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I am leading the music at an ordination to the priesthood tonight, which is something I have not done in a number of years.

I have attended a few ordinations since then, however, and I have noticed something about the music at the consecration of the priest. This part of the liturgy begins with specific music. The rubrics of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) require one of two hymns to be sung here: the Veni Creator Spiritus, or the Veni Sancte Spiritus.

The hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus, or the hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus, is sung.

Specific hymns are mentioned in the rubrics sparingly, other instances being Palm Sunday (“All glory, laud, and honor”) and Good Friday (“sing my tongue, the glorious battle”), though neither of these is required.

It is worthwhile to note several things about this:

1. There are only two options, and both are named in the rubric (unlike Palm Sunday or Good Friday, nothing else may be sung instead).
2. Both hymns are associated with the Day of Pentecost: Veni Creator Spiritus is a proper hymn sung at Terce and Vespers; Veni Sancte Spiritus is a sequence for the Mass.
3. The rubric requires that a hymn be sung, but it does not specify who sings it.

There are certainly options for both hymns in congregational resources in the Episcopal Church. But if we parse the rubric a bit, perhaps this does not preclude one of the hymns from being sung by the choir alone, or perhaps by a cantor? Indeed, the traditional plainsong melody of Veni Creator Spiritus sung in the original Latin could be sung by a choir or a solo cantor.

It has been my experience at every ordination I have attended in the Episcopal Church that the music sung here is invariably Veni Sancte Spiritus by Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) from the Taizé Community. For better or for worse, this is undoubtedly music of its time and place. But the only words that end up in the mouths of the congregation is the three-word refrain "Veni Sancte Spiritus." More often than not, in my experience, the optional cantor parts (which provide the remaining words of the hymn, in English) are omitted. If they are sung, they may not be clearly understood or even printed for the congregation to read. The effect is contemplative and can be a very spiritual invocation of the Holy Spirit for many. But is it rubrical? When the cantor part is left off, probably not.

The Hymnal 1982 provides three options for singing Veni Sancte Spiritus in English and in its fullness.

1. Hymn 226 - Veni Sancte Spiritus. This is a traditional plainsong sequence in Mode 1 from the Dubliner Troper. The words begin, “Come, thou Holy Spirit bright,” a translation by Charles Price.
2. Hymn 227 - Arbor Street. A snaking 20th century tune by William Albright that melds chromatic slithers with fifths and octaves. The words are also by Price.
3. Hymn 228 - Webbe. An 18th century tune. The translation here begins, “Holy Spirit, font of light,” and is by John Webster Grant.

I genuinely like the first tune, but I think the latter are problematic for an ordination:

Hymn 227 (Arbor Street) is intentionally inaccessible. It is one of a handful of outlandish tunes by Albright that were included in the Hymnal 1982. I don't believe I've ever had occasion to use this tune. I do enjoy the Albright tunes Albright (for Communion) and Petra (for Eastertide), both of which I've used with choirs and congregations.

Hymn 228 (Webbe)—and here's where my general feeling is perhaps shaped by always having sung the Taizé music at the consecration—is just too boring. This is a special moment in the liturgy and it seems to demand something to fit the moment. I just don't think this standard hymn is it. Maybe my prejudice is misplaced, but I think Hymn 228 could easily be tuned out as "just another hymn." The moment seems to demand something special.

That leaves us with Hymn 226 (Veni Sancte Spiritus). This tune is about a thousand years old, so it immediately links us with the longer tradition of the church. This plainsong sequence was first included in the Hymnal 1940. And, as is often the case, we've lost something from the Hymnal 1940 that can greatly benefit a congregation's participation in this hymn. A footnote at the bottom of this hymn in that hymnal reads: “The stanzas may be sung by alternating groups, changing at each repeat mark.” I was gratified to find this suggestion here, because it was an idea I had arrived at on my own when considering how this hymn might be sung.

The plainsong sequence Veni Creator Spiritus has unique phrases, but each one repeats. So the musical form for six stanzas could be rendered as AA BB CC DD EE FF. Some of the stanzas share common musical elements, but each one is distinct.

Rather than overwhelm a congregation with six different stanzas of different music, why not have the choir introduce each phrase of the hymn and have the congregation join in thereafter? So the choir would sing the first A (“Come, thou Holy Spirit bright”), and the congregation would join in for the repeat of A (“Come, protector of the poor”). I have added rubrics for “Choir” and “All,” also bolding the text that the congregation sings to add clarity.

