Let Us For a While Give O'er

Iu many churches today the readings will be recounting the story of the Transfiguration, which appears in three of the gospels. I believe this year's appointed version will be from Matthew 17:1-9. This is a twentieth-century innovation, because the true Feast of the Transfiguration falls on August 6. In earlier times, this Sunday was known as Quinquagesima, the last Sunday before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The latest this day can fall in the calendar is March 7, so we are pretty much at the limit this year.

One of the customs associated with Quinquagesima in some places was a kind of farewell observance, in preparation for giving various things up for the duration of the Lenten season. In liturgical worship, the word Alleluia (from the Hebrew, meaning praise to God) is not used during Lent, neither spoken, sung, nor chanted, so this would be its last Sunday appearance until it re-emerges at Easter.

There were various local rites in the medieval church for this renunciation. In the French city of Toul, up until the fifteenth century, they would celebrate a full requiem mass and bury a coffin ostensibly containing the word Alleluia, which may have been the most extreme form of observance.

The Latin hymn for this occasion, from the eleventh century, is still sung today, though not quite as they sang it in Toul. It originally began:

Alleluia, dulce carmen

Vox perennis gaudii,

Alleluia vos suavis

Est choris coelestibus,

Quam canunt Dei manentes

In domo per saecula.

This was translated by our old friend John Mason Neale, preserving the original meter, and appeared in his Hymnal Noted (1851), and does still in several hymnals today.

Alleluia, song of gladness,

Voice of joy that cannot die;

Alleluia is the anthem

Ever dear to choirs on high;

In the house of God abiding

Thus they sing eternally.

Alleluia thou resoundest,

True Jerusalem and free;

Alleluia, joyful mother,

All thy children sing with thee;

But by Babylon’s sad waters

Mourning exiles now are we.

Alleluia though we cherish

And would chant forevermore

Alluluia in our singing,

Let us for a while give o'er

As our Savior in his fasting

Pleasures of the world forbore.

Therefore in our hymns we pray thee,

Grant us, blessèd Trinity,

At the last to keep thine Easter

With thy faithful saints on high;

There to thee forever singing

Alleluia joyfully.

Latin, 11th cent.; tr. John Mason Neale, 1851; alt

Tune: DULCE CARMEN (8.7.8.7.8.7)

Collection of Motetts and Antiphons, 1840

(there is, unfortunately, an egregious error in the harmony at the end of the third line)

The tune, which derives its name from this Latin text, had earlier appeared in plainsong form in An Essay on the Church Plain Chant (1782) by Samuel Webbe, but was arranged into its metrical form in a later book by Webbe. It's also been known as CORINTH and TANTUM ERGO, among other names.

Neale's first line of the translation was originally Alleluia, song of sweetness, which is really closer to the Latin dulce, but less often used today. His original third stanza is also quite different.

Alleluia we deserve not

Here to chant forevermore;

Alleluia our transgressions

Make us for a while give o’er;

For the holy time is coming

Bidding us our sins deplore.

I believe the revised version was written for the Episcopal Hymnal 1982 but I don't know by whom.

So here we have seven Alleluias to tide us over for the next six weeks. Alleluia will be back before we know it (nearly any good Easter hymn will have several of them). I'm kind of glad we don't have to actually bury it any more.

One (Liturgical) Year Ago: Not always on the mount may we

Charles Wesley

Charles Wesley (December 18, 1707 - March 29, 1788) and his brother John are commemorated today in the calendar of the modern Episcopal Church. Charles was a priest in the Church of England, ordained in 1735, and always insisted that he remained faithful to that church, though he and his brother are considered the founders of the Methodist denomination.

Since the message of the Wesley brothers was not welcome in their own churches, they traveled widely and preached in many different places (including a year in the American colony of Georgia). Charles began writing hymns as a way to teach their doctrines in a shorter and more easily-remembered way than sermons. It's said that many of his hymns were composed on horseback while riding from place to place. Eventually his health forced him to curtail his traveling ministry and settle in one place, whereupon he devoted more time to hymnwriting. His final output was more than six thousand hymns, most published in many different collections during his lifetime.

