Hail the Sun of Righteousness

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Refrain
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heav’n adored;
Christ the ever-living Word;
Late in time, behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Lo! you come with us to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Refrain

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that we no more may die.
Born to raise us from the earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Refrain

Charles Wesley, 1739; alt.
Tune: MENDELSSOHN (7.7.7.7.D. with refrain)
Felix Mendelssohn, 1840;
adapt. William H. Cummings, 1855

Charles Wesley's text, originally titled Hymn for Christmas Day, has been altered by many hands since shortly after it was first published, long before it became familiar around the world.  Indeed, his original first line was Hark! how all the welkin rings, "welkin" being a word for the vault of heaven.

When we were working on our hymnal project for the Metropolitan Community Churches, we received an angry letter from someone accusing us of changing this Christian hymn into a pagan one because we had supposedly exchanged "Sun" for "Son" in the third stanza.  However, "Sun" was actually Wesley's word, coming from Malachi 4:2: But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. This is part of a longer passage where the prophet Malachi is telling of the promised Savior to come.  I still wonder how many people who sing this hymn by heart assume that the word really is "Son." And of course, I couldn't resist using the line as the title of this post.

Wesley's final two stanzas are rarely, if ever, sung any more (though I would love to hear if anyone did sing them this year).  They would sound a bit odd to many.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conq’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.
Refrain

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Refrain

Before the text became joined to Mendelssohn's tune, it was sung to several others, and often to the tune we now know as EASTER HYMN, divided into four-line stanzas with no refrain, but with an Alleluia at the end of each line.

Mendelssohn's tune is derived from the first twenty measures of the second movement of his Festgesang, composed in 1840.  The composer thought that this melody might go well with another song of some sort, but he wrote to a friend that "it will never do to sacred words. (...) The words must express something gay and popular, as the music tries to do."  After Mendelssohn's death. William H. Cummings, organist at Waltham Abbey in England, adapted the tune to Wesley's text, probably not knowing anything of  Mendelssohn's letter.

Four Years Ago: Once in royal David's city

Three Years Ago: Where is this stupendous stranger?

However Long the Journey

O star of Truth, down-shining,
Through clouds of doubt and fear,
I ask beneath thy guidance
My pathway may appear.
However long the journey,
However hard it be,
Though I be lone and weary,
Lead on, I follow thee.

I know thy blessèd radiance
Can never lead astray,
Though ancient creed and custom
May point some other way.
E’en if through untrod desert,
Or over trackless sea,
Though I be lone and weary,
Lead on, I follow thee.



Minot Judson Savage, 1883; alt.
Tune: MUNICH (7.6.7.6.D.)
Neuvermehrtes Gesangbuch, 1693
harm. Felix Mendelssohn, 1847


Two Years Ago: Phillips Brooks

Josiah Conder

Author Josiah Conder was born today in London in 1789. His father was a bookseller, and Josiah worked in the shop as a boy, eventually taking it over when he was twenty-one. However, he had already begun his writing career by this time (his first published essay appeared when he was ten) and nine years later he gave up the bookshop for writing and editing.

For twenty-three years he was the editor of The Eclectic Review, a popular and respected literary magazine, and later of The Patriot, a Nonconformist newspaper that was a strong supporter of abolition. In 1839 Conder became a founding member of the British and Foreign Anti-slavery Society for the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave-trade Throughout the World, an organization still in existence today as Anti-Slavery International. He was one of the main organizers of the world's first anti-slavery convention held in London in 1840.

Conder published several books of his own, including The Modern Traveler, which was a thirty-volume collection covering the geography of many of the countries of the world. His first book of religions verse, The Star in the East, from where his earliest hymns have been taken, appeared in 1824. This was followed by The Choir and the Oratory (1837), his second collection.

In 1836 he published the first Congregational Hymn Book which had been authorized by a resolution of the Congregational Union three years earlier. It contained 620 hymns by eighty different writers (including fifty-six of his own), and was to be used in conjunction with the Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts, Watts being so revered by the Congregationalists that he deserved a separate volume devoted to his works. Conder too believed in the primacy of Watts and later wrote The Poet of the Sanctuary (1851), a centenary commemoration of Watts, and edited a revised version of Psalms and Hymns (1852), hoping that Watts would continue to have his own volume in the Congregational pew-racks.

Conder's many hymn texts are largely unknown today. The most recent US Congregational hymnal, Hymns for a Pilgrim People (2007), which was intended to emphasize hymns by Gongregationalist authors, unfortunately contains none by Conder. In looking over several possibilities for today I settled on this Trinitarian text that probably hasn't appeared anywhere for a while.

