Bread of the World

• Psalm 51:17
  (hymns)
• Matthew 26:26-30
  (hymns)
• Matthew 27:28
  (hymns)
• Mark 14:22-25
  (hymns)
• Luke 22:14-23
  (hymns)
• Luke 24:30
  (hymns)
• John 6:25-60
  (hymns)
• John 6:66-69
  (hymns)
• John 15:1-9
  (hymns)
• Romans 6:1-11
  (hymns)
• 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
  (hymns)
• 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
  (hymns)
• 1 Corinthians 11:23-28
  (hymns)
• Galatians 2:20
  (hymns)
• Ephesians 4:25-5:2
  (hymns)
• 1 Peter 2
  (hymns)

• Year A, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)
  This is recommended for Year A, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #499.
• Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 21 (26)
• Year B, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)
  This is recommended for Year B, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #499.
• Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 14 (19)
  This is recommended for Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 14 (19) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes.
• Year C, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday)
  This is recommended for Year C, Holy Week season, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #499.

Text:

This hymn is by Reginald Heber, an Anglican bishop who is best known for “From Greenland's Icy Mountains” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The date it was written is unknown, and it was published posthumously in 1827 by his widow in Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Service of the Church Year. The text is in two short stanzas, though they are combined when sung to a longer tune such as RENDEZ À DIEU. The theme of the text is the sacrifice of Christ and its meaning for us, as shown in the sacrament.

Tune:

This text is sung to many tunes, and is often set to original music. The two most frequently used tunes used are EUCHARISTIC HYMN and RENDEZ À DIEU.

EUCHARISTIC HYMN was written for this text by John Sebastian Bach Hodges, an Episcopal rector, in 1868. He named the tune for the liturgical use of the text and published it in 1869 in Book of Common Praise, which he edited.

The Genevan psalm tune RENDEZ À DIEU is also known as GENEVAN 98/118. It was originally used for Psalm 118 in the 1551 Geneva Psalter, then for both Psalms 98 and 118 in the 1562 edition. The name RENDEZ À DIEU comes from the opening words of a French paraphrase for Psalm 118. When this tune is sung with the joyful texts of the two Psalms, the Psalter Hymnal Handbook (p. 253-254) has this suggestion: “Its clear melodic structure and vibrant rhythm call for firm accompaniment with bright organ registration.” However, when the tune is used for a somber text like “Bread of the World,” a slower tempo and more muted organ would be appropriate.

When/Why/How:

Heber's original title for the text was “Before the sacrament.” For a confessional text like this one, it is most appropriate to sing it during a time of confession before Communion. If the choir is to sing it, there are plenty of settings to choose from. An arrangement that uses a familiar tune is “Celtic Communion”, in which Mark Hayes sets this text and one by St. Patrick to BUNESSAN, with optional orchestration for Celtic instruments such as flute or penny-whistle. Another option is a choral setting of “Bread of the World” to an expressive original melody and additional stanza by Mark Burrows. An a capella setting of “Bread of the World in Mercy Broken” is for choir in motet style by Robert Smith. “Communion Music for Manuals, Set 1” contains organ settings by Charles Callahan of both tunes this text is usually sung to: EUCHARISTIC HYMN and RENDEZ À DIEU.

Tiffany Shomsky,
Hymnary.org

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