The Hymnal 1940 prints repeat signs, but I think it's more clear for a modern congregation to simply follow a continuous line of music and not have to look back. The tradeoff, for avid music readers, is the inability to see at a glance that the music of each phrase is a literal repeat.

Here's a sample of what the congregation will sing from tonight:

I'm happy to share this with any colleagues who could use it. Please contact me if you would like a copy.

I also particularly enjoy the content of what we're singing about, especially in one of the hottest weeks of the year: “In our labor, be our aid; / in our summer cooling shade.”

This hymn also speaks to the winter months: “Bend the stubborn heart and will; / melt the frozen, warm the chill”

After the hymn invokes the extreme ranges in temperature on this planet, it culminates in a petition that involves the whole universe.

Grant us thy salvation, Lord,
boundless mercy our reward,
   joys which earth and heaven entwine.

Labels: Gregorian chant, Hymn 226, Hymn 227, Hymn 228, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, ordination, Veni Sancte Spiritus

The 1982 hymnal is now 33 years old, and language, musical taste and theological emphasis has changed profoundly over those years.

So begins the "Explanation" section of resolution D060 of the 78^th General Convention of the Episcopal Church which wrapped up in Salt Lake City this past weekend.

Judging books by their covers

When I was walking into Episcopal chapels and churches for the first time as a high schooler (occupational hazard for a young organist) I did notice the name of the hymnal, and I thought it was a bit odd -- it was strange and too specific.

I remembered well the lovely blue hymnals that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) produced in 1990. The color, logo, gold embossing -- they were new, yet timeless. They were a welcome update to the dusty maroon The Hymnbook that had littered the pews since 1955. Thirty-five years seemed a decent time to wait for that nice, classic update. But unless you were there for that, you wouldn't really know from the cover of the hymnal when it came out.

In the Episcopal Church the date is stamped right there on the cover.

First there's the definite article, then there's a description of the what the book is, and then there's a year: 1982.

But here's the thing about that date on the cover: that's when General Convention approved the texts of the book, not it's publication date. Even before that 1982 gathering, the chair of the hymnal committee, Raymond F. Glover, knew that it would take more time to finalize and publish the book.

it will take the Commission another three years to prepare music editions. Clover [sic] said he foresees publication of pew and accompaniment editions by the Church Hymnal Corporation late in 1985.

Proposed Texts for Revised Hymnal Submitted, Episcopal News Service, 23 July 1982

And wouldn't you know it, he was right! The book bears a copyright date of 1985.

Finding ourselves in the Hymnal

Less than a month after this report from the Episcopal News Service, I was born. So I guess you could say I've grown up with this hymnal, even though I didn't know it very well until I started working with it regularly at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lakewood, Ohio in 2002.

But boy do I love this hymnal. Let me count the ways.

There are beautiful Anglican hymns which I've also sung in other traditions. But in the context of Episcopal worship and use of the The Hymnal 1982 I understood them as the cornerstone of a great, living hymn culture. From the rising lines of "When morning guilds the skies," to the stately "Praise, my soul, the king of heaven," and the sublime "Come, labor on." Then I found the early American strands: "What wondrous love is this," the startlingly beautiful tune RESIGNATION ("My Shepherd will supply my need"), and the rustic, dry, pentatonic liquidity of BOURBON (found at hymns 147 and 675). There are twentieth century tunes, including those by Herbert Howells (MICHAEL and SANCTA CIVITAS) and Calvin Hampton (ST. HELENA, and DE TAR). There are really modern twentieth century tunes, like those of William Albright (PETRUS, ARBOR STREET, and the self referential ALBRIGHT). And some of the service music -- I'm looking at you Richard Felciano -- is almost post-modern.

But I digress. Which is easy to do. There's so much in this book -- 720 hymns, and that doesn't include the Service Music (or the Service Music Appendix, which is only in the accompaniment edition!). I know that we all have our favorites, and I suspect all of my church music colleagues have had great joy in discovering something new in this book.

We find ourselves in this hymnal while we lose ourselves in it. As Thomas Merton said, "art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."

There's plenty of time to talk about this hymnal. It's not going anywhere.

My point is that the more I dove into this book and the more I learned about the Anglican tradition -- it's scriptures (both biblical and non-), traditions, and reasons -- the more this book made sense. And as I worked in the church, I found that I could make more and more sense with the resources of this hymnal within the liturgy.

