Hymns Resurrected
Meredith Henne on Old Musical Wine & the New Wineskins
When perusing the bulletin from a pew one Sunday a few years ago, I happily noted a hymn—a hymn!—in the weekly song lineup of the church I then attended. It was some old classic, like “Rock of Ages” or “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” and a welcome reprieve from newer songs with endless rain references and a kindergarten vocabulary. Unfortunately, when the music began, I belted out a tune very different from the song leader’s and quickly petered out in embarrassment. The new melody was lovely, just unknown—confusion being the price of having a hymn in an Evangelical service these days, I suppose.
That morning was an awkward first taste of what is actually an overall encouraging trend, at least to this traditionalist and long-time church pianist. Churches that have for years relied on modern choruses are taking another look at hymns, and their musicians are returning to the content and style of time-honored religious anthems for inspiration. Over the past ten years, groups of young musicians disenchanted with shallow praise songs have increasingly formed themselves into sacred music rescue squads, dusting off poetry and tunes long forgotten in their local congregations. These musicians tend to be Evangelicals with liturgical or traditional leanings.
The hymns they have introduced (or re-introduced) come in three varieties: (1) old hymns retaining their traditional melodies and wording; (2) old hymn lyrics with rewritten tunes, some with a very contemporary feel; and (3) completely original songs that make an honest attempt at timeless musical settings and theologically informed lyrics. The fruits of their labors can now be found in hymn albums such as those by Indelible Grace Music in Nashville (with spin-off artists Matthew Smith and Sandra McCracken); High Street Hymns in Charlottesville, Virginia; Red Mountain Church in Birmingham, Alabama; and Keith Getty and Stuart Townend in Great Britain, among others.
New Music Ministries
Indelible Grace, a ministry connected to Reformed University Fellowship and the Presbyterian Church, is recovering the tradition of putting old hymns to new music, and they’ve taken their place at the forefront of the movement in America. They have not only recorded arrangements of hymnody’s classics, such as “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and “More Love to Thee, O Christ,” but they have also raided the archives and the Psalter to uncover lesser-known but first-rate sets of Christian lyrics.
Their most recent collection of hymns, Beams of Heaven: Indelible Grace IV (2005), launches with “Come and Welcome,” a poem from the First Great Awakening paired with a buoyant modern tune. Another highlight is John Newton’s “Begone Unbelief,” an honest grappling with doubt in a tune tinged with melancholy.
There are some unfortunate misses. “Lead On, O King Eternal” was morphed from stately march tune to angst-ridden U2 b-side, for example. Some congregations will love it, no doubt, but the reworked arrangement is a poor match for the lyrics.
Another group actively rescuing hymnody’s treasures, High Street Hymns, is based in Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. All of their songs were first crafted for local church services and their Anglican College Ministry. Alex Mejias, the singer/songwriter behind High Street, keeps a few things in mind when he chooses which hymns to resurrect, including the author (Charles Wesley is his favorite) and how the hymns fit into a liturgical service and the Christian calendar.
The self-titled High Street Hymns, the group’s first full-length album, was released in April 2007. “By Thy Mercy” is one of several rescued Lenten hymns on this album: “When the world around is smiling/ In the time of wealth and ease/ Earthly joys our hearts beguiling/ In the day of health and peace/ By thy mercy, O deliver us/ Good Lord.” Greg Thompson has paired the poem with a solemn, plaintive melody and a perfect pause that emphasizes the “Good Lord” behind life’s dispensations.
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