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Lowell Mason

1792 - 1872 Composer of "ADMAH" in Hymn and Tune Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Round Note Ed.) Dr. Lowell Mason (the degree was conferred by the University of New York) is justly called the father of American church music; and by his labors were founded the germinating principles of national musical intelligence and knowledge, which afforded a soil upon which all higher musical culture has been founded. To him we owe some of our best ideas in religious church music, elementary musical education, music in the schools, the popularization of classical chorus singing, and the art of teaching music upon the Inductive or Pestalozzian plan. More than that, we owe him no small share of the respect which the profession of music enjoys at the present time as contrasted with the contempt in which it was held a century or more ago. In fact, the entire art of music, as now understood and practiced in America, has derived advantage from the work of this great man. Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass., January 8, 1792. From childhood he had manifested an intense love for music, and had devoted all his spare time and effort to improving himself according to such opportunities as were available to him. At the age of twenty he found himself filling a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Ga. Here he lost no opportunity of gratifying his passion for musical advancement, and was fortunate to meet for the first time a thoroughly qualified instructor, in the person of F. L. Abel. Applying his spare hours assiduously to the cultivation of the pursuit to which his passion inclined him, he soon acquired a proficiency that enabled him to enter the field of original composition, and his first work of this kind was embodied in the compilation of a collection of church music, which contained many of his own compositions. The manuscript was offered unavailingly to publishers in Philadelphia and in Boston. Fortunately for our musical advancement it finally secured the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and by its committee was submitted to Dr. G. K. Jackson, the severest critic in Boston. Dr. Jackson approved most heartily of the work, and added a few of his own compositions to it. Thus enlarged, it was finally published in 1822 as The Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason's name was omitted from the publication at his own request, which he thus explains, "I was then a bank officer in Savannah, and did not wish to be known as a musical man, as I had not the least thought of ever making music a profession." President Winchester, of the Handel and Haydn Society, sold the copyright for the young man. Mr. Mason went back to Savannah with probably $500 in his pocket as the preliminary result of his Boston visit. The book soon sprang into universal popularity, being at once adopted by the singing schools of New England, and through this means entering into the church choirs, to whom it opened up a higher field of harmonic beauty. Its career of success ran through some seventeen editions. On realizing this success, Mason determined to accept an invitation to come to Boston and enter upon a musical career. This was in 1826. He was made an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but declined to accept this, and entered the ranks as an active member. He had been invited to come to Boston by President Winchester and other musical friends and was guaranteed an income of $2,000 a year. He was also appointed, by the influence of these friends, director of music at the Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, to alternate six months with each congregation. Finally he made a permanent arrangement with the Bowdoin Street Church, and gave up the guarantee, but again friendly influence stepped in and procured for him the position of teller at the American Bank. In 1827 Lowell Mason became president and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society. It was the beginning of a career that was to win for him as has been already stated the title of "The Father of American Church Music." Although this may seem rather a bold claim it is not too much under the circumstances. Mr. Mason might have been in the average ranks of musicianship had he lived in Europe; in America he was well in advance of his surroundings. It was not too high praise (in spite of Mason's very simple style) when Dr. Jackson wrote of his song collection: "It is much the best book I have seen published in this country, and I do not hesitate to give it my most decided approbation," or that the great contrapuntist, Hauptmann, should say the harmonies of the tunes were dignified and churchlike and that the counterpoint was good, plain, singable and melodious. Charles C. Perkins gives a few of the reasons why Lowell Mason was the very man to lead American music as it then existed. He says, "First and foremost, he was not so very much superior to the members as to be unreasonably impatient at their shortcomings. Second, he was a born teacher, who, by hard work, had fitted himself to give instruction in singing. Third, he was one of themselves, a plain, self-made man, who could understand them and be understood of them." The personality of Dr. Mason was of great use to the art and appreciation of music in this country. He was of strong mind, dignified manners, sensitive, yet sweet and engaging. Prof. Horace Mann, one of the great educators of that day, said he would walk fifty miles to see and hear Mr. Mason teach if he could not otherwise have that advantage. Dr. Mason visited a number of the music schools in Europe, studied their methods, and incorporated the best things in his own work. He founded the Boston Academy of Music. The aim of this institution was to reach the masses and introduce music into the public schools. Dr. Mason resided in Boston from 1826 to 1851, when he removed to New York. Not only Boston benefited directly by this enthusiastic teacher's instruction, but he was constantly traveling to other societies in distant cities and helping their work. He had a notable class at North Reading, Mass., and he went in his later years as far as Rochester, where he trained a chorus of five hundred voices, many of them teachers, and some of them coming long distances to study under him. Before 1810 he had developed his idea of "Teachers' Conventions," and, as in these he had representatives from different states, he made musical missionaries for almost the entire country. He left behind him no less than fifty volumes of musical collections, instruction books, and manuals. As a composer of solid, enduring church music. Dr. Mason was one of the most successful this country has introduced. He was a deeply pious man, and was a communicant of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Mason in 1817 married Miss Abigail Gregory, of Leesborough, Mass. The family consisted of four sons, Daniel Gregory, Lowell, William and Henry. The two former founded the publishing house of Mason Bros., dissolved by the death of the former in 19G9. Lowell and Henry were the founders of the great organ manufacturer of Mason & Hamlin. Dr. William Mason was one of the most eminent musicians that America has yet produced. Dr. Lowell Mason died at "Silverspring," a beautiful residence on the side of Orange Mountain, New Jersey, August 11, 1872, bequeathing his great musical library, much of which had been collected abroad, to Yale College. --Hall, J. H. (c1914). Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.