A Revisionist's Rationale

So let's circle back around to the Explanation for resolution D060, the resolution to Establish a Process for the Revision of the Hymnal 1982 that just passed at General Convention 2015.

The 1982 hymnal is now 33 years old, and language, musical taste and theological emphasis has changed profoundly over those years.

Well, I am the same age as the hymnal.

• Language: I still speak the same language I always have, even though I didn't know how to speak it at first. I learned from my parents, my teachers -- I am still learning. This very hymnal has helped shape some of my language. And yet, we know that our language falls short

  Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
  It breathes in the air; it shines in the light;

  Hymn 388, Robert Grant (1779-1838)

• Musical taste: I love music. Some of my earliest musical memories are singing hymns in church (a particularly vivid memory of "Fairest Lord Jesus" comes to mind). My tastes haven't changed "profoundly". Many people I know haven't changed their musical tastes profoundly either. I'm not sure what that means -- especially in regard to a hymnal(?). I don't think it's a question of taste.

  Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness,
  wake your noblest, sweetest strain,
  with the praises of your Savior
  let his house resound again;
  him let all your music honor,
  and your songs exalt his reign.
  

  Hymn 492, John Ellerton (1826-1893)

• Theological emphasis: I'm not fully qualified to talk about this. But let me just ask, are we still emphasizing Jesus in the Episcopal Church? Because I think this hymnal does a pretty darn good job of that. What about God and the Holy Spirit? Are we still emphasizing them? The Trinity? The saints? What about the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist? It's all here.

  I could quote the table of contents at this point, but I'll let you look that up yourselves. Try the front of the book.

I think this Explanation based on language, taste, and theology just begins way out in left field.

Couple this with the fact that a recent survey conducted by the Church Pension Group revealed that most people do not want hymnal revision.

I think the case for revision can be made, but I don't get it from the text of the resolution.

A Realistic Rationale

And yet, perhaps we just need to own up to the fact that the time has come to revise our hymnal. And one of the reasons may as plain as the light of the "day of radiant gladness". We stamped the date "1982" on the cover of this thing, so it was already "three years old" when it hit the pew racks in 1985. (The 1940 does not bear a date on it's cover.)

Let's look at all the dates for a moment, given that all Episcopal hymnals have an official "year".

Year of Hymnal	Number of years since previous revision
1789	n/a
1826	37
1871	45
1892	21
1916	24
1940	24
1982	42
"2024"	42

The average time that has elapsed between revisions is 32.167 years.

If we take the 42 years that elapsed between the 1940 and the 1982 as a modern model for revision, we would expect to see The Hymnal 2024.

The only time that the Episcopal Church has waited longer to revise was between the 1826 and 1871 hymnals.

One could look at these numbers, and the absence of an all out civil war at present, and suggest that it is high time we do this!

Since we're only coming up with a plan now, however, a plan that would be authorized at the General Convention of 2018 in Austin, Texas, and it may well be that we would take at least until 2027 to approve the book (and maybe publish it around 2030?).

Turning the Page

And so, even though we all have intensely strong feelings about this -- Lord knows I do! -- we press onward with our hymnal revision process.

This is a good thing. The benefit of hindsight lets us see the outliers in The Hymnal 1940, and with some conversation and discernment, I trust that the "Hymnal 2024" committee will also be able see those things that have not stood up well in the current book.

A note on music: I don't think that tastes have radically changed since 1982. I do think, as in the 1940 hymnal, some things made it in to the 1982 hymnal that were a bit more "fashionable" at the time than they are now. But there are some of these more "fashionable" things that, in my judgement, transcend their time period. This is called craftsmanship, and it's something to which all composers aspire.

Words: poetry must reign here. I think the Presbyterians, and to a greater extent the United Church of Christ, erred too much with their push toward "politically correct" hymnody.

I would have my suggestions for hymns in the new book. One might be the possibility that we include a little-known Howells tune for a well-known Advent hymn (and maybe even think about moving it to the Advent section of the book!). There are plenty of things we could borrow from Anglican currents and other more ecumenical eddies. A prime hope of mine is disseminating among the wider church the metaphysical text "How shall I sing that majesty" to the powerful COE FEN.

But the real joy in this revision process will be not what we leave behind, but what we discover. Just ask Bruce Neswick how old he was when he contributed his sweeping key-changer TOMTER to the 1982 collection. Will it be preserved in the new book? Perhaps, perhaps not. But we can be quite sure we will find something just as good that we've never sung before.

