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hymn

  (hĭm) pronunciation
hymn

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n.
  1. A song of praise or thanksgiving to God or a deity.
  2. A song of praise or joy; a paean.

v., hymned, hymn·ing, hymns.

v.tr.

To praise, glorify, or worship in or as if in a hymn.

v.intr.

To sing hymns.

[Middle English imne, from Old French ymne, from Latin hymnus, song of praise, from Greek humnos.]


 
 
Music Encyclopedia: Hymn

Term applied in ancient times to songs in honour of gods, heroes or notable men, and in Christian worship to strophic songs in praise of God.

The first Latin hymnals with melodies date from the 11th or 12th century, and polyphonic settings have been a regular feature of Vespers since the 15th. A group of three-part settings, probably composed for the papal court at Avignon in the late 14th century, place an ornamented form of the traditional plainchant in one voice (usually the top); this was a feature of the polyphonic hymn for the next 200 years. The style is predominantly note against note. Most of the hymns in a complete annual cycle by Dufay use chant and polyphony for alternate stanzas, as was usual in the Renaissance.

By 1500 four-part settings were normal. In Germany, a style was established which was used throughout Europe in the 16th century, with the plainchant as a cantus firmus in equal notes and the other voices weaving a contrapuntal background to it. Some hymn cycles use this style in alternation with chant. There are examples by Festa, Lassus, Victoria, Guerrero and Palestrina. Important cycles came also from Germany and France, and in England Byrd and Tallis wrote settings in the main 16th-century tradition. In the 17th century the vocal bass was doubled by the organ, and various combinations of voices (including solo) and instruments were used. Hymn cycles continued to be written but the tendency was to compose isolated settings independent of chant. 18th-century hymn composers include Padre Martini in Italy, and Fux and Wagenseil in Vienna, but most 18th- and 19th-century settings were occasional works for local use.

The vernacular hymn began with the Reformation and has been a constant part of Lutheran worship (see Chorale). The English Reformation however moved towards Calvinism, leading to opposition to the hymn in the liturgy, and for two centuries English parish church music was essentially the metrical psalm. In the 18th century non-conformists such as John Wesley promoted hymns to a central place in their worship, thereby attracting numerous converts. The established church responded in the 19th century, commissioning new hymns and requiring parishes to provide congregational hymnbooks; this reached a climax with Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), which popularized a new, Victorian type of hymn tune which is still the norm, despite the varied contents of The English Hymnal (1906) and the more inter-denominational Songs of Praise (1928).

The main American contributions to hymnody have been the gospel hymn of the 19th century revivalist movement, culminating in the works of Moody and Sankey, and the Spiritual.


 
Literary Dictionary: hymn

hymn, a song (or lyric poem set to music) in praise of a divine or venerated being. The title is sometimes given to a poem on an elevated subject, like Shelley's ‘Hymn to Intellectual Beauty’ (1816), or praising a historical hero, like MacDiarmid's ‘First Hymn to Lenin’ (1931). The term hymnody is used to refer either to a particular body of hymns or to the art of hymn‐writing, while a composer of hymns is called a hymnodist or hymnist.

See also antiphon, ode, psalm.
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: hymn

Song used in Christian worship, usually sung by the congregation and written in stanzas with rhyme and metre. The term comes from the Greek hymnos ("song of praise"), but songs in honour of God or the gods exist in all civilizations. Christian hymnody grew out of the singing of psalms in the Temple of Jerusalem. The earliest known Christian hymn dates from c. AD 200. Hymns were prominent in the Byzantine liturgy from early times, and in the Western church they were sung by congregations until the Middle Ages, when choirs took over hymn singing. Congregational singing was reestablished during the Reformation. Martin Luther and his followers were great hymn writers, while the Calvinists preferred setting psalms to music. The compositions of Isaac Watts and John Wesley were notable in English hymnody. The Counter-Reformation led to the composition of many Roman Catholic hymns, and the Roman Catholic church restored congregational singing of hymns after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

For more information on hymn, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: hymn,
song of praise, devotion, or thanksgiving, especially of a religious character (see also cantata).

