"For All the Saints" was written as a

processional hymn A processional hymn is a chant, hymn or other music sung during the Procession, usually at the start of a Christian Church, Christian service, although occasionally during the service itself. The procession usually contains members of the clergy a ...

William Walsham How William Walsham How (13 December 182310 August 1897) was an English Anglican bishop. Known as Walsham How, he was the son of a Shrewsbury solicitor; How was educated at Shrewsbury School, Wadham College, Oxford and University College, Durham. ...

, who was ultimately the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is now ...

. The hymn was first printed in ''Hymns for Saints' Days, and Other Hymns'', by Earl Nelson, 1864.

Tune

The hymn was sung to the melody ''Sarum'', by the Victorian composer

Joseph Barnby Sir Joseph Barnby (12 August 183828 January 1896) was an English composer and conductor. Life Barnby was born at York, as a son of Thomas Barnby, who was an organist. Joseph was a chorister at York Minster from the age of seven, was educated ...

, until the publication of the

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 was ...

in 1906. This

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

used a new setting by

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

which he called ''Sine Nomine'' (literally, "without name") in reference to its use on the

Feast of All Saints All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are know ...

, 1 November (or the first Sunday in November, All Saints Sunday among some Lutheran church bodies or those congregations whose membership makes weekday services infeasible). It has been described as "one of the finest

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s of the

0th 0th or zeroth may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * 0th or zeroth, an ordinal for the number zero * 0th dimension, a topological space * 0th element, of a data structure in computer science * Zeroth (software), deep learning softwar ...

century." Although most English hymn tunes of its era are written for singing in

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

four-part harmony, ''Sine Nomine'' is primarily unison (verses 1,2,3,7 and 8) with organ accompaniment; three verses (4, 5 and 6) are set in sung harmony. The tune appears in this forms in most English hymnbooks (for example

(641),

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 Ca ...

(197),

Common Praise ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitabl ...

(232)) and American hymnals (for example,

The Hymnal 1982 ''The Hymnal 1982'' is the primary hymnal of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is one in a series of seven official hymnals of the Episcopal Church, including ''The Hymnal 1940''. Unlike many Anglican churches (including the ...

and the

Lutheran Service Book ''Lutheran Service Book'' (''LSB'') is the newest official hymnal of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC). It was prepared by the LCMS Commission on Worship and published by Concordia Publishing Hou ...

(677)). Since the 1990s, some

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

churches and groups affiliated with

Reformed University Fellowship Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) is the campus ministry organization of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). RUF has experienced rapid growth in the 1990s; its income in 1995 was $200,000 and grew $24 million by 2012. Currently, RUF has ...

in the United States use a tune composed by Christopher Miner.

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

's tune ''Engelberg'' was also written to be partnered with this hymn, although in the wake of ''Sine nomine'' it never gained popularity and is now more commonly used with other hymns, including "When in Our Music God is Glorified." << \language "english" << \new Staff \addlyrics \addlyrics \addlyrics \new PianoStaff << \new Staff \new Staff >> >> >> \layout \midi

Text

:1. For all the saints, who from their labours rest, :Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, :Thy Name, O Jesu, be forever blessed. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might; :Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight; :Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :3. For the Apostles’ glorious company, :Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea, :Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee: :Alleluia, Alleluia! :4. O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold, :Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, :And win with them the victor’s crown of gold. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :5. For the Evangelists, by whose blest word, :Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord, :Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :6. For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye, :Saw the bright crown descending from the sky, :And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :7. O blest communion, fellowship divine! :We feebly struggle, they in glory shine; :Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :8. And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, :Steals on the ear the distant triumph song, :And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :9. The golden evening brightens in the west; :Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest; :Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :10. But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day; :The saints triumphant rise in bright array; :The King of glory passes on His way. :Alleluia, Alleluia! :11. From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, :Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, :Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: :Alleluia, Alleluia! ''Some versions substitute "far off we hear" for "steals on the ear" (verse 8). There are other minor variations as well. Most renditions omit verses 3, 5 and 6.''

Use in German

On a request by German composer

Heinz Werner Zimmermann Heinz Werner Zimmermann (11 August 1930 – 25 January 2022) was a German composer, focused on contemporary sacred music. He was professor of composition at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing A ...

, Anna Martina Gottschick wrote a hymn "

Herr, mach uns stark "" (Lord, make us strong) is a Christian hymn in German with text by Anna Martina Gottschick written in 1972. The hymn for the end of the church year is sung to the melody "Sine Nomine" by Ralph Vaughan Williams . It is contained in the Catholic h ...

" (Lord make us strong n courage to confess you to the "Sine nomine" tune in 1972, because the composer wanted to make it available for German church singing. Her hymn is intended for the end of the liturgical year. The version in German Protestant and Catholic hymnals closes with a stanza which

Jürgen Henkys Jürgen Henkys (6 November 1929 – 22 October 2015) was a German Protestant minister and theologian. Henkys was born in , Ostpreußen, Germany. He became a lecturer at the Sprachenkonvikt in East Berlin and the Professor for Practical Theology at ...

translated from "For All the Saints".

Notes

References

* . * Richard Clothier, ''A Heritage of Hymns'' (Independence, Missouri: Herald Publishing House, 1996), 156–58.

External links

For all the Saints
sung by the choir of St. Paul's Cathedral (dir.

Malcolm Archer Malcolm Archer (born 1952) is an English composer, conductor and organist. He combines this work with a recital career. Archer was formerly Organist and Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and at St Paul's Cathedral and Di ...

)
Background information
{{authority control English Christian hymns 1864 songs 19th-century hymns