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''The English Hymnal'' is a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
by
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
. It was edited by the clergyman and writer
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 ...
and the composer and music historian
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 was a significant publication in the history of
Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing ''a cappella'' or accompanied b ...
.


Methodology

The preface to the hymnal describes itself as "a collection of the best hymns in the English language." Much of the contents was used for the first time at St Mary's,
Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of t ...
, in north London and the hymnbook could be considered a musical companion to ''
The Parson's Handbook ''The Parson's Handbook'' is a book by Percy Dearmer, first published in 1899, that was fundamental to the development of liturgy in the Church of England and throughout the Anglican Communion. When he wrote the book, Dearmer was an assistan ...
'', Dearmer's 1899 manifesto on English church ceremonial, vestments and furnishings. The high quality of the music is due largely to the work of Vaughan Williams as musical editor. The standard of the arrangements and original compositions made it a landmark in English hymnody and one of the most influential hymnals of the 20th century. The hymnal included the first printing of several arrangements and hymn settings by Vaughan Williams. Among the most famous are ''Sine Nomine'', a new tune to '' For All the Saints''; and ''
Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" () is a popular Christian hymn with text by Athelstan Riley, first published in the '' English Hymnal'' (1906). It is sung to the German tune ' (1623). Its uplifting melody and repeated "Alleluias" make this a fav ...
'', a new text for the hymn tune ''
Lasst uns erfreuen "" (Let us rejoice most heartily) is a hymn tune that originated from Germany in 1623, and which found widespread popularity after ''The English Hymnal'' published a 1906 version in strong triple meter with new lyrics. The triumphant melody and r ...
''. The hymnal also includes many
plainsong Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...
melodies (in both plainsong and modernised notation).


Reception

After its publication, use of the hymnal had been banned for a time by the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. Ultimately, ''The English Hymnal'', along with the ''Church Hymnal for the Christian Year'', "undermined the uniformity of the Church of England and successfully challenged hehegemony" of '' Hymns Ancient and Modern'', of which a new and revised edition had been published two years previous. The book is a characteristic green colour and is sometimes associated with the
high-church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, nd sacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although used in connection with various Christia ...
or
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
movement within
Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
. When the book was published, high and
broad church Broad church is latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England in particular and Anglicanism in general, meaning that the church permits a broad range of opinion on various issues of Anglican doctrine. In the American Episcopal Churc ...
es used ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' and
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
churches normally used the ''Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer''. The hymnal has, however, been adopted not only in various movements of Anglicanism but also in several other denominations in Britain, such as some
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
churches.


Revisions

A new edition of ''The English Hymnal'' was issued in 1933, which principally had better accompaniments by J. H. Arnold to the plainsong melodies, and over 100 new tunes. This was achieved without renumbering hymns or extending the book excessively. Instead many formerly duplicated tunes were changed to new tunes. Where unique tunes were changed the old tunes were moved into an appendix, which is often referred to as "the chamber of horrors", a description attributed to Vaughan-Williams himself. A supplement to the hymnal, ''English Praise'', was published in 1975. '' The New English Hymnal'' appeared in 1986, and its supplement, ''New English Praise'' in 2006, both under the imprint of the Canterbury Press, now SCM Canterbury Press. ''The'' ''Revised English Hymnal'' was published on 29 November 2023.


See also

* List of English-language hymnals by denomination * ''Songs of Praise'' (hymnal), a broader selection of hymns edited by Dearmer, Shaw, and Vaughan Williams in 1925


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * *


External links

* (numerical index of hymns) * * (text only) {{DEFAULTSORT:English Hymnal 1906 books 1906 in Christianity 1906 in music Anglican hymnals Anglo-Catholicism British church music English Christian hymns Ralph Vaughan Williams Anglican liturgical books