All Creatures of Our God and King | |
---|---|
Genre | Hymn |
Written | 1225 |
Text | St. Francis of Assisi |
Based on | Psalms148 |
Meter | 8.8.4.4.8.8 with refrain |
Melody | "Lasst uns erfreuen" |
"All Creatures of Our God and King" is an English Christian hymn by William Henry Draper, based on a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. It was first published in a hymn book in 1919. [1]
The words of the hymn were initially written by St. Francis of Assisi [2] in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. [3] The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first wrote the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. [4] Draper wrote it for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. [1] The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. [2] The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. [5]
Like "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones", Draper's text is usually set to the tune of " Lasst uns erfreuen ", a German Easter hymn published by Friedrich Spee in 1623 in his book Auserlesene Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng. [6] [7] This tune became widespread in English hymn books starting with a 1906 arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams. [8] [9] [10] [4] [11] John Rutter also wrote a piece of music for the hymn. [12] Despite the hymn being initially written by Draper for Whitsun (the Anglican and English designation for Pentecost), it is mostly used in the earlier weeks of the Easter season. [13]
The most common melody is the 1623 German hymn tune Lasst uns erfreuen . [2] The following setting is from the 1906 English Hymnal , with the lyrics quoted from the 1986 New English Hymnal : [14] [15]
The hymn is prominently featured in the pilot episode of the comedy programme Mr. Bean , where the title character is in church when the congregation sings "All Creatures of Our God and King", but he has no hymnal and his neighbour, Mr. Sprout, refuses to share due to Mr. Bean annoying him repeatedly. Consequently, he mumbles through most of the song, save for the recurrent "Alleluia", which he shouts as loudly as possible. He also tries to eat a sweet without Mr. Sprout knowing but fails. [16]
In the United States, it was covered by the David Crowder Band on the album Can You Hear Us? in 2002 and in the album Illuminate in 2003. [17]
A Lutheran chorale is a musical setting of a Lutheran hymn, intended to be sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. The typical four-part setting of a chorale, in which the sopranos sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a chorale harmonization.
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives from a similar practice in the Jewish synagogue, where some version of the Kaddish serves to terminate each section of the service.
The English Hymnal is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams, and was a significant publication in the history of Anglican church music.
"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!" is a Christian hymn written by the Anglican bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826).
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm, with or without refrain or chorus.
"Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" is a popular Christian hymn with text by Athelstan Riley, first published in the English Hymnal (1906). It is sung to the German tune Lasst uns erfreuen (1623). Its uplifting melody and repeated "Alleluias" make this a favourite Anglo-Catholic hymn during the Easter season, the Feast of All Saints, and other times of great rejoicing.
"Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" is a 1641 hymn by Georg Neumark, who also composed the melody for it. It has seven verses and deals with the Christian putting their trust in God. Its author referred to it as a "Trostlied" or song of consolation and it first appeared in his Fortgepflantzer musikalisch-poetischer Lustwald. It also appeared in Johann Crüger's 1672 Praxis pietatis melica and in the first part of Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen's 1704 Geistreiches Gesangbuch. It has inspired musical settings, and is part of current German hymnals, both Protestant and Catholic.
David Gregor Corner, was a German Benedictine abbot, hymn writer and theologian best known for his influential 1631 Gross Catholisches Gesängbuch. Born in Hirschberg, Germany, he studied theology at Prague, Graz and Vienna, where he earned a doctorate. He became a pastor in Retz in 1614. In 1628 he became a novice monk at Göttweig Abbey. By 1636, Corner was the abbot of Göttweig, where he became a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation, and was made Rector of the University of Vienna in 1638. He died 9 January 1648 at Göttweig.
"Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" is a German Christian hymn. The first stanza is a leise from the 13th century which alludes to the Latin sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus for Pentecost. It was widely known, and aside from its Pentecostal origin was also used as a procession song and in sacred plays.
"Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt", also known as "Susani", is a German Christmas carol. It was first printed in 1622 as an alternate text to an older melody. In eight stanzas of two lines each, the angels are requested to come from Heaven, bring their musical instruments, and play and sing of Jesus and Mary, and ultimately for peace for the people.
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" is a Lutheran hymn in ten stanzas by Martin Luther for communion, first published in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion. It is one of Luther's hymns which he wrote to strengthen his concepts of reformation. The models for the text and the melody of Luther's hymn existed in early 15th-century Bohemia. The text of the earlier hymn, "Jesus Christus nostra salus", goes back to the late 14th century. That hymn was embedded in a Hussite tradition.
William Henry Draper was an English hymnodist and clergyman who composed about sixty hymns. He is most famous for "All Creatures of Our God and King", his translation of "Canticle of the Sun" by Francis of Assisi.
"Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr" is a hymn tune that originated from Germany in 1623, and which found widespread popularity after The English Hymnal published a 1906 version in strong triple meter with new lyrics. The triumphant melody and repeated "Alleluia" phrases have supported the tune's widespread usage during the Easter season and other festive occasions, especially with the English texts "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" and "All Creatures of Our God and King".
"Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" is an early Lutheran hymn, with text and melody attributed to Nikolaus Decius. With the reformers intending church service in German, it was intended as a German version of the Gloria part of the Latin mass, used in almost every service. Decius wrote three stanzas, probably in 1523, while a fourth was added, probably by Joachim Slüter.
"Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren" is a Lutheran hymn of 1575 with words by Ludwig Helmbold. It is a song of thanks, with the incipit: "Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren Dank sagen und ihn ehren". The melody, Zahn No. 159, was published by Nikolaus Selnecker in 1587. The song appears in modern German hymnals, including in the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 320.
"Die güldne Sonne voll Freud und Wonne" is a Lutheran hymn by Paul Gerhardt. It is a morning hymn which was first published in 1666, with a four-part setting by Johann Georg Ebeling. Gerhardt created an unusual hymn metre for its 12 stanzas.
"Macht hoch die Tür" is a popular German Advent hymn, written in 17th century Ducal Prussia. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623 for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in Königsberg. The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in the hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen.
"Ist das der Leib, Herr Jesu Christ" is Catholic Easter hymn in German. The text was written by Friedrich Spee, first published in 1623. The song is still part of hymnals.
One of the great successes of The English Hymnal in 1906 was its inclusion of the old German Catholic tune 'Lasst uns erfreuen', linked originally with Easter rejoicing, but now set to 'Ye watchers and ye holy ones', a new text by Athelstan Riley... The EH attribution of the melody was to the book [Auserlesene, Catholische,] Geistliche Kirchengesäng (Cöln, 1623)...