choosinG a neW hYmn booK - Hymns Ancient and Modern

CHOOSING A NEW
HYMN BOOK
J U L I A N E L L O W AY
The publication of Ancient & Modern, the latest
addition to the Hymns Ancient & Modern family,
follows by only a few months the Methodist Church’s
Singing the Faith and other new books for use by
churches throughout the English-speaking world.
These new resources provide opportunities and
raise questions for church musicians.
Towards the end of the 20th century it was often said
that there would be few new hymn books in the 21st
century. Most of the major Christian churches and
sub-groupings had produced new books; the old
denominational and other divisions had become
less significant as people used songs and hymns from
different traditions; overhead transparencies and the
electronic availability of hymn texts (on the internet
or from computer programs) made the idea of a fixed,
printed book seem obsolete. Yet the flow of new books
has continued, with ever-higher editorial standards
and exciting contents.
Denominational and Ecumenical
Some books consciously bridge denominational
boundaries. Canada led the way with The Hymn Book
of 1971 for Anglicans and the United Church of
Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists,
followed by Australia with The Australian Hymn Book
of 1977 which added Roman Catholics to the remit.
The Australian publishers crossed territorial boundaries
as well, issuing an international edition entitled
With one voice: a hymn book for all the churches. But in the
USA and the UK denominational books have flourished,
doubtless in part because their larger populations have
made books for particular sub-sections more viable.
Good denominational books reflect the particular
strengths of their tradition as well as embracing music
from the wider church. The 2005 fourth edition of
Church Hymnary certainly shows its Presbyterian roots,
not least in its initial section of 108 psalms in a variety
of musical versions, but also displays a breadth of
material from all over the world including many
short songs and longer items. It too has appeared
in an edition with a different title for use outside its
home territory: Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise. Although
the 1983 UK Methodist book, Hymns and Psalms, had
the subtitle ‘A Methodist and Ecumenical Hymn Book’,
its 2011 successor, Singing the Faith, prefers to be a
resource for the Methodist Church that ‘celebrates its
heritage and contains the best of modern hymnody’.
The 21st-century hymn book
These latest books have an outward appearance of
tradition – tradition – hardbound with cloth boards,
and the contents arranged liturgically and thematically,
supplemented by an array of useful indexes: continuity
rather than rupture. But there are distinctive
characteristics that unite them which would not have
been found (or to nothing like the same extent) in earlier
books. The world church is more strongly represented,
especially with songs from Latin America and Southern
Africa. There are more repeated, meditative songs and
chants from Taizé, Iona and other sources, sufficient in
the case of two of the books to justify their being grouped
into a separate section. Among new hymnody (i.e. with
linear direction of thought expressed within a consistent
metre) there are many texts that intercede in contemporary
language for life in the world today. If one adds syncopated
praise songs and other items that most of us would
loosely categorize as worship songs, probably over half
of these large books (all with over 800 items) is new or at
least feels new; the preface to Ancient & Modern states that
it has nearly 400 items not in Common Praise (the previous
Hymns A&M book). There is often more emphasis on the
individual worshipper (exemplified in the use of ‘I’ rather
than ‘we’). As well as the ‘invisible mending’ of old texts
that jar because of gender-specific or simply obsolete
terminology, there is a greater willingness to start
again with a translation of a foreign hymn or biblical
paraphrase and offer a new version rather than an
amended old version.
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Ancient & Modern
So how does Ancient & Modern fit into this pattern?
The first thing to note is the title – it distinguishes
itself from its predecessors by the omission of the word
‘Hymns’, and justifiably, given the range of its contents.
Its predecessor, Common Praise, appeared only thirteen
years ago, but in comparison seems to belong to a
different era. Common Praise was a traditional hymn
book, very effectively consolidating the A&M tradition
with the best of the English Hymnal tradition plus a few
new items added to the mix, two by Graham Kendrick,
three by John Bell for example. Ancient & Modern has,
by contrast, 14 by Kendrick and no fewer than 33 by Bell.
One trend that the compilers seem to have resisted
is any concentration on the individual rather than
the corporate body of worshippers: Singing the Faith
and Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise have twice as many
first lines starting with ‘I’ (or ‘I’m’ or ‘I’ve’) than
Ancient & Modern.
