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Martin Shaw

1875 - 1958 Person Name: Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875-1958) Topics: The Activity of God God in creation Arranger of "ROYAL OAK" in Church Hymnary (4th ed.) Martin F. Shaw was educated at the Royal College of Music in London and was organist and choirmaster at St. Mary's, Primrose Hill (1908-1920), St. Martin's in the Fields (1920-1924), and the Eccleston Guild House (1924-1935). From 1935 to 1945 he served as music director for the diocese of Chelmsford. He established the Purcell Operatic Society and was a founder of the Plainsong and Medieval Society and what later became the Royal Society of Church Music. Author of The Principles of English Church Music Composition (1921), Shaw was a notable reformer of English church music. He worked with Percy Dearmer (his rector at St. Mary's in Primrose Hill); Ralph Vaughan Williams, and his brother Geoffrey Shaw in publishing hymnals such as Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928). A leader in the revival of English opera and folk music scholarship, Shaw composed some one hundred songs as well as anthems and service music; some of his best hymn tunes were published in his Additional Tunes in Use at St. Mary's (1915). Bert Polman

Healey Willan

1880 - 1968 Person Name: Healey Willan, 1880- Topics: God | God in Creation, Providence, and Redemption Arranger (Faux Bourdon) of "ANDERNACH" in The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada Healey Willan (b. Balham, London, England, October 12, 1880; d. Toronto, Ontario, February 16, 1968), theory teacher, composer and organist, was born into an Anglo-Catholic family in England and served several churches in the London area, becoming known especially for his adaptations of Gregorian chant to be able to be sung in English translation. In 1913 he moved to Canada where he led the theory department and was organist at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. He also was organist at St. Paul’s, Canada’s largest Anglican church, and after 1921 at the smaller Church of St. Mary Magdalene. By invitation, he composed an anthem for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a singular honor for one not residing in England. Emily Brink

Johann Hermann Schein

1586 - 1630 Person Name: J. H. Schein, 1586-1630 Topics: God In Creation and Providence Composer of "EISENACH" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Schein, Johann Hermann, son of Hieronymus Schein, pastor at Griinhain, near Annaberg, in Saxony, was born at Grünhain, Jan. 20,1586. He matriculated at the University of Leipzig in 1607, and studied there for four years. Thereafter he acted for some time as a private tutor, including two years with a family at Weissenfels. On May 21, 1615, he was appointed Capellmeister, at the court of Duke Johann Ernst, of Sachse-Weimar; and in 1616 he became cantor of I3t. Thomas's Church, and music director at Leipzig, in succession to Seth Calvisius (d. Nov. 24, 1615). This post he held till his death, at Leipzig, Nov. 19, 1630. Schein was one of the most distinguished musicians of his time, both as an original composer, and as a harmoniser of the works of others. As a hymnwriter he was not so prolific, or so noteworthy. Most of his hymns were written on the deaths of his children or friends, e.g. on seven of his children, and on his first wife. They appeared mostly in broadsheet form, and were included, along with his original melodies, in his Cantional oder Gesang-Buch Augspurgischer Confession, Leipzig, 1627; 2nd ed., 1645. [Both in Wernigerode Library.] Those of Schein's hymns which have passed into English are:— i. Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt. For the Dying. First published, as a broadsheet, at Leipzig, 1628, as a Trost-Liedlein á 5 (i.e. for 5 voices), &c. [Berlin Library.] The words, the melody, and the five-part setting, are all by Schein. It was written for, and first used at, the funeral, on Dec. 15, 1628, of Margarita, wife of Caspar Werner, a builder and town councillor at Leipzig, and a churchwarden of St. Thomas's. It is in 6 stanzas of 6 lines; the initial letters of 11. 1, 3, in st. i.-iv., forming the name Margarita; and the W of st. v. 1. 1 standing for Werner. In Schein's Cantional, 1645, No. 303 (marked as Trost-Liedlein, Joh. Herm. Scheins, á 5), and later hymn-books, as e.g. the Unverfäschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 830, st. vi. was omitted. It is Schein's finest production, and one of the best German hymns for the sick and dying. Translated as:— Deal with me, God, in mercy now. This is a good and full translation by Miss Winkworth, in her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 191, set to Schein's melody of 1628. ii. Mein Gott und Herr, ach sei nicht fern. For the Dying. First published, with his name, in his Cantional, 1627, No. 262, in 9 stanzas of 6 lines. The initial letters of the stanzas give the name Margarita, probably one of the daughters who predeceased him. It is included, in 5 st., in the 164-8, and later eds., of Crüger's Praxis. The translation in common use is:— My Lord and God, go not away. A good tr. of st. i., ii., iv., v., vii., by A. T. Russell, as No. 254, in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Charles Wesley

