The Story of the Hymns and Tunes
1857
The Story of the Hymns and Tunes
1857
Long before worship bands and modern hymnals, there were the hymns themselves: verses born in prison cells, on battlefields, in the quiet hours of faith. This 1857 volume traces the extraordinary stories behind the songs that shaped Christian worship across centuries. Butterworth excavates the lives of the composers and poets whose melodies still echo in churches today, revealing the suffering, conversion, missionary zeal, and spiritual consolation that gave rise to each tune. From hymns that marched with missionaries into foreign lands to those that comforted the grieving and the imprisoned, the book maps the evolution of sacred music as both art and witness. It is a reminder that every hymn carries a history: a moment of divine inspiration, a human struggle, a community's prayer set to melody. For readers curious about the roots of music they may still sing, or anyone who believes songs can hold more than notes, this volume offers a window into the souls that sang before us.
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“It is natural to speak of hymns as "poems," indiscriminately, for they have the same structure. But a hymn is not necessarily a poem, while a poem that can be sung as a hymn is something more than a poem. Imagination makes poems; devotion makes hymns. There can be poetry without emotion, but a hymn never. A poem may argue; a hymn must not. In short to be a hymn, what is written must express spiritual feelings and desires. The music of faith, hope and charity will be somewhere in its strain.””
— Hezekiah Butterworth
“O Paradise, O Paradise! Who doth not crave for rest? Who would not see the happy land Where they that loved are blest? Refrain Where loyal hearts and true Stand ever in the light, All rapture through and through In God's most holy sight. O Paradise, O Paradise, The world is growing old;””
— Hezekiah Butterworth
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Butterworth, Hezekiah. The Story of the Hymns and Tunes. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-story-of-the-hymns-and-tunes-70eb9ba6-f41f-4eac-ad98-86d3dd9258f8.Butterworth, H. (1857). The Story of the Hymns and Tunes. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-story-of-the-hymns-and-tunes-70eb9ba6-f41f-4eac-ad98-86d3dd9258f8Butterworth, Hezekiah. The Story of the Hymns and Tunes. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-story-of-the-hymns-and-tunes-70eb9ba6-f41f-4eac-ad98-86d3dd9258f8.
