when talking about his son, John Sebastian Bach Hodges, the composer of EUCHARISTIC HYMN.

One Hundred!

This is my one hundredth post on the blog!

Considering that this is the third try at doing this (no one reading this now ever saw the first two versions), it's a bit of an accomplishment. I didn't know if I could find enough to write about, but here we are almost eight months later. The real test will be the second year. But I haven't actually marked all the hymnic birthdays and anniversaries that there are in the calendar, and many of the people I have written about have more hymns and stories to be showcased.

So today I'm doing something completely different, though if you watch much television you've probably guessed what it will be. I've had this post in reserve for a long time, but kept hesitating about putting it up. But it's definitely hymn-related.

There was this video that used to be on YouTube but I suspect it was taken down because of protests, so you have to go here to watch it. Go on. I'll wait.


...humming...





........humming some more...




And, you're back.

Now, as you undoubtedly know, this is a parody of the hymn Joyful, joyful, we adore thee by Henry Van Dyke, with a tune adapted by Edward Hodges from a melody in Beethoven's Ninth Synphony (1824). Many people object to it because it "makes fun" of the hymn (I bet this is why it got pulled from YouTube). You can read some of their objections back on the web page with the video (warning -- not always nice language).

I don't think Beethoven is particularly worried about his reputation; he's had other tunes used in commercials. Van Dyke has a bit more reason to object, because the jingle is clearly based on his text. I'm not really offended by that, though some might be. The people who produced the commercial apparently thought that the commercial would be effective because most people would know the hymn.

My main objection is the clumsiness of the parody text.

Manwich, Manwich, we adore thee,
Fun and easy and sloppy too.
Napkins now unfold before thee,
Manwich, joy does spring from you.

The first three lines are fine, but it all falls apart in the last line. If you're using "thee," then the verb has to be "doth," not "does." But wait! It gets worse -- you can't use both "thee" and "you" in the same text! Would it have been so hard to come up with another rhyme for "too"? Bad. Bad. Bad.

I think I still heard this about a month ago, though I think there's another Manwich spot out that may have finally replaced this one (which has been playing for quite a while).

Well, I hope no one is too offended. Unless you're the type who can never sing the Beethoven/Van Dyke hymn again without thinking about Manwiches for Sunday dinner -- that would be a problem.

P.S. Another anniversary-related fact: I put the counter in about a month ago (over on the right). We get about nine people a day visiting the blog (and I know who most of them are, even though they never say anything), which is ok; it's actually going up a bit more recently.

Also, I promise we'll be back to real hymns tomorrow!

Prophets, Psalmists, Seers, and Sages

For the last Sunday in the Easter season, a hymn that links the resurrection of Jesus to the resurrection of all:

Sing with all the saints in glory,
Sing the resurrection song!
Death and sorrow, earth’s old story,
To the former days belong.
All around the clouds are breaking,
Soon the storms of time shall cease;
In God’s likeness we awaken,
Knowing everlasting peace.

O what glory, far exceeding
All that eye has yet perceived!
Holiest hearts, for ages pleading,
Never that full joy conceived.
God has promised, Christ prepares it,
There on high our welcome waits.
Every humble spirit shares it;
Christ has passed th’eternal gates.

Life eternal! heaven rejoices;
Jesus lives, who once was dead.
Join we now the deathless voices;
Child of God, lift up your head!
Men and women from the ages,
Saints all longing for their heaven,
Prophets, psalmists, seers, and sages --
All await the glory given.

Life eternal! O what wonders
Crowd on faith; what joy unknown,
When, amidst earth’s closing thunders,
Saints shall stand before the throne!
O to enter that bright portal,
See that glowing firmament;
Know, with you, O God immortal,
Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

William J. Irons, 1873; alt.
Tune: HYMN TO JOY (8.7.8.7.D.)
Ludwig von Beethoven, 1824; adapt. Edward Hodges, 1846