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Contents:
DDD Total Time = 66:08 / Recorded: Tewkesbury Abbey, 13-15 March, 2001 with kind permission of the Vicar and Churchwardens A hymn is the praise of God by singing, a hymn is a song embodying the praise of God. If there be merely praise but not praise of God it is not a hymn. If there be praise, and praise of God but not sung, it is not a hymn. For it to be a hymn, it is needful, therefore, for it to have three things - praise, praise of God, and thses sung. So wrote St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) and it is a definition which still holds good. Certainly the term hymn covers a huge variety of type and this CD seeks to give a flavour of the breadth of hymnody from many periods of history. Although many collections today might include translated latin hymns from the reartly church, and German hymns from the Reformation, our selection begins in 17th century England. The reformed Church of England encouraged congregational participation and this was chiefly expressed through the metrical psalm. The collections of Sternhold and Hopkins, Este and Ravenscroft found a place in Anglican liturgy until the 19th century, and even today few hymn books would exclude The Lord's my Shepherd and others in this genre. Alongside the metrical psalm specially composed hymns were increasingly found - Orlando Gibbons set words by contemporary poets (Drop, drop slow tears, Jesu, grant me this I pray) and by the early 18th century a definite hymn tradition was emerging in England. While some hymn writers were Anglican it was newly-found Methodism which particularly saw the spiritual and emotional value of hymns, and huge numbers were written by the Wesleys and their followers. In this collection we have included Wesley's Love's redeeming work is done and the incomparable When I survey, by Isaac Watts. The publication of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861 was a milestone in Anglican hymnody and from this period The day thou gavest and Jerusalem the Golden are fine examples. The Oxford Movement also had its influence, and a return to more Catholic sentiment and imagery is found in hymns like Sweet Sacrament divine. An attempt to widen the use of hymns in the Anglican Church was made in 1906, with the publication of the English Hymnal. Here we see the emergence of hymns - words and music-based on folk tradition and this trend has continued in contemporary collections like Common Praise. Lord of all hopefulness and The truth from above employ the lilting melodies of both the Irish and English folk tradition. Perhaps one of the most moving sources of hymnody is that of the spiritual; with its beginnings in slavery and its theology rooted in God's freedom, these hymns have found their way into many Christian traditions today. Hymns are sometimes inseparably linked with particular tunes - difficult to sing Dear Lord and Father of mankind to anything but Parry's Repton, and can there be another tune but Holst's to I vow to thee my country, but breaking links is not impossible - on this disc, we hear Isaac Watts' When I survey sung,but to the English folk tune O waly, waly. Hymns have sometimes been criticised as poor examples of literature. Certainly, we often treat their texts in a cavalier fashion, omitting verses with little regard for the hymn's overall message, but a positive side of this flexibility is the renewal of a hymn through imaginative and sensitive musical arrangement. In this collection, many hymns are given a new 'image' by this means. The tradition of writing hymns very much continues today. There has been a huge burgeoning of writing, especially in the Evangelical wing of the church, and while, perhaps only a proportion of these will stand the test of time, they make a vital contribution to contemporary worship. I, the Lord of sea and sky is possibly one of the most enduring. Canon Michael Tavinor, Vicar of Tewesbury 
Page revised 26.06.03 |