Many of Wesley's hymns are still sung today, and by many more people than Methodists. Today's text is not as well-known as some, but many people have believed it to be his finest verse, including Isaac Watts, who wrote that this text was worth all the hymns he himself had written. Its immediate inspiration comes from Genesis 32:22-30, which is the story of Jacob wrestling with an unknown man in the night, and the hymn is often sung to accompany that lesson. But Wesley broadens the meaning to encompass an individual and personal meeting with God, coming to know God's true name and nature through the physical contact of "wrestling."

Come, O thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see!
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with thee;
With thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.
With thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.

I need not tell thee who I am,
My misery and sin declare;
Thyself hast called me by my name,
Look on thy hands, and read it there;
But who, I ask thee, who art thou?
Tell me thy name, and tell me now.
But who, I ask thee, who art thou?
Tell me thy name, and tell me now.

Yield to me now, for I am weak,
But confident in self-despair;
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak,
Be conquered by my instant prayer;
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me if thy name is Love.
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me if thy name is Love.

’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me!
I hear thy whisper in my heart;
The morning breaks, the shadows flee,
Pure, universal love thou art;
To me, to all, thy mercies move;
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
To me, to all, thy mercies move;
Thy nature and thy name is Love.

Charles Wesley, 1742; alt.
Tune: CANDLER (L.M.D.)
Scottish melody, adapt. 1847

(The sound file is a bit faster than I think it should be sung.)

Wesley's original text was fourteen stanzas long, later shortened to twelve by his brother John. Twelve stanzas was the usual length in hymnbooks through the nineteenth century. The US Methodist Hymnal of 1905 shortened it to seven, and the 1935 edition to these four, which are generally sung today. The latest United Methodist Hymnal (1989), however, does include the entire fourteen-stanza text on the page following the four stanzas with music.

Two weeks after Charles' death, John Wesley was teaching this hymn to a congregation and broke down during the first stanza at the lines My company before is gone / And I am left alone with thee.

Two Years Ago: John and Charles Wesley

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.

William James Kirkpatrick

Composer William James Kirkpatrick was born today in 1838 in Duncannon, PA. His father was a music teacher, so William studied music from an early age and learned to play different musical instruments. At sixteen he left home to further his music studies, including composition, in Philadelphia. He supported himself through carpentry and joined the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church, accompanying and singing in the choir.

When he was just twenty-one, several of his tunes appeared in Devotional Melodies (1859), published by A.J. Jenks. who, in the book's introduction, thanks "Mr. W. J. Kirkpatrick for the simple and appropriate arrangement of a large number of the musical compositions found in this book." Two years later, during the early years of the Civil War, he served as fife major and principal musician for the 91st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He returned from the war and went into the furniture business in Philadelphia, though church music remained a very active sideline.

Following the death of his first wife in 1878 he decided to devote himself to music full-time, and for several years thereafter was the organist and music director at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. His tunes were now in great demand and he also began editing and compiling songbooks either alone or in collaboration with others. John R. Sweney was a friend and frequent collaborator.

His most enduring tune is probably CRADLE SONG, one of the tunes sung with Away in a manger (though it's used with other texts too). Another one already seen here is O spread the tidings round. Many will probably remember this well-known tune of Kirkpatrick's which first appeared in Sweney's Songs of Redeeming Love (1882) with a text by Priscilla Owens, a Methodist Sunday School teacher in Baltimore who wrote several songs for her students which were later published.

