The Story of the Hymns and Tunes Part 4

Since from His bounty I receive Such proofs of love divine, Had I a thousand hearts to give, Lord, they should all be Thine.

Samuel Stennett was one of the most respected and influential ministers of the Dissenting persuasion, and a confidant of many of the most distinguished statesmen of his time. The celebrated John Howard was his parishoner and intimate friend. His degree of Doctor of Divinity was bestowed upon him by Aberdeen University. Besides his theological writings he composed and published thirty-eight hymns, among them--

On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,

When two or three with sweet accord,

Here at Thy table, Lord, we meet,

and--

"'Tis finished," so the Saviour cried.

"Majestic Sweetness" began the third stanza of his longer hymn--

To Christ the Lord let every tongue.

Dr. Stennett died in London, Aug. 24, 1795.

_THE TUNE._

For fifty or sixty years "Ortonville" has been linked with this devout hymn, and still maintains its fitting fellowship. The tune, composed in 1830, was the work of Thomas Hastings, and is almost as well-known and as often sung as his immortal "Toplady." (See chap. 3, "Rock of Ages.")

"ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS' NAME."

This inspiring lyric of praise appears to have been written about the middle of the eighteenth century. Its author, the Rev. Edward Perronet, son of Rev. Vincent Perronet, Vicar of Sh.o.r.eham, Eng., was a man of great faith and humility but zealous in his convictions, sometimes to his serious expense. He was born in 1721, and, though eighteen years younger than Charles Wesley, the two became bosom friends, and it was under the direction of the Wesleys that Perronet became a preacher in the evangelical movement. Lady Huntingdon later became his patroness, but some needless and imprudent expressions in a satirical poem, "The Mitre," revealing his hostility to the union of church and state, cost him her favor, and his contention against John Wesley's law that none but the regular parish ministers had the right to administer the sacraments, led to his complete separation from both the Wesleys. He subsequently became the pastor of a small church of Dissenters in Canterbury, where he died, in January, 1792. His piety uttered itself when near his happy death, and his last words were a Gloria.

All hail the power of Jesus' name!

Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, To crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel's chosen race, Ye ransomed of the fall, Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget The wormwood and the gall, Go, spread your trophies at His feet, And crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue That bound creation's call, Now shout the universal song, The crowned Lord of all.

With two disused stanzas omitted, the hymn as it stands differs from the original chiefly in the last stanza, though in the second the initial line is now transposed to read--

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race.

The fourth stanza now reads--

Let every kindred, every tribe On this terrestrial ball To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all.

And what is now the favorite last stanza is the one added by Dr.

Rippon--

O that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall, And join the everlasting song, And crown Him Lord of all.

_THE TUNE._

Everyone now calls it "Old Coronation," and it is ent.i.tled to the adjective by this time, being considerably more than a hundred years of age. It was composed in the very year of Perronet's death and one wonders just how long the hymn and tune waited before they came together; for Heaven evidently meant them to be wedded for all time.

This is an American opinion, and no reflection on the earlier English melody of "Miles Lane," composed during Perronet's lifetime by William Shrubsole and published with the words in 1780 in the _Gospel Magazine_.

There is also a fine processional tune sung in the English Church to Perronet's hymn.

The author of "Coronation" was Oliver Holden, a self-taught musician, born in Shirley, Ma.s.s., 1765, and bred to the carpenter's trade. The little pipe organ on which tradition says he struck the first notes of the famous tune is now in the Historical rooms of the Old State House, Boston, placed there by its late owner, Mrs. f.a.n.n.y Tyler, the old musician's granddaughter. Its tones are as mellow as ever, and the times that "Coronation" has been played upon it by admiring visitors would far outnumber the notes of its score.

Holden wrote a number of other hymn-tunes, among which "Cowper,"

"Confidence," and "Concord" are remembered, but none of them had the wings of "Coronation," his American "Te Deum." His first published collection was ent.i.tled _The American Harmony_, and this was followed by the _Union Harmony_, and the _Worcester Collection_. He also wrote and published "Mt. Vernon," and several other patriotic anthems, mainly for special occasions, to some of which he supplied the words. He was no hymnist, though he did now and then venture into sacred metre. The new _Methodist Hymnal_ preserves a simple four-stanza specimen of his experiments in verse:

They who seek the throne of grace Find that throne in every place: If we lead a life of prayer G.o.d is present everywhere.

Sacred music, however, was the good man's pa.s.sion to the last. He died in 1844.

"Such beautiful themes!" he whispered on his death bed, "Such beautiful themes! But I can write no more."

The enthusiasm always and everywhere aroused by the singing of "Coronation," dates from the time it first went abroad in America in its new wedlock of music and words. "This tune," says an accompanying note over the score in the old _Carmina Sacra_, "was a great favorite with the late Dr. Dwight of Yale College (1798). It was often sung by the college choir, while he, catching, as it were, the music of the heavenly world, would join them, and lead with the most ardent devotion."

"AWAKE AND SING THE SONG."

This hymn of six stanzas is abridged from a longer one indited by the Rev. William Hammond, and published in _Lady Huntingdon's Hymn-book_. It was much in use in early Methodist revivals. It appears now as it was slightly altered by Rev. Martin Madan--

Awake and sing the song Of Moses and the Lamb; Join every heart and every tongue To praise the Savior's name.

The sixth verse is a variation of one of Watts' hymns, and was added in the _Brethren's Hymn-book_, 1801--

There shall each heart and tongue His endless praise proclaim, And sweeter voices join the song Of Moses and the Lamb.

The Rev. William Hammond was born Jan. 6, 1719, at Battle, Suss.e.x, Eng., and educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. Early in his ministerial life he was a Calvinistic Methodist, but ultimately joined the Moravians. Died in London, Aug. 19, 1793. His collection of _Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs_ was published in 1745.

The Rev. Martin Madan, son of Col. Madan, was born 1726. He founded Lock Hospital, Hyde Park, and long officiated as its chaplain. As a preacher he was popular, and his reputation as a composer of music was considerable. There is no proof that he wrote any original hymns, but he amended, pieced and expanded the work of others. Died in 1770.

_THE TUNE._

The hymn has had a variety of musical interpretations. The more modern piece is "St. Philip," by Edward John Hopkins, Doctor of Music, born at Westminster, London, June 30, 1818. From a member of the Chapel Royal boy choir he became organist of the Michtam Church, Surrey, and afterwards of the Temple Church, London. Received his Doctor's degree from the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1882.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Joseph Haydn]

"CROWN HIS HEAD WITH ENDLESS BLESSING."