Traditional Hymns Research Articles

Hymns and the Singing Community: The Formation of the Canaan Hymns in Contemporary Chinese Churches

Abstract This article studies the formation of the Canaan Hymns (Jianan shige 迦南诗歌) in relation to the history of the contemporary Chinese indigenous church. Over the last thirty years, Lü Xiaomin (吕小敏, 1970–) has composed more than two thousand hymns. They reflect not only her own personal life and evangelism, but also the growth of the Fangcheng Fellowship (方城团契) in Henan Province from a local home gathering to a national mission movement. Through textual studies, interviews, and archival research, this article examines how local congregants adopted Lü’s hymns, which are distinct from both western traditional hymns and Chinese rural spiritual songs (lingge 灵歌). These hymns represent a unique form of theological meaning-making within the indigenous church movement and serve as a pointer to the Chinese understanding of missio Dei as a whole.

The importance of understanding and making sense of Zulu traditional hymns as a symbol of expressing worship: Cognitive hermeneutics and hermeneutics of hymnody theories

Singing and understanding Zulu traditional hymns among charismatic churches and gospel groups have become a fundamental worship tool. Zulu traditional hymns are at the centre of Christian lives in South Africa. Singing Zulu traditional hymns (iCilongo Levangeli) is predominant for many South African musicians and gospel groups using modern musical styles. However, contemporary churches, musicians and gospel groups tend not to understand the authenticity of these hymns. The issue of Zulu traditional hymns in the modern gospel industry is a matter of great concern. Therefore, this article addresses and discusses the importance of understanding and making sense of Zulu traditional hymns as a symbol of expressing worship. Data were collected for a research practice using a hermeneutic phenomenology paradigm to obtain a precise understanding and the original meaning of the prominent Zulu traditional hymns. The study reveals that there are Zulu traditional hymns that were misinterpreted and misunderstood. The misinterpretation of Zulu traditional hymns is partly attributable to the ignorance of the underlying true meaning, emotions, state and purpose of the original composer.Contribution: This study recommends that contemporary gospel musicians sing Zulu traditional hymns in the original text to ensure that they do not misinterpret the hymns.

The Songs We Sing: A Textual Analysis of Popular Congregational Songs of the 20th and 21st Century

Contemporary worship songs have been the subject of criticism over their lyrical quality. Objective assessment of the veracity of the criticisms has been difficult to achieve. This research seeks to address this issue by performing a textual analysis of the most popular hymns of the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary popular worship songs and comparing the results. The research concludes that although there are differences in the lyrical content they are not crucial and that both contemporary worship songs and traditional hymns should find a home in congregational song.

A comparative study of interpersonal meanings of traditional hymns and contemporary Christian songs in China

Abstract Contemporary Christian songs (CCSs) are gaining more favor in Chinese churches than traditional hymns (THs) nowadays; however, many scholars have criticized the intimate relationship established with God in CCSs from the perspective of theology. This study aims to explore whether the God-human relationship built in THs and CCSs has experienced a change by carrying out a comparative analysis of their respective constructed interpersonal meanings. Combining Halliday’s framework with judgment in Martin and White’s Appraisal system, this study compares 100 CCSs and THs from the aspects of modality, judgment, mood and projected roles with the help of UAM Corpus Tool 3.0., with some changes of the original categories of judgment system due to the specific nature of the judged subject in the data. The semantic analyses show that the God-human relationship constructed in hymns has changed, with the encompassing view of God narrowed to one focused on love, the sinful nature of humans replaced by their incapability, and the assurance in and reverence to God outweighed by closeness and intimacy with Him. Some cultural realities and the situation of the church are referred to as a way of explaining this change.

Responses to violence and human suffering in Christian hymnody: A study of responses to situations of violence in the work of four hymn writers

This article looks at violence and the response to violent situations from the perspective of Christian hymnody. It examines where the content of hymns reflects experiences of violence and the hymn writers’ response to this. The work of four hymn writers is studied: two German traditional hymn writers and two contemporary English hymn writers. In each case, the article examines how they describe the violent situation, how they deal with the issue of human guilt, and what their response is. The article points out that often, hymns that deal with difficult issues do not become easily accepted in the congregational repertoire. However, as can be seen in these four cases, sometimes hymn writers do manage to find the language that can ensure that a hymn or song becomes a deep-felt way for congregations to express their feelings and experiences. Important in this acceptance is whether the hymn finds an appropriate expression of hope beyond the pain.

