Here is another hymn for the wonderful time after Easter!
This hymn is dedicated to a very good friend of mine, Matt!
Title: Sing with
All the Saints in Glory
Tune: Hymn to Joy
Meter: 8.7.8.7. D
Composer: Arranged from Ludwig Van Beethoven (16th
December, 1770- March 26th, 1827), arranged by Edward Hodges, (20th
July, 1796- 1st September, 1867)
Author: William
J. Irons (12th September, 1812- 18th June, 1883)
The
first time this hymn appeared was in 1873, where it was published in the first
edition of William J. Irons’ Psalms and
Hymns for the Church (London, 1873; second edition, 1875). This collection
of hymns was supposed to provide hymns for offering, epistles, and gospels, and
also was labeled for use as an Advent and Lenten hymn. Though these are the
official uses that are named for the hymn, often times this hymn is sung for
Easter. The hymn “Sing with All the Saints in Glory” is found in several
different denominations of the Christian faith and each one has the hymn listed
in a different section of the hymnal. The Catholic hymnal Gather, from GIA Publications (Chicago, Illinois, 1994) has the
hymn listed under “Easter (#442),” the United
Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, Tennessee, 1989) has the hymn listed under
“New Heaven and New Earth (#702),” and the Evangelical
Lutheran Worship (Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2006) has the hymn listed under
“Festivals and Commemorations (#426).” Though each denomination, Catholic,
Lutheran, and Methodist, have this hymn in their collections, the Methodist
church has been publishing this hymn for the longest time in their hymnals.
“Sing with All the Saints in Glory” has been published in a Methodist hymnal
since 1878, only three years after the second edition of the hymns original
publication. Though “Sing with All the Saints in Glory” seems to fit best in
the category of “Easter,” the meaning can be flexible, and therefore can be
placed in several different categories depending on the season. Though the
original version of the hymn has four stanzas, the Evangelical Lutheran Worship, takes the first two lines of the last
two stanzas, and combines them to create on final stanza, leaving the hymn with
only three total stanzas.
Born in
England in 1812, William J. Irons was the son of Joseph Irons, who happened to
be a good friend of John Newton (See Amazing Grace). Irons was educated at Queens college, Oxford,
where he graduated with a BA in 1833, and eventually, a DD in 1854
(Westermeyer, 2010, p.246). In 1835, Irons took Holy Orders which led him to
become Incumbent of St. Peter’s in Walworth in 1837. Throughout his life, Irons
held many different positions at several churches, including Vicar of Barkway,
Incumbent of Brompton, Rector of Wadingham, and in 1872, he became Rector of
St. Mary-Woolnoth, which the position formerly was held by John Newton himself
(Hymnary.org/persons/Irons_WJ, para. 1). W.J. Irons played a small, but
prominent role in the ecclesiastical debates that were raging on during his
time. He published numerous documents on the topic in the form of sermons,
pamphlets, and letters, which all accumulated into his work, The Bampton Lectures, which was written
in 1870. The work covered Christianity as it was taught by St. Paul. W.J. Irons’
hymn writing began during his curacy at St. Mary Newington, from 1835-1837, and
continued until his death in 1883 (Hymnary.org/persons/Irons_WJ, para. 1). Many
of Irons’ hymns were first printed on broadsheets (large sheets of paper with
only one side printed on, often times referring to a newspaper that is more
serious than some), and were published in R.T. Rowe’s (Rector of Lea,
Lincolnshire) Hymns for the Christian
Seasons, (Gainsburgh, 1st
ed. 1854)(Gainsborough, written in Westermeyer’s Hymnal Companion), and also in
his own collection. Iron’s published a metrical psalter in 1857 and also 100
hymns in Hymns for the Church (1866).
Perhaps
one of the reasons for the great popularity of this hymn can be traced to the
very recognizable tune written by none other than Ludwig Van Beethoven. Though
he did not do so intentionally, Beethoven is one of only a few composers who
wrote hymn tunes (Ralph Von Williams, and Orlando Gibbons being an exception).
The tune “Hymn to Joy” was originally composed by Beethoven for J.C.F. von
Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” Which Beethoven wrote for a full chorus in the fourth
movement of his Ninth Symphony (Westermeyer, 719). The first performance of the chorus was in
1824, when Beethoven had gone completely deaf. Though the full piece was not
performed until 1824, the tune can be traced to sketches that extend as far
back as 1797. The tune to “Ode to Joy” was eventually adapted as a hymn tune by
Elam Ives (1802-1862) in his Mozart
Collection (New York, 1846), and by Edward Hodges (1796-1867) in his The Trinity Collection of Church Music
(New York, 1864)(Westermeyer, p. 719). One of the more famous hymns that this
tune was published with was Henry Van Dyke’s “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Evangelical Book of Worship, #836). The
hymn paired with the tune in The Hymnal (1911)
of the Presbyterian Church.