This post has been corrected because there is no P in TOMTER.

Labels: Albright, church music, Episcopal Church, Howells, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, Hymnal 2024, Neswick, Ray Glover

Please note that if you sing the hymn "Watchman, tell us of the night" at Epiphany, or at any other time of the year, that there is a very serious author/composer synergy available to you.

In the previous edition of the Episcopal Hymnal, the Hymnal 1940, the tune WATCHMAN is one of the two tunes paired with this text. This tune is fondly remembered by at least one parishioner in the parish where I presently serve.

The words are by John Bowring. The music is by Lowell Mason.

Bowring was born in 1792. Mason was also born in 1792.

Bowring died in 1872. Mason also died in 1872.

Clearly the similitude of lifespans is a strong argument for this text-tune pairing.

And this might be notable on its own, but that's not all.

If you sing the hymn "Where is this stupendous stranger?" to the hymn tune ST. THOMAS – as Ana Hernández suggests you do – you'll notice some more hymnodic synergy. (The text and tune are both included separately in the Hymnal 1982).

The tune ST. THOMAS is by John Francis Wade (1711-1786) and harmonized by Vincent Francis Novello (1781-1861). They have the same middle names, and they shared six years on earth.

Epiphany is January 6.

Coincidence? You decide.

Labels: Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns

Christmastide has just come to end. And what better time to complete our look at the Christmas hymns in The Hymnal 1982? In particular, we will be looking at the less commonly sung hymns in the Christmas section. You may wish to start back at the beginning with part 1 of this series. There is also part 2 (hymns that score a 9 or a 10), part 3 (hymns that score a 6, 7, or 8), part 4 (hymns that score a 4 or a 5), or part 5 (hymns that score a 2 or a 3).

We're using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the least popular and 10 being the most popular. Here, in this last installment, we discuss those hymns that are truly the most uncommon in American Episcopal services: hymns that score only a 1 on the popularity scale.

Area 1: The most uncommon

I truly have never sung these, and I do not yet know of any parishes that have sung them.

• Hymn 77: "From east to west, from shore to shore". This hymn represents a gradual modification, both in words and tune, of the plainchant hymn "A solis ortus cardine". This is its first appearance in an Episcopal hymnal.
• Hymn 97: "Dost thou in a manger lie". A fifteenth century hymn matched with a fifteenth century tune. The second stanza is written from the point of view of Christ. The editors of The Hymnal 1940 recommended that this stanza be sung by a baritone soloist. This seems a bit suspect given that the infant Christ would presumably not have his voice change until puberty. This hymn was first included in the 1916 Episcopal hymnal.
• Hymn 103: "A child is born in Bethlehem". The oldest hymn to be awarded the lowest score for popularity, this text comes from the thirteenth century. It is probably best known in the a capella choral setting by Benjamin Britten ("A boy is born"), and not in this hymn setting.
• Hymn 108: "Now yield we thanks and praise". This hymn, by Howard Chandler Robbins, probably could be a little bit better known than it is. Robbins was a great hymn writer, his words naturally imbued with a sense of dignity and purpose, usually seem to me as if they should have already been written. They fill some gap which the church didn't realize had existed. There is a distinctive agelessness to his work, which includes the translation "Most High, omnipotent, good Lord" (Hymns 406/7), the somewhat paleo-futuristic composition "And have the bright immensities" (Hymn 459), and "Put forth, O God, thy Spirit's might" (Hymn 521, to which he also wrote the tune CHELSEA SQUARE). The chorale tune to which it is set, WAS FRAG' ICH NACH DER WELT, suits the words perfectly.
• Hymn 113: "Duérmete, Niño lindo"/"Oh, sleep now, holy baby" is the only fully bilingual hymn in The Hymnal 1982. It could very well be sung in congregations that draw more heavily on a Spanish-language repertory, but that may not necessarily be the case. Syllabification and visual underlay issues present problems (at least to my eye) for congregations who might attempt this hymn in English.

Conclusions

As is true of any slice of hymnody the full history of all these hymns is very rich. I'm more interested here in a reception history, which is a difficult thing to know without more data. I can only really speak to my personal experience with and impressions I have gained about this repertoire working as an Episcopal church musician for about a decade or so.

