''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a

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 Chr ...

in common use within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, a result of the efforts of the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitable trust, Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd, and as of 2022 it publishes a wide range of hymnals as well as other theological and religious books and magazines, under imprints such as the Canterbury Press and SCM Press.

Origin

Hymn singing

By 1830 the regular singing of hymns in the dissenting churches (outside the Church of England) had become widely accepted due to hymn writers like

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey the ...

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen ...

and others. In the

hymn singing was not an integral part of Orders of Service until the early 19th century, and hymns, as opposed to metrical psalms, were not officially sanctioned. From about 1800, parish churches started to use different hymn collections in informal services, like the ''Lock Hospital Collection'' (1769) by Martin Madan, the ''

Olney Hymns The ''Olney Hymns'' were first published in February 1779 and are the combined work of curate John Newton (1725–1807) and his poet friend William Cowper (1731–1800). The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish, which was made up ...

'' (1779) by

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

and

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and sce ...

and ''A Collection of Hymns for the Use of The People Called Methodists'' (1779) by John Wesley and

Oxford Movement

A further impetus to hymn singing in the Anglican Church came in the 1830s from the

, led by

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouc ...

and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

. Being an ecclesiastical reform movement within the Anglican Church, the Oxford Movement wanted to recover the lost treasures of

breviaries A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as ...

and service books of the ancient Greek and Latin churches. As a result Greek, Latin and even German hymns in translation entered the mainstream of English hymnody. These translations were composed by people like John Chandler,

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

Thomas Helmore Thomas Helmore (7 May 1811, in Kidderminster – 6 July 1890, in Westminster) was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols. Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister (also called Thomas). During the ...

Edward Caswall Edward Caswall, CO, (15 July 1814 – 2 January 1878) was an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who converted to Catholicism and became an Oratorian priest. His more notable hymns include: "Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise"; "Come, ...

Jane Laurie Borthwick Jane Laurie Borthwick (9 April 1813, Edinburgh, Scotland; 7 September 1897, Edinburgh, Scotland) was hymn writer, translator of German hymns and a noble supporter of home and foreign missions. She published under the pseudonym: H. L. L. (Hymns f ...

and

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lu ...

. Besides stimulating the translation of medieval hymns, and use of

plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. ...

melodies, the Oxford Reformers, inspired by

Reginald Heber Reginald Heber (21 April 1783 – 3 April 1826) was an English Anglican bishop, man of letters and hymn-writer. After 16 years as a country parson, he served as Bishop of Calcutta until his death at the age of 42. The son of a rich land ...

's work, also began to write original hymns. Among these hymnwriters were clergy like Henry Alford, Henry Williams Baker,

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1, ...

and Christopher Wordsworth and laymen like Matthew Bridges, William Chatterton Dix and Folliott Sandford Pierpoint.

Accomplishment of the Hymns Ancient and Modern

The growing popularity of hymns inspired the publication of more than 100 hymnals during the period 1810–1850. The sheer number of these collections prevented any one of them from being successful. A beginning of what would become the ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' was made with the ''Hymns and Introits'' (1852), edited by George Cosby White. The idea for the hymn-book arose in 1858 when two clergymen, both part of the

, met on a train: William Denton of St Bartholomew,

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London. The gate gave its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City which straddles the line of the former wall and gate, a line which continues to divide the ward into ...

, co-editor of the ''Church Hymnal'' (1853) and Francis Henry Murray, editor of the ''Hymnal for Use in the English Church'' Denton suggested that the 1852 ''Hymnal for use in the English Church'' by Francis Murray and the ''Hymns and Introits'' by George Cosby White should be amalgamated to satisfy the need for standardisation of the hymn books in use throughout England. Besides their idea, Henry Williams Baker and Rev. P. Ward were already engaged on a similar scheme for rival books. Given the lack of unanimity in the church's use of hymns, Henry Williams Baker thought it necessary to compile one book which would command general confidence. After ascertaining by private communications the widespread desire of churchmen for greater uniformity in the use of hymns and of hymnbooks in the services of the Church, Sir Henry Baker, vicar of Monkland in the diocese of Hereford, early in 1858 associated himself for this purpose with about twenty clergymen, including the editors of many existing hymnals, who agreed to give up their several books to try to promote the use of one standard hymn book. In October of that year an advertisement in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', the High Church newspaper, invited co-operation, and over 200 clergymen responded. In January 1859 the committee set to work under the lead of Henry William Baker. An appeal was made to the clergy and to their publishers to withdraw their individual collections and to support this new combined venture. They founded a board, called the "Proprietors", which oversaw both the publication of the hymnal and the application of the profits to support appropriate charities, or to subsidise the purchase of the hymn books by poor parishes. The superintendent was William Henry Monk. One of the advisors,

, recommended that it should be made a comprehensive hymn-book. This committee set themselves to produce a hymn-book which would be a companion to the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...