Early Christian hymnody consisted mainly of the Psalms and the great canticles Nunc dimittis, Magnificat, and Benedictus from the Bible and of the Sanctus, Gloria in excelsis, and Te Deum. These were chanted in unison (see plainsong). Metrical Latin hymnody began with the hymns of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, in the 4th cent. This type of hymn, usually four-line stanzas in iambic tetrameter, was the basis of nearly all Christian hymnody until the 16th cent.

Notable Latin hymns are Corde natus ex parentis by Prudentius in the 4th cent., and Fortunatus' 6th-century processionals, Vexilla regis and Pange lingua (whose meter was imitated in the Pange lingua of St. Thomas Aquinas). From the 11th cent. came Wipo's Easter sequence, Victimae paschali laudes. The Dies irae, probably by Thomas of Celano, and the Stabat Mater dolorosa by Jacopone da Todi are great hymns of the 13th cent.

With the Reformation came the development of Protestant hymnody. The first hymnbooks in the vernacular are probably those published by the followers of John Huss in Bohemia in 1501 and 1505. In 1524 the first Lutheran hymnal was published at Wittenberg. The early Lutheran hymns were translations of Latin hymns, folksongs with new texts, often paraphrases of biblical verses or passages, or sometimes original melodies. Calvinism contributed the Genevan Psalter (final version, 1562). It contained the Psalms, translated into French verse by Clément Marot and Theodore Beza and set to music, most of which was supplied by Louis Bourgeois, who used some original tunes and adapted others. The familiar doxology tune Old Hundredth is the tune of Psalm 134 in this psalter.

The first collection of English church tunes was Sternhold's Psalter (1556), published at Geneva and consisting of metrical versions of the Psalms by Thomas Sternhold (d. 1549) and others, which were set to unharmonized tunes. John Wesley's hymnal (1737) contained metrical psalms, translations from Greek and German, and original lyrics and melodies, and was thus the first hymnal in the modern sense. Other notable English hymnists of the 18th cent. were Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and William Cowper, poets whose hymns are still sung in nearly all Protestant churches. In the 19th cent. there was a revived interest in plainsong that resulted in many translations of ancient Latin hymns, such as those by John Mason Neale.

In America the Puritans used psalters brought with them from Europe until the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the earliest American hymnal, was published at Cambridge, Mass. William Billings wrote the first original American hymns as distinguished from paraphrases of psalms and psalm tunes; another important composer was Lowell Mason, whose song collections, such as Spiritual Songs (1831), compiled jointly with Thomas Hastings, attained wide distribution.

In the latter half of the 19th cent. the gospel hymn was developed (see gospel music). It is marked by lively rhythm, constant alternation of the simplest harmonies, and sentimental text. Arthur Sullivan's “Onward Christian Soldiers” (1871) is a well-known example of the martial hymn of the period. In the 20th cent. radical variations in church music have emerged: folk-song and jazz elements have been integrated with older music and frequently replaced it. Troubadour-style “protest” songs with theological content were common in the 1960s alongside a newly vital, more conservative hymnody.

Bibliography

See A. E. Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns (1950); H. W. Foote, Three Centuries of American Hymnody (1940, repr. 1968); L. F. Benson, The English Hymn (1915, repr. 1987); I. Bradley, ed., The Book of Hymns (1989); W. J. Reynolds, Songs of Glory (1989).

 
Music: Hymn

A song, often a chorale, written in praise of God, or for a religious congregation.

 
Poetry Glossary: Hymn

A song or ode of praise, usually addressed to gods, but sometimes to abstractions such as Truth, Justice, or Fortune.

 
Word Tutor: hymn
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Any song of praise.

pronunciation Leave-taking is not birds gathered for one last hymn to summer on thin branches of an empty tree, nor grass, sodden and bent beneath winter's first rain-heavy snow. — Elaine Christensen

Tutor's tip: Have "him" (the male human) hum the "hymn" (religious song of praise).

