What Is Your Favourite Hymn? (Earth, soul, choice, church)

w00t · #1 09-30-2007, 03:29 PM

I like 'I Vow to Thee My Country' To Holtz's Jupiter. It is a surprising choice as I am not patriotic in the flag waving sense!

I Vow To thee My Country

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love:
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

Sir Cecil Spring-Rice

MidnightBlue · #2 09-30-2007, 08:29 PM

Stille Nacht. Not Silent Night; it must be in German. Not my favorite on its own merits, but it reminds me of my grandmother.

w00t · #3 10-01-2007, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MidnightBlue

Stille Nacht. Not Silent Night; it must be in German. Not my favorite on its own merits, but it reminds me of my grandmother.

That is my favourite carol, in German or in English!

UltraViolet · #4 10-01-2007, 02:13 AM

In spite of having worked as a paid church musician for over 10 years,
I cannot think of a single one.

Could that be one of the reasons I left?

w00t · #5 10-01-2007, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theNEWreality

In spite of having worked as a paid church musician for over 10 years,
I cannot think of a single one.

Could that be one of the reasons I left?

That is a bit sad, even my husband, an atheist, has favourite hymns!

UltraViolet · #6 10-01-2007, 02:21 AM

Nah. Not sad.

Lot's of wonderful non-church music are my "hymns".

The Pat Metheney Group,
John Coltrane/McCoy Tyner,
Wes Montgomery/Jimmy Smith
Evanescence these days...

and of course my own music.

gnostic · #7 10-01-2007, 05:04 AM

My favourite hymn is to Hermes. It is belong to one of the Homeric Hymns. It tells of the witty, amusing and downright silly early (infant) life of Hermes.

In English, it can't be sung, like what you would expect from a hymn.

MidnightBlue · #8 10-01-2007, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tangnefedd

That is a bit sad, even my husband, an atheist, has favourite hymns!

My favorite hymn for its own sake is Tin Timioteran (in Greek), a hymn to the Mother of God written in the 8th century by St. Cosmas the Melodist. In English, it is:

More honourable than the Cherubim
And beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim
Without corruption thou gavest birth to God the Word
True Theotokos, we magnify thee

When I was Orthodox, I always liked to stand near an icon of the Theotokos during Matins, so I'd get to be one of the ones to set the lampada swinging during this hymn. This hymn occurs in most Orthodox services, and as the refrain between the verses of the Magnificat.

I also always liked the Nunc Dimittis (Nyn Apolyeis) in any language. It's sung at Vespers in the Orthodox Church, and I always especially liked evening services.

Muffled · #9 10-01-2007, 07:18 AM

Asking a Libra rising about favorites doesn't work too well. I love them all. However there is one that strikes achord in my soul __________

I've Found a Friend

I can only remember the first two lines _____________

I've found a friend, oh, such afriend
He love me ere I knew Him

I don't know the composer or poet because my daughter walked off with my hymnal.