Well-qualified musicians

The new (2017) Christian Science Hymnal represents years of prayerful gathering, editing, refining, and polishing by a team of well-qualified musicians, many of whom are Christian Science practitioners and even teachers. We can be assured that there is healing in every line and note of every hymn.

It has been very illuminating to attend, via the internet, some of the hymn sings that occurred as part of recent Annual Meetings of The Mother Church, and to hear Ryan Vigil explain the particular beauty of individual hymns. 

I particularly remember him talking about the beautiful way hymn 527 "Lord,...Open His Eyes" begins with a sustained note, so that it establishes that sense of prayerful stillness before the prayer is offered. For me, this makes this hymn so tender and heartfelt. 

Then I also love Ryan’s and Christa Seid-Graham’s performance on the CD "Celebration" of hymn 472 “Father, you are very near us”. Their interpretation, in a soft jazz style, soars with sincerity and inspiration. I appreciate Josh Kenworthy’s work on drums on this track too. How lovely that an Australian was involved!

Another special one: It is a delight to sing Lisa Redfern’s setting of "O Gentle Presence" (hymn 539), which I am sure will become a new favourite melody for many.

For some, the music is the principal healing element; for others, it is the words.

Marie Fox

"Sing often" - Dauntless

Before we leave the 2017 Christian Science Hymnal, it's worth reminding ourselves of the wonderful benefits of knowing the hymns well, both words and tunes. They inspire, illumine, instruct, and they come to us in times of need.

Take hymn 441 for an example - Be Firm and Be Faithful. We are perhaps familiar with its musical setting as hymn 18 in the 1932 hymnal. The new setting here is equally stirring.

An interesting fact about this hymn is its footnote:

A copy of the 1898 Christian Science Hymnal which Mary Baker Eddy used in her home carries the following note, written in her own hand: "Sing often in The Mother Church the hymn 173" (no. 18 in the 1932 Hymnal." 

The words are anonymous; the musical setting for 441 is by Fenella Bennetts. It's called Dauntless.

Here is verse one:

Be firm and be faithful; desert not the right;
The brave become bolder the darker the night.
Then up and be doing, though cowards may fail
Thy duty pursuing, dare all and prevail.

Thank you to book-clubbers who responded via email to some of the blogs this month. It shows how much the hymns are cherished!

Julie Swannell

Hymns and poetry - for children and everyone

Hymn 439 "As a fire is meant for burning" has a strong and attractive rhythmic pulse. It's an American melody, according to our hymnal. So I looked up "White and King's The Sacred Harp, 1844" (at the foot of the hymnal page under MUSIC) on google.

One can't always trust Wikipedia, but I'll include a chunk here because it's really helpful:

Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South of the United States. The name is derived from The Sacred Harp, a ubiquitous and historically important tunebook printed in shape notes. The work was first published in 1844 and has reappeared in multiple editions ever since. Sacred Harp music represents one branch of an older tradition of American music that developed over the period 1770 to 1820 from roots in New England, with a significant, related development under the influence of "revival" services around the 1840s. This music was included in, and became profoundly associated with, books using the shape note style of notation popular in America in the 18th and early 19th centuries.^[1]

Sacred Harp music is performed a cappella (voice only, without instruments) and originated as ProtestantChristian music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Harp

Of course, this then begs the question: what are 'shape notes'? Yu can click the link there to follow down that interesting pathway. The point is, that it was a musical notation that helped congregations follow the music. Congregational singing seems to have undergone a huge flowering in New England in the mid-1800s.

Today, perhaps we are seeing somewhat of a revival in the proliferation of community choirs. One such choral group - Creativity Australia - describes its work as follows:

Creativity Australia’s With One Voice movement is a network community choirs that bring together people from all faiths, cultures, ages, abilities, backgrounds and socio-economic situations. We currently have 22 choirs located across Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and regional Victoria, with over 600 choir members ranging in age from nine to 90 years old, and we are growing monthly!

That's bringing new 'congregations' together!!

I like the words of hymn 439 very much too and believe our Sunday school children (whether or not they come along to classes, they can still be learning about God!) would learn both the tune and the words very easily.

Poetry is at the basis of a good song. On the weekend, I was able to recite a couple of childhood poems to two of our grandchildren. They stopped in their tracks as I recited (as closely as I could remember) AA Milne's 'Forgiven' (you know - the one about the beetle that nanny lets out of the box). I remember learning it from my sister as a child. We seem to have learned quite a few memorable poems then.

This delightful little verse, which I can only find on a post from a blogger in Sheffield, has also stuck in thought. The post is called Those Old School Poems. Here is the verse:

I wonder, I wonder, if anyone knows,

who lives in the hart of a velvety rose.

Is it a Goblin or is it an Elf,

or is it the Queen of the fairies her self?

It seems important to memorize things, and poetry and music are so often a wonderful and joyous aid.

Julie Swannell