Klinkende ruimte. Reformasie deur die kerklied

In the year 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is commemorated in countries all over the world. The Reformation was an ecclesiastical and theological renewal movement, but through congregational singing, the ideas of the Reformation spread rapidly through many countries. It was thus also a singing movement. The commemoration year offers an opportunity to explore the ecumenical possibilities of singing and to search for new perspectives. In this article, the exegesis of a hymn text provides the opportunity for a theological discussion on various dimensions of space opened up by worship. They are, among others, the space to meet God, to meet other people and to meet oneself; the space for God’s work; the space to live the faith; the space for memory (anamneses) and a space to get new perspectives – thus presenting the opportunity to ‘change space’. The space created by music is space for praising God, for proclaiming, hearing and believing God’s Word, together with other possibilities. In the hymn that is analysed, the six main spaces or areas of the church’s work within which music and singing could function, come into play. The Gattung, Liedpredigt, opens the possibility for sermons based on hymns – an important ‘use’ of hymns since the time of the Reformation. It is a possibility that should be emphasised anew in the commemoration year. The performative function of the hymn (the effect or functioning of a hymn) as it is experienced concretely in the performance (the singing of the hymn), is discussed briefly. A need for new sacred spaces and sacrality in spaces provides new space for traditional hymns and for the organ as an instrument traditionally associated with worship – provided they share the space with other instruments, fill the space with new colours of sound and allow for new forms of singing. The tradition should be re-interpreted constantly, to sound the faith anew in each space where it is voiced and heard.

Style Matters: Contemporary Worship Music and the Meaning of Popular Musical Borrowings

In North American Protestantism’s so-called worship wars, the musical battle lines were drawn between traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs. Scholars and practitioners on both sides of t...

Hymn singing in Sesotho/Setswana/Sepedi speaking churches: a process of claiming and reclaiming

Hymn singing is an early example of cross-cultural pollination – what had been taken away from the natives by the missionaries, was reclaimed in the adaptation of old European hymns and the composition of new traditional hymn tunes to old texts. The performance practised was also reclaimed. The historical background of the Sesotho hymnal, Lifela tsa Sione, also sung by the Batswana in some churches, is discussed. The singing style encountered in four different churches in North-West Province illustrates the evolving style of hymn singing found in mainstream traditional churches in South Africa today. This style shows a new identity, which is again influencing European hymn singing. Compared with the popular Music from Taizé, the so-called traditional African ‘choruses’ have similarities and have been incorporated in ecumenical worship.

Songs of Worship in Life and at Death

AbstractThis article analyses and contrasts two songs that reflect on the meaning of life and death: the traditional hymn, ‘Farther Along’ and the song by late reggae icon, Peter Tosh, ‘Jah Say No’. Both songs consider how believers engage with the challenges of life; however, the comparison of these songs may be considered unusual as, while most Christians would accept ‘Farther Along’ as a religious song, there would be very few who would classify ‘Jah Say No’ in a similar fashion. Nevertheless, the lyrics of the two songs present diametrically different views of the nature of our earthly existence; hence, the comparison sheds light on diverse spiritual experiences in the Caribbean today.

Emily Dickinson and hymn culture: tradition and experience

Extending the critical discussion which has focused on the hymns of Isaac Watts as an influence on Emily Dickinson's poetry, this study brings to bear the hymnody of Dickinson's female forbears and contemporaries and considers Isaac Watts's position as a Dissenter for a fuller understanding of Dickinson's engagement with hymn culture. Victoria N. Morgan argues that the emphasis on autonomy in Watts, a quality connected to his position as a Dissenter, and the work of women hymnists, who sought to redefine God in ways more compatible with their own experience, posing a challenge to the hierarchical 'I-Thou' form of address found in traditional hymns, inspired Dickinson's adoption of hymnic forms. As she traces the powerful intersection of tradition and experience in Dickinson's poetry, Morgan shows Dickinson using the modes and motifs of hymn culture to manipulate the space between concept and experience-a space in which Dickinson challenges old ways of thinking and expresses her own innovative ideas on spirituality. Focusing on Dickinson's use of bee imagery and on her notions of religious design, Morgan situates the radical re-visioning of the divine found in Dickinson's 'alternative hymns' in the context of the poet's engagement with a community of hymn writers. In her use of the fluid imagery of flight and community as metaphors for the divine, Dickinson anticipates the ideas of feminist theologians who privilege community over hierarchy.

Keeping in Tune with the Times—Praise & Worship Music as Today's Evangelical Hymnody1 in North America

Abstract: In the heated discussion about different church music styles, one aspect often gets overlooked: the similarities between traditional hymns and the modern or contemporary Praise and Worship music (P&W). Aiming at unfolding some of these similarities, this article contemplates technological, sociological, and theological perspectives to reveal parallels between the two practices and postulates P&W as today's evangelical hymnody in North America.