As someone who grew up outside of the Episcopal Church, I have surely missed some classic usages of these hymns. I am grateful for parishioners at a parish I served previously who alerted me to their fondness for "The snow lay on the ground". And since beginning this serial, I have learned more about historic usages of "Christians, awake, salute the happy morn", and "Sing, O sing, that blessed morn" on Christmas Day in various places. I still believe that these latter two hymns are falling out of favor -- and part of this may be the declining attendance at Christmas Day liturgies in many parishes.

There is a certain cultural weight with many of these hymns, some of them dating back for several centuries or more. Their inclusion in The Hymnal 1982 speaks to their worth, whether they are currently in rotation in a particular parish or not.

As with any portion of any hymnal, there are some hymns in this section that are not destined for a long life. And if certain of these hymns remain very uncommon in our liturgies for a long time it would be expected that they drop out of the next Episcopal hymnal -- if there even is such a thing, but that is another conversation for another time.

But we must be grateful to the '82 Hymnal committee for taking risks alongside those hymns that "must" be included. Our sacred musical life is much enriched, in my opinion, by the inclusion of "A stable lamp is lighted."

We must also thank them for including what we should know but have forgotten, like the simple joys of singing "Christians, awake, salute the happy morn" on Christmas Day, which I will seriously consider for the next 11 months as I work to plan music for Christmas 2014.

There are two interesting shifts that occurred in moving the Episcopal Christmas hymnody from The Hymnal 1940 to The Hymnal 1982:

Firstly, I wonder what psychological impact the "First Tune" and "Second Tune" distinction has in terms of a Christmas hymn's reception history. With the previous hymnal hymn singers could say regarding "It came upon the midnight clear", "Oh yes, I do like to sing Hymn 19. We use the Second Tune in my parish." In the present hymnal there is a dividing line between the two tunes. Today's Episcopalian might say, "Hymn 89 is a favorite of mine," and have no idea that the subsequent hymn in the book is very intimately related, and in fact, might be a pleasing alternative!

Secondly, it seems that the distinction between "Christmas" and "Christmas Carols" made in The Hymnal 1940 is of interest. In this study, I have referred to everything in the Christmas portion of the 1982 hymnal as a "hymn", but we could still make the same distinction that the 1940 makes. This may be of some limited value, but it may also be irrelevant. Still, there are certain portions of the liturgy that clearly call for a "hymn", and others where "carols" would be more welcome.

Finally, it is very interesting to note, from a somewhat longer view provided by this study, the increasing calcification surrounding our Christmas hymnody.

This trend is not surprising given three factors: a precipitous decline in music education, the loss of recreational singing in our culture, and steadily declining numbers in the Episcopal church, both adherents and more so at the Average Sunday Morning. As musical knowledge and ability decreases in our culture, so does the ability to differentiate specific repertories: the shopping mall, the Christian denomination, the local parish church. Where "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" used to be sung to any number of tunes, circumstances have conspired to limit it to one (rather bland) tune.

Tradition speaks out with much greater force at the Church's principal feast days, and Christmas is no exception. The tradition of our Christmas hymnody, however, has been much more fluid than I think many people realize. With the advent of recorded music and a force-fed "secular soundtrack" to a "Christmas season" which begins the week after Halloween and terminates some time around 11:30 a.m. on Christmas Day, it is harder to create the kind of sonic and theological space that our Christmas hymnody used to enjoy.

Anyways, I'd love to chat more about this. Please do weigh in if you have thoughts. I'm going to think a lot more about these uncommon hymns, and this proposed ranking of hymn popularity as a whole. It probably all deserves a second look, sometime around Christmas 2023, perhaps.

Labels: Britten, Christmas, Howard Chandler Robbins, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns, less familiar hymns

It's Christmas time. And what better time to take a look at the Christmas hymns in The Hymnal 1982? In particular, we will be looking at the less commonly sung hymns in the Christmas section. You may wish to begin with part 1 of this series, or get caught up on part 2 (hymns that score a 9 or a 10) or part 3 (hymns that score a 6, 7, or 8) or part 4 (hymns that score a 4 or a 5).

We're using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the least popular and 10 being the most popular. (On this scale we cranked it up to 11 for hymns which are unbelievably popular.) Here we at last get to those hymns that are truly uncommon in Episcopal services. Hymns that score a 2 or a 3 on our popularity scale.

