This book provides a study and critical edition of the corpus of hymns sung by monks and canons in their services in England before the Norman Conquest. When Christianity was introduced into Anglo-Saxon England at the end of the sixth century, the practice of singing hymns in the liturgy of the Office was already well established. The hymnal that the missionaries brought with them was replaced during the Benedictine Reform in the tenth century by another body of hymns, itself introduced from the Continent. This edition assembles textual evidence of these early hymns, some of it hitherto unpublished, based on all extant manuscripts. Of these, an eleventh-century Latin manuscript known as the 'Durham Hymnal' (and in particular its accompanying Old English interlinear gloss) provides the core of the edition and its base manuscript. An introduction and commentary include descriptions of the manuscripts concerned and discussions of the sources, liturgical use and music of the hymns, as well as the phonology and vocabulary of the Old English gloss. The text of the hymns is accompanied by a translation of the Latin into modern English prose.

This 1996 book provides a study and critical edition of the corpus of hymns sung by monks and canons in their services in England before the Norman Conquest. It assembles textual evidence, some of it hitherto unpublished, based on all extant manuscripts. Of these, an eleventh-century Latin manuscript known as the 'Durham Hymnal', with its accompanying Old English interlinear gloss, provides the core of the edition and its base manuscript. An introduction and commentary include descriptions of the manuscripts concerned and discussions of the sources, liturgical use, and music of the hymns, as well as the phonology and vocabulary of the Old English gloss. The text of the hymns is accompanied by a translation of the Latin into modern English prose.

Presents over six hundred hymns from the American tradition of religious song, including folk hymns, patriotic songs, and spirituals, with explanatory notes and biographies of their composers.

Since it was first introduced in the Summer of 2000, Common Praise the new Hymns Ancient & Modern has sold over one hundred thousand copies, and been adopted by parishes in every diocese in England and Wales including eight English cathedrals and in five of the seven dioceses in Scotland. It is also used in numerous schools, colleges, hospitals, residential homes, retreat houses, religious communities, crematoria, missions and military garrison chapels.

The traditional edition of the English Hymnal, this volume includes the very best hymnody from medieval plain chant to the early twentieth-century classics. The hymns are grouped according to theme and contain material suitable for any festival or occasion in the life of a church.

This text includes both traditional and new carols that have become popular through radio, TV or schools; black music; Taize; pop music; and music from modern composers. It includes the three extra verses of Silent Night, discovered in 1997.

This book presents a textual analysis of the three most popular hymns that have served as important political symbols to African-Americans for many years: (1) Lift Every Voice and Sing (the Negro National Anthem), (2) We Shall Overcome, and (3) Precious Lord, Take My Hand. The major questions probed in the present book are: (1) What salient political presuppositions and implicatures are imbedded in the three texts studied? (2) How can the delineated presuppositions and implicatures be explained? In exploring these questions, the systematic application of discovery procedures well-known in linguistic pragmatics will help to uncover propositions that will illuminate the texts examined for readers.

This collection of liturgical music for congregations represents Euro-Anglicanism as well as American Anglican and African styles, along with Caribbean, gospel, blues, and jazz. The set consists of the score settings of the two masses ("The St. Mary Mass" and "St. Luke Mass for Healing"), Morning Prayer, and Evensong. Choral and congregational parts along with a full score are included. The accompaniments are fully notated for organ and/or piano.

This is the first extensive collection of descants on hymns in Episcopal sources that do not appear in the published hymnals. It contains descants by twenty-two composers on one hundred one hymn texts set to eighty-one hymn tunes. An added bonus is that twenty-seven of the tunes have alternate harmonizations. In addition to dramatic descants on triumphal and celebrative hymns, several hymns are included that require the descant to be reflective and quiet. Many may be played by instruments rather than sung by sopranos and/or tenors. These descants, harvested from working Episcopal church musicians, are examples of the useful day-to-day work in the local church. Even though they are small musical gems and greatly enjoyed by congregations, such practical compositions rarely obtain exposure beyond the local parish or diocese. The theme of the 2005 Annual Conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians in Baltimore, MD was "Come to us, Creative Spirit: The Art and Craft of the Church Musician." The vision embodied in that conference title echoes a hymn text by David Mowbray (Come to us, creative Spirit) which honors the creativity of those who speak their faith artistically and seeks to make such voices available to all. It is in that spirit that this book of descants is published.