My copy of Ancient & Modern arrived in time for
me to have it by my side during Holy Week, looking
up each hymn or song and each day in the liturgical
index, and to ask how I might have used it to refresh
worship if it had been with me when planning the
music for each service. This article is not a review
of Ancient & Modern – that awaits the next issue of
Sunday by Sunday (66) – but the answer is that it would
have made a considerable difference in the range
>
Continuity rather than rupture: the hymn books of the
21st century have an outward appearance of tradition.
of items that I would have considered and in the
quality of the musical arrangements. There are of
course several well-known books that offer a mix
of songs and traditional hymns, but none approaches
the sophistication of selection, subtlety of editing
and, frequently, inspiration of musical arrangement
that makes Ancient & Modern such a useful resource.
Choosing a hymn book
There are many musical differences in the treatment
of the same hymn in different books, most obviously
where there is a choice of tune. With the same tune
there can also be much variety and different people
will have different preferences for, say, in the case
of Bunessan the arrangements by John Barnard and
Noël Tredinnick in Ancient & Modern, by Paul Leddington
Wright in Singing the Faith or by David Evans in Hymns
of Glory, Songs of Praise. The same applies to keyboard
accompaniments of worship songs, normally more
suitable for organ in Ancient & Modern than in the
other books. Keys vary too: those that were particularly
low in Hymns Ancient & Modern New Standard reverted
to higher keys in Common Praise, but have sometimes
dropped back to a lower pitch in Ancient & Modern.
But no matter – an intelligent music leader will
compare versions in different books and use whichever
harmonization, accompaniment and key seems
most appropriate for their circumstances, including
instrumentalists and/or choir – it does not matter what
hymn book is being used by the congregation. The same
applies to chord symbols and to descants. My heart
has sunk at times hearing a choir sing every descant
that happens to be printed in the hymn book they are
holding – ‘death by descant’ as a member of the clergy
commented. Descants are good, however, and where
the previous Common Praise had comparatively few, the
new Ancient & Modern has an enterprising selection. Just
don’t sing them automatically because they are there:
pick and choose appropriately (and if you have chosen
a different key, check that the descant still works for
your singers in that key).
Musical considerations of course are important, but
not the first priority in choosing a hymn book, because
you yourself can mix and match different tunes and
different versions. So what does matter, if the book is to
encourage and stimulate a congregation is its worship?
Three things. Above all, the breadth of the selection of
hymns and songs. If a new item is already included in
the book that the congregation is holding, it is already
in a sense owned by them and much easier to introduce
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as a new piece than if it is handed out on a separate
sheet of paper. Even if you mostly sing only the latest
material that you learnt at the last Spring Harvest, a
printed book will open up a wider range of possibilities.
Congregations can read, and will read (and, surely,
think about and pray) the words of other songs and
hymns in the book, and be inquisitive about what they
sound like. Ancient & Modern has the subtitle ‘hymns and
songs for refreshing worship’ – it and Singing the Faith
and Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise will all do that, simply
by encouraging congregational singing of a far wider
range of pieces, presented in a way that encourages
them to be taken up and used effectively.
Congregations will read the
words of other songs and
hymns in the book, and be
inquisitive.
The second thing that matters is the editing of the
words. You can replace the musical arrangements
if you wish, but the words in hymn books held by the
congregation are fixed. Compare carefully and check
that any changes to well-known words will inspire
and not alienate your particular congregation. Thirdly,
check presentation, including legibility and durability.
Legibility does not only mean size of print: more space
between lines and around the verses can contribute as
much. Choice of typeface also has an effect. Do you
want a melody-line edition? Is it important for you that
a large-print words edition is available? More difficult
to assess is durability of binding and cover, but if you
have used books from the same publisher, that may
suggest an answer. For congregational use I avoid
wire‑o, comb or spiral binding. The binding becomes
bent on repeated use (even just putting away on shelves
and taking out again each week) and then the book
won’t open properly.
Once your congregation has the most appropriate
book in its hands, make sure that you or your worship
leader does not just rely on that book but compares
elsewhere the choice of tunes for established hymnody,
the keys and the musical arrangements. Personally,
working in what is at present a Common Praise church,
I check what is in New English Hymnal, in Hymns of Glory,
Songs of Praise especially for Iona material, and also in
the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal fifth edition with
its excellent arrangements by Donald Davison. You will
have your own favourites; the important thing is to refer
to a mixture, and keep on ‘refreshing worship’.
THE THREE MAIN QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN
CHOOSING A HYMN BOOK
1 Does the book satisfy your current needs, and also
include a breadth of hymns and songs to provide variety
and refresh the worship of your congregation?
2 How have the words been edited, and will the editing
inspire (or annoy) your congregation?
3 Is the book legible, durable and available in suitable
editions for your congregation?
© Ash Mills www.ashmills.com
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