My Hymn Blog

[Haruo]

For months Joshua has been teasing me with the prospect of hosting a hymnology discussion forum that I would moderate. So far it hasn't happened, but in the meantime I have started a blog called "" where I can post about hymns and, hopefully, get some feedback and build a visitorship that could eventually become the core membership for the proposed forum. So far I have only got four hymns (well, songs) on it:

A babe is born all of a may
A charge to keep I have
A cheering chanting dizzy crowd
A poor wayfaring man of grief

I'm approaching it, obviously, pretty much alphabetically by incipits, what we mortals call "first lines". There is a post entitled "WHAT ABOUT" where I invite readers to tell me what I am missing. Can anyone spot the huge lacuna in the above list?

My current list of incipits starting with "A...", again omitting the lacuna, runs thusly:

A babe is born all of a may
A charge to keep I have
A cheering chanting dizzy crowd
A child is born in Bethlehem
A closer walk ?
A diligent and grateful heart ?
A God and yet a man?
A great and mighty wonder
A holy air is breathing round ?
A hymn of glory let us sing
A hymn of joy we sing
A lamb goes uncomplaining forth
A light from heaven
A mighty sound from heaven
A multitude comes from east and west
A New Commandment ?
A noble life a simple faith
A parting hymn we sing
A poor wayfaring man of grief
A purple robe
A ruler once came to Jesus by night
A song of spring once more we sing
A stable lamp is lighted

The ones with question marks following are ones about which I am uncertain. The others would be in my ideal, mammoth hymnal for sure.

Haruo

[Joshua Villines]

I had totally forgotten about that. You really have to pester me about that sort of thing or it slips my mind...family, teaching, dissertation...it all makes things fuzzy.

Have you reserved the domain name yet? I recommend GoDaddy.com.

[Haruo]

Don't worry, if I get a domain name I be pesterin' you...

I'm also looking at the possibility of a wiki set-up similar to Hymnwiki.org (which has, however, a strong LDS slant).

Haruo

[Timsings]

Haruo,

Have you ever been to a Sacred Harp singing? One of the hymns you have posted, "A Poor, Wayfaring Man of Grief", is a favorite among SH singers. It is set to the tune "Duane Street" that you mentioned. If you are not familiar with SH, you can go to to get more information than you could possibly want. There are schedules of singings along with maps and directions. There is a good group of singers in Seattle, so you should be able to find a contact. If not, send me a PM, and I'll get you a contact. I would caution you, however, that SH can be contagious. You may get hooked, and after that you're on your own.

Tim Reynolds

[Haruo]

[Timsings]

[Haruo]

[Joshua Villines]

I've got some of the Alan Lomax Sacred Harp recordings, and there are few things that - on a visceral level - connect me with my ancestry as effectively. Those are the sounds of the worship of my grandparents in rural Tennessee. When I hear those harmonies, I feel at home.

Joshua

[Neil Heath]

Haruo,
Perhaps Bruce would consider adding a forum on this site for things hymn-related. It would be another way to spread the word and gather interest for launching something more ambitious. It certainly seems to me to fit under the umbrella of Baptists pretty well.

NH

[Timsings]

[David Flick]

Tim, I'm a Sacred Harp fan. I first encountered the tradition in Florida when I was attending Baltist Bible Institute (now ). I attended many of the sings in primitive Baptist churches around the and southern Alabama. I purchased , and still possess, one of the Sacred Harp Hymnals by B. F. White. I purchased it back in 1967...

Thread drift alert: This has nothing to do with Sacred Harp, but I found a very old hymnal that looks a lot like the Sacred Harp hymnal. It was published in 1873. I found it in a dusty old second-hand book store. I think I paid $1.00 for the hymnal.

Here are three jpeg photos of the cover, and two other pages. The photos are large and may not load very quickly for those who don't have broadband conncecitons. , , . (Notice the date at the bottom of the Preface). I thought it was interesting, but the book isn't in very good condition...

[Haruo]

Baltists must be followers of Eston, Latv and Lithuan.

Haruo

[Haruo]

I have , and I covet your votes. If I were a politician, coveting your votes would be a violation of the 10 Commandments, but as a blogger it's allowed.

Haruo

[Timsings]

[Haruo]

That is what the country needs: more classic $1.00 tunebooks.

Haruo
enviously