About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Hymn

Encyclopedia : H : HY : HYM : Hymn

 

For other meanings see hymn (disambiguation)
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος hymnos "a song of praise", which itself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European stem *sh2em- "to sing" and is related to Hittite išḫamai "he sings" and Sanskrit sāman "song".

A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist or hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called hymnody; the same word is used for the collectivity of hymns belonging to a particular denomination or period (e.g. "nineteenth century Methodist hymnody" would mean the body of hymns written and/or used by Methodists in the nineteenth century). A collection of hymns is called a hymnal. These may or may not include music.

Ancient hymns include the Great Hymn to the Aten, composed by the pharaoh Akhenaten, and the Vedas, a collection of hymns in the tradition of Hinduism. The Western tradition of hymnody begins with the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek hymns, the oldest of which were written in the 7th century BCE in praise of the gods of Greek mythology.

Contents

Christian tradition

Christian hymnody, primarily inspired by the Psalms of David are directed as praise and worship to God. The majority reference Jesus either directly or indirectly.

Christian Hymns are often written with special or seasonal themes and these are used on holy days such as Christmas, Easter and the Feast of All Saints. Others are used to instill reverence to the Bible or celebrate Christian practices such as the eucharist or baptism. Some hymns, such as used in Catholicism, may treat on individual saints, particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Accompaniment

Most Christian worship services have, since the earliest times, incorporated the singing of hymns, either by the congregation or by a selected choir, often using various forms of accompaniment. In ancient times, stringed instruments such as the harp, lyre and lute were used with psalms and hymns. Modern hymnody accompanied on normal scales by a piano and/or organ ranging up to the symphony orchestra, share many elements with classical music, much of which had religious themes. Contemporary Christian worship, such as with Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism may include the use of electric guitars and the drum kit. Other Christian denominations, notably the Church of Christ, forbid the use of instruments, adhering to a capella congregational singing of hymns. (see this article section).

The development of Christian hymnody

Thomas Aquinas, in the introduction to his commentary on the Psalms, defined the Christian hymn thus: "Hymnus est laus Dei cum cantico; canticum autem exultatio mentis de aeternis habita, prorumpens in vocem." ("A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.")

Since there is a lack of musical notation in early writings, the actual musical forms in the early church can only be surmised. During the Middle Ages a rich hymnody developed in the form of Gregorian chant or plainsong. This type was sung in unison, in one of eight Church modes, and most often by monastic choirs. While they were written originally in Latin, many have been translated. A familiar hymn of this type is the 11th century plainsong Divinum Mysterium, (although the words Of the Father's Love Begotten date back to around the 4th century), that is a common part of church Christmas repertoires in the English language.

The Protestant Reformation produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of many hymns including A Mighty Fortress Is Our God which is sung today even in Roman Catholicism. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The earlier English writers tended to paraphrase biblical text, particularly Psalms; Isaac Watts followed this tradition, but is also credited as having written the first English hymn which was not a direct paraphrase of Scripture. Later writers took even more freedom, some included allegory and metaphor in their texts. Four part harmony also became the norm, rather than unison singing.

Charles Wesley's hymns spread Methodist theology, not only within Methodism, but in most Protestant churches. He developed a new focus - expressing one's personal feelings in the relationship with God as well as the simple worship seen in older hymns. Wesley wrote:

Where shall my wondering soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin,
A brand plucked from eternal fire,
How shall I equal triumphs raise,
Or sing my great deliverer's praise.
Wesley's contribution, along with the Second Great Awakening in America led to a new style called gospel, and a new explosion of sacred music writing with Fanny Crosby, Ira D. Sankey, and others who produced testimonial music for revivals, camp meetings and evangelistic crusades.

African-Americans developed a rich hymnody from spirituals during times of slavery to the modern, lively black gospel style.

The Methodist Revival of the eighteenth century created an explosion of hymnwriting in Welsh, which continued into the first half of the nineteenth century. The most prominent names among Welsh hymn-writers are William Williams of Pantycelyn and Ann Griffiths. The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed an explosion of hymntune composition and choir singing in Wales.

Some Christians today are using Christian lyrics in the rock music style although this often leads to some controversy between older and younger congregants. This is not new; the Christian pop music style began in the late 1960s and became very popular during the 1970s, as young hymnists sought ways in which to make the music of their religion relevant for their generation.

This long tradition has resulted in a rich lode of hymns. Some modern churches include within hymnody, the traditional hymn (usually addressed to God), praise choruses (often sung scripture texts) and gospel (expressions of one's personal experience of God). This distinction is not perfectly clear; and purists remove the second two types from the classification as hymns. It is a matter of debate, even sometimes within a single congregation, often between revivalist and traditionalist movements.

Some Christian hymnists and their more well known hymns are:

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, many others
  • John Greenleaf Whittier : Dear Lord and Father of mankind
    • Christian hymns, especially in more recent centuries, were often written in four-part vocal harmony. Today, except for choirs and more musically inclined congregations, hymns are typically sung in unison. In some cases complementary full settings for organ are also published, in others, organists and other accompiansts are expected to mentally transcribe the four-part vocal score for their instrument of choice.

    Hymn meters

    Following Isaac Watts it has been common for English hymnody to use a conventionally named poetic meters to pair lyrics with melodies. Those used the most often are:

    Media

    References

    See also

    External links

     

    From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
    All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

    Search Titles
    0123456789
    ABCDEFGHIJ
    KLMNOPQRST
    UVWXYZ?

    E-mail this article to:

    Personal Message: