I love great hymn texts. I am a collector of old and antique hymn books, because I have found that the majority of great hymn texts exist in them. One of the best Christmas gifts I ever received was a box full of old sacred song books from a second-hand bookstore in Wisconsin. It brought tears to my eyes.
In recent years there have been some wonderful new worship lyrics emerging…thoughtful, prayerful, painstakingly handcrafted verses that refresh and uplift the soul. Some of my favorites have been coming from SoundForth…and they have some fantastic new settings for a few old and forgotten texts as well (two of my favorites: ”Sometimes a Light Surprises” by Cowper and “Depth of Mercy” by C. Wesley–click the “Online Hymnal” link on the right side bar to pull these up by title, with their original music).
Just recently I was surfing some other blogs and came across a few new hymns, written by Chris Anderson (music by Greg Habegger), a young pastor friend in Ohio. They are worth some consideration by those who love the finer things in Christian music. He has four hymns on his page right now, and he is offering them for use at no cost. Available for use are: sheet music (some w/guitar chords), midi files, and intro and doctrinal notes (so you can “sing with understanding). =) Here is the link to his page:
http://mytwocents.wordpress.com/hymns-ive-written/
Chris asked that the following guidelines be followed by those choosing to use his music:
Official permission to use the hymns posted on this site (including the reproduction of texts and/or musical scores for corporate use) is granted under the following conditions: (a) the hymns are not to be altered in any way, (b) the hymns are to be distributed free of charge, and (c) recognition is given to the author and composer. If the hymns are to be used in a formal publication (such as an audio recording, hymnbook, or any project which will be sold), please seek further permission before use.
I hope you’ll enjoy these and be blessed as much as I have. Btw, there’s much more at his blog site to take a peek at as well. Look around!
I love old hymns as well. I have often wondered what takes a song from a great song to hymn status. What is it that brings a song staying power? I still remember reading my moms old hymnals… I also love the book that came out recently giving the stories behind the hymns, sometimes just as powerful as a hymn itself. Great post today.
Thanks for stopping by again! =) This is my “take” on the hymn thing…what constitutes a hymn is misunderstood. A hymn is music written expressly in worship of God, and to His praise, and it will have a strong doctrinal basis regarding His attributes. There are “big ideas” contained in it. This eliminates the popular praise choruses of our day, “I praise you, I praise you, I praise you…”
I think the staying power, as you said, has to do more with the worshipers than the music itself. A song can be truly great lyrically and musically (as I believe these from Chris are); but if the people do not have heart for the great doctrines of God, it will resonate with very few. We have a generation of easy-living, watered-down Christians on our hands. The hymns we view as “great” today for the most part were written in times of trial, persecution, distress (the benefit of hymn history as you mentioned), when church-goers had greater spiritual clarity. I believe this could be cyclical. Great hymns inspire great thoughts and help cultivate great spiritual minds, and those minds have a preference for great truth, and will gravitate toward great hymns.