Bunessan is a

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

based on a Scottish folk melody, first associated with the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

"Child in the Manger" and later and more commonly with "

Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". English po ...

". It is named after the village of

Bunessan Bunessan (), meaning "bottom of the waterfall", is a small village on the Ross of Mull, a peninsula in the south-west of the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. The settlement is at OS grid reference NM382218, within the parish of Ki ...

in the

Ross of Mull The Ross of Mull (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Ros Mhuileach'') is the largest peninsula of the Isle of Mull, about long, and makes up the south-western part of the island. It is bounded to the north by Loch Scridain and to the south by the Firth of ...

History

Mary M. MacDonald ( in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

) (1789–1872), who lived in the

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

community of

Ardtun Ardtun () is a settlement on the Isle of Mull, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consist ...

near Bunessan and spoke only Gaelic, wrote her hymn ' to a traditional melody. When the words were translated into English in the 1880s, the melody was named after the village of Bunessan by the translator, Lachlan Macbean. A monument to MacDonald can be seen about 1.5 miles east of the village, on the road towards

Craignure Craignure (; ) is a village and the main ferry port on the Isle of Mull, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Torosay. Geography The village is located around Craignure Bay, on Mull's east coast. It has a population of ...

. The ruins of the house where she lived are also nearby. "Bunessan" is also used for the James Quinn hymns, "Christ Be Beside Me" and "This Day God Gives Me," both of which were adapted from the traditional Irish hymn "

St. Patrick's Breastplate "Saint Patrick's Breastplate" is an Old Irish prayer of protection of the "Lorica (incantation), lorica" type (hence "Lorica Sancti Patricii", or "The Lorica of Saint Patrick") attributed to Saint Patrick. Its title is given as ''Faeth Fiada'' in ...

", and for Michael Saward's hymn "Baptized In Water". Sometime before 1927 Alexander Fraser heard the melody in the Scottish Highlands and wrote it down so that it came to the attention of

Percy Dearmer Percival Dearmer (27 February 1867 – 29 May 1936) was an English Anglican priest and liturgist best known as the author of ''The Parson's Handbook'', a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy, and as editor of ''The English Hymnal''. A lifelong ...

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, and

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the ti ...

. In turn, these editors of the hymn book ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...

'' requested

Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's literature, children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her cor ...

to write a further hymn text to the tune. This was ''

'', and since 1931 the tune has become most familiarly identified with this hymn. In 1971, a version of "Morning Has Broken" was recorded by English singer

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

, helping popularise the tune.

Music

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References

{{reflist

External links

Child in the manger

The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology ''A Dictionary of Hymnology'' (or, more completely, ''A Dictionary of Hymnology: Origin and History of Christian Hymns and Hymnwriters of All Ages and Nations, Together with Biographical and Critical Notices of Their Authors and Translators'') by ...

Lachlan Macbean

Mary Macdonald

Hymn tunes Scottish Gaelic music Music in Argyll and Bute History of Argyll and Bute Christmas in Scotland Isle of Mull