Music Wars, Neuroscience, and Self Psychology

For many members of the worshiping church traditional hymn styles and worship songs are experienced as incompatible. More than this, these styles can evoke responses ranging from indifference to ho...

From Stylistic Stalemate to Focus on Function

From the vantage point of a Roman Catholic liturgist and musician, the notion of music wars as a conflict between those favoring traditional hymns accompanied by organ versus those preferring conte...

Hymnody and Liturgy in the Azusa Street Revival, 1906-1908

AbstractParticipants in the Azusa Street Revival regularly emphasized the nonliturgical nature of their Spirit-led worship. This article argues, however, that while worshippers eschewed traditional devices such as lectionaries and set schedules, they did create their own, unique form of liturgy through hymnody. The liturgical functions served by music at Azusa Street included selecting Scripture readings, ordering services, and providing theological balance. To make this case, the author surveys references to music, singing, and hymn writing in the official publications of the revival and in later accounts of the revival recorded by participants. From these sources, the author identifies three types of music used at Azusa Street: singing in the Spirit, new compositions written in a conventional style, and traditional hymns. The article further demonstrates how these genres served specific functions in the community, one of the most important of which was to emphasize the christological, as opposed to pneumatological, aspects of Pentecostal theology.

The Johannine Prologue and Jewish Didactic Hymn Traditions: A New Case for Reading the Prologue as a Hymn

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.) The problem of identifying and classifying early Christian hymns within the NT has not gone away, and no identifiable consensus has emerged with regard to the nature, structure, and purpose of any single purported NT hymn. The Johannine prologue is a case in point. Though many scholars recognize the prologue as something of an early Christian hymn, others suggest that the whole enterprise of identifying early Christian hymns is ill-advised. The sharp differences of opinion on the issue of early Christian hymns indicate that this continues to be an important issue; it is particularly important in that it affects the way scholars interpret the rich and complex thought of John 1:1-18. In this essay I wish to carve out some conceptual space for a position between those who identify hymns in the NT and those who dismiss that impulse as methodologically unsound. I will argue that we have in John's prologue an instance of a particular kind of hymnody-didactic hymnody-an instructional strategy with roots in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish writings, but that also resonates with instructional approaches of the Greco-Roman world. To make this case I first define the concept of didactic hymnody as it existed in the centuries before the Gospel of John. Second, I analyze the prologue as a didactic hymn showing that this perspective provides a satisfying reading of the prologue on a number of levels as it takes account of primary features of the prologue. Since this reading leads to the conclusion that the John the Baptist materials are interpolations, I devote a section to addressing this problem. Next, I review objections to the claim that the Johannine prologue is a hymn, responding in detail to arguments made by Daniel Boyarin.1 Finally, I contrast Boyarin's approach with my own and show that, while Boyarin identifies some serious problems with the traditional hymn view, he also sets aside some important clues to the true nature of the prologue as a didactic hymn. I. THE ANCIENT PHENOMENON OF DIDACTIC HYMNODY Scholars have long recognized the existence in ancient times of didactic hymnody-a kind of composition that instructs an audience even as it praises the divine.2 Although the term has been used for decades, the concept of didactic hymnody has never been adequately defined. In this essay I use the term didactic hymnody as a shorthand phrase for a larger set of texts that includes psalms, hymns, prayers, and religious poetry whose primary purpose is to convey a lesson, idea, or theological truth to a human audience. Thus, a number of different kinds of poetic or religious compositions can be considered didactic hymns when their contents register a didactic tone and their style participates in hymnic conventions. Didactic hymns often use traditional language and expressions to paint a portrait of ultimate reality that a human audience is expected to embrace. By adapting time-honored conventions to address the needs of the present community, didactic hymns invite the audience to see its current circumstances in the context of a larger picture of reality that takes account of the divine realm as well as the human world. In fact, this appears to be the value of the didactic hymn: it teaches not merely through direct instruction but also through imagery and metaphor, creating a vision of ultimate reality. This vision may or may not align with visible realities that the community is experiencing, and thus a didactic hymn has the potential to serve as a powerful vehicle for articulating an alternative view of the world and how God is at work in it through people. In this regard didactic hymns and prayers are well-suited to play a role in communal formation.3 In ancient Jewish writings instructional hymnody is most clearly seen in psalms that state their intent to teach in explicit terms (e.g., Pss 34:11; 78:1). Many other psalms lack this explicit reference to their teaching function though it is clear that they also intend to convey a lesson to the audience. …

The Mythology of Female Sexuality: Alternative Narratives of Belonging

The concept of duty is overrated (Fire) The swamiji's testicles have grown too big for his loincloth (Fire) It's a dyke thing (Junky Punky Girlz) Eswar Allah tero Naam (Junky Punky Girlz) Before ex...

