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All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written in 1938 on Philippians 2: 5-11. It was written for the tune SINE NOMINE, by Ralph Vaughan Williams*, although set in H40 (for copyright reasons) to ENGELBERG, by Charles Villiers Stanford*. It has been frequently used in subsequent books: it is very popular in Britain, and is found in 100HfT and thus in A&MNS, NEH and A&MCP. A modernized version, to avoid 'thee' (but not wanting 'All praise to you...') is...
Alone thou goest forth, O Lord. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written in 1938 and published in H40. It is a free translation of a hymn by Peter Abelard* on the Passion of our Lord, 'Solus ad victimam procedis, Domine'*, found in Abelard's Hymnarius Paraclitensis. Abelard's hymn was written for the nocturnal office on Good Friday at the Convent of the Paraclete where Heloise was abbess. In H82 it is found in the 'Holy Week' section, set to BANGOR, an 18th-century psalm tune. It has been...
MESSITER, Arthur Henry. b. Frome, Somerset, England, 1 April 1834; d. Manhattan, New York, 2 July 1916. Messiter is remembered for his career as organist and choirmaster of Trinity Church in New York City; for one of the music editions of the Episcopal Hymnal prior to the first authorized music edition; and for the hymn tune MARION.
Although the date of Messiter's birth is sometimes shown as 12 April 1834, an official record shows 1 April 1834 for his birth and 2 May 1834 for his baptism. ...
Awake, O sleeper, rise from death. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written originally as an anthem text for David N. Johnson, published by Augsburg Fortress Press (Minneapolis, 1980), this was revised and made metrically stable for H82. It is based on phrases from Ephesians chapters 3, 4, and 5, beginning with Ephesians 5: 14 ('Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light'), itself 'a very ancient Christian hymn, probably' (Tucker, quoted in Young, 1993,...
Beloved, “it is well !”. George Washington Doane* (1799-1859).
In Songs by the Way: the poetical writings of the Right Rev. George Washington Doane, DD., LL.D., arranged and edited by his son, William Crosswell Doane (Third Edition, Albany, 1875) this hymn is dated 'March 2, 1833' (JJ has 'Mar. 12', in error, p. 304). It was entitled 'To my wife'. The text was as follows:
Beloved, “It is well! - ” God's ways are always right; And love is o'er them all, Though far above our sight.
...
By all your saints still striving. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984) and Jerry D. Godwin (1944-).
This is a modern version of 'From all Thy saints in warfare'*, written by Tucker and revised by Godwin for H82. In addition to using the 'you' form, it has been described as 'an edited version of the Tucker revision that reflected concern for language that was both nonmilitaristic and inclusive, yet remained faithful to the lives of the saints as the Church has received them' (The H82 Companion).
Like...
Carol, brothers, carol. William Augustus Muhlenberg* (1796-1877).
Written in 1840 for the boys of St Paul's College, Flushing, Long Island, the College that Muhlenberg had founded as the Flushing Institute in 1828. It was published in Muhlenberg's later collection, I Would not Live Alway, and Other Pieces in Verse by the same Author (New York, 1860), printed for the benefit of St Luke's Hospital. It received wider notice when it was printed in Christ in Song (New York, 1869), edited by Philip...
HUTCHINS, Charles Lewis. b. Concord, New Hampshire, 5 August 1838; d. Concord, Massachusetts, 17 August 1920. Hutchins, an Episcopal priest, was editor of several music editions of 19th-century Episcopal hymnals and related materials. He was a son of George Hutchins (1797-1868) and Sarah Rolfe Tucker (1801-1868). Both parents were born to well-established New England families. Of particular note is Sarah's grandfather, the Rev Dr John Tucker (1719-1792), described in Shipton's New England...
Christ, when for us you were baptized. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written in 1973 at the request of an Australian theology student at Trinity College, Melbourne, Dirk van Dissel. It is interesting to note that at the same time van Dissel was writing to Fred Pratt Green*, the British Methodist hymn writer, with a similar request. He was asking these two great hymn writers for a hymn on the Baptism of Christ for the forthcoming Australian Hymn Book (WOV, 1977). However, neither hymn was used...
GALE, Clement Rowland. b. Kew, Surrey, England, January 1860, d. New York City, 10 May 1934. Gale was a founding member of the American Guild of Organists* (1896), a member of the music faculty of General Theological Seminary in New York, and composer of several hymn tunes.