This collection of thirty hymns and songs are suitable for all-age Christian worship in a variety of settings -- house churches, small congregations, formal and informal. The contemporary texts by poet David Wright are either based on scripture or highlight such themes as community, Eucharist, hospitality, repentance, justice, healing, and blessing. The music, by composer James Clemens, is fresh and well constructed for congregational singing in a variety of styles from standard hymnody to folk, Native American, gospel, early American, and chant. About a third of the selections may be learned and performed without paper.

This interdisciplinary study investigates the divine personas in the so-called magical hymns of the Greek magical papyri which, in a corpus usually seen as a significant expression of religious syncretism with strong Egyptian influence, were long considered to be the 'most authentically Greek' contribution. Fifteen hymns receive a line-by-line commentary focusing on religious concepts, ritual practice, language and style. The overarching aim is to categorise the nature of divinity according to its Greek or Egyptian elements, examining earlier Greek and Egyptian sources and religious-magical traditions in order to find textual or conceptual parallels. Are the gods of the magical hymns Greek or Egyptian in nature? Did the magical hymns originate in a Greek or Egyptian cultural background? The book tries to answer these questions and to shed light on the religious plurality and/or fusion of the two cultures in the treatment of divinity in the Greek magical papyri.

Hymns Ancient and Modern was first published in 1861, and has sold in excess of 160 million copies. The New Standard Edition was introduced in 1983, and has already sold over a million copies. 533 hymns included. Melody and Words edition.

If you've ever picked up a hymn book, the chances are that you've sung a song written by a blind girl... and not just any blind girl... Fanny Crosby. As a young child she knew nothing of the sighted world around her but that didn't stop her interacting with nature, experiencing the thrill of God's creation. She held her grandmother's hand but she thought that was because Grandmother needed her help not the other way around.

This book charts the life of Arthur Sullivan-the best loved and most widely performed British composer in history. While he is best known for his comic opera collaborations with W. S. Gilbert, it was his substantial corpus of sacred music which meant most to him and for which he wanted to be remembered. His upbringing and training in church music, and his own religious beliefs, substantially affected both his compositions for the theatre and his more serious work, which included oratorios, cantatas, sacred ballads, liturgical pieces, and hymns. Focusing on the spiritual aspects of Sullivan's life-which included several years as a church organist, involvement in Freemasonry, and an undying attachment to Anglican church music-Ian Bradley uses hitherto undiscovered letters, diary entries, and other sources to reveal the important influences on his faith and his work. No saint and certainly no ascetic, he was a lover of life and enjoyed its pleasures to the full. At the same time, he had a rare spiritual sensitivity, a sincere Christian faith, and a unique ability to uplift through both his character and his music that can best be described as a quality of divine emollient.

Edited by early music experts Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott, this anthology of Christmas carols is the most comprehensive collection ever made, spanning seven centuries of caroling in Britain, continental Europe, and North America. Containing music and text of 201 carols, many in more than one setting, the book is organized in two sections: composed carols, ranging from medieval Gregorian chants to modern compositions, and folk carols, including not only traditional Anglo-American songs but Irish, Welsh, German, Czech, Polish, French, Basque, Catalan, Sicilian, and West Indian songs as well. Each carol is set in four-part harmony, with lyrics in both the original language and English. Accompanying each song are detailed scholarly notes on the history of the carol and on performance of the setting presented. The introduction to the volume offers a general history of carols and caroling, and appendices provide scholarly essays on such topics as fifteenth-century pronunciation, English country and United States primitive traditions, and the revival of the English folk carol. The Oxford Book of Carols, published in 1928, is still one of Oxford's best-loved books among scholars, church choristers, and the vast number of people who enjoy singing carols. This volume is not intended to replace this classic but to supplement it. Reflecting significant developments in musicology over the past sixty years, it embodies a radical reappraisal of the repertory and a fresh approach to it. The wealth of information it contains will make it essential for musicologists and other scholars, while the beauty of the carols themselves will enchant general readers and amateur songsters alike.

BBC Songs of Praise is a compilation of the greatest traditional hymns, the best hymns from today's writers, and the finest examples of contemporary worship songs. It offers to churches and schools the core music required for worship in a wide range of situations. The breadth and diversity of the material ensures that BBC Songs of Praise can be the key resource for any worshipping community.