Anglican ‘Establishment’ Reactions to ‘POP’ Church Music in England, 1956–C.1990

The use of popular styles of music in the Church has often proved contentious, and perhaps particularly so in the later twentieth century. Anecdotal evidence abounds of the debate provoked in churches by the introduction of new ‘happy-clappy’ pop-influenced styles, and the supposed wholesale discarding of a glorious heritage of hymnody. In addition, a great deal of literature has appeared elaborating on the inappropriateness of such music. Welcoming a historical study of hymnody in 1996, John Habgood lamented the displacement of traditional hymn singing by ‘trivial and repetitive choruses’. Lionel Dakers, retired Director of the Royal School of Church Music, also saw choruses and worship songs as ‘in many instances little more than trite phrases repeated ad nauseam, often with accompanying body movements’. This paper investigates the reactions of the musical and ecclesiastical establishments to the use of popular music in public worship in the Church of England from 1956 to c. 1990. The period began with a new wave of experimentation epitomized by Geoffrey Beaumont’s Folk Mass and the controversy surrounding it, and ended in the early 1990s, by which time the pop-influenced worship music of the renewal movement had become firmly established in some sections of the Church, with its own figure-heads and momentum.

Notes on Harp of David

These notes do not constitute a critical analysis; that would be a task for someone other than myself. Rather, they amount to a sort of log of work's evolution, a post-compositional exercise which in fact I have not attempted with any of my other pieces. The reaction of some students, colleagues, and performers, to whom I have shown them, persuaded me they may be worth sharing. This cycle of six psalm-settings for a-cappella chorus1 had a number of causes. First, in my head for a long time was a vague notion of setting some psalm-texts, from old Book of Common Prayer version, as a tribute to my mother, often used to quote favourite phrases (my cup runneth over, who going into vale of misery useth it for a well, the mountains skipped like lambs), and with whom I sang them in a church choir many years ago. Second, in 1 982 1 heard Elmer Iseler Singers perform on two occasions Monteverdi's Lagrime d'amante, and was struck by intense effect of close to half an hour of acappella choral music, and by unexpectedly wide range of colors and textures. Third, I had, over a period of twenty years or more, delved into early psalmody and hymnody, especially in their Canadian aspects, had taught this material to my students, and in 1984-5 was actively engaged in editing an anthology of tunes from early Canadian collections.2 Further, I had composed two choral works based on traditional hymn tunes - Sharon Fragments (1966) and Three Motets on Swan's 'China' (198 1)3 - and found continuing interest in beauty of this literature and in its potential for variational and other kinds of treatment. The fourth cause was one which really ignited enterprise. Late in 1984, a good friend from college days, Rev. R.F. Shepherd, was elected Anglican Bishop of British Columbia, and asked me to compose a piece to be sung at his installation. I responded with a setting of Psalm 65, which now forms first movement of Harp of David; it was performed by choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria (where I used to sing as a boy) under direction of Michael Gormley. Ronald Shepherd had approved text, one of several possibiUties we considered in consultation: blessing is called on the man whom thou choosest, spirit of a happy, laughing earth seemed appropriate, and rain images accorded especially well with West Coast locale. The following spring I set Psalm 80, now fourth movement. Shortly afterwards I drafted a plan for cycle, chose further texts, and composed successively Psalms 122 and 87 (together; now sixth movement), Psalm 148 (now No.5), Psalm 1 (No.3), and Psalm 130 (No.2). The first two movements (1 and 4) drew respectively on a Scottish psalm tune (London New, 1635) and a tune from earliest hymnal of Wesley an Methodism (Foundery, 1742). For other four movements, I borrowed tunes from other periods and from traditions with comparable pertinence in Canadian terms - for No.2, Aus tiefer Not, Lutheran, 1524;forNo.3,Psaume 1, Calvinist, 1542; for No.5, Beautiful River, U.S., 1864; and for No.6, Remembrance, New Brunswick, 1816. The texts for all six movements are those of Book ofCommon Prayer of 1562. But in each movement except No.5 I added portions of corresponding verseparaphrases, juxtaposing these with prose in various ways; and again these verses are all taken from different historical sources (some older bibles printed them as a supplement): that in No. 1 from first North American collection, Bay Psalm Book, 1640; those in Nos. 2 and 3 from same sources as their melodies, first Lutheran songbooks and Geneva P salter respectively; that in No.4 from Isaac Watts' The Psalms of David imitated in language of New Testament, 1722; and that in No. 6 from Methodist poet John Newton. The BCP texts are each set in full - with only two modifications. In No. 5, last few lines are slightly re-arranged. …