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¡Gloria, gloria, gloria! Pablo Sosa* (1933—2020).
This joyful chorus comes directly from Luke 2: 14, the canticle of the angels. 'Gloria' (1978) was composed for a Christmas pageant, designed so that the congregation could join in the drama as the chorus of angels. The song-dance is based on the cueca, the national dance of Chile, but also popular in Bolivia and parts of Argentina. The musical style includes a lively three-four (¾) meter melded with a cross-rhythm of six-eight (6/8)...
A city radiant as a bride. Timothy Dudley-Smith* (1926- ).
First published in the quarterly News of Hymnody in 1987. Drawing on Revelation 21, it is a hymn on the subject of 'citizens of heaven'; which was, at that point in the development in the Church of England's alternative liturgies, the theme for the 'Last Sunday after Pentecost'. Although since the replacement of the 1980 Alternative Service Book this is no longer the case, the same chapter from Revelation now appears as an option for...
A light from heaven shone around. Gracia Grindal* (1943- ).
This was written in response to a general request from the committee of H82, which circulated a list of Festivals and Saints' Days for which it was seeking new hymns. This one, on the Conversion of St Paul, follows the account in Acts 9 closely. Since that time it has also appeared in Singing the New Testament (ed. Joyce Borger, Faith Alive, 2008).
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A Light is Gleaming ('When light comes pouring into the darkest place'). Linnea Good* (1962– ).
Written first for The Whole People of God church school curriculum (1992), Linnea Good's 'A Light Is Gleaming' appeared subsequently in Voices United (VU, 1996) the denomination hymnal of the United Church of Canada.
The song begins with a refrain inviting the singers to come and share in the light and love of God. Notable in its text construction, the line 'living in the light', sung twice in...
Allchin, Arthur MacDonald. b. Acton, London, 20 April 1930; d. Oxford, 23 December 2010. Donald, as he was always called, was the youngest of four children of Frank MacDonald Allchin, a physician, and Louise Maude, née Wright. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated in modern history and proceeded to take a BLitt, published as The Silent Revolution (1958), a history of 19th-century Anglican religious communities which became the standard study of the...
TICE, Adam M. L. b. Boynton, Pennsylvania, 11 October 1979. Adam Tice spent his growing up years in several states across the USA, ending up in the town of Goshen in northern Indiana. He is a graduate of Goshen College (B.A. in music, 2002), and the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana (now Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, AMBS), with an MA in Christian Formation (2006).
It was at AMBS that he wrote his first hymn text. This began a profound and life-long interest...
Affirm anew the three-fold name. Timothy Dudley-Smith* (1926- ).
Built upon its four imperatives of 'Affirm…Declare…Confirm…Renew…', this hymn of Christian dedication and renewal was written for the 1998 Lambeth Conference of worldwide Anglican bishops (see Lambeth Praise*). The Archbishop of Canterbury's Secretary for this event wrote well in advance to Dudley-Smith outlining the conference's four main themes; a small selection of hymns was to be used including some new texts. Dudley-Smith...
YearDenomination and EditorsTitleComments
1801
African Methodist Episcopal ChurchRichard Allen*
A Collection of Spiritual Songs and Hymns Selected From Various Authors, by Richard Allen, African Minister
54 Texts only (no music like other hymnals of this period; the authors of text were not included).
1801
African Methodist Episcopal ChurchRichard Allen
A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs from Various Authors, by Richard Allen, Minister of the African Methodist Episcopal...
Agape
Agape: Songs of Hope and Reconciliation, edited by Maggie Hamilton and Päivi Jussila, was published by Oxford University Press in 2003 (the title, pronounced 'A-ga-pay', is a Greek term referring to the highest form of love: in Christianity, the love of God for humankind, and the reciprocal love of humans for God). It contains 110 items and was compiled for the 2003 meeting of the Lutheran World Federation Assembly, the theme of which was 'For the Healing of the World'. Hamilton's preface...
GAUNT, Alan. b. Manchester, 26 May 1935; d. The Wirral, Merseyside, 19 July 2023. He was educated at Silcoates School, Lancashire Independent College, and Manchester University. He was ordained in the Congregational (later United Reformed Church) ministry in 1958, and served churches at Clitheroe and Barrow, Lancashire; Keighley, Yorkshire; Sunderland; Heswall; the South-West Manchester group of Baptist and United Reformed churches; and Windermere.
He published books of prayers, including New...
HOMMERDING, Alan Joseph. b. Port Washington, Wisconsin, 19 November 1956. He earned graduate degrees in theology, liturgy and music from St Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and the University of Notre Dame. Additional studies in organ, accompanying and vocal/choral studies were taken at Princeton University, Westminster Choir College and the Peabody Conservatory.
In addition to serving as a church musician and a music advisor for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Hommerding is Senior...
LUFF, Alan Harold Frank. b. Bristol, 6 November 1928; d. Cardiff, 16 April 2020. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. After University College, Oxford (1947-1952), where he read 'Greats' (Literae Humaniores, Greek and Latin/ Ancient Philosophy and History) and then Theology (1952), he trained for the Anglican priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge (1954-56). He took Holy Orders (deacon 1956, priest 1957), and after curacies at Stretford and Swinton, diocese of Manchester (1956-62), he...
WYTON, Alec (Alexander Francis). b. London, 3 August 1921; d. Danbury, Connecticut, 18 March 2007. After his parents separated, he received his early encouragement from an aunt in Northampton who suggested he learned the piano and organ. When war broke out in 1939, he joined the Royal Corps of Signals but was discharged early owing to a duodenal ulcer. He then went on to the Royal Academy of Music and, in 1943, he became organ scholar at Exeter College, Oxford (BA 1945) where he studied history...
FEDAK, Alfred Victor. b. Elizabeth, New Jersey, 4 July 1953. Fedak was educated at the Pingry School and Hope College, Holland, Michigan. He graduated with degrees in organ performance and music history in 1975. An MA in organ performance was conferred in 1981 by Montclair State College (now Montclair State University, New Jersey). He undertook additional studies at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, The Eastman School of Music, New York, The Institute for European Studies,...
ROBERTSON, Alison Margaret (née Malloch). b. Glasgow, 22 February 1940. She was the younger twin of the Revd. Jack and Nancy Malloch. In 1948 the family moved to the Gold Coast (now Ghana), when her father became a Church of Scotland missionary principal of the Teacher Training College at Akropong. Her mother ran a baby clinic once a week and Alison, at the age of 10, was made responsible for the small wounds part of the clinic, cleaning and dressing fresh and infected wounds sustained by the...
HUSBERG, Amanda. b. Chicago, 7 December 1940; d. New York City, 15 February 2021. Amanda Husberg graduated from Concordia Teacher's College (Seward, Nebraska, B.S., 1962) where she studied education, and organ performance with Jan Bender*. Subsequently, she completed her study in early childhood education from Hunter College (New York City, M.S., 1971).
From July 1964 onwards she was the Director of Music at St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Concurrent with her...
GRANT, Amy. b. Augusta, Georgia, 25 November 1960. A prominent Christian song-writer and pop singer, Grant attended Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina (1978-80) and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (1980-81). She grew up in a conservative Church of Christ congregation that did not believe musical instruments were appropriate for worship. Influenced by charismatic theology and practice via Don Finto (1930-) and Nashville's independent Belmont Church, she began writing...
FROSTENSON, Anders. b. Loshult, Kristianstad, Sweden, 23 April 1906; d. 4 February 2006. Frostenson studied history of literature and theology at the University of Lund. He served in Stockholm from 1933, first as a curate in Gustav Vasa, a big city parish, and then as a parish clergyman in Lovö parish, near to Drottningholm, one of the castles of the royal family, where he served as a preacher from 1955. In 1969 he became a member of the Swedish official hymn committee and in 1981 he was...
NYBERG, Anders. b. Malung, north-west of Västerås, Sweden, 1955. He studied choral conducting and composition at the Royal Music Academy, Stockholm. In 1978 he led a Swedish worship group called 'Fjedur' to South Africa, then under an apartheid regime. They worked in black churches, and soon after Nyberg returned to work in the township of Guglethu, Cape Town (see 'South African freedom songs'). He subsequently worked in Latin America, taking another group, 'Gondwana', to Cuba and other...
CROUCH, Andraé Edward. b. San Francisco, California, 1 July 1942; d. Los Angeles, California, 8 January 2015. Andraé Crouch began performing as a teenager in his church, directed a choir at a Teen Challenge drug rehabilitation center, and in 1960 formed a singing group, the COGICS, for his Church of God in Christ denomination (Holiness/Pentecostal). He studied at the L.I.F.E. Bible College and Valley Junior College in Los Angeles where in 1965 he founded the 'Andraé Crouch and the Disciples'...
TEICH, Andreas Hans. b. Krefeld, Germany, 5 October 1960. A parish pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Teich studied at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania (AB, 1982), Christ Seminary-Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, Illinois (MDiv, 1986). He was ordained in 1986. His pastorates at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Bellevue, Kentucky (1986-1990), and Messiah Lutheran Church, Bay City, Michigan (1994- ), are noted for employing the rich chorale tradition as well as...
DONALDSON, Andrew James. b. Matheson, Ontario, Canada, July 22, 1951. Pastoral musician Andrew Donaldson is a composer, hymn-writer, and leader of congregational song, the third of seven children of missionaries in northern Ontario. He was educated in French and English studies at Glendon College, York University (BA, 1974), and studied classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, Classical Guitar Performance, 1979).
From 1982 until 2010 he combined directing music at Beaches...
PRATT, Andrew Edward. b. Paignton, Devon, 28 December 1948. He was educated at Barking Regional College of Technology, London, where he read Zoology, and the University College of North Wales, Bangor, where he obtained an M.Sc. in Marine Biology. He became a teacher, but then decided to train for the Methodist ministry, studying at Queen's College, Birmingham. (1979-82). He has served as a Methodist minister in circuits in Cheshire and Lancashire (Northwich; Nantwich; Leigh and Hindley; Orrell...
BRIGGS, Anna. b. Newcastle upon Tyne, 15 February 1947. Anna is the eldest of six daughters. Her parents, Harry and Gwen Briggs, were active in the church, the Labour Party and many other political pressure groups, and she grew up surrounded by campaigning and lobbying as a way of life, not divorced from, but an essential part of, her family's Christian beliefs.
She graduated in Political and Economic Studies from University College, Cardiff (1968) and took a postgraduate Diploma in Health...
DUBA, Arlo Dean. b. Platte, Brule County, South Dakota, 12 November 1929; d. Gunnison, Colorado, 27 June 2023. Duba was raised in a Bohemian Presbyterian farming family whose Hussite/Czech forebearers settled in the Dakotas in the 1880s. He attended the University of Dubuque, where he met his wife, Doreen. He majored in music and religion (BA 1952), and Princeton Theological Seminary (BD 1955, PhD 1960). His dissertation title was 'The Principles of Theological Language in the Writings of...
CLYDE, Arthur G. b. Bradford, Pennsylvania, 28 December 1940. A prominent United Church of Christ (UCC) musician and editor of The New Century Hymnal (Cleveland, 1995), Clyde attended Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania (BA, in Sociology, 1963), with additional studies at Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia (1963-64, 75-77). He was an English language teacher in Japan under the missions program of the Lutheran Church in America (1965-1968), taught music...
As a chalice cast of gold. Thomas Troeger* (1945-2022).
From Troeger's New Hymns for the Lectionary: to Glorify the Maker's Name (New York and Oxford, 1986), reprinted in Borrowed Light (1994). It is based on Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23, with its contrast between the outward forms of worship and the inward self, and its reminder (verse 15) that 'there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.'...
As a fire is meant for burning. Ruth C. Duck* (1947- ).
Written in 1982 after visiting United Church of Christ Missions in Turkey, which is reflected in the first lines: 'As a fire is meant for burning/ with a bright and warming flame/ so the church is meant for mission/ giving glory to God's name'. It was published in her Dancing in the Universe (1992), and has since been included in a number of books, including the Canadian VU and the Scottish CH4. There is a Spanish translation by Georgina...
As the fainting deer cries out. David George Preston* (1939- ).
This version of Psalm 42 was one of the last texts written for The Book of Praises: 70 Psalms for singing today, which the author compiled in 1986. It was paired from then on with his version of Psalm 43, 'God defend me; traitors rise'. As the two Psalms have much in common, including their refrain, and because they may have been a single song which was later divided, Preston has rendered them in the same 7777D metre and given...
As we gather at your table. Carl P. Daw, Jr.* (1944- ).
Written by request in 1989 for Eastern Shore Chapel (Episcopal), Virginia Beach, Virginia, which was celebrating the tricentenary of its founding in 1689. The motto for the occasion was 'Repeat the sounding joy', which Daw has incorporated in the last line, the climax of this fine hymn of worship and service. The first line is simple and beautiful in its simplicity: it suggests that the hymn that follows will be a hymn for Holy Communion,...
Asian and Asian American hymns, USA
This essay updates a portion of Carlton R. Young*'s earlier study (1998) on the inclusion of ethnic congregational song in hymnals published 1942-95 by the Protestant Episcopal Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church, The Christian Reformed Church, The United Methodist Church, The Presbyterian Church (USA), The Southern Baptist Church, The United Church of Christ, and the Disciples of Christ. His detailed work noted a distinct increase of ethnic minority...
Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM)
The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church's song. Music is a vital expression of Lutheran worship. By sharing the knowledge, experience, and passion that honor our heritage and inspire our future, ALCM nurtures and equips those who lead music in worship.
Approximately 140 church musicians from across the United States and Canada responded to an invitation to meet at Lutheran...
At break of day three women came. Janet Wootton* (1952- ).
This was originally published in Hymns and Congregational Songs Vol. 2 No.1 (1990) and then unaltered in Story Song and Reflecting Praise (both 1993). The hymn was originally set to STOURBRIDGE (anonymous but arranged by June Boyce-Tillman*). Two versions of the text are offered, one for this tune and the other for KINGSFOLD. This latter shortens the penultimate line of each stanza, so in stanza 1 'They worship in the light of day'...
LOVELACE, Austin C. b. Rutherford, North Carolina, 26 March 1919; d. Denver, Colorado, 25 April 2010. Lovelace spent his entire life in church music. At the age of 15 he began playing organ in a Baptist church in Forest City, North Carolina. He was educated at High Point College in North Carolina (BA 1939) and at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, from which he received a masters degree (1941) and a doctor of sacred music degree (1950). While at Union Seminary he studied with T....
Awake, awake, and greet the new morn. Marty Haugen* (1950- ). Written in 1983 as a Christmas hymn, and published in Haugen's Rejoice, Rejoice (Chicago, 1983). Haugen's tune, REJOICE, REJOICE, takes its name from the opening words of the last stanza. In verse 1 line 3 Haugen wrote 'for now he is born', which was changed by the editors of Worship - Third Edition (1986), of whom Haugen was one, to 'for soon he is born', which turns the hymn into one for Advent.
JRW
Baptized in water. Michael Saward* (1932-2015).
This was the second of three hymns for baptism written within four days, and the third of four used in a teaching series on the subject when the author was vicar of Ealing in West London. Like others, he had become concerned at the dearth of convincing and singable hymns for baptism. The date of writing this one was 29 May 1981; the following year all four were published in HFTC of which he was the words editor, together with two by Michael Perry*...
HAMM, Barbara Elizabeth. b. Sterling, Colorado, 25 September 1943. Barbara Hamm began piano study as a young girl, learning to improvise on gospel hymns in a small Baptist congregation in the Midwestern United States. She gained further experience while playing for a small church during her college study in Eastern Tennessee. This early involvement in worship led to a lifetime of music ministry.
A United Church of Christ (UCC) church musician, composer, and hymn writer, Barbara Hamm received...
ROSE, Barry Michael. b. Chingford, Essex, 24 May 1934. A choir trainer of quite exceptional gifts, Rose was appointed the first organist of the new and as yet unfinished cathedral at Guildford in March 1960. He built up one of the country's finest cathedral choirs there, and had a similarly beneficial effect on the singing at St Paul's Cathedral (1974-84), where he was initially Sub-Organist and subsequently Master of the Choir. After an interlude as Master of the Choirs at the King's School,...
BRIDGE, Basil Ernest. b. Norwich, 5 August 1927; d. Norwich, 11 September 2021. He was educated at the City of Norwich School and Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge (BA, 1948). He trained for the Congregational ministry at Cheshunt College, and was ordained in 1951. He served in Congregational (after 1972 United Reformed Church) churches at Knowle, Warwickshire (1951-55), Leicester (1955-74), Stamford and Bourne, Lincolnshire (1976-89), and Harrold, Bedforshire (1989-94). He has written over 30 texts...
Be still, for the presence of the Lord. David J. Evans* (1957- ).
This was written in 1985, when Evans was involved in leading worship in what he himself describes as 'new' churches (Companion to Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition, 2005, p. 458). It was sung at Spring Harvest occasions, and published in Let's Praise 1 (1988). It became hugely successful, and has appeared in many books, such as Worship Songs Ancient & Modern (1992), with the first line changed to 'Be still, for the Spirit of the...
Beauty for brokenness. Graham Kendrick* (1950- ).
This song was written in 1993 for the 25th anniversary of the charity Tearfund. It was influenced by a visit that Kendrick had made to India in 1992 and his perception of the contrast between Indian poverty and Western affluence. It was included in his CD album Spark to a Flame (1993), and has since been included in a number of mainstream hymn books, including the Australian Together in Song: The Australian Hymn Book II (1999), Sing...
Because He lives. Gloria Gaither* (1942- ) and William J (Bill) Gaither* (1936- ).
This song is based on John 14:19c, 'because I live, you also will live,' a theme that is effectively supported by a soaring melody in the refrain. After the opening reference to the Incarnation ('God sent his son, hey called him Jesus'), the first stanza turns to to the empty grave on Easter Day and its significance. Stanza two is about hope, even in uncertain days, because of the singular significance of the...
Before I take the body of my Lord. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
From Love from Below (Wild Goose Songs 3) (1989), where the title is 'These I lay down'. It was written for a Thursday night Eucharist at Iona Abbey, in which the participants are seated round tables rather than facing the altar. It is a hymn of confession, although John Bell is on record as saying that he sometimes feels that 'we overdose ourselves in confession' at Holy Communion (Companion to...
Behold a broken world, we pray. Timothy Dudley-Smith* (1926- ).
In 1984 the Hymn Society of America (now The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada*) announced a hymn search on the theme of 'Peace'. Rooting his text firmly in Micah 4:1-4, Dudley-Smith wrote this in August that year, and it was one of five chosen for publication, appearing in the society's journal The Hymn in July 1985. Like many of the author's hymns, it was put together during the morning hours devoted to hymn-writing...
BRODY, Benjamin. b. Portland, Oregon, 2 May 1975. Benjamin Brody, a composer, hymn writer, church musician, and educator, is son of Clark Brody and Barbara Brody (née Finsaas), and one of three siblings. The son of a music teacher and grandson of a pastor, his first experiences in music took place singing together with his family in the car or around the piano at home. He was nurtured in the charismatic tradition. He received his education at Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington, in Music...
FARRELL, Bernadette. b. Altofts, West Yorkshire, 1957. Farrell was educated at King's College London and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She quickly made her mark as one of the founder members of the St Thomas More Group*. She has worked as diocesan music advisor for Southwark and Westminster and as a workshop presenter both in the UK and in the USA. Her ministry flows in to social action and reflects her strong commitment to justice and peace. In addition to her work with the St...
KYAMANYWA, Bernard. b. Kagera Region, Tanganyika (now Tanzania); 10 May 1938. A teacher, Lutheran pastor, and hymnwriter, Kyamanywa studied to be a schoolteacher at Kigarama Teacher's College (Bukoba, Tanzania) where he received his basic musical training. He continued his study at Lutheran Theological College (now Makumira University College) in Arusha (Diploma in Theology, 1968). He became known for his exceptional mastery of Hebrew, a skill that earned him the position as a representative of...
