Earth Awakes From Winter’s Gloom

Easter hymns and songs often incorporate the theme of renewal alongside resurrection, and use the imagery of spring. We see one of these texts today, by Grant Colfax Tullar, but in this case, the tune holds some interest (!) all its own.

The music of our worship encompasses a broad range of types and styles. Here on this blog we have focused on the music of Western Christianity, from plainsong chant through psalm tunes, developing into the standard four-part hymn tunes, from Sunday school songs developing into the gospel song style. We're all familiar with the contemporary style of song that many churches use today, not really covered here, partly because of copyright issues and also because I'd rather focus on things I like than complain about things I don't.

But I think that perhaps there has always been a contemporary strain of worship music that some people liked and some people didn't. Certainly, some tunes over the years have been criticized because they came from secular sources, such as those adapted from opera arias and ensembles. Not too far from these were melodies from the works of composers such as Mendelssohn, Handel, and Haydn (back then, they weren't "classical" yet), but we sing more of those today than we do the opera tunes. Also, one of the most widespread criticisms (or insults) made against some hymn tunes is that they were originally drinking-songs (often said, rightly or wrongly, about German tunes).

This song first appeared in Sunday School Hymns No. 1, published by the Tullar-Meredith company in 1903. The tune is very much of its time, and may sound a little unusual to us . With my uneducated musical ear, I wouldn't exactly call it ragtime, but there does seem to be a hint of Scott Joplin.

Morning light was dawning o’er the distant hills,
Banished was the midnight gloom;
Silently the angels clad in bright array
Came to guard the dear Redeemer’s tomb.
Soldiers were affrighted and in terror fled,
While the angels roll the stone away.
Then with joy proclaiming, “Jesus Christ is ris’n”
“See the place where once the Savior lay.”

Refrain
Joy dispels our sorrow -- pleasures banish pain—
Earth awakes from winter’s gloom;
Easter anthems ringing tell the joyful news
“Christ is risen from the tomb.”

Loving ones who sought him at the break of day,
Found the angels waiting there;
Joy dispelled their sorrow -- fear gave way to faith—
Hope succeeded all their deep despair.
For the angels told them, “Jesus is not here,”
But had surely risen as he said.
Then with eager footsteps joyfully they tell
How that Christ had risen from the dead.
Refrain

Easter tells its gladness all the year around—
Happy birds their tribute bring;
Fragrant flowers blooming after winter days
Speak to us the joys of coming spring.
Earthly pleasures vanish, flowers soon shall fade,
But the joy of Easter shall endure.
Hope of resurrection never shall grow dim
While the Word of God abideth sure.
Refrain

Grant Colfax Tullar, 1903; alt.
Tune: AWAKENING (Irregular with refrain)
Joseph Lerman, 1903

Joseph Lerman was the music editor at Tullar-Meredith and composed many tunes for their hymnals and songbooks, but if much of his music was in this style, it's not surprising that we don't know it today. But it's fun to hear once in a while.

Two Years Ago: Christopher Smart

Alexander Reinagle

Alexander Robert Reinagle (August 21, 1799 - April 6, 1877) was born into a musical family. His grandfather had been "trumpeter to the king" in Austria and his father was a cellist and friend of Haydn. His uncle, also named Alexander Robert, emigrated to the United States where he wrote instrumental pieces and much music for the theatre in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Our Reinagle became an organist at St. Peter-in-the-East, Oxford in 1822 and remained in that post for more than twenty years. He was also much in demand as an organ teacher; John Stainer and Stainer's wife were both his pupils at one point. He wrote sacred music and two collections of hymn tunes:

Psalm Tunes for the Voice and Pianoforte (1830)
A Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Chants, and other Music, as sung in the Parish Church of St. Peter's in the East, Oxford (1840)

This tune, which probably still appears in nearly every denominational hymnal today, originally appeared in Reinagle's first collection, where it was sung to a paraphrase of Psalm 118. In his second collection it was named ST. PETER, after his Oxford church, and it was he who harmonized it in the form we know it today for the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

Have mercy on us, God most high,
Who lift our hearts to thee;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most Holy Trinity.

When heaven and earth were yet unmade,
When time was yet unknown,
Thou, in thy bliss and majesty,
Didst live and love alone.

Thou wert not born; there was no fount
From which thy Being flowed
There is no end which thou canst reach
For thou art simply God.

How wonderful creation is,
The work thou didst bless;
And O, what then must thou be like,
Eternal Loveliness!

