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Charles Wesley

1707 - 1788 Person Name: Charles Wesley, 1707-88 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "Ye servants of God" in Complete Mission Praise 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 Newton

1725 - 1807 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "Though troubles assail" in The Presbyterian Book of Praise John Newton (b. London, England, 1725; d. London, 1807) was born into a Christian home, but his godly mother died when he was seven, and he joined his father at sea when he was eleven. His licentious and tumultuous sailing life included a flogging for attempted desertion from the Royal Navy and captivity by a slave trader in West Africa. After his escape he himself became the captain of a slave ship. Several factors contributed to Newton's conversion: a near-drowning in 1748, the piety of his friend Mary Catlett, (whom he married in 1750), and his reading of Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ. In 1754 he gave up the slave trade and, in association with William Wilberforce, eventually became an ardent abolitionist. After becoming a tide-surveyor in Liverpool, England, Newton came under the influence of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley and began to study for the ministry. He was ordained in the Church of England and served in Olney (1764-1780) and St. Mary Woolnoth, London (1780-1807). His legacy to the Christian church includes his hymns as well as his collaboration with William Cowper (PHH 434) in publishing Olney Hymns (1779), to which Newton contributed 280 hymns, including “Amazing Grace.” Bert Polman ================== Newton, John, who was born in London, July 24, 1725, and died there Dec. 21, 1807, occupied an unique position among the founders of the Evangelical School, due as much to the romance of his young life and the striking history of his conversion, as to his force of character. His mother, a pious Dissenter, stored his childish mind with Scripture, but died when he was seven years old. At the age of eleven, after two years' schooling, during which he learned the rudiments of Latin, he went to sea with his father. His life at sea teems with wonderful escapes, vivid dreams, and sailor recklessness. He grew into an abandoned and godless sailor. The religious fits of his boyhood changed into settled infidelity, through the study of Shaftesbury and the instruction of one of his comrades. Disappointing repeatedly the plans of his father, he was flogged as a deserter from the navy, and for fifteen months lived, half-starved and ill-treated, in abject degradation under a slave-dealer in Africa. The one restraining influence of his life was his faithful love for his future wife, Mary Catlett, formed when he was seventeen, and she only in her fourteenth year. A chance reading of Thomas à Kempis sowed the seed of his conversion; which quickened under the awful contemplations of a night spent in steering a water-logged vessel in the face of apparent death (1748). He was then twenty-three. The six following years, during which he commanded a slave ship, matured his Christian belief. Nine years more, spent chiefly at Liverpool, in intercourse with Whitefield, Wesley, and Nonconformists, in the study of Hebrew and Greek, in exercises of devotion and occasional preaching among the Dissenters, elapsed before his ordination to the curacy of Olney, Bucks (1764). The Olney period was the most fruitful of his life. His zeal in pastoral visiting, preaching and prayer-meetings was unwearied. He formed his lifelong friendship with Cowper, and became the spiritual father of Scott the commentator. At Olney his best works—-Omicron's Letters (1774); Olney Hymns (1779); Cardiphonia, written from Olney, though published 1781—were composed. As rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London, in the centre of the Evangelical movement (1780-1807) his zeal was as ardent as before. In 1805, when no longer able to read his text, his reply when pressed to discontinue preaching, was, "What, shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak!" The story of his sins and his conversion, published by himself, and the subject of lifelong allusion, was the base of his influence; but it would have been little but for the vigour of his mind (shown even in Africa by his reading Euclid drawing its figures on the sand), his warm heart, candour, tolerance, and piety. These qualities gained him the friendship of Hannah More, Cecil, Wilberforce, and others; and his renown as a guide in experimental religion made him the centre of a host of inquirers, with whom he maintained patient, loving, and generally judicious correspondence, of which a monument remains in the often beautiful letters of Cardiphonia. As a hymnwriter, Montgomery says that he was distanced by Cowper. But Lord Selborne's contrast of the "manliness" of Newton and the "tenderness" of Cowper is far juster. A comparison of the hymns of both in The Book of Praise will show no great inequality between them. Amid much that is bald, tame, and matter-of-fact, his rich acquaintance with Scripture, knowledge of the heart, directness and force, and a certain sailor imagination, tell strongly. The one splendid hymn of praise, "Glorious things of thee are spoken," in the Olney collection, is his. "One there is above all others" has a depth of realizing love, sustained excellence of expression, and ease of development. "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds" is in Scriptural richness superior, and in structure, cadence, and almost tenderness, equal to Cowper's "Oh! for a closer walk with God." The most characteristic hymns are those which depict in the language of intense humiliation his mourning for the abiding sins of his regenerate life, and the sense of the withdrawal of God's face, coincident with the never-failing conviction of acceptance in The Beloved. The feeling may be seen in the speeches, writings, and diaries of his whole life. [Rev. H. Leigh Bennett, M.A.] A large number of Newton's hymns have some personal history connected with them, or were associated with circumstances of importance. These are annotated under their respective first lines. Of the rest, the known history of which is confined to the fact that they appeared in the Olney Hymns, 1779, the following are in common use:— 1. Be still, my heart, these anxious cares. Conflict. 2. Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near. Trust. 3. By the poor widow's oil and meal. Providence. 4. Chief Shepherd of Thy chosen sheep. On behalf of Ministers. 5. Darkness overspreads us here. Hope. 6. Does the Gospel-word proclaim. Rest in Christ. 7. Fix my heart and eyes on Thine. True Happiness. 8. From Egypt lately freed. The Pilgrim's Song. 9. He Who on earth as man was Known. Christ the Rock. 10. How blest are they to whom the Lord. Gospel Privileges. 11. How blest the righteous are. Death of the Righteous. 12. How lost was my [our] condition. Christ the Physician. 13. How tedious and tasteless the hours. Fellowship with Christ. 14. How welcome to the saints [soul] when pressed. Sunday. 15. Hungry, and faint, and poor. Before Sermon. 16. In mercy, not in wrath, rebuke. Pleading for Mercy. 17. In themselves, as weak as worms. Power of Prayer. 18. Incarnate God, the soul that knows. The Believer's Safety. 19. Jesus, Who bought us with His blood. The God of Israel. "Teach us, 0 Lord, aright to plead," is from this hymn. 20. Joy is a [the] fruit that will not grow. Joy. 21. Let hearts and tongues unite. Close of the Year. From this "Now, through another year," is taken. 22. Let us adore the grace that seeks. New Year. 23. Mary to her [the] Saviour's tomb. Easter. 24. Mercy, 0 Thou Son of David. Blind Bartimeus. 25. My harp untun'd and laid aside. Hoping for a Revival. From this "While I to grief my soul gave way" is taken. 26. Nay, I cannot let thee go. Prayer. Sometimes, "Lord, I cannot let Thee go." 27. Now may He Who from the dead. After Sermon. 28. 0 happy they who know the Lord, With whom He deigns to dwell. Gospel Privilege. 29. O Lord, how vile am I. Lent. 30. On man in His own Image made. Adam. 31. 0 speak that gracious word again. Peace through Pardon. 32. Our Lord, Who knows full well. The Importunate Widow. Sometimes altered to "Jesus, Who knows full well," and again, "The Lord, Who truly knows." 33. Physician of my sin-sick soul. Lent. 34. Pleasing spring again is here. Spring. 35. Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am. Jesus the Friend. 36. Prepare a thankful song. Praise to Jesus. 37. Refreshed by the bread and wine. Holy Communion. Sometimes given as "Refreshed by sacred bread and wine." 38. Rejoice, believer, in the Lord. Sometimes “Let us rejoice in Christ the Lord." Perseverance. 39. Salvation, what a glorious plan. Salvation. 40. Saviour, shine and cheer my soul. Trust in Jesus. The cento "Once I thought my mountain strong," is from this hymn. 41. Saviour, visit Thy plantation. Prayer for the Church. 42. See another year [week] is gone. Uncertainty of Life. 43. See the corn again in ear. Harvest. 44. Sinner, art thou still secure? Preparation for the Future. 45. Sinners, hear the [thy] Saviour's call. Invitation. 46. Sovereign grace has power alone. The two Malefactors. 47. Stop, poor sinner, stop and think. Caution and Alarm. 48. Sweeter sounds than music knows. Christmas. 49. Sweet was the time when first I felt. Joy in Believing. 50. Ten thousand talents once I owed. Forgiveness and Peace. 51. The grass and flowers, which clothe the field. Hay-time. 52. The peace which God alone reveals. Close of Service. 53. Thy promise, Lord, and Thy command. Before Sermon. 54. Time, by moments, steals away. The New Year. 55. To Thee our wants are known. Close of Divine Service. 56. We seek a rest beyond the skies. Heaven anticipated. 57. When any turn from Zion's way. Jesus only. 58. When Israel, by divine command. God, the Guide and Sustainer of Life. 59. With Israel's God who can compare? After Sermon. 60. Yes, since God Himself has said it. Confidence. 61. Zion, the city of our God. Journeying Zionward. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ================= Newton, J., p. 803, i. Another hymn in common use from the Olney Hymns, 1779, is "Let me dwell on Golgotha" (Holy Communion). --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907) ----- John Newton was born in London, July 24, 1725. His mother died when he was seven years old. In his eleventh year he accompanied his father, a sea captain, on a voyage. For several years his life was one of dissipation and crime. He was disgraced while in the navy. Afterwards he engaged in the slave trade. Returning to England in 1748, the vessel was nearly wrecked in a storm. This peril forced solemn reflection upon him, and from that time he was a changed man. It was six years, however, before he relinquished the slave trade, which was not then regarded as an unlawful occupation. But in 1754, he gave up sea-faring life, and holding some favourable civil position, began also religious work. In 1764, in his thirty-ninth year, he entered upon a regular ministry as the Curate of Olney. In this position he had intimate intercourse with Cowper, and with him produced the "Olney Hymns." In 1779, Newton became Rector of S. Mary Woolnoth, in London, in which position he became more widely known. It was here he died, Dec. 21, 1807, His published works are quite numerous, consisting of sermons, letters, devotional aids, and hymns. He calls his hymns "The fruit and expression of his own experience." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872 See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church =======================