 
Wikipedia: hymn
For other meanings see hymn (disambiguation)

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος hymnos "a song of praise", which itself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European stem *sh2em- "to sing" and is related to Hittite išḫamai "he sings" and Sanskrit sāman "song".[1]

A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist or hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called hymnody; the same word is used for the collectivity of hymns belonging to a particular denomination or period (e.g. "nineteenth century Methodist hymnody" would mean the body of hymns written and/or used by Methodists in the nineteenth century). A collection of hymns is called a hymnal. These may or may not include music. A student of hymnody is called a "hymnologist", and the scholarly or scientific study of hymns, hymnists and hymnody is hymnology.

Strictly speaking a hymn consists of words only, and the music to which a hymn may be sung is a hymn tune. For example, the hymn "Amazing Grace" is sung to the hymn tune NEW BRITAIN, and "Rock of Ages" is sung to TOPLADY. Many hymns are sung to several different hymn tunes; for example, "Lo! he comes, with clouds descending" is often sung to both HELMSLEY and ST. THOMAS. (It is a conventional practice to spell names of hymn tunes in capital letters, in small caps, or in italics, so as to differentiate them from hymn titles.)

Ancient hymns include the Great Hymn to the Aten, composed by the pharaoh Akhenaten, and the Vedas, a collection of hymns in the tradition of Hinduism. The Western tradition of hymnody begins with the Homeric Hymns, a collection of ancient Greek hymns, the oldest of which were written in the 7th century BC in praise of the gods of Greek mythology.

Christian tradition

Christian hymnody, originally modeled on the Psalms of David and other poetic passages ("canticles") in the scriptures, is generally directed as praise and worship to God. Many refer to Jesus either directly or indirectly.

Christian Hymns are often written with special or seasonal themes and these are used on holy days such as Christmas, Easter and the Feast of All Saints, or during particular seasons such as Advent and Lent. Others are used to instill reverence to the Bible or celebrate Christian practices such as the eucharist or baptism. Some hymns praise or address individual saints, particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary; such hymns are particularly prevalent in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and to some extent "High Church" Anglicanism.

It is interesting to note that in most Evangelical churches, traditional songs are classified as hymns while more contemporary worship songs are not considered hymns. The reason for this distinction is unclear, but according to some it is due to the radical shift of style and devotional thinking that began with the Jesus movement and Jesus music.

Accompaniment

Since the very earliest times, Christianity has incorporated the singing of "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Matthew 26:30; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13; cf. Revelation 5:8-10; 14:1-5), either in private devotions, by the congregation or by a selected choir, often using various forms of accompaniment. In ancient and medieval times, stringed instruments such as the harp, lyre and lute were used with psalms and hymns. Modern hymnody accompanied on normal scales by a piano and/or organ ranging up to the symphony orchestra, share many elements with classical music, much of which had religious themes. Contemporary Christian worship, such as with Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism may include the use of electric guitars and the drum kit. Other Christian denominations, notably the Church of Christ (non-instrumental) and certain Reformed churches such as the Free Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), believe that the use of instruments in worship was only for the period before Christ came into the world, and adhere to a cappella congregational singing of hymns.

The development of Christian hymnody

Thomas Aquinas, in the introduction to his commentary on the Psalms, defined the Christian hymn thus: "Hymnus est laus Dei cum cantico; canticum autem exultatio mentis de aeternis habita, prorumpens in vocem." ("A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.")

Since there is a lack of musical notation in early writings, the actual musical forms in the early church can only be surmised. During the Middle Ages a rich hymnody developed in the form of Gregorian chant or plainsong. This type was sung in unison, in one of eight Church modes, and most often by monastic choirs. While they were written originally in Latin, many have been translated. A familiar hymn of this type is the 11th century plainsong Divinum Mysterium, (although the words Of the Father's Love Begotten date back to around the 4th century), that is a common part of church Christmas repertoires in the English language.

