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 or chorus.

From the late sixteenth century in England and Scotland, when most people were not musically literate and learned melodies by rote, it was a common practice to sing a new text to a hymn tune the singers already knew which had a suitable meter and character.

There are many hymn tunes which might fit a particular hymn: a hymn in Long Metre might be sung to any hymn tune in Long Metre, but the tunes might be as different as those tunes that have been used for centuries with hymns such as '' Te lucis ante terminum'', on one hand, and an arrangement of the calypso tune used with ''Jamaica Farewell'', on the other.

Hymnal editors

Editors bring extensive knowledge of theology, poetry, and music to the process of compiling a new hymnal. They seek texts that are capable of communicating complex theological concepts to lay people, and they strive to partner those texts to tunes which are singable by the non-professional musicians of a congregation.

When editors choose a text for the planned collection, it may already be paired to a tune that supports its meaning, catches its spirit, and allows for congregational participation. This pairing may be used elsewhere, even ecumenically recognized, appearing in many other hymnals. However, if a hymn has been linked to a tune the editors think is not the best partner for it, they can arrange a new pairing. Partnerships of texts and tunes can give special attention to the interpretive opportunities in a text by providing artistic support of the message through its musical setting. Editors must consider whether the important words in the text fall on stressed notes, whether climax points in the ideas correspond with musical climaxes, and whether the tempo for the music matches the style of the text.

Pairing texts to tunes

Often the author of a text has not composed a setting of that text or otherwise paired the text to a particular tune. It then becomes the editor's challenge to complement that text with a tune for publication. Where the meter of a text is regular, editors can choose an existing tune of the meter that fits the text. Often there is more than just one good possible partner available. The editors may marry a text "X" to a tune they feel is best, with which it appears on the hymnal page, and they may also suggest singing text "X" to an alternative tune that appears elsewhere in the hymnal (sometimes with a different text). If one refers to the hymnal's metrical index, more possible tunes may be found, of the same meter, which might be used for singing text "X".

In ''The Anatomy of Hymnody'', Austin C. Lovelace explores the relevance of the meter to a text.

A meter of few syllables, perhaps with a trochaic stress pattern, fits best an exhortive or forceful declamation of ideas. A stirring, motivating text will fit this meter well. Using a more lyrical meter suggests a more expansive or introspective treatment of ideas. An author may have superb ideas but may have chosen a meter which exhorts when it should be expansive, or is solid when it should be introspective. In such cases the editor is challenged to achieve an overall fit which doesn't distract from the message of the text.

Editorial skills are evident in the complex credits of some hymns. For the well-loved and great hymn, " All Creatures of Our God and King", the words were written by William H. Draper and first published in 1919, based on a 13th-century text by Francis of Assisi, with further adaptations made in 1987. It is wedded to the tune '' Lasst uns erfreuen'', first printed in the ''Geistliches Kirchengesangbuch'', dated 1623, and is presented with a harmonization by Ralph Vaughan Williams, dated 1906.

Some texts become associated with several tunes. For different reasons, some tunes set numerous texts. Tunes which are very singable and easy for a congregation to pick up, and do not have musical demands which would interfere with understanding and assimilating the ideas of a text, can be used to set two or three texts in a hymnal, when the editors see that as advantageous. ''Wareham'' LM, melody William Knapp (1698–1768), alt., harm. ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'', 1875, after James Turle (1802–1882), sets three texts in ''Hymnal 1982''. It has supported more than 20 texts in various hymnals.

Naming

The practice of naming hymn tunes developed to help identify a particular tune. The name was chosen by the compiler of the tune book or hymnal or by the composer. The majority of names have a connection with the composer and many are place names, such as Aberystwyth or Down Ampney. Most hymnals provide a hymn tune index by name (alphabetical) and a hymn tune index by meter.

In some instances a particular text and tune have an almost exclusive partnership with each other, such as Reginald Heber's text " Holy, Holy, Holy!" and John Bacchus Dykes's tune ''Nicaea''. In other instances a text may be used with a variety of tunes, such as " O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" sung to any of ''Lyngham'', ''Oxford New'', ''Arden'', ''Lydia'', ''Richmond'', ''Azmon'', or ''University''. In yet other instances a tune may partner several texts, such as ''Dix'' for "As with Gladness Men of Old", " Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies", " God of Mercy, God of Grace", " Lord, to You Immortal Praise", and " For the Beauty of the Earth".

By contrast, in Germany and Scandinavia, tune names were not typically used even when a hymn tune was used for more than one text. The custom in such cases was to use part of the first line of the first text with which the tune was associated as a name for the tune: for example ''Lasst Uns Erfreuen'' ("Let us rejoice" / All Creatures of Our God and King), ''Gelobt Sei Gott'' (" ayGod be praised" / Good Christian men, rejoice and sing) and ''Was lebet, was schwebet'' ( O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness). Renaming of tunes occurs from time to time, when a tune is chosen to be printed in a hymnal. When chorales were introduced in England during the eighteenth century, these tunes were sometimes given English-style tune names.

The Ravenscroft Psalter of 1621 was the first English book which specified, by name, which tune should set each text. This followed the procedure used for the first time in the 1616 Scottish Psalter. In this early time of defining text/tune marriages, editors of different psalters were apt to use different names for the same tune. For example, ''The French Tune'', in the Scottish Psalter (1564), was the same tune as ''Dundee'' in the Ravenscroft Psalter.
Common practice nowadays is for the composer of a tune to name it.

Performance

Typically, worship services in churches and synagogues include hymns which are sung by the congregation, accompanied by organ, or piano, and/or sometimes by guitars or other instruments. Details of performance vary depending on the designated style of the service, or by the hymns themselves. Some hymns specify unison singing, and other hymns are sung in parts (usually soprano, alto, tenor, bass). It is common practice for a congregation to sing all the hymns in unison, but in some traditions part singing is encouraged.

Sometimes, especially on longer texts, variety in the performance is introduced. Varied performance practices may include:

* varied harmonization for a stanza
* descant sung by sopranos, above the melody
* "Fauxbourdon" with the melody sung by tenors, and the harmonies sung by the other parts
* a modulation (music)