Several published accounts give Gale's date of birth as 12 March 1862, but official records show that he was born in January 1860 to William Frederick Gale (b. 1823?) and Elizabeth Gale (b. 1824?) and was baptized at St...
Come with us, O blessed Jesus. John Henry Hopkins, Jr.* (1820-1891).
First published in the Second Edition, enlarged, of Hopkins's Carols, Hymns, and Songs (New York, 1872). It was entitled 'Retrocessional for Christmas Day'; it provides a fine conclusion to a service on that day.
After having been neglected for many years, the first stanza of this hymn was printed in H40, with a tune by Johann Schop*, sometimes called WERDE MUNTER, after the hymn by Johann Rist*, 'Werde munter, mein Gemüte'*,...
MATHER, Cotton. b. Boston, Massachusetts, 12 February 1663; d. Boston, Massachusetts, 13 February 1728. Mather, one of the leading Puritan ministers of the American colonies, was instrumental in introducing the hymns of Isaac Watts* to North America. He was born into one of the prominent Puritan families of Colonial America. His father, Increase Mather (1639-1723), was minister of the prestigious Old North Church in Boston, and president of Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1692...
Creating God, your fingers trace. Jeffery Rowthorn* (1934- ).
This is a metrical version of Psalm 148, 'Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.' It was written in 1974 and submitted in 1979 for a competition set by the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada* to find 'New Psalms for Today'. It was printed in The Hymn (April 1979).
It has four stanzas, beginning 'Creating God...', 'Sustaining God...', 'Redeeming God...' and 'Indwelling God...'. It was printed in...
BAYLEY, Daniel. b. Rowley, Massachusetts, 27 June 1729; d. Newburyport, Massachusetts, 29 February 1792. Bayley was a compiler and publisher of tunebooks. While active, possibly as clerk and possibly as a chorister, in St. Paul's Anglican (Episcopal after the Revolution) Church in Newburyport, as well as a printer, potter, and shopkeeper, he became one of the most productive early publishers of American church music. His tunebooks are of particular interest for reasons of 'piracy' – prior to...
WILLIAMS, David McKinley. b. Caernarvonshire, Wales, 20 February 1887; d. Oakland, California, 13 March 1978. One of the most dynamic 20th-century leaders of American church music, he is often identified with the music of St Bartholomew's Church in New York City, where he was organist and choirmaster from 1920 to 1947. Williams served on the Joint Commission on Church Music of the Episcopal Church and the Joint Commission on Revision of the Hymnal (H40). He composed hymn tunes and descants,...
HODGES, Edward. b. Bristol, England, 20 July 1796; d. Clifton, Bristol, 1 September 1867. Hodges was an organist, composer, and father of Faustina H. Hodges* and John Sebastian Bach Hodges*. Many hymnals include Edward Hodges's tune HYMN TO JOY, arranged from a melody in the finale of Beethoven's 9th symphony [Opus 125, 1824] as the setting for Henry van Dyke*'s 'Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee'*.
Edward's father, Archelaus Hodges (1767-1811), and mother, Elizabeth (Stephens) Hodges...
TUCKER, Francis Bland. b. Norfolk, Virginia, 6 January 1895; d. Savannah, Georgia, 1 January 1984. The son of an Episcopalian Church bishop, he was educated at school in Lynchburg, Virginia, and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville (BA 1914). After service with the Medical Corps in World War I, he trained for the priesthood at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria (BD, 1920, h. c. DD, 1942). He was ordained (deacon 1918, priest 1920), serving parishes at Brunswick County, Virginia...
Father, we thank thee who hast planted. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written in 1939, and published in H40, this hymn has been published throughout the world. It is a paraphrase of the Didache*, consisting of the supposed teaching of the twelve apostles: it provides 'rules for baptism, fasting, prayer, visiting teachers and apostles, and the Lord's Supper, and containing the fine prayers which F. Bland Tucker has effectively paraphrased' (Young, 1993, p 332).
Stanza 1 corresponds to 10: 2 of...
HODGES, Faustina Hasse. b. Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England, 7 August 1823; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 4 February 1895. Daughter of Edward Hodges* and sister of John Sebastian Bach Hodges*, Faustina Hodges was a composer of church music, including hymn tunes, as well as secular songs.
