Royal wedding hymns

21 May 2018

Stories behind some of the hymns sung (and one quoted by Bishop Curry in his address) at the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle:

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy    Jan Struther* (1901-53).

It was written to be sung to the tune SLANE, which had been published in 1909 by Patrick Weston Joyce in Old Irish Folk Music and Songs. That tune was used very appropriately for the Irish words ‘Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart’, but Struther gave it entirely different life by using fresh words (some of which were unusual in hymns, such as ‘the plane and the lathe’ in verse 2)...

There is a Balm in Gilead   African American spiritual, 19th century.

This hymn is based on Jeremiah 8: 22: ‘Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?’ The answer that is given back is a robust affirmative...

Guide me, O thou great Redeemer    William Williams, Pantycelyn* (1717-1791).

This hymn, by the greatest of all the Welsh hymn writers, is the best known of all the Welsh hymns in English. The original Welsh hymn, with six verses, originally appeared in Williams’ collection Caniadau y rhai sydd ar y Môr o Wydr (‘The Songs of those upon the Sea of Glass’, Carmarthen, 1762)...

God save our gracious Queen

The first recorded performance of this hymn was at Drury Lane theatre, 28 September 1745, during the reign of George II...

The order of service for the wedding can be found here: https://www.royal.uk/order-service-prince-harry-and-ms-meghan-markles-wedding

Read more: Bishop Curry sets the bounds of the Royal Family wider in his wedding sermon (from Church Times)