. Another intention of the founders of ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' was that it would improve congregational worship for everybody. A specimen was issued in May 1859. In 1860 a trial edition was published, with the

imprimatur An ''imprimatur'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the R ...

of Dr Renn Hampden, Sir Henry Baker's

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The first full edition with tunes, under the musical editorship of Professor W. H. Monk, King's College, London, appeared on March 20, 1861.

Sources for the Hymns Ancient and Modern

The ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' was a rather eclectic collection of hymns that included a broad series of hymns from different religious traditions, in order to achieve a standard edition. Sources included: * the translations from Greek by John Chandler in his ''Hymns of the Primitive Church''. * the translations from Latin by

in hi
''Hymnal Noted''
(Novello, Ewer and Company, 1851) and th
''Accompanying Harmonies to The Hymnal Noted''
together with

, (1852), th
''Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences''
first published in 1851 and th
''Hymns of the Eastern Church, translated with Notes and an Introduction''
(1870, first edition appeared in 1865) * the translations from Latin by

in hi
''Lyra Catholica: Containing All the Hymns of the Roman Breviary and Missal''
(1851) * the translations from German by

in he
''Lyra Germanica, Hymns for the Sundays and chief festivals of the Christian Year, Translated from the German''
(1855 edition) * the translations from German by

in he
''Hymns from the land of Luther: translated from the German''
(first edition in 1853) * the churchly hymns from the

. In the Preface of the 1861 edition of the ''Hymns Ancient and Modern''

'
''The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and holidays throughout the year''
1837 (first edition appeared in 1827) was mentioned explicitly. * the hymns from the evangelical stream (dissenters and Methodists); composers included the clergy William Hiley Bathurst,

Horatius Bonar Horatius Bonar (19 December 180831 July 1889), a contemporary and acquaintance of Robert Murray M'cheyne was a Scottish churchman and poet. He is principally remembered as a prodigious hymnodist. Friends knew him as Horace Bonar. Licens ...

Henry Francis Lyte Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 – 20 November 1847) was an Anglican divine, hymnodist, and poet. Biography Youth and education Henry Francis Lyte was the second son of Thomas and Anna Maria (née Oliver) Lyte, whose family came originally fr ...

, and lay persons like

Sarah Flower Adams Sarah Fuller Flower Adams (or Sally Adams) (22 February 1805 – 14 August 1848) was an English poet and hymnwriter. A selection of hymns she wrote, published by William Johnson Fox, included her best-known one, " Nearer, My God, to Thee", rep ...

, Cecil Frances Alexander, William Henry Havergal,

Frances Ridley Havergal Frances Ridley Havergal (14 December 1836 – 3 June 1879) was an English religious poet and hymnwriter. ''Take My Life and Let it Be'' and ''Thy Life for Me'' (also known as ''I Gave My Life for Thee'') are two of her best known hymns. She also ...

an
Jane Eliza Leeson
In the Preface of the 1861 edition of the ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' William Henry Havergal'
''Old Church Psalmody''
(1849) was mentioned explicitly. Henry Williams Baker wrote and translated many of the hymns which it contains, and his ability, his profound knowledge of hymnology, and his energetic discharge of the duties of chairman of its committee for twenty years, mainly contributed to its success. Not all the hymns in these sources were already provided with tunes. Therefore, composers like William Henry Monk, the editor of the 1861 edition,

John Bacchus Dykes John Bacchus Dykes (10 March 1823 – 22 January 1876) was an English clergyman and hymnwriter. Biography John Bacchus Dykes was born in Hull, England, the fifth child and third son of William Hey Dykes, a ship builder, later banker, an ...

and Frederick Ouseley, John Stainer, Henry Gauntlett and Edmund Hart Turpin provided new hymn tunes. Among the hymns with newly-composed tunes were '' Eternal Father, Strong to Save'' and ''

Praise to the Holiest in the Height ''The Dream of Gerontius'' is an 1865 poem written by John Henry Newman consisting of the prayer of a dying man, and angelic and demonic responses. The poem, written after Newman's conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, explores his new ...

'' (John Bacchus Dykes), '' Onward, Christian Soldiers'' (

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', '' The Pirates of Penzance ...