Named after opera singer Faustina Bordoni (1697-1781) and her husband, the composer Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783), Faustina Hodges was baptized 5 September 1823 in the Moravian Church, East Tytherton, about...
HANCOCK, Gerre. b. Lubbock, Texas, 21 February 1934; d. Austin, Texas, 21 January 2012. He was an organist, professor, choir trainer, and composer, known especially for his book Improvising: How to Master the Art, which is largely based on hymn tunes.
His father, Edward Ervin Hancock (1902-1965) was Lubbock County Superintendent of Schools, and his mother, Flake (née Steger) Hancock, was a pianist for several churches. Gerre began playing the piano at age four and took lessons from his mother....
FRIEDELL, Harold William. b. Jamaica, Queens, New York, 11 May 1905; d. Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, 17 February 1958. Friedell was an organist, choirmaster, teacher, and composer of over 100 choral, organ and instrumental works. A 'Profile' in the Hudson Dispatch (New York), 16 September 1936, compared Friedell's anthems, in 'artistic temperament to the school of English composers who are writing a new chapter in the music on the ancient “modes” as opposed to the schools which are...
McKEEVER, Harriet Burn. b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 28 August 1807; d. Chester, Pennsylvania, 7 February 1886 or 1887. A member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, McKeever taught for 36 years in a girls' school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was also a successful author of novels, mainly on religious themes and for young women, several of which are still available in digital/printed form. An example is Edith's Ministry (Philadelphia, 1860), which traces the life of the eldest daughter...
CUTLER, Henry Stephen. b. Boston, Massachusetts, 13 October 1825; d. Swampscott, Massachusetts, 5 December 1902. Cutler was an organist, choirmaster, and composer, known especially for his hymn tune, ALL SAINTS (also called ALL SAINTS NEW). The place of Cutler's death is sometimes given as Boston; however, he died at home in Swampscott, about 12 miles north of the city. Cutler's parents were Roland Cutler (1798-1873) and Martha Richardson Cutler (1803-?) (see Josiah Adams, The Genealogy of...
How beauteous were the marks divine. Arthur Cleveland Coxe* (1818-1896).
These stanzas were identified in JJ, p. 267, as coming from Coxe's 'Hymn to the Redeemer', a poem of seven 8-line stanzas, written ca. 1840 and published in Halloween (Hartford, 1845) as one of the 'Lays, Meditative and Devotional' that followed 'Halloween' itself. It is uncertain when the selection of stanzas that became so popular was made, or by whom: it may have been by Henry Ward Beecher* for the Plymouth...
ROBBINS, Howard Chandler. b. Philadelphia, 11 December 1876; d. Washington, DC, 20 March 1952. Educated at Yale (BA 1899) and the Episcopal Theological Seminary (BD 1903). He was ordained (deacon 1903, priest 1904), serving a curacy at St Peter's, Morristown, New Jersey (1903-05). He was rector of St Paul's Church, Englewood, New Jersey (1905-11), rector of the Church of the Incarnation, New York City (1911-17), and Dean of the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York (1917-29). He became...
I would not live alway. William Augustus Muhlenberg* (1796-1877).
A version of this hymn is said to have been written in 1824 at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a lady's album, where it began:
I would not live alway; no, no, holy man, Not a day, not an hour, should lengthen my span.
This suggests the jeu d'esprit of a young clergyman, although it was based on Job 7: 16: 'I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.' The original text had six 8-line stanzas. The text given in...
In the silent midnight watches. Arthur Cleveland Coxe* (1818-1896).
First published in the Second Edition of Coxe's poem, Athanasion (1842), where it was among the 'Several Poems, now first collected', further described as 'Miscellaneous Poems', that followed the main poem. It was called 'The Heart's Song' (it may well be considered alongside the words from the preface to Athanasion quoted in the entry on Coxe). It was printed by Philip Schaff * in Christ in Song (New York, 1869). It had three...
Jesus, high in glory. Harriet Burn McKeever* (1807-1886 or 1887).
In JJ, p. 1574, this hymn is noted as from the Methodist Episcopal Church's Sunday School Harmonist (1847), without an author's name. McKeever was identified as the author when it appeared in her Twilight Musings: and Other Poems (Philadelphia, 1857) (JJ, p. 1667). It became very popular in the USA and Canada, appearing in many hymnals, mainly those for Sunday schools and young people. It crossed the Atlantic to appear in the...