MASSEY, Bernard Stanford. b. Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, 22 June 1927; d. Redhill, Surrey, 28 October 2011. He was educated at Watford Boys' Grammar School and Queen Mary College, University of London. From 1952 to 1984 he was successively Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, and Tutor in the Mechanical Engineering Department, University College, London; he was the author of three text-books.
Massey was the editor of the Bulletin of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland from 1975 to...
POLMAN, Bert Frederick. b. Rozenburg, the Netherlands, 28 August 1945; d. Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1 July 2013. Polman spent part of his childhood in Indonesia with his missionary parents. After the family immigrated to western Canada, Polman received his education at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa (BA, 1968); University of Minnesota (MA, 1969; PhD in Musicology, 1981); and did postgraduate work at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He taught music at the Ontario...
PULKINGHAM, Betty Carr. b. Burlington, North Carolina, 25 August 1928; d. Austin,Texas, 9 May 2019. Her mother was a lifelong Baptist and her father had Scottish Presbyterian roots, but joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. She attributed her ecumenical approach to her early experience of both traditions.
She grew up with music around her at school and home. She learned the piano from the age of eight, and from the age of ten was playing for the hymns at her Sunday School. Later, she was one...
HOWARD, Beverly Ann. b. New Kensington, Pennsylvania, 22 February 1951. A professor in church music, researcher in hymnology, journal editor, member of hymnal committees, church musician, and organist, Howard received degrees from University of Oklahoma in organ performance (BM, 1973, MM, 1974) and the University of North Texas in organ performance, music theory, and harpsichord (DMA, 1986). She served as organist for forty years in two congregations in Riverside, California, First Christian...
Beyond all mortal praise. Timothy Dudley-Smith* (1926- ).
Written in August 1981. The first line and the metre 66.66.44.44. (the metre of the 148th Psalm in the 'Old Version'*) may seem at first sight to recall 'We give immortal praise'* by Isaac Watts*. But while Watts's hymn is on the Holy Trinity, Dudley-Smith's is based on Daniel 2: 20-23, in which Daniel and his companions desired 'mercies of the God of heaven' that would enable them to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Daniel's prayer of...
Gaither, Bill (William James). b. Alexandria, Indiana, 28 March 1936. Gaither was one of four children of the marriage of George W. (1913-2005) and Lela (née Hartwell) (1914-2001). The farming family attended the Church of God in Alexandria, a restoration group with Wesleyan holiness roots headquartered in Anderson, Indiana, (not related to Pentecostal denominations with the same name). Early on Gaither studied piano and organ, 'performing wherever he could in recitals and as an accompanist'...
TAMBLYN, Bill. b. Birmingham, 5 December 1941. He was educated at University College, Durham, during which time he began to study plainchant with Fr Laurence Hollis at Ushaw College and converted to Roman Catholicism. On leaving university, he became, first, cantor and then for ten years, director of music at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick, West London. Tamblyn edited Church Music until 1974, and during the late 1960s he travelled with John Michael East (director of the Church Music...
Bind us together, Lord. Robert (Bob) Gillman* (1946— ).
'Bind us together, Lord' grew out of the controversy that developed over the impact of Pentecostal influences in churches in London during the 1970s, known as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who had experienced the presence of the gifts of the Spirit wished for congregations with established historical liturgies to allow for more freedom to express these gifts during worship. As a result, a house church movement developed during...
Blessed be the God of Israel. Carl P. Daw, Jr.* (1944- ).
Written in 1985 for an Advent hymn competition of the Hymn Society of America. It is a paraphrase of the Benedictus* from Luke 1: 68-79, the song that marvellously breaks the silence of Zecharias, or Zechariah, as he contemplates his son John, who will become St John the Baptist ('My child, as prophet of the Lord/ you will prepare the way', verse 3 lines 1-2). Other texts employed include Isaiah 11: 1 ('a Branch from David's tree') and...
Blest are they, the poor in spirit. David R. Haas* (1957-).
Blest are they, the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blest are they, full of sorrow; they shall be consoled.
Rejoice and be glad!Blessed are you, holy are you.Rejoice and be glad!Yours is the kingdom of God.
© 1986 GIA Publications, Inc. www.giamusic.com. Used by permission.
This paraphrase of Matthew 5:3-16, 'The Beatitudes', maintains the two-part structure of scripture in each blessing—(1) 'Blest are they, the poor...
BLUMHOFER, Edith Lydia (née Waldvogel). b. New York, 24 April 1950; d. Naperville, Illinois, 5 March 2020. A church historian, biographer, and researcher on the role of hymns in American religious culture and thought, Edith Blumhofer was born the oldest child of three to Edwin and Edith Waldvogel. She was raised in Woodhaven, New York, then a municipality of Queens. Her father was pastor of Ridgewood Pentecostal Church, Brooklyn. She married Edwin Blumhofer on 13 September 1975: they were the...
Gillman, Robert (Bob). b. West Ham, London, 16 June 1946. Bob Gillman received his education in the Borough of West Ham, including the local Catholic Junior School followed by South West Ham Technical School, finishing his education at Abbs Cross Technical School in Hornchurch. Retired now, his career included performing, composing, and pursuing his interest in steam-driven trains while managing a printing company. After passing the qualifying exams, Gillman worked for the London Underground...
HURD, Bob (Robert L.). b. Lakewood, Ohio; August 9, 1950. Bob Hurd is a Catholic composer, teacher, liturgist, and author who is known for his many English-language and bilingual compositions in Spanish and English. He studied at St John's Seminary College (Camarillo, California; BA 1973) and De Paul University (Chicago; MA 1976; PhD 1980). Hurd has served in several academic and pastoral settings including Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), the Franciscan School of Theology (Berkeley,...
KILPATRICK, Bob. b. Louisville, Kentucky, 25 October 1952. Born into a Scottish-American Air Force chaplain's home, Kilpatrick became a Christian in 1968, and from that time on has devoted himself to a troubadour ministry of contemporary Christian music. He is a solo performer, song writer, broadcaster, and record producer. Think, Pray, Groove (2003), and This Changes Everything (2006) document his style of music: a mix of folk, gospel and progressive rock. 'In my life, Lord, be glorified'* is...
BROWN, Brenton. b. Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 1 July 1973. Raised in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, Brown attended South African College Schools, studied law at the University of Cape Town, and then received a Rhodes Scholarship to study PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at the University of Oxford (1996-98), where he also received a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Theology (1998-99).
Brown's involvement in worship leadership began during his time at the University of Cape Town,...
WREN, Brian Arthur. b. Romford, Essex, 3 June 1936. He was educated at the Royal Liberty (Grammar) School, Romford. After National Service (1955-57), he read Modern Languages at New College, Oxford (BA 1960) and Theology at Mansfield College, Oxford (BA 1962). He was awarded the Oxford DPhil in 1968 for a thesis on 'The Language of Prophetic Eschatology in the Old Testament'.
Ordained in 1965, he served as minister of Hockley and Hawkwell Congregational Church in his native Essex (1965-70). He...
HOARE, Brian Richard. b. Upminster, Essex, 9 December 1935. Hoare was educated at Southwell Minster Grammar School, at Westminster College, London, and at Richmond College, University of London. After teaching Religious Education at Calverton, Nottinghamshire, he became Secretary of the Colleges of Education Christian Union (Inter-Varsity Fellowship) in London (1962-68). He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1971, and was chaplain at Hunmanby Hall School, Filey, Yorkshire. He then served...
Broadcasting Hymns in Britain
In the long history of hymns and hymn singing, broadcasting is a development that dates from the early 20th century. It is of considerable significance. The coming of what was at one time called 'the wireless', and its transition to 'radio', was followed by the advent of television, at first in black and white and subsequently in colour. Throughout the last century, and into the present one, broadcasters have been quick to seize the opportunities provided by media...
NESWICK, Bruce. b. Kennewick, Washington State, 20 October 1956. Neswick received degrees in organ performance from Pacific Lutheran University (BM,1978), and Yale University (MM, 1980). He has won three prizes in organ improvisation, and is a Fellow and active member of the American Guild of Organists*. He has directed music in prominent Episcopal churches including the Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, Kentucky: St Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York; Cathedral Church of St John the Divine,...
COBB, Buell Etheridge, Jr. b. Cullman, Alabama, 25 June 1944. He graduated from Alabama College, Montevallo, Alabama, (now University of Montevallo), 1966; Auburn University (MA in English, 1969). Cobb became closely acquainted with the early American shape-note singing tradition while on faculty at West Georgia College (now University of West Georgia), and authored The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music (Athens, Georgia, 1978), which has been favorably compared with the groundbreaking...
HAWN, (Charles) Michael. b. Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 22 September 1948. An eminent multi-cultural/global hymnologist, singer, teacher, and author, his scholarly articles and books on global music and worship, cross-cultural worship, and enlivening congregational song are premier resources. Hawn is noted for his engaging, hands-on style of teaching, the mentorship of former students, many of whom are now an international group of scholars, church musicians, ministers, professors, teachers, song...
Called as partners in Christ's service. Jane Parker Huber* (1926-2008).
Written in 1981 for a 'women's breakfast' at the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Churches of America at Houston, Texas, and published in Huber's A Singing Faith (1981). It is concerned with the partnerships between men and women in Christ's service, but then extends this to include (stanza 2) 'men and women, richer, poorer,/ All God's people, young and old'. In addition to books in the USA, it is included in the...
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an interdisciplinary study and ministry center. It is dedicated to promoting academic teaching and learning about the history and theology of Christian liturgical practices in worshiping communities. Within this broad framework, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) has pursued specific initiatives to strengthen congregational singing such as psalmody and...
DAW, Carl Pickens, Jr. b. Louisville, Kentucky, 18 March 1944. Carl Daw was born into a Baptist preacher's family. He received degrees in English from Rice University, Houston, Texas (BA 1966), and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (MA, PhD, 1970); he taught English at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia (1970-78). In 1981 he received a divinity degree from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. After ordination in the Protestant Episcopal Church, he...
SCHALK, Carl Flentge. b. Des Plaines, Illinois, 26 September 1929; d. River Forest, Illinois, 24 January 2021. Schalk attended Concordia Teachers' College (now Concordia University) in River Forest, Illinois (BS, 1952), the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York (MM, 1958) and Concordia Theological Seminary in St Louis, Missouri (MA, 1965).
After serving at Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin (1952-1958), Schalk was a music director for the International Lutheran Hour (1958-1965),...
ROSAS, Carlos. b. Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, 4 November 1939; d. San Antonio, Texas, 12 February 2020. Catholic hymn writer, composer, church musician, and lecturer, and son of Anastacio Rosas and Isabel Delgado, he was the tenth of twelve children. He and his wife María Teresa de León (1940-2011), a citizen of the United States, were married on December 26, 1965. He resided in San Antonio, Texas, near his five children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Rosas's compositions...
YOUNG, Carlton Raymond ('Sam'). b. Hamilton, Ohio, 25 April 1926; d. Nashville, Tennessee, 21 May 2023. He was the son of J. Otis Young , a pastor, and Mary Leibrook, an elementary school teacher. Following his mother's death he was raised by maternal grand parents, who started his piano lessons at age six. He attended Fairfield High School in Butler County, Ohio, where music was a requirement not an elective, and where he played brass instruments and string bass. He studied at Cincinnati...
Carol our Christmas. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
Written in 1986 as a reaction to Northern hemisphere carols and their imagery of holly and snow which dominated New Zealand Christmas celebrations well into the 20th century, despite the fact that New Zealanders actually celebrate the festival in high summer. This carol joyfully plays with the term 'Antipodean', offering itself as an 'Up-side-down' vision of Christmas where snow is not falling and trees are not bare, a time when the Christ...
OWENS, Carol. b. El Reno, Oklahoma, 30 October 1931. She was educated at San Jose State College in California. Her husband Jimmy* (they married in 1954) was a jazz band arranger who directed music in several churches in southern California. Beginning in the 'Jesus Movement' (see Christian popular music, USA*), the Owens were active in writing contemporary Christian musicals, performing and recording in various places in California, and doing musical missions for the Church of the Way in Los...
PEMBERTON, Carol Ann (née Kurtz). b. LeMars, Iowa, 20 February 1939. Carol Pemberton is a scholar and professor in English composition and hymnology. She received degrees from Westmar College (LeMars, Iowa) with a major in music and minors in English and education (BA, 1959), Indiana University (MM, 1960) with a major in organ and a minor in music history, and University of Minnesota (PhD, 1971) with a major in musicology and a minor in English—all degrees recognized with distinction or honors....
GILLETTE, Carolyn Winfrey. b. Harrisonburg, Virginia, 28 May 1961. Hymn writer and ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She was raised, baptized, and confirmed in the United Methodist Church; she earned a bachelor's degree in religion from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania before going on to receive her M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (1985). She was ordained in 1986. Gillette has served at churches in New Jersey and Delaware, and as a hospital and...
MICKLEM, (Thomas) Caryl. b. Oxford, 1 August 1925; d. Pocklington, Yorkshire, 2 June 2003. Born into a distinguished Congregationalist family, he was educated at Mill Hill School and then read English at New College, Oxford. He began theological training at Mansfield College, Oxford, but owing to his father's ill health, moved to Oundle to assist his father in his Congregational ministry. He was ordained in 1951 and undertook ministries at Banstead, Surrey (1953-58), Allen Street, Kensington...
TAYLOR, Cecily. b. Coulsdon, Surrey, 25 March 1930. She was evacuated during the war, and enjoyed what she calls a 'considerably varied' primary school career, attending six schools by the age of twelve. She worshipped in the local Anglican Church, but returned after the war to her home, where she was introduced to a Congregational youth group by a friend. At the age of 17 she joined the church and remained in membership for 40 years. There also she met her husband, and was involved in church...
ROBERTSON, Charles. b. Springburn, Glasgow, 22 October 1940. He was educated at The Orphan Homes of Scotland Primary School (Quarrier's), Bridge of Weir; Camphill Senior Secondary School, Paisley; and New College, University of Edinburgh (MA). After studying divinity at New College, he was licensed to preach on 22 April 1964, and ordained and inducted to Kiltearn Parish Church, near Dingwall, Ross-shire, on 21 October 1965. He married Alison Robertson* in 1965. In June 1978 he was translated...
Singing is a natural activity for children, and one of the most certain ways of passing on doctrine and history of faith is through hymn singing. Because of its ability to draw people into community while teaching doctrine, singing hymns strengthens the fostering of religious values. There is evidence that the teaching of hymnody happened with boys in monasteries as early as the fifth century, and after 1200 there is evidence of girls taking part in monastic liturgical singing. Though we may...
Choristers Guild
The Choristers Guild, Dallas, Texas, is a global, ecumenical and educational organization, and publisher, that serves more than 4000 directors of children's and youth choirs, worship leaders, teachers, and accompanists. The Guild describes itself as 'a Christian organization [which] enables leaders to nurture the spiritual and musical growth of children and youth through publication of choral music, hand bell music and educational resources, member benefits,...
BOWATER, Christopher Alan (Chris). b. 1947. Bowater is a British songwriter and pastor. Between 1978 and 2006 he had published some 51 songs through Sovereign Lifestyle Music, Kingsway and Thankyou Music. Many of these have featured in various editions of series such as Mission Praise and Songs of Fellowship, as well as in denominational hymnals. Among his most popular and enduring songs are 'Faithful God' (1985) and 'Jesus shall take the highest honour' (1998). He has also published new...
FENNER, Christopher Jon. b. Kalamazoo, Michigan, 28 February 1981. Chris Fenner is a hymnologist, archivist, and church musician. The son of Richard and Gerri (née Emmons) Fenner, he was reared in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He holds degrees from Western Michigan University (BA in Music Education, 2003), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, School of Church Music* (MA in Worship, 2011), and the University of Kentucky (Master of Library and Information Science, 2017). He has been a K-12 music...
Christ has risen while earth slumbers. John Bell (b. 1949) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
'Christ has risen' first appeared in the collection Enemy of Apathy: Songs of the Passion and the Resurrection, and the Coming of the Holy Spirit (1988), the second of three early volumes of songs developed with over a dozen dialogue partners in the Wild Goose Worship Group (WGWG). The collaborative creative process with the WGWG was evident in the production of the early volumes: they sought to prepare a...
Christ the Victorious, give to your servants. Carl P. Daw, Jr.* (1944- ).
Published in Daw's A Year of Grace (Carol Stream, 1990). Daw states (p. 148) that this hymn on the 'Christus Victor' theme alludes to the book by Gustaf Aulen, Christus Victor (English translation, 1931). It opens and closes with this idea (verse 1 is repeated as verse 4), but is more centrally concerned to be a paraphrase of the Kontakion for the Departed in the Order for Burial in the Eastern Orthodox Church rite: 'It...
Christ, you are the fullness. Bert Polman* (1945-2013).
This is a Bible song on Colossians 1:15-18 and 3:1-4, 15-17; written in 1986 for the Psalter Hymnal (1987). Bert Polman wrote this unrhymed paraphrase of the New Testament epistle to ensure that a Korean folk melody, ARIRANG, would be included in this Christian Reformed hymnal. The biblical text reaffirms the new life in Christ. The tune was adapted by Bert Polman for congregational singing, and harmonized by composer Dale Grotenhuis who...
Christian popular music, USA
Introduction and antecedents
Christian popular music (hereafter CPM) is an umbrella category for a sonically diverse repertoire of late 20th- and early 21st-century evangelical Protestant commercial popular music. It encompasses several distinct subcategories based on musical genre, industrial context, or function, including, but not limited to, Jesus Music, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), Praise & Worship music, and Christian rock. CPM is characterized by...
Hymnody and Hymnals of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) is an offshoot of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk in the Netherlands, and the Reformed Church in America (RCA), which was established in North America about two centuries before the arrival of the Dutch who would form the core of the CRC. Whereas the RCA grew out of a 17th-century emigration at a time when the Dutch were engaged with the world, prosperous, and...
Christian, do you struggle. Bert Polman* (1945-2013).
This is based on an ancient New Testament hymn text about Christian experience of conflict. Polman comments, in the Psalter Hymnal Handbook (p. 751):
The Christian battle is 'not against flesh and blood' but against the 'powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil.' It is a deadly serious battle that requires Christians to 'put on the full armour of God,' which his Word and Spirit provide. This spiritual warfare is...
Christlicher Sängerbund
This is the name of a German free church choral organisation founded at Elberfeld (now part of Wuppertal) in 1879 by Wilhelm Elsner (1833-1892) to encourage the musical life of what is now the Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland (mainly Baptists), the United Methodist Church, and other German speaking free churches all over Europe. When Elsner died in 1892, Ernst H. Gebhardt* was appointed chairman. It is estimated that during the 1930s there were...
IDLE, Christopher Martin. b. Bromley, Kent, 11 September 1938. He was educated at Eltham College and St Peter's College, Oxford (BA, 1962), going on to study Theology at Clifton Theological College, Bristol. Between school and university he spent three years working in an office, shop, and hospital; he was actively involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He was ordained (deacon 1965, priest 1966), serving curacies at St Mark's, Barrow-in-Furness (1965-68) and Christ Church, Camberwell...
WILLCOCK, Christopher John. b. Sydney, 8 February 1947. He attended De La Salle College, Armidale (1960-63), then studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, becoming an Associate in Music in theory and piano. At the University of Sydney he completed a BMus with honours in composition (1974), and took a BD at the Melbourne College of Divinity, followed by a Master's degree in Sacramental Theology at the Catholic Institute, Paris (1982). He then completed doctoral studies in liturgical and...
