Our small group from UALC (our church) is sharing leadership for our meetings on Zoom and I plan to offer a discussion on hymns as we enter the Advent and Christmas seasons with the theme of Watts, Wesley, and Winkworth--Whymns. It turned out to be a bigger topic than I'd planned, so I decided to "blog" about it.
The topic covers three faith traditions--Puritan/Congregational, Methodist and Lutheran. I say tradition rather than denominations because there have been many divisions. These divisions and traditions developed during a time of great cultural changes in the arts, technology, and politics over three centuries.
There are many biographies available on the internet, so I've linked to only one site, but after reading several, they don't all agree. And I've added a link to a recording.
Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Nonconformist (non-Anglican), dissenter, English
Known as the "Father of English hymnody," Isaac Watts wrote approximately 600 hymns. He showed literary genius even as a boy. He learned Latin at four, Greek at nine, French at ten, and Hebrew at thirteen. His parents were "Dissenters." That is, they were not Anglicans, which was a treasonous offense in those days. Frustrated with the heartless psalm singing of his time, young Watts sometimes criticized the singing at his church. A dissenter among dissenters, I'd say. Listening to his concerns one day, Watts' father challenged him, "Well then, young man, why don't you give us something better to sing?" He rose to the challenge by writing his first hymn. It was well received by his congregation, and for the next two years, Watts wrote a new hymn for every Sunday. He is known for Christianizing the Psalms. Isaac Watts - The Center For Church Music, Songs and HymnsAt The Cross: Isaac Watts, The Father of Hymns
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Church of England, Methodist, Missionary to Georgia, English
"Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns [some sources say 8,000], which would be writing at least two hymns a week, every week for 50 years, from his conversion in 1738 to his death in 1788. His hymns came out of what he saw as important occasions. His own life inspired hymns: his conversion, his marriage, things he had seen, the death of his friends. Public events inspired hymns: the earthquake panic, rumors of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots. He wrote hymns for all the festivals of the Christian faith.Wesley’s hymns can be generally classified as hymns of Christian experience, invitation hymns, sanctification hymns, funeral hymns, and hymns on the love of God. In his hymns, he referenced all but 4 of the books of the Bible. He used more than 45 different meters. It has been said that Wesley’s hymns clothed Christ in flesh and blood and gave converts a belief that they could easily grasp, embrace with personal faith, and if necessary, even die for."
Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) studied with Unitarians, English, best known as translator of 17th century German hymns
"Winkworth was a prolific translator of German hymns She became interested in translating these hymns when Chevelier Bunsen, the German ambassador to England presented her with a copy of Andachtsbuch. This devotional book showed her the treasures in German hymnody. She published two series of Lyra Germanica, in 1855 and 1858. The first had 103 translations from Bunsen's Versuch eines allgemeinen Gesang und Gebetbuchs (1833). The second had 121 more translations from the same book. She also published the Chorale Book for England (1863), which contained some earlier translations with their proper chorale tunes, and Christian Singers of Germany, (1869) biographies of German hymn writers."
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