Study of religious song
Hymnology
(from
Greek
?μνο?
hymnos
, "song of praise" and -λογ?α
-logia
, "study of") is the
scholarly
study of
religious
song
, or the
hymn
, in its many aspects, with particular focus on
choral
and
congregational
song. It may be more or less clearly distinguished from
hymnody
, the creation and practice of such song. Hymnologists, such as
Erik Routley
, may study the history and origins of hymns and of traditions of sung worship, the biographies of the women and men who have written hymns that have passed into choral or congregational use, the interrelationships between text and tune, the historical processes, both folk and redactional, that have changed hymn texts and
hymn tunes
over time, and the sociopolitical, theological and aesthetic arguments concerning various styles of sung worship.
Hymnology is not an "-ology" in the usual sense of an independent discipline that has a proper set of concepts and critical vocabulary that must first be learned before progress can be made.
[1]
Rather, it's two disciplines: one that studies the texts and follows the rules of literary scholarship, the other that is trained in music and follows the rules of musicology. The "-ology" just means that they might publish in the same journals, occasionally attend the same conferences, or be asked to serve on a
hymnal
committee. If they write about the interaction between music and text, this is purely by instinct: there is no "scholarly consensus" for an underlying set of principles about how the interaction can be optimized. Often, the term "hymnologist" simply refers to anyone who has enough standing within the faith community to be asked to serve on a hymnal committee.
Hymnology is sometimes more strictly construed, as in
A Dictionary of Hymnology
,
[2]
edited by
John D. Julian
, which concerns itself very largely with the history, textual changes, and translations of hymns, and with the biographies of
hymnographers
, and very little with the
poetic metres
of these hymns, or with the
hymn tunes
to which these are sung.
Great Four Anglican Hymns
[
edit
]
The "
Great Four
" are four
hymns
widely popular in
Anglican
and other
Protestant
churches during the 19th century.
[3]
In his
Anglican Hymnology
, published in 1885, the Rev. James King surveyed 52 hymnals from the member churches of the
Anglican Communion
around the world, and found that 51 of them included these hymns, the so-called Great Four:
[4]
- All Praise to Thee, my God, this Night,
[5]
text by
Thomas Ken
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
, text by
Charles Wesley
- Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending
, text by
Charles Wesley
- Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
, text by
Augustus Montague Toplady
King also found the following six hymns in 49 of the 52 hymnals:
- Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide
, text by
Henry Francis Lyte
- Awake my Soul and With the Sun
,
[6]
text by
Thomas Ken
- Jerusalem the Golden
,
[7]
text by
Bernard of Cluny
, English translation by
John Mason Neale
-
- Jesus, Lover of My Soul
, text by
Charles Wesley
- Sun of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear,
[8]
text by
John Keble
- When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
, text by
Isaac Watts
All of these hymns likewise appear in
The Best Church Hymns
, published by the Rev. Louis F. Benson in 1898. Benson's collection of 32 frequently published hymns from various churches was based upon a survey of 107 Protestant hymnals, including King's book, thus representing "the judgment of our common Protestantism."
[9]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
In philosophical terms, it is analogous to the situation described in
Plato
's dialogue
Gorgias
: is
rhetoric
an art (
techne
) with a
logos
? Or, does it rely on having a
knack
derived from experience?
- ^
John Julian, ed., (1902/1985),
A Dictionary of Hymnology
, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel.
- ^
The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn-Tunes
, by Rev. David Breed, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1903, 1934, p. 85
- ^
Anglican hymnology: being an account of the 325 standard hymns of the highest merit according to the verdict of the whole Anglican Church (1885)
- ^
"All Praise to thee, my God, this night"
. Cyber Hymnal.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun"
. Cyber Hymnal. Archived from
the original
on 2011-07-03
. Retrieved
2010-08-28
.
- ^
"Jerusalem the Golden"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-09-17
. Retrieved
2012-02-15
.
- ^
"Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear"
. Oremus Hymnal. Archived from
the original
on 2009-06-06
. Retrieved
2009-04-12
.
- ^
The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn-Tunes
, by Rev. David Breed, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1903, 1934, p. 86
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Hymnology
.
|
---|
Roots and beginnings
| | |
---|
Modern genres
| |
---|
Fusion genres
| |
---|
Chant
| |
---|
Lists
| |
---|
Related topics
| |
---|
|