NORTON, Christopher Garth. b. Dunedin, New Zealand, 22 June 1953. Educated at Otago Boys' High School, Norton showed early promise as a musician; he began composing at the age of 14, and by the age of 16 he had had an orchestral work performed and broadcast. In 1974, already a talented pianist studying under Maurice Till, he gained a first-class degree in music from the University of Otago, and went on to teach music in a number of Wellington high schools, where he worked as a...
WALKER, Christopher Dixon Harvey. b. London, 9 June 1947. Walker became a chorister at Bristol Cathedral and later studied composition at Bristol University and Trent Park College. On leaving university he became director of music at the (then newly opened) Roman Catholic Cathedral at Clifton in Bristol. He met members of (and subsequently joined) the St Thomas More Group* before emigrating to the USA in 1990, where he became a lecturer at Mount Saint Mary College and director of music at St...
Christ's is the world in which we move. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
From Love from Below (Wild Goose Songs 3) (1989) and reprinted in When Grief Is Raw (1997), this is a fervent plea for Christians to feel compassion for others. The hymn, with its title 'A Touching Place', has four stanzas with a refrain, and 'Feel for' are the opening words of stanzas 2-4. It names those for whom we should care, including the people whom we most avoid (stanza 2 line 2), those...
BENOIT, Claire-Lise de. b. Calcutta 28 August 1917; d. Geneva (?) 15 November 2008. She was the eldest of seven children born to Pierre and Renée de Benoit. Her father was a Missionary Doctor in India. She became a Scripture Union pioneer worker in French-speaking Switzerland, and a well known Evangelical hymnwriter.
From 1939, remaining single, she developed children's work over forty years through holiday camps and publishing. She represented the Scripture Union at an international level....
KIMBERLING, Clark Hershall. b. Hinsdale, Illinois, 7 November 1942. He is the oldest son of Delmer Hershall Kimberling and Jocelyn Leigh (Babel) Kimberling. A professor of mathematics at the University of Evansville, Kimberling has published several choral and instrumental compositions and hymnological articles, including many for the present work.
Beginning at the age of six, Kimberling's took piano lessons, notably from Gertrude Luther in College Station, Texas. At Stephen F. Austin High...
BARROWS, Clifford Burton. b. Ceres, California, 6 April 1923; d. Charlotte, North Carolina, 15 November 2016. 'Cliff' Barrows, longtime music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, majored in sacred music at Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina (BA, 1944), and in 1944 was ordained by a Baptist congregation in his hometown of Ceres, California.
After serving as assistant pastor at Temple Baptist Church in St Paul, Minnesota for one year, he joined the...
GIBSON, Colin Alexander. b. Dunedin, New Zealand, 26 March 1933; d. Dunedin, 10 December 2022. He was educated at Otago Boys' High School and the University of Otago (he studied English, classics and music and completed a doctorate in English literature), Christchurch Training College and the University of Canterbury. He became Donald Collie Professor of English and chairman of the Department of English at the University of Otago, where he taught for 42 years. From 1956 until his death he was...
Come and find the quiet centre. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
This hymn, a favourite among North American congregations, was originally written in 1989 for a New Zealand Presbyterian Women's Conference whose theme was 'Making Space'. There it was sung to a Gaelic folk melody from the island of Lewis, also used in the Scottish CH4. When it was published in Shirley Murray's first major American collection, In Every Corner, Sing: The Hymns of Shirley Erena Murray (1992), it was set to a...
Come Celebrate is the title of a collection of contemporary hymns by twenty British hymn writers edited by Michael Saward* and published in 2009. The twenty authors are: Basil Bridge*, Elizabeth Cosnett*, Graham Deans*, Marjorie Dobson*, Timothy Dudley-Smith*, Michael Forster*, Alan Gaunt*, Brian Hoare*, Christopher Idle*, Fred Kaan*, Graham Kendrick*, Martin Leckebusch*, Alan Luff*, David Mowbray*, Andrew Pratt*, David Preston*, Michael Saward, Emma Turl*, Paul Wigmore*, Janet...
Come, Christmas Child. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
This new four-stanza text, written in 2013, is entitled 'A Carol for Advent'. It prays for the Christ child to 'come again in your wonder' to change the world, to come 'where our cruelties keep us in chains' (stanza 2). In a modern phrase, the Christ child is asked to 'bring us your mindset that mends and restores', and Murray is acutely aware that children still suffer as the Holy Innocents did: 'Herod still hunts for the innocent...
Come, join the dance of Trinity. Richard Leach* (1953- ).
This is Richard Leach's most published hymn. The author states that he desires to write hymn texts that are 'biblically and theologically accurate and sound' (Leach, 2007, p. 7). He accomplishes this goal in in this this by engaging the singer in an imaginative, multi-sensory celebration of the Trinity.
Leach notes that 'Dancing has a very long association with the Trinity, going back to the eighth-century theologians who used the word...
Common Ground
Initiated by the Panel on Worship of the Church of Scotland and published in 1998 by the Saint Andrew Press, this ecumenical hymn book was compiled by representatives of seven Scottish churches and groups: Roman Catholic, Scottish Episcopal, Methodist, United Reformed, Scottish Congregational, Salvation Army, and Church of Scotland. The title page describes it as 'a song book for all the churches', and it was the first such collection since the Scottish Reformation. The Convener...
See 'Hymns Ancient and Modern#Common Praise (A&MCP)'*
Community of Christ. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
Written to provide a hymn on the theme of social justice, this hymn was first officially sung at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand in that year, linked as it has been since with the familiar tune LEONI. It was then taken up in Australia and published first in an inclusive language collection Out of the Darkness, then in Songs for the Journey (1991) and Together in Song: the Australian Hymn Book II (1999). It...
Creation sings. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931–2020).
This hymn was written for a Hymn Search by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians to celebrate the gift of music. It was first published in four 4-line stanzas in the meter of 11.10.11.10 in the author's collection, Faith Makes the Song: New Hymns Written between 1997 and 2002 (Carol Stream, Illinois, 2003). This collection paired the text with the tune CREATION SINGS by Hal H. Hopson* (1933- ). It appeared in the collection Hope Is Our...
The Cyber Hymnal (www.hymntime.com/tch/) was founded in November 1996 by Richard Adams, who is himself a hymn writer. Until ca. 2009 the site was found at http://www.cyberhymnal. org, but that address is now used by a different site (see NetHymnal). The Cyber Hymnal provides lyrics, sheet music, audio files, biographies and pictures of authors and composers. It is regularly updated. The site is non-commercial, advertisement free, and has a published privacy policy. As of January 2017 the...
TAYLOR, Cyril Vincent. b. Wigan, Lancashire, 11 December 1907; d. Petersfield, Hampshire, 20 June 1991. He was the son and grandson of clergymen; educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford, and Christ Church, Oxford (BA 1929, MA 1935). He then went to Westcott House, Cambridge, to train for the priersthood (deacon, 1931, priest, 1932). He was a curate at Hinckley, Leicestershire (1931-33), and at St Andrew's, Kingswood, Surrey (1933-36). He was successively Precentor and Sacristan of Bristol...
GARRATT, Dale. b. Auckland, New Zealand, 1939. With her husband David Garratt (b. Wellington, 1938), whom she met in 1962 through the Youth for Christ movement, she worked as a musical evangelist, singing at youth conventions and gospel meetings. In 1963 the pair withdrew to refocus their ministry on incorporating scripture into contemporary worship music. They were married in 1964. Their first album, Scripture put to Song (1968) has been recognised as the initiator of the modern praise and...
Dance and sing. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
This text was first published in Heaven Shall Not Wait (Wild Goose Songs 1) (1987), paired with the Scottish traditional melody PULLING BRACKEN. The authors' advice is that it should be sung (and danced?) unaccompanied, but a recorder or violin might provide extra confidence. The theme is God's creation; the verses follow the pattern of the first chapter of Genesis while the refrain urges the whole earth to 'dance and...
DAMON, Daniel Charles. b. Rapid City, South Dakota, 2 July 1955. Damon was educated at Greenville College in Illinois and at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. After serving parishes in Sutter, Meridian, and Modesto, all in California, he is currently pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Richmond, California. He also teaches church music at the Pacific School of Religion on an adjunct basis, plays in jazz clubs, and leads jazz vespers for the students at the...
SCHUTTE, Daniel L. b. Neenah, Wisconsin, 28 December 1947. Schutte was educated at St Louis University, St Louis, Missouri (BS, 1972). After three years teaching Oglala Sioux high school students at Red Cloud Indian School at Pine Ridge, South Dakota (1973-76), he went to the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California (1976-80, MDiv 1980) to complete his formal theological training in preparation for priestly ordination. He also holds an MTh degree from the Graduate Theological Union,...
ZSCHECH, Darlene Joyce. b. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 8 September 1965. She was given an early training in music and dance as a child at Brisbane. By the age of ten she was performing on and hosting segments of a children's weekly television programme, and went on to record commercials for a number of international companies and form backing choirs for touring singers. During her teenage years she led various gospel bands in Brisbane, then with her husband Mark joined a youth band which...
NIXON, Darryl. b. Vancouver, British Columbia, 1953. His musical training began in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with Donald Hadfield and Lawrence Ritchey. In Geneva he completed his formation at the Conservatoire de Genève with Lionel Rogg (organ) and Christianne Jaccottet (harpsichord), winning the Premier Prix de Virtuosité avec Distinction, and teaching at the Conservatoire as assistant to Rogg. While in Geneva, between 1975 and 1983, he served the Lutheran Church of Geneva as organist.
In 1983 he...
Bjorlin, David Donald. b. Duluth, Minnesota, 8 March 1984. David Bjorlin is a minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church, a liturgy professor, and a hymn writer. He is the son of Dean and Marijo Bjorlin, one of four children. He was raised in Hermantown, near Duluth, where he graduated from high school. His musical interests began as a part of a children's choir, Hermantown (now Lake Superior) Youth Chorus, and were honed as a violinist in his Pentecostal church's orchestra and as a piano and...
CHERWIEN, David Mark. b. West Union, Iowa, 1 July 1957. Cherwien, organist, conductor and composer, studied at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, (BM 1979) and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (MM 1995, DMA 2001). Additional studies in conducting, composition and organ were taken at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule, Spandau, Germany. He has held positions as organist at the American Church (LCA) in Berlin; director of music at the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach (ELCA) Shoreline,...
DARGIE, David. b. 29 July 1938. David Dargie is one of South Africa's leading ethnomusicologists. He studied with Andrew Tracey at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa (on Andrew Tracey, see African hymnody*). Dargie is also a foremost encourager of compositions by Africans for the church. Of Scottish descent, Dargie is a third-generation South African raised in the coastal town of East London. Following seminary training in Pretoria and his ordination in 1964, he served in New...
EICHER, David Eugene. b. Harrisonburg, Virginia; 11 June 1954. An organist, church musician, music educator, denominational administrator, and hymnal editor, David Eicher's ecclesial roots were in the Church of the Brethren. He was born to the Rev. William C. Eicher (1923–2008) and Elsie Williard Eicher (1927–2011), the second of two children. His father served churches in Southern Virginia until he was called to Springfield, Ohio when Eicher entered the tenth grade.
Showing a great interest...
GAMBRELL, David. b. Raleigh, North Carolina; 4 December 1972. David Patrick Gambrell is ordained to ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a liturgical scholar, and a hymn writer. His love for hymn singing was cultivated at a young age in the Presbyterian congregations where he was raised.In addition to singing in church choirs, he sang in coffee houses most weekends, reflecting the influence of folk music by Pete Seeger, 'whose passion for music, pursuit of justice, and care for...
WILSON, David Gordon. b. Greenwich, London, 26 January 1940. Educated at Colfe's Grammar School and the University of Manchester (botany); then at Clare College, Cambridge (theology) and Ridley Hall (deacon 1965, priest 1966). After curacies in Clapham (1965-69) and South Kensington (1965-73), he held incumbencies in Leicester (1973-84) and Osterley, West London (1984-2005), retiring in that year. He was made a Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral in 2002. He was a contributor to Youth Praise 1...
David J. Evans ('Dave'), b. Dartford, Kent, 1957. As a child he lived in Winchester; he was educated at the University of Southampton (BSc). He is a music teacher who has been involved in leading contemporary worship in a number of 'new' churches. He has written many worship songs; by far the best known is 'Be still, for the Presence of the Lord'*.
JRW
Further Reading
Christopher Idle, Exploring Praise! Volume 2: the authors and composers (Darlington: Praise Trust, 2007).
KAI, David. b. Toronto, Ontario, 14 May 1955. David Kai is a composer, songwriter, and arranger whose extensive body of work reflects his own background as a Sansei (a third generation Canadian of Japanese descent), and his eclectic musical training and experience. Kai grew up in Toronto, highly involved in the music ministry of Centennial-Japanese United Church, where he began playing piano for Sunday school by about age 10. By the age of 13 he was playing for services.
Influences upon him...
HAAS, David Robert. b. Saginaw, Michigan, 4 May 1957. Haas studied at Central Michigan University and achieved proficiency in voice, keyboard, guitar and trumpet. His studies at the (College) University of St. Thomas in St Paul, Minnesota centered on theology and liturgical music. He was later appointed composer in residence at the university's St Paul Seminary School of Divinity. He also served as composer in residence at Benilde-St Margaret High School in St Louis Park, Minnesota, and he is...
McCORMICK, David Wilferd. b. Lehighton, Pennsylvania, 6 May 1928; d. Richmond, Virginia, 21 September 2019. The son of a printer and volunteer church organist, he received his bachelor's degree (1949) and his master's degree (1950) from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey. He began his church ministry at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas where he established a life-long friendship with composer Jane Manton Marshall*. His service at Highland Park was...
MUSIC, David Wayne. b. Ardmore, Oklahoma, 28 January 1949. Music was educated at California Baptist College (BA in music, 1970), and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MCM 1973, DMA 1977). From 1977 to 1980 he served as a full-time minister of music in Tennessee. At California Baptist College in Riverside (1980-1990) he directed the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, and College Singers, and was a member of the faculty Baroque ensemble. He taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological...
STEEL, David Warren. b. Evanston, Illinois, 20 September 1947. Distinguished scholar of USA folk hymnody, Steel was raised in Scotia, New York, attended Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, (AB, 1968) and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, (AM, 1976, PhD, 1982). While a special student at Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, he worked on English adaptations of chant. His neo-Mozarabic 'Missa Toletana' was published in Congregational Music for Eucharist...
Day of Arising. Susan Palo Cherwien* (1953– )
This hymn was commissioned for the 1996 annual assembly of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The opening line recalls Christ's encounter with those traveling on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13–35) on the afternoon of Easter Day. Carl P. Daw, Jr.* comments:
Because our liturgical calendar has traditionally separated the reading of this story from the other Resurrection narratives, we usually do not hear about...
LOFTIS, Deborah Carlton. b. Richmond, Virginia, 7 November 1951. Loftis grew up in a family that sang together. Although neither of her parents had formal musical training, she learned her first songs on the piano from her father. Once in school, she took piano lessons and sang in school and church choirs. While reared in the Southern Baptist church and ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1983, when that denomination underwent changes in the last decades of the 20th century, her...
DUFNER, Delores (OSB). b. near Buxton, North Dakota, 20 February 1939. Born in the family farmhouse during a winter blizzard, Dufner's elementary education was in a one-room country school; she was later educated by the Benedictine Sisters in Crookston, Minnesota. She entered St Joseph's Benedictine Monastery in St Joseph, Minnesota, and was awarded graduate degrees in Liturgical Music (1973) and Liturgical Studies (1990) from St Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana, and the University of...
TUTU, Desmond. b. Klerksdorp, North West Province, Republic of South Africa, 7 October 1931; d. Cape Town, RSA, 26 December 2021. After a short period as a teacher, he was ordained an Anglican priest in 1960. He went to Britain to pursue theological studies at King's College, London (1962-66). Returning to South Africa, he taught at UBLS (the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland) before becoming Director of the Theological Education Fund for Africa (1972-75). He was Dean of St Mary's...
RIMAUD, Didier. b. Carnac, Morbihan, Brittany, 6 August 1922; d. Lyon, 24 December 2003. Rimaud was educated at l'Externat St Joseph and the Lycée St Marc at Lyon. He entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in 1941, and after studying classics and philosophy in addition to his training as a Jesuit, he was ordained priest in 1955. He taught in colleges in France before being appointed to the Centre National de Pastorale Liturgique in 1950. This institution was engaged in producing a modern...
FISHEL, Donald Emry. b. Hart, Michigan, 1 November 1950. Fishel, a flautist, attended the University of Michigan, studying under Nelson Hauenstein and Michael Stoune (BM, 1972). Brought up a Methodist, he turned to Roman Catholicism in 1969, and worked for the charismatic Roman Catholic 'Word of God Community' in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as publications editor of their Servant Music and as director of the parish orchestra, until 1981. He was principal flautist with Dexter Community Orchestra and...
SALIERS, Don E. b. Fostoria, Ohio, 11 August, 1937. Don Saliers is an eminent ecumenical liturgical scholar, author, teacher, composer and keyboardist, and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. He grew up in Ohio where he began the study of piano at age eight, played clarinet and violin, and sang in many high school ensembles. His father, Harold A. ('Red') Saliers, (1898 – 1981), was a classical violinist who also played jazz in New York and later formed a dance band in Ohio. Other...
HUSTAD, Donald Paul. b. Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, USA, 2 Oct 1918; d. La Grange, Illinois, 22 June 2013. He was the elder of two sons born to Clara and Peter Hustad. Peter was killed in a hunting accident just after Don's first birthday and before the birth of Don's brother, Wesley. Following this tragedy, the family resided at Boone Biblical College and Associated Institutions in Iowa. On 28 Nov 1942, he married Ruth Lorraine McKeag (1920-2013). They were parents of three daughters,...
RAMBO, Dottie (Luttrell, Joyce Reba). b. Madisonville, Kentucky, 2 March 1934; d. Mount Vernon, Missouri, 11 May 2008. Raised during the Great Depression in the poverty-stricken coalfields of western Kentucky, Dottie expressed an early affinity for country music, taught herself to play guitar by listening to country music radio performances broadcast from the Grand Ole Opry, and began writing songs at the age of eight. Four years later she had a born-again Christian experience and made a...
GALBRAITH, David Douglas. b. Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, 22 June 1940. Douglas Galbraith was educated at the High School of Dundee: he was organist in his local church while still at school. He went on to the University of St Andrews (MA 1961, BD 1964). As a student he had the opportunity of being seasonal musician at Iona Abbey, which was a formative experience in terms both of liturgy and music. He became a member of the Iona Community* in 1964. Following ordination as a minister in...
Dove Awards. These are awards given annually by the Gospel Music Association (GMA)* for outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry: i.e., that part of the commercial music industry that markets electronic and print mass-mediated products in popular musical styles to English-speaking Protestants worldwide, but especially in North America.
Modeled on the Emmy, the Oscar, and the Grammy, the Dove was established by GMA ca. 1969. The earliest awards ceremonies were held in Memphis,...
Draw the circle wide. Gordon S. Light* (1944- ).
Inclusive language for humankind and for God was a strong current in the tide of liturgical renewal among mainstream Canadian churches in the 1980s and 1990s. Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and United Churches responded to the call for new congregational song with collections that included not only strophic hymns new and revised, but also songs in many genres and languages from writers and composers around the globe. How seriously the hymnal...
Eat this bread. Robert Batastini* (1942– ) and Jacques Berthier* (1923–1994).
John 6:35, one of the 'I AM' sayings of Jesus, provides the basis for the text of 'Eat this bread': 'Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”' (NIV):
Eat this bread, drink this cup, come to me and never be hungry.Eat this bread, drink this cup, trust in me and you will not thirst.
