SOME OLD ENGLISH HYMNS AND THEIR AUTHORS

New Zealand Tablet, 13 February 1913, Page 43

SOME OLD ENGLISH HYMNS AND THEIR AUTHORS

(By W. H. Grattan Flood, Mus. D., in the Ave Maria.) The subject of English Catholic hymns— more correctly speaking, Catholic hymns in. the English language-has not hitherto received the attention it deserves. German Catholic hymns have found many editors and annotators and a goodly array of collections of Catholic hymns in German and French has appeared from 1537 (when Vehe's hymn-book, with forty-six tunes, was issued) to 1632, which saw the publication of Father Jean Evangeliste's La Philomele Seraphique. In the Sarum Primers, 1538-44, there is an attempt at versifying some of the hymns but the first serious effort at Catholic hymnody was in 1599, when Richard Verstegan published, at Antwerp, a ' Primer,' in which, as is stated in the preface, ' the hymns are so turned into English metre that they may be sung unto the tunes in Latin.' Richard Verstegan matriculated at Oxford in 1565, and settled at Antwerp, publishing numerous Catholic works. His hymns will be found in his Odes, published in 1601; and of these the charming Christmas hymn, 'Our Blessed Lady's lullaby' ('Upon my lap my Sovereign sits') is included in the Arundel Hymns, No. 32. His name appears in the published volume as ' Richard Verstegan, alms Roulands.' The sixth verse is particularly neat: ' Three Kings their treasures hither brought Of incense, myrrh, and gold,— The Heaven's treasure and the King ■That here they might behold. Sing lullaby, . . .' An edition of the Primer of 1613 reprints twentytwo of the translations from the edition of 1599. The edition of 1685 includes 'the Rosary as said in her Majesty's chapel at St. James',' and the well-known

Litany of our Lady of Loreto. But a more interesting edition is that of 1687, when a Catholic monarch, King James 11., ruled over Great Britain and Ireland. It contains all the earlier matter, with the addition of Vespers on Sundays and holy days, the Ordinary of the Mass, and some other devotions. In the Primer of 1684 (Rouen) are included some new English hymns, of which the best is a translation of ' Jesu Dulcis Memoria'; while that of 1685 has seven translations ' Te Deum,' ' Veni Sancte Spiritus,' ' Memento Salutis Auctor,' ' Jesu Dulcis Memoria,' 'Salutis Humanae Sator/ 'Creator Alme Siderum,' and ' Salvete Flores Martyrum.' The 1687 Primer is merely a revision of the 1685 edition, but four new hymns are added, including a translation of the immortal. ' Dies Irse,' and also one of the like immortal ' Stabat Mater.' Of particular interest is the English Primer of 1706 though, owing to the severity of the penal laws, no place of publication is given. In all, it contains one hundred and twenty translations of the hymns in Matins, Lauds, and Vespers; and also Dryden's translation of ' Ut Queant Laxis,' ' Veni Creator,' and the ' Te Deum,' as well as a new translation of ' Jesu Dulcis Memoria.' Among Elizabethan hymn writers, the Blessed Father Robert Southwell, S.J., holds premier place. His five best-known hymns are: ' As I in a hoary winter's night' (Christmas), 'Behold" a simple, tender Babe ' (Christmas), ' In Paschal Feast the end of ancient rite,' ' Let folly praise that fancy loves,' and ' Praise, O Sion, —praise, praise the Saviour' (a translation of ' Lauda Sion Salvatorem'). Of these five four are included in Arundel Hymns. I can not resist the temptation of quoting the first stanza of the Christmas hymn ' New Prince, New Pomp ': ' Behold a simple, tender Babe In freezing winter night In lonely manger trembling lies Alas! a piteous sight.' There is no need to dwell on the almost sensuous beauty of the hymns of Richard Crashaw (d. 1650). Less known is The Devotions in the Ancient Way of Offices, compiled by Father John Austin, in 1668, the year before his death. In this work (of which a second edition appeared in 1672, and a third in 1684) there are forty-three hymns, including two translations by Crashaw. Of Austin's hymns, ' Hark, my soul, how everything ' (rewritten by John Wesley in 1736) and ' Lord, now the time returns ' (abridged as ' Blest be Thy love, good Lord '), are still sung. John Dryden, as is now admitted by hymnologists, wrote the greater number of the one hundred and twenty translations of Latin hymns in the 1706 edition of the Primer, many of which are included in The Garden of the Soul (1737) and in a Manual of Prayers (1750) —two Catholic prayer-books that came out under the segis of Bishop Challoner. As early as 1693, he published his beautiful translation of the ' Veni Creator Spiritus,' beginning: ' Creator Spirit, by Whose aid The world's foundations first were laid.' Alexander Pope (1688-1744) gave of his best to Catholic hymnody. His 'Vital Spark is well known, as also his 'Father of all in every age; but his translation of St. Thomas' 'Lauda Sion' is unfamiliar to many, on which account I may quote the last stanza: ' Gracious Jesus, Lord Divine, •Preserve us, feed us, lest we stray; And through the lonely vale of time Conduct us to the realms of day. Source of uncreated Light, Matchless Goodness, boundless Might, Fpd bv Thv carp Tb« v.#v.-i-n+iT Kloo+ X CU h/JT J- XXJ UUiXVt J, JJ.Jf WL4.JJLVJT »SAV'UWa Hereafter give Thy flock a place Amongst Thy guests a chosen race, The heirs of everlasting rest. In regard to Pope, I may add it is not generally known that he translated the hymn, ' O Deus, ego amo