William Croft

1678 - 1727 Person Name: Wm. Croft Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer (attributed to) of "HANOVER" in The Book of Common Praise William Croft, Mus. Doc. was born in the year 1677 and received his musical education in the Chapel Royal, under Dr. Blow. In 1700 he was admitted a Gentleman Extraordinary of the Chapel Boyd; and in 1707, upon the decease of Jeremiah Clarke, he was appointed joint organist with his mentor, Dr. Blow. In 1709 he was elected organist of Westminster Abbey. This amiable man and excellent musician died in 1727, in the fiftieth year of his age. A very large number of Dr. Croft's compositions remain still in manuscript. Cathedral chants of the XVI, XVII & XVIII centuries, ed. by Edward F. Rimbault, London: D. Almaine & Co., 1844

Michael Haydn

1737 - 1806 Person Name: Haydn Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "[How wondrous and great]" in The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 Johann Michael Haydn Austria 1737-1806. Born at Rohrau, Austria, the son of a wheelwright and town mayor (a very religious man who also played the harp and was a great influence on his sons' religious thinking), and the younger brother of Franz Joseph Haydn, he became a choirboy in his youth at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna, as did his brother, Joseph, an exceptional singer. For that reason boys both were taken into the church choir. Michael was a brighter student than Joseph, but was expelled from music school when his voice broke at age 17. The brothers remained close all their lives, and Joseph regarded Michael's religious works superior to his own. Michael played harpsichord, violin, and organ, earning a precarious living as a freelance musician in his early years. In 1757 he became kapellmeister to Archbishop, Sigismund of Grosswardein, in Hungary, and in 1762 concertmaster to Archbishop, Hieronymous of Salzburg, where he remained the rest of his life (over 40 years), also assuming the duties of organist at the Church of St. Peter in Salzburg, presided over by the Benedictines. He also taught violin at the court. He married the court singer, Maria Magdalena Lipp in 1768, daughter of the cathedral choir-master, who was a very pious women, and had such an affect on her husband, trending his inertia and slothfulness into wonderful activity. They had one daughter, Aloysia Josepha, in 1770, but she died within a year. He succeeded Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an intimate friend, as cathedral organist in 1781. He also taught music to Carl Maria von Weber. His musical reputation was not recognized fully until after World War II. He was a prolific composer of music, considered better than his well-known brother at composing religious works. He produced some 43 symphonies,12 concertos, 21 serenades, 6 quintets, 19 quartets, 10 trio sonatas, 4 due sonatas, 2 solo sonatas, 19 keyboard compositions, 3 ballets, 15 collections of minuets (English and German dances), 15 marches and miscellaneous secular music. He is best known for his religious works (well over 400 pieces), which include 47 antiphons, 5 cantatas, 65 canticles, 130 graduals, 16 hymns, 47 masses, 7 motets, 65 offertories, 7 oratorios, 19 Psalms settings, 2 requiems, and 42 other compositions. He also composed 253 secular vocals of various types. He did not like seeing his works in print, and kept most in manuscript form. He never compiled or cataloged his works, but others did it later, after his death. Lothar Perger catalogued his orchestral works in 1807 and Nikolaus Lang did a biographical sketch in 1808. In 1815 Anton Maria Klafsky cataloged his sacred music. More complete cataloging has been done in the 1980s and 1990s by Charles H Sherman and T Donley Thomas. Several of Michael Haydn's works influenced Mozart. Haydn died at Salzburg, Austria. John Perry