Edward Mote

1797 - 1874 Author of "My hope is built on nothing less" in Hymn and Tune Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Round Note Ed.) Mote, Edward, was born in Upper Thames Street, London, Jan. 21, 1797. Through the preaching of the Rev. J. Hyatt, of Tottenham Court Road Chapel, he underwent a great spiritual change; and ultimately he became a Baptist minister. For the last 26 years of his life he was pastor at Horsham, Sussex, where he died Nov. 13, 1874. Mr. Mote published several small pamphlets; and also:- Hymns of Praise. A New Selection of Gospel Hymns, combining all the Excellencies of our spiritual Poets, with many Originals. By E. Mote. London. J. Nichols, 1836. The Originals number nearly 100. Concerning the authorship of one of these original hymns much uncertainty has existed. The hymn is:— 1. Nor earth, nor hell my soul can move. [Jesus All in All.] In 6 stanzas of 4 lines, with a refrain. Mr. Mote's explanation, communicated to the Gospel Herald, is:— "One morning it came into my mind as I went to labour, to write an hymn on the ‘Gracious Experience of a Christian.' As I went up Holborn I had the chorus, ‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.’ In the day I had four first verses complete, and wrote them off. On the Sabbath following I met brother King as I came out of Lisle Street Meeting . . . who informed me that his wife was very ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an early tea, and called afterwards. He said that it was his usual custom to sing a hymn, read a portion, and engage in prayer, before he went to meeting. He looked for his hymnbook but could find it nowhere. I said, ‘I have some verses in my pocket; if he liked, we would sing them.' We did; and his wife enjoyed them so much, that after service he asked me, as a favour, to leave a copy of them for his wife. 1 went home, and by the fireside composed the last two verses, wrote the whole off, and took them to sister King. . . As these verses so met the dying woman's case, my attention to them was the more arrested, and I had a thousand printed for distribution. I sent one to the Spiritual Magazine, without my initials, which appeared some time after this. Brother Rees, of Crown Street, Soho, brought out an edition of hymns [1836], and this hymn was in it. David Denham introduced it [1837] with Rees's name, and others after... . Your inserting this brief outline may in future shield me from the charge of stealth, and be a vindication of truthfulness in my connection with the Church of God." The form in which the hymn is usually found is:— 2. My hope is built on nothing less (st. ii.), sometimes in 4 stanzas, and at others in 5 st., and usually without the refrain. The original in the author's Hymns of Praise, 1836, is No. 465, and entitled, "The immutable Basis of a Sinner's hope." Bishop Bickersteth calls it a "grand hymn of faith." It dates circa 1834, and is in extensive use. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Anne Steele