Region 3: Uncommon tunes for hymns already discussed

• Hymn 85: "O Savior of our fallen race" (CHRISTE, REDEMPTOR OMNIUM). While we could understand the occasional singing of this hymn to GONFALON ROYAL, it would be a rare congregation indeed that would sing this plainsong hymn on a Sunday morning in Christmastide. It would, however, work admirably at an Evensong or Compline service in this season.
• Hymn 90: "It came upon a midnight clear" (NOEL). First, I must fully disclose a great personal bias toward this tune. I really like it. And I greatly prefer it to the gross sentimentality of CAROL.

  And a descant now in publication by Stephen Cleobury is a real favorite of mine (much better than that of his predecessor David Willcocks in this instance).

  As a church musician in the American South, where the Arthur Seymour Sullivan tune FORTUNATUS holds such sway on Easter Day, it is an odd twist of fate that this Sullivan Christmas tune has not caught on at least in these parts.

  The Hymnal 1982 Companion doesn't mince words; it simply states that this is the tune known by congregations in England. It was included first in The Hymnal 1940 and retained in the current hymnal.

  Interestingly, in that earlier hymnal a First Tune and Second Tune were often provided for a hymn of the same number. This approach reinforced the notion that a "hymn" is really the words, while the associated tune is a more malleable thing. It was standard for the more "common" tune to be listed first. In The Hymnal 1940 NOEL is the first tune, while CAROL is the second. The current hymnal could be seen as reversing this preference with Hymn 89 (CAROL) serving as the "First Tune" and Hymn 90 serving as the "Second Tune".

  As it is, I don't get the sense that this is sung by any congregations, the weight of association of CAROL with these words being too great.

Region 2: The truly uncommon

I have never sung any of these hymns, nor am I aware of any American congregations who have. (I would love to hear of any who have sung these.) They score a 2 on our scale.

• Hymn 88: "Sing, O sing, this blessed morn" is an orphan hymn. It comes from England, but it is not sung there. I don't think it's sung here either.
• Hymn 95: "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" (HAMPTON). This is an interesting tune, but I don't think it's caught on. It is nice to note that there is a continuing desire on the part of the Episcopal Church's hymnal editors to widen the melodic vocabulary for these words -- the alternative tune being CAROL in The Hymnal 1940.
• Hymn 106: "Christians, awake, salute the happy morn". Here is a hymn whose unpopularity in the United States seems a bit puzzling. As I write this, I have in mind the Sung Eucharist on Christmas Day at Westminster Abbey where this hymn was sung at the Entrance (see a PDF of the service leaflet). This is a brilliant choice for Christmas Day. Christians, awake! Even if you were up well past midnight the night before. Salute the happy morning (i.e., not the evening)! Rise to adore the Mystery of Love. Are you still wearing your pajamas?! etc.

  The hymn is filled with marvelous turns of phrase as only John Byrom could compose. Byrom was "one of the more remarkable of the gallery of distinguished characters that the eighteenth century provides," claims Erik Routley in The English Carol.

  The tune YORKSHIRE also seems eminently singable, though it is a bit long.

  This hymn has a long pedigree in the Episcopal Church, the hymn being first published in 1871, and published again paired with the present tune only three years later.

  Has it fallen out of favor?

  It looks a bit overwhelming on the page, and this may be one reason it is not chosen. The Hymnal 1982 wisely stars stanzas 2 and 3, giving permission to omit them without ruining the logic and sense of the hymn. And indeed, the singing of four stanzas only (st. 1, 2, 5, & 6) is congruent with the practice at Westminster Abbey.

  But I can also imagine a scenario in an Anglo-Catholic parish where the full length of this hymn would be just perfect for the ceremonial of an entrance rite replete with incense.

  In hearing it sung and studying it for a few moments I am disappointed that I have not made its acquaintance until now.

Labels: Christmas, Cleobury, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns, less familiar hymns, Routley, Willcocks

It's Christmas time. And what better time to take a look at the Christmas hymns in The Hymnal 1982? In particular, we will be looking at the less commonly sung hymns in the Christmas section. You may wish to begin with part 1 of this series.

We're using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the least popular and 10 being the most popular. (On this scale, we cranked it up to 11 for hymns which are unbelievably popular.) Here we look at hymns that score highly, starting with 10's, then 9's, then 8's.

It may seem a little counterintuitive to continue with more of the most popular Christmas hymns in the Hymnal in a study of the most uncommon Christmas hymns, but I think this will help weed out all the ones we know, and maybe we'll even learn a thing or two along the way.