'Tis good, with tuneful verses,
Our God's high praise to sing;
Creator of all mercies,
Our Maker and our King.
Praise God for all creation,
The wonders of our birth;
For daily preservation
And all the joys of earth.

And for the the great Redemption,
Let equal anthems swell,
For pardon and exemption
From woes no tongue can tell.
To Christ all glory render,
Himself, who freely gave;
Our Shepherd, our Defender,
Omnipotent to save.

We bless the Holy Spirit,
For all the means of grace;
The hopes that we inherit,
The faith that we embrace;
The seal of our high calling,
The word that makes us wise,
And strength to keep from falling,
And win the heav'nly prize.

Josiah Conder, 1836; alt.
Tune: MUNICH (7.6.7.6.D.)
Neuvermehrtes Gesangbuch, 1693
harm. Felix Mendelssohn, 1847

Conder died in 1855 from an attack of jaundice. The following year, one of his sons, Eustace, a Congregational minister, compiled his hymn texts into one volume, Hymns of Praise, Prayer, and Devout Meditation.

P.S. - The "portrait" of Josiah Conder above is actually excerpted from a much larger painting by Benjamin Haydon which depicted the delegates at the Anti-Slavery Convention of 1840. You can't even make him out in the full painting online, he's somewhat near the speaker but in the third or fourth row.

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

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe was born today in 1811, the seventh child (of thirteen) born into a family that would be recognized for their accomplishments in several fields. Her father was Lyman Beecher, a Presbyterian minister known for his often-controversial preaching. A number of her siblings distinguished themselves: Catharine as a leader in women's education, Henry Ward as a Congregational minister even more well known than their father, Edward as a theologian, and Isabella as a prominent activist for women's suffrage. All seven Beecher sons entered the ministry, but that occupation was closed to Harriet and her sisters at the time.

Harriet began writing to support her own family (while raising six children), as her husband, minister and theologian Calvin Stowe was often in poor health. Her first book, The Mayflower (1843) was a collection of stories and sketches.

The issue of slavery was much-discussed among the Beechers; Lyman had come out in favor of emancipation while heading the Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, and several of the siblings worked for the cause in their various fields. Following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 185o which prohibited US citizens from helping escaped slaves, Harriet determined to influence the slavery debate in her own way, writing her first novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). Though widely misunderstood in the twentieth century, it was hugely popular (at least in the north) and sold millions of copies in its own day, and led to the most famous legend (not proven true) about Mrs. Stowe: that Abraham Lincoln called her "the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war" when they met at the White House in 1862. The book should be understood at least partly as a religious novel, which many modern commentators don't seem to grasp. As a footnote of interest to this blog's readers, Stowe included several references to contemporaneous hymns in Uncle Tom's Cabin.

She wrote several other novels after that, some about slavery but others simply about domestic life in the mid-nineteenth century. This literary work helped to support many members of her extended family, so she felt obligated to continue it. She also wrote much poetry for magazines, and in 1855, contributed three hymns to Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes, including this one for today. Stowe was reportedly a habitual early riser, and took the theme of this hymn from the eighteenth verse of Psalm 139: When I awake, I am still with thee.

Still, still with thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee.

Alone with thee, amid the mystic shadows,
The solemn hush of nature newly born;
Alone with thee in breathless adoration,
In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.

As in the dawning o’er the waveless ocean
The image of the morning star doth rest,
So in the stillness thou beholdest only
Thine image in the waters of my breast.

Still, still with thee, as to each newborn morning,
A fresh and solemn splendor still is given,
So does this blessèd consciousness, awaking,
Breathe each day nearness unto thee and heav'n.

When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber,
Its closing eye looks up to thee in prayer;
Sweet the repose beneath the wings o’ershad'wing,
But sweeter still to wake and find thee there.

So shall it be at last, in that bright morning,
When the soul waketh and life’s shadows flee;
O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with thee.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1855
Tune: CONSOLATION (11.10.11.10.)
Felix Mendelssohn, 1834

Stowe wrote a few other hymns in later years, but this one was her most popular. It was found in a great many hymnals, though usually in only four or five verses. It has now mostly disappeared from modern collections, though I was surprised to find it in the very recent Congregational hymnal, Hymns for a Pilgrim People. However, the hymnal committee for that book was interested in using material from Congregational sources, so this hymn's appearance in Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Collection probably helped secure its inclusion.

Harriet Beecher Stowe remains one of my favorite writers for her social conscience and her depictions of nineteenth century life in this country. Some years ago, when I was working on the MCC hymnal project, I read through all of her collected poetry hoping to find something that we could use as a "new" hymn, but without success.