1707 - 1788 Person Name: Charles Wesley, 1707-88 Topics: God In Creation and Providence Author of "Thy ceaseless, unexhausted love" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Charles Wesley, M.A. was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory, Dec. 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School, being provided with a home and board by his elder brother Samuel, then usher at the school, until 1721, when he was elected King's Scholar, and as such received his board and education free. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1729, and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists." In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians, especially of that remarkable man who had so large a share in moulding John Wesley's career, Peter Bonier, and also of a Mr. Bray, a brazier in Little Britain. On Whitsunday, 1737, [sic. 1738] he "found rest to his soul," and in 1738 he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne. His marriage, unlike that of his brother John, was a most happy one; his wife was accustomed to accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol. Bristol was his headquarters until 1771, when he removed with his family to London, and, besides attending to the Societies, devoted himself much, as he had done in his youth, to the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. He had long been troubled about the relations of Methodism to the Church of England, and strongly disapproved of his brother John's "ordinations." Wesley-like, he expressed his disapproval in the most outspoken fashion, but, as in the case of Samuel at an earlier period, the differences between the brothers never led to a breach of friendship. He died in London, March 29, 1788, and was buried in Marylebone churchyard. His brother John was deeply grieved because he would not consent to be interred in the burial-ground of the City Road Chapel, where he had prepared a grave for himself, but Charles said, "I have lived, and I die, in the Communion of the Church of England, and I will be buried in the yard of my parish church." Eight clergymen of the Church of England bore his pall. He had a large family, four of whom survived him; three sons, who all became distinguished in the musical world, and one daughter, who inherited some of her father's poetical genius. The widow and orphans were treated with the greatest kindness and generosity by John Wesley. As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream. It has been the common practice, however for a hundred years or more to ascribe all translations from the German to John Wesley, as he only of the two brothers knew that language; and to assign to Charles Wesley all the original hymns except such as are traceable to John Wesley through his Journals and other works. The list of 482 original hymns by John and Charles Wesley listed in this Dictionary of Hymnology have formed an important part of Methodist hymnody and show the enormous influence of the Wesleys on the English hymnody of the nineteenth century. -- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================== Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872.

