Hymnody ranting

Oct 28, 2007 15:34

One of the things I love about the Methodist church is its fine tradition of hymn-singing. Both John and Charles Wesley wrote hymns during their ministry, and Charles in particular wrote some absolute stonkers. Many of his hymns have, over the centuries, been paired with equally magnificent tunes. "Hark! the herald angels sing" is probably the ( Read more... )

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Comments 5

illusio October 28 2007, 18:10:23 UTC
"that the power of Wesley's words is in no way undimmed, and is even enhanced, when sung to a gentler, more contemplative tune."

That sounds... actually hilarious, somehow. (Though I'm sorry you had to suffer it, of course.) It reminds me of J.K. Rowling's style of representation for particularly boring members of authority. Subtle exaggeration?

I haven't been in a choir since I was in middle school... I miss it from time to time, but I've looked around for non-religious (and non-professional) singing groups, and there seem to be absolutely none. Such is life.

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jklgoduke October 29 2007, 01:38:52 UTC
I remember visiting a Methodist church in England many years ago, and recognizing pretty much all of the hymn texts, and most of the hymn tunes, but in no case were they paired up the way I was accustomed to. I figured their traditions on such things were different.

So I have to wonder if this guy is a flake, or a product of his upbringing and a symptom of a different tradition in hymnody in the British Methodist church vs. the American Methodist church.

Oh, and we just got back from a choir trip to DC to sing in Metropolitan Memorial again. Crammed 9 songs into a church service! (including 4 as a choral prelude, and God Be In My Head at the end). Needless to say, the service ran waaaaay over, but nobody seemed to mind. :)

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aardvarklf October 29 2007, 21:20:48 UTC
I'm quite familiar with the idea that there are different hymn traditions here and in the US. It's sometimes annoying, but not usually a big deal. I seldom think the tunes used here are an improvement, but they're frequently not any worse - mostly just switching one serviceable tune for another. What I object to about this service wasn't different tunes per se, but the apparently deliberate selection of worse tunes even when local tradition suggested nicer ones.

I'm glad you had a good trip to DC. Any Moroccan food and belly-dancers this time? :-)

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jklgoduke October 30 2007, 22:53:51 UTC
That does sound rather dreadful. Nothing Moroccan; opted for Bilbo Baggins and had tortollini chardonnay and their wonderful bread, and tried a (hazel)nut brown ale. Yummy!

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taffy23110 October 30 2007, 14:06:54 UTC
Christ the Lord is Risen Today is probably my absolute favorite of all the hymns you list above, probably because I always associate it with the High Easter Service. After forty days of preparation (and no alleluia) and three days of fasting that have rendered you weak, you get this absolutely joyful hymn sung by full choir accompanied by organ, horn, and strings. It resonates, and it is just so uplifting.

Hope you had fun on your walk, and hopefully you didn't get too many strange looks.

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