1717 - 1778 Person Name: Steele Author of "The Sacred Day" in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporary minister-hymnist Benjamin Beddome. All the same, some of Steele's sufferings were very real. She lost her mother at age 3, a potential suitor at age 20, her step mom at 43, and her sister-in-law at 45. She spent many years caring for her father until his death in 1769. For most of her life, she exhibited symptoms of malaria, including persistent pain, fever, headaches, and stomach aches. Caleb Evans, in his preface to Steele's posthumous Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose (1780), noted that she had been bed ridden for "some years" before her death: When the interesting hour came, she welcomed its arrival, and though her feeble body was excruciated with pain, her mind was perfectly serene. . . . She took the most affectionate leave of her weeping friends around her, and at length, the happy moment of her dismission arising, she closed her eyes, and with these animating words on her dying lips, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," gently fell asleep in Jesus. Historically, her most popular hymn has been "When I survey life's varied scene" (and its shortened form, "Father, whate'er of earthly bliss"), a hymn that turns earthly loss or denial into a spirit of thankfulness, published in over 800 North American hymnals since 1792. Not all of her work deals with personal agony. Her hymns span a wide doctrinal and ecclesiastical range, some crafted and used for her father's congregation. Her metrical psalms are among the finest of the genre. Steele's hymns and psalms were published in two volumes in 1760, Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, under the pseudonym Theodosia, with an additional volume of material published after her death, in Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose, 1780. Sixty two of her hymns, including new material and some revisions by Steele, were published in a hymnal for Baptists in 1769, A Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, edited by Caleb Evans and John Ash. Forty seven were included in John Rippon's A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787; the only author with larger representation was Philip Doddridge, with 101. These collections represent the earliest attempts to anthologize Baptist hymns and were vital for bringing Steele's hymns into wider public worship, where they have been a mainstay for over two hundred years. Chris Fenner adapted from The Towers (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, August 2015) Recommended Bibliography: Cynthia Y. Aalders, To Express the Ineffable: The Hymns and Spirituality of Anne Steele (Milton Keynes, U.K.: Paternoster, 2008). Cynthia Y. Aalders, "In melting grief and ardent love: Anne Steele's contribution to eighteenth-century hymnody," The Hymn (summer 2009), 16-25. J.R. Broome, A Bruised Reed: The Life and Times of Anne Steele (Harpenden, U.K.: Gospel Standard Trust Publications, 2007). Joseph Carmichael, The Hymns of Anne Steele in John Rippon's Selection of Hymns: A Theological Analysis in the Context of the English Particular Baptist Revival (2012), dissertation, http://digital.library.sbts.edu/handle/10392/4112 Priscilla Wong, Anne Steele and Her Spiritual Vision (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012) ======================== Steele, Anne, born in 1716, was the daughter of Mr. Wm. Steele, a timber merchant, and pastor, without salary, of the Baptist Church at Broughton, in Hampshire. At an early age she showed a taste for literature, and would often entertain her friends by her poetical compositions. But it was not until 1760 that she could be prevailed upon to publish. In that year two volumes appeared under the title of Poems on Subjects chiefly Devotional, by Theodosia. After her death, which occurred in November, 1778, a new edition was published with an additional volume and a Preface by the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans, of Bristol (Bristol, 1780). In the three volumes are 144 hymns, 34 Psalms in verse, and about 30 short poems. They have been reprinted in one vol. by D. Sedgwick, 1863…. Among Baptist hymnwriters Miss Steele stands at the head, if we regard either the number of her hymns which have found a place in the hymnals of the last 120 years, or the frequency with which they have been sung. Although few of them can be placed in the first rank of lyrical compositions, they are almost uniformly simple in language, natural and pleasing in imagery, and full of genuine Christian feeling. Miss Steele may not inappropriately be compared with Miss F. R. Havergal, our "Theodosia" of the 19th century. In both there is the same evangelic fervour, in both the same intense personal devotion to the Lord Jesus. But whilst Miss Steele seems to think of Him more frequently as her "bleeding, dying Lord "—dwelling on His sufferings in their physical aspect—Miss Havergal oftener refers to His living help and sympathy, recognizes with gladness His present claims as "Master" and "King," and anticipates almost with ecstasy His second coming. Looking at the whole of Miss Steele's hymns, we find in them a wider range of thought than in Miss Havergal's compositions. She treats of a greater variety of subjects. On the other hand, Miss Havergal, living in this age of missions and general philanthropy, has much more to say concerning Christian work and personal service for Christ and for humanity. Miss Steele suffered from delicacy of health and from a great sorrow, which befell her in the death of her betrothed under peculiarly painful circumstances. In other respects her life was uneventful, and occupied chiefly in the discharge of such domestic and social duties as usually fall to the lot of the eldest daughter of a village pastor. She was buried in Broughton churchyard. [Rev W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] A large number of Miss Steele's hymns are in common use, the larger proportion being in American hymnbooks. In addition to "Almighty Maker of my frame," “Far from these narrow scenes of night," "Father of mercies in Thy word," and others annotated under their respective first lines, there are also:— i. From her Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, 1760, vols. i., ii. 1. Come, let our souls adore the Lord. Pleading for Mercy. One of two hymns "On the Fast, Feb. 11, 1757," the first being "While justice waves her vengeful hand." 2. Come, tune ye saints, your noblest strains. Christ Dying and Rising. 