Orlando Gibbons

1583 - 1625 Person Name: O. Gibbons, 1583-1625 Topics: God In Creation and Providence Composer of "SONG 20" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Orlando Gibbons (baptised 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He was a leading composer in the England of his day. Gibbons was born in Cambridge and christened at Oxford the same year – thus appearing in Oxford church records. Between 1596 and 1598 he sang in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where his brother Edward Gibbons (1568–1650), eldest of the four sons of William Gibbons, was master of the choristers. The second brother Ellis Gibbons (1573–1603) was also a promising composer, but died young. Orlando entered the university in 1598 and achieved the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1606. James I appointed him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist from at least 1615 until his death. In 1623 he became senior organist at the Chapel Royal, with Thomas Tomkins as junior organist. He also held positions as keyboard player in the privy chamber of the court of Prince Charles (later King Charles I), and organist at Westminster Abbey. He died at age 41 in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral. A suspicion immediately arose that Gibbons had died of the plague, which was rife in England that year. Two physicians who had been present at his death were ordered to make a report, and performed an autopsy, the account of which survives in The National Archives: We whose names are here underwritten: having been called to give our counsels to Mr. Orlando Gibbons; in the time of his late and sudden sickness, which we found in the beginning lethargical, or a profound sleep; out of which, we could never recover him, neither by inward nor outward medicines, & then instantly he fell in most strong, & sharp convulsions; which did wring his mouth up to his ears, & his eyes were distorted, as though they would have been thrust out of his head & then suddenly he lost both speech, sight and hearing, & so grew apoplectical & lost the whole motion of every part of his body, & so died. Then here upon (his death being so sudden) rumours were cast out that he did die of the plague, whereupon we . . . caused his body to be searched by certain women that were sworn to deliver the truth, who did affirm that they never saw a fairer corpse. Yet notwithstanding we to give full satisfaction to all did cause the skull to be opened in our presence & we carefully viewed the body, which we found also to be very clean without any show or spot of any contagious matter. In the brain we found the whole & sole cause of his sickness namely a great admirable blackness & syderation in the outside of the brain. Within the brain (being opened) there did issue out abundance of water intermixed with blood & this we affirm to be the only cause of his sudden death. His death was a shock to peers and the suddenness of his passing drew comment more for the haste of his burial – and of its location at Canterbury rather than the body being returned to London. His wife, Elizabeth, died a little over a year later, aged in her mid-30s, leaving Orlando's eldest brother, Edward, to care for the children left orphans by this event. Of these children only the eldest son, Christopher Gibbons, went on to become a musician. One of the most versatile English composers of his time, Gibbons wrote a quantity of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, a number of madrigals (the best-known being "The Silver Swan"), and many popular verse anthems. His choral music is distinguished by his complete mastery of counterpoint, combined with his wonderful gift for melody. Perhaps his most well known verse anthem is This is the record of John, which sets an Advent text for solo countertenor or tenor, alternating with full chorus. The soloist is required to demonstrate considerable technical facility at points, and the work at once expresses the rhetorical force of the text, whilst never being demonstrative or bombastic. He also produced two major settings of Evensong, the Short Service and the Second Service. The former includes a beautifully expressive Nunc dimittis, while the latter is an extended composition, combining verse and full sections. Gibbons's full anthems include the expressive O Lord, in thy wrath, and the Ascension Day anthem O clap your hands together for eight voices. He contributed six pieces to the first printed collection of keyboard music in England, Parthenia (to which he was by far the youngest of the three contributors), published in about 1611. Gibbons's surviving keyboard output comprises some 45 pieces. The polyphonic fantasia and dance forms are the best represented genres. Gibbons's writing exhibits full mastery of three- and four-part counterpoint. Most of the fantasias are complex, multisectional pieces, treating multiple subjects imitatively. Gibbons's approach to melody in both fantasias and dances features a capability for almost limitless development of simple musical ideas, on display in works such as Pavane in D minor and Lord Salisbury's Pavan and Galliard. In the 20th century, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould championed Gibbons's music, and named him as his favorite composer. Gould wrote of Gibbons's hymns and anthems: "ever since my teen-age years this music ... has moved me more deeply than any other sound experience I can think of." In one interview, Gould compared Gibbons to Beethoven and Webern: ...despite the requisite quota of scales and shakes in such half-hearted virtuoso vehicles as the Salisbury Galliard, one is never quite able to counter the impression of music of supreme beauty that lacks its ideal means of reproduction. Like Beethoven in his last quartets, or Webern at almost any time, Gibbons is an artist of such intractable commitment that, in the keyboard field, at least, his works work better in one's memory, or on paper, than they ever can through the intercession of a sounding-board. To this day, Gibbons's obit service is commemorated every year in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. --wikipedia.org

Erik Routley

1917 - 1982 Person Name: Erik Routley, 1917-1982 Topics: The Glory of God In Creation and Providence Harmonizer of "SLANE" in Singing the Faith

William J. Kirkpatrick

1838 - 1921 Person Name: Wm. J. Kirkpatrick Topics: Glory of God In Creation Composer of "[The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want]" in Bible Songs William J. Kirkpatrick (b. Duncannon, PA, 1838; d. Philadelphia, PA, 1921) received his musical training from his father and several other private teachers. A carpenter by trade, he engaged in the furniture business from 1862 to 1878. He left that profession to dedicate his life to music, serving as music director at Grace Methodist Church in Philadelphia. Kirkpatrick compiled some one hundred gospel song collections; his first, Devotional Melodies (1859), was published when he was only twenty-one years old. Many of these collections were first published by the John Hood Company and later by Kirkpatrick's own Praise Publishing Company, both in Philadelphia. Bert Polman