Te' (the earliest English translation), at the request of Father Adam Pigott, S.J., who died at Croxden, on April 30, 1751. Students of English Catholic hymnody will find much to interest them in the various editions of The Evening Office of the Church, which appeared in the years 1710, 1725, 1748, and 1760. In 1763 there was published a complete translation of the Roman Breviary, in four volumes, including new translations of the hymns. All these works, it is well to note, were issued without a musical setting. At length, in 1766, there was published the earliest Catholic service book, with music for English Catholics— Sacred Hymns, Anthems, and Versides for Morning and Evening Service, in two parts, compiled by Charles Barbandt. It was printed for the author, in octavo, and had the title-page printed in Latin, English, and French. This Charles Barbandt was organist of the Bavarian Embassy Chapel, London; and he it was who gave lessons to Samuel Webbe. Even a more interesting book is An Essay on the Church Plain Chant, the second part of which contains ' anthems, litanies, proses, and hymns as they are sung at the public chapels at London '; published by an Irishman, James P. Coghlan, in 1782. Ten years later, in 1792, appeared Webbe's Collection of Motets and Antiphons ; and then English Catholic hymnody was able to come out in the open, owing to a relaxation in the penal laws. Coming down to more modern times, in the first decade of the nineteenth century there was issued a collection of Catholic hymns. About the same time a new hymn-book (of which the present writer has a copy), entitled Vespers; or, Evening Office of the Church, was printed by Wegan of Dublin—all the more interesting as it contains the music for the hymns. A very remarkable Collection of Spiritual Songs was published by the Rev. Dr. Alexander Geddes' in 1791; and the chief feature of the work, ostensibly designed for Scotch Catholics, was that the hymns were directed to be sung to popular Scotch melodies. Geddes died under ecclesiastical censure on February 26, 1802. In 1806 and 1807 the Rev. Nicholas Gilbert published a small volume of Catholic Hymns, which was reprinted in 1823 by Father George L. Haydock, of Ugthorpe, in Yorkshire—the editor of Haydock's Bible (1811). In 1823 Father Haydock printed at Whitby a second collection, which includes the former, but with the addition of thirty-nine hymns. Not many would suppose that the erudite historian, the Rev. Dr. Lingard (1771-1841) had a taste for hymnwriting, but at least one of his hymns has attained world-wide popularity. This is the charming 'Hail, Queen of Heaven,' which first appeared in his Manual of Prayers, published at York in 1840. As I write I have before me an exceedingly scarce duodecimo, The Catholic Choralist (1842), dedicated to Father Theobald Mathew, the Apostle of Temperance, compiled by Father William Young, of Dublin, a brother of the saintly Father Henry Young, whose biography has been so charmingly written by Lady Georgiana Fullerton. In addition to the Breviary hymns, there are a number of original verses, including twenty temperance hymns. The chief attraction, however, of this little work is the musical setting of fifty odd hymns, mostly adaptations to airs by Beethoven, Mozart, Pleyel, Haydn, Mazzinghi, Bach, Kotzeluch, and Webbe. But the first really good modern collection of English hymns was due to Father Edward Caswell, in his Lyra Catholica (1849), containing two hundred translations from the Breviary, Missal, and other sources. In the same year appeared Father Faber's delightful St. Wilfrid's Hymn-Book, a tiny work containing eleven hymns, of which two are still sung—namely, 'Hail, holy Joseph—hail!' and Mother of Mercy' day by day!' It was the present writer's good fortune to spend many a pleasant evening, during the years 1890-94. in Father Faber's Grotto at St. Wilfrid's College, Oakamoor (Staffordshire), where the distinguished Oratorian wrote these eleven hymns in 184748. Here also he wrote his .'Jesus and Mary' (1849) in which appeared Dear Husband of Mary,' 'Dear Little One, how sweet Thou art!' 'O turn to Jesus Mother— and ' Sing,, sing, ye Angel Bands In

