Hymns are essentially poems set to music. The following article describes the poetic qualities of hymn texts, defines several of the technical terms used to categorize hymns texts, and then discusses how hymn tunes need to be sensitive to the poetic qualities of the text. Studying the examples provided in this article will help the reader to better understand and use hymns for congregational singing.
Meter
For many people looking through a hymnal, the use of such letters as SM, CM, LM, CMD and strange numbers such as 77.77., 87.87.D, and 14 14. 4 7 8. are complete mysteries or at best intriguing puzzles. But for anyone seriously concerned with writing hymn texts or setting them to music, they are very important, for they are related to the thoughts and means of expression which are chosen consciously or unconsciously. Artists usually do things more by instinct than by cerebral machination; yet there is plenty of historical evidence to indicate that there are certain poetical rhythms that fit particular types of texts, for the poet has words, sounds, poetic devices, rhythms, and rhyme as tools. Combining these is no easy task, for as the great American poet Robert Frost indicated, writing poetry is like running easily in the harness.
Poetry is organized into “feet,” which indicates that poetry “walks” or “marches.” A “foot” consists of a group of two or more syllables with one accented and others not. In classical poetry the number of feet was counted. For example, iambic pentameter (a favorite of Shakespeare) was ten syllables arranged in five groups of feet of iambic movement. In hymns we count the number of syllables in a line, rather than the feet. The most common movement is iambic (\/ /), consisting of an upbeat followed by an accent. Thus it is called the rising foot, and this means that the mind is constantly being propelled forward to the final climactic accent on the last important word or syllable of the line. Trochaic (/ \/) is called the falling foot, with the accent first, then falling away to an un-accent on the second pulse. This means the poet must capture interest on the very first word. For example, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” gets your attention immediately. By adding an unaccented syllable to each of these (iambic and trochaic) we have anapaestic (/ \/ \/) or dactylic (\/ \/ /). Pure classical dactylic is rarely found because there are few English words that end with two unaccents (e.g., holiness). And anapaestic often begins with only one upbeat sound (e.g., “Immortal, Invisible,”), but it always ends with a final accent. The tripping triplet sounds of these meters is exuberant and infectious, with the feel of the dance. (For a discussion of other meters such as the sapphic, elegia, alcaic, cretic, and spondee, see Austin C. Lovelace, The Anatomy of Hymnody [Chicago: GIA Publications] 15, 16). For all practical purposes, most hymns will fall into the four basic patterns listed above.
To appreciate the importance of iambic movement, one need only look at the Scottish and English Psalters. There you will find only Common Meter, Short Meter, and Long Meter. Of these, Long Meter (88.88.) is the most ancient, having been used by Bishop Ambrose in the first hymns written using meter. Most LM texts tend to be related to praise or to stating lofty themes about God as Creator and Sovereign Lord. A study of Isaac Watts’s use of this meter will be helpful in understanding this form.
Common Meter (86.86.) is the workhorse of hymnody. It was most commonly used for psalm texts that tell a story. With its first eight syllables, it states the beginning of an idea, which is then completed in the second set of six syllables. It can be read in the sing-songy style of a small boy reciting poetry. When Common Meter is doubled (CMD) it becomes what is called “fourteeners”—the tempo is quick enough to make the 8 and 6 into a long line of 14 syllables. Since it flows along rapidly there are seldom words of more than two syllables, and most will be only one. This meter has been used most successfully for teaching and storytelling, and is called the ballad meter. Closely related to CM is 76.76.D. which ends lines 1, 3, 5, 7 with what is called a feminine ending (e.g., “The Church’s One Foundation”). It is less virile, and the need for double rhyming the last two syllables and using multi syllabled words tends to more obvious: foundation, creation, nation, salvation, tribulation, consummation.