Arthur Sullivan

1842 - 1900 Person Name: A. S. Sullivan Topics: Glory of God In Creation Composer of "[Blest the man who fears Jehovah]" in Bible Songs Arthur Seymour Sullivan (b Lambeth, London. England. 1842; d. Westminster, London, 1900) was born of an Italian mother and an Irish father who was an army bandmaster and a professor of music. Sullivan entered the Chapel Royal as a chorister in 1854. He was elected as the first Mendelssohn scholar in 1856, when he began his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also studied at the Leipzig Conservatory (1858-1861) and in 1866 was appointed professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music. Early in his career Sullivan composed oratorios and music for some Shakespeare plays. However, he is best known for writing the music for lyrics by William S. Gilbert, which produced popular operettas such as H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), The Mikado (1884), and Yeomen of the Guard (1888). These operettas satirized the court and everyday life in Victorian times. Although he composed some anthems, in the area of church music Sullivan is best remembered for his hymn tunes, written between 1867 and 1874 and published in The Hymnary (1872) and Church Hymns (1874), both of which he edited. He contributed hymns to A Hymnal Chiefly from The Book of Praise (1867) and to the Presbyterian collection Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867). A complete collection of his hymns and arrangements was published posthumously as Hymn Tunes by Arthur Sullivan (1902). Sullivan steadfastly refused to grant permission to those who wished to make hymn tunes from the popular melodies in his operettas. Bert Polman