3. Deep are the wounds which sin has made. Christ, the Physician. 4. Enslaved by sin, and bound in chains. Redemption. 5. Eternal power, almighty God. Divine Condescension. 6. Eternal Source of joys divine. Divine Assurance desired. 7. Great God, to Thee my evening song. Evening. 8. Great Source of boundless power and grace. Desiring to Trust in God. 9. Hear, gracious [God] Lord, my humble moan [prayer] . The presence of God desired. 10. Hear, O my God, with pity hear. Ps. cxliii. 11. How long shall earth's alluring toys ? On Longing after unseen pleasures. 12. How lovely, how divinely sweet. Ps. lxxziv. 13. How oft, alas, this wretched heart. Pardoning Love. 14. In vain my roving thoughts would find. Lasting Happiness. 15. Jesus, the spring of joys divine. Christ the Way. 16. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Providence. 17. Lord, Thou hast been Thy Children's God. Ps. xc. 18. Lord, we adore Thy boundless grace. Divine Bounty. 19. Lord, when my [our] raptured thought surveys. Creation and Providence. 20. Lord, when my thoughts delighted rove. Passiontide. 21. My God, 'tis to Thy mercy seat. Divine Mercy. 22. My God, to Thee I call. Lent. 23. O for a sweet, inspiring ray. The Ascended Saviour. 24. O Thou Whose tender mercy hears. Lent. 25. Permit me, Lord, to seek Thy face. Strength and Safety in God alone. 26. Should famine o'er the mourning field. During Scarcity. 27. So fades the lovely, blooming flower. Death of a Child. 28. Stretched on the Cross the Saviour dies. Good Friday. 29. The Lord, my Shepherd and my Guide. Ps.xxiii. 30. The Lord, the God of glory reigns. Ps. xciii. 31. The Saviour calls; let every ear. The Invitation. 32. There is a glorious world on high. True Honour. 33. Thou lovely [only] Source of true delight. Desiring to know Jesus. 34. Thou only Sovereign of my heart. Life in Christ alone. 35. To Jesus, our exalted Lord. Holy Communion. 36. To our Redeemer's glorious Name. Praise to the Redeemer. 37. To your Creator, God. A Rural Hymn. 38. When I survey life's varied scene. Resignation. 39. When sins and fears prevailing rise. Christ the Life of the Soul. 40. Where is my God? does He retire. Rreathing after God. 41. While my Redeemer's near. The Good Shepherd. 42. Why sinks my weak desponding mind? Hope in God. 43. Ye earthly vanities, depart. Love for Christ desired. 44. Ye glittering toys of earih adieu. The Pearl of great Price. 45. Ye humble souls, approach your God. Divine Goodness. ii. From the Bristol Baptist Collection of Ash & Evans, 1769. 46. Come ye that love the Saviour's Name. Jesus, the King of Saints. 47. How helpless guilty nature lies. Need of Receiving Grace. 48. Praise ye the Lord let praise employ. Praise. iii. Centos and Altered Texts, 49. How blest are those, how truly wise. True honour. From "There is a glorious world on high." 50. How far beyond our mortal view. Christ the Supreme Beauty. From "Should nature's charms to please the eye," 1760, st. iii. 51. In vain I trace creation o'er. True happiness. From "When fancy spreads her boldest wings," 1760, st. ii. 52. Jesus, and didst thou leave the sky? Praise to Jesus. From “Jesus, in Thy transporting name," 1760, st. iv. 53. Look up, my soul, with cheerful eye. Breathing after God. From No. 40, st. v. 54. Lord, in the temple of Thy grace. Christ His people's Joy. From "The wondering nations have beheld," 1760, st. iii. 55. My God, O could I make the claim. Part of No. 9 above. 56. My soul, to God, its source, aspires. God, the Soul's only Portion. From "In vain the world's alluring smile," st. iii. 57. O could our thoughts and wishes fly. Part of No. 11 above, st. iv. 58. O for the eye of faith divine. Death anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760, st. iii., vii., viii. altered, with opening stanzas from another source. 59. O Jesus, our exalted Head. Holy Communion. From "To Jesus, our exalted Lord." See No. 35. 60. O world of bliss, could mortal eyes. Heaven. From "Far from these narrow scenes of night." 61. See, Lord, Thy willing subjects bow. Praise to Christ. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, st. 5. 62. Stern winter throws his icy chains. Winter. From "Now faintly smile day's hasty hours," 1760, st. ii. 63. Sure, the blest Comforter is nigh. Whitsuntide. From "Dear Lord, and shall Thy Spirit rest," 1760, st. iii. 64. The God of my salvation lives. In Affliction. From, "Should famine, &c," No. 26, st. iv. 65. The Gospel, O what endless charms. The Gospel of Redeeming Love. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song." 66. The mind was formed lo mount sublime. The Fettered Mind. From "Ah! why should this immortal mind?" 1760, st. ii. 67. The once loved form now cold and dead. Death of a Child. From "Life is a span, a fleeting hour," 1760, st. iii. 68. Thy gracious presence, O my God. Consolation in Affliction. From "In vain, while dark affliction spreads," 1780, st. iv. 69. Thy kingdom, Lord, for ever stands. Ps. cxlv. From "My God, my King, to Thee I'll raise," 1760, st. xii. 70. Triumphant, Christ ascends on high. Ascension. From "Come, Heavenly Love, inspire my song," 1760, st. xxxii. 71. When blest with that transporting view. Christ the Redeemer. From "Almighty Father, gracious Lord," 1760, st. xi. 72. When death before my sight. Death Anticipated. From "When death appears before my sight," 1760. 73. When gloomy thoughts and boding fears. Com¬forts of Religion. From "O blest religion, heavenly fair," 1760, st. ii. 74. When weary souls with sin distrest. Invitation to Rest. From "Come, weary souls, with sin distressed," 1760. 75. Whene'er the angry passions rise. Example of Christ. From “And is the gospel peace and love?" 1760, st. ii. All the foregoing hymns are in D. Sedgwick's reprint of Miss Steele's Hymns, 1863. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Steele, Anne, p. 1089, i., Additional hymns in common use: 1. Amazing love that stoop'd so low. Thankfulness. From "O dearer to my thankful heart," 1780, iii. 2. Bright scenes of bliss, unclouded skies. Saved by Hope. Poems, 1760, i. p. 228. 3. Jesus demands this heart of mine. Pardon De¬sired. Poems, 1760, i. p. 120. 4. Jesus, Thou Source divine. Christ the Way. Poems, 1760, i. p. 53, altered. 5. Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways. Mysteries of Providence. Poems, 1760, i. p. 131. 6. Lord^in Thy great, Thy glorious Name. Ps. xxxi. Poems, 1760, ii. p. 158. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Charles Wesley