Short Meter (66.86.) was once called the poulter’s measure because of the custom of giving 12 eggs for the first dozen, and thirteen or fourteen for the second. It is made up of two couplets, the first containing 12 syllables and the second 14. It has been used fewer times than LM and CM, because it demands that the poet state the thesis in six syllables, which can then be reinforced in the second line and developed in the last fourteen. Because of its abrupt directness, it is successful for exhorting and admonishing (e.g., “Come, Sound His Praise Abroad” and “Stand Up, and Bless the Lord.” Short Meter Double (SMD) was a favorite of Charles Wesley, his “Crown Him with Many Crowns” being an excellent example. Another fine one is George Matheson’s excellent use of paradox in “Make Me a Captive, Lord.” This meter poses many problems for a hymn tune writer. There is no space for verbosity or rambling melody. diademata is perhaps the most successful tune in this meter.
Since 8’ and 6’ are so basic to hymn writing, it is not surprising that there are many other combinations of the two. 66.66.88. was known as HM or Hallelujah Meter. F. Bland Tucker in his hymn for the family, “Our Father, By Whose Name,” added an extra 8, possibly to fit it to rhosymedre. The new United Methodist Hymnal (1989) lists twelve combinations of the two numbers.
Just as Common Meter Double (CMD) is sometimes reduced to 76.76. by having feminine endings in lines 1, 3, 5, 7, the meter of 87.87. is similar except that the feminine ending is in lines 2 and 4. “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” is the most famous example, but this meter has never been very widely used. However, German hymnody has been successful in 87.87.887., with its added line 6, having been developed from the music and texts of minnesingers.
Hymns having 10 syllables per line are quite common, with 10 10.10 10. being the most popular. It is interesting to note that most examples come from the nineteenth century and were written by ministers. (Does this mean that they tend to be long-winded?)
Among trochaic hymns the most common patterns are 65.65. and 65.65.D. (“Onward, Christian soldiers”), and all of the combinations of 7’s (77.77., 77.77.77., 77.77.D.). “For the Beauty of the Earth” is typical, with all of the lines being relatively short, and with one idea per line of poetry. Equally or more popular are the 87.87.D. hymns. A look at any metrical index will show a large number of these hymns, all of which are very familiar.
The rhythm of anapaestic (and dactylic) is infectiously exuberant, with its dancing movement in triplets. Wesley’s 55.55.65.65. use in “Ye Servants of God, Your Master proclaim” is a classic example. Some exotic combinations found in early American tune books are 5 5 5.11., 6 6 9.D., and 11 8.11 8. However, the most popular texts are put into four 11’, and the ultimate in dactylic treatment is “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” in 14 14. 4 7 8.
An interesting study is to consider the use of mixed meters, where a hymn uses both iambic and trochaic (“Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above”). “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” looks and sounds like it is dactylic, but is actually trochaic—an anapaestic tune with a trochaic text. The most famous (and historical) of combined meters is found in the Sapphic (11 11 11.5.). The first three syllables of each line of poetry are dactylic, and then the poetry moves to trochaic for the rest of the line. A good example is the German hymn, “Ah, Holy, Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended.”
This is a very sketchy overview of the basic patterns with which poets begin to express their thoughts. The variety of meters is overwhelming. The new United Methodist Hymnal lists 195 different meters! And as if this were not enough, there is another category called irregular—which means that each hymn is different and can only be sung to its one given tune. In old books, such hymns were marked PM, which meant Peculiar Meter or Particular Meter.
One of the features of contemporary hymn writers is the large number of meters used. Fred Kaan of England, one of the jump-states of contemporary hymnody, has written in 86 meters. Timothy Dudley-Smith, an Anglican bishop, has used 87. Jaroslav Vajda (American) also has 86, while the greatest hymn-writer of this century, Fred Pratt Green of England, has used an amazing 124. Since only two of Brian Wren’s collections of hymns include a metrical index, it is difficult to determine how many meters he has used, but his later works seem to be more poems than hymns with exotic meters which are better read than sung.
Rhyme Schemes
In addition to the importance of the meter matching the material, there is also the matter of rhyming schemes that are aids to the memory. Spelling does not always determine rhyme, but it is sound that must be the same. There are eye rhymes, identities, false rhymes, almost rhymes, consonance (or off rhymes), and assonance. Rhymes may be in couplets (AABB), cross (ABAB), outer-inner (ABBA), internal rhymes (“above thy deep and dreamless sleep”), and other more complicated patterns, including no rhymes at all. The danger for a hymn writer is the temptation to let the necessity for rhyme determine the thought. A hymn may be admired for its poetry, but its true purpose is as a book of devotion for the people. Chapter 6 of Lovelace’s The Anatomy of Hymnody lists a variety of poetic devices which are further working tools of the poet.