) and '' Abide with Me'' (William Henry Monk).John Monsell, ''Hymns Ancient and Modern: De negentiende-eeuwse Engelse gezangindustrie'', in: Tim Dowley, Christelijke muziek door de eeuwen heen, 2013, p. 170-171 The ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' was austere in style and conformed to the Anglican

. It also established the practice of writing tunes for specific texts and publishing both texts and tunes together rather than in separate collections, which had been the practice until then. Roughly, the hymns were arranged in the order of the Prayer Book. More specifically, there were separate sections grouped according to liturgical criteria: hymns for the daily offices, Sunday, the church year, Holy Communion and other sacraments, and the various feasts. Furthermore, the ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' was the first influential book to attach "Amen" to every hymn.

Impact of the Hymns Ancient and Modern

The ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' experienced immediate and overwhelming success, becoming possibly the most popular English hymnal ever published. The music, expressive and tuneful, greatly assisted to its popularity. Total sales in 150 years were over 170 million copies. As such, it set the standard for many later hymnals like the '' English Hymnal'' which first appeared in 1906. As such, the English Hymnal is succeeded by the New English Hymnal in 1986.

Editions

Early editions

The first edition, musically supervised by William Henry Monk, was published in 1861 by Novello & Co, with 273 hymns. They also published the 1868 Appendix; but following negotiations, the whole publishing project was placed in the hands of William Clowes and Son later that year. It was revised in 1875 by Monk to produce the second edition, to which

Charles Steggall Charles H. Steggall (3 June 1826 in London – 7 June 1905 in London) was an English hymnodist and composer. Early life The son of R. W. Steggall (of the London-based harness and saddlery maker Whippy, Steggall and Fleming), Charles Stegg ...

added several supplementary hymns in 1889. In 1904 a "new and revised edition" was published, edited by Bertram Luard-Selby. After many complaints about the difference between this and its predecessors,

's edition was republished in 1906 as the "Complete edition".

Standard edition

In 1916 the "old complete edition" was republished for the last time, with a second supplement by

Sydney Nicholson Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson (9 February 1875 – 30 May 1947) was an English choir director, organist and composer, now chiefly remembered as the founder of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and the compiler of ''The Parish Psalter''. Li ...

. In 1922, the "standard edition" was published, more strongly based on the "old complete edition" than the less popular "new and revised edition". This also was edited by Nicholson, who was the musical editor until he died in 1947.

Revised edition

In 1950 the "revised edition" was published, with G. H. Knight and J. Dykes Bower having both edited since the death of Nicholson. Many hymns were weeded out from the 1950 edition as the editors wished to make space for more recent compositions and to thin out the over-supplemented previous versions. Bower was Organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, whilst Knight held the same post at Canterbury.

New Standard edition

In 1975 the proprietors formed a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

and a registered charity, and in 1983 published the "New Standard edition": this comprised 333 of the 636 hymns included in ''A and M Revised'' (AMR) and the entire 200-hymn contents of ''100 Hymns for Today'' (HHT, 1969) and ''More Hymns for Today'' (MHT, 1980).

''Common Praise''

In 2000 Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd, through its subsidiary the

Canterbury Press ''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 charitable ...

, published a new hymnal, this time called ''Common Praise''. This was printed by William Clowes Ltd. of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

''Sing Praise''

In September 2010

and the

Royal School of Church Music The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) is a Christian music education organisation dedicated to the promotion of music in Christian worship, in particular the repertoire and traditions of Anglican church music, largely through publications, t ...

published ''Sing Praise'', subtitled "Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship", containing 330 recently written hymn, song and short chant compositions. The selection was designed to complement ''Common Praise'' in particular, but also other hymn books in current use.

''Ancient and Modern''

In March 2013

published ''Ancient and Modern'', so reverting to the original title without the word "Hymns", but also subtitled ''Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship'', a brand new edition designed for contemporary patterns of worship. It contains 847 items, including some items from ''Common Praise'' and ''Sing Praise'', ranging from psalm settings to John L. Bell,

Bernadette Farrell Bernadette Farrell (born 26 March 1957) is a British hymnographer and composer of Catholic liturgical music. Among her compositions are "Christ, Be Our Light,” "Restless Is The Heart," "God, Beyond All Names" and "O God, You Search Me." Biogra ...

, Stuart Townend and others. In 2014 the British organist John Keys completed recordings of organ accompaniments of all the hymns in the book.

Publisher

In 1989 Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd. bought ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', the Church of England's periodical, and bought SCM Press in 1997. Other imprints include Canterbury Press. In 2007 it became the distributor for

St Andrew Press Saint Andrew Press, established in 1954 to promote the works of the theologian William Barclay, is the publishing house of the Church of Scotland. It merged with Scottish Christian Press in 2005. In January 2011, Saint Andrew Press's sales, pro ...

, the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

's publishing house.