1707 - 1788 Author of "Behold the servant of the Lord!" in African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book 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.

John Wesley

1703 - 1791 Translator (from German) of "Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower (Wesley)" in The Cyber Hymnal John Wesley, the son of Samuel, and brother of Charles Wesley, was born at Epworth, June 17, 1703. He was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He became a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and graduated M.A. in 1726. At Oxford, he was one of the small band consisting of George Whitefield, Hames Hervey, Charles Wesley, and a few others, who were even then known for their piety; they were deridingly called "Methodists." After his ordination he went, in 1735, on a mission to Georgia. The mission was not successful, and he returned to England in 1738. From that time, his life was one of great labour, preaching the Gospel, and publishing his commentaries and other theological works. He died in London, in 1791, in his eighty-eighth year. His prose works are very numerous, but he did not write many useful hymns. It is to him, however, and not to his brother Charles, that we are indebted for the translations from the German. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A., 1872 ====================== John Wesley, M.A., was born at Epworth Rectory in 1703, and, like the rest of the family, received his early education from his mother. He narrowly escaped perishing in the fire which destroyed the rectory house in 1709, and his deliverance made a life-long impression upon him. In 1714 he was nominated on the foundation of Charterhouse by his father's patron, the Duke of Buckingham, and remained at that school until 1720, when he went up, with a scholarship, from Charterhouse to Christ Church, Oxford. Having taken his degree, he received Holy Orders from the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Potter) in 1725. In 1726 he was elected Fellow of Lincoln College, and remained at Oxford until 1727, when he returned into Lincolnshire to assist his father as curate at Epworth and Wroot. In 1729 he was summoned back to Oxford by his firm friend, Dr. Morley, Rector of Lincoln, to assist in the College tuition. There he found already established the little band of "Oxford Methodists" who immediately placed themselves under his direction. In 1735 he went, as a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Georgia, where a new colony had been founded under the governorship of General Oglethorpe. On his voyage out he was deeply impressed with the piety and Christian courage of some German fellow travellers, Moravians. During his short ministry in Georgia he met with many discouragements, and returned home saddened and dissatisfied both with himself and his work; but in London he again fell in with the Moravians, especially with Peter Bohler; and one memorable night (May 24, 1738) he went to a meeting in Aldersgate Street, where some one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. There, "About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." From that moment his future course was sealed; and for more than half a century he laboured, through evil report and good report, to spread what he believed to be the everlasting Gospel, travelling more miles, preaching more sermons, publishing more books of a practical sort, and making more converts than any man of his day, or perhaps of any day, and dying at last, March 2, 1791, in harness, at the patriarchal age of 88. The popular conception of the division of labour between the two brothers in the Revival, is that John was the preacher, and Charles the hymnwriter. But this is not strictly accurate. On the one hand Charles was also a great preacher, second only to his brother and George Whitefield in the effects which he produced. On the other hand, John by no means relegated to Charles the exclusive task of supplying the people with their hymns. John Wesley was not the sort of man to depute any part of his work entirely to another: and this part was, in his opinion, one of vital importance. With that wonderful instinct for gauging the popular mind, which was one element in his success, he saw at once that hymns might be utilized, not only for raising the devotion, but also for instructing, and establishing the faith of his disciples. He intended the hymns to be not merely a constituent part of public worship, but also a kind of creed in verse. They were to be "a body of experimental and practical divinity." "In what other publication," he asks in his Preface to the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780 (Preface, Oct. 20,1779), "have you so distinct and full an account of Scriptural Christianity; such a declaration of the heights and depths of religion, speculative and practical; so strong cautions against the most plausible errors, particularly those now most prevalent; and so clear directions for making your calling and election sure; for perfecting holiness in the fear of God?" The part which he actually took in writing the hymns, it is not easy to ascertain; but it is certain that more than thirty translations from the German, French and Spanish (chiefly from the German) were exclusively his; and there are some original hymns, admittedly his composition, which are not unworthy to stand by the side of his brother's. His translations from the German especially have had a wide circulation. Although somewhat free as translations they embody the fire and energy of the originals. 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) =================== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