I WILL NOT SING ALONE is a deliberately eclectic collection of words and music from different ages fused in contemporary arrangements. There are ancient texts and modern texts, simple and sophisticated. There are choral anthems, folk tunes and contemporary syncopated melodies. The songs include, exclamations of praise, meditative reflections on the love of God, and laments for the loss of a child and for countries at war. These are songs of faith which are intended for everybody: Not a high octane choral album or a selection of psuedo-celtic escapist ditties, but songs of engagement with life and with God, all grounded in the passion and pain of Christian love.

The world's most famous hymn book has undergone a complete revision and now offers the broadest ever range of traditional hymns and the best from today's composers and hymn/song writers. 150 years since its first publication and after sales of 170 million copies, this brand new edition contains over 840 items, ranging from the Psalms to John Bell, Bernadette Farrell and Stuart Townend. The guiding principles behind this collection are: * congregational singability * biblical and theological richness * musical excellence * liturgical versatility * relevance to today's worship styles and to today's concerns New features include added provision for all the seasons of the Church year, new items for carol services and other popular occasions where the repertoire is in need of refreshing, more choices for all-age worship, fresh translations of some ancient hymnody, beautiful new tunes, short songs and chants - alleluias, kyries, blessings etc. and music from the world church. A full range of indexes (including biblical and thematic) and a helpful guide to choosing hymns for every occasion will help to make Ancient & Modern the premier hymn collection of choice. This is the Melody edition.

Includes hymnody from medieval plain chant to the early twentieth-century classics. This work includes hymns that are grouped according to theme and contains material suitable for any festival or occasion in the life of a church.

The Methodist Church, with its distinctive musical inheritance by which the worldwide Church has been enriched, famously expresses its theology through its singing. Its authorised hymnbook therefore means more than a hymn book does in other traditions - it expresses the central beliefs of the Church itself and is commended to congregations as their core worship resource. Seven years in development, Singing the Faith is authorised by the Methodist Conference and replaces Hymns and Psalms, published almost 30 years ago. Containing the classic, best loved hymns of the Christian tradition it also incorporates many bold and exciting elements including hymns, songs and liturgical chants from the world church. A large proportion of its 830+ items are 20th and 21st century compositions, offering congregations a feast of musical choices spanning centuries and continents. It is arranged thematically in three parts: God's Eternal Goodness - the Trinity, praise and adoration, creation, gathering for worship, Scripture and revelation God's Redeeming Work - the life of Christ revealed throughout the Christian year God's Enduring Purposes - the Holy Spirit, our life in God, prayer, the sacraments, our human journeys, the saints and the life to come. Many helpful indexes enable fitting choices to be made that will enrich all occasions of worship.

Songs of Praise was first published in 1925, and is still an immensely popular hymnbook, particularly in schools. The compilation falls into two parts: Book 1 contains hymns grouped by subject and theme, together with a selection of verses, canticles and doxologies; Book 2 contains general hymns listed alphabetically by first line.

Isaac Watts was an important but relatively unexamined figure and this volume offers a description of his theology, specifically identifying his position on reason and passion as foundational. The book shows how Watts modified a Puritan inherence on both topics in the light of the thought of his day. In particular there is an examination of how he both took on board and reacted against aspects of Enlightenment and sentimentalist thought. Watts' position on these foundational issued of reason and passion are then shown to lie behind his more practical works to revive the church. Graham Beynon examines the motivation for Watts' work in writing hymns, and the way in which he wrote them; and discusses his preaching and prayer. In each of these practical topics Watts's position is compared to earlier Puritans to show the difference his thinking on reason and passion makes in practice. Isaac Watts is shown to have a coherent position on the foundational issues of reason and passion which drove his view of revival of religion.

A new edition of the popular 'office' hymn book, Hymns for Prayer and Praise provides carefully-selected hymns for the daily monastic office, the Calendar of Saints and the seasons of the Christian year. First published in 1996, this new edition has been updated in light of Common Worship: Daily Prayer. A 'chant' and 'melody' form are provided for each hymn, allowing the material to be used in both community and congregational contexts. Available in both Full Music and Melody editions, Hymns for Prayer and Praise draws on ancient patterns of worship to meet present day needs.

Common Praise is the first major revision of Hymns Ancient and Modern for almost fifty years. With 630 items, this comprehensive collection includes some of the very best of the church's music, from earliest sources to the present day. Where appropriate, inclusive language has been introduced.