A History of Hymnody: Vol. 4 Online Trivia | Christian Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. By the end of the nineteenth century, hymns had entered the public consciousness to such a degree that some publishers were paying writers to produce a weekly output. The most prolific and popular of these was a blind American lady whose married name was Frances Van Alsteyne but who retained her maiden name in addition to using over 200 different pseudonyms. By which of these names is she best known?

Answer: Fanny Crosby

Sarah Adams wrote the hymn, "Nearer My God To Thee" and Kate Hankey was responsible for "Tell Me the Old, Old Story" and "I Love To Hear The Story". Noosha Fox was a 1970s rock singer.

Fanny Cosby's output of hymns ran into thousands and, for almost all of these, she was simply paid a writing fee of a few dollars. She used pseudonyms for two reasons. Firstly, magazine publishers were wary of being seen to be overly dependent on just one writer and, so too, were committees responsible for hymnbook compilations. Crosby's hymns include "Blessed Assurance"; "Jesus Is Tenderly Calling You Home"; "Near the Cross"; "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour"; "Praise Him, Praise Him"; "Rescue the Perishing"; "Tell Me the Story of Jesus"; "To God Be the Glory" and "Draw me Nearer".

2. The song, "There Were Ninety and Nine", was often used by the American Evangelistic team of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey. They came across the words in a Scottish newspaper but what was unusual about the tune written by Sankey?

Answer: It was composed spontaneously in one of their revival meetings

The words were by a Scottish poet, Elizabeth Clephane, and were based upon the parable of the lost sheep found in Luke's gospel. Sankey came across them whilst in the UK and searching for news about events in America. That evening, Moody, at the close of his address, turned to his partner and asked him to sing a solo based upon his theme of the "good shepherd". Sankey described what happened next in these words and the rest, as they say, is history: "At this moment I seemed to hear a voice saying: "Sing the hymn you found on the train!" But I thought this impossible, as no music had been written for it. Placing the newspaper slip on the organ, I lifted my heart in prayer, struck the key of A flat, and began to sing." (Source: "Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories" by Robert J. Morgan)

3. Philip Bliss was another hymn writing evangelist of the nineteenth century. Which of the following is his composition?

Answer: They are all Bliss' compositions

"Fierce and long the battle rages,
But our Help is near;
Onward comes our Great Commander,
Cheer, my comrades, cheer!
"Hold the fort, for I am coming,"
Jesus signals still,
Wave the answer back to Heaven,-
"By Thy grace, we will.""

"Hold the Fort" was based upon a famous signal sent by General Sherman to the troops holding out at Allatoona in 1864. If history had worked out differently, Bliss would have been Dwight L. Moody's musical partner rather than Ira D. Sankey. Bliss, however, declined the offer and in, in 1874, chose to become a full-time evangelist himself. Sadly, he was killed in a train fire just two years later.

4. Many hymns are written against the backdrop of personal suffering but few can rival the hymn that is the subject of this question. Its author, Horatio Spafford, lost his business in the Chicago fire of 1871 and then, two years later, heard the news that his four daughters had drowned en route to Europe. Which hymn was written as his response?

Answer: It Is Well with My Soul

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul."

His wife, Anna, had accompanied the children whilst Spafford was detained in America on business. The boat they were traveling on struck another vessel and sank almost instantly. Anna sent the poignant telegram message, "Saved alone".

The hymn was written as Spafford made the same sea journey to be with her. A tune was written by Philip Bliss and named, "Ville du Havre", after the ship at the centre of the tragedy.

5. There were many who looked down upon the overly emotional nature of nineteenth century evangelicalism. Among them was the Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote a long poem likening the revivalist meetings to ancient religious rituals based around the brewing of the soma drink! This might, by now, have been largely forgotten except that a very familiar hymn has been extracted from the poem's closing stanzas. Which hymn is this?

Answer: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

"Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise."

The poem is entitled "The Brewing of Soma" and consists of 17 verses. The first three verses read:

"The fagots blazed, the cauldron's smoke
Up through the green wood curled;
"Bring honey from the hollow oak,
Brink milky sap," the brewers spoke,
In the childhood of the world.

And brewed they well or brewed they ill,
The priests thrust in their rods,
First tasted, and then drank their fill,
And shouted, with one voice and will,
"Behold, the drink of the gods!"

They drank, and lo! in heart and brain
A new, glad life began;
The gray of hair grew young again,
The sick man laughed away his pain,
The cripple leaped and ran".