A. Williams

1731 - 1776 Composer of "ADMAH" in Book of Worship Aaron Williams (b. London, England, 1731; d. London, 1776) was a singing teacher, music engraver, and clerk at the Scottish Church, London Wall. He published various church music collections, some intended for rural church choirs. Representative of his compilations are The Universal Psalmodist (1763)— published in the United States as The American Harmony (1769)—The Royal Harmony (1766), The New Universal Psalmodist (1770), and Psalmody in Miniature (1778). His Harmonia Coelestis (1775) included anthems by noted composers. Bert Polman

Johann Scheffler

1624 - 1677 Author of "Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower (Wesley)" in The Cyber Hymnal Used Angelus Silesius as a pen name. See also Angelus Silesius, 1624-1677

Arthur Penrhyn Stanley

1815 - 1881 Author of "O Master, it is good to be" in Hymn and Tune Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Round Note Ed.) Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, Dean of Westminster, one of the most distinguished English Churchmen of the nineteenth century, was the son of Rev. Edward Stanley, Bishop of Norwich, and was born at Alderly, in Cheshire, December 13, 1815. At the age of fourteen he became a pupil of Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, in whose famous school he displayed a strength of moral character which was a prophecy of the frank and courageous man that was to be. He took well-nigh all the honors at Oxford, where he graduated in 1837. Entering the ministry of the Church of England, he filled successively various positions of honor and responsibility until in 1855 he was appointed Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford. In 1864 he became Dean of Westminster. His marriage that same year to Lady Augusta Bruce, a personal friend and attendant of Queen Victoria, increased the freedom and intimacy of his already cordial relations with the royal family. He died July 18, 1881. He was a Churchman of broad and liberal views. His catholicity of spirit was one of his most notable characteristics. His contributions to theological literature are numerous and well known. His Life of Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, 1844, is one of the most successful volumes of biography in the English language. Among his historical writings his lectures on the Eastern Church, 1861, Jewish Church (two volumes), 1863-65, and the Church of Scotland, 1868, are accounted as of highest value. He is the author of about a dozen hymns, and of several translations. These, although of a high order of excellence, do not take rank with his prose writings, which for choice English diction, scholarly erudition, and Christian catholicity are not surpassed, perhaps, by anything in the religious literature of England in the nineteenth century. Day of wrath, O dreadful day 599 He is gone; a cloud of light 170 O Master, it is good to be 131 From Hymn Writers of the Church by Charles S. Nutter, 1915 ============================ Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn, D.D., was born at Alderley, in Cheshire, Dec. 13, 1815. His father, Edward Stanley, was the son of Sir Edward Stanley of Alderley, and younger brother of the first Lord Stanley of Alderley, and was rector of the parish until 1837, when he became Bishop of Norwich. His mother, Catherine Stanley, was daughter of tho Rev. Oswald Leycester, Rector of Stoke-upon-Tern, Shropshire. Arthur Stanley received his early education under the superintendence of his father; but in 1829 he was sent to Rugby to be under the direct charge of Dr. Arnold, who bad been appointed to the head-mastership the year before, and of whom Mr. Stanley had been an early friend and admirer. Arthur Stanley bore the stamp of Rugby and of its great headmaster to the end of his life. In 1834 he went up to Oxford, having won a Balliol scholarship, the "blue ribbon of undergraduate life," and commenced a career of unusual brilliancy at the University. He gained the Newdigate prize for English Verse (the subject being The Gypsies); the Ireland scholarship (the highest test of Greek scholarship), and a First Class in Classical Honours, all in 1837. He won the Prize for the Latin Essay in 1839, the Prize for the English Essay, and the Ellerton Prize for the Theological Essay in 1840, and was in the same year elected to a Fellowship at University College. He was then appointed College Tutor, and held that office for twelve years. In 1845-6 he was Select Preacher for the University. From 1850 to 1852 he was Secretary to the Oxford University Commissioners. In 1851 he was appointed Canon of Canterbury, and held that post until 1855, when he was elected Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford, to which a Canonry at Christ Church was attached. He was also chosen in 1858 Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of London, his fellow Rugbeian, Dr. Tait. These offices he held until 1863, when, on the elevation of Dean Trench to the Archbishopric of Dublin, he was appointed to the Deanery of Westminster. In the same year he married Lady Augusta Bruce, a sister of the Earl of Elgin, and a personal friend and attendant of Queen Victoria. This marriage brought him into still closer relation with the Court, at which he had before been so highly valued, that he had been twice chosen to accompany the Prinoe of Wales in his travels in the East. He was singularly happy in his married life, and felt the death of Lady Augusta, which occurred in 1876, as an irreparable loss. In 1872, he took part in the Old Catholic Congress at Cologne; and at the close of the same year he was again appointed Select Preacher, not, however, without considerable opposition being made to the appointment on account of the Dean's theological views; the vote, however, was carried by 349 against 287. In 1875 he was installed Lord Rector of the University of St. Andrews, having received the degree of LL.D. from that University four years previously. He died at the Deanery, Westminster, on July 18, 1881, after a short illness. Dr. Stanley was a voluminous and very popular writer, his pure and picturesque style being singularly fascinating. The first work by which he became known to the literary world was the Life and Correspondence