There is a Green Hill Far Away
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"There is a green hill far away" is a
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 ''hymn'' ...
, originally written as a children's hymn but now usually sung for
Passiontide Passiontide (in the Christian liturgical year) is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, long celebrated as Passion Sunday, and continuing through Lazarus Saturday. The second week of Passiontide is Holy We ...
. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander, and the most popular tune by
William Horsley William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English musician. His compositions were numerous, and include amongst other instrumental pieces three symphonies for full orchestra. More important are his glees, of which he published f ...
.


History

The text was first published in ''Hymns for Little Children'' (1848), and the profound but simple text reflects well on this original purpose. The hymn would become popular after its publication in the 1868 appendix to 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 ...
'', paired with the tune "Horsley". The writer's husband considered it among the best of those written by his wife, with later assessments agreeing on the matter, one early 20th century noting the fine poetic skill of the poet and proclaiming that "she surpassed all other writers of sacred song in meeting a growing demand for children’s hymns". French composer
Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
, who composed a musical setting on the hymn's text in 1871, reportedly considered that it was "the most perfect hymn in the English language", due in part to its striking simplicity. Despite the apparent simplicity, the text remains well known today due to its "clear presentation of the redemptive work of Christ". It appeared in later influential publications such as ''
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 ...
'' (1906) and remains popular to this day, appearing in most compilations, scholar John Richard Watson noting that, since the time of its first publication, "it would be hard to find a major hymn book that has not included it".


Text

The text is in five
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 ...
stanzas. It is based upon the words "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried," of the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...
, and is an example of a metric paraphrase of the Creed where each article is extended to form a complete hymn. It can be summarised as a "touching" description of Christ dying for the sins of men and giving his "redeeming blood" to "save us all". The first stanza refers to Golgotha (Calvary). According to legend, the author often went past a "green hill" when walking from her home to Derry, and she might have associated this with the distant – both physically and temporally – location of the
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
. "Without" in the second line is usually taken to mean "outside", and some hymnals make this change explicitly. The final line refers to passages such as and . The second stanza speaks of the mystery of the cross and of atonement through the sacrifice of Christ, based on and . The third stanza talks of the forgiveness of sin (c.f. , ), through which Man is made good (), framing this as the gateway to Heaven, an imagery continued in the fourth stanza. The final stanza is a fitting emotional conclusion to the text, and the repetition of the word "dearly" here refers has a double meaning: "that Christ loved mankind dearly, and in a way that cost Him dearly". The concluding line is a clear call to the Biblical instruction to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" ().


Tune

The most common tune is "Horsley", named after its author,
William Horsley William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English musician. His compositions were numerous, and include amongst other instrumental pieces three symphonies for full orchestra. More important are his glees, of which he published f ...
. It was first published as a four-part setting with figured bass in collection ''Twenty Four Psalm Tunes and Eight Chants'' (London: Addison & Hodson, 1844). The original harmonisation was kept in the 1868 ''Hymns Ancient and Moderns'' publication, and has endured ever since. The following setting is transcribed 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 ...
'' (1906): << << \new Staff \new Staff >> >> \layout \midi In the United States, the hymn is also frequently sung to the tune "Green Hill" by gospel composer George C. Stebbins. It was originally intended as a setting for the hymn's text and published in ''Gospel Hymns No. 3'' (Chicago: Biglow & Main, 1878). This setting uses the final stanza as a refrain. In mostly step-wise melodic motion, it features a slow
harmonic rhythm In music theory, harmonic rhythm, also known as harmonic tempo, is the rate at which the chords change (or progress) in a musical composition, in relation to the rate of notes. Thus a passage in common time with a stream of sixteenth notes and ch ...
which eventually leads to a summit in the final line. Another alternative is "Meditation" by John H. Gower, published in ''An Evening Service Book for Evensong, Missions, Sunday Schools, Family Prayer, etc.'' (Denver: Denver Music Pub., 1891) where it is set to both this text and " There is a fountain filled with blood" by
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 scen ...
.


References


External links


"There is a green hill"
sung by
The Gesualdo Six The Gesualdo Six are a British vocal consort, directed by Owain Park. The group was founded in Cambridge in 2014 for a performance of the Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday by Carlo Gesualdo, in the chapel of Trinity College. The Gesual ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:There Is a Green Hill Far Away 1838 songs English Christian hymns Hymns in The English Hymnal