1852 there appeared a second edition of St. Wilfrid's Hymn-Book, containing twenty additional hymns. Matthew Brydges, in his Hymns for the Use of Catholics (1848-1851), wrote some beautiful hymns, including : ' Rose of the Cross, thou Mystic Flower,' ' Wave the sweet censer, —wave,' ' Rise, glorious Con-queror,—-rise,' and ' Crown Him with many crowns.' He also issued Passion of Jesus (1852), in which occur: ' From circles starred with many a gem/ ' Holy of Holies, Seat of Love,' ' Rise, O Lord, in all Thy glory !' and 'The Wine-press, the Wine-press!' J. Richard Best, in 1849, issued Church Hymns, in English, that may be sung to the Old Church Music'; and two years later, in 1851, Father Formby's Catholic Hymns were productive of much good. Catholic Hymn Tunes and Litanies, by the Rev. J. M. Capes, was published in 1849; followed by Easy Hymn Tunes for Catholic Schools in 1851, in which appeared for the first time a musical setting for Dr. Lingard's hymn, 'Hail, Queen of Heaven.' Another interesting book with music, is Easy Music for Church Choirs,' issued in 1853; while the same year saw a musical setting of Father Formby's hymns by Sir John Lambert. St. Winifred's Hymn-Book, in 1854 had a considerable vogue. In 1854 appeared Oratory Hymns, edited by Father Faber, to which was added the music for the. various hymns, as sung at the London Oratory. It is no exaggeration to say that this volume was a powerful auxiliary in the work of conversion, and gave a great stimulus to Catholic congregational singing. It contained hymns by Faber, Newman, and others; but the music was mostly adapted. No doubt something might be said in favor of judicious adaptations from such masters as Beethoven and Mozart, but the setting of really beautiful verses to popular Irish and English tunes was in questionable taste. One of the hymns, ' Daily, Daily,' was written by Father Henry Bittleston' M.A. (who became an Oratorian), in March, 1850, and is still popular. ... A little known 'fact in connection with these adaptations is that Father Faber's exquisite hymn, ' I was wandering and weary,' was set to a tune composed by the illustrious Cardinal' Newman. Of contemporary hymn-writers with Faber and Caswall must be mentioned Father Formby, Father Furniss, Father John Wyse, Bishop Chadwick'; Father Christie, S.J.; Father Peter Galways, S.J. ; Father Potter, and Father C. Pise, chaplain to the U.S. Senate. Others were Catholic poets like Robert Monteith, Adelaide Procter, Canon Oakeley, Aubrev de Vere, the Rev. Dr. Rawes, and Lady Georgiana "Fullarton. . , Perhaps on another occasion I may be tempted to treat of English Catholic hymnody in modern timesbut meanwhile I wish to recommend Arundel Hymns edited by the Duke of Norfolk and Charles T. Gatty' as about the best collection at present before the public'