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Editions of Hymns Ancient and Modern -
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Hymns 1859 was a `trial' copy of a proposed new hymnbook, distributed to interested individuals, and subsequently revised and enlarged for publication in 1861 as the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern. The principal editor and secretary of the editorial committee was Sir Henry Williams Baker; his name does not appear on the title-pages, but it is mentioned in an editorial note at the end of the book.
The trial copy contained 138 hymns, some of which were subsequently omitted from the first edition of the published book. A few hymns appeared with their first line only. Many more hymns (about 160) were added to make the 1861 book.
More than half of the hymns were translations of Latin originals; it was some years before the balance was tilted in favour of original English hymns
A copy, once the property of John Julian and containing his MS notes, is in the British Library. To view the title-pages, list of contents, and the editorial and MS notes referred to, click here . . .
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Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861 / 68
(a) Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861
Edited by H.W.Baker and others; Music: W.H.Monk and F.A.Gore-Ouseley.
Contained 273 hymns.
For Xrefs, click here . . .
(b) Hymns Ancient and Modern (with Appendix), 1868
(Lowther Clarke, in A Hundred Years of Hymns Ancient & Modern, Wm Clowes 1960, generally refers to the `Appendix' as a `Supplement') (p.34 &c.)
The Appendix (or Supplement) contained hymns numbered 274-386.
For Xrefs, click here . . .
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Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1875 / 89
(a) Hymns Ancient and Modern (second edition), 1875. Edited by W.H.Monk
(b) - do - (Supplement), 1889. Edited by C.Steggall
For Xrefs, click here . . .
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Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1904
Hymns Ancient and Modern for Use in the Services of the Church,1904
(Music Editor, B.Luard Selby)
For Xrefs, click here . . .
See also a general note about the 1904 edition.
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Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1916-24
(a) 2nd Supplement, 1916 (i.e. second Supplement to the Second Edition 1875, following that of 1889). Music edited by S.H.Nicholson
(b) - do - 1889 Edition with 2nd Supplement; large music edition reset in large 8vo ("Standard Edition"), 1922
(c) - do - - do - smaller Music edition, 1924
For Xrefs on the above (a) to (c), click here . . .
(d) - do - Shortened Music Edition (S.H.Nicholson), 1939
For Xrefs, click here . . .
(e) - do - "A Melody Book", 1940
(f) - do - Standard Edition, smaller music edition, reprinted 1940
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Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1950
(a) Hymns Ancient & Modern, Revised Edition, 1950
Music editor: S.H.Nicholson (until his death in 1947); with G.H.Knight and J.Dykes Bower
For Xrefs, click here . . .
(b) - do - School Edition, 1958
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A Supplement to the 1950 Revised Edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern. It was compiled by a committee consisting of John Dykes Bower, Gerald H.Knight, Edgar Bishop, Cyril Taylor and Henry Chadwick. In their Preface the editors wrote:
" ... Although this book is a collection of hymns for our own time, it does not go so far in the direction of modernity as to include those written in an idiom likely to be so short-lived that any book containing them will be dated within months of publication. We have tried to steer a middle course, therefore, between restatements of the traditional and ephemeral or `pop' productions. On the other hand, the book includes words by older writers such as John Clare, Philip Doddridge, Samuel Wolcott, and Charles Wesley as well as Sydney Carter, Patrick Appleford, Fred Kaan, and other writers of our time. ..."The book does not assume, as older hymn books did, a society more agricultural than industrial, untroubled by questions of race relations or human rights. Nor does it presuppose a church untouched by the fierce conflicts of the century. ... "
For Xrefs, click here . . .
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Published in the same format as 100 Hymns for Today , and intended as "A Second Supplement to Hymns Ancient and Modern (1950). As in the earlier volume, the hymns in MHT were arranged in alphabetical order of First Lines; but this time an alphabetical First Line Index was included as well, which gave a more accessible overall view of the contents of the book.
The group originally responsible for editing HHT also produced the second book, with the addition of Lionel Dakers; Gerald Knight, who died in 1979 before the book was completed, had also been involved in the work.
To view the Compilers' Preface, click here . . . [not yet included - awaiting copyright permission ]
For Xrefs, click here . . .
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Contains a selection of the hymns in the 1950 Revised Edition (333 of the 636 hymns in 1950), together with the 200 hymns in HHT and MHT.
For Xrefs, click here . . .
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Hymns A.& M. 1904 (further note)
Additional note on the edition of 1904 -
The Church of England has never had an "official" hymn-book as many other churches have; lists elsewhere in this Enchiridion show in contrast the long history of hymn-books authorised by some denominations. In 1891 the idea of adopting Hymns Ancient and Modern for this purpose was put forward within the C. of E.; but after some discussion it was dropped, partly because the Proprietors of A.& M. wished to be free to continue revising the book, which had already seen several editions since 1861. The result of their further revision was the edition of 1904, which their own historians agree in describing as a "failure" - not because of its contents, but because of its unpopularity within a Church which evidently preferred the established success of the existing book. The edition of 1875, with its 1889 Supplement, continued to be in demand, and with a further Supplement in 1916 became in due course the Standard Edition, not revised again until 1950.
This might have become a `cautionary tale' for hymn-book editors everywhere - though the Methodist Hymn Book published by the Wesleyan Conference, also in 1904, managed to sell one and a half million copies within the first twelve months. Neverthless some of the influence of the 1904 A&M survives not only in the hymns and tunes which it introduced, but in the fact that (as W.K.Lowther Clarke wrote in the 1962 Historical Companion) `it broke the ice for later venturers, who were able to carry through even bigger changes in hymnody'.
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Although the Preface to this book was completed in 1960, Maurice Frost died (in December 1961) before the published volume appeared. It was designed as a revision of the standard History of A.& M. - that by W.H.Frere published in 1909 as A Historical Edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern.
As well as lengthy introductory essays on the history of hymnody up to 1904, the book contains notes on hymns and their associated tunes, biographies of authors and composers, and a variety of indexes. The occurrence of hymns or tunes in earlier editions of A.& M. (1861-1939) is indexed, but only the briefest of notes is given for those not in the 1950 Revised edition.
Unusually for a Hymn-book Companion, this one contains the full texts of all the hymns in the 1950 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (AMR). The music, however, is not reprinted, although many music examples are given to illustrate earlier versions of melodies or harmonisations.
It contained - as all such reference books do, not least the present work - many errors and misprints, the more so since Maurice Frost did not live to correct the book at proof stage. A long list of corrections was given in the Bulletin of the Hymn Society of G.B. & Ireland, Vol.V No.97 page 131, and further lists in No.98 p.157, No.99 p.192, and No.101 p.236.
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A short commentary on the hymns and tunes in 100 Hymns for Today (1969) and More Hymns for Today (1980), which were subsequently added to A.& M. in the New Standard version (1983). It was written to provide background material for presenters of the broadcast programmes "Sunday Half Hour" (BBC radio) and "Songs of Praise" (BBC television) and similar occasions.
For Cyril Taylor's `Foreword' , click here . . . [ not yet included - awaiting copyright permission ]
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(The Rejoice & Sing Enchiridion:edited by David Goodall; last amended 5/2/02)