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Hymns

Introduction

I grew up in a church where all the singing was done reading the words off a projection on the wall, and the songs were heavily repetitive. During college, I started basing my beliefs off what the Bible had to say instead of fellow Christians, and as a result I am now in a much more conservative church - in doctrine and music. Over the years, I have fallen in love with the old Baptist hymns. Newer contemporary music just cannot compare to the depth of meaning found in the traditional songs.

I've always liked tunes done in a modal style, and since about 2003, I have taken a particular interest in older Baptist hymns. Sadly, many of these beautiful hymns and psalters are no longer commonly sung even in the conservative churches.

A note on older hymns

Our modern notion of music strongly connects a tune with the lyrics. That is, when you think of the words to "Amazing Grace", the tune is also remembered; and when you think of the tune to "Amazing Grace", the words come to mind. However, this was not the case with older hymns. Rather, each congregation knew a number of named tunes and would sing different lyrics to the same tunes. It would not seem at all odd in a church at that time to sing different words to the tune of "Amazing Grace", or to sing the words of "Amazing Grace" to a different tune.

The important thing to keep in mind when researching hymns for performance in church services is that you are just as free to "mix and match" the lyrics and tunes. Also keep in mind that the tunes have names, while the lyrics are commonly referred to just as the first line or phrase in those lyrics.

Hymns

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