We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land,
Climb the mountains, cross the waves;
Onward! ’tis our God’s command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Waft it on the rolling tide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Tell to people far and wide:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Sing, you islands of the sea;
Echo back, you ocean caves;
Earth shall keep the jubilee:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Sing above the battle strife:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Sing of love and endless life:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout it brightly through the gloom,
When the heart for mercy craves;
Sing in triumph o’er the tomb:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Give the winds a mighty voice:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Let the nations now rejoice:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Shout salvation full and free;
Highest hills and deepest caves;
This our song of victory:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Priscilla J. Owens, 1882; alt.
Tune: SALVATION (7.6.7.6.7.7.7.6.)
William J. Kirkpatrick, 1882

Kirkpatrick would go on to compile or collaborate on more than eighty songbooks and write more than a thousand vocal compositions, including gospel songs, anthems, and solo songs. You can see about half of the book titles and several of his tunes at his Cyber Hymnal page. He eventually became a publisher himself as president of the Praise Publishing Company. He died in 1921, only four years after marrying his third wife (who had been the widow of John Sweney), while working on one last tune.

Two Years Ago: Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

Saint Matthias

The feast day of Saint Matthias is celebrated today in some churches while others commemorate him on May 19 in order to move the occasion out of Lent, when it would generally fall (though not this year). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, his day is August 9.

Very little is known of Matthias from the New Testament, which only mentions him once by name, at the very end of the first chapter of Acts. He was one of the large group of disciples who followed Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension, and after that occasion he was chosen to replace Judas as one of the twelve apostles. Various contradictory accounts of his later life, ministry, and death have been told, and other scholars have attempted to identify him in the earlier New Testament accounts, often choosing different people.

There was also a lost Gospel of Matthias, only known to have existed by accounts of it in other writings, but it was later declared to have been written in the second century (by "heretics") and not by the apostle himself.

Today's hymn for the day by John Mason Neale first appeared in his Hymns for Children (1842), but was included in the much more widely-used Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861) and Church Hymns (1872).

Christ is gone up, but ere he passed
From earth to heav'n to reign;
He formed one holy Church to last
Until he comes again.

The twelve apostles first were made
His ministers of grace,
And they their hands on others laid
To fill in turn their place.

First called to know the Church's grace,
By apostolic hands,
To take dishonored Judas' place;
Matthias with them stands.

So, age by age, and year by year,
Christ's grace is handed on,
And still the Church he loved is here,
Though he himself has gone.

May all who seek, unite with us
In mission strong and bold;
Bring wand'rers in and let there be
One Shepherd and one Fold.

John Mason Neale, 1842; alt.
Tune: SOLOMON (C.M.)
from George F. Handel, 1749; adapt. ?

The tune SOLOMON is an adaptation by an unknown composer of a tune by George Frederick Handel from his oratorio Solomon (1749), specifically, the aria What though I trace each herb and flower. Handel's birthday, incidentally, was yesterday, and while he wrote no hymn tunes as we know them, several tunes in our hymnals are derived from melodies from his operas, oratorios and orchestral works.

P.S. The wooden statue of the saint is by the German sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider and dates from the early sixteenth century.

The Fruits of Peace and Joy

It's been a rough winter here this year, as well as in many other places, and I'm really looking forward to spring. We have some time before it's here, but in the meantime, we can think about sprouting seeds and growing plants.

Almighty God, your Word is cast
Like seed upon the ground,
Now let the dews of heaven descend
And righteous fruits abound.

Let not our selfishness and hate
This holy seed remove:
But give it root in every heart,
To bring forth fruits of love.

Let not our unimportant cares
The rising plant destroy,
But let it yield a hundred-fold
The fruits of peace and joy.

Oft as the precious seed is sown,
Your quick'ning grace bestow;
That all whose souls the truth receive
Its saving power may know.

John Cawood, 1815; alt.
Tune: ST. MAGNUS (C.M.)
Jeremiah Clarke, 1709;
harm. William H. Monk, 1868

Thy Best Name of Comforter

O Breath of God, breathe on us now,

And move within us while we pray:

The Spring of our new life art thou,

The very light of our new day.

O strangely art thou with us here

Neither in height nor depth to seek:

But ever shall thy voice be near

Spirit to spirit, thou dost speak.

Christ is our Advocate on high;

Thou art our Advocate within.

To plead the truth, and make reply

To every argument of sin.

Be with me when no other friend

The mystery of my heart can share;

And be thou known, when fears transcend,

By thy best name of Comforter.