Joseph Haydn

1732 - 1809 Person Name: Franz Joseph Haydn, 1732-1809 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "LYONS" in Hymnal and Order of Service Franz Joseph Haydn (b. Rohrau, Austria, 1732; d. Vienna, Austria, 1809) Haydn's life was relatively uneventful, but his artistic legacy was truly astounding. He began his musical career as a choirboy in St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, spent some years in that city making a precarious living as a music teacher and composer, and then served as music director for the Esterhazy family from 1761 to 1790. Haydn became a most productive and widely respected composer of symphonies, chamber music, and piano sonatas. In his retirement years he took two extended tours to England, which resulted in his "London" symphonies and (because of G. F. Handel's influence) in oratorios. Haydn's church music includes six great Masses and a few original hymn tunes. Hymnal editors have also arranged hymn tunes from various themes in Haydn's music. Bert Polman

C. Hubert H. Parry

1848 - 1918 Person Name: C. H. H. Parry, 1848-1918 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "LAUDATE DOMINUM" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Charles Hubert Hastings Parry KnBch/Brnt BMus United Kingdom 1848-1918. Born at Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, England, son of a wealthy director of the East India Company (also a painter, piano and horn musician, and art collector). His mother died of consumption shortly after his birth. His father remarried when he was three, and his stepmother favored her own children over her stepchildren, so he and two siblings were sometimes left out. He attended a preparatory school in Malvern, then at Twyford in Hampshire. He studied music from 1856-58 and became a pianist and composer. His musical interest was encouraged by the headmaster and by two organists. He gained an enduring love for Bach’s music from S S Wesley and took piano and harmony lessons from Edward Brind, who also took him to the ‘Three Choirs Festival in Hereford in 1861, where Mendelssohn, Mozart, Handel, and Beethoven works were performed. That left a great impression on Hubert. It also sparked the beginning of a lifelong association with the festival. That year, his brother was disgraced at Oxford for drug and alcohol use, and his sister, Lucy, died of consumption as well. Both events saddened Hubert. However, he began study at Eton College and distinguished himself at both sport and music. He also began having heart trouble, that would plague him the rest of his life. Eton was not known for its music program, and although some others had interest in music, there were no teachers there that could help Hubert much. He turned to George Elvey, organist of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and started studying with him in 1863. Hubert eventually wrote some anthems for the choir of St George’s Chapel, and eventually earned his music degree. While still at Eton, Hubert sat for the Oxford Bachelor of Music exam, the youngest person ever to have done so. His exam exercise, a cantata: “O Lord, Thou hast cast us out” astonished the Heather Professor of Music, Sir Frederick Ouseley, and was triumphantly performed and published in 1867. In 1867 he left Eton and went to Exeter College, Oxford. He did not study music there, his music concerns taking second place, but read law and modern history. However, he did go to Stuttgart, Germany, at the urging of Henry Hugh Pierson, to learn re-orchestration, leaving him much more critical of Mendelssohn’s works. When he left Exeter College, at his father’s behest, he felt obliged to try insurance work, as his father considered music only a pastime (too uncertain as a profession). He became an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London, 1870-77, but he found the work unappealing to his interests and inclinations. In 1872 he married Elizabeth Maude Herbert, and they had two daughters: Dorothea and Gwendolen. His in-laws agreed with his father that a conventional career was best, but it did not suit him. He began studying advanced piano with W S Bennett, but found it insufficient. He then took lessons with Edward Dannreuther, a wise and sympathetic teacher, who taught him of Wagner’s music. At the same time as Hubert’s compositions were coming to public notice (1875), he became a scholar of George Grove and soon an assistant editor for his new “Dictionary of Music and Musicians”. He contributed 123 articles to it. His own first work appeared in 1880. In 1883 he became professor of composition and musical history at the Royal College of Music (of which Grove was the head). In 1895 Parry succeeded Grove as head of the college, remaining in the post the remainder of his life. He also succeeded John Stainer as Heather Professor of Music at the University of Oxford (1900-1908). His academic duties were considerable and likely prevented him from composing as much as he might have. However, he was rated a very fine composer, nontheless, of orchestrations, overtures, symphonies, and other music. He only attempted one opera, deemed unsuccessful. Edward Elgar learned much of his craft from Parry’s articles in Grove’s Dictionary, and from those who studied under Parry at the Royal College, including Ralph Vaughn Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge, and John Ireland. Parry had the ability when teaching music to ascertain a student’s potential for creativity and direct it positively. In 1902 he was created a Baronet of Highnam Court in Gloucester. Parry was also an avid sailor and owned several yachts, becoming a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1908, the only composer so honored. He was a Darwinian and a humanist. His daughter reiterated his liberal, non-conventional thinking. On medical advice he resigned his Oxford appointment in 1908 and produced some of his best known works. He and his wife were taken up with the ‘Suffrage Movement’ in 1916. He hated to see the WW1 ravage young potential musical talent from England and Germany. In 1918 he contracted Spanish flu during the global pandemic and died at Knightsscroft, Rustington, West Sussex. In 2015 they found 70 unpublished works of Parry’s hidden away in a family archive. It is thought some may never have been performed in public. The documents were sold at auction for a large sum. Other works he wrote include: “Studies of great composers” (1886), “The art of music” (1893), “The evolution of the art of music” (1896), “The music of the 17th century” (1902). His best known work is probably his 1909 study of “Johann Sebastian Bach”. John Perry

Anonymous

Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Arranger of "LYONS" in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries.