©1984 Ateliers et Presses de Taizé,...
ESPINOSA, Eddie. b. Los Angeles, California, 10 September 1953.
Eddie Espinosa is an educator, counselor, administrator, worship leader, composer, and producer. His family moved to Phoenix when he was in first grade. Though raised a Catholic and served as an altar boy, he made a profession of faith on August 24, 1969. Soon afterward, he attended a Dave Wilkerson Youth Rally and experienced Andraé Crouch* 'taking people into the presence of God'. At that point, he understood his calling...
HONTIVEROS, Eduardo. b. Molo, Iloilo City, 20 December 1923; d. 15 January 2008. This Filipino Jesuit musician was educated at Manila High School and the San Jose Seminary (1939-45). He entered the Society of Jesus in 1945, took novice's vows in 1947, studied theology in the USA, and was ordained in 1954. He is known as 'the father of Filipino liturgical music'. In October 2000, Pope John Paul II conferred on him the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice bestowed on clergy and laypersons who have served...
FOLEY, Edward Bernard. b. Gary, Indiana 16 October 1948. Foley is the Duns Scotus Professor of Spirituality and Ordinary Professor of Liturgy and Music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois, where he was the founding Director of the Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry Program. He has held academic appointments at the College (now University) of St Catherine, St Paul; University of St Thomas, St Paul; University of Notre Dame, South Bend; Seattle University, Seattle; and the University of...
DARLING, Edward Flewett. b. Cork, Republic of Ireland, 24 July 1933. Edward Darling was educated at Cork Grammar School, Midleton College, Co. Cork, and St John's School, Leatherhead, Surrey. Following further study at Trinity College, Dublin (where he graduated and qualified for ordination in the Divinity School), he took Holy Orders (deacon, 1956, priest 1957), serving two curacies: at St Luke's, Belfast (1956-59) and St John's, Orangefield, Belfast (1959-62). He was appointed first...
HOVLAND, Egil. b. Råde, Norway, 18 October 1924; d. Fredrikstad, Norway, 5 February 2013. Hovland was one of the most prolific and multifaceted church music and mainstream composers of his generation. One of two sons of a butcher and sausage-maker (a profession intended for both sons), Hovland's family relocated to Fredrikstad in 1928. Here, his father was active as choir leader for a revivalist congregation. It was in this context that Hovland was introduced to church music. Hovland studied...
El cielo canta alegría. Pablo Sosa* (1933— ).
El cielo canta alegría ('Heaven is singing for joy') was Sosa's earliest hymn to incorporate an indigenous Argentine musical form, the carnavalito, a style derived from huayno, a kind of Argentine folk jazz. The pentatonic melody drawns upon a simpler form of folk music characterized by an arpeggiated base line with an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes (quaver followed by two semiquavers). This celebrative musical dance-song was written...
ESLINGER, Elise (née Matheny) Shoemaker. b. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2 December 1942. Elise Eslinger's musical education began in early childhood with her aunt and continued with piano lessons at age 5 and organ lessons at age 14. Following graduation from high school in Meridian, Mississippi (1960), she pursued her undergraduate education at Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi (BA in Organ, Minor in English, Magna cum laude, 1963). She continued graduate studies in music literature at the...
SMITH, Elizabeth Joyce. b. Stawell, Victoria, Australia, 27 February 1956. The daughter of Churches of Christ parents, she was educated at Euroa High School and Monash and Melbourne Universities (1974-78); Trinity College Theological School (the Anglican member of Melbourne's United Faculty of Theology), where she took a BD (1986); and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. There she completed her PhD in 1995; it was published as Bearing Fruit in Due Season: Feminist Hermeneutics...
HARRISON, Eluned (née Cornish). b. Cardiff, South Wales, 19 December 1934. She grew up in Dinas Powys, and was educated at Penarth County School for Girls and University College, London. She taught science at both school and college level. In 1960 she married Graham Stuart Harrison*, who was soon to become a long-serving church pastor in Newport. Of more than fifty hymns she has written, originally for use in personal devotion, the most in demand has been 'O Lord my God, I stand and gaze in...
Andrews, Emily Snider. b. Athens, Alabama, 20 February 1986. Andrews, an ordained Baptist minister and pastoral musician, has taught courses in music and worship at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California, and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Church Music Studies, Mercer University, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia (2014-). Andrews is a graduate of Samford University Birmingham, Alabama (BM in Church Music), and Baylor University, Waco, Texas (MM. Church Music, and MDiv. 2012)....
Episcopal Church Hymnody, USA
The Introduction is by Raymond F. Glover. The historical survey is by Robin Knowles Wallace.
Introduction
Among the vast number of persons who came as settlers beginning in 1607 to what is now known as the United States of America were many who brought with them a pattern of worship consistent with the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer, the singing of metrical Psalms from the 'Old Version'* of Thomas Sternhold* and John Hopkins*, perhaps a few hymns of human...
SANDS, Ernest. b. 1949; d. Oswestry, 11 April 2016. A bucolic, witty and charismatic priest and composer, 'Ernie' Sands sprang to fame and ultimately (in the USA) notoriety as the composer of 'Sing of the Lord's goodness'* described by one critic as 'a rip-off from Dave Brubeck's “Take Five”'. A founder member of the St Thomas More Group*, Sands had a number of pieces published in the UK and USA in group song collections. 'Sing of the Lord's goodness'* was chosen for the enthronement in 1991 of...
WHITE, (Elizabeth) Estelle. b. South Shields, County Durham (now in Tyne and Wear), 4 December 1925; d. Dewsbury, Yorkshire, 9 February 2011. Born into a musical family, she learned to play the guitar and saxophone in her youth. She joined the army in 1943, and was based at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle upon Tyne, until she was moved to London with an army band to play the saxophone. After coming out of the army, she trained as a physiotherapist. She worked with children with cerebral palsy for...
Ethereal Hymnody (http://www.ccel.org/cceh/) is an online database of public domain hymn tunes and chants. The site includes MIDI files, and editable electronic music scores for music software Finale and Noteworthy Composer, indices of tune name, composer, source, meter, and source hymnal. Because Ethereal Hymnody only catalogues hymns in the public domain, very few contemporary hymns are included. Visitors to Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary will find links to hymnary.org* which now...
PAGURA, Federico José. b. Arroyo Secco, Santa Fe, Argentina, 9 February, 1923; d. Rosario, Santa Fe, 6 June 2016.
Life and Ministry
In the second half of the 20th century Federico Pagura was among the most notable leaders of the church in South America and one of the leading authors and translators of congregational hymnody from this continent. Not only was he a pillar of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Argentina; he was also a resilient and compelling voice for human rights (derechos...
Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians
The Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians (FABM) is a volunteer organization for church musicians with denominational affiliation to the American Baptist Churches, USA. The Fellowship was officially formed in February 1964 when Dr Jet Turner and several other interested persons met in Cincinnati, Ohio with Dr Kenneth L. Cober*, who was at that time Executive Director for the Division of Christian Education for the American Baptist Convention. At that...
The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts (now the Fellowship of Worship Artists)
The Fellowship is in part the successor to the National Fellowship of Methodist Musicians (NaFOMM), whose founding in the mid 1950s was prompted by that denomination's educational leaders' and curriculum editors' articulation of the theological discrepancies and inadequacies, the pedagogical practices of children's choir directors, and the texts of songs in the denomination's Sunday school...
Flor y Canto (flower and song) is a hymnal that represents the diversity of Latino/a cultures in the United States. Published by Oregon Catholic Press in three editions (1989, 2001, 2011), the title indicates the symbolism of flower and song found in Aztec culture and the experiences of indigenous peoples in Hispanic cultures. Unlike earlier Spanish-language Protestant hymnals, this Catholic publication includes a limited number of hymns in Spanish translation from traditional Western hymnic...
For everyone born, a place at the table. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
This was written in 1996 from Murray's involvement in the work of Amnesty International, and the liberal theology of her husband, John Stewart Murray*, in his church at Wellington, New Zealand. It has its origins in the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights' of the United Nations (December 1948), which stated that 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights', and that 'Everyone has the right to...
For the music of creation. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
Written in 1988 as a contribution to a Festival of Praise celebrating the Arts at an ecumenical event at the Civic Centre in Shirley Murray's then home town, Wellington.
It was first published in Murray's collection, In Every Corner, Sing: The Hymns of Shirley Erena Murray (1992) set to her preferred tune RUSTINGTON by C.H.H. Parry* (1848-1918). It has since been included in New Zealand, Canadian and North American hymnals such as...
BAKER, Frank. b. Kingston upon Hull, UK, 15 April 1910; d. Durham, North Carolina, 11 October 1999. In a fine tribute by John E. Vickers in the Second Edition of Baker's John Wesley and the Church of England (Peterborough, 2000), we read that Frank gave his life to Jesus Christ during the 'Humberside Crusade' in the winter of 1924. This led to his becoming a local preacher and then answering the call to full-time ministry in the Primitive Methodist Church. Because of what seems today to have...
CHRISTIERSON, Frank von. b. Lovisa, near Helsinki, Finland, 25 December 1900; d. Roseville, California, 24 April 1996. Von Christierson came to the USA with his family in 1905. He was educated at Stanford University (BA 1923), and San Francisco Theological Seminary (BD 1929, MA 1930). He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1929, and served at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, California (1930-44); Trinity Presbyterian Church in North Hollywood (1944-61); and Celtic Cross Church in...
WHITELEY, Frank J. b. Sheffield, England, 22 December 1914; d. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 20 October 1998. Whiteley's parents emigrated to Dryden, Ontario, in 1919, when he was four years old. He graduated from Peterborough Normal School in 1941 and taught elementary school for one year. He studied at Queen's University in Kingston (BA 1944), Queen's Theological College (BD 1946) and the Victoria University of Toronto (MDiv 1970). He was ordained in the United Church of Canada in 1946 and...
GRAHAM, Fred Kimball. b. Oshawa, Ontario, 8 April 1946. He was educated at the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT 1966) and the University of Toronto (Mus. Bac. in Education 1967), winning a graduating scholarship and a Canada Council bursary which took him to Germany for three years to study sacred music and conducting. He completed a Fellowship in the Royal College of Organists in London in 1970.
Returning to Canada as a parish musician, he taught instrumental and choral music in Ottawa, and...
GREEN, Fred(erick) Pratt. b. Roby, near Liverpool, 2 September 1903; d. Norwich, 22 October 2000. He was educated at Huyton High School, Wallasey Grammar School and Rydal School, before training for the Methodist ministry at Didsbury College, Manchester. It was here that he wrote Farley Goes Out, a missionary play performed widely, and the forerunner of twelve further plays both secular and religious. Ordained in 1928, Pratt Green wrote his first hymn, 'God lit a flame in Bethlehem' and a...
Gadsby's Hymns
William Gadsby* (1773-1844) is famous for his Selection of Hymns for Public Worship (Manchester, 1814), which he published in the same year as a collection of his own work, The Nazarene's Songs: being a Composition of Original Hymns by William Gadsby (Manchester, 1814). Edition after edition followed, with enlargements and supplements (1838, 1844, 1850, 1854, and thereafter) and it is still in print. These are words-only books: Companion Tunes to Gadsby's hymn book was published...
SHEA, George Beverly. b. Winchester, Ontario, 1 February 1909; d. Montreat, North Carolina, 16 April 2013. Shea was a celebrated vocalist, hymn writer, and composer. His long tenure with the Billy Graham Crusades, five decades of concerts, appearances on radio and television, and 70 recordings, brought him many accolades, including 'America's beloved gospel singer', and 'the first international singing star of the gospel world'. Shea was the fourth of eight children born of the union of Adam...
LOCKWOOD, George Frank. b. Tacoma, Washington, 3 April 1946. George Lockwood is the son of George F. Lockwood, a Methodist minister, and Mable Lockwood (née Perkins), an accomplished musician. At four years of age, the family moved to the Chicago area where his father had been raised; his mother, who had received her bachelor's degree in organ from Boston University, encouraged George and his brothers to study piano at an early age. He sang in choirs, including some under his mother's...
MULRAIN, George MacDonald, b. Caribbean Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, 30 March 1946. Pastor, educator, author, and composer, Mulrain attended the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI), Kingston, Jamaica (Dipl. Ministerial studies, 1973), the University of the West Indies (BA Theology, 1973), and the University of Birmingham, UK (PhD, 1982: dissertation, 'Theological Significance of Haitian Folk Religion'). Mulrain, an ordained elder of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean...
CARTFORD, Gerhard M. b. Madagascar, 21 March, 1923; d. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 8 February 2016. He was the son of missionary parents. He studied at St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (BM, 1948), The School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York (MSM, 1950), Luther Northwestern Seminary (now Luther Seminary*) St Paul, Minnesota (1954-1955), St John's University, St Cloud, Minnesota (1955), and the University of Minnesota (PhD in musicology, 1961). As a Fulbright scholar, he...
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....
GIA Publications Inc. The Gregorian Institute of America, later renamed GIA Publications, Inc., was founded on December 8, 1941 by Clifford A. Bennett (1904-1987) at Sacred Heart Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly after establishing the company, Bennett moved the firm to Toledo, Ohio. The Gregorian Institute of America became known for its Catholic Choirmasters' Correspondence Course; by 1950, nearly 1000 musicians had completed the coursework through home study and national...
OSTDIEK, Gilbert. b. Lawrence, Nebraska, 20 March 1933. Ostdiek is a pre-eminent liturgical scholar and educator, a member of the Franciscan Order, an ordained presbyter in the Roman Catholic Church. He is one of ten children born to Henry Stephen and Dora Rita (née Rempe) Ostdiek. Ostdiek attended the minor seminary and junior college of the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart, Mayslake, near Westmont, Illinois, Quincy College (now Quincy University) (AB 1957), St Joseph Seminary,...
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Traditional, author unknown.
The Companion to ICH5 (2005) suggests that the 'oil in my lamp' song 'has all the feeling of an American traditional spiritual' (Darling and Davison, 2005, p. 751). It may indeed be a song that has its origins in the culture of the African American spiritual*. Hymnary.org reports a song by the influential hymn writer and tune composer Thoro Harris* beginning 'While the dread hour of darkness is settling o'er the earth'...
glauben hoffen singen
This is a hymnal (believe; hope; sing) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany, published at Lüneburg in 2015. It contains 694 hymns, with Appendixes containing services, prayers, creeds, and songs for special occasions. Contemporary German hymn-writers are well represented: Hartmut Handt (1940- ) has six hymns, and Jürgen Hartmann (1961- ) has twenty-four songs. Contemporary British writers are represented by Fred Pratt Green* (three hymns), Timothy Dudley-Smith*...
Gloria, gloria
This chant, a version of the doxology ( see Doxology*), is very ancient, but with the progress of ecumenism it has recently become very popular in hymnals. The normal text begins with the first part of Luke 2: 14:
Gloria, gloria,in excelsis Deo,
Gloria, gloria,alleluia, alleluia.
This is sometimes repeated. It is found in many books, sometimes with a translation, 'Glory to God, Glory to God in the highest'. It has been found useful for worship by many denominations,...
Go to the world. Sylvia Dunstan* (1955-93).
'Alan Barthel commanded me to write a hymn for the 1985 Emmanuel College Convocation, on the scriptural text of the great commission, saying, “And I'll need it Thursday to go to the printers.” So I did as he commanded me' (author's note). The hymn became an 'instant' tradition at the Emmanuel Convocations where Sylvia Dunstan was working on her ThM. degree and Barthel was professor of church music. The hymn's use quickly spread as part of the closing...
God be with you. Thomas A. Dorsey* (1899-1993), Artelia W. Hutchins, and Jeremiah Eames Rankin* (1828-1904).
This hymn of benediction by gospel legend Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993), often labeled as 'The Father of Gospel Music' in the African American context, is second its popularity following 'Precious Lord, take my hand'* (1932) in the composer's gospel compositions (Kemp, n.p.).
The text of this hymn is similar to 'God be with you till we meet again'* (1880) by American congregational...
God weeps. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931–2020).
Shirley Erena Murray explores the profound and complex reality of God's Incarnation in this hymn. She describes the context for the composition in her collection, Every Day in Your Spirit (1996), where it was first published: 'God Weeps (1994). A protest at violence, including child abuse and the battering of women, as well as violence on a world scale' (Murray, 1996, n.p.).
As is common with Murray's texts, she sets the structure and tone in the...
God's spirit is in my heart ('Go, tell everyone'). Alan Dale* (1902-1979 and Hubert Richards* (1921-2010).
This modern hymn with refrain has become very popular in Britain since it was published in Ten Gospel Songs (1969). That book was a collaboration between Dale and Richards (1921-2010). Richards composed the tune for guitar to fit Dale's stanza 1 and refrain ('He sent me to bring the good news to the poor'). These had been published in Dale's New World: The Heart of the New Testament in...
SADOH, Godwin. b. Lagos State, Nigeria, 28 March 1965. An Anglican organist, composer, hymn writer, church musician, and professor of music, Godwin Sadoh received certificates in piano, theory, and general musicianship from the Royal School of Music, London (1982-1986), and degrees in piano and composition from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria (BA, 1988); in African ethnomusicology from University of Pittsburgh (MA, 1998), in organ performance and church music from University of...
Goodness is stronger than evil. Desmond Tutu* (1931–2021).
The text for this poem, 'Victory is Ours', by Archbishop Desmond Tutu is from his An African Prayer Book (New York, 1995), a compilation of writings ranging from the Xhosa and Coptic traditions, to St Augustine and the worldwide African diaspora. This is one of only two prayers in the book written by him.
The prayer's compact structure, and its version as a one-stanza hymn, reflects the rhetorical style of paired opposites common...
LIGHT, Gordon Stanley. b. Claresholm, Alberta, 7 May 1944. A bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada, Gordon Light was born into a military family. He has lived in Alberta and in various places in Canada. Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa) (BA, 1965), then at Trinity College (Toronto) (STB, 1969) led to ordination as deacon and priest in the Anglican Church in 1969. In 2001, he was consecrated as bishop for the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior of British Columbia. Light worked in...
DEANS, Graham Douglas Sutherland. b. Aberdeen, 15 August 1953. He was educated at Mackie Academy, Stonehaven, and the University of Aberdeen (MA 1974, BD 1977). He was licensed by the Presbytery of Aberdeen, 1977; he has served as assistant minister, Corstorphine, Edinburgh (1977-78), minister of Denbeath with Methilhill, Fife (1978-87), of St Mary's Parish Church, Dumfries (1987-2002), of South Ronaldsay and Burray, Orkney (2002-08), and of Queen Street Church, Aberdeen (2008- ).
Deans holds...
KENDRICK, Graham Andrew. b. Blisworth, Northamptonshire, 2 August 1950. He was the son of a Baptist minister; the family later moved to Essex and London. He started composing songs at 15 years of age, having taught himself to play the piano. In response to the Church's lack of connection with youth culture during the 1960s, he formed an early interest in the use of rock and folk music for outreach and evangelism.
He trained as an English/Ceramics teacher at Avery Hill College, Kent, but...
MAULE, Graham Alexander. b. Glasgow, 24 September 1958; d. Glasgow, 29 December 2019. The eldest of four children born to Margaret and Tom Maule, he studied architecture at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, University of Glasgow, 1975-80 (B.Arch., 1978); he then studied sculpture at the Leith Art School and Edinburgh College of Art (MFA, 2002). He completed a doctoral degree in sculpture at the University of Edinburgh (PhD, 2013).
In a tribute to Graham Maule that was read during his...