Alfred H. Vine, 1895

Tune: TALLIS' CANON (L.M.)

Thomas Tallis, 1560

We have a long way to go until Lent this year (which is fine with me), another whole month before Ash Wednesday. In the meantime, a hymn to the Holy Spirit is never out of place.

It's been nearly a year since I last used TALLIS' CANON for another text, but it's a good, familiar tune that people sing well. I don't know that I'd sing it as a round in this particular case, but it's always a possibility.

P.S., the window above is in the Latin chapel of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

The Feast of the Presentation

We come round again to our fourth Feast of the Presentation here at the blog. The story is told in Luke 2:22-40, how Jesus was brought to the temple forty days after his birth, there to be recognized by Anna and Simeon as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.

The Song of Simeon, which begins in verse 29, also known as the Nunc dimittis, has been a part of Christian liturgy for hundreds of years. It is often sung in various musical settings, but today's version was set as a hymn by Martin Luther, and adapted from a translation by Catherine Winkworth.



In peace and joy I now depart,
According to thy will;
For full of comfort is my heart,
So calm and still.

For thou in mercy unto all
Hast set this Savior forth;
To Christ's dominion thou dost call
The whole wide earth.

Christ is the Hope, the saving Light,
That earthly nations need,
And those who know thee now aright
Will teach and lead.

Martin Luther, 16th cent.
tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1869; adapt.
Tune: WREFORD (8.6.8.4.)
Edmund S. Carter, 1874

The weather in many parts of the country today has probably cancelled many midweek observances of the day (including ours here in CT) but here you have four hymns for the occasion to consider without going outside in the cold.

Three Years Ago: O Zion, open wide thy gates

Two Years Ago: Hail to the Lord who comes

One Year Ago: O Jerusalem beloved

Bernard Barton

Bernard Barton (January 31, 1784 - February 19, 1849) was known in England as the Quaker Poet, years before John Greenleaf Whittier gained that attribution in this country.

Born in Carlisle, in northwest England, into a Quaker family, he eventually settled on a career in banking. His first book of poetry, Metrical Effusions, was published in 1812. Several succeeding volumes over the next sixteen years would help him establish friendships with other famous poets of the day such as Robert Southey and Charles Lamb. It was Lamb who gave him some advice when Barton was considering leaving his position at Alexanders' Bank in Suffolk to support himself through his writing. "Keep to yous bank, and the bank will keep you." So Barton would remain at that same Suffolk bank until his death. After 1828 his books of poetry became less frequent until 1845, when his Household Verses appeared to great acclaim and success.

Many of Barton's poems that later appeared in hymnals are from his Devotional Verses (1826). Today's hymn was probably his most well-known, which Hymnary.org finds in more than 200 hymnals, but only two published since 1978. Still, it's probably remembered by many.

Lamp of our feet, whereby we trace
Our path when wont to stray;
Stream from the fount of heav’nly grace,
Brook by the traveler’s way.

Bread of our souls whereon we feed,
True manna from on high;
Our guide and chart wherein we read
Of realms beyond the sky.

Pillar of fire, through watches dark,
Or radiant cloud by day;
When waves would break our tossing bark,
Our anchor and our stay.

Yet to unfold thy hidden worth,
Thy myst'ries to reveal,
That Spirit which first gave thee forth,
Thy volume must unseal.

God, grant us all aright to learn
The wisdom it imparts,
And to its gracious teaching turn
With simple, childlike hearts.

Bernard Barton, 1826
Tune: EVAN (C.M.)
William Henry Havergal, 1846

I think that, in some places today, hymns about the Scriptures themselves are sometimes seen as "singing to the Bible" and are less likely to be found in hymnals. But here I think you could make a broader case; that Barton was talking about the concept of the Word of God and not, strictly speaking, about words on a page.

The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

The great Apostle, called by grace,

Turned from his wrath aside,
Preached the same faith he once abhorred,
And Christ, whom he denied.

In perils and in troubles oft,
His new-made life he passed;
And God who turned his heart at first,
Upheld him to the last.