The Protestant Reformation produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of many hymns including Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) which is sung today even in Roman Catholicism. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The earlier English writers tended to paraphrase biblical text, particularly Psalms; Isaac Watts followed this tradition, but is also credited as having written the first English hymn which was not a direct paraphrase of Scripture. Later writers took even more freedom, some included allegory and metaphor in their texts. Four part harmony also became the norm, rather than unison singing.

Charles Wesley's hymns spread Methodist theology, not only within Methodism, but in most Protestant churches. He developed a new focus - expressing one's personal feelings in the relationship with God as well as the simple worship seen in older hymns. Wesley wrote:

Where shall my wondering soul begin?
How shall I all to heaven aspire?
A slave redeemed from death and sin,
A brand plucked from eternal fire,
How shall I equal triumphs raise,
Or sing my great deliverer's praise.

Wesley's contribution, along with the Second Great Awakening in America led to a new style called gospel, and a new explosion of sacred music writing with Fanny Crosby, Ira D. Sankey, and others who produced testimonial music for revivals, camp meetings and evangelistic crusades.

African-Americans developed a rich hymnody from spirituals during times of slavery to the modern, lively black gospel style.

The Methodist Revival of the eighteenth century created an explosion of hymnwriting in Welsh, which continued into the first half of the nineteenth century. The most prominent names among Welsh hymn-writers are William Williams Pantycelyn and Ann Griffiths. The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed an explosion of hymntune composition and choir singing in Wales.

Some Christians today are using Christian lyrics in the rock music style although this often leads to some controversy between older and younger congregants. This is not new; the Christian pop music style began in the late 1960s and became very popular during the 1970s, as young hymnists sought ways in which to make the music of their religion relevant for their generation.

This long tradition has resulted in a rich lode of hymns. Some modern churches include within hymnody, the traditional hymn (usually addressed to God), praise choruses (often sung scripture texts) and gospel (expressions of one's personal experience of God). This distinction is not perfectly clear; and purists remove the second two types from the classification as hymns. It is a matter of debate, even sometimes within a single congregation, often between revivalist and traditionalist movements.

Well-known hymnists and hymns

Some Christian hymnists and their better-known hymns are:

Christian hymns, especially in more recent centuries, were often written in four-part vocal harmony. Today, except for choirs, more musically inclined congregations, and a cappella congregations, hymns are typically sung in unison. In some cases complementary full settings for organ are also published, in others, organists and other accompanists are expected to mentally transcribe the four-part vocal score for their instrument of choice.

Hymn meters

Following Isaac Watts it has been common for English hymnody to use a conventionally named poetic meters to pair lyrics with melodies. The intention is that any words of a particular meter can be used with a tune of the same meter. The numbers in the following sections indicate the number of syllables per line in a tune, for example, 8.7.8.7 means that the first and third lines have 8 syllables, and the second and fourth lines have 7 syllables. Numeric specifications such as 8.7.8.7 or 87.87 (same thing) are often used in addition to the names below. The names below have an implied poetic foot, whereas numeric specifications don't, although some hymnals and psalm books differentiate, eg. "87.87" (which normally has Trochaic feet) and "87.87 (Iambic)" (which obviously has iambic feet).

Those used the most often are:

  • C.M. - Common Meter; a quatrain (four-line stanza) with alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third (8/6/8/6); also called Ballad Meter.
  • C.P.M. - Common Particular Meter; a six-line stanza of which the first, second, fourth and fifth lines are iambic tetrameter, and the third and sixth lines are iambic trimeter (8/8/6/8/8/6).
  • D. - Doubled; indicates an eight-line stanza instead of four, as in C.M.D. or D.C.M. - Common Meter Doubled or Doubled Common Meter, (8/6/8/6/8/6/8/6).
  • H.M. - Hallelujah Meter; a six-line stanza of which the first four lines are trimeter and the last two are tetrameter, which rhymes most often in the second and fourth lines and the fifth and sixth lines (6/6/6/6/8/8).
  • L.M. - Long Meter; a quatrain in iambic tetrameter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and often in the first and third (8/8/8/8).
  • L.P.M. - Long Particular Meter; a six-line stanza of iambic tetrameter (8/8/8/8/8/8).
  • M.T. (or 12s.) - Meter Twelves; a quatrain in anapestic hexameter (12/12/12/12).
  • P.M. - may stand for Psalm Meter (more commonly known as 8s.7s), Particular Meter, or Peculiar Meter (each indicating poetry with its own peculiar, non-standard, meter).
  • S.M. - Short Meter; iambic lines in the first, second, and fourth are in trimeter, and the third in tetrameter, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third (6/6/8/6).
  • S.P.M. - Short Particular Meter; a six-line stanza of which the first, second, fourth and fifth lines are iambic trimeter, and the third and sixth lines are iambic tertameter (6/6/8/6/6/8).
  • 8s. - Eights; used to distinguish an eight syllable quatrain that does not contain the iambic stress pattern characteristic of Long Meter (8/8/8/8).
  • 8s.7s. - Eights and sevens; a trochaic quatrain with alternating lines of four feet and three and one-half feet, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third (8/7/8/7); also called Psalm Meter.
  • 7s.6s. - Sevens and sixes; a quatrain with alternating lines of three and one-half feet and three feet, which rhymes in the second and fourth lines and sometimes in the first and third (7/6/7/6).

Media

  • Amazing Grace
    noicon
    Amazing Grace, a common meter hymn from the Library of Congress' John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip; performed by Mr. and Mrs. N.V. Braley on May 5, 1939 at the home of Beal D. Taylor near Medina, Texas
    Amazing Grace
    noicon
    Amazing Grace, organ solo
    Just as I am
    noicon
    Just as I Am, organ solo
    Rock of Ages
    noicon
    Rock of Ages, organ solo
    Abide with Me
    noicon
    Abide With Me, organ solo
    Ein' Feste Burg sung in German
    noicon
    The German text of Ein' Feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) sung to an arrangement by J. S. Bach.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

References

  1. ^ Watkins, Calvert (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, second edition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-08250-6. 

See also

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
Translations: Translations for: Hymn

Dansk (Danish)
n. - salme, hymne
v. tr. - lovprise
v. intr. - synge salmer, lovprise

Nederlands (Dutch)
kerkelijk gezang, loflied/ -zang, hymne, lofzang zingen, loven

Français (French)
n. - cantique, (fig) hymne (à)
v. tr. - entonner un hymne
v. intr. - entonner un hymne

Deutsch (German)
n. - Hymne, Kirchenlied, Loblied
v. - besingen, lobpreisen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (θρησκ.) αίνος, ύμνος, υμνωδία
v. - (θρησκ., μτφ.) υμνολογώ, εξυμνώ

Italiano (Italian)
inno, inneggiare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - hino (m)
v. - cantar hinos

Русский (Russian)
псалом, гимн, петь гимны, псалмы

Español (Spanish)
n. - himno
v. tr. - celebrar con himnos, celebrar con alabanzas
v. intr. - cantar himnos, cantar alabanzas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - hymn, psalm, lovsång
v. - lovsjunga, sjunga en psalm

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
赞美诗, 圣歌, 唱赞美诗赞美, 用赞歌表达, 为...唱圣歌, 唱赞美诗, 唱赞歌

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 讚美詩, 聖歌
v. tr. - 唱讚美詩讚美, 用讚歌表達, 為...唱聖歌
v. intr. - 唱讚美詩, 唱讚歌

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 찬송가
v. tr. - (찬송가를 불러) 찬송하다
v. intr. - 찬송가를 부르다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 賛美歌, 聖歌, 賛歌
v. - 賛美する, 賛美歌を歌う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ترتيله, ترنيمه (فعل) يسبح الله بالتراتيل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פיוט, המנון, מזמור כנסייתי, שיר הודיה לאל‬
v. tr. - ‮הודה (לאל) בשירה‬
v. intr. - ‮שר מזמור תהילה לאל (בכנסיה)‬

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.  Read more
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