Sixth Sunday of Easter - Hymn Tune Names

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Hymn Tune Names

Today our sending hymn is “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”  When I think of this hymn, I immediately begin to shuffle through my brain for settings of OLD HUNDREDTH as I identify potential prelude or postlude music.  I suspect that you may have encountered this common designation for the hymn, too.  So, what’s the reason for having a hymn tune name?

About a generation ago, many church bulletins included the hymn tune designation as part of the listing for the hymn.  You would see “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” paired with LOBE DEN HERREN and “Amazing Grace” attached with NEW BRITAIN.  Why this particular information was listed in the bulletin, I don’t know, although I suspect that it might be a throwback to a time when hymn texts were printed in the hymnal without the melody included.  In that case, it was important to know what melody should be sung, since often, hymns can be sung to multiple tunes. 

A hymn text is usually in poetic form, with a set rhyme scheme and poetic meter.  Meter indicates the number of syllables per line (or technically “verse,” although for many, this word means the grouping of lines complete a stanza.)   In the case of “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,” there are 8 syllables in the first line.  Counting onward, we find that all the lines in the stanza have 8 syllables.   Hymnists (and poets) recognize this organization as Long Meter or 8.8.8.8. 

A hymn tune, also organized into a pattern of predictable stresses and rhythms, can be observed in the same way.  The tune ST. ANNE (associated with the Isaac Watts text “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”) shows a metrical scheme of 8.6.8.6, or Common Meter.  Musically, the combination of seven quarter notes and one half note in the first line helps convey the completeness of thought in the eight syllables; likewise the longer dotted quarter note at the end of the second line, helps glue the two lines together as one phrase. 

It is useful to identify a hymn tune melody by a separate name than simply by the first line of a commonly associated hymn text.  Sometimes, a melody is used often in a hymnal.  DUKE STREET is an example in Evangelical Lutheran Worship that appears several times, each time with familiar texts.  “I know that my Redeemer lives,”  “Give to our God immortal praise,” and “Jesus Shall Reign” are all texts which match the DUKE STREET melody. 

I think this topic warrants another entry, next week.  You may still have lingering questions, such as “Why the ALL CAPS?” or “How do the hymn tunes get their names?”  or “Where can I find this information in the hymnal?”  Check in next week for answers!