A chosen vessel of God's will,
He fought the fight of faith;
And gained the crown of righteousness,
Obedient unto death.

Thus, God of grace, to do thy will,
Thy people may we be;
And follow ever in Paul's steps,
E'en as he followed thee.

Henry Alford, 1845; alt.
Tune: DUNFERMLINE (C.M.)
Scottish Psalter, 1615

Two Years Ago: The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

John Mason Neale

John Mason Neale (January 24, 1818 - August 6, 1866) is, in some ways, a sort of godparent to this blog. His birthday today is one day after the anniversary of the first posting here in 2009, and, as you may remember, the title up there at the top of the page comes from one of his translated hymns.

Looking at a listing of his hymns, I am reminded of several that have already appeared here and several more that I expect to write about in the months (years?) to come. Most of his texts were translations from Latin or Greek, or any of the other languages he had mastered, and any familiarity with ancient hymn texts that we have in our own time is largely due to his work.

This short hymn is from a text (Rer­um De­us ten­ax vi­gor) ascribed to Ambrose of Milan, the fourth century bishop who was one of the original four Doctors of the Church, so called because of their importance in establishing Christian doctrine. It was an evening hymn in the Liturgy of the Hours.

O God, creation’s secret force,
Thyself unmoved, all motion’s source,
Who from the morn till evening ray
Through all its changes guid’st the day:

Grant us, when this our life is past,
The glorious evening that shall last;
That, by your holy grace attained,
Eternal glory may be gained.

Mighty Creator, hear my cry
Through Christ our Savior, ever nigh,
Who with the Holy Ghost and thee
Doth live and reign eternally.

Ambrose of Milan, 4th cent.
tr. John Mason Neale, 1852; alt.
Tune: OLIVE'S BROW (L.M.)
William B. Bradbury, 1855

I've mentioned before that I think this tune by William B. Bradbury might have been meant to suggest a chant melody.

So we're beginning our fourth year here. Posting has been a bit sparse for the last few weeks, but I am making some plans for some new and different things in the upcoming year, and there are still plenty of hymns and hymnists to write about. Hope you continue to come back to see what's attracting my interest each week in the world of hymnody.

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

As Christ, the Morning Star

The Epiphany season continues in many churches, with lessons about Christ revealing his glory to the world. The image of Jesus as the Morning Star comes from Revelation 22:16, and we know it from another popular hymn often sung during this season. This text is even earlier, and still appears in Lutheran hymnals.

The Savior sent from heaven,
Foretold by ancient seers,
By our Creator given,
In human form appears.
No sphere his light confining,
No star so brightly shining,
As Christ, our Morning Star.

O time of God appointed,
O bright and holy morn!
The Sovereign One anointed,
The Christ, the virgin-born,
Grim death to vanquish for us,
To open heav'n before us,
And bring us life again.

Awaken now our spirit
To know and love you more,
In faith to stand unshaken,
In spirit to adore,
That we, through this world moving,
Each glimpse of heaven proving,
May reap in fullness there.

Creator, here before you,
With God the Holy Ghost,
And Jesus, we adore you,
O pride of angel-host.
Before you mortals lowly
Cry "Holy, Holy, Holy,"
Eternal Trinity!

Elizabeth Cruciger, 1524
tr. Arthur Tozer Russell, 1851; alt.
Tune: MEIN FREUD (7.6.7.6.7.7.6.)
Erfurt Enchiridion, 1524

Elizabeth Cruciger was the first Lutheran woman to write hymns. Born around 1500, she married Caspar Cruciger, a student of Martin Luther whom Luther encouraged and helped in various ways. Elizabeth also became a friend of Luther's wife Katherine. This text appeared in the Enchiridion, published in Erfurt in 1524, one of the first Protestant hymnals, and Luther later included it in some of his own hymn collections. It was first translated into English by Arthur Tozer Russell in his Psalms and Hymns (1851), an Anglican hymnbook.

