680 O God Our Help in Ages Past

This hymn, which is a paraphrase of Psalm 90 by the great English hymn writer, Isaac Watts, is considered one of the grandest in the whole realm of English hymnody.  Originally consisting of 9 stanzas, it is a grand commentary on the whole subject of time.  Often this hymn is uses on the occasion of the first or last Sunday of the year as well as other festive occasions such as retirement.  The hymn was first published in Isaac Watts' 1719 publication The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. In this hymnal he paraphrased the entire psalter (with the exception or 12 psalms that he considered 'unsuited'). This hymn possibly represents the finest of all 600+ hymns he wrote.  This hymn is still used at all festive occasion in England. Another of the favorite English hymns include the seasonal favorite, "Joy to the World" which was a paraphrase of hymn 98.  This was not originally written for Christmas but has become one of the most beloved Christmas carols associated with the holiday.

Watts is considered the father of English hymnody and he was concerned with the low ebb of music in the churches.  At his time the church only used ponderous hymn-psalms.  One day Watts' father challenged his son to write something better for congregational singing.  That began a 2-year process of writing a new hymn for congregational singing every week! Because of Watts' commitment  to use "hymns of human composure", he was considered a radical churchman in his day.

Watts was also a true scholar and literary genius whose writings included essays, discussions of psychology, three volumes of sermons and catechisms, twenty nine treatises on theology, textbooks on logic and a variety of other works. These works had a powerful impact upon the thinking of the late 17th and early 18th century. When he died in 1748, he was extended one of the highest honors for any Englishman by being interred in Westminster Abbey. 

A hymn text of this stature deserves an equally significant hymn tune.  The tune associated with this text was composed by William Croft in 1708.  Croft was a well-trained church musician, having earned his Doctorate in Music from Oxford University.  He was the organist at the Church of St. Anne in Soho, London, during the reign of Queen Anne.  It was quite common during his time for composers to name their newly composed tunes after where they lived or worked.

The evidence of the significance of this tune is borne out by the fact that it was used by master composers such as George Frederick Handel in an anthem entitled "O Praise the Lord. "  While Bach made use of it in his great Fugue in E-Flat Major, often called "St. Anne's Fugue."

107 Good Christian Men, Rejoice

This particular hymn could truly be identified as a folk song...and a very old one at that. In 1601, Bartholomaeus Gesius adapted a tune that he already knew of previously. He called the "new" tune, In Dulci Jubilo which literally means, " With Sweet Shouting." When Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) found the tune, he wrote and arrangement for the organ published in The Liturgical Year. John Stainer also wrote a choral arrangement.

The words come from Latin but very early on the Germans translated it and added some thoughts to the pre-existing words. Many other language groups have also translated and/or adapted it for their own usage. The great translator, John Neale Mason ("O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "Good King Wencelslas" among others) standardized the hymn in English.

As proof of the variety of versions of this favorite carol, it is reported that in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1745, a gathering of Moravian missionaries sang this carol to thirteen different European and native American languages. In the spirit of that variety, I am offering three different versions of the popular carol. Our Mens' Occasional Choir will be singing it as the opening song this coming Sunday.  Please come and enjoy them.  In the meantime, enjoy these different versions.

This first version is a choral arrangement accompanied by harpsichord while you can view the German words and their translation.

 

The second version is a traditional choir and organ accompaniment

The last version shows an instrumental rendition synchronized with Christmas lights.