Robert Grant

1779 - 1838 Person Name: Sir Robert Grant Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "O Worship the King" in Rejoice in the Lord Robert Grant (b. Bengal, India, 1779; d. Dalpoorie, India, 1838) was influenced in writing this text by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns (The original stanza 3 was omitted in Lift Up Your Hearts). Of Scottish ancestry, Grant was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839). Bert Polman ======================== Grant, Sir Robert, second son of Mr. Charles Grant, sometime Member of Parliament for Inverness, and a Director of the East India Company, was born in 1785, and educated at Cambridge, where he graduated in 1806. Called to the English Bar in 1807, he became Member of Parliament for Inverness in 1826; a Privy Councillor in 1831; and Governor of Bombay, 1834. He died at Dapoorie, in Western India, July 9, 1838. As a hymnwriter of great merit he is well and favourably known. His hymns, "O worship the King"; "Saviour, when in dust to Thee"; and "When gathering clouds around I view," are widely used in all English-speaking countries. Some of those which are less known are marked by the same graceful versification and deep and tender feeling. The best of his hymns were contributed to the Christian Observer, 1806-1815, under the signature of "E—y, D. R."; and to Elliott's Psalms & Hymns, Brighton, 1835. In the Psalms & Hymns those which were taken from the Christian Observer were rewritten by the author. The year following his death his brother, Lord Glenelg, gathered 12 of his hymns and poems together, and published them as:— Sacred Poems. By the late Eight Hon. Sir Robert Grant. London, Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1839. It was reprinted in 1844 and in 1868. This volume is accompanied by a short "Notice," dated "London, Juno 18, 1839." ===================== Grant, Sir R., p. 450, i. Other hymns are:— 1. From Olivet's sequester'd scats. Palm Sunday. 2. How deep the joy, Almighty Lord. Ps. lxxxiv. 3. Wherefore do the nations wage. Ps. ii. These are all from his posthumous sacred Poems, 1839. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

William Gardiner

1770 - 1853 Person Name: William Gardiner, 1770-1853 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Adapter of "LYONS" in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs William Gardiner (b. Leicester, England, 1770; d. Leicester, 1853) The son of an English hosiery manufacturer, Gardiner took up his father's trade in addition to writing about music, composing, and editing. Having met Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven on his business travels, Gardiner then proceeded to help popularize their compositions, especially Beethoven's, in England. He recorded his memories of various musicians in Music and Friends (3 volumes, 1838-1853). In the first two volumes of Sacred Melodies (1812, 1815), Gardiner turned melodies from composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven into hymn tunes in an attempt to rejuvenate the singing of psalms. His work became an important model for American editors like Lowell Mason (see Mason's Boston Handel and Haydn Collection, 1822), and later hymnbook editors often turned to Gardiner as a source of tunes derived from classical music. Bert Polman

H. W. Baker

1821 - 1877 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "O Praise Ye the Lord" in Rejoice in the Lord Baker, Sir Henry Williams, Bart., eldest son of Admiral Sir Henry Loraine Baker, born in London, May 27, 1821, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated, B.A. 1844, M.A. 1847. Taking Holy Orders in 1844, he became, in 1851, Vicar of Monkland, Herefordshire. This benefice he held to his death, on Monday, Feb. 12, 1877. He succeeded to the Baronetcy in 1851. Sir Henry's name is intimately associated with hymnody. One of his earliest compositions was the very beautiful hymn, "Oh! what if we are Christ's," which he contributed to Murray's Hymnal for the Use of the English Church, 1852. His hymns, including metrical litanies and translations, number in the revised edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern, 33 in all. These were contributed at various times to Murray's Hymnal, Hymns Ancient & Modern and the London Mission Hymn Book, 1876-7. The last contains his three latest hymns. These are not included in Hymns Ancient & Modern. Of his hymns four only are in the highest strains of jubilation, another four are bright and cheerful, and the remainder are very tender, but exceedingly plaintive, sometimes even to sadness. Even those which at first seem bright and cheerful have an undertone of plaintiveness, and leave a dreamy sadness upon the spirit of the singer. Poetical figures, far-fetched illustrations, and difficult compound words, he entirely eschewed. In his simplicity of language, smoothness of rhythm, and earnestness of utterance, he reminds one forcibly of the saintly Lyte. In common with Lyte also, if a subject presented itself to his mind with striking contrasts of lights and shadows, he almost invariably sought shelter in the shadows. The last audible words which lingered on his dying lips were the third stanza of his exquisite rendering of the 23rd Psalm, "The King of Love, my Shepherd is:"— Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me, And on His Shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me." This tender sadness, brightened by a soft calm peace, was an epitome of his poetical life. Sir Henry's labours as the Editor of Hymns Ancient & Modern were very arduous. The trial copy was distributed amongst a few friends in 1859; first ed. published 1861, and the Appendix, in 1868; the trial copy of the revised ed. was issued in 1874, and the publication followed in 1875. In addition he edited Hymns for the London Mission, 1874, and Hymns for Mission Services, n.d., c. 1876-7. He also published Daily Prayers for those who work hard; a Daily Text Book, &c. In Hymns Ancient & Modern there are also four tunes (33, 211, 254, 472) the melodies of which are by Sir Henry, and the harmonies by Dr. Monk. He died Feb. 12, 1877. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Henry J. Gauntlett

1805 - 1876 Person Name: Henry John Gauntlett, 1805-76 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "HOUGHTON" in Complete Mission Praise Henry J. Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, July 9, 1805; d. London, England, February 21, 1876) When he was nine years old, Henry John Gauntlett (b. Wellington, Shropshire, England, 1805; d. Kensington, London, England, 1876) became organist at his father's church in Olney, Buckinghamshire. At his father's insistence he studied law, practicing it until 1844, after which he chose to devote the rest of his life to music. He was an organist in various churches in the London area and became an important figure in the history of British pipe organs. A designer of organs for William Hill's company, Gauntlett extended the organ pedal range and in 1851 took out a patent on electric action for organs. Felix Mendelssohn chose him to play the organ part at the first performance of Elijah in Birmingham, England, in 1846. Gauntlett is said to have composed some ten thousand hymn tunes, most of which have been forgotten. Also a supporter of the use of plainchant in the church, Gauntlett published the Gregorian Hymnal of Matins and Evensong (1844). Bert Polman