The tune was selected by Cruciger hersself, but it was based on an older German folk tune often matched with the secular text Mein Freud mocht such wohl mehren. Like many other chorale melodies set down in the Enchiridion, it was used by Johann Sebastian Bach in some of his cantatas and organ works.


Two Years Ago: Wisdom eternal, brooding o'er creation

The Feast of the Epiphany

Today's Feast of the Epiphany marks the visit of the "three kings" to the baby Jesus and his parents, told in Matthew 2:1-12, though as you can see they aren't called kings there, nor are there said to be three of them.

Another important part of the story is the star that led them on their journey, which always appears in the hymns for this day. Its appearance was foretold in Numbers 24:17, which reads in part: There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, which many will recognize from a popular Epiphany anthem by Felix Mendelssohn.

Today's hymn was written in Latin (Quae stella sole pulchrior) by Charles Coffin and appeared in the Roman Catholic Paris Breviary (1736). It was translated by John Chandler a century later though it has been much altered since.

What star is this, with beams so bright,
More beauteous than the noonday light?
It shines to herald forth the Word.
Of whom the nations long have heard.

True spake the prophet from afar
Who told the rise of this bright star:
And eastern sages with amaze
Upon the wondrous token gaze.

The guiding star above is bright:
Within them shines a clearer light,
And leads them on with power benign
To seek the Giver of the sign.

Their love can brook no dull delay,
Though toil and danger block the way;
Home, kindred, native land, and all
They leave at their Creator's call.

To God our Maker, heav'nly Light,
To Christ, revealed to earthly sight,
And to the Holy Spirit, raise
Our equal and unceasing praise.

Charles Coffin, 1736
tr. John Chandler, 1837; alt.

Tune: PUER NOBIS (L.M.)
Michael Praetorius, 1609
harm. George Woodward, 1901

Two Years Ago: Saw you never, in the twilight

One Year Ago: Earth has many a noble city

That Night In the Long Ago

You may recall that last year I celebrated the Twelve Days of Christmas here at CWS with a daily Christmas selection, including several that had likely not been sung anywhere for many years. I decided not to continue that this year (though I certainly would not have run out of things to present), but you can revisit them yourself through the archive links at the right.

Here, on the twelfth day of this Christmas season, I have one last song that I stumbled upon this week. I found it while looking through The Royal Hymnal for the Sunday School (1899) for something else entirely. I don't think I can even explain why I like it; it's a bit like the near-ragtime Easter song from several months ago (harmonically if not rhythmically), and I think it would be fun to sing at least once.

Do you know the song that the angels sang
On that night in the long ago,
When the heav'ns above with their music rang
Till it echoed in the earth below?

Refrain
All glory in the highest,
Peace on earth, goodwill to all,
Glory, glory in the highest,

(In the highest, glory, glory)
Glory in the highest,
Glory in the highest,
Peace on earth, goodwill to all.

Do you know the song that the shepherds heard
As they watched o’er their flocks by night,
When the skies bent down, and their hearts were stirred
By the voices of the angels bright?
Refrain

Do you know the song that the sages learned
As they journeyed from the east afar,
O’er a pathway plain, as there nightly burned
In the heights a glorious guiding star?
Refrain

Abner P. Cobb, 1893; alt.
Tune: SONG IN THE NIGHT (Irregular with refrain)
James H. Fillmore, Sr., 1893

P.S. The painting above is from Song of the Angels (1881) by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

One Year Ago: The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Elizabeth Rundle Charles

Today is the birthday of Elizabeth Rundle Charles, born in 1838 in Tavistock, in the county of Devon. She was raised in the Church of England, and would write more than twenty-five books, including several popular books on various aspects of church history.

Her hymns and poems were published in several different places, and she also translated several hymns from various languages. This text comes from her collection The Women of the Gospels: The Three Wakings and Other Poems (1859).

Come and rejoice with me!
For once my heart was poor;
But I have found a treasury
Of love, an endless store.

Come and rejoice with me!
For I have found a Friend
Who knows my heart's most secret depths
Yet loves me without end.

