A History of Hymnody : Vol. 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Each line being sung or spoken by a soloist and then repeated by the congregation

The Assembly met between 1643 and 1649 and were charged with reforming still further the practices of the Church of England. In "The Directory for Publique Worship" they noted that: "That the whole congregation may join herein, every one that can read is to have a psalm book: and all others, not disabled by age or otherwise, are to be exhorted to learn to read.

But for the present, where many in the congregation cannot read, it is convenient that the minister, or some other fit person appointed by him and the other ruling officers, do read the psalm, line by line, before the singing thereof."

Answer: Psalms were preferred due to a very strong Calvinist influence

The Calvinist influence in Britain was such that anything that was not an unadorned rendering of scripture was frowned upon. Psalters (paraphrases of the psalms which could be of very dubious quality!) were produced and these psalms were sung metrically.

For many years, the standard work was that produced in the 1560s by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins. This was superseded in 1696 by a new psalter, the work of Nicholas Brady and Nahum "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" Tate. In America, attitudes were similar to those in Britain. The first home-grown psalter to be produced was the "Bay Psalm Book" in 1640.

Answer: All of these were used

It was also claimed that believers and unbelievers singing together would make a mockery of worship. One aspect that is easily overlooked is the bravery of many non-conformist congregations in choosing to sing hymns. Legal restraints in seventeenth century Britain meant that it was generally only possible to gather in places that were far removed from centres of population. Most town churches were, therefore, forced to meet illegally and the singing of hymns was just a bit of a giveaway!

Answer: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was born into a non-conformist family and became a non-conformist minister. He began writing verses at a young age and, as a child complaining about the dreadful psalms he encountered in worship, was encouraged by his father to do better if he could.

His rationale behind "developing" the psalms was that their writers weren't Christians. His adaptations were, therefore, intended to reflect what they might have written had they been writing after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach

During his lifetime, Bach (1685-1750) served as an organist to the royal court and as organist or director of music for various German churches. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries produced many great German hymn writers either inspired by or helping to inspire the Pietist movement within the Lutheran church which emphasised a religion of the heart rather than the head.

These writers include Paul Gerhardt ("O Sacred Head, Now Wounded", "All My Heart This Night Rejoices", "Jesus thy boundless love to me"), Joachim Neander ("Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation"), Johann Jakob Schütz ("Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above"), and Gerhard Tersteegen ("Thou Hidden Love of God", "Lo God Is Here, Let Us Adore!")

Answer: O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice

Doddridge (1702-1751) chose the non-conformist ministry over that of the Anglicans. For many years, he served a church in Northampton whilst overseeing the newly-founded non-conformist academy at Market Harborough. His other hymns include "Hark the Glad Sound" and "my Gracious Lord I Own Thy Right".

The ability of hymns to teach and train had earlier been noted by Isaac Watts. In the introduction to "Divine and Moral Songs for Children", he wrote:
"What is learned in verse is longer retained in memory, and sooner recollected. The like sounds and the like number of syllables exceedingly assist the remembrance. And it may often happen that the end of a song, running in the mind, may be an effectual means to keep off some temptations, or to incline to some duty, when a word of scripture is not upon their thoughts."

Answer: My Song Is Love Unknown

Samuel Crossman's leanings towards Puritanism led to his being one of those expelled from the Anglican Church following the Act of Uniformity in 1662. He was later reinstated and became a chaplain to the king.

The hymn commences:

"My song is love unknown,
My Saviour's love to me,
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be."

Coldplay's song, "The Message", begins with:

"My song is love
Love to the loveless shown
And it goes on
You don't have to be alone"

and ends with:

"My song is love, is love unknown
And I've got to get that message home".

Answer: Thomas Ken

Thomas Ken (1637-1711) had previously stood up to James II, whilst a priest in Winchester, when he refused to provide hospitality for the king's mistress, Nell Gwynne. As bishop of Bath and Wells, Ken was imprisoned in the Tower in 1688 with six of his fellow bishops. They had objected to James' "Declaration of Indulgence" and had registered their objections by formally petitioning the king. He, in turn, had them charged and tried for seditious libel. The bishops were found not guilty and, the following year, James II was forced into exile with William and Mary succeeding him on the English throne. Ironically, this marked the end of Ken's time as a bishop. Although he had no sympathy for the outgoing Catholic king, he felt, in conscience, that he could not swear a fresh oath of allegiance whilst the previous monarch was alive. He was, therefore, forced to resign his office.

Isaak Walton was married to Ken's stepsister, Anne.

Answer: It was written on his conversion.

Charles Wesley's journal entries read:
May 21 1738, "At nine, I be­gan an hymn up­on my con­ver­sion, but I was per­suad­ed to break off for fear of pride. Mr. Bray, com­ing en­cour­aged me to pro­ceed in spite of Sa­tan. I prayed Christ to stand by me, and fin­ished the hymn."
May 22, 1738, "Towards ten my bro­ther was brought in tri­umph by a troop of our friends, and de­clared "I be­lieve." We sang the hymn with great joy and part­ed with pray­er."

Wesley's life and composing filled most of the eighteenth century so, expect to see a little more about him in the next quiz in this series.

Answer: O Come all Ye Faithful

The lines were written in Latin and do not include the present middle two verses about the shepherds and wise men. "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Joy to the World" were written by Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts respectively. "Winter Wonderland" is a twentieth century song written by Felix Bernard.