The
tune “Hymn to Joy” follows the form of AA’BA’, which is very simple, and common
for the time in which it was written. The melody is simple, and is built off of
the first five notes of a diatonic scale, with the exception of one note that
dips below the tonic, but the melody quickly returns to the first five notes.
The difficulty of this hymn, for many congregations, lies within the slight
syncopation of the beginning of the last line, or the second statement of A’.
Because most congregations cannot manage this syncopation, most hymnals have
published the tune with the last line square, instead of syncopated. According
to Paul Westermeyer, the removal of the syncopation “drains the tune of its
life (Westermeyer, p. 720).” Westermeyer believes that with a slight coaching
of the congregation, or with the organist playing the melody through as an
introduction, the congregation should be able to pick up on the syncopation and
sing it through with no trouble. Because many hymnals have been publishing the
current version of the hymn, it is difficult for those hymnals who publish the
original to catch wind and become popular.
Beethoven
was a very interesting man, with lots of history to his name. Though I could go
on about his story, I will keep it brief for the sake of your time (and mine
too! This is a busy semester!). Ludwig Van Beethoven grew up in a very poor and
unstable home in Bonn, Germany. Both Beethoven’s Father and Grandfather were
musicians as well (Westermeyer, p. 720). The first time Beethoven suited music was with
his father (who was abusive to him as a child), who was a court singer looking
to exploit his son’s musical abilities. Later, Beethoven would continue his
musical studies with Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748-1798). The next few years of
Beethoven’s life seemed to follow with one position after the other. At the age
of eleven, he was substitute court organist; at age twelve, Beethoven was
accompanist for the court orchestra; at age fourteen, he was assistant court
organist, and from 1788-1792, a violist in the theater orchestra. After these
positions, Beethoven studied with famous composer Franz Joseph Haydn, and
several other composers throughout Vienna, although he was not always happy
with his teachers. Eventually, Beethoven became known as Europe’s favorite and
most eccentric composer, pianist, and improviser. Beethoven is best known for
being the important link between the Classical period and the Romantic period,
having lived in the transition between the two. Though Beethoven was a
brilliant composer, starting in the year 1798, he began losing his hearing (the
cause is not known, but it is known that he suffered from severe Tinnitus, or a
high pitched ringing in the ears), and eventually he became deaf all together. Despite
his limitations due to hearing, Beethoven arguably did some of his best work
after his hearing was gone completely (his Ninth Symphony being one of his
works composed completely deaf).
The Text:
1. Sing with
all the saints in glory,
sing
the resurrection song!
Death
and sorrow, earth's dark story,
to the
former days belong.
All
around the clouds are breaking,
soon
the storms of time shall cease;
in
God's likeness we, awaking,
know
the everlasting peace.
2. O what
glory, far exceeding
all
that eye has yet perceived!
Holiest
hearts, for ages pleading,
never
that full joy conceived.
God has
promised, Christ prepares it,
there
on high our welcome waits.
Every
humble spirit shares it;
Christ
has passed th'eternal gates.
3. Life
eternal! heaven rejoices;
Jesus
lives, who once was dead.
Join we
now the deathless voices;
child
of God, lift up your head!
Patriarchs
from the distant ages,
saints
all longing for their heaven,
prophets,
psalmists, seers, and sages,
all
await the glory given.
4. Life
eternal! O what wonders
crowd
on faith; what joy unknown,
when,
amidst earth's closing thunders,
saints
shall stand before the throne!
O to
enter that bright portal,
see
that glowing firmament;
know,
with thee, O God Immortal,
"Jesus
Christ whom thou has sent!"
My Take on the Text:
This
hymn is one of great praise. The whole setting of the text is for praising God
and all of the glories he has promised us in heaven above! The love that God
displays for us is never ceasing and never failing, and we will live to see it
in our lives each and every day! This hymn not only covers the things that we
are given here on earth, but it also tells of the promises that Christ has
given us through his death on the cross. I can see where each different
denomination has reasoning to place this hymn in different categories. The song
fits Easter time because it discusses Christ defeating the grave, and rising up
to be with God; the song fits New Heaven and New Earth, because it talks about
the old Earth being defeated by the glory of God; the song fits
festivals/commemorations, because it is glorious, and sings the praises of
things still to come in heaven above! Though the meaning and category of this
hymn is fairly scattered, there is no doubt that this hymn is glorious and full
of life! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me through the rest of
my days on Earth, and I look forward even more to seeing the glories he has
promised me in Heaven above when my time here has come to a close!
The Hymn:
 |
| if you cannot read music, just start the Youtube video and follow along! |
Bibliography:
"Sing, with
All the Sons of Glory." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute
of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Julian, John.
"William J. Irons." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute
of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
"HYMN TO
JOY." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute
of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Westermeyer, Paul.
"Festivals, Commemorations." Hymnal Companion to Evangelical
Lutheran Worship. Vol. 1.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2010. 246-47. Print.
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