HAY, Granton Douglas. b. Devonport, Tasmania, Australia, 26 August 1943. Hay received his primary and high school education at Devonport. After early work in the retailing industry he studied for the Congregational ministry at Parkin Theological College, Adelaide, and at the University of Adelaide (BA, 1974). He was ordained in 1964 and served in a joint-pastorate parish in Adelaide, and Uniting Church parishes in Canberra and Melbourne.
He has contributed articles to various church magazines,...
Hana irodoru haru wo ('Spring, symbol of hope'). Mie Kamishima* (1961– ).
'Hana irodoru haru wo' is a unique contribution to Hymnal 21 (Sambika 21)*, the hymnal for the United Church of Christ in Japan. Written by on the subject of 'Memorial', it begins with a description of the each of the four seasons of life, one for each stanza: 1) spring, symbol of hope; 2) summer, symbol of brightness; 3) autumn, symbol of maturity; 4) winter, symbol of meditation. Each stanza concludes with a plea for...
Hark! the herald angels sing (Jesus the light of the world). Arranged by George D. Elderkin (1845–1928).
Gospel musical traditions in the United States have enlivened the 18th-century hymns for over 150 years. Those by Isaac Watts*, Charles Wesley*, and John Newton* were among those heard by those influenced by the Second Great Awakening (c. 1795–1835), during which rural whites and enslaved Africans reinvented and reinterpreted hymns from England for their own situation. The enlivening of...
WOOD, Harold D'Arcy. b. Nuku'alofa, Tonga, 9 December 1936. He is the son of Methodist missionary parents who for 13 years directed Tupou College, a school for boys in Tonga. His father, Alfred Harold Wood (1896-1989), played the piano, conducted choirs and published extensively on hymns. He was chairman of the Australian Hymn Book Committee from its formation in 1968 to the publication of the hymnbook in 1977.
On the family's return to Australia, D'Arcy Wood was educated at Wesley College and...
He came down. Cameroon traditional.
In the mid 1980s, John Bell* officiated at a wedding in Frankfurt. 'He came down' was chosen for the ceremony by a couple from Cameroon. They requested that it be sung unaccompanied with the guests in a circle, reminiscent of the ring shout prevalent in the music of enslaved Africans in North America and the Caribbean (see 'Ring shout'*). First printed by Wild Goose Publications in Many and Great: Songs of the World Church (Glasgow, 1990), it was copyrighted...
STUEMPFLE, Herman G. Jr. b. Clarion, Pennsylvania, 2 April 1923; d. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 13 March 2007. Distinguished pastor, teacher and hymn writer, Stuempfle attended Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (AB, 1945), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg (BD, 1946), Union Theological Seminary, New York City, New York (STM, 1967), and Southern California School of Theology, Claremont, California DTh, 1971). He pastored congregations in Baltimore, Maryland; Gettysburg,...
Hillsong: Hillsong (Hillsong Music Australia); Hillsong (Church)
Hillsong Church is a contemporary pentecostal megachurch founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1983. At the time of writing, the congregation gathers to worship on six continents with an additional outreach through its digital platform Hillsong Church Online (HCO) as well as music streaming on various online platforms. The Hillsong brand is one of the most recognisable among Christians globally. Hillsong is well known internationally...
THWAITES, Honor Mary (née Scott Good). b. Young, New South Wales, Australia, 21 September 1914; d. Canberra, 24 November 1993. Born into a Presbyterian family (her father, a family doctor, was an elder of the Presbyterian Church), she became a member of that church as well as working as a Sunday-school teacher. She was educated at the Geelong Church of England Grammar School, and went on to study French and German at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a BA Hons degree. It was while...
How blest are the folk who have ear for the sound. Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig* (1783-1872), translated by Alan Gaunt* (1935-2023).
This hymn, 'Lyksaligt det folk, som har ore for klang', begins with Psalm 89, 'Blessed are the people who hear the festal shout. They shall walk in the light of his countenance.' It works by a constant reiteration of the images of interchange, the vekselvirkning ('interaction') of heaven and earth, the admirabile commercium, what Luther calls the 'fröhliche...
How lovely on the mountains. Leonard E. Smith, Jr.* (1942- ).
The full first line is 'How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him'. Based on Isaiah 52: 7-10, this worship song was written at Riverton, New Jersey in 1973. With its refrain ('Our God reigns') it was first sung in the New Covenant Community Church, where Smith was a worship leader. Copyrighted in 1974, three further stanzas were added in 1978.
The song became widely known through its use by evangelists. Its effect comes from...
OLSON, Howard. b. St Paul, Minnesota, 18 July 1922; d. Sun City Center, Florida, 1 July 2010. Howard Olson has a well-deserved reputation for his African hymns, such as 'Christ has arisen, Alleluia (Mfurahini, Haleluya)*, 'Neno lake Mungu' ('Listen, God Is Calling'), and 'Njoo kwetu, Roho mwema' ('Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading'). They have have found their way into hymnals around the globe. Olson's Tumshangilie Mungu: Nyimbo za Kikristo za Kiafrika has gone through six successive...
McELRATH, Hugh Thomas. b. Murray, Kentucky, USA, 13 November 1921; d. Penney Farms, Florida, USA, 8 May 2008. McElrath was a renowned Southern Baptist hymnologist, seminary professor, church musician, and music missionary who combined high intellectual achievement and skilled musicianship with a devout Christian faith rooted in Baptist tradition. He attended Murray State College [today Murray State University], Murray, Kentucky (BA, 1943), and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS),...
Humbly in your sight we come together, Lord. J.P. Chirwa (d. 1940), translated by Tom Colvin* (1925-2000).
This is a translation of 'Tiza Pantazi Pinu', a hymn in Tumbuka, a Bantu language spoken in northern Malawi and some neighbouring countries. The first line appears as above in Colvin's Fill us with your love (1983), and then in Songs of God's People (1988), World Praise (1993), Glory to God (1994), and Sing Glory (1999). In Colvin's last book, Come, let us walk this road together (1997),...
OOSTERHUIS, Huub (Hubertus Gerardus Josephus Henricus). b. Amsterdam, 1 November 1933; d. Amsterdam, 9 April 2023. Oosterhuis was educated at the Jesuit Ignatius College and met Bernard Huijbers* in the Liturgical Choir there. He entered the Jesuit Novitiate, singing again under Huijbers in the Gregorian Choir. He studied Philosophy and History, Language and Theatre, and published his first devotional song (to Mary) in 1954. Working with Huijbers he published Fifty Psalms (eventually published...
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada (HSUSC) is comprised of poets, composers, publishers, teachers and scholars, institutional and public libraries, church musicians, clergy, and laypersons, and is uniquely devoted to encourage, promote, and enliven congregational song. Throughout its 90-year history, The Hymn Society has worked steadily and creatively to promote congregational singing, encourage the creation of new and excellent texts and tunes, and support research in our hymnic...
Hymnary.org
Hymnary.org is an online hymn and worship music database for worship leaders, hymnologists, and amateur hymn lovers. The site allows users to search or browse hymns by title, tune, meter, key, scripture reference, as well as advanced specialized queries.
In partnership with The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada* Hymnary.org houses the Dictionary of North American Hymnology*, adding over one million first lines of hymns, collected and organized by Leonard W. Ellinwood*...
Hymnology Archive (https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/).
Hymnology Archive is an encyclopedic website for the study of hymns, spirituals, and carols, founded in April 2018 and edited by Chris Fenner*, Digital Archivist at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary* (SBTS), Louisville, KY. The site generally features histories for individual hymns and bio-bibliography pages for authors and composers. Additional pages include indexes (authors/composers, texts, tunes, Scriptures, and church year)...
Hymns Ancient and Modern for use in the Services of the Church (1861); Appendix, 1868; Second Edition, 1875; Supplement, 1889; New and Revised Edition, 1904; Second Supplement, 1916; Standard Edition, 1922; Hymns Ancient and Modern Revised, 1950; Hymns Ancient and Modern New Standard Edition, 1983; Common Praise, 2000; Ancient and Modern: Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship, 2013.
[note: Sing Praise is annotated separately].
The 19th Century
During the first half of the 19th century, the...
Hymns and Psalms (HP) (1983). The British Methodist Hymns and Psalms was sub-titled 'A Methodist and Ecumenical Hymn Book' reflecting the initial hope that this might be a hymn book project in which the United Reformed Church, the Churches of Christ, and the Wesleyan Reform Union would join. It was also a reflection of the ecumenical mood of the time, in spite of the rejection by the Church of England of possible Anglican-Methodist union in the early 1970s.
The Methodist Conference of 1979...
Hymns for Today's Church (HFTC) (1982). Hymns for Today's Church (1982) was the work of a British group of mainly Anglican evangelical authors and composers, some of whom had worked together on Psalm Praise (1973) and who by then had formed Jubilate Hymns*. Chaired by Michael Saward* (words) and David Wilson* (music), the two committees had Michael Baughen* as Consultant Editor; he was Rector of All Souls', Langham Place, London, until becoming Bishop of Chester just before the book was...
Hymns of the City (1989). This is the title of a collection edited by John J. Vincent, a Methodist minister, and published by the Urban Theology Unit at Sheffield (1989, revised 1998). It is a collection of 31 texts (32 in the second edition), attempting to give voice to Christians living in cities, providing hymns for and from small congregations in inner city and housing estate churches. The preface claims that such hymns are about people's real experience and not 'the endless praise for no...
I believe in God Almighty. Sylvia Dunstan* (1955-1993).
This is a metrical version of the Apostles' Creed about which, in her own words, Sylvia Dunstan says, 'Although the United Church of Canada has a denominational statement of faith which is commonly used in worship, the national worship committee has been committed to fostering the use of the great ecumenical creeds. Encouraged (and nagged) by Fred McNally, I worked out this metrical version, which has not had the desired effect on United...
I sought him dressed in finest clothes. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ).
This hymn is entitled 'Carol of the Epiphany'. Written in 1988, it first appeared in the collection Innkeepers and Light Sleepers: Seventeen New Songs for Christmas (Chicago: 1992). It may be seen as completing a trilogy of hymns that provide insightful socio-political commentary on the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany cycle:
Carol of the Advent ('From a woman and a weary nation')
The Carol of the Nativity ('A pregnant...
I/weshall not be moved; African American spiritual*/Folk Song.
Black Spiritual
Bernice Johnson Reagon reminds us that,'The African American spiritual and its evolution within American society—like a great river shooting off hundreds of tributaries to be joined together somewhere further down the way—give us the richest opportunity to view the tradition in a way that unleashes the powerful human story it holds' (Reagon, 1992, p. 13). 'I shall not be moved' is an example of this premise:
I...
BRADLEY, Ian Campbell. b. Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, 28 May 1950. Ian Bradley was educated at Tonbridge School and New College, Oxford (BA 1971, MA, DPhil, 1974), where he won the Arnold Historical Essay Prize in 1971 and was Harold Salvesen Junior Fellow from 1972 to 1975. After a period working at the BBC and on The Times, followed by a time as a schoolmaster, free-lance author and broadcaster, he entered the University of St Andrews, where he studied for the BD and for the Church of...
FRASER, Ian Masson. b. Forres, 15 Dec 1917; d. Alva, near Stirling, 10 April 2018. He was the son of a butcher whose family were required to become involved from an early age in the business. Educated at Forres Academy and the University of Edinburgh (MA, BD, PhD). He was one of the earliest members of the newly-founded Iona Community and, in tune with its emphasis on the importance of witnessing to the Gospel within the political and industrial life of society, became a 'pastor-labourer' in a...
Imagine the dream of creation (Caring Community). Pat Mayberry* (1950– ).
Mayberry credits Rev. Elisabeth Jones as co-writer of the lyrics of 'Caring Community' (2016). Listening from the choir loft as Jones spoke at church during a period of several weeks, Mayberry wove into the song Jones's images of becoming part of 'the dream of God', and of being a 'caring community' (Mayberry, 2021, email).
Pat Mayberry has collaborated in recent years with pianist, composer and lyric writer David...
Index to Anglo-American Psalmody
The Index to Anglo-American Psalmody in Modern Critical Edition was compiled by Karl Kroeger* and his wife Marie. It covers 2087 tunes, categorized by type (plain tune, extended tune, Fuging tune*, anthem, Set-piece*, canon), meter, composer, first line of text, modern collections in which the tune is found, and sources of texts. The Index is published as Recent Researches in American Music, volume 40 (Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, 2000).
CLARK...
Innario christiano (2000). Published in Turin, this is the third edition of the hymnbook used by Protestant churches in Italy, the Federazione delle chiese evangeliche in Italia (FCEI). It is the successor to the editions published in Florence in 1922 and in Turin in 1969. It was edited by a committee (Bruno Rostagno, Alberto Taccia, Franco Tagliero, under the chairmanship of Flavio Gatti, with Ferruccio Corsani as music editor). The introduction draws attention to particularly notable features...
Inspired by love and anger. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
This song, 'Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by endless pain', was the title piece to Love & Anger: songs of lively faith and social justice (Wild Goose Publications, 1997). It was reprinted from Heaven Shall Not Wait (Wild Goose Songs 1) (1987), with the first line as 'Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by need and pain'. With the first line as '…endless pain…' this was reprinted in a 1997...
The Iona Community was founded in Scotland in 1938 by the Revd George MacLeod, later Lord MacLeod of Fiunary. It rebuilt the ancient monastic buildings on the island of Iona, from which St Columba* sent out missionaries such as St Aidan to convert Scotland and the north of England in the 6th century. With the rebuilding of the abbey of Iona, the Community has sought also the 'rebuilding of the common life', bringing together (in the words of its website) 'work and worship, prayer and politics,...
MARASCHIN, Jaci C. b. Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 12 December 1929; d. São Paulo, 29 June 2009. At the end of his career Maraschin was Emeritus Professor at the São Paulo Methodist University and an ordained priest of the São Paulo Anglican DioceSse of the Brazilian Episcopal Anglican Church, part of the Anglican Communion. He started his musical education early in life with private tutors for music theory and piano. He held a Diploma from the Instituto Musical de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and...
JONES, Jacque Browning. b. Texas City, Texas, 20 October 1950. A hymnwriter with a varied career in business and government service, she attended Baylor University (1968-1970) and The University of Texas at Austin (1970-1973) (BFA in Theater, with an emphasis in directing and choreography). Raised a Presbyterian, Jones has been a member of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York, since 1987. Her career included working for the government, for an accounting firm, and for a bank in data processing...
MINCHIN, James Blundell. b. Hartwell, Victoria, Australia, 29 November 1942. James (Jim) Minchin was educated at Camberwell Grammar School (1948-59), where he studied the piano and organ. He attended Trinity College, University of Melbourne, from 1960-66, completing a BA in Classics and a ThL. There, too, he began a long and close involvement with the Student Christian movement. In 1967 he was ordained an Anglican priest in the diocese of Melbourne, and served at St George's, Malvern (1966-68),...
QUINN, James. b. Glasgow, 21 April 1919; d. Edinburgh, 8 April 2010. He was educated at St Aloysius' College, Glasgow, and read Honours in Classics at the University of Glasgow (MA 1939). He entered the Novitiate of the Jesuit Order in 1939, studying philosophy at Heythrop College (1941-44), followed by a period as a Greek and Latin teacher at Preston Catholic College (1944-48). He returned to Heythrop College to study theology (1948-52), being ordained in 1950. He served his Tertianship at St...
JONCAS, Jan Michael. b. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 20 December 1951. Michael Joncas, pre-eminent liturgical scholar, teacher and composer, majored in English at the College of St Thomas, St Paul, Minnesota (BA, 1975); liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana (MA, 1978), and liturgical theology at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome (SLL,1989 SLD, 1991). In 1980 he was ordained a Roman Catholic presbyter for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis,...
HUBER, Jane McAfee Parker (née Parker). b. Jinan, China, 24 October 1926; d. Hanover, Indiana, 15 November 2008. Born to Presbyterian missionary parents, Jane Parker spent her youth in Hanover, Indiana. She attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts, married William A. Huber in 1947, and graduated from Hanover College (BA, 1948). An active Presbyterian, Huber emphasized peacemaking, justice, and inclusiveness in her ministry and her hymn texts. For many years she ran a feature, 'Ask Jane', in...
Jazz is a unique type of 20th-century music created by African Americans characterized by melodic variation, the use of 'blue notes', syncopated rhythms, extended and altered harmonies, improvisation by the performers, and an open-sounding timbre. Initially, jazz was the music of the dance hall and club, but it gradually gained acceptance in the church. Jazz used in worship now includes keyboard, instrumental, and choral music, as well as accompaniments of sung liturgies and congregational...
Jesus calls us here to meet him. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
From Love from Below (Wild Goose Songs 3) (1989), where the title is 'Jesus calls us'. Its opening line suggests a general call to worship in the manner of William Cowper*'s 'Jesus, where'er thy people meet'*, and the first three stanzas can be used for this purpose. The fourth stanza, beginning 'Jesus calls us to his table', makes its purpose clear. It is a hymn in which the previous three stanzas can...
Jesus is a rock in a weary land. African American spiritual*.
This song of African American origin is characterized by a memorable refrain that has remained constant for over a century; the stanzas, however, vary from publication to publication. The repetition of words in the refrain's first three lines indicates that its origins may lie in oral rather than written tradition. The two primary elements of the refrain text— 'rock in a weary land' and 'shelter in the time of storm'—echo several...
Jesus walked this lonesome valley. American Folk Hymn; African American spiritual*
The origins of this folk hymn, appropriate for Holy Week, are shrouded in obscurity. It first appeared in USA hymnals during the second half of the 20th century. Its frequency of inclusion increased by the end of the last century and continues into the current one. Although listed as an American Folk Hymn in most hymnals, its origins may be found in a conflation of the Appalachian folk song tradition and the...
OWENS, Jimmy Lloyd. b. Clarksdale, Mississippi, 9 December 1930. After school at Jackson, Mississippi, he attended Millsaps College, and was a jazz band arranger; after a conversion he directed music in several churches in southern California. He married Carol Owens* in 1954. Beginning in the 'Jesus Movement', the Owens were active in writing contemporary Christian musicals, performing and recording in various places in California, and doing musical missions for the Church of the Way in Los...
MARSHALL, Jocelyn Mary (née Crabtree). b. Morrinsville, Waikato, New Zealand, 15 September 1931. She was educated at Hamilton West School, Epsom Girls' Grammar School, and the Auckland and Christchurch Teachers' Colleges, graduating in 1951. She worked initially as a Speech Therapist in Auckland schools. Brought up first in the Presbyterian and then the Methodist Church she was involved in the Auckland Methodist Youth Council, the Student Christian Movement and occasional radio broadcasting. In...
WISE, Joseph Edward, Jr. b. Louisville, Kentucky, 19 August 1939. Wise attended St. Mary's Seminary/University in Baltimore, Maryland (BA 1961, STB 1963); Spalding College in Louisville (M Ed. 1965); and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC (MA, 1969). Wise was one of the most performed and influential composers of liturgical music in what became known as the 'folk Mass movement' after the Second Vatican Council. Other representative composers from this era include Ray Repp, Jack...
DALLES, John Allan. b. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 13 September 1954. Dalles graduated from Penn State University (BS, 1976) and Lancaster Seminary in Pennsylvania (MDiv, 1982). He served as associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church, South Bend, Indiana (1982-86) before becoming associate pastor of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh (1986-97). Dalles received the DMin. degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1994. Since 1997 he has served as senior pastor of the Wekiva...
AINSLIE, John. b. Taunton, Somerset, 20 May 1942. He was choirmaster at the English College in Rome (1963-66). He has worked as editor of Roman Catholic resource books, including the Simple Gradual (1969) and Praise the Lord (2nd edition, 1972). He co-edited English Catholic Worship (1979) — the first survey, post Vatican II, of new liturgical and music developments in England. He is General Secretary of the international study group Universa Laus.