Hymn Tunes and Poetic Texts
Just how is the composer affected by all this? In working on the Hymn Tunes Committee for the revision of the 1935 Methodist hymnal, our committee was in complete agreement that the tune pentecost in 3/4 time was not right for the text “Fight the Good Fight,” written in Long Meter. (Can you really fight in waltz time?) We looked at all sorts of tunes in this meter, such as duke street and truro, but they didn’t seem right. So we commissioned a tune called grace church, gananoque by the Canadian composer Graham George. While it is nicely crafted, it did not turn out to be a successful tune for congregational singing. It was this problem hymn that prompted the writing of The Anatomy of Hymnody (Chicago: GIA Publications). There were two problems: (1) the hymn begins with a choriambus, which forces the composer to have an accent on the first word “fight”, which is awkward in iambic meter. (2) Long Meter is the wrong one for admonishing—this should have been written in Short Meter. Years later I discovered that the only suitable tune for this text is deo gracis (The Agincourt Song) written in 3/4 with the possibility of using either upbeats or downbeats to fit the appropriate accents.
There are always problems for the composer with Long Meter, with its constant movement of 8 syllables per line of poetry. When does the singer have time to breathe? tallis’ canon, unless it is sung at a very moderate pace, leaves the singer breathless. old 100th probably has the most effective and successful solution to the problem by starting with a gathering note and ending each phrase with notes of double value, which gives a strong steady pulse and plenty of time for breathing. A study of any hymnal will reveal from 15 to 20 different rhythmic treatments of LM, including 3/4. germany in 3/4, which is sung to “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life,” was arranged from Beethoven by William Gardiner of England, to begin with, a downbeat for phrases 1 and 2, with upbeats for 3 and 4, which gives variety and a powerful climax. Unfortunately, the new Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) has altered the original to begin all phrases with an upbeat, which defeats the purpose of the tune.
Writing a hymn tune suitable for congregational singing is one of the most difficult of all jobs, for the composer must try to be distinctive and neutral at the same time. The tune must be memorable after a few times of singing, but it must be able to stand up to repetition without losing its freshness. At the same time it must fit the scansion and mood of all stanzas, which usually have many different themes and moods. If the lines of poetry are short, there is not much room to get a musical idea moving very far. If the lines are long, there is the problem of keeping motion and life in a lot of notes. The balance of note values is important, as well as the choices of cadences. For example, a line with ten syllables is very difficult to write unless the composer breaks it down into two small parts, such as a 4 and a 6. (See old 124th.) The hymn “God of Our Life, Through All the Circling Years” (10 4.10 4.10 10.) by Hugh T. Kerr was written to be sung to sandon, which fits it nicely even if there is a static feel to the harmony. The Worshipbook (1972) tried to substitute the tune witmer by Richard D. Wetzel, which spun out 14 notes in each of the first two lines, and then floundered rhythmically for the last two, with no matching patterns. No wonder that Presbyterians refused to accept the change! 65.65.D. is an awkward meter, for the most obvious pattern is four quarters and two half notes, followed by four quarters and one whole note. The tune dies at the end of every two lines unless an oom-pah bass is used to cover the hole, as in St. Gertrude for “Onward, Christian soldiers.” But Ralph Vaughan Williams solved the problem for “At the Name of Jesus” by putting the tune in 3/2 with a magnificent rhythmic change for the last line which matches the climax of the melody.
So which is the more important: the text or the tune? I believe that they are equal, except that the text is more equal. We sing hymns because of what the words say, and if they are our thoughts we join in heartily and agree. However, if the tune does not give wings to the words and make them lyrical, they remain nothing but a poem. So in the long run, the tune turns out to be of ultimate importance, proving the biblical message that the last shall be first. It does pay to pay attention to the “anatomy of hymnody.”