"Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem" or "Sing, Choirs of New Jerusalem" is an English Easter hymn by Robert Campbell. It is a 19th-century translation of the medieval , attributed to

Fulbert of Chartres Fulbert of Chartres (french: Fulbert de Chartres; 952–970–10 April 1028) was the Bishop of Chartres from 1006 to 1028 and a teacher at the Cathedral school there. Fulbert was a pupil of Gerbert of Aurillac, who would later become Pope Syl ...

. The text's primary focus is the

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

, taking the theme of Jesus as triumphant victor over death and deliverer of the prisoners from

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. The text was first published by Robert Campbell in 1850, and partially rewritten by the compilers of the first edition of ''

Hymns Ancient and Modern ''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 ...

''. The hymn remains popular in modern compilations, notably appearing in the ''

Carols for Choirs ''Carols for Choirs'' is a collection of choral scores, predominantly of Christmas carols and hymns, first published in 1961 by Oxford University Press. It was edited by Sir David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques, and is a widely used source of ...

'' collection. It is normally paired with the tune "St. Fulbert" by Henry John Gauntlett. It has also been set to music as an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

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 ...

, and this version is equally in common use in Anglican churches.

History

The hymn first appears in multiple 11th-century manuscripts, so if the attribution to St. Fulbert (who died ) is correct, "it must have become popular very quickly". The hymn was widely used on the British Isles. In the Sarum Breviary, it is listed for the

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

of the Easter Octave and for all

Sundays The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s. The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...

from then until the

Feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...

. It also appears in the

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Hereford and Aberdeen breviaries, and remains present in late medieval manuscripts. The modern text first appeared in Campbell's ''Hymns and Anthems for Use in the Holy Services of the Church within the United Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane'' (Edinburgh, 1850). The editors of ''

'' altered Campbell's text in various places, replaced the final stanza with a

doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , ''doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives ...

, and added "Alleluia! Amen" to the hymn's end. Other translations of the hymn by J. M. Neale,

R. F. Littledale Richard Frederick Littledale (1833–1890) was an Anglo-Irish clergyman and writer. Life The fourth son of John Littledale, an auctioneer, he was born in Dublin on 14 September 1833. On 15 October 1850 he entered Trinity College Dublin, was elec ...

, R. S. Singleton and others were also in common use at the end of the 19th century. Further changes to Campbell's setting include alterations to the fifth stanza, sometimes omitted entirely, due to its references to "soldiers" and "palace".

Text

The original Latin hymn is written in iambic dimeter, with lines of 8 syllables each in quatrains with an ''a-a-b-b'' rhyme scheme. The most common version nowadays is based on the translation of Robert Campbell, which is in the shorter

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 ...

. The version by

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 ...

is in the original long metre and thus unsingable to the same modern tune as Campbell’s. Neale’s version better reflects the original and shows that Campbell's version, as retouched in ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' and later hymnals, is a "Victorian creation". The first stanza begins with an invitation to sing. It refers to the "

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the c ...

" of and uses "Paschal victory" instead of the more frequent "paschal victim" ( ''victimae paschali''). The second stanza describes Jesus as the

Lion of Judah The Lion of Judah ( he, אריה יהודה, ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah. The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by ...

of the Old Testament and the fulfillment of the promise of , although the medieval text more probably had the idea of the

harrowing of Hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...

in mind, an idea also present in stanza three. The fourth and fifth stanza incite the believer to worship the triumphant Christ. The final stanza was added by the editors of ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' and is a

, a common metre setting of the

Gloria Patri The Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology ''(Doxologia Minor)'' or Lesser D ...

Musical settings

"Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem" has been described as the "only medieval resurrection hymn still widely sung", but it owes more of its enduring popularity to the vigour of Campbell's translation and to the hymn's cheerful tune than the original text. The original chant melody, in the 3rd mode, is not associated with the modern text, although it appears as a setting for Neale's translation in the 1906 ''English Hymnal'', and for one of Neale's other texts in the 1916 Hymnal of the

American Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

. The hymn is most commonly set to and was made famous by the tune "St Fulbert" by Henry John Gauntlett, which first appeared in ''The Church Hymn and Tune Book'' (London, 1852). There it was used for the hymn "Now Christ, our Passover, is slain" and was known as "St Leofred". The editors of ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' set Campbell's altered text to it and renamed it according to the original Latin author, adding a concluding "Alleluia! Amen". A setting appears in the 1987 collection '' 100 Carols for Choirs'', with the harmonisation from 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 wa ...

'' (transcribed below) and a last verse descant by

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambr ...

. An alternative tune is "Lyngham", a

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. It first flourished in the mid-18th century and continues to be composed today. Description Fuguing tunes are sacred music, specifically, Protestant hym ...

by 18th-century Englishman Thomas Jarman, whose "astonishing and invigorating" choral-style

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

echoes the first stanza instruction for "choirs" to employ their "sweetest notes". << << \new Staff \new Lyrics \lyricmode \new Staff >> >> \layout \midi

Settings as an anthem

A notable setting of the hymn to music is in the form of an

for

Eastertide Eastertide (also known as Eastertime or the Easter season) or Paschaltide (also known as Paschaltime or the Paschal season) is a festal season in the liturgical year of Christianity that focuses on celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. ...

. Completed in December 1910 and published as the composer's Op. 123 by

Stainer & Bell Stainer & Bell Limited is a British music publisher, specialized in classical sheet music. History Stainer & Bell was founded in 1907. In 1917, Stainer & Bell was appointed publisher of the Carnegie Edition. Stainer & Bell acquired Augener & ...

the next year, this setting of all six stanzas of the hymn uses completely new musical material, with two main musical ideas, the first in major mode in

triple metre Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

('Ye choirs of New Jerusalem') and the second in minor quadruple metre ('Devouring depths of hell their prey'). The piece begins in

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

and modulates through various keys, alternating between the two main themes before concluding in a fanfare-like fashion on "Alleluia! Amen". Other settings in the form of an anthem include works by Ivor R. Davies, Archie Fairbairn Barnes and Hugh Blair. The hymn has also been set, to a new melody, by contemporary composer Kile Smith.

References

External links

* * in Stanford's setting, sung by the Choir of

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

* (arr. Willcocks) sung by the

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Coll ...

with the

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It toured and recorded exte ...