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An Early Christian Hymn

I’ve been studying Biblical Greek from quite a young age, and at times I wondered about the songs the first Christians sang. I figured many of them must have been in Greek, but have any of these hymns survived to the present day? As I researched this question recently, I discovered that there actually are Greek Christian hymns that have come to us through the ages from the early years of the church. That is, we have the hymns themselves, but not the music to which they were set.

However, in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, someone came across a very unique papyrus–one of a kind, in fact–on which someone had written a Christian hymn to the Trinity, along with Greek musical notation.

You may not have known that the Greeks knew how to write music. Well, they did, and were quite advanced in their ideas of modes and music theory. But the importance of this little piece of papyrus that someone threw in an Egyptian rubbish heap ages ago is not that it has music (there is a good amount of extant Ancient Greek music), but that it is a spiritual song from the time when most all such songs were written with only the words–if they were written at all. Read More

Sing an Old Song to the Lord!

Of late my wandering interests have entered the territory of traditional hymnody, sparked by my acquisition of an 1854 copy of William Walker’s Southern Harmony & Musical Companion. This hymnal introduced me to the style of sacred music that is well known in modern times as “Sacred Harp,” after a popular hymnal that has seen continuous use until the present day.

Although I will probably have more to say about such music in subsequent posts, here I shall remark upon the differences between this and modern sacred music.

As a member of the church of Christ, the singing I have grown up with is not as different from the early 19th century hymns, as compared to the music of the denominations. Read More

The Green Fields of Gaothdobhair

Seeing as how I don’t really have much to blog about this week, I’ve decided to share with you the lyrics to an Irish song sung by Clannad called “The Green Fields of Gaothdobhair.” It’s a really pretty song, and if you’re interested in hearing it, it may be found on their 1982 album Fuaim. Here are the lyrics, from TaraMusic.com:

Down past Dunlewey’s bonny lakes
One morning I did stray,
Until I reached sweet Clady banks
where the silvery salmon play,
I strolled around through old Bunbeg
and down along the shore,
And gazed with admiration
on the green fields of Gaothdobhair.

I visit Magherclocher,
On Middletown heights I stand,
Beneath me lies the ocean wide,
and Machergallon strand,
Those sandy banks so dear to me,
Those banks I do adore,
Behind me lies sweet Derrybeg
and the green fields of Gaothdobhair.

The bonny Isle of Goal
and Inishmean so near,
I see the little fishing fleet
as it lies along the pier,
I wander through the graveyard
where those have gone before,
That once lived happy and content
on the green fields of Gaothdobhair.

I see sweet Inish Oirthir,
and far off Tory Isle,
I view the ocean liners
as they stream along in style,
on board are Irish emigrants
with hearts both sad and sore,
As they gazed on old Tir Chonaill hills
and the green fields of Gaothdobhair.

P忙an of Joy

What a wonderful day!
As I walked through the woods,
As I noticed where deer had late lain.
And I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

On grass and on stone
Did my light footsteps tread,
As I marched through the rugged terrain.
And I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

The mockingbird sang
(Oh that plagiarist bird!),
Sang the notes of my new-found refrain,
As I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

With the gay sunshine bright
And the flower鈥檚 fair face,
My joy I could hardly contain,
As I whistled the tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

Then the southern wind blew,
And with fingers so light
Deftly caught up the notes of my strain,
While I whistled the tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

Though that tune is now gone,
And the notes in my head
Have since flown and no longer remain,
I was whistling for joy, and so therefore, I think
That my music was not made in vain.

Fifth of November

Fifth of November

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In case you’re one of the many Americans who do not celebrate Guy Fawkes Day, let me catch you up on this exciting holiday celebrated throughout the British Commonwealth.

Way back in 1605, there was a plot made by the Catholics to set off some explosives and blow up the King of England as well as Parliament. Fortunately the conspirators were found out before the planned sabotage, and were executed along with their ringleader, Guy Fawkes. Today the holiday is celebrated the world around by bonfires and fireworks. The sentiment is well reflected in this famous rhyme:

Remember, remember, the fifth of November;
Fireworks, treason, and plot!
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

In commemoration of that event so many years ago, I have written an instrumental piece of music for the piano, bowed psaltery, and hammered dulcimer. Enjoy!