John Cennick

1718 - 1755 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "Praise for Salvation" John Cennick was born at Reading, Berkshire, in the year 1717. He became acquainted with Wesley and Whitefield, and preached in the Methodist connection. On the separation of Wesley and Whitefield he joined the latter. In 1745, he attached himself to the Moravians, and made a tour in Germany to fully acquaint himself with the Moravian doctrines. He afterwards ministered in Dublin, and in the north of Ireland. He died in London, in 1755, and was buried in the Moravian Cemetery, Chelsea. He was the author of many hymns, some of which are to be found in every collection. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872. ======================= Cennick, John, a prolific and successful hymnwriter, was descended from a family of Quakers, but brought up in the Church of England. He assisted J. Wesley and then G. Whitefield in their labours for a time, and then passed over to, and died as a minister of, the Moravian Church. Born at Reading, Dec. 12, 1718, he was for some time a land surveyor at Reading, but becoming acquainted with the Wesleys in 1739, he was appointed by J. Wesley as a teacher of a school for colliers' children at Kingswood in the following year. This was followed by his becoming a lay preacher, but in 1740 he parted from the Wesleys on doctrinal grounds. He assisted Whitefield until 1745, when he joined the Mora¬vians, and was ordained deacon, in London, in 1749. His duties led him twice to Germany and also to the North of Ireland. He died in London, July 4, 1755. In addition to a few prose works, and some sermons, he published:— (1) Sacred Hymns, for the Children of God in the Days of their Pilgrimage, Lond., J. Lewis, n.d. (2nd ed. Lond., B. Milles, 1741), Pts. ii., iii., 1742; (2) Sacred Hymns for the Use of Religious Societies, &c, Bristol, F. Farley, 1743; (3) A Collection of Sacred Hymns, &c, Dublin, S. Powell, 3rd ed., 1749; (4) Hymns to the honour of Jesus Christ, composed for such Little Children as desire to be saved. Dublin, S. Powell, 1754. Additional hymns from his manuscripts were published by his son-in-law, the Rev. J. Swertner, in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789, of which he was the editor. There are also 16 of his hymns in his Sermons, 2 vols., 1753-4, some being old hymns rewritten, and others new. Many of Cennick's hymns are widely known, as, "Lo, He cometh, countless trumpets;" “Brethren, let us join to bless;" "Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone;" "Children of the heavenly King;" "Ere I sleep, for every favour;" "We sing to Thee, Thou Son of God;" and the Graces: " Be present at our table, Lord;" and "We thank Thee, Lord;" &c. Some of the stanzas of his hymns are very fine, but the hymns taken as a whole are most unequal. Some excellent centos might be compiled from his various works. His religious experiences were given as a preface to his Sacred Hymns, 1741. In addition to the hymns named, and others annotated under their first lines, the following are in common use:— 1. Be with me [us] Lord, where'er I [we] go. Divine Protection. [1741.] 2. Cast thy burden on the Lord. Submission. [1743.] 3. Not unto us, but Thee alone. Praise to Jesus. [1743.] 4. Thou dear Redeemer, dying Lamb. Priesthood of Christ. [1743.] 5. We sing to Thee, Thou Son of God. Praise to Jesus. [1743.] 6. When, 0 dear Jesus, when shall I? Sunday Evening. [1743.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

John Fawcett

1740 - 1817 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "The Fulness of Christ" An orphan at the age of twelve, John Fawcett (b. Lidget Green, Yorkshire, England, 1740; d. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, 1817) became apprenticed to a tailor and was largely self-educated. He was converted by the preaching of George Whitefield at the age of sixteen and began preaching soon thereafter. In 1765 Fawcett was called to a small, poor, Baptist country church in Wainsgate, Yorkshire. Seven years later he received a call from the large and influential Carter's Lane Church in London, England. Fawcett accepted the call and preached his farewell sermon. The day of departure came, and his family's belongings were loaded on carts, but the distraught congregation begged him to stay. In Singers and Songs of the Church (1869), Josiah Miller tells the story associated with this text: This favorite hymn is said to have been written in 1772, to commemorate the determination of its author to remain with his attached people at Wainsgate. The farewell sermon was preached, the wagons were loaded, when love and tears prevailed, and Dr. Fawcett sacrificed the attraction of a London pulpit to the affection of his poor but devoted flock. Fawcett continued to serve in Wainsgate and in the nearby village of Hebden Bridge for the remainder of his active ministry. Bert Polman =============== Fawcett, John, D.D., was born Jan. 6, 1739 or 1740, at Lidget Green, near Bradford, Yorks. Converted at the age of sixteen under the ministry of G. Whitefield, he at first joined the Methodists, but three years later united with the Baptist Church at Bradford. Having begun to preach he was, in 1765, ordained Baptist minister at Wainsgate, near Hebden Bridge, Yorks. In 1772 he was invited to London, to succeed the celebrated Dr. J. Gill, as pastor of Carter's Lane; the invitation had been formally accepted, the farewell sermon at Wainsgate had been preached and the wagons loaded with his goods for removal, when the love and tears of his attached people prevailed and he decided to remain. In 1777 a new chapel was built for him at Hebden Bridge, and about the same time he opened a school at Brearley Hall, his place of residence. In 1793 he was invited to become President of the Baptist Academy at Bristol, but declined. In 1811 he received from America the degree of D.D., and died in 1817, at the age of 78. Dr. Fawcett was the author of a number of prose works on Practical Religion, several of which attained a large circulation. His poetical publications are:— (1) Poetic Essays, 1767; (2) The Christian's Humble Plea, a Poem, in answer to Dr. Priestley against the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1772; (3) Three hymns, in the Gospel Magazine, 1777; (4) The Death of Eumenio, a Divine Poem, 1779; (5) Another poem, suggested by the decease of a friend, The Reign of Death, 1780; and (6) Hymns adapted to the circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion, Leeds, G. Wright & Son. 1782. They are 166 in number, and were mostly composed to be sung after sermons by the author. Whilst not attaining a high degree of excellence as poetry, they are "eminently spiritual and practical," and a number of them are found in all the Baptist and Congregational hymn-books that have appeared during the last 100 years. The best known of these are, “Infinite excellence is Thine;" "How precious is the Book divine;" "Thus far my God hath led me on;" "Religion is the chief concern;" "Blest be the tie that binds;" “I my Ebenezer raise;" and "Praise to Thee, Thou great Creator." These hymns, together with others by Fawcett, are annotated under their respective first lines. [Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A.] In addition the following hymns, also by Fawcett, but of less importance, are in common use: 1. Behold the sin-atoning Lamb. Passiontide. No. 60 of his Hymns, 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymnals in Great Britain and America. 2. I my Ebenezer raise. Birthday. No. 102 of his Hymns, in 10 stanzas of 4 lines. Usually given in an abbreviated form. 3. Infinite excellence is Thine. Jesus the Desire of Nations. No. 42 of his Hymns, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines. In several hymn-books in Great Britain and America in an abridged form. 4. Jesus, the heavenly Lover, gave. Redemption in Christ. No. 10 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "The marriage between Christ and the Soul." In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, it reads, “Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, gave," and stanza v. is omitted. 5. Lord, hast Thou made me know Thy ways? Perseverance. No. 122 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 8 stanza of 4 lines. In the Baptist Hymnal, 1879, No. 451, stanzas iv.-vii. are omitted. 6. 0 God, my Helper, ever near. New Year. No. 108 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. The New Congregational Hymn Book, 1859-69 omits st. vi. 7. 0, my soul, what means this sadness? Sorrow turned to Joy. No. 111 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and based upon the words, "Why art Thou cast down, O my soul?" &c. It is in common use in America, and usually with the omission of stanza ii. as in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872. 8. Sinners, the voice of God regard. Invitation to Repentance. No. 63 of his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Isaiah lv. 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way," &c. It is in common use in America, but usually in an abbreviated form. 9. Thy presence, gracious God, afford. Before Sermon. No 165 in his Hymns, &c., in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, and a chorus of two lines. In Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymnbook, 1872, No. 126, the chorus is omitted. Fawcett has another hymn on the same subject (No. 79) and beginning, "Thy blessing, gracious God, afford," but this is not in common use. 10. Thy way, 0 God, is in the sea. Imperfect Knowledge of God. No. 66 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on 1 Corinthians xiii. 9, "We know in part," &c. It is in several American collections, usually abbreviated, and sometimes as, "Thy way, O Lord, is in the sea." In this form it is in The Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, &c. 11. With humble heart and tongue. Prayer for Guidance in Youth. No. 86 in his Hymns, &c., 1782, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines on Psalms cxix. 9. "Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way." It is No. 954 in the Baptist Psalms and Hymns, 1858-80. About 20 of Fawcett's hymns are thus still in common use. Two hymns which have been ascribed to him from time to time, but concerning which there are some doubts, are fully annotated under their respective first lines. These are," Humble souls that seek salvation," and "Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing." -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Joseph Martin Kraus