Saint Patrick

372 - 466 Person Name: St. Patrick (372-466) Topics: God In Creation Author of "I bind unto myself today" in Church Hymnary (4th ed.) Patrick, St., the 2nd Bishop and Patron Saint of Ireland, was the son of Calpurnius, a deacon, and grandson of Potitus, a presbyter, and great grandson of Odissus, a deacon, was born most probably near Dumbarton, in North Britain, in 372. According to his epistle to Coroticus, his father was also a decurio, a member of the local town council, and a Roman by descent. Hence probably the name Patricius. St. Patrick alludes in Coroticus, § 5, to his having been originally a freeman, and of noble birth. His birthplace is termed in his Confession, § 1, Bannavem Taberniæ. Some have identified that place with Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France. His mother's name was Concessa, said to have been sister of St. Martin of Tours. According to Tirechan's Collections (circa A.D. 690), Patrick had four names—-(1) Magonus, which Tirechan explains by clarus, illustrious; (2) Sucat (Succetus), god of war, or brave in war, said to have been his baptismal name; (3) Patricius; and (4) Cothraige (Cothrighe), given because he had been a slave to four masters. At the age of 16 he was carried off with many others to Ireland, and sold as a slave. There he remained six years with Milcho, or Miliuc. He was engaged in feeding cattle (pecora), though the later writers say that he fed swine. In his captivity he became acquainted with the Irish language. His misfortunes were the means of leading him to Christ, and be devoted himself to prayer, and often frequented, for that purpose, the woods on Mount Slemish. Having escaped after six years, he spent some years with his parents, and then was stirred up, when still a youth (puer), to devote himself to the evangelisation of Ireland. According to Secundinus's Hymn (St. Sechnall), which is probably not much later than the age of St. Patrick himself, the saint received his apostleship "from God," like St. Paul. No reference is made in that hymn, or in the later so-called Hymn of St. Fiacc, to any commission received from Pope Celestine, as is asserted by later writers. St. Patrick does not in his own writings allude to the external source whence he obtained ordination, and, as he speaks of his Roman descent, it would be strange for him not to have mentioned his Roman consecration, if it had been a fact. From some “sayings" of his, preserved on a separate page of the Book of Armagh, it is probable that he travelled through Gaul and Italy, and that he was ordained in Gaul as deacon, priest, and, afterwards, as bishop. He was probably a bishop when he commenced his missionary labours in Ireland. There were, however, Christians in Ireland before that period. Palladius, the senior Patrick, who preceded our saint by a few years, was, according to the chronicle of Prosper (the secretary of Pope Celestine), "ordained and sent to the Scots (the Irish) believing in Christ, by Pope Celestine, as their first bishop." Palladius's mission was a failure, while that of the second Patrick, which was quite independent of the former, was successful in a high degree. Its success, however, has been greatly exaggerated; for St. Patrick, in the close of his Confession, or autobiography, written in old age, speaks of the high probability of his having to lay down his life as a martyr for Christ. The date of St. Patrick's mission is not certain, but the internal evidence of his writings indicate that it was most probably about A.D. 425. The day and month of his death (March 17), but not the year [466] is mentioned in the Book of Armagh. St. Patrick's claim to a record in this Dictionary is associated with the celebrated hymn or “Breastplate," a history of which we now subjoin. 1. St. Patrick's Irish Hymn is referred to in Tirechan's Collections (A.D. 690). It was directed to be sung in "all monasteries and churches through the whole of Ireland," "canticum ejus scotticum semper canere," which is a proof that it was at that time universally acknowledged to be his composition. That regulation was very naturally lost sight of when the old Celtic Church lapsed into the Roman, (a) The expressions used in the hymn correspond entirely with the circumstances under which St. Patrick visited Tara. (b) Moreover, although all the ancient biographies of St. Patrick (with the exception of his own Confession, and of Secundinus's Hymn) speak of him as a worker of miracles, and as having performed miracles at Tara, there is no trace of such a fact in St. Patrick's Hymn, (c) Further, the phrase, "creator of doom," which twice occurs in it, according to the most approved translation, curiously corresponds with another fact that, "my God's doom," or “the doom," or "judgment of my God," was, according to the ancient biographies, one of St. Patrick's favourite expressions. 2. The first notice of the existence at the present time of an ancient manuscript copy of St. Patrick's "Hymn or Breastplate," was made known by the late Dr. Petrie in his Memoir of Tara, published in the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, 1839, vol. xviii. Dr. Petrie gave the original in Irish characters, an interlineary Latin version and an English translation by himself, together with copious notes. Dr. Petrie found the original in the Liber Hymnorum, in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (iv. E. 4, 2, fol. 19 b). “The tradition respecting its primary use by the saint is that he recited it on Easter Sunday, when proceeding to encounter the droidical fire-worshippers, with their pagan king, Laoghaire, and his court, at Tara, the royal residence." (Lyra Hibernica Sacra, 1878, p. 2.) 3. Dr. Todd in his work, S. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, 1864, gives a metrical rendering of the “Breastplate” which begins:— "I bind to myself today, The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity, The faith of the Trinity in Unity, The Creator of the elements." The translation, which extends to 78 lines, was mainly the work of Dr. Whitley Stokes. A more correct version by the same scholar is given in the Rolls's edition of the Tripartite Life, 1887; and that revised version, with a few modifications, accompanied with critical notes, explanatory of the alterations made on the former version, is given in the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Writings of St. Patrick, by Dr. V. H. H. Wright. Dr. Whitley Stokes, therefore, is to be regarded as the real translator from the original Irish. Dr. Petrie's translation, though highly meritorious as a first attempt, has been proved in many particulars to be erroneous. There is no mention of Tara in the hymn. An uncertainty yet exists as to the meaning of a few words. 4. In Dr. W. MacIlwaine's Lyra Hibernica Sacra, 1878, Dr. Todd's translation was repeated (with notes), together with a second translation by James Clarence Mangan, the opening lines of which are:— "At Tara to-day, in this awful hour, I call on the Holy Trinity! Glory to Him Who reigneth in power, The God of the elements, Father, and Son, And Paraclete Spirit, which Three are the One, The everlasting Divinity." 5. A popular version of the hymn for congregational use was written by Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander, for St. Patrick's Day, 1889, and sung generally throughout Ireland on that day. The opening lines are:— "I bind unto myself to-day The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. ”I bind this day to me for ever, By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation; His baptism in Jordan river; His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb; His riding up the heav'nly way; His coming at the day of doom; I bind unto myself to-day." Mrs. Alexander's version is given, along with that of James Clarence Mangan, in the Appendix to the Writinqs of St. Patrick, edited by Dr. C. H. H. Wright (R.T.S.), 1889. 6. Another metrical version of this hymn was given in the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette for April 5, 1889. It is by Joseph John Murphy, and the opening lines are:— "I bind as armour on my breast The Threefold Name whereon I call, Of Father, Son, and Spirit blest, The Maker and the Judge of all." 7. The translation in Stokes and Wright's edition of St. Patrick's writings was set to music as a cantata by Sir R. Stewart, and was performed for the first time in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, on St. Patrick's Day, 1888. 8. Mr. Thomas French, Assistant Librarian of Trinity College, Dublin, writes as follows respecting this hymn:— "The manuscript called the 'Liber Hymnorum' belonged to Archbishop Ussher, and forms one of the volumes of the Ussher Collection now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. There is no interlineary Latin translation in the original. It was given by Petrie in his account of the hymn 'for the satisfaction of the learned’ [The St. Patrick authorship is tradition only, so far as I know.] Dr. Todd in his S. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, p. 426, says ‘It is undoubtedly of great antiquity, although it may now be difficult, if not impossible, to adduce proof in support of the tradition that St. Patrick was its author.'...... Petrie and Todd make the age of the manuscript 9th or 10th century, Whitley Stokes 11th or 12th." We may add that St. Patrick's Latin works were published by Sir James Ware, 1656, in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandist Fathers, 1668, by Villanueva, 1835, and by others, as B. S. Nicholson, 1868, Miss Cusack, 1871, and, above all, by Dr. Whitley Stokes, in the Rolls' Edition of the Tripartite Life, 1887. The latter three works contain also translations. Translations of the whole, or a portion of St. Patrick's writings, have been published by Rev. T. Olden, 1876; Sir S. Ferguson, LL.D. Transactions of Royal Irish Academy, 1885, and more completely in the Writings of St. Patrick, edited by Prof. G. T. Stokes and Dr. C. H. H. Wright, 1st ed. 1887, 2nd ed. 1888, 3rd ed., edited, with notes critical and historical, and an introduction by Dr. C. H. H. Wright revised and enlarged. London: Religious Tract Society, 1889. [Rev. Charles H. H. Wright, D.D., Ph.D.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Patrick, St., p. 885, ii. (l) In the Oxford University Herald of April 6, 1889, is an anonymous paraphrase in 7 stanzas of 4 lines of a portion of "St. Patrick's Hymn," beginning- "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! May Thine overshadowing might Be as armour to my soul, Be my weapon in the fight." (2) Note concerning § 3, on p. 885, i., that Dr., W. Stokes's translation appeared in its original form in the Saturday Review, Sept. 5, 1857. In his Goidilica, Calcutta, 1866, p. 66, in an altered form to that of 1857 and 1864. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Melchior Vulpius

1570 - 1615 Person Name: Melchior Vulpius (c. 1570-1615) Topics: God faithfulness of in creation Composer (melody) of "CHRISTUS DER IST MEIN LEBEN" in Ancient and Modern Born into a poor family named Fuchs, Melchior Vulpius (b. Wasungen, Henneberg, Germany, c. 1570; d. Weimar, Germany, 1615) had only limited educational opportunities and did not attend the university. He taught Latin in the school in Schleusingen, where he Latinized his surname, and from 1596 until his death served as a Lutheran cantor and teacher in Weimar. A distinguished composer, Vulpius wrote a St. Matthew Passion (1613), nearly two hundred motets in German and Latin, and over four hundred hymn tunes, many of which became popular in Lutheran churches, and some of which introduced the lively Italian balletto rhythms into the German hymn tunes. His music was published in Cantiones Sacrae (1602, 1604), Kirchengesangund Geistliche Lieder (1604, enlarged as Ein schon geistlich Gesanglmch, 1609), and posthumously in Cantionale Sacrum (1646). Bert Polman