Jesus, our mighty Lord. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
This was printed in H40 with a first stanza beginning:
Master of eager youth,
Controlling, guiding,
Lifting our hearts to truth,
New power providing;
Shepherd of innocence,
Thou art our Confidence;
To thee, our sure Defence,
We bring our praises.
This first stanza was omitted and stanza 2 changed from 'Thou art' to 'Jesus' in H82. The reason given was that the imagery seemed 'more congenial to modern thought' than the original stanza 1 had...
YOUNG, John Freeman. b. Pittston, Maine, 30 October 1820; d. New York City, 15 November 1885. He was the son of John Young and Emma Freeman. His family were Wesleyan Methodists, but he joined the Episcopal Church and was educated at Virginia Theological Seminary. He took Holy Orders (deacon, 1845, priest 1846), serving churches in Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana before becoming assistant rector of Trinity Church, New York City. He was secretary of the Russo-Greek Committee of the...
TUCKER, John Ireland. b. Brooklyn, New York, 26 November, 1819; d. Albany, New York, 17 August 1895. Tucker was an Episcopal priest and editor of several music editions of nineteenth-century Episcopal hymnals and related materials (see Episcopal Church, USA, hymnody*).
Tucker's parents, Fanning Cobham Tucker (1782-1856) and Ann Moore Sands (1781-1833), were born to well-established New York families. Fanning's father, Robert Tucker (1746-1792), was the first to receive the degree Doctor of...
HODGES, John Sebastian Bach. b. Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, 12 January 1830; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 4 February 1895. An Episcopal priest, Hodges composed several hymn tunes, including EUCHARISTIC HYMN, that are found in present-day hymnals.
J. Sebastian B. Hodges (as his name often appears) was the son of Edward Hodges* and brother of Faustina H. Hodges*, George Frederick Handel Hodges (1822-1842), and Jubal Hodges (1828-1870). The latter was also an Episcopal priest, and...
ELLINWOOD, Leonard Webster. b. Thomaston, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 13 February 1905; d. Washington, DC, 8 July 1994. Leonard Ellinwood was a musicologist, hymnologist, librarian, choral singer, and minister. The son of George Francis Ellinwood (1873–1924) and Lois May Ellinwood (née Magoon) (1874–1925), Leonard grew up in Littleton, New Hampshire and had one younger brother, David (1909–1969). He attended Amherst College (1922–23), graduating from Aurora College (now Aurora University,...
Like Noah's weary dove. William Augustus Muhlenberg* (1796-1877).
This imaginative treatment of Genesis 8: 8-9 was one of the hymns contributed by Muhlenberg to the 1826 hymnal of the Episcopal Church in America entitled The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church in the United States of America, known as the 'Prayer Book Collection'. It had five stanzas:
Like Noah's weary dove, That soared the earth around, But not a...
O where are kings and empires now. Arthur Cleveland Coxe* (1818-1896).
The customary form of this hymn is that of four quatrains, selected from Coxe's longer poem, 'Chelsea', a tribute to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, Chelsea, Massachusetts, where he was a divinity student. According to JJ, p. 267, it first appeared in the Churchman (1839). In ten 8-line stanzas, it was published in Coxe's Christian Ballads (1840). It is a confident poem in which the opening is...
Our Father, by whose name. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written in 1939 on the theme of the Christian home, and published in H40: it was written in a different metre (66.66.88.) for the Report of the Joint Commission on the Revision of the Hymnal, but modified to fit the tune RHOSYMEDRE, also called LOVELY (66.66.888). It then appeared in the Irish ICH4 (1960) and the Scottish CH3 (1973). It was included in MHfT (with the title 'The family') and thus in A&MNS. In the USA it is found in...
Put forth, O God, thy Spirit's might. Howard Chandler Robbins* (1876-1952).
First published in New Church Hymnal (New York, 1937), edited by Robbins and three others, H. Augustine Smith*, Edward Shippen Barnes*, and James Dalton Morrison. It was set there to the Scottish 'common tune' DUNDEE. It was then included in H40, to a tune called CHELSEA SQUARE, 'hummed by the author to Ray Francis Brown at the General Theological Seminary, Chelsea Square, New York City, 1941' (The Hymnal 1940...