The tune CONSOLATION, nearly always used for this hymn, was adapted from a piano piece by Felix Mendelssohn, one of his Songs Without Words (Book Two, Number Three in E major). While he did not specifically write hymn tunes, several of his melodies have been adapted by others, including one that everyone knows.

Another Birthday Today: Miriam Therese Winter

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

January 25 is set aside in many churches to commemorate the Conversion of St. Paul. In Acts 26:9-20, Paul (formerly Saul) relates how a blinding light from heaven changed him from a fierce persecutor of Christians t0 a follower of Jesus' teachings.

Author John Ellerton dated the writing of this hymn to February 28, 1871, and it first appeared later that year in Church Hymns.

We sing the glorious conquest,
Before Damascus’ gate,
When Saul, the church’s spoiler,
Came breathing threats and hate;
God's light shone down from heaven
And broke across the path;
God's glory pierced and blinded
The zealot in his wrath.

O Voice, that spoke within him
The calm, reproving word!
O Love, that sought and held him
A captive of his Lord!
Help us to know your presence
That we, in every hour,
In all that may confront us,
Will trust your hidden power.

Your grace by ways mysterious
The wrath of foes can bind;
And in those least expected,
A chosen saint can find.
In us you seek disciples
To share your cross and crown,
And give you final service
In glory at your throne.

John Ellerton, 1871; alt.
Tune MUNICH (7.6.7.6.D.)
Neuvermehrtes Gesangbuch, 1693
harm. Felix Mendelssohn, 1847

This is an extensive revision that appeared in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982. While Ellerton's hymns are frequently sung with minimal changes, the original text of this hymn is more problematic, containing some fairly impenetrable syntax for modern worshippers. (I think it would take so much time to sort out the second half of the third verse that you'd miss singing the whole last verse!)

Henry J. Gauntlett

Henry John Gauntlett is another Victorian hymn tune composer who is now only known for a small handful of tunes. Born on this day in 1805, he progressed so far in his musical education and ability that at the age of nine he was appointed the organist at the church in Buckinghamshire where his father served as clergy. However, since he beat out his two sisters for the position it may not be quite as impressive as it seems in some accounts.

His parents then, as many parents still, thought that music was no suitable profession for an adult (child organists were OK), so he became an attorney, not fully realizing his musical aspirations until the age of thirty-nine, when he abandoned the bar and took music on full-time. He was a renowned organist, and obtained patents for applying electrical and magnetic action to the mechanics of the pipe organ. He accompanied the first perfomance of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah from the full manuscript, as there was no separate organ part to read from. Mendelssohn was very impressed by Gauntlett's wide-ranging musical talents and spoke highly of him in later years.

Gauntlett is often cited as the first composer of four-part hymn tunes as we know them today. Some sources claim that he wrote ten thousand hymn tunes, though others think it seems unlikely, even if older tunes that he only harmonized or arranged (such as STUTTGART) were included. He edited several hymnals, from the first, The Church Hymn and Tune Book (1852) to The Wesleyan Tune Book (1876) on which he was working when he died in 1875. He was consulted on most of the other hymnals published in England during his lifetime (a large number indeed).

This tune (and hymn) are still used in many churches.

Jesus lives! no longer now
Can thy terrors, death, appall us;
Jesus lives! by this we know
Thou, O grave, canst not enthrall us.
Alleluia!

Jesus lives! for us Christ died;
Then, alone to Jesus living
Pure in heart may we abide,
Glory to our Savior giving.
Alleluia!

Jesus lives! our hearts know well
Naught from us God's love shall sever;
Life, nor death, nor powers of hell
Tear us from God's keeping ever.
Alleluia!

Jesus lives! to Christ the throne
Over all the world is given;
May we go where Christ has gone,
Live eternally in heaven.
Alleluia!

Christian Gellert, 1751; tr. Frances E. Cox, 1841, alt.
Tune: ST. ALBINUS (7.8.7.8. with Alleluia)
Henry J. Gauntlett, 1852

Gauntlett has one even more familiar tune, IRBY, used for Once in royal David's city, but we'll get to that at a more appropriate time of year. Here at the blog, we've heard his ST. BARNABAS, which hymnologist Erik Routley called "astounding" (though he didn't mean it in a good way). Routley says of Gauntlett "At his best he is a true and inspired master of the commonplace..." One tune, ST. ALPHEGE, is said to have been composed at a dinner, while a messenger waited for the manuscript.

However many Gauntlett tunes there are, the twenty-four listed at cyberhymnal.org are a very small fraction, and I'm not sure I want Erik Routley -- no fan of the Victorians -- to have the last word unchallenged. Gauntlett was widely respected in his time, much in demand for his skills. Though his time has come and gone, a backhanded "compliment" cannot completely diminish his accomplishments.