Handbook to the Mennonite HymnaryHostetler, Lester
Religion
Handbook to the Mennonite Hymnary
Hostetler, Lester
Hymns, English -- History and criticism; Mennonites -- Hymns -- History and criticism
_MUSIC._ The tune LYONS is by Haydn, not the famous “Papa” Haydn who
wrote symphonies, string quartets, and _The Creation_, but J. Michael
Haydn, 1737-1806, a younger brother. He was born in Austria. Though
self-taught in music (like his famous brother Franz), he became the
teacher of many eminent musicians of his time, including Carl von Weber.
Haydn was a warm-hearted, devout, and gifted man, and might have become
famous except for two things—his life was lived in the shadow of his
more illustrious brother, and he was too modest to permit most of his
works to be published.
LYONS is a singable tune with a fine melodic curve and is strikingly
similar to “Hanover” (6) with which it may be interchanged with good
effect.
8. Come Thou Almighty King _Charles Wesley_, 1707-88
This hymn of praise and prayer is widely used in all branches of the
Christian church in the English speaking world and has been translated
into many foreign languages. It has been generally attributed to Charles
Wesley, the great “Bard of Methodism,” but the authorship is uncertain.
The hymn appeared as the first of only two selections in a small booklet
published by John Wesley about 1757. The second hymn was by Charles
Wesley and was entitled, “The Backslider.” “Come, Thou Almighty King,”
with the title, “An Hymn to the Trinity,” did not bear the name of
Charles Wesley, and it appears nowhere in his collected works. No one
can be certain, therefore, of the authorship or date of its writing.
Like all good hymns, it rises above time or personal circumstance and
expresses for all Christians their feeling of praise and adoration of
God. It was originally sung to the tune, “God Save the King,” the hymn
following the same metrical pattern as the British National Anthem and
our own “America.”
_MUSIC._ ITALIAN HYMN, also called “Trinity,” and “Moscow,” is one of
our most famous hymn tunes and deserves its renown. It was composed for
this hymn by Felice de Giardini, 1716-1796, an Italian violinist, who
spent many years in England and ranked among the top-notch artists and
teachers of violin in Europe. Though a great artist, he was a capricious
and peevish personality, had few friends and many enemies, was a poor
business manager, and died in poverty and distress in the city of Moscow
where he had gone to better his fortune and failed.
9. Christ is our Cornerstone _Latin, 8th century_
_Tr. John Chandler_, 1806-76
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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