1756 - 1792 Person Name: Joseph M. Kraus, 1756-1792 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "LYONS" in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs Joseph Martin Kraus (b. Miltenberg am Main, Germany, 1756; d. Stockholm, Sweden, 1792) spent his youth in Germany, but in 1778 moved to Stockholm. He was elected to the Swedish Academy of Music and became the conductor of the court orchestra and eventually the best-known composer associated with the court of Gustavus III. On his travels, Kraus did meet Franz Joseph Haydn, who considered Kraus “one of the greatest geniuses I have met.” Kraus wrote operas as well as many vocal and instrumental works. Bert Polman

William Kethe

? - 1594 Person Name: William Kethe, b. 1593 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author (attributed to) of "My soul, praise the Lord!" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes William Kethe (b. Scotland [?], d. Dorset England, c. 1594). Although both the time and place of Kethe's birth and death are unknown, scholars think he was a Scotsman. A Protestant, he fled to the continent during Queen Mary's persecution in the late 1550s. He lived in Geneva for some time but traveled to Basel and Strasbourg to maintain contact with other English refugees. Kethe is thought to be one of the scholars who translated and published the English-language Geneva Bible (1560), a version favored over the King James Bible by the Pilgrim fathers. The twenty-five psalm versifications Kethe prepared for the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561 were also adopted into the Scottish Psalter of 1565. His versification of Psalm 100 (All People that on Earth do Dwell) is the only one that found its way into modern psalmody. Bert Polman ======================== Kethe, William, is said by Thomas Warton in his History of English Poetry, and by John Strype in his Annals of the Reformation, to have been a Scotsman. Where he was born, or whether he held any preferment in England in the time of Edward VI., we have been unable to discover. In the Brieff discours off the troubles begonne at Franckford, 1575, he is mentioned as in exile at Frankfurt in 1555, at Geneva in 1557; as being sent on a mission to the exiles in Basel, Strassburg, &c, in 1558; and as returning with their answers to Geneva in 1559. Whether he was one of those left behind in 1559 to "finishe the bible, and the psalmes bothe in meeter and prose," does not appear. The Discours further mentions him as being with the Earl of Warwick and the Queen's forces at Newhaven [Havre] in 1563, and in the north in 1569. John Hutchins in his County history of Dorset, 1774, vol. ii. p. 316, says that he was instituted in 1561 as Rector of Childe Okeford, near Blandford. But as there were two Rectors and only one church, leave of absence might easily be extended. His connection with Okeford seems to have ceased by death or otherwise about 1593. The Rev. Sir Talbot H. B. Baker, Bart., of Ranston, Blandford, who very kindly made researches on the spot, has informed me that the Registers at Childe Okeford begin with 1652-53, that the copies kept in Blandford date only from 1732 (the earlier having probably perished in the great fire there in 1731), that no will can be found in the district Probate Court, and that no monument or tablet is now to be found at Childe Okeford. By a communication to me from the Diocesan Registrar of Bristol, it appears that in a book professing to contain a list of Presentations deposited in the Consistory Court, Kethe is said to have been presented in 1565 by Henry Capel, the Patron of Childe Okeford Inferior. In the 1813 edition of Hutchins, vol. iii. pp. 355-6, William Watkinson is said to have been presented to this moiety by Arthur Capel in 1593. Twenty-five Psalm versions by Kethe are included in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561, viz. Ps. 27, 36, 47, 54, 58, 62, 70, 85, 88, 90, 91, 94, 100, 101, 104, 107, 111, 112, 113, 122, 125, 126, 134, 138, 142,—the whole of which were adopted in the Scottish Psalter of 1564-65. Only nine, viz. Ps. 104, 107, 111, 112, 113, 122, 125, 126, 134, were included in the English Psalter of 1562; Ps. 100 being however added in 1565. Being mostly in peculiar metres, only one, Ps. 100, was transferred to the Scottish Psalter of 1650. The version of Ps. 104, "My soul, praise the Lord," is found, in a greatly altered form, in some modern hymnals. Warton calls him ”a Scotch divine, no unready rhymer," says he had seen a moralisation of some of Ovid by him, and also mentions verses by him prefixed to a pamphlet by Christopher Goodman, printed at Geneva in 1558; a version of Ps. 93 added to Knox's Appellation to the Scottish Bishops, also printed at Geneva in 1558; and an anti-papal ballad, "Tye the mare Tom-boy." A sermon he preached before the Sessions at Blandford on Jan. 17, 1571, was printed by John Daye in 1571 (preface dated Childe Okeford, Jan. 29,157?), and dedicated to Ambrose Earl of Warwick. [Rev James Mearns, M.A]. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ==================== Kethe, William, p. 624, i., line 30. The version which Warton describes as of Psalm 93 is really of Psalm 94, and is that noted under Scottish Hymnody, p. 1022, ii., as the version of Psalms 94 by W. Kethe. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Robert Bridges

1844 - 1930 Person Name: Robert Seymour Bridges, 1844-1930 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Alterer of "My soul, praise the Lord!" in The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes Robert S. Bridges (b. Walmer, Kent, England, 1844; d. Boar's Hill, Abingdon, Berkshire, England, 1930) In a modern listing of important poets Bridges' name is often omitted, but in his generation he was considered a great poet and fine scholar. He studied medicine and practiced as a physician until 1881, when he moved to the village of Yattendon. He had already written some poetry, but after 1881 his literary career became a full-time occupation, and in 1913 he was awarded the position of poet laureate in England. Bridges published The Yattendon Hymnal (1899), a collection of one hundred hymns (forty-four written or translated by him with settings mainly from the Genevan psalter, arranged for unaccompanied singing. In addition to volumes of poetry, Bridges also published A Practical Discourse on Some Principles of Hymn-Singing (1899) and About Hymns (1911). Bert Polman =================== Bridges, Robert Seymour, M.A., son of J. J. Bridges, of Walmer, Kent, was b. Oct. 23, 1844, and educated at Eton and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (B.A. 1867, M.A. 1874). He took his M.A. in 1874, but retired from practice in 1882, and now (1906) resides at Yattendon, Berks. He is the author of many poems and plays. He edition and contributed to the Yattendon Hymnal, 1899 (originally printed at the Oxford Univ. Press in parts—Nos. 1-25, 1895; 26-50, 1897; 51-75, 1898; 76-100, 1899). [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Brian A. Wren

b. 1936 Person Name: Brian Arthur Wren, 1936- Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "In water we grow" in Together in Song Brian Wren (b. Romford, Essex, England, 1936) is a major British figure in the revival of contemporary hymn writing. He studied French literature at New College and theology at Mansfield College in Oxford, England. Ordained in 1965, he was pastor of the Congregational Church (now United Reformed) in Hockley and Hawkwell, Essex, from 1965 to 1970. He worked for the British Council of Churches and several other organizations involved in fighting poverty and promoting peace and justice. This work resulted in his writing of Education for Justice (1977) and Patriotism and Peace (1983). With a ministry throughout the English-speaking world, Wren now resides in the United States where he is active as a freelance lecturer, preacher, and full-time hymn writer. His hymn texts are published in Faith Looking Forward (1983), Praising a Mystery (1986), Bring Many Names (1989), New Beginnings (1993), and Faith Renewed: 33 Hymns Reissued and Revised (1995), as well as in many modern hymnals. He has also produced What Language Shall I Borrow? (1989), a discussion guide to inclusive language in Christian worship. Bert Polman

Timothy Dudley-Smith

b. 1926 Person Name: Timothy Dudley-Smtih, b. 1926 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "Be Strong in the Lord" in Lutheran Service Book Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926) Educated at Pembroke College and Ridley Hall, Cambridge, Dudley-Smith has served the Church of England since his ordination in 1950. He has occupied a number of church positions, including parish priest in the diocese of Southwark (1953-1962), archdeacon of Norwich (1973-1981), and bishop of Thetford, Norfolk, from 1981 until his retirement in 1992. He also edited a Christian magazine, Crusade, which was founded after Billy Graham's 1955 London crusade. Dudley-Smith began writing comic verse while a student at Cambridge; he did not begin to write hymns until the 1960s. Many of his several hundred hymn texts have been collected in Lift Every Heart: Collected Hymns 1961-1983 (1984), Songs of Deliverance: Thirty-six New Hymns (1988), and A Voice of Singing (1993). The writer of Christian Literature and the Church (1963), Someone Who Beckons (1978), and Praying with the English Hymn Writers (1989), Dudley-Smith has also served on various editorial committees, including the committee that published Psalm Praise (1973). Bert Polman

George Frideric Handel

1685 - 1759 Person Name: G. F. Handel, 1685-1759 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Composer of "CONQUEST" in American Lutheran Hymnal George Frideric Handel (b. Halle, Germany, 1685; d. London, England, 1759) became a musician and composer despite objections from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Handel studied music with Zachau, organist at the Halle Cathedral, and became an accomplished violinist and keyboard performer. He traveled and studied in Italy for some time and then settled permanently in England in 1713. Although he wrote a large number of instrumental works, he is known mainly for his Italian operas, oratorios (including Messiah, 1741), various anthems for church and royal festivities, and organ concertos, which he interpolated into his oratorio performances. He composed only three hymn tunes, one of which (GOPSAL) still appears in some modern hymnals. A number of hymnal editors, including Lowell Mason, took themes from some of Handel's oratorios and turned them into hymn tunes; ANTIOCH is one example, long associated with “Joy to the World.” Bert Polman

