The first Occasional Paper produced by The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland in which W T Cairns looks at what it takes for a hymn to be considered 'good'.

With some reference to the Society of Friends and their relation to Hymn-singing.

Music in Hymnody
by Millar Patrick

It stands to reason that wherever people gather with their hearts turning to God, and their thoughts full of what He is and what He has done for them, their thought and feeling demand expression...

The Hymn Writers of Bristol
by the Rev. K. L. Parry

An Address given to the Hymn Society at Bristol on Tuesday, 9th July 1946, by the Rev. K. L. Parry, Minister of Highbury Chapel, Bristol.

Looking at Hymn Tunes: The Objective Factors
by John Wilson

This chapter has grown from a talk given to The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland at its annual conference in 1979. A recording of the talk was sent to Erik Routley, and it was an honour and a pleasure when he asked for further copies for use in his teaching of Hymnody.

Susanna and Catherine Winkworth
by Peter Skrine

The name Winkworth may be familiar. Even in this era of declining church attendance there must be many who have noticed it when glancing through the pages of a hymnbook during a bored moment in school or college chapel, or in their local church...

Hymns and an Orthodox Dissenter – In Commemoration of Bernard Lord Manning 1892-1941
by Clyde Binfield

Mrs Josiah Lockwood was a southerner. Her husband was from the West Riding. She was an Anglican, he a Wesleyan Methodist and a manufacturer. He thrived on it. She wrote about it.

A Hymn Book Survey 1980 – 1993
by Donald Webster

This booklet is offered as a sequel and supplement to Robin Leaver’s A Hymn Book Survey 1962-80 (Grove Worship Series, no. 71, 1980). His opening words, ‘the past twenty years or so have witnessed a tremendous upsurge of practical hymnody in our churches …

John Darwall and the 148th Metre
by John Wilson

The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland is pleased to offer to students of hymnody this paper on John Darwall. It gives us a context in which to understand and appreciate the skill of a composer who is now remembered chiefly for a single hymn tune.

A Hymn Book Survey 1993-2003
by Alan Luff

This paper aims to pick up the story where Donald Webster’s Occasional Paper of 1994, A Hymn Book Survey 1980-1993, left off.

Commemorating the centenary of The English Hymnal – The Wit and Wisdom of Percy Dearmer
Compiled by Alan Luff

In my college days I became hooked on hymnology by the presence behind me on the shelf of the college library in the corner where I worked of a copy of Songs of Praise Discussed, subtitled ‘A Handbook to the best-known hymns and to others recently introduced, compiled by Percy Dearmer’.

Snakes and Ladders – A Hymn Writer’s Reflections
by Timothy Dudley-Smith

Snakes and Ladders: it is a phrase we’ve known since childhood. I confidently related it in my mind to the book of Genesis: the serpent in the Garden of Eden and the ladder of Jacob’s dream at Bethel. Not a bit of it...

What Do Hymns Say About Daily Work?
by David R Wright

For many years during his lifetime, David Wright, as a committed member of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland and with characteristic generosity, contributed much to our understanding and appreciation of various aspects of hymnody;

Revealing Hidden Wisdom: Women Finding a Voice in Hymnody
by June Boyce-Tillman

The church of today is faced with many implications of change, not least when it considers the ministry of women in leadership roles within the formal structures of church organisation. Worship, too, reflects...

Redefining the Hymn: the Performative Context
by Kathryn Jenkins with an extended introduction by Rhidian Griffiths

Hers was a brief earthly life, but it was lived to the full. Everything she undertook she infused with infectious enthusiasm and a sharp intellect, and those who encountered her were left with an unforgettable impression of sheer ability and sharpness of mind.

‘Race Shall Thy WorksPraise Unto Race’: the Development of Metrical Psalmody in Scotland
by Graham D. S. Deans

In a commemorative essay which serves as an introduction to Professor William Barclay’s posthumously published expositions of five selected psalms, his former colleague Allan Galloway recalls an occasion...

Hymns Ancient & Modern 1861–2013: its Rise, Development and Influence
by James Dickinson

‘The origin and development of hymn-book making in the Church of England have their well-defined periods; each is the outcome of renewed activity and spiritual life, and all bear witness to robust health and vigour.’

Worshipping Caretakers: the Creation and our Stewardship of it in Hymnody
by Alan Hall

An Ancient Theme, A Modern Concern

While Christians in the west have been singing the praises of God as Creator since St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) wrote his Canticle of the Sun, concern for the state of the environment is a very modern issue

Faith, Hymns and Poetry
by Timothy Dudley-Smith

The title above is, I hope, an exact description. It is not meant to imply more than a merely verbal similarity with St Paul’s ‘Faith, hope and charity’, and it must not be taken to mean that ‘the greatest of these is poetry!’

The Cambridge Carol Book
by Gordon Giles

It is very tempting nowadays to assume that Christmas carols have been with us for ever, and that our singing traditions around Christmas time are rooted in a dim and distant liturgical and cultural past. We think of mediaeval carols and of folk wassailing around English streets, and remember Scrooge...

Hymns and War by J.R. Watson.

Christians are bound in loyalty and devotion to a Jesus Christ who preached peace and blessed the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), who rejected the Old Testament doctrine of an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38-39), who offered no resistance when he was arrested, beaten, and crucified, and who rebuked Peter when he cut off the high priest’s ear (John 18:10-11). The case for Christian pacifism would seem to be clear...

Suitable for Singing? An Exploration of the Hymns of the Book of Revelation by Graham D.S. Deans

R.H. Charles’ comment that the Apocalypse is ‘a book of songs’ prompted me to consider whether its hymns could be regarded as ‘suitable for singing’ in the contemporary Church. If they are, then the related question is how best they can inform and inspire its worship.

Charles’ observation is an old one; but his affirmation that the Apocalypse is ‘a book for the present day’ still has considerable relevance. Indeed, the issues which the book of Revelation addresses remain as lively, contentious, and...

The Life and Hymns of James Montgomery (1771-1854) – by James Dickinson

James Montgomery (1771-1854) is among the foremost hymn writers of his age, with over forty of his hymns still in the current hymn books of many denominations almost two centuries after they were written. His best-known texts include 'Hail to the Lord's anointed','Angels from the realms of glory' and 'Prayer is the soul's sincere desire' ..