of Dr. Arnold, published in 1844. This is an almost perfect model of biography. Though the writer is distinctly a hero-worshipper, he never allows his worship to violate the rules of good taste, while he brings out all the points in his hero's character most vividly, and exercises a most wise discretion in permitting him, as far as possible, to tell his own tale. This was followed in 1850 by Memoirs of Edward Stanley, Bishop of Norwich, and Catherine Stanley, which is very interesting both for its intrinsic merits, and also as a pious tribute of filial affection; but it does not reach the level of the Life of Arnold. In 1854 appeared the Epistles to the Corinthians, the value of which will be variously estimated according to the theological standpoint of the reader. But his next two works will command the admiration of all persons who are competent to judge. In his Historical Memorials of Canterbury, published in 1854, and Sinai and Palestine in connexion with their History, published in 1856, Dr. Stanley was again on his own proper ground where his almost unique powers of description had their full scope. The former was a very popular work, reaching a 6th edition in 1872; but Sinai and Palestine was still more warmly welcomed, and may be con¬sidered, with the Life of Dr. Arnold, as Dr. Stanley's chef-d'oeuvre. Passing over for the present his sermons, we next come to his Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, pub. in 1861; this also was very popular, reaching a 5th ed. in 1869. Then followed a series of Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, in 2 volumes (1863-5). His next publication again showed him at his best. The Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey, pub. in 1867, may be regarded as a companion volume to the Historical Memorials of Canterbury, and is, at least, worthy of its predecessor. Dr. Stanley attained great eminence as a preacher, especially in his own Abbey. His manner was most solemn and impressive, and his style of composition was exactly suited for a sermon. It is fair to add that sermons would also, of course, be the species of composition in which what many considered the most unsatisfactory features of Dr. Stanley's intellectual character, his vagueness of doctrine and extreme breadth of statement, were most conspicuous. He published several volumes of sermons and single sermons. The chief are: Sermons and Essays on the Apostolical Age (1846), Sermons preached in Canterbury Cathedral (1857), Sermons on the Unity of Evangelical and Apostolical Teaching (1859), Sermons in the East preached before the Prince of Wales (1863), Address and Sermons at St. Andrews, 1877. The point of view from which this sketch naturally regards Dean Stanley as a writer is that from which he appears at the least advantage. Thirteen of his hymns which had been published singly have been incorporated in the Westminster Abbey Hymn Book, but none of them have attained any extensive popularity; and, to tell the truth, they do not deserve it. That exquisite taste and felicity of diction which distinguish more or less all his prose writings seem to desert him when he is writing verse. This is all the more strange because one would have said that he regarded outward nature, as well as the works and history of man, with a poet's eye. Like another great writer, Jeremy Taylor, his prose is poetical, but his poetry is prosaic. The divine afflatus is wanting. Of course he always writes as a scholar; hence his translations are more successful than his original hymns; but in neither department has he produced anything that can at all be termed classical; and it is from his general eminence rather than from his contributions to hymnology that he requires even the small space which has been devoted to him in this article. [Rev. J. H. Overton, D.D.] In addition to Dean Stanley's trsanslations from the Latin, and his popular hymns, "He is gone! beyond the skies,'' and "Master, it is good to be," the following are also in common use:— 1. Let us with a gladsome mind. National Hymn. The Accession. This hymn is called "Hymn for the Accession (June 20 2. 0 frail spirit, vital spark. Easter. Given in Macmillan's Magazine, May 1878, and headed "Our Future Hope." 3. Spirit unseen, our spirits' home. Whitsuntide. This hymn was published in Macmillan's Magazine, May, 1879, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines, and 1 stanza of 9 lines, with the following note:—"Manzoni's Hymn for Whitsuntide.” 4. The Lord is come! On Syrian soil. Advent. This hymn appeared in Macmillan's Magazine, Dec. 1872, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines, with the following introduction:— “Hymn for Advent.” 5. When the Paschal evening fell. Holy Communion. This appeared in Macmillan's Magazine, Nov. 1874, in 5 st. of 8 1., 1 st. of 12 1., and 1 st. of 8 1., with this introduction:—" This do in Remembrance of Me. It is intended in the following lines to furnish a sacred hymn founded on the one common idea of commemoration which lies at the basis of all views of the Eucharist, whether material or spiritual, and to express this undoubted intention of the original institution apart from the metaphorical language by which the ordinance is often described." 6. Where is the Christian's Fatherland? The Christian's Fatherland. This poem (it cannot be called a hymn) was given in Macmillan's Magazine, Nov. 1872, in 7 st. of 8 1., with the following introduction:—"The Traveller's Hymn for All Saints' Day. Being an adaptation of Arndt's Poem, 'Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland.'" 7. Where shall we find the Lord? Epiphany. Given in Macmillan's Magazine, March 1880, in 7 st. of 8 1., and introduced thus: —"The Divine Life 8. Where shall we learn to die? Good Friday. This was published in Macmillan's Magazine, March 1880, in 7 st. of 8 1., with the simple heading, "The Perfect Death. Disce mori." 9. Who shall be the last great Seer? St. John Baptist. Appeared in Macmillan's Magazine, July 1879, in 4 st. of 8 1., as a "Hymn for St. John the Baptist Day, June 24." All these hymns were given in full, and without alteration, in the Westminster Abbey Hymn Book, 1883. Their use is mainly confined to that collection. --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Joachim Lange

