"All Creatures of Our God and King" is an English Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

by William Henry Draper, based on a poem by

St. Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

. It was first published in a hymn book in 1919.

History

The words of the hymn were initially written by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225 in the

Canticle of the Sun The Canticle of the Sun, also known as Laudes Creaturarum (Praise of the Creatures) and ''Canticle of the Creatures'', is a religious song composed by Saint Francis of Assisi. It was written in an Umbrian dialect of Italian but has since been ...

poem, which was based on

Psalm 148 Psalm 148 is the 148th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens". In Latin, it is known as "Laudate Dominum de caelis". The psalm is one of the Laudate psalms. Old Testamen ...

. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of a Church of England parish church at Adel near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first wrote the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper wrote it for his church's children's

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...

festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. Like "

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" () is a popular Christian hymn with text by Athelstan Riley, first published in the ''English Hymnal'' (1906). It is sung to the German tune ' (1623). Its uplifting melody and repeated "Alleluias" make this a favou ...

", Draper's text is usually set to the tune of "'", a German

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

hymn published by

Friedrich Spee Friedrich Spee (also ''Friedrich Spee von Langenfeld''; February 25, 1591 – August 7, 1635) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, professor, and poet, most well known as a forceful opponent of Witch trials in the early modern period, wit ...

in 1623 in his book '. This tune became widespread in English hymn books starting with a 1906 arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

also wrote a piece of music for the hymn. Despite the hymn being initially written by Draper for

(the Anglican and English designation for Pentecost), it is mostly used in the earlier weeks of the Easter season.

Melody

The most common melody is the 1623 German hymn tune '. The following setting is from the 1906 ''

English Hymnal ''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and wa ...

'', with the lyrics quoted from the 1986 ''

New English Hymnal ''The New English Hymnal'' is a hymn book and liturgical source aimed towards the Church of England. First published in 1986, it is a successor to, and published in the same style as, the 1906 ''English Hymnal''. It is published today by SCM C ...

'': << << \new Staff \new Lyrics \lyricmode \new Lyrics \lyricmode \new Lyrics \lyricmode \new Lyrics \lyricmode \new Staff >> >> \layout \midi

In popular culture

In the United Kingdom, the hymn was prominently featured in the pilot episode of the comedy programme ''

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...

'', where the title character is in church when the congregation sings "All Creatures of Our God and King", but he has no hymnal and his neighbour refuses to share. The only lyric he can participate in is the recurrent "Alleluia". In the United States, it was covered by the

David Crowder Band David Crowder Band (stylized as David Crowder*Band and The David Crowder*Band) was a six-piece Christian rock and modern worship band from Waco, Texas. Their final album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian and No. 2 on the B ...

on the album ''

Can You Hear Us? ''Can You Hear Us?'' is the debut studio album and third album overall by David Crowder Band and the first recorded for sixstepsrecords, released in February 2002. Critical reception ''Can You Hear Us?'' garnered a positive reception from music ...

'' in 2002.

References

External links

{{Authority control English Christian hymns Francis of Assisi Songs based on poems 20th-century hymns Christianity and nature