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Alleluia, song of gladness

Representative Text

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Source: CPWI Hymnal #96
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Translator: J. M. Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: Alleluia, song of gladness, Voice of joy that cannot die
Title: Alleluia, song of gladness
Translator: J. M. Neale (1861)
Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.7
Source: Latin Hymn, 11th Cent.
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Notes

Alleluia, dulce carmen. [Week before Septuagesima.] The earliest form in which this hymn is found is in three manuscripts of the 11th century in the British Museum. From a Durham manuscript of the 11th century, it was published in the Latin Hymns of the Anglo-Saxon Church (Surtees Society), 1851, p. 55. The text is in Daniel, i. No. 263, and with further readings in iv. p. 152; and in the Hymnarium Sarisuriense, 1851, p. 59. [Rev. W. A. Shoults, B.D.]

Translations in common use:—
3. Alleluia! song of sweetness. Voice of joy, eternal lay. By J. M. Neale. It appeared in the first edition Mediaeval Hymns, 1851, p. 130, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines, and was "corrected for the Hymnal Noted." Mediaeval Hymns, 2nd ed. p. 184), where it was given in its new form, in 1852, No. 46, and again in the 2nd ed. of the Mediaeval Hymns, 1863. This translation equals in popularity that of Chandler, but it is more frequently and extensively altered. Without noticing minor instances, we find the following: "Alleluia, song of sweetness,Voice of joy that cannot die" in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1861 and 1875, and many others. "Hallelujah! song of gladness, Voice of joy that cannot die" in Thring's Collection, 1882, &c. Of these altered forms of Neale's text, that of Hymns Ancient & Modern, is most frequently adopted.

--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Timeline

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Instances

Instances (1 - 9 of 9)
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CPWI Hymnal #96

CPWI Hymnal #96
TextAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #318

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #318
TextPage Scan

Hymnal Supplement 98 #819

Hymnal Supplement 98 #819
TextPage Scan

Lutheran Service Book #417

Lutheran Service Book #417
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #261

The Cyber Hymnal #261
Text

The Hymnal 1982 #122

The Hymnal 1982 #122
Text

The Hymnal 1982 #123

The Hymnal 1982 #123
TextPage Scan

With One Voice #654

With One Voice #654
TextPage Scan

Worship (3rd ed.) #413

Worship (3rd ed.) #413
Include 86 pre-1979 instances
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