The final six verses of the poem comprise the present-day hymn.

6. Prominent among American hymn writers were several Unitarians who brought a strong social awareness to their compositions. One of these was John Pierpoint (1785-1866) who may be better known today for having sired James Lord Pierpoint, the composer of a very popular Christmas ditty. Which of these songs did he write?

Answer: Jingle Bells

Hopefully, those of you that have already taken the first two quizzes in this series, managed to recall that "Good King Wenceslas" was written by John Mason Neale and "O Come all Ye Faithful" was written by Catholic exiles in France. "Santa's Super Sleigh" is a fictional song from the book/film, "About a Boy".

Hymns written by Unitarians in the second half of the nineteenth century include "Lord of All Being, Throned Afar" (Oliver Wendell Holmes); "City of God how Broad how Far" (Samuel Johnson); "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord" (Julia Ward Howe); "Holy Spirit, Truth Divine" (Samuel Longfellow); and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (Edmund Henry Sears).

7. "Ave Maria" is one of the most popular of religious songs from the Catholic tradition. It was composed in 1859 by the French composer Charles Gounod who used elements from the work of which earlier composer, also noted for his church music?

Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Gounod's melody is superimposed upon a prelude by Bach, originally contained in the book, "The Well-Tempered Clavier".

8. Several significant hymns from this period were written by single women whose lives were incapacitated by infirmity or poor health. Among these was which English author, responsible for the hymns, "Thy Life for Me", "Take my Life and Let It Be", "Like a River Glorious", "Who Is on the Lord's Side?" and "Master Speak, Thy Servant Heareth"?

Answer: Frances Ridley Havergal

Charlotte Elliott ("Just as I Am, Without One Plea") edited the "Invalid's Hymn Book" whilst Sarah Adams ("Nearer, my God, to Thee") died of tuberculosis at the age of 43. Christina Rossetti ("In the Bleak Midwinter") is also famous as a poet and sister of the pre-Raphaelite painters, Dante and William Rossetti.

Havergal wrote the following about her hymn, "O Master at Thy Feet", from which it might be questioned how much of the writing impulse comes from romantic love rechanneled in a different direction:
"It describes, as most of my poems do, rather reminiscent than present feeling - I cannot transcribe at the moment of strong feeling; I recall it afterwards and write it down. "O Master" - it is perhaps my favourite title, because it implies rule and submission, and this is what love craves. Men may feel differently, but a true woman's submission is inseparable from deep love." (Source: "Every Woman's Encyclopaedia")

9. Which of these hymns was originally written as a song by which Sunday School children could march from one village to another?

Answer: Onward Christian Soldiers

The hymn was written by the English clergyman, Sabine Baring-Gould, whilst serving in the Yorkshire village of Horbury Bridge. He claimed to have composed it in a matter of minutes. The tune to which it is usually sung was added later by Arthur "Gilbert and Sullivan" Sullivan. It is often criticised for its supposed militarism but was never intended to be for anything other than one-time private use.

Ian Bradley, in his book "Abide With Me", points out that many popular hymns of the Victorian era were written by Anglican vicars in rural parishes with light duties and, often, a private income. These include "Come Ye Thankful People Come", "The King of Love my Shepherd Is", "O Jesus I Have Promised", "The Day Thou Gavest", "For all the Saints", "Blest Are The Pure in Heart", "Sun of My Soul, Thou Saviour Dear", "Praise My Soul the King of Heaven", "Ride on, Ride on in Majesty", Fight the Good Fight", "Hills of the North Rejoice", "The Church's One Foundation" and "Fierce Raged the Tempest".

10. Susan Warner and her sister Anna wrote novels, conducted Bible studies for cadets at West Point Military Academy, and were responsible for the popular children's hymns, "Jesus Bids Us Shine" and "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". When Susan died, in 1885, which honor was bestowed upon her?

Answer: She became the first civilian to be buried in West Point's military cemetery

"Jesus Loves Me, This I Know" was written by Anna Warner for Susan's novel, "Say and Seal" (1860). In its original context, it comprises the following four verses which were sung to comfort a dying child.

"Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! Loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill,
From his shining throne on high
Comes to watch me where I lie.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Then his little child will take
Up to heaven for his dear sake."

A good part of the song's popularity comes from the music and refrain added by William B. Bradbury in 1862.

Source: Author glendathecat

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A History of Hymnody: Vol. 4 Trivia Quiz

In this quiz, we shall look at some of the popular hymns to arise from the second half of the nineteenth century.

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