1670 - 1744 Author of "O God, what off'ring shall I give" in African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book Lange, Joachim, D.D., son of Mauritius Lange, senior councillor at Gardelegen in the Altmark, was born at Gardelegen, Oct. 26, 1670. He entered the University of Leipzig in the autumn of 1689, where he shared rooms with A. H. Francke; and in 1690 followed Francke to Erfurt, and in 1692 to Halle. By the recommendation of J. O. Schade he was appointed, in 1693, tutor to the only son of F. R. L. von Canitz, at Berlin. Subsequently he became, in 1696, rector of the school at Coslin in Pomerania; in 1698 rector of the Friedrichswerder Gymnasium at Berlin, and in 1699 pastor of the Friedrichstadt church; and in 1709, professor of theology at Halle (D.D. 1717), where he d. May 7,1744 (Koch, iv. 343; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, xvii. 634, &c). In his day Lange was best known as a commentator on the whole Bible (Biblisches Licht und Recht, &c, 7 folio vols., Halle, 1730-1738); as a defender of Pietism against the “Orthodox” Lutheran controversialists of the early 18th century; and as the author of over 100 theological works. Only two hymns are known by him, one of which is:— O Jesu, süsses Licht. Morning. First published in the Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, Halle, 1697, p. 4, in 8 stanzas of 8 lines. Repeated in Freylinghausen's Gesang-Buch, 1704, No. 608, and recently, as No. 469, in the Unverfälschter Leidersegen, 1851. Translated as:— Jesu, Thy light again I view. A free translation, in 7 stanzas of 6 lines, by J. Wesley, in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i. p. 159) ; repeated as No. 661 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754 (1886, No. 344, abridged). The form most used is that in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, No. 419, where st. i. is omitted; and it begins with st. ii., altered to "O God, what offering shall I give." This form is in Mercer, 1857 and 1864, Kennedy, 1863, and others; and in America, in the Methodist Episcopal Hymns, 1849, Evang. Association Hymn Book, 1882, &c. In the American Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, a cento from Wesley's stanzas iii., vi., vii., is given as No. 917, beginning, "Now, O my God, Thou hast my soul." Other translations are: (1) "O let me always think Thou'rt near," by J. Swertner, of st. vii., as No. 430 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In the 1801 and later editions. (1886, No. 567) it is altered, and begins, "O let us always think Thee near." (2) "O Jesu, welcome Light," by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 47. (3) "O Jesu, Light most sweet." In the Family Treasury, 1879, P- 230. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

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