Ainslie has composed several strong tunes...
AMBROSE, John Edward. b. Ottawa, Ontario, 30 January 1936. Minister, denominational worship official, and hymnal editor, John Ambrose received degrees at Carlton University (BA, 1959), Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto (MDiv, 1962), and University of Notre Dame (MA, Liturgical Studies, 1982). Following his ordination as a minister in The United Church of Canada (1962), he served congregations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. He was called to create the...
GEYER, John Brownlow. b. Wakefield, Yorkshire, 9 May 1932; d. Tayport, Fife, 26 July 2020. He was educated at Silcoates School, Wakefield, the Congregational foundation for the sons of nonconformist ministers. After National Service (1951-53), he read Theology at Queens' College, Cambridge (BA 1956), and trained for the Congregational ministry at Mansfield College, Oxford (1956-59), with a period studying at Heidelberg (1957-59). He was minister of the Congregational Church, St Andrews, Fife,...
GOWANS, John. b. Blantyre, Lanarkshire, 13 November 1934; d. South London, 8 December 2012. Gowans became a Salvation Army officer in 1955, after National Service in the Royal Army Educational Corps. At school he developed an interest in poetry and drama, and in 1966 was co-opted to write the lyrics for a Salvation Army youth musical, with the composer John Larsson. Alongside his appointments in Britain, France and USA, he went on to write ten musicals on Biblical and Salvation Army themes,...
BELL, John Lamberton. b. Kilmarnock, 20 November 1949. He was educated at the University of Glasgow 1968-71 (MA), 1972-74 and 1977-78 (BD). During the intervening periods he served as President of the Students Representative Council (1974-75) and as Associate Pastor for the English Reformed Church in the Netherlands (1975-77). While a student he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow (1977-80).
His subsequent career was as follows: Youth Advisor, Presbytery of Glasgow (1978-83); Youth...
MURRAY, John Stewart. b. Invercargill, New Zealand, 5 November 1929; d. 17 February 2017. The son of a pioneer Scottish settler family, John Murray was educated at King's High School and the University of Otago, Dunedin. After graduating (MA 1952), he studied at King's College, Cambridge, from 1952 to 1955, completing an MA in Divinity in 1954, followed by a period of study at the Graduate School, Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Geneva, where he was awarded a Diploma in Ecumenical Studies. He...
THORNBURG, John. b. Southampton, New York, 28 July 1954. He was educated in classical studies and music at DePauw University (AB, 1976) and in theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University (MDiv, 1981). Ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1981, his parish appointments included Christ United Methodist Church, Farmers Branch, Texas (1979-1981); the Council on Ministries of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church (1981-84); Greenland Hills United...
OLDHAM, John Wesley. b. Sarnia, Ontario, 11 April, 1945. John Oldham grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. He studied History and Philosophy at Carleton University, Ottawa (BA, 1966) before pursuing Theology at Emmanuel College, Toronto (BD, 1969). In 1969, he was ordained in The United Church of Canada. Over the next 25 years, he served rural and urban congregations across Manitoba before being called to Rama United Church near Orillia, ON. Conflicts in this pastoral charge led to Oldham being placed on...
WIMBER, John. b. Kirksville, Missouri, 25 February 1934; d. Orange County, California, 17 November 1997. One of the 20th century's leading charismatic pastors, Wimber is known primarily as a founder of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. While still in high school, he began a professional career in music, winning first place in an international Jazz festival in 1953. His ability as a pianist and vocalist led to performances with several Rock and Roll musical groups. Experiencing a conversion in...
YLVISAKER, John Carl. b. Fargo, North Dakota, 11 September 1937; d. Waverly, Iowa, 9 March 2017. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) composer of over 1,000 songs and hymns, church musician, and a performer, he was influenced by the music of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, including the songs of Pete Seeger (1919-2014). The content of many of the texts and the folk musical style of his songs led Gracia Grindal* to call him the 'Bob Dylan of Lutheranism' (Ortárola, Star...
HERL, Joseph. b. Lockport, New York; 27 May 1959. Herl earned a BA in music from Concordia College (Bronxville, New York, 1981), where he was honored with prizes in music and classics. He subsequently received a Master's degree in organ performance from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas, 1985), and a PhD in musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000). At the University of Illinois, Herl assisted his advisor, Nicholas Temperley*, in...
Jubilate Hymns
The British Jubilate Group was founded in November 1980 as a limited liability company with the title Jubilate Hymns Ltd. It still retains its legal title but is now commonly known as the Jubilate Group.
Prior to their adoption of the Jubilate name, a team, chiefly of young Anglican clergy led by Michael Baughen*, later Bishop of Chester, began in the early 1960s to write hymn texts and tunes, initially for the church youth groups for whom they had pastoral responsibility. They...
O'NEILL, Judith Beatrice (née Lyall). b. Melbourne, Australia, 3 June 1930. She was educated at Mildura High School (the family moved to Mildura, in the north of the State of Victoria, in 1940) and the University of Melbourne. She studied in London (1952-53), and taught English Literature at the University of Melbourne (1954-55, and again in 1959-64; from 1955 to 1959 she was in Göttingen and Cambridge, with her postgraduate student husband, whom she married in 1954). In 1964 she returned to...
HENKYS, Jürgen. b. Heiligenkreutz, East Prussia (now Russian Krastnotorovka) 6 November 1929; d. 22 October 2015. He was educated at Heiligenkreutz and at Königsberg (Russian Kaliningrad), Wyk auf Föhr, and Leverkusen. He studied theology at Wuppertal, followed by further study at Göttingen, Heidelberg and Bonn. He was ordained in 1956, and worked until re-unification in the German Democratic Republic, first at Brandenburg/Havel, west of Berlin (1956-65) as a lecturer and an instructor in...
GALLOWAY, Kathryn Johnston (née Orr). b. Dumfries, Scotland, 6 August 1952. She was educated at Boroughmuir Secondary School, Edinburgh (1964-70) and Glasgow University (BD 1974, Diploma in Pastoral Studies, 1976). She was licensed as a minister of the Church of Scotland, Edinburgh Presbytery (1976) and ordained in 1977 while Assistant Minister, Muirhouse Parish Church, Edinburgh (1976-9).
She has been a member of the Iona Community since 1976, was co-warden of Iona Abbey from 1983-89, and was...
GETTY, (Julian) Keith. b. 16 December 1974. Getty is a Northern Irish hymn-writer, composer and performer. His work is often collaborative, working together with his wife, Kristyn Getty* and Stuart Townend*. In partnership with Townend, he has been responsible for some of the most popular hymns of the early 21st century, most famously 'In Christ alone my hope is found'* (2001). This hymn has become one of the best known of all 21st-century hymns; in 2010-11 it was the most-reported item in the...
GREEN, Keith Gordon. b. Brooklyn, New York, 1953; d. July 1982. Born into a Jewish family, Green was brought up as a Christian Scientist. In his early years he was a featured composer and performer of rock-and-roll: in adolescence he played the ukulele in New York clubs, and became involved with the drug scene. He was searching for a better life when he met Melody*, also a staff song-writer at CBS Records, Hollywood, whom he married in 1972. Together they founded the 'Last Days Ministries' in...
The Keswick Convention and its hymns
The Keswick Convention, a non-denominational and evangelical annual meeting, was founded in 1875 by an Anglican, Canon T.D. Harford-Battersby, Vicar of St John's, Keswick, in collaboration with a Cumberland Quaker, Robert Wilson. It was a product of the 'Holiness movement' of the period (see 'Holiness hymnody, USA*), inspired in part by a book by William Edwin Boardman (1810-1886) called The Higher Christian Life (1859). After a series of revival meetings,...
GETTY, Kristyn (née Lennox). b. 22 May 1980. She is a Northern Irish singer and hymn-writer. Best known for her work in collaboration with her husband Keith Getty*, and Stuart Townend*, she features prominently as a soloist or lead singer on their albums and continues to perform with her husband as part of an Irish-American folk band. She and her husband are frequently cited as co-authors and their work features strong Celtic influences, both in words and music. Their series New Irish Hymns...
Kum ba yah, my Lord. African American spiritual*, of Gullah origin.
The origins of this song are unknown. It was recorded in the 1920s; the recording is found in the American Folklife Center Archive of the Library of Congress. There is a detailed account of various possible histories in the Archive's Folklife Center News, 32, Nos. 3-4 (Summer/Fall, 2010) available on-line (see below). The article suggests that it was known 'fairly early throughout the American south, including Texas, Alabama,...
KAISER, Kurt Frederick. b. Chicago, 17 December 1934; d. Waco, Texas, 12 November 2018. Kaiser grew up in a family that loved hymns; his father Otto was chairman of a Plymouth Brethren hymnbook committee. Kurt was educated at The American Conservatory of Music, Chicago, and Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (BM, 1958, MM, 1959). A gifted pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer, he was associated with Word Music in Waco, Texas from 1959 to 1989. Kaiser was a founding member...
ROMMEL, Kurt. b. Kirchheim unter Teck, 20 December 1926: d. Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart, 5 March 2011. On taking the abitur and leaving school, the young Rommel was conscripted into the army. Taken prisoner, he spent time in a French prisoner-of-war camp near Montpellier, taking the opportunity to study at the University on day release. Returning to Germany, he studied at Tübingen and Heidelberg. In 1954 he became a priest at Friedrichshafen on the Bodensee (Lake Constance), followed by Bad...
WOLFE, Lanny. b. Columbus, Ohio; 2 February 1942. A songwriter and music publisher, Wolfe has written over 700 songs. He is credited with influencing the movement of music in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches from traditional hymns and folk-style singing during the 1970s and 1980s to more recent gospel and popular styles. In addition to song writing and performing, he taught at Gateway College of Evangelism, Florissant, Missouri (1968–1974), and Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson,...
Laudate (1999, 2012)
This is the title ('Praise') of a British Roman Catholic hymnbook, first published in 1999 by Decani Music. It was edited by Stephen Dean*. It was revised in 2012 in accordance with the 2010 translation of the Roman Missal, with a fifth revised printing in 2014.
It contains a first section, 'The Liturgy of the Hours', with three sections: Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer. These contain hymns, psalms, and antiphons by various writers, from John Mason Neale*...
BARTLETT, Lawrence Francis. b. Mosman, Sydney, 13 February 1933, d. Melbourne, 17 March 2002. He was educated at public schools in Mosman and Manly, and at the North Technical High School, where he accompanied the school choir and made musical arrangements for it. From 1950 to 1957 he studied harmony, piano, organ and singing at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and in 1960 at the Melbourne Conservatorium.
After holding the position of Assistant Director of Music at the King's School,...
FISHER, (Malcolm) Leith. b. Greenock, Renfrewshire 7 April 1941, d. Glasgow, 13 March 2009. Educated at Greenock Academy, he studied Arts and Divinity at the University of Glasgow 1959-65 (MA, BD), and received a Diploma in Pastoral Studies from Birmingham University (1965-66). He was licensed by the Presbytery of Greenock, May 1965. On 18 January 1967 he was ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow while assistant minister (1966-68) at Govan Old Parish Church, the church from which in 1938 George...
GARRETT, Leslie Norman ('Les'). b. Matamata, New Zealand, 15 July 1943. Educated at the New Life Word of Faith Bible School, Tuaranga, he moved to Australia to become pastor of the Christian Family Centre, Maddington, Perth, Western Australia. He later became a travelling evangelist. He published Scripture in Song, volume 1 (Brisbane, 1967) a collection of praise songs that included the well known 'This is the day'*. He has conducted preaching tours of mainly Baptist churches in North America,...
Let's Praise!
The Let's Praise! series of hymnals contains two volumes; the first, published in 1988, was subtitled 'The Worship Songbook for a New Generation' and the second, published in 1994, was simply entitled Let's Praise! 2. They were published by Harper Collins under the Marshall Pickering imprint, and were produced in association with Jubilate Hymns*. The principal editor of both volumes was David Peacock*, assisted in both cases by Michael Perry*. Graham Kendrick* is named as a...
Liedboek – zingen en bidden in huis en kerk
In May 2013, exactly 40 years after the publication of the Dutch hymnal Liedboek voor de kerken, (see Dutch hymnody*) the 'Interkerkelijke Stichting voor het Kerklied' ('Interdenominational Foundation for the Hymn') published the hymnal Liedboek – zingen en bidden in huis en kerk ('Songbook – Singing and Praying in Home and Church').
Eight denominations from Holland and Belgium participated in this foundation, which – after many delays – was given the...
Lift up your heads, O gates. Bert Polman* (1945-2013). A paraphrase of Psalm 24:7-9, written in 1986 for the Psalter Hymnal (1987). Bert Polman, co-editor of the hymnal, wrote this text for the vivid processional hymn tune VINEYARD HAVEN by Richard Dirksen*. The author retained the refrain sometimes sung with Edward H. Plumptre*'s 'Rejoice, ye pure in heart'*, which Dirksen had set in June 1974 in the form of a hymn-anthem for the installation of John M. Allin as the Presiding Bishop of...
Lim, Swee Hong (林瑞峰).b. Singapore; 11 June 1963.
Lim, Swee Hong is a Singaporean church musician, composer, and educator. Born into a Chinese Christian family, Lim inherited the faith of his maternal heritage as a fourth-generation Christian. His father (Baptist) and mother (Presbyterian) instilled the value of service to God. Along with his siblings, Lim was encouraged by his mother to serve the church through music-making. Lim began to learn musical instruments at an early age, planting the...
McKim, LindaJo K. (née Horton). b. Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 9 June 1946. Pastor, teacher and hymnal editor, McKim attended high school in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; West Virginia University, Morgantown (BM, 1968); Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania] Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1977); and the University of Dubuque [Iowa] Theological Seminary (DMin, 1984). An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA, she has pastored churches, and served as adjunct faculty at the University of Dubuque Theological...
GOOD, Linnea. b. Boston, Massachusetts, 24 March 1962. Born in Boston, Linnea Good was raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. From an early age she was steeped in music. Her father, Frank Good (1938–2015), was well known in the provinces of eastern Canada as a hilarious and engaging performer in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. At age 12, 'at an age when other kids were leaving the church', Good notes, she was invited to sing in the choir of the local Anglican church.
Good pondered a vocation...
Living Spirit, holy fire. Ruth C. Duck* (1947– ).
This hymn was written in 2003. It first appeared in Duck's collection Welcome God's Tomorrow (Chicago, 2005). The hymn then appeared in three collections in the United States in the same year, Gather,Third Edition (Chicago, 2011), Worship, Fourth Edition (Chicago, 2011), and Worship and Song (Nashville, 2011).
Duck had been conducting research at Pilgrim Congregational Church, Oak Park, Illinois, a United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation...
KROEHLER, Lois Clara. b. Saint Louis, Missouri, 9 September 1927; d. Bremerton, Washington, 3 August 2019. Missionary, translator, music teacher, hymn writer, and hymnal editor, Lois Kroehler lived in Belleville, Illinois, Ft. Collins, Colorado, and Lyman, Nebraska during her childhood. She graduated from the University of Nebraska (1949) with a major in Spanish and went immediately to Cuba upon graduation to serve as an English language secretary for the Cuban Director of Presbyterian Schools...
Long ago and far away (Fill the Cup). Pat Mayberry* (1950– ).
This song was composed in 2000. It was recorded by children on the album Kids Songs for Choirs and Congregations (2004). The editorial note under this song in More Voices (2007) identifies it as a 'communion song for all ages.' It is written with children in mind yet possesses a depth of imagery that also nourishes adult spirits.
The song begins with the textual formula of countless traditional stories for children: 'Long ago and...
MANZARA, Loretta, CSJ. b. London, Ontario, Canada, 4 May 1948. Loretta Manzara, CSJ, is a liturgist, organist, and hymnal editor. Her family's origins, and the rich cultural roots which fed her early life, can be traced to England on her maternal grandparents' side and to Italy on the side of her paternal grandparents. Music was a part of the life of her parents and their six children. After working his regular job at GM Diesel, her father took weekend bartending work to pay for her music...
Loving Spirit, loving Spirit. Shirley Erena Murray* (1931-2020).
This hymn, written as what the author calls 'a simple reflection into images of God', was written in 1986, and has since been used at a number of ordination and commitment services as well as a general hymn.
It was first published in Murray's New Zealand collection, In Every Corner, Sing: New Hymns to Familiar Tunes in Inclusive Language (Wellington, 1987) where the suggested setting was OMNI DIE, and has since been published in a...
CONNAUGHTON, Luke. b. Bolton, Lancashire, 2 June 1917; d. Oulton, near Stone, Staffordshire, 2 September 1979. Born into a Roman Catholic family, Connaughton was destined for the priesthood, but abandoned his vocation and became a journalist. He was closely associated with the firm of Mayhew-McCrimmon, for whom he edited Sing a New Song to the Lord (Great Wakering, Essex, 1970). In this book 33 texts by him were included, some with the pseudonyms 'Peter Icarus' and 'J. Smith'. After his death...
DAWN, Maggi Eleanor. b. 1959. Maggi Dawn is a British musician, author, theologian, and Church of England priest. Prior to ordination, she worked as a singer-songwriter. She remains active as a guitarist and singer. She held chaplaincies at King's College and Robinson College, Cambridge University; since 2011 she has been Associate Dean for Marquand Chapel and Associate Professor of Theology and Literature at Yale University. She has published widely on topics including pilgrimage, women and...
WILLIAMSON, Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher. b. Sydney, 21 November 1931; d. Cambridge, 2 March 2003. Williamson was educated first at Barker College, Hornsby, and then, from the age of 11, at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, under its director Sir Eugene Goossens. There he studied the piano, the French horn and composition. In 1953 he left Australia to live in London to study with Elizabeth Luytens and Erwin Stein, a pupil of Schönberg, supporting himself by playing as a church...
CLARKSON, (Edith) Margaret. b. Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada, 8 June 1915; d. Toronto, 17 March 2008. Margaret Clarkson moved with her family to Toronto at the age of four. As a child she attended St John's Presbyterian Church in Toronto where she would study a hymnbook during the sermons, beginning her lifelong engagement with hymnody. She wrote her first hymn texts at twelve. Educated in Toronto, she taught elementary school for 38 years, starting in lumber and mining communities in northern...
LEASK, Margaret Anne. b. Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2 September 1953. She was educated at the University of Toronto (BA 1976), Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario (MA 1983), and Durham University, UK (PhD 2000). Her Master's thesis was on the role of congregational song and the hymn writing of Henry Alline during the Great Awakening in Nova Scotia and New England, 1776-83( see Great Awakenings, USA'*). As a staff editor on Volume VIII of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, she oversaw the...
DOUROUX, Margaret (née Pleasant). b. Los Angeles, California, 21 March 1941. One of six children born to Olga and Earl A. Pleasant, her father was a gospel singer who had toured with his friend, gospel superstar Mahalia Jackson; and an African American Baptist preacher who founded the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, where he invited the greatest gospel singers to sing. Margaret was educated in the public schools in Los Angeles, California State University (BA, 1964), and...
ALLISON, Margaret Wells. b. McCormick, South Caroline, 25 September 1921; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 30 July 2008. Allison is primarily recognized as the founder and leader of the Angelic Gospel Singers, a gospel ensemble she directed for over fifty years. Known as 'Babe', 'she was the eldest living female gospel artist still traveling and performing' at the time of her death at 86 years of age (Manovich, 2008, n.p.).
From South Carolina she moved to Philadelphia when she was four. It was...
COLLIHOLE, Marian (née Howells). b. Pontypridd, Wales, 14 August 1933. She was educated at Pontypridd Grammar School. She worked as a Primary School teacher in Smethwick, Birmingham. While there, she entered writing competitions, including a BBC TV hymn-writing competition in 1966. Her text, 'Where is God?' ('Woman racked and torn with pain') was written in response to the Aberfan landslide that year, which engulfed a primary school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. The entry was not...
