Sunday is the birthday of Robert Burns and two our last hymn is a lovely, lively piece from Scotland’s Iona Community; we’ve sung it often. We might think that Burns rarely “walked the straight and narrow” path – and certainly a good chunk of his work is highly unsuitable for ‘polite society’ – but he did, in fact, write five hymns which appeared in British and American hymnals. Here’s the first verse of one: O Thou, the first and greatest Friend Of all the human race! Whose strong right hand has ever been Their stay and dwelling place. #26 “As Pants the Hart” (Martyrdom) W: Psalm 42, Nahum Tate (Poet Laureat, While Shepherds…) & Brady’s New Version 1696 M: Hugh Wilson (1766-1824) Details on the composer are hard to come by, but we do know that Hugh Wilson on math¬e¬ma-tics and mu¬sic. Interesting that mathematicians are so often musical, isn’t it? He also made sun di¬als! And he also composed this flowing tune that fits many psalms, like this one - #42 – and #23. The lyricists were both interesting men. Nahum Tate was a Dublin-born poet who took it upon himself to rewrite Shakespearean, and other, plays making ‘improvements’ – like “King Lear” and “Romeo and Juliet” with happy endings. Really. We’ll forgive him because these have largely been forgotten AND he also wrote, “While Shepherds Watched”. He died in the Royal Mint where he was seeking refuge from his creditors. Which seems interestingly ironic … Nicholas Brady, from Bandon in County Cork, Ire., was a rather zealous supporter of the overthrow of James II in favour of William & Mary and the House of Orange. Somehow, he managed to dissuade James’ supporters from burning down Bandon three times. He eventually established himself as an Anglican priest in London and wrote poetry. “Tate and Brady’s New Version of the Psalms of David, where this hymn first appeared, was his collaboration with Tate. There’s something nice about old organs: youtube/watch?v=PZ6TeXNT7VA
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 01:53:36 +0000
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