Saviour, who thy flock art feeding. William Augustus Muhlenberg* (1796-1877).
This prayer for the welfare of children was first published in The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church in the United States of America, known as the 'Prayer Book Collection' (1826). According to JJ, this was 'the most widely known of Dr Muhlenberg's hymns' (p. 775). In Britain it was printed in Lyra Americana (1865), with a title, 'He carrieth the...
Shout the glad tidings, exultingly sing. William Augustus Muhlenberg* (1796-1877).
First published in the hymnal of the Episcopal Church in America (1826) entitled The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church in the United States of America, known as the 'Prayer Book Collection'. According to JJ, Muhlenberg said that it was written 'at the particular request of Bishop John Henry Hobart (1775-1830), who wanted something that would...
Sunday's palms are Wednesday's ashes. Rae E. Whitney* (1927- ).
This was published initially in the first of four collections of hymns, With Joy Our Spirits Sing: The Hymns of Rae E. Whitney (Pittsburgh, 1995). It begins:
Sunday's palms are Wednesday's ashesas another Lent begins;thus we kneel before our Makerin contrition for our sins.
We have marred baptismal pledges, in rebellion gone astray; now, returning, seek forgiveness; grant us pardon, God, this day!
(Words © 1991 Selah Publishing...
Sunset to sunrise changes now. Clement of Alexandria* (ca. 150- ca. 215/220), translated by Howard Chandler Robbins* (1876-1952).
This is described in The H40 Companion (p. 61)as 'a paraphrase and expansion' of a passage in Clement's Exhortation to the Greeks, or the Protreptikos. The original occurs in Chapter XI:
The universe has become sleepless light, and the setting has turned into a rising. For He who rides over the universe, 'the sun of righteousness', visits mankind impartially,...
We are living, we are dwelling. Arthur Cleveland Coxe* (1818-1896).
First published in the Second Edition of Coxe's Athanasion (Coxe's word 'Athanasius-ism' refers to St Athanasius of Alexandria, d. 373, a doughty opponent of Arianism). It was originally (1840) 'an ode pronounced before the Associate Alumni of Washington College, in Christ Church, Hartford, on the day before Commencement, 1840.' The Second Edition (New York, 1842) had 'notes and corrections' together with 'Several Poems, now...
We would see Jesus, for the shadows lengthen. Anna Bartlett Warner* (1827-1915).
This hymn appeared in Anna Warner's novel, Dollars and Cents (New York, 1852) (JJ, p. 1725). The novel was republished in Britain as Speculation; or the Glen-Luna family (London: Routledge, 1853), with the author's name as 'Amy Lothrop' (Anna Warner's pseudonym).
A previous entry in JJ, p. 1595, had said that the hymn was 'usually atributed to Ellen Ellis, a contributor to the Golden Grain Series' (a...
HELD, Wilbur Caldwell. b. Des Plaines, Illinois, 20 August 1914; d. Claremont, California, 24 March 2015. Held was a composer, organist, and professor of organ and choral music at Ohio State University. He composed IN BETHLEHEM, several other hymn tunes, and many organ arrangements of hymn tunes.
Wilbur Held's parents were Walter Wilbur Held (1884–1981) and Amy Caldwell (née Greene) Held (1886–1937). Walter owned a heating business in Des Plaines, where he served on the school board for 13...
MUHLENBERG, William Augustus. b. Philadelphia, 16 September 1796; d. New York City, 8 April 1877. William Augustus was the great-grandson of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg* 'the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America'. His name is sometimes spelt Mühlenberg, as in JJ, but he used it without an umlaut.
William Augustus became a member of the Episcopal Church in his ninth year. Educated at Philadelphia Academy and the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) (AB 1814), he was ordained deacon in...
WALTER, William Henry. b. Newark, New Jersey, 1 July 1825; d. New York, 19 April 1893. Walter taught music in public schools, and was organist associated with Trinity Church, Manhattan, and its chapels. He composed at least 43 hymn tunes, most published in Charles Lewis Hutchins*'s The Church Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged (Boston, 1908). Among his tunes, FESTAL SONG (1872) is still widely sung to a variety of texts.
His parents were James Hahn Walter (nda) and Mary (née Cheetham) Walter...