Most ancient of all mysteries!
Low at thy throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most Holy Trinity.

Frederick W. Faber, 1849
Tune: ST. PETER (C.M.)
Alexander Reinagle, 1830

The upward leap on the second note of the tune is part of its distinctive appeal, I think; it's a forceful jump that makes the melody cry out, lending itself to texts of supplication (like this one). While you may never have sung this particular hymn, you probably know at least two other texts used with this tune (and maybe more). I think we will be seeing it again; it's almost surprising it hasn't come up before.

One Year Ago: Civilla Durfee Martin

Springing From Eternal Love

Continuing my own countdown of favorite ten hymns (as of the end of May), submitted to the survey at Semicolon, we come to the previously unrevealed Number Three.

This hymn did make the top one hundred -- but it was, in fact, at Number Ninety-Nine (and I was pretty shocked to see what came in below it, at Number One Hundred). Since I ranked it third, it would have received at least eight points in the survey (but possibly no more than that, if no one else had it on their list).

I've talked about my fondness for the Exodus story before, so it's not surprising that it shows up in these verses. The opening lines come directly from the third verse of Psalm 87.

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God!
God, whose word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for a safe abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.

See! the streams of living waters,
Springing from eternal love;
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fear of want remove:
Who can faint while such a river
Ever flows their thirst to assuage?
Grace, which like our God, the Giver,
Never fails from age to age.

Round each habitation hovering,
See the cloud and fire appear!
For a glory and a cov’ring
Showing that our God is near.
Thus deriving from our banner
Light by night and shade by day;
Safe they feed upon the manna
Which God gives them when they pray.

Savior, if of Zion’s city,
I through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in thy Name.
Fading is our worldly pleasure,
All is boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure
All of Zion’s children know.

John Newton, 1779; alt.
Tune: AUSTRIA (8.7.8.7.D.)
Franz Josef Haydn, 1797

This hymn first appeared in the Olney Hymns (1779) of John Newton (and William Cowper). The fourth verse here (which was Newton's fifth) is often left out. The tune originally appeared in an anthem written by Franz Joseph Haydn for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor, and later in Haydn's String Quartet in C (Opus 76 No. 3). Though text and tune are nearly contemporaneous, they were not matched until the 1889 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.

They were used together nearly always after that for many years, but in more recent times some hymnals prefer not to use AUSTRIA as many people connect it to the German national anthem used during World War II. Another tune, ABBOT'S LEIGH, was written by British composer Cyril Taylor in 1941 (perhaps because of the German association) and is often used today (you can hear it at the Cyber Hymnal, where they have permission to reproduce it).

One Year Ago: Edward J. Hopkins

Franz Joseph Haydn

I am celebrating the birthday of Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31, 1732 - May 31, 1809) in a slightly unique way -- tonight I will be at a rehearsal of his oratorio The Creation, which the choral group I sing with is performing at the end of April.

Last year I wrote about Haydn, including one of the hymn tunes arranged from this oratorio. Here is the chorus The heavens are telling, from The Creation, from where the hymn tune CREATION is taken.



The performance is from June 2002, by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka & Chorus with members of the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra & Bombay Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Lalanath de Silva.

Franz Joseph Haydn

On this day in 1732 the composer Franz Joseph Haydn was born. Probably best known by musicians for his multitudinous symphonies and chamber pieces, yet he was also an accomplished composer of sacred choral music, several masses and the sublime oratorio The Creation.

Many years ago, someone told me that Haydn had claimed that the music of his masses was so joyful because he could never think of God without smiling. Since then I've never found that attribution in print, but it's not hard to imagine him saying something like that. The Haydn masses are happy compositions and well worth hearing if you haven't.

Haydn shows up in hymnbooks also. His most well-known tune, AUSTRIA, written as a national hymn for his native country, reportedly after a trip to England during which he was impressed and pleased on hearing God save the king sung. Sadly, in modern times the tune has fallen somewhat out of favor due to its use as the national anthem of Germany during World War II, and modern hymnals are likely to set John Newton's Glorious things of thee are spoken to other tunes.

Another tune was developed from the opening phrase of The heavens are telling, a chorus from The Creation.

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame
Their great Original proclaim.
Th’unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator’s powers display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
Forever singing as they shine,
“The hand that made us is divine.”

Joseph Addison, 1712
Tune: CREATION (L.M.D.)
Franz Joseph Haydn, 1798