Fresh Ideas & New Eyes for the Fall
by Norene Morrow
This fall marks the beginning of my fourth year writing this column. At times it has been tricky coming up with ideas, but I always manage; and many of you readers have given me positive feedback. Thank you so much! It is always good to know that what I write is of interest to people and sometimes even helpful. As another season begins, I continue to search for topics. That is where you can help. Here is your chance to have those burning musical questions answered or to make a request for an article on a specific topic. I do really want to hear from you, so please feel free to contact me via e-mail nmorrow@shaw.ca, through the post c/o St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral, 608 Sutherland, Kelowna, V1Y 5X1, or by phone at 250-768-8418.
If I left my article at one paragraph, this month’s column would be very short; therefore, to get the season started I thought I would write about looking at hymns from a fresh perspective. Many people do not realize how much they can learn just by opening up their hymnal, and that using “new eyes” can be especially helpful for planning music. (For this column I refer to Common Praise, words and music edition.)
At the top of the page of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (485) you will notice the heading, “Christian Life” This denotes the subject heading found in the table of contents. All hymns from 468-504 fall into this category; however, it does not mean that one must only use it for themes related to Christian life.
In the bottom left hand corner are the names of the author and the composer. If one were particularly interested in finding other hymn texts in the book that were written by Charles Wesley, one would go to the “Authors, Composers, and Sources” index (p. 903) and discover that there are 16. Similarly, one would find 5 tunes by John Stainer. They are listed by tune name. Often hymnists give their tunes names in order to identify them when being used with a variety of texts.
The bottom right hand corner probably contains the most useful information for a music leader. This tune name is LOVE DIVINE. Below it is a suggestion for another tune. It is BLAENWERN, which is the tune that is also used for hymn #447, #486 and #601. If you did not know this tune or wanted different words for this tune, this information would be very helpful. But more useful are the numbers 8787. This refers to the metre of the text in each stanza. It indicates that the first line of text has 8 syllables, the second line has 7, the third has 8, and the fourth has 7. By going to the metrical index (p. 945) and following the chronological sequence of numbers, you will find that there are 18 tunes that would work with this text. (I use the tune HYFRYDOL, which is “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus”.)
As previously mentioned, the tune name, BLAENWERN may be used for “Love Divine All Loves Excelling” in hymn #486; however, you will notice that this version only has three verses instead of 6. Upon closer inspection, one can see that the all of the words from hymn #485 have indeed, been used. That is because this tune is longer and combines verses 1 and 2 into one verse, making the metre 8787D. The D just means that the metre of the line is doubled.
As you leaf through your hymnbook you may find metre indications that use letters only. These are shorthand for frequently used metres. SM is short metre or 6686; SMD is short metre doubled or 6686 6686; CM is common metre or 8686; CMD is common metre doubled or 8686 8686; and LM is long metre or 8888. IRREGULAR refers to hymn tunes with no particular syllabic pattern. It usually does not have an alternate tune from which to choose. Any other indications such as “with refrain”or “with Alleluia” are self-explanatory.
A final word of caution and advice — Always try the texts and tunes together before using them, as some tunes do not suit the words. Also, never try to fit tunes into a metre other than the one indicated, as the results can be disastrous. I once heard of a congregation who set “How Firm a Foundation” to the tune Adeste Fideles (“O Come All Ye Faithful”). The resulting refrain came out as “To you-who (yoohoo) unto Jesus!”
