Table
of
Contents
Land of Rest | (American Folk Hymn) | (1 Verse) |
Lasst Uns Erfreuen | (German Melody) | (2 Verses) |
Lauda Anima | John Goss | (1 Verse) |
Laudes Domini | Joseph Barnby | (1 Verse) |
Leoni | (Hebrew Melody) | (1 Verse) |
Lyons | Johann Michael Haydn (attr.) | (1 Verse) |
Melita | John Bacchus Dykes | (1 Verse) |
Mendelssohn | Felix Mendelssohn | (1 Verse) |
Mit Freuden Zart | (Franco-German Origin) | (1 Verse) |
Nicaea | John Bacchus Dykes | (2 Verses) |
Oh when the Saints | (Traditional American Spiritual) | (1 Verse) |
Old 100th | after Louis Bourgeois | (1 Verse) |
Old 124th | (Genevan Psalter) | (2 Verses) |
Perfect Love | Joseph Barnby | (1 Verse) |
Personent Hodie | (Piae Cantiones) | (2 Verses) |
Puer Nobis | Michael Praetorius (adapt.) | (1 Verse) |
Quittez, Pasteurs | (Traditional French) | (1 Verse) |
St. Anne | William Croft (attr.) | (2 Verses) |
Salzburg | Jakob Hintze (attr.) | (1 Verse) |
Shalom | (Traditional Hebrew Melody) | (2 Verses) |
Slane | (Traditional Irish Melody) | (4 Verses) |
Stuttgart | (English Folk Melody) | (3 Verses) |
Toplady | Thomas Hastings | (2 Verses) |
Truro | (Psalmodia Evangelica) | (1 Verse) |
Westminster Abbey | Henry Purcell | (1 Verse) |
Woodbird | (Traditional German Melody) | (2 Verses) |
Notes
The hymn tunes assembled here come from Latin, Swiss, German, French, Dutch,
English, American, and other varied folk hymn traditions spanning some five
centuries of
musical and liturgical tradition.
In many instances, hymn tunes serve as a
bridge between sacred and secular practices within world cultures, as
evidenced by folk melodies or lilts borrowed by hymnodists and adapted to
sacred use –
or the reverse, when hymn tunes become
popularized by noted performers or media exposure. Over
time
tunes have developed brief proper names for convenient identification, but
nationality, era, and denominational preferences account for wide variances.
For example, some hymnal publications occasionally coin new names for
established tunes that are being paired with new texts.
Oftentimes there will be a purpose for
naming a hymn tune:
a
composer, location or family name will frequently surface, alongside more
abstruse christenings linked to
specific sacred texts, sects or denominations, faiths or creeds.
It is not unusual for the composer of a
hymn tune to be unknown or anonymous, or for a tune title to be linked
generically to a manuscript, hymnal or songbook publication.
The free harmonizations offered here are
intended as alternative organ accompaniments for specific verses to support
and enhance congregational hymn
singing.
They appear for the most part in
traditional four-voice harmonized textures and are technically accessible.
Hymn melodies are featured prominently in
almost all of
the settings.
There are four generic categories of layout and
voicing: 1.)
the hymn melody appears as a solo in the
soprano line, accompanied by two voices in the left hand on a secondary
manual and a bass line in the pedal;
2.)
the hymn melody is a solo in the tenor
register, accompanied by the right hand on a secondary manual, with bass
line in the pedal; and 3.) the hymn melody sounds in the soprano register
and is harmonized freely in lower voices and played on one manual (with or
without pedal). In some instances where there are two or more settings for
the same tune, one verse can be used as an introduction and another for a
middle or final verse.
Occasionally a slower tempo will be very
effective for a concluding verse.
The settings that feature
a solo melody in the soprano or tenor voice can be rendered effectively on
an instrument with multiple manuals and pedal by means of terraced dynamics.
In some instances, a tune will benefit
from registration on a bold solo reed (or reeds in chorus), with or without
divisions coupled in support.
A solo reed can be deployed effectively
for a soprano cantus firmus
at 16' and 8' pitches; use of
an 8' pitched tenor
cantus firmus
will often be enhanced by the addition of 4' (and 16') pitch(es) if
available.
Navigate to:
Hymn Tune Free Harmonizations
Volume 1