Level 10: The well-designed super-classics

It may seem strange to talk about something as folksy as a Christmas hymn as being "designed" but these next four hymns all score a 10 in large part because of the symmetry of their respective tunes.

• Hymn 96: "Angels we have heard on high" - A very familiar hymn that is marked by a clear AABB' tune structure. To make matters even easier, BB' is a refrain. Note that in the repeat of A the Hymnal uses a different harmony, but the melody itself remains the same. I think we can safely assume that most Christmas congregations are largely singing the melodies of these hymns.

  This hymn does require the congregation to sing in Latin, but they seem more than happy to oblige.

• Hymn 100: "Joy to the world! the Lord is come" - You can't get any more clear than a descending major scale in this tune: ANTIOCH. People go bananas for this one. What's funny is the apocryphal fermata that congregations attempt once the scale has been climbed again ("let earth receive her KIIIIIIIIING!").

  I call this "diva syndrome": holding the high notes for longer than authorized. The congregation usually shows symptoms in spades here. But note that the Hymnal makes no provision for this, and I think it is contrary to the nimble spirit of the tune. (The excellent and elegant treatment of the tune by the editors of the New Oxford Book of Carols stands as a counter example to this.)

  Another point must be made about this "Christmas" hymn. In the Hymnal 1940 it was not included in the Christmas section, but numbered among the General Hymns. Furthermore, it was not sung to the familiar tune ANTIOCH but to RICHMOND (think the Advent Hymn 72: "Hark the glad sound! the Savior comes" or the Easter Hymn 212 "Awake, arise, lift up your voice").

  How remarkable then that this hymn enjoys such popularity at present. This hymnal is only the first to include the popular tune and text pairing. It achieved wide popularity in other denominations and in the secular Christmas milieu in the middle of the last century when other denominational hymnals paired it with ANTIOCH.

• Hymn 109: "The first Nowell" - AA'B might be one way to label the form of this folk tune, where B actually begins just like another A. It's motivically very coherent. It's also long. This is a wordy, wordy hymn, but people love it.
• Hymn 115: "What child is this" - This is a wildly popular old English folk melody GREENSLEEVES. Its longevity is part and parcel with its familiarity. And it's structure has streamlined its reception down through the centuries: AA'BB'. Paired with this text, it is part of the expected Christmas experience.

Level 9: The sugary classics

The next grouping of hymns all have a certain sweetness about them, some cloyingly so.

• Hymn 79: "O little town of Bethlehem" (ST. LOUIS). You need only know a little bit about the composition of this hymn at Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia to be somewhat captivated by its magic.

  The Hymnal 1982 Companion goes so far as to say: "In the experience for many Americans this hymn has acquired such an affectionate association with Christmas that its repeated performance is an essential part of the celebration of the season." In their eyes, we may have ranked it too low. The tune simply oozes mid nineteenth century sappiness.

  The setting of this hymn to the alternative tune, FOREST GREEN, is only slightly less popular in America, we'll wager (see below).

• Hymn 89: "It came upon the midnight clear". This music is so sappy that a beginning church musician would be forgiven for confusing it with the music above. The hymn doesn't mention the birth of Christ, just lots of business about angels. So apparently angels sound like mid-nineteenth-century crooners.
• Hymn 102: "Once in royal David's city". The wide popularity this hymn enjoys is without question a result of its being broadcast the world over on recordings of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge. It is a sweet hymn written for children, proving that we're all just children when it comes to Christmastide.
• Hymn 105: "God rest ye merry, gentlemen". This hymn first appeared in the Hymnal 1940 and has gained acceptance in other denominational hymnals much more recently. At the present time, it is safe to say that this is part of the shopping mall Christmas soundtrack.
• Hymn 107: "Good Christian friends, rejoice" occupies this place due to its sheer longevity. These words have been linked to this tune since at least the sixteenth century. It's a long-standing part of Christmas hymnody.

Level 8: Other classics, but with tune issues

• Hymn 78: "O little town of Bethlehem" (FOREST GREEN). This is the stiff-upper-lip version of the hymn of the same name above. I'm probably being too kind when I score it an 8 and say it's only a shade less popular than it's American counterpart. It is certainly more noble.

  But it should also be noted that FOREST GREEN is not exclusively a Christmas tune. It appears twice more in the '82 Hymnal with more general texts.