J. Hart

1712 - 1768 Meter: 5.5.5.5.6.5.6.5 Author of "Fountain Opened for Sinners" Hart, Joseph, was born in London in 1712. His early life is involved in obscurity. His education was fairly good; and from the testimony of his brother-in-law, and successor in the ministry in Jewin Street, the Rev. John Hughes, "his civil calling was" for some time "that of a teacher of the learned languages." His early life, according to his own Experience which he prefaced to his Hymns, was a curious mixture of loose conduct, serious conviction of sin, and endeavours after amendment of life, and not until Whitsuntide, 1757, did he realize a permanent change, which was brought about mainly through his attending divine service at the Moravian Chapel, in Fetter Lane, London, and hearing a sermon on Rev. iii. 10. During the next two years many of his most earnest and impassioned hymns were written. These appeared as:— Hymns composed on Various Subjects, with the Author's Experience, London, 1759. During this year he became the Minister of the Independent Chapel, Jewin Street, London. In 1762 he added a Supplement to his Hymns; and in 1765 an Appendix. In modern editions of his Hymns these three are embodied in one volume as:— Hymns composed on Various Subjects: With the Author's Experience, The Supplement and Appendix. By the Rev. Joseph Hart, late Minister of the Gospel in Jewin Street, London. Allott & Co. [no date]. Hart died on May 24, 1768. At one time his hymns were widely used, especially by Calvinistic Nonconformists. Many of them are of merit, and are marked by great earnestness, and passionate love of the Redeemer. The best known are: “Come, Holy Spirit, come"; “Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched"; "This God is the God we adore"; and "Lord, look on all assembled here." Those which are more limited in their use include:— i. From his Hymns, &c, 1759. 1. Descend from heaven, celestial Dove. Whitsuntide. No. 6, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory., 1872, No. 374, st. iv., v. are omitted. It is in extensive use in America. 2. Great High Priest, we view Thee stooping. High Priesthood of Christ. No. 56, pt. ii., in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 236; Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, No. 435, &c. 8. How wondrous are the works of God. Redeeming Love. No. 21, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, st. i.-iv. are given as No. 11. 4. If ever it could come to pass. Final Perseverance. No. 58, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines. Repeated in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 729. 6. Jesus is our God and Saviour . Faith and Repentance. No. 54, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 146, st. iv. is omitted. In the London Hymn Book (enlarged), 1879, st. iii. and v. are given as "Nothing but Thy blood, 0 Jesus." 6. Jesus, while He dwelt below. Gethsemane. No. 75, in 23 stanzas of 6 lines. In Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 230, sixteen stanzas are broken up into three parts: (i.) "Jesus, while He dwelt below"; (ii.) "Full of love to man's lost race"; (iii.) "There my God bore all my guilt." A cento is also given in Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, N. Y., 1872, No. 441, as "Many woes had Christ [He] endured." It is composed of st. viii., ix., xiii., xx., xxiii., slightly altered. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, No. 34, 8 stanzas are given in two parts: pt. i. as, "Jesus, while He dwelt below"; pt. ii. "Eden from each flowery bed." 7. Lamb of God, we fall before Thee. Christ All in All. No. 17 in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. It is in various collections, and as altered in Kennedy , 1863, No. 1171, is much improved. 8. Let us all with grateful praises. Christmas. No. 14 in 7 stanzas of 8 lines. In Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymn Book, 1866, it is reduced to 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 9. Lord, look on all assembled here. For a Public Fast. No. 96, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in several of the older hymnbooks. 10. Lord, we lie before Thy feet. Lent. No. 74, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, and based on 2 Chron. xx. 20. In Spurgeon's 0ur Own Hymn Book, 1866, stanza i., iii., vi. are given as No. 585. 11. Mercy is welcome news indeed. God's Mercy in pardoning Sin. No. 51, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, on St. Luke vii. 42. In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 544. 12. Much we talk of Jesu's blood. Passiontide. No. 41, in 4 st. of 8 lines, on Lam. i. 12. In Spurgeon, 1866, it is abridged to 4 stanzas of 4 lines. 13. Bow from the garden to the cross. Good Friday. No. 63, in 9 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "The Crucifixion." In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 274, st. ii.-v., vi.-ix. are given as "See how the patient Jesus stands." 14. The Fountain of Christ Assist me to sing. The Fountain. No. 86, in 8 stanzas of 8 lines on Zech. xiii. 1. In Spurgeon, 1866, st. i., v., vii., viii., are given as No. 375. 15. The moon and stars shall lose their light. Advent. No. 48, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, on St. Matt. xxiv. 35. In Spurgeon, 1866. 16. The sinner that truly believes. Saving Faith. No. 88, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "Saving Faith" In Spurgeon, 1866, No. 533, st. ii. is omitted, and the opening line is altered to "The moment a sinner believes." ii. From his Supplement, 1762. 17. Behold what awful pomp. Advent. No. 52, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is usually abridged as in the American Methodist Episcopal Hymns, 1849, No. 1107. 18. Christ is the Eternal Rock. The Offices of Christ. No. 27, in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. In Windle's Metrical Psalter & Hymnal, 1862, stanzas i., ii., v. are given as No. 53. 19. Christians, dismiss your fear. Easter. No. 33, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines into Dr. Alexander's Augustine Hymn Book, 1849, No. 79, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. 20. Dismiss us with Thy blessing, Lord. Close of Service. No. 78, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. In a few collections. 21. Gird thy loins up, Christian soldier. The Christian Armour . No. 29, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, on Eph. vi. 11. Found in several of the older, and a few of the modern collections. 22. Glory to God on high, Our peace, &c. Holy Communion. No. 3, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, No. 704, st. v., vi. are omitted. 23. Holy Ghost, inspire our praises. On behalf of Ministers. No. 77, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, No. 412, st. iii.-v. are given as, "Happy soul that hears and follows." 24. Jesus once for sinners slain. Holy Communion. No. 18, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In American use. 25. Lord, help us on Thy word to feed. Close of Service. No. 80, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. In several modern hymnbooks. 26. O for a glance of heavenly day. Lent. No. 64, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. In Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, and other American collections it is usually repeated in full. In Bickersteth's Christian Psalmody, 1833, it was given as, "Lord, shed a beam of heavenly day," and this is repeated in modern hymnbooks. 27. Once more before we part. Close of Service. No. 79, in 2 stanzas of 4 lines. Popular in Great Britain and America. 28. Once more we come before our God. Before a Sermon. No. 21, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, into Hatfield, 1872, No. 111, and others. 29. Sons of God by bless'd adoption. Burial. No. 45, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, into Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 981, as "Sons of God by blest adoption." 30. Suffering Saviour, Lamb of God . Holy Communion. No. 14, in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. In W. F. Stevenson's Hymns for Church & Home, 1873, st. iii., vii. are omitted. 31. That doleful night before His death. Holy Communion. No. 17, in 2 stanzas of 8 lines. In the Scottish Evangelical Union Hymnal, 1878, st. i. 11. 4-8, and st. ii., are given as, "To keep Thy Feast, Lord, we are met." iii. From his Appendix, 1765. 32. Christians, in your several stations. Christian Duty. No. 7, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines. It is slightly altered in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 742, and dated 1759 in error. 33. Prayer was [is] appointed to convey. Prayer. No. 12 in 6 stanzas of 4 lines into Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, No. 542, with alterations and the omission of st. ii., v. In some American collections it begins, "Prayer is to God, the soul's sure way." --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================= Hart, Joseph, p. 492, ii. Other hymns in common use are— 1. The blest memorials of Thy grief (1762). Holy Communion. 2. To comprehend the great Three-One (1759). Holy Trinity. 3. Vain man, thy fond pursuits forbear (1759). Death. 4. When the blest day of Pentecost (1759). Whitsuntide. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

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