A hymn metre (''US:'' meter) indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each
stanza
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
of a
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 ''hymn'' ...
. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate
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 ...
for singing.
Hymn and poetic metre
In the English language
poetic metres and hymn metres have different starting points but there is nevertheless much overlap. The hymn ''
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...
'' is used as an example:
:Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
:that saved a wretch like me.
:I once was lost, but now am found,
:was blind, but now I see.
Analyzing this, a poet would see
couplets
A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
with four
iambic metrical feet
The foot is the basic repeating metre (poetry), rhythmic unit that forms part of a line of poetry, verse in most Indo-European languages, Indo-European traditions of poetry, including English accentual-syllabic verse and the quantitative meter of ...
in the first and third lines, and three in the second and fourth. A musician would more likely count eight syllables in the first line and six in the second. This would be described as 8.6.8.6 (or 86.86). The words of ''Amazing Grace'' can therefore be set to any tune that has the 8.6.8.6 metre, for example ''
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. ...
''.
Conventionally most hymns in this 86.86 pattern are iambic (weak-strong syllable pairs). By contrast most hymns in an 87.87 pattern are
trochaic
In English poetic metre and modern linguistics, a trochee () is a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. But in Latin and Ancient Greek poetic metre, a trochee is a heavy syllable followed by a light one (al ...
, with strong-weak syllable pairs:
:Love divine, all loves excelling,
:joy of heav'n to earth come down,...
In practice many hymns conform to one of a relatively small number of metres (syllable patterns), and within the most commonly used ones there is a general convention as to whether its stress pattern is iambic or trochaic (or perhaps
dactylic, such as
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Great Is Thy Faithfulness is a popular Christian hymn written by Thomas Chisholm (songwriter), Thomas Chisholm (1866–1960) with music composed by William M. Runyan (1870–1957) in Baldwin City, Kansas, U.S.
The phrase "great is thy faithfulnes ...
). It is rare to find any significant
metrical substitution in a well-written hymn; indeed, such variation usually indicates a poorly constructed text.
Terminology and abbreviations
Most hymnals include a metrical index of the book's tunes. A hymn may be sung to any
tune in the same meter, as long as the
poetic foot (such as
iambic,
trochaic
In English poetic metre and modern linguistics, a trochee () is a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. But in Latin and Ancient Greek poetic metre, a trochee is a heavy syllable followed by a light one (al ...
) also conforms.
All metres can be represented numerically, for example "
Abide With Me
"Abide with Me" is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung ...
" which is 10.10.10.10. Some of the most frequently encountered however are instead referred to by names:
*C.M., or CM—
Common metre Common metre or common measure—abbreviated as C. M. or CM—is a poetic metre consisting of four lines that alternate between iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line), with each foot cons ...
, 8.6.8.6; a quatrain (four-line stanza) with alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third.
*L.M., or LM—
Long metre Long Metre or Long Measure, abbreviated as L.M. or LM, is a poetic metre consisting of four line stanzas, or quatrains, in iambic tetrameter with alternate rhyme pattern ''a-b-a-b''. The term is also used in the closely related area of hymn metre ...
, 8.8.8.8; a quatrain in iambic tetrameter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and often in the first and third.
*S.M., or SM—
Short metre
A hymn metre (''US:'' meter) indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing.
Hymn and poetic metre
In the English language p ...
, 6.6.8.6; iambic lines in the first, second, and fourth are in trimeter, and the third in tetrameter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third. "Blest Be the Tie that Binds" is an example of a hymn in short metre.
Two verses may be joined together and sung to a tune of double the length:
*D.C.M. (also C.M.D., or CMD)—Doubled CM, 8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6.
*D.L.M. (also L.M.D., or LMD)—Doubled CM, 8.8.8.8.8.8.8.8.
*8.7.8.7.D—equivalent to two verses of 8.7.8.7., either
trochaic
In English poetic metre and modern linguistics, a trochee () is a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one. But in Latin and Ancient Greek poetic metre, a trochee is a heavy syllable followed by a light one (al ...
or
iambic.
A few hymns have an inconsistent metrical pattern across their verses; one well-known example is
O Come, All Ye Faithful
"O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...
. Such a metre is described as '"irregular".
Local and historic variation
While the terminology above enjoys widespread agreement across the English-speaking world, there is some regional variation. Even within a region there may be historical variation and development. For example some metre names no longer widely used includes:
*P.M. or PM— ''Peculiar metre''; formerly used for irregular, rare, or one-of-a-kind metres in a hymnal.
[The metrical index of the 1941 ]LCMS
LCMS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, a chemical analysis technique
* Learning content management system
* LittleCMS, an open-source color management system
Organizations
* Lindero Canyon Middle S ...
''The Lutheran Hymnal
''The Lutheran Hymnal'' (''TLH'') is one of the official hymnals of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1941 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the denomination's second official English-langua ...
'' has several single-item metrical categories, and lacks a PM category. Their 1982 ''Lutheran Worship
''Lutheran Worship'' (''LW'') is one of the official hymnals of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1982 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it is the denomination's third English-language hymnal and wa ...
'', however, introduces a new PM category, although still retaining several explicit single-item metrical categories. Their 2006 ''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 ...
'' maintains a similar PM and methodology.[An example is the 12.9.12.9 CAPTAIN KIDD ("]What Wondrous Love Is This
"What Wondrous Love Is This" (often just referred to as "Wondrous Love") is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody derived from a popular English balla ...
"). ''The Presbyterian Hymnal
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' lists it in the numerical part of the index.[In ]Christian Heinrich Rinck
Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck (18 February 1770 – 23 July 1846) was a German composer and organist of the late classical and early romantic eras.
Life and career
Rinck was born in Elgersburg (in present-day Thuringia), and died in Darmst ...
's "Choräle für die Orgel und für die englische Kirche op. 119", Darmstadt 1832 (Yale University LM2093, nr. 4) P.M. is given to the hymntune Hanover by William Croft
William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist.
Life
Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal under the instruction of John Blow ...
.
* L.P.M. or LPM— ''Long Particular Meter'', may refer to a six-line stanza of iambic tetrameter 8.8.8.8.8.8,
*H.M., or HM— ''Hallelujah metre'', may sometimes be used in reference to 66.66.88,
[; '']Lutheran Book of Worship
The ''Lutheran Book of Worship'' (''LBW'') is a worship book and hymnal used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. Additional hymns and service music are contained in the companions, ''Hymnal Supplement 1991'' and ''With One Vo ...
'' and ''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 ...
'' use 66 66 88 instead.
*50th— 10.10.10.10.10.10
*104th— 10.10.11.11
*112th— 6.6.6.6.8.8
*124th— 10.10.10.10.10
*148th— 6.6.6.6.4.4.4.4
The latter metres are named for the metres of
metrical psalms
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisatio ...
.
See also
*
Foot (prosody)
The foot is the basic repeating rhythmic unit that forms part of a line of verse in most Indo-European traditions of poetry, including English accentual-syllabic verse and the quantitative meter of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The ...
*
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 ...
*
Metre (poetry)
In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set o ...
*
Trochaic septenarius In ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, the trochaic septenarius or trochaic tetrameter catalectic is one of two major forms of poetic metre based on the trochee as its dominant rhythmic unit, the other being much rarer troc ...
Notes
References
{{Reflist
External links
* "Hymn" i
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
Musical notation
Hymnology
European rhythm