• Hymn 81: "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming". My sense is that congregations like this little tune, but that choirs like it more. There is a real satisfaction to singing the Praetorius harmonization here. Add a few quarter rests, some repeated syncopations, and I wonder if the slight complexity to this graceful tune doesn't hamper its popularity a little.
• Hymn 93: "Angels from the realms of glory". It is surprising to me that so many identify this so readily as a Christmas hymn, when the tune is a rather general one which has been used to sing any number of hymns. In the '82 book it also sets "Holy Father, great Creator"; in the '40, "Christ is made the sure foundation", and "Light's abode, celestial Salem". If it were a "real" hymn, surely it would have garnered it's own distinct tune?
• Hymn 94: "While shepherds washed watched their socks flocks by night". This is one of the oldest hymns on American shores, being one of the hymns bound together with the 1786 Prayer Book. Is it just me, or is this tune a little too staid to be really Christmassy?

  The New Oxford Book of Carols notes: "with lines of 8.6.8.6. syllables . . . by far the widest number of tunes could be drawn upon. Indeed, no other hymn has been sung to so many tunes and settings. ... It would be good if the near-hegemony now enjoyed by the excellent tune [WINCHESTER OLD] could give way to a little of the earlier diversity."

One final note: in The Hymnal 1940, which provides two tune choices under the same hymn number, the Second Tune given for this hymn is CAROL. This is a fascinating appearance of the tune which is now fully associated with "It came upon the midnight clear".

Labels: Christmas, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns

It's Christmas time. And what better time to take a look at the Christmas hymns in The Hymnal 1982? In particular, we will be looking at the less commonly sung hymns in the Christmas section.

Background

First, some context. The Hymnal 1982 is the official hymnal of the Episcopal Church and has been since, well, around 1982.

There are 39 hymns in the Christmas section. There are 12 days of Christmas. That's 3.25 hymns per day. Compare this with Advent, which has 24 hymns. This year, this only provided one hymn per day. Epiphany is even worse, depending on how you look at it. Again, there are 24 hymns, but the time after Epiphany is often much longer than Advent.

So, why so many Christmas hymns?

Well, people love Christmas. And people especially love singing "carols" at Christmas time. (I'm using the word hymns to refer to the pieces of music in this hymnal, but yes, surely many of these also count as carols). So perhaps the demand is greater, and it is prudent to include more.

But what has prompted this little study is that there are hymns in the Christmas section that I have never sung.

I am a professional church musician, and I have never sung these hymns. Not even on my own. I am not aware of others singing them either.

What gives?

This is a puzzle. Why aren't they sung? Are we missing something? Should we be singing them? Are others actually singing them, and we just don't know about it?

Methodology for ranking popularity

Let's attempt to rank these hymns according to their popularity. And I mean man-on-the-street/woman-in-the-pew popularity. Since I haven't surveyed anyone I'm just guessing here, and I'm surely way off in a few cases.

I'm guessing about how "well known" they are: how much they are in institutional memories, and to what extent there is an actual practice of these hymns being sung in Episcopal churches during Christmastide.

So we're not talking about congregational singability (a couple of these hymns are a little suspect), we're just talking about hymn and tune recognition. In some cases, the tune can boost the "popularity" of a hymn when it is familiar from another context.

I'm using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the least popular and 10 being the most popular. On this scale, we can crank it up to 11 for hymns which are unbelievably popular.

Let's get started, shall we?

Turning it up to 11: incredibly popular Christmas hymns

• Hymn 83: "O come, all ye faithful" - Hugely popular. It often serves as the first hymn at "Midnight Mass" on Christmas Eve. It's also ensconced as the penultimate hymn at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge.
• Hymn 87: "Hark! the herald angels sing - Also very popular, but maybe moreso due to it's climactic appearance in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special than as the last hymn at the King's service.
• Hymn 111: "Silent night, holy night" - This hymn features prominently in the old joke, "Father, every time I come to church you sing the same two hymns." To which the priest replies, "oh, really? What are they?" And the parishioner says "Well, the first is 'Jesus Christ is risen today'". The priest then prompts, "and what's the second?". And the parishioner sings "Silent night, holy night". It's about as funny as most church jokes.

  But people really do come just to sing this hymn, surely. And lighting a candle has become part of the package.

Labels: Christmas, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns, less familiar hymns

This post serves as a correction to our previous post today. See below for the Hymnal 1982 version of "Lord Christ when first thou cam'st to earth":

The original (I believe) text is printed in the Hymnal 1940:

Labels: Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, hymns, Walter Russell Bowie