HATCHETT, Marion Josiah. b. Monroe, South Carolina, 19 July 1927: d. Sewanee, Tennessee, 7 August 2009. Son of a United Methodist Church minister, he was confirmed as a member of the Episcopal Church while a student at Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina (AB 1947). He continued his studies at The School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee (BD, 1951, STM, 1967), and General Theological Seminary, New York City (THD, 1972).
Ordained in the Episcopal Church (deacon...
MILLER, Mark Andrew. b. Burlington, Vermont, 7 January 1967. Mark Miller is a pianist, organist, singer, composer, choral conductor, church musician, educator, and active lay person in the United Methodist Church. He is currently an Associate Professor of Church Music, Director of the Chapel, and Composer-In-Residence at Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey, and since 2006, a Lecturer in the Practice of Sacred Music in the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. Miller also...
SEDIO, Mark. b. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 16 November 1954. He studied music at Augsburg College, Minneapolis (BA 1976), the University of Iowa (MA 1979), in the MDiv program at Luther Seminary, St Paul, MN (1982-1986), and in the liturgical studies program at St John's University, St Joseph, MN (2003). At Luther Seminary he directed the choir for six years and played the organ for chapel services for twenty-five years. He taught music history and world music, conducted the Chapel Choir at...
NYSTROM, Martin J. b. Seattle, Washington State, 1956. Following his graduation from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma (BME, 1979) he became an evangelist and musician in New York with the 'Christ for the Nations' movement, and for Hosanna! Music, Mobile, Alabama, for whom he produced five Praise-Worship albums. He has composed over 250 songs, mostly one-stanza worship songs such as: 'Times of refreshing, here in your presence', 'Jesus I am thirsty' (with Don Harris), 'I will come and...
SMITH, Martin. b. Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, England, 6 July 1970. He was raised in the north-east London suburb of Woodford Bridge where he grew up attending a small Brethren church. As a teenager, Smith moved to South London, where he first started playing guitar for a Brethren youth group directed by his father. In his autobiography, Smith specifically mentioned the transition from the Hymns of Faith hymnal to the praise choruses in Kingsway's Songs of Fellowship as an important turning...
BRINGLE, Mary Louise ('Mel'). b. Ripley, Tennessee, 31 July 1953. Bringle grew up in a family active in the Presbyterian Church US: her father served as a deacon and ruling elder, and her mother taught two-year-olds in Sunday school. She sang in children's and youth choirs at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. She majored in French and religious studies at Guilford College, Greensboro (BA 1975); received a Fribourg Foundation grant to study at the Institut de Science...
REDMAN, Matt. b. Watford, Hertfordshire, 14 February, 1974. He was raised in Chorleywood, attending St Andrew's Church, and being educated at Watford Grammar School until 1992.
He has been a full-time worship leader since the age of 20, helping to set up the 'Soul Survivor' movement in Watford, and developing an enthusiasm for Christian song-writing that reaches people normally outside the more established church circles. He has travelled internationally, settling twice in America (California...
FLEMING, Michael (Paschal Marcon). b. Oxford, 8 April 1928; d. Croydon, 10 January 2006. He was the son and grandson of Church of England clergymen: his father, Guy Fleming, was curate of St Mary Magdalene, Oxford. During World War II he was evacuated to Cornwall, where he began organ lessons. After the war he was educated at St Edmund's School, Canterbury, followed by National Service. He went up to University College, Durham, in 1949 (BA, Music, 1952) where he also acted as organist of St...
Mille voix pour Te chanter/ A Thousand Tongues to Sing to You (2006)
This hymnal was the first French-language hymnal for United Methodists in Europe and Africa. It was edited by S T Kimbrough Jr.*, with Carlton R. Young* as music editor. They were assisted by Jane-Marie Nussbaumer, Claire-Lise Meissner-Schmidt, Abraham Arpellet, Nkemba Ndjungu, and Wesley Macgruder. It was published in the USA by the General Board of Global Ministries, New York, and in France in La Bégarde de Mazenc,...
Mission Praise (Mission England Praise, 1983; Mission Praise 2, 1987; Mission Praise Supplement, 1989; Mission Praise Combined, 1990; New Mission Praise, 1996; Complete Mission Praise, 1999; new edition, 2005; online edition, 2008; 25th anniversary edition, 2009; 30th anniversary edition, 2015).
In terms of sales, Mission Praise was a phenomenally successful publication in the last fifteen years of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st. Across all its editions, including Junior...
Montreat Conferences on Worship and Music. The forming of the Montreat Conferences began in 1952 with James R. Sydnor*'s letter to the General Council of the Presbyterian Church, US, (PCUS) which in part reads:
we have not thus far as a denomination made any serious effort to discover the exact state of music in our Church, or to outline some sensible goals, or to map out a practical strategy for church-wide development of this important phase of the Church's life. Almost every other...
Net Hymnal is a free, private site, easily searched via Google that features MIDI files, scores, the full texts of over 10,000 hymns and gospel songs, and often outdated biographical and historical information. The site also includes indexes of texts, tunes, scripture references, and topics. A synthesized instrumental setting of each hymn tune automatically begins to play when the associated text is selected. Unidentified works of art are often displayed with hymn texts without crediting...
NETO, Rodolfo Gaede. b. Ituêta, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 26 July 1951. Neto, a pastor in the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB), is a composer and hymnwriter. The son of Herman Carlos Ludwig Gaede and Hilda Dummer Gaede, Gaede Neto pursued the Bachelor of Theology, master's, and doctoral degrees from the Escola Superior de Teologia in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul state.
From 1979 to 1985, Neto served congregations in the Parishes of Alto Jatibocas (Itarana,...
New College, Edinburgh, Hymnology Collection
New College was founded to serve the Free Church of Scotland at the Disruption of 1843, when ministers, led by David Welsh and Thomas Chalmers but including such figures as Horatius Bonar*, left the Church of Scotland on the grounds that the church was becoming too closely identified with the state, and subject to the right of patronage (see 'Synod of Relief hymns'*). The buildings of New College, prominent on the Mound on the Edinburgh skyline, were...
New English Hymnal (1986). The New English Hymnal, published in 1986, represents the most recent development in what might be described as 'the ongoing English Hymnal project'; that is to say, the succession of publications which shared and continued to disseminate the literary and musical objectives pioneered by EH in 1906 (an EH with revised music appeared in 1933). A further development took place in 1975 with the publication of English Praise, a supplement to EH.
In order to understand the...
New English Praise (2006). New English Praise was a supplement to the New English Hymnal (1986), published twenty years after the parent book to take account of new hymn writing and changes in liturgical practice in the Church of England. The compilers also used the opportunity to repair some defects in NEH. The book contains fifty hymns, together with 'a significant selection of liturgical material providing, together with the existing book, a complete companion to the Common Worship...
MOLDOVEANU, Nicolae. b. Movileni, Romania, 3 February 1922; d. Sibiu, Romania, 12 July 2007. Following the early death of his father, Nicolae was sent to live with an uncle who enrolled him in the Army's Children, a military program for destitute children. The conductor of the military's brass ensemble recognized his love for music and encouraged him to develop musically. Then as a young teenager, he began writing religious texts and original melodies under the influence of Oastea Domnului...
RICHARDS, Noel. b. 1955. Richards is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and worship leader. His songs belong to the modern evangelical tradition and are characterised by direct language and strong rhythmic profiles. Among his best known songs are 'All heaven declares' and 'You laid aside your majesty.' The former, first published in 1987, has gained widespread popularity, and still features prominently in lists of most-used hymns and songs (http://www.ccli.co.uk/resources/top25.cfm, accessed...
O blessed spring. Susan Palo Cherwien* (1953– )
'O blessed spring' was written in 1993 and first appeared as a choral anthem (1994) in a setting by Robert Buckley Farlee*, followed by a second choral setting entitled Life Tree by the author's husband David Cherwien* (Herl et al., 2019, p. 595). The first appearance in a hymnal was in the Canadian VU (1996) and then in the author's collection O Blessed Spring: Hymns of Susan Palo Cherwien (Minneapolis, 1997). Since these publications, the hymn...
O sleep now, holy baby. Mexican carol, translated by John Donald Robb (1892-1989).
This carol, 'Duérmete, Niño lindo', was translated by Robb, a lawyer who changed career to become Professor of Music at the University of New Mexico, and printed in Hispanic Songs of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1954). It is one of many 'lullaby carols'. It was used in a folk play, Los Pastores, sung in villages in New Mexico during the Christmas season. Originally from Mexico, it tells of sorrows to...
SMEBY, Oluf Hanson. b. Rock County, Wisconsin, 31 January 1851; d. 6 July 1929. Educated at Luther College (AB, 1871) and Concordia Seminary, St Louis, Missouri, Smeby was pastor at Albert Lea, Minnesota, for almost half a century. An eminent Lutheran, he was chairman of the English Committee for The Lutheran Hymnary (1913), used by the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Hauge Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. His translations from Norwegian...
CAMPOS DE OLIVEIRA Jr, Oziel. b. Recife, Pernanbuco, Northeast Brazil, 26 July 1946. He studied theology at the Escola Superior de Teologia in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and later at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Oziel has served as pastor of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB, Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterano no Brasil) since 1973. Despite not having any formal training in music, Oziel has always maintained an...
SOSA, Pablo. b. in Chivilcoy, a province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 16 December 1933; d. Buenos Aires, 11 January 2020. Sosa was a composer, church musician and a local minister of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Argentina. He was emeritus professor of Liturgy and Hymnology at the Instituto Universitario ISEDET (Buenos Aires), and Choir Conducting at the National State Conservatory in Buenos Aires (1975-2005). He also established the musical group 'Música para Todos' in 1972, directing and...
PARK, Chai-hoon (Jai-hoon) 박재훈. b. Gimwha County, Gangwon Province, Korea (now North Korea), 14 November 1922; d. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, 2 August 2021. Park was a composer and the foremost Korean hymnodist. His music-making and life influenced and shaped the development of Korean church music. He grew up in a Christian family, a rarity in that era, the youngest of the four sons from nine siblings. All four brothers became ministers later, a pledge that his mother had made to God. An...
MATSIKENYIRI, Patrick. b. Biriri, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), 27 July 1937; d. Mutare, Zimbabwe, 15 January 2021. Patrick Matsikenyiri's career included virtually all aspects of church music—singing, choral directing, composition, hymnal editor, festival leader, professor, and enlivener of global songs in venues worldwide. In the spirit of a Shona proverb—'If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance'—he believed music was for everyone.
After serving as a headmaster for...
Huh, Paul Junggap. b. Seoul, South Korea, 20 March 1962. Paul Junggap Huh is a fourth- generation Presbyterian. His maternal grandfather was the first Christian in the family living in North Korea. Rev. Kyung-Chik Han was the family pastor at Second Shineujoo Presbyterian Church; the church members fled to Seoul and started Young Nak Presbyterian Church in 1945.
When he was 14, his family immigrated to United States and was baptized in 1976 by his uncle, Rev. Henry Inho Koh, who was the pastor...
GIBSON, Paul S. b. Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 3 August 1932. He earned the LTh at St Chad's Theological College, Regina (1954), a BA at Bishops University (1956), and studied at Oxford University (1957) doing research on the moral theology of Tractarians. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Emmanuel College, Saskatoon; Huron College, London; Vancouver School of Theology; Montreal Diocesan College; and Trinity College, Toronto. In 2006, he received the Cross of St Augustine, presented...
WESTERMEYER, Paul Henry. b. Cincinnati, Ohio, 28 March 1940. Westermeyer is a well-respected and articulate church musician, theologian, author, and educator. Born of the marriage of Paul Henry and Ruth Caroline (née Hackstedt), Westermeyer's earliest musical memories are of singing with the congregation at his home church, Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church in Cincinnati. He sang with his father in the church choir, studied piano with his mother, and methodically worked through the hymnal...
Peculiar Honours (1998). Peculiar Honours was published in 1998 by Stainer & Bell for the Congregational Federation, marking the 250th anniversary of the death of Isaac Watts*. The title is taken from Watts' hymn, 'Jesus shall reign where'er the sun'* ('Peculiar [i.e. special] honours to our king'). The book was designed as a resource to aid reflection on hymns: 'to reflect and encourage the traditions of hymn writing within Congregationalism' (Michael Durber, Preface, p. v). Hymns were...
HARLING, Per. b. Bromma, Sweden, 20 June 1948. Harling is a prolific song and hymn writer as well as a composer of liturgical music and hymn tunes. He has written several books on worship life, hymn texts and biographies, including Ett ögonblick i sänder - Lina Sandell och hennes sånger (Libris, 2003). He is particularly noted for his work connected with service life reform in the Swedish church, especially as secretary for the hymnal supplement for the Church of Sweden, Psalmer i...
DAVISON, Peter Wood Asterly. b. Montreal, 12 June 1936. After a year at McGill University, he went to Balliol College, Oxford (BA 1959, MA 1962), Cuddesdon Theological College, Oxford (1959-61), and subsequently to McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago (DMin 1989). Ordained in 1961, he returned to Canada, serving as rector in Anglican churches in Montreal and in Alymer, Quebec, and in Vancouver; before becoming rector at Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church in London, ON, where he also taught...
JARVIS, Peter George. b. London, 2 August 1925. He was educated at the King's School, Macclesfield, Cheshire (1934-42), followed by a period working for the Inland Revenue (1942-49). After a year as a pre-collegiate probationer, he studied for the Methodist ministry at Handsworth College (1950-54). He was ordained in 1954, and served in Methodist circuits at Dudley (1954-57), Leighton Buzzard (1957-61), Harrow (1961-67), Reading (1967-72), Tooting Mission (1972-78), Wantage and Abingdon...
TONGEMAN, Peter Henry Kelway. b. Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, 21 November 1929. Educated at Palmer's School, Grays, Essex, and Spurgeon's College, London, he became a Baptist minister, serving at Luton, Northampton, Enfield, New Milton, Tunbridge Wells and Romsey, Hampshire (he retired to Romsey). He was President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (1995-96). He was active in the educational work of the Scripture Union, editing its Teaching over 13s from 1976 to 1981, and writing Thirteen Plus...
BLYCKER, Philip Walter. b. Chicago, Illinois, 22 March 1939; d. Roseburg, Oregon, 11 June 2023. Philip Blycker (also known as Felipe Blycker J. in Spanish publications), was a missionary, hymn writer, composer, and hymnal editor. He was raised in the evangelical tradition as a Baptist. Taking piano and trumpet lessons during his youth, he received degrees from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina (B.M.E., 1960) and VanderCook College of Music in Chicago (MMus Ed., 1966). He...
Power from on high descended. Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig* (1783-1872), translated by Alan Gaunt* (1935-2023).
This is an original Grundtvig hymn for Pentecost, 'Kraften far den hoje', but its form is intensely traditional. It is based on a pre-Reformation vernacular hymn for Easter, and it follows its metrical pattern and uses its familiar tune. By its very form it tells us something of the way in which Grundtvig believed that the Church's hymns echo back and forth across the...
Praise God for this holy ground. John Bell* (1949– ).
This five-stanza hymn with refrain is a litany of praise to God. Four of the five stanzas employ anaphora, repeating 'Praise God' at the beginning of each. A jubilant refrain, 'Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! God's goodness is eternal', follows. First published in One Is the Body: Songs of Unity and Diversity (Glasgow/Chicago, 2002), the hymn appears in three other collections: the Canadian More Voices (2007), and in Worship and Song...
Praise! (2000)! A result of collaboration between FIEC (the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches), and the Grace Baptists, this hymnbook was published in 2000. Chaired by Brian Edwards, an Editorial Board of twelve co-ordinated the work of several smaller groups in selecting its 999 items. The book broke new ground in two main directions; it was the first major work from this constituency to face the issue of archaic language, eliminating what were regarded as obsolete pronouns and...
CARMICHAEL, Ralph. b. Quincy, Illinois, 28 May 1927; d. Carmillo, California, 18 October 2021. A pioneer in the Contemporary Christian Music industry, Carmichael is a prolific composer of Christian songs, whose experiments in popular musical styles have garnered him recognition by some as the 'Father of Contemporary Christian Music'. Carmichael, fostered by musician parents, early on took violin, trumpet, and piano lessons. He attended Southern California Bible College (now Vanguard University,...
GUITIÉRREZ-ACHÓN, Raquel. b. Preston (now Puerto Guatemala), Province of Oriente, Cuba; 5 May 1927; d. Los Angeles, California, 5 January 2013. Raquel Gutiérrez-Achón was a church musician, pianist, choral conductor, hymnal editor, and promoter of Spanish-language hymns in the United States and Latin America. She studied music at the Instituto Santiago and the Conservatorio Provincial (Santiago de Cuba), Matin College (Pulaski, Tennessee), George Peabody College for Teachers (Nashville,...
MARTINEZ, Raquel Mora (née Mora). b. Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, 17 January 1940. Composer, teacher, church musician, and hymnal editor. Her father, Josué Mora, was a Methodist minister, and her mother, Amada Mora, a homemaker, devoted all her time to church service. Endowed with a beautiful voice, 'Amadita', as Raquel was called, became the choir soloist: she would sing for all special occasions. She received her education from the Lydia Patterson Institute, El Paso, Texas (1957-1960),...
GLOVER, Raymond F. b. Buffalo, New York, 23 May 1928; d. Alexandria, Virginia, 15 December 2017. Ray Glover, distinguished hymnist and church musician, was a boy chorister at St Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo. He studied with Healey Willan* at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (BM, 1952), and Robert Baker (1916-2005) at the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York City (MSM, 1954). Returning to Buffalo he served as organist and choirmaster, St Paul's Cathedral...
AVERY, Richard Kinsey. b. Visalis, California, 26 August 1934; d. Santa Fe, New Mexico, 15 March 2020. Avery attended the University of Redlands, California (BA 1956), Union Theological Seminary, New York City (MDiv 1960), and was an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA. His forty-year pastorate at First Presbyterian Church, Port Jervis, New York, included three decades shared with his life partner, Donald S. Marsh*, the church's choirmaster and director of arts.
Richard Avery was the...
HILLERT, Richard Walter. b. Grafton, Wisconsin, 14 March 1923; d. Melrose Park, Illinois, 23 February 2010. Distinguished composer, editor, and teacher, Hillert attended Concordia Teachers' College, River Forest, Illinois [now Concordia University Chicago] (BSEd, 1951), Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (MM, 1955, DMus 1968, in composition), with additional study at the Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, Massachusetts. He taught and directed music in Lutheran congregations and schools in...
LEACH, Richard. b. Bangor, Maine, 7 August 1953. Richard Leach graduated from Bowdoin College (BA, Religion, 1974) in Brunswick, Maine, and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1978). Leach was a pastor for United Church of Christ congregations from 1978-1999 and is now a layperson in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He has worked in various capacities: as a business manager for a software company, as a poet, and as a visual artist specializing in paper collage. He currently resides...
Farlee, Robert Buckley. b. Santa Monica, California; 23 February 1950. Robert Farlee is the second of four children born to Lee (1917–1999) and Irene (née Berglund) (1921–2016) Farlee. He was raised in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod tradition at First Lutheran Church of Culver City and Palms (Los Angeles). His early education took place in Missouri Synod elementary and secondary schools. He graduated from Concordia Teachers' College (now Concordia University, Nebraska) in secondary music...
CULL, Robert Marcus. b. Los Angeles, California, 24 May 1949. He was encouraged by his parents to begin piano study at age six. He soon began playing music in his church, learning more than a dozen instruments. He attended Southern California College (now Vanguard University of Southern California), Costa Mesa, an Assemblies of God institution, and joined the Accents, a singing group recorded by Maranatha! Music. He attended campus concerts featuring song writers and performers in the emerging...
WALLACE, Robin Knowles. b. Toledo, Ohio, 6 January 1952. Wallace is a hymnological scholar, editor, teacher of congregational song, and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Her timely and influential published works are characterized by usability for scholars and practitioners, attention to language for inclusion and justice, and the centrality of congregational song in worship as a spiritual and theological formational practice.
Robin attended the University of Cincinnati, Ohio...
MANN, Robin. b. Murray Bridge, near Adelaide, South Australia, 26 July 1949. He was the son of sixth-generation German Lutheran parents. He was educated at Immanuel College, where he took piano lessons, and the University of Adelaide, where he completed a BA and Dip Ed. He underwent some musical and theological training at Luther Seminary, Adelaide. Three years of high-school teaching followed, before he took up work as a parish lay worker for St Stephen's Lutheran Church, Adelaide (1976-95)....
ARNATT, Ronald Kent. b. Wandsworth, London, 12 January 1930; d. Fredericksburg, Virginia, 23 August 2018. Arnatt was an organist, composer, conductor, and editor. He composed several hymn tunes and organ pieces based on hymn tunes.
His parents were Josiah Henry Arnatt (1891-1958) and Elizabeth Christina (Kent) Arnatt (1903-1986). As early as 1937, Ronald's name appeared in lists of prize winners for singing and playing piano. In 1938 he was featured as 'Boy Musical Prodigy'. 'The remarkable...
RUÍZ, Rubén Avila. b. Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico, 12 November 1945. The son of a Methodist minister (later a bishop), he was educated at the Instituto Mexicano Madero. During a period in Covington, Virginia, USA, ca. 1972, Ruíz wrote a hymn in Spanish for the choir of the United Methodist Church, 'Mantos y palmas' (literally 'Cloaks and Palms', based on the account in the Gospels of Christ's entry into Jerusalem. The first stanza describes the scene; the second calls on the singers to follow...
DUCK, Ruth C. b. Washington, DC, 21 November 1947. Ruth Duck graduated from Southwestern-at-Memphis University (now Rhodes College), Tennessee (BA, 1969). She attended Chicago Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1973); University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana (MA, 1987); and Boston University School of Theology (ThD, 1989). The Chicago Theological Seminary awarded her a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1983. She was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1974, after which she served at Pilgrim...
KIMBROUGH, Jr., S T. b. Athens, Alabama, 17 December 1936. Prominent Wesley scholar, singer, editor, and global hymnologist, Kimbrough attended Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama (BA, 1958), The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (BDiv, 1962) and Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey (PhD, 1966). An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, he was pastor of churches in Alabama, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Germany. Kimbrough has...
GRAY, Scotty. b. Lytle, Texas, 8 May 1934. Scholar and writer on hymnody, Gray was educated at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, and Baylor University, Waco, Texas (double major in church music and music education, 1955). This was followed by graduate study at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky (1955-56), and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MCM - Master of Church Music, 1959: dissertation, 'The Use of “Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott” as a Cantus...
The Shenandoah Harmony (Boyce, Virginia, 2012). This 21st-century shape-note collection follows the format of 19th-century shape-note collections, being of oblong shape and including an introductory section on the basics of singing. For example, 'This music is sung vigorously, in full voice, with no vibrato… Over the generations, singing communities have developed various unwritten vocal ornaments, rhythmic alterations, and even reharmonizations. As a result, a singer may well be heard...
MONTEIRO, Simei. b. Belém, Brazil, 28 December 1943. She was born in the capital of Pará in the northern Amazon region of Brazil. As a child she was always listening to music: her father loved music, especially opera. Her mother could sing almost the entire hymnal by heart and was a public reciter of poetry. Both parents sang in the choir of the Baptist Church and also in events outside the church. Her uncle was the main piano tuner at the 'Teatro da Paz' in the city of Belém, and sometimes she...
Sing Alleluya forth ye saints on high. George Timms* (1910-1997).
Timms often re-worked earlier hymns. This is clearly written in imitation of 'Sing Alleluia forth in duteous praise'*, the translation of 'Alleluia piis edite laudibus' by John Ellerton*, found in the Appendix (1868) to the First Edition of A&M and in Church Hymns (1871; Church Hymns with Tunes, 1874). This had become very popular when set to ALLELUIA PERENNE by William Henry Monk* for the early editions, or later to a...
Sing God's Glory (2001).
This is the title of a new and enlarged edition of Sing His Glory (1997), sub-titled 'Hymns for Sundays and Holy Days, Years A, B & C': the new title recognises the claims of the feminist movement in Britain, and the sub-title is an accurate description of the contents. The Revised Common Lectionary was authorised for use in the Church of England from Advent 1997, and this compilation is described as 'one companion to the Revised Common Lectionary in the form in...
"Sleepers, wake!" A voice astounds us. Philipp Nicolai* (1556-1608), translated by Carl P. Daw, Jr.* (1944- ).
This translation of 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'* was made for H82. Like earlier translations it follows the metre of the original German, and is sung to the traditional tune. It includes occasional phrases from earlier English versions, but, in Daw's words, 'it tries to convey more of the vigor and narrative urgency of the German original' (A Year of Grace, Carol Stream, 1990, p....
The first Spring Harvest conference, a week-long Easter-time event, was launched in Prestatyn in 1979. Some 2,700 people attended. This has since become an annual event which has rapidly grown in popularity and influence among evangelical Christians of varied denominational backgrounds (the organisation subscribes to the beliefs of 'The Evangelical Alliance Basis of Faith' and 'The Lausanne Covenant'). In 1986, the event expanded to two locations (Prestatyn and Minehead), and in 1988 the...
This is the name given to a group of Roman Catholic composers, who were associated with a study centre in the parish of St Thomas More, North London, from 1969 onwards. The group's founder members were Stephen Dean*, Paul Inwood*, Bernadette Farrell*, Peter Jones, Ernest Sands*, Bill Tamblyn*, Christopher Walker* and James Walsh, although only Dean and Inwood were on the staff of the centre. Other members include Peter McGrail and Anne Quigley.
In 1985 Paul Inwood and Christopher Walker...
ORCHARD, Stephen Charles. b. Derby, 30 March 1942. He was educated at Derby School and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1965, reading English for Part I of the Tripos and Theology for Part II). He trained for the Congregational ministry at Cheshunt College, Cambridge, while studying for a PhD (awarded 1969). He was ordained in 1968, serving as a Congregational (later URC) minister at Abercarn, Caerphilly, South Wales (1968-70), Sutton, Surrey (1970-77), and Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire...
STARKE, Stephen Paul. b. Bay City, Michigan, 25 October 1955. Starke earned an AA at Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Michigan (1975) and a BA in secondary education (with an art major and a music minor) at Concordia Teachers' College in River Forest, Illinois (1977). Upon graduation he spent a successful year teaching art at Luther High School North in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Pastoral ministry was beckoning, however, and he decided to enter seminary as soon as it was financially feasible. To...
TOWNEND, Stuart. b. Edinburgh, 1 June 1963. He was educated at Sowerby Bridge High School, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, then at the University of Sussex, Brighton (1981-1985), where he gained an honours degree in American Studies (Literature). Remaining in Brighton, after a year of training in evangelism at the Clarendon Church (now Church of Christ the King), he joined the staff at Kingsway Music, Eastbourne, initially as an in-house arranger and editor, and later as Head of Music, editing...
ELLINGSEN, Svein. b. Kongsberg, Norway, 13 July 1929. Ellingsen was the son of master stonemason Fritz Frølich Ellingsen and Karo Enge. He was raised in Kongsberg; from an early age he was drawn towards a career in the arts. Initially intending to study theology, Ellingsen instead studied at the Art and Craft school at Oslo (Kunst- og håndverkskolen, 1950-1951) and the National Art Academy (Statens kunstakademi, 1952-1955), with additional study, 1966-1967, in craftwork and design at the...
Swing low, sweet chariot. African American spiritual*.
In A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies (Cincinnati, 1883), edited by Marshall W. Taylor, this has six stanzas, with a tune attributed to Jesse Munday. One source attributes it to Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in what is now Oklahoma, whose singing was written down by Alexander Reid, a minister. It has a strong element of the 'revival' tradition, with an emphasis on salvation:
The brightest day that ever I saw,Coming...
O'DRISCOLL, Thomas Herbert. b. Cork, Ireland, 17 October 1928. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, 1951 and ordained in 1953. He became assistant rector at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, Canada, in 1954. He served for three years as chaplain with the Royal Canadian Navy at Shearwater, Nova Scotia, before returning to Ontario (1960-67). He was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia (1968-1982), Warden of the College of Preachers in Washington, DC (1982-84) and...
Taizé is a tiny village in south-eastern France, not far from Cluny*, and is the name chosen by a community of brothers founded there just after World War II. A seminary graduate, Roger Schultz (1915-2005), resisted the career of pastoring a church in response to a strong inner call to live a monastic life (this was rather unusual for one coming from the Calvinist tradition).
In 1940, early in the Second World War, Brother Roger found a small house in this tiny village located a short distance...
Take me to the water. African American spiritual*
In modern hymnals, this first appears in Yes, Lord! Church of God in Christ Hymnal (Memphis, 1982). However, recordings and possible references to the spiritual in the accounts of enslaved black people indicate that its roots may extend at least to the turn of the 20th century, and perhaps to the antebellum South. While found primarily in African American hymnals, other mainline denominational collections include the spiritual: Chalice Hymnal...
Take this moment, sign, and space. John Lamberton Bell* (1949– ) and Graham Maule* (1958–2019).
The hymn first appeared in Love from Below: The Seasons of Life, The Call to Care, and the Celebrating Community (Wild Goose Songs 3; Chicago: GIA Publications Inc., 1989). Notes with the song indicate that it may be 'used at times of commitment and re-commitment and also at the celebration of Holy Communion or marriage'.
The incipit of each stanza of 'Take this moment' is reminiscent of the...
MacARTHUR, Terry Lee. b. Alpena, Michigan, 8 September 1949. MacArthur attended Central Michigan University, Mt Pleasant, Michigan (BS,1971), and The Methodist Theological School In Ohio, Delaware, Ohio (MDiv, 1976). He was a United Methodist pastor in the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, and served on the conference worship team., Concurrent with his studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York (STM, 1984), he was the organist/choir director at Zion Lutheran Church...
YORK, Terry Wayne. b. Atchison, Kansas, 29 March 1949. York attended California Baptist College (BA, 1973), and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (MCM, 1975: thesis, 'The practice of lining out in congregational singing'); (DMA, 1985: dissertation, 'Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856-1932): composer, author, and editor in the gospel tradition'). He has served as minister of music and youth, Southside Baptist Church, Tempe, Arizona (1976-77), and First Southern Baptist Church, Sacramento,...
The Virgin Mary had a baby boy. West Indian carol.
This carol, sometimes called a spiritual, reflects one of the varied experiences and cultures encountered by enslaved Africans when they came to the Americas. Since it does not find its origins in the continental United States, 'The Virgin Mary' does not appear in the historical collections of African American spirituals* such as the monumental Slave Songs of the United States* (New York: 1867), the first extensive collection of African...
There's a star in the east (Rise up, shepherd, and follow). African American spiritual*.
The first stanza as printed in current hymnals is as follows:
There's a star in the east on Christmas morn; Rise up, shepherd and follow; It will lead to the place where the Christ was born; Rise up, shepherd, and follow. Follow, follow, rise up, shepherd, and follow, Follow the star of Bethlehem. Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
The noted African American author James Weldon Johnson*...
TROEGER, Thomas Henry. b. Suffern, New York State, 30 January 1945; d. Falmouth, Maine, 3 April 2022. Troeger was educated at Yale University (BA 1967) and Colgate-Rochester Divinity School (BD 1970). He was associate minister of New Hartford Presbyterian Church, New York (1970-77). He then taught homiletics at the Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozier Theological Seminary, Rochester, New York (1977-91); he was Norma E. Peck Professor of Preaching and Communication at Iliff School of Theology,...
Today I awake. John Lamberton Bell* (1949- ) and Graham Maule* (1958-2019).
From Love from Below (Wild Goose Songs 3) (1989). This begins 'Today I awake/and God is before me'. It is a morning hymn in Trinitarian form, affirming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with a final stanza on the Holy Trinity. It has something in common with the Celtic hymnody found in Carmina Gadelica*: see the 'Morning Prayer' quoted in that entry:
Thanks be to Thee, Jesus Christ, Who brought'st me up from last night, To...
COLVIN, Thomas Stevenson ('Tom'). b. Glasgow, 16 April 1925; d. Edinburgh, 24 February 2000. He was educated at Allan Glen's School, Glasgow and at Glasgow Technical College where he trained as a mining engineer (1945-48). After National Service in Burma and Singapore with the Royal Engineers, he returned to Trinity College, University of Glasgow, to prepare for ministry in the Church of Scotland. He was ordained in 1954 in Blantyre, Nyasaland (now Malawi) as a missionary. This was followed by...
FETTKE, Thomas Eugene, b. Bronx, New York, 24 February 1941. Composer, arranger, and music producer, Fettke attended Oakland City College (AA [Associate of Arts] 1962) California State University at Hayward (BA 1966). He was a secondary school teacher for more than three decades, teaching voice and directing both public and private school ensembles, including Redwood Christian School system (1978-84), a K-12 interdenominational school system located in the San Francisco East Bay area, where he...
COOMES, Tommy. b. Long Beach, California, 19 May 1946. Singer/songwriter, producer, worship leader and music executive, Coomes played a key role in 'Jesus Music' in the 1960s and 1970s and development of worship music repertoire for the church in the late 20th century. Raised in Lakewood, California, he played trumpet and guitar in high school, studied music at California State University, Long Beach, and enlisted in the US Army. A year after leaving the army in 1969 he met a nucleus of hippie...
COPES, Vicar Earle. b. Norfolk, Virginia, 12 August 1921; d. Sarasota, Florida, 20 July 2014. Copes was a distinguished composer, teacher, performer, editor, and elder in the United Methodist Church, an important force in the development of Methodist's professional standards, a champion of Wesleyan and ecumenical hymnody, and leader in the expansion of church music repertory, styles, and performance practices. He was educated at Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina (BA, 1942), and Union...
McKAY, V. Michael. b. Alexandria, Louisiana, 8 May 1952. V. Michael McKay grew up in Alexandria, Louisiana, where his grandfather was a Baptist preacher. His grandmother sang hymns to him at home and while riding in the car, embedding in him a love for the people's song at an early age. It was out of this experience that he felt a calling to make composition and music making as his life's work (Defender, 2018, n.p.). He named his publishing company, Schaff Music Publishing, after his...
Vem, Jesus, nossa esperança. Jaci C. Maraschin* (1929–2009).
This Advent text first appeared in a Brazilian collection edited by the author, O Novo Canto de Terra (São Paulo, 1987), in four 8.7.8.7 stanzas. The musical setting, CRISTO É MAIS (1980), is by Baptist music professor Marcílio de Oliveira Filho (1947–2005). It was originally paired with the text 'Cristo é nossa esperança' (1981) by Guilherme Kerr Neto (1953– ) in the Brazilian Baptist hymnal Hinário para o Culto Cristão (Rio di...
NIX, Verolga. b. Cleveland, Ohio, 6 April 1933; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 December 2014. The daughter of Rev. Andrew W. Nix Sr. and Ida A. Nix, Verolga Nix was a noted pianist, choral conductor, composer, arranger of gospel songs and African American spirituals*, and co-editor of the influential Songs of Zion (Nashville, 1981) with Judge Jefferson Cleveland*.
Her musical education began with voice and piano study at age six. She became organist at Mount Zion Baptist Church (Holmesburg,...
BEECHING, Victoria Louise (Vicky). b. 19 July 1979. Vicky Beeching is a British singer-songwriter, broadcaster and researcher. She was educated at Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School, Canterbury, and the University of Oxford.
She has recorded three albums, Yesterday, Today & Forever (2005), Painting the Invisible (2007), and Eternity Invades (2010). The first part of her career was largely spent in the USA, where she achieved considerable prominence as a recording artist and performed...
Voices in Praise. This collection, published in 2013, is the authorised hymnal of The Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA). It is a significant milestone in the history of the MCCA, as it is the first time it has issued an authorised hymnal since its foundation in 1967. Its preface indicates Caribbean Methodism's longstanding attachment to the British Methodist Hymn Book (MHB, 1933), and, in describing its long gestation, summarises the diverse influences, cultural...
We shall walk through the valley in peace. African American spiritual*.
Variations of this song run deeply in African American tradition. The earliest print version appears in the post-Civil War collection Slave Songs of the United States* (Boston, 1867, no. 95), the first collection of American folk music. Many of the songs gathered by the originators for this source were notated from the formerly enslaved soldiers under the command of Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson* (1823–1911), a...
FORBIS, Wesley Lee. b. Chickasha, Oklahoma 31 October 1930; d. Goodlettsville, Tennessee, 14 January 2011. Forbis attended the University of Tulsa (BMusEd, 1952; MA in religion, 1955; thesis: 'Music in the Old Testament: A Survey,' 1959); Baylor University, Waco, Texas (MA, 1966; thesis: 'Christian Hymnody: A survey'); and Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University), Nashville, Tennessee (PhD, 1968; dissertation, 'The Galin-Paris-Cheve Method of Rhythmic Instruction: A History'. Forbis...
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...
BARNARD, Willem (Wilhelmus). b. Rotterdam, 15 August 1920; d. Utrecht, 21 November 2010. Barnard was a Dutch protestant (Netherlands Reformed) theologian, pastor, writer and poet. He published about twenty volumes of poetry under the pseudonym Guillaume van der Graft. As a poet he was strongly influenced by Martinus Nijhoff.
After graduating from the Grammar School he studied Dutch Language and Literature at Leiden. However, he stated that 'I read more contemporary literature than Gothic...
JAMES, William Marcus. b. Meadville, Mississippi, 4 June 1915; d. New York City, 18 January 2013. James was educated at Mount Beulah College in Vicksburg, Mississippi (AA), Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana (BSL, 1938), and Drew University, Madison, New Jersey (BD, 1942; MA, 1945). He received his license to preach in Lexington, Kentucky in 1936, and was ordained a deacon in the South Indiana Conference in 1938. In 1940, he was ordained an elder in the New York Conference and appointed...
World Library of Sacred Music/ World Library Publications was founded in 1950, Cincinnati, Ohio, by Omer Westendorf* as an importer of church music from Europe. The name was later changed to World Library Publications (WLP) to reflect that the mission of the company had developed from importer to publisher. The company became involved in the mid-20th century liturgical movement in the Roman Catholic Church (see Roman Catholic hymnody, USA*) . In response to a need for theologically sound...
Your voice, O God, outsings the stars of morning. Rosalind Brown* (1953- ).
This hymn was written in 2003, for the Diocese of Salisbury's clergy conference in that year. Rosalind Brown had been invited to submit a hymn on the conference theme, 'Being human, being church, being community'. She chose the tune by Richard Runciman Terry*, HIGHWOOD, as an expression of quiet awe and wonder. The hymn was revised in 2009.
It is essentially an expression of wonder at ways in which God calls us as...
KÉLER, Yves. b. Metz, 25 April 1939; d. Haguenau, 12 June 2018. Kéler was a conservative Lutheran Pastor in Alsace, and a hymn writer who translated Martin Luther*'s hymns, and chorales by Paul Gerhardt* and Johann Heermann*. He was the author of Le Culte Protestante (2006).
The son of Pierre Kéler and Lucie Lischer, he was catechised and confirmed in Metz by a Lutheran pastor, Alfred Griesbeck. Griesbeck encouraged Yves to teach in Sunday School and to study theology after his schooling in...