I knew not of this love
Which God had loved so long,
This love, so faithful and so deep,
So tender and so strong.

And now I know it all,
Have heard and known God's Voice,
And hear it still from day to day --
Can I enough rejoice?

Elicabeth Rundle Charles, 1859; alt.
Tune: ADVENT (S.M.)
John Goss, 1872

That same collection also contained a poem entitled New Years' Hymn, probably not a surprising topic for her to write about given her birthday. Its first stanza reads:

What marks the dawning of the year
From any other morn?
No festal garb doth Nature wear
Because a Year is born.

Two Years Ago: Elizabeth Rundle Charles

One Year Ago: The Ninth Day of Christmas

Another Year With Thee

I've written before on this date how hymnwriter Frances Ridley Havergal had an annual New Years' custom of sending a new poem to her many correspondents. Many of these then received wider distribution in her various collections of verse and some have even made their way into hymnals. Today's hymn may be the most well-known of these, from 1874.

Another year is dawning,
Creator, let it be
In working or in waiting,
Another year with thee.
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness
In the shining of thy face;
Another year of leaning
Upon thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service,
Of witness for thy love,
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning,
Creator, let it be
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for thee.

Frances Ridley Havergal, 1874; alt.
Tune: AURELIA (7.6.7.6.D.)
Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864

Two Years Ago: Bessie Porter Head

One Year Ago: O God, by whom all change is wrought

William Orcutt Cushing

Song writer William Orcutt Cushing was born today in 1823 in Hingham, Massachusetts. His parents were Unitarians, but Cushing was eventually ordained in the Christian Church, which we know today as the Disciples of Christ. He served several different congregations all over New York state.

Following the death of his wife in 1870, he developed what nearly all sources call "creeping paralysis," which caused him to lose his voice. Now unable to preach, his pastoral career was at an end. Over the years he had written a few Sunday school songs for use in his churches, and he now turned his efforts more fully toward gospel song writing. His texts, which eventually numbered about 300, were set to music by several of the best-known composers of his time, including Robert Lowry, George Root, and Ira Sankey.

This song originally appeared in Welcome Tidings (1877) with a tune by Robert Lowry, who was also one of the editors of the songbook, but I like it better with this later tune by Daniel B. Towner.

Cheer, O cheer, ye heirs of Zion!
Weary days will soon be past;
Joy’s bright banner waving o’er us
Tells that heav’n is won at last.
On that fair, celestial morning,
Comes no cloud of grief or pain;
In your peaceful tents abiding,
Sorrow ne’er shall come again.

Cheer, O cheer, the morn is breaking!
Gloomy night will disappear;
Christ will come with sweet awaking;
Happier days will soon be here;
Long the pilgrim path we’ve wandered,
Long we’ve hoped ’mid doubt and fear,
Hard we’ve pressed thro’ many a trial --
Now the day of peace is here.

Cheer, O cheer, the morn is breaking!
Bright its beams of promise rise;
Sing, O sing, ye heirs of Zion!
Hear the welcome from the skies:
Come, ye blessèd of creation,
Dwell no more ’mid doubts and fears;
Join the throngs of saints and angels,
Crownèd with immortal years.

William O. Cushing, 1877; alt.
Tune: TOWNER (8.7.8.7.D.)
Daniel B. Towner, 1913


Two Years Ago: A year of precious blessings

One Year Ago: John Robson Sweney

The Gifts They Gave Emmanuel

Jesus, our Brother, strong and good,

Was humbly born in a stable rude,
And the friendly beasts around him stood,
Jesus, our Brother, strong and good.

I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown,
I carried his mother uphill and down,
I carried his mother to Bethlehem town;
I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown.

I, said the cow, all white and red,
I gave him my manger for his bed,
I gave him hay to pillow his head;
I, said the cow, all white and red.

I, said the sheep with curly horn,
I gave him my wool for his blanket warm,
He wore my coat on Christmas morn;
I, said the sheep with curly horn.

I, said the dove, from the rafters high,
I cooed him to sleep that he should not cry,
We cooed him to sleep, my mate and I;
I, said the dove, from the rafters high.

