Congregational Song Projects

 

  1. Identify:

     

    1. William Vories--lyricist of "Let There Be Light, O God"

       

    2. Erdmann Neumeister--lyricist of "Christ Receiveth Sinful Men" (in German; translated by Emma F. Bevan)

       

    3. Elizabeth Byrne--translated the text of "Be Thou My Vision" (#60) from ancient Irish

       

    4. D. James Bigelow--arranged "Send Me, O Lord, Send Me," by Ross Coggins and E. A. Hoffman

       

  2. Give the composer and hymn tune name for the hymn tune you will hear performed:

    DARMSTADT by Ahasuerus Fritsch, 1679

     

  3. What is the biblical basis of the hymn "Behold the Amazing Gift of Love?" Who wrote the text? What alterations are involved?

    Isaac Watts wrote this hymn that appears in the 1955 Presbyterian Hymnbook, #120. It is based on 1 John 3:1-3.

     

  4. Give two hymns in The Baptist Hymnal (1991) whose texts are related directly to Genesis 28:10-22.

    "Nearer, My God, To Thee," #458; "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder," #474

     

  5. What are the sources of the following lines:

     

    1. "In the furnace God may prove thee
      Thence to bring thee forth more bright."
      "Zion Stands with Hills Surrounded"

       

    2. "The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
      Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."
      "How Firm a Foundation"

       

  6. Discuss the significance of the "additional" refrain to "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" in The Baptist Hymnal (1991), 139.

    Perhaps the hymn title "At the Cross" could be described as a camp-meeting version of Watts' "Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed." The catchy refrain and tune are of that type. Ralph E. Hudson was responsible for the refrain that was added or adapted when he composed HUDSON. Hudson first published the present version of the tune in 1885 in Songs of Peace, Love, and Joy (Alliance, 1885, No.81).

    The difference in the music used for the stanza and that used for the refrain implies they were not composed as a unit. Reynolds suggests the refrain was already in existence and was borrowed by Hudson to complete the hymn setting:

    "Further evidence supports this possibility by the fact that this refrain melody appears as a separate tune in Glad Hallelujahs, edited by J.R. Sweeney and William J. Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, 1887, No. 123). It is set to Charles Wesley's O How Happy are They Who the Saviour Obey,' with a da capo refrain using the text, ÔAt the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light.' The tune is said to be Ôarranged by E. E. Nickerson.' The same treatment is used for this refrain in the Emory Hymnal (Philadelphia, 1887, No. 98), with original stanzas provided by R. Kelso Carter and the same refrain test as above."

     

  7. Discuss 5.5.5.4.D. hymnic meter.

    "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" is very similar in meter (5.4.5.4.D.). Basically, we are looking at a piece roughly in dactylic pentameter and doubled.

     

  8. Discuss "chiasmus" in hymnody--meaning, value, and examples.

    Chiasmus involves either the crossing of phrases in two lines, or a four-line (verse) section of stanza where the outer verses relate to one concept, while the inner two pertain to the opposite idea. It is useful for "setting forth the paradoxes of the Christian faith." Examples of chiasmus can be found in "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (to a lesser extent).