Thus all the beasts, by some good spell,
In the stable dark were glad to tell
Of the gifts they gave Emmanuel,
The gifts they gave Emmanuel.

French, 12th cent.
Tune: ORIENTIS PARTIBUS (Irregular)
Medieval French melody

Two Years Ago: It came upon the midnight clear

One Year Ago: While shepherds watched their flocks by night

Horatius Bonar

Horatius Bonar, whose birthday in 1808 we celebrate today, was one of a group of dissenting clergy who broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church in 1843. The worship tradition of both those Scottish churches was only to sing psalm paraphrases, so it seems unusual that Bonar became a prolific hymn writer whose texts were popular in many other denominations but not his own.

This text first appeared in his Hymns of Faith and Hope (1861), one of at least ten collections he pubished. I don't know if it has ever been sung as an Advent hymn but I think it could be, given its invitatory theme.

O Love that casts out fear,
O Love that casts out sin,
Tarry no more without,
But come and dwell within!

True sunlight of the soul,
Surround us as we go;
So shall our way be safe,
Our feet no wand'ring know.

Great Love of God, come in!
Wellspring of heav'nly peace;
O Living Water, come!
Spring up, and never cease.

Horatius Bonar, 1861
Tune: MOSELEY (6.6.6.6.)
Henry T. Smart, 1881

Only last month the Free Church of Scotland voted to allow the singing of hymns and songs in addition to the psalms, and today, St. Peter's Church in Dundee held its first carol service, which is also the first in the denomination. This change is not without controversy, as at least one minister has chosen to leave over this decision, but many people undoubtedly think that it's about time this happened. At any rate, I expect that the hymns of Horatius Bonar will finally become more widely known in his own country.

One (Calendar) Year Ago: Horatius Bonar

One (Liturgical) Year Ago: Away with loyal hearts and true
Two (Liturgical) Years Ago: Great Gabriel sped on wings of light

Charles Wesley

Today is the birthday of Charles Wesley (December 18, 1707 - March 29, 1788), who helped his brother John in founding the movement that eventually became the United Methodist Church. Though John wrote much of the underlying theology, it was undoubtedly the hymns of Charles that spoke most directly to the people of that church over the last three three centuries. Most Methodist hymnals have been compiled around his texts, and though the current United Methodist Hymnal (1989) is down to only 41 by him, that's a good number for any one person to have in a modern denominational collection. Of course, Wesley is well-represented in the hymnals of many other churches as well.

Like Luther, Charles Wesley is one of those people who have been written about much more extensively than I could adequately cover here. Since I missed an Advent hymn for last Sunday, I thought I would present Wesley's most well-known Advent text on his birthday today (incidentally, the very first Advent hymn presented here more than two years ago was also by him).

This one, which probably still appears in the hymnals of most churches today, was first published in Wesley's Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord (1745). There it was arranged in only two stanzas; though he is often cited for his long texts, such as the nineteen original stanzas of O for a thousand tongues to sing, he was also able to be brief at times.

Come, thou long-expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy great dominion bring.

By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit,
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley, 1745; alt.

Tune: STUTTGART (8.7.8.7.)

Christian F. Witt, 1715

adapt. Henry J, Gauntlett, 19th cent.

If you prefer this in two stanzas rather than four, you probably sing it to the ubiquitous HYFRYDOL, which of course is 8.7.8.7.D. (for double). In the UK they frequently use the John Stainer tune CROSS OF JESUS (again in four stanzas) and several other tunes have been sung over the years with these words.

Charles Wesley wrote between 5500 and 6000 hymn texts, and as usual you can see and hear many of them (though still a small fraction) at the Cyber Hymnal site, and of course you can click on his name below for the ones I've written about here. I wondered, however, whether I could find them all online somewhere, so I started at the site of the Charles Wesley Society. Before long I was directed to the Duke Divinity School site, where they do indeed have searchable PDF files of both his published verse and that which remained in manuscript at the time of his death.