Not so bright and beautiful

[Pulcinella]

A letter in today's Times.


All things trite…

Sir, We are fortunate in this country to have such a splendid repertoire of hymns: English, Welsh, Anglican, Non-Conformist, mighty, joyous, reflective, peaceful. Why, then, do we have to suffer All Things Bright and Beautiful? It is chosen by about half the participants in the weddings I play for (though I am often successful in helping them to choose something better). The hymn was published in 1848 in Mrs Alexander’s Hymns for Little Children: it should have stayed there. I find the saccharine doggerel, combined with the jingly tune (not that easy for congregations to sing, actually), deeply depressing — especially when there are so many wonderful alternatives.
Lord Lisvane
Chairman, Royal College of Organists; Clerk of the Commons 2011-14

Shareable link here:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c457a527-569d-45a6-9817-355497f15507?shareToken=e9b6ee2513afeccf1480b2d4f675ede5

[oddoneout]

If that's the worst he has to encounter then he should perhaps count himself lucky? At least the rich man in his castle verse has now been excised in common practice.
I suspect part of the problem is that so few people now sing, or are familiar, with hymns of the type he would consider more acceptable, so the choice is very small. B&B has the advantage of being one that enough of the gathering will know to be able to make an attempt at singing it.

[smittims]

Methinks Milord is being a bit pompous.

I have no problen with simple , if naive, hymn lyrics of that kind. One of my favourites (probably misquoted from memory) was Jan Struther, something of a pantheist, I suspect:

I love to hear the swallow sing
Perched on the highest bough;
To see the rook with purple wing
Follow the shining plough.

The hyms I had trouble with are those which try to express complex theological concepts in singable verse:

Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.

I knew a priest who longed to fire a revollver and call out 'hands up anyone who has the faintest idea what that means'.

[mopsus]

At a lot of weddings the hymns chosen are those one or both of the couple sang at primary school, because that's what they remember with affection. It can be very dull for the choir, because they are generally in unison. I am now quite picky about which weddings I sing for, weighing up such considerations as travel time, musical repertoire and the amount of money offered.

We had 'Consubstantial ...' in one of our wedding hymns and I made sure nothing watered-down was substituted for it. Although many among our guests were theologically and liturgically literate enough to know that it's a paraphrase of part of the Nicene Creed. (At the baptism of one of our children the priest patronisingly suggested that the reader of one of the lessons might find the English of the AV difficult - to be told that she taught Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge and would not be bothered by 17th-century language.)

[oddoneout]

Methinks Milord is being a bit pompous.

I have no problen with simple , if naive, hymn lyrics of that kind. One of my favourites (probably misquoted from memory) was Jan Struther, something of a pantheist, I suspect:

I love to hear the swallow sing
Perched on the highest bough;
To see the rook with purple wing
Follow the shining plough.

The hyms I had trouble with are those which try to express complex theological concepts in singable verse:

Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.

I knew a priest who longed to fire a revollver and call out 'hands up anyone who has the faintest idea what that means'.

Presumably the congregation hearing the sermon mentioned here would have been able to answer...

https://beverleyminster.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Consubstantial-Trinity-Sunday-2014.pdf

[Vox Humana]

I suspect part of the problem is that so few people now sing, or are familiar, with hymns of the type he would consider more acceptable, so the choice is very small. B&B has the advantage of being one that enough of the gathering will know to be able to make an attempt at singing it.

I'm sure that's spot on.

In my last organist's post (many years ago now), we had ATBB at every single wedding I played for without exception. It was recommended to the couples by the priest for this very reason—and still the gawping spectators in the nave were invariably too embarrassed (or drunk) to sing.

I don't mind the hymn at all: it's far, far better than the Janet-and-John dross that the priest influcted on the faithful every Sunday (though, come to think of it, I'm probably being.very unfair to those perfectly competent children's books).

[Petrushka]

In my choir days (1965 to 1975) the wedding music was nearly always Crimond, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Lead us, Heavenly Father, Lead us. Organ music to start was Trumpet Voluntary or Trumpet Tune and Air while the closing voluntary was either the Mendelssohn Wedding March or the Widor Toccata. It rarely varied.

[Ein Heldenleben]

In my choir days (1965 to 1975) the wedding music was nearly always Crimond, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Lead us, Heavenly Father, Lead us. Organ music to start was Trumpet Voluntary or Trumpet Tune and Air while the closing voluntary was either the Mendelssohn Wedding March or the Widor Toccata. It rarely varied.

well I had Wacht Auf from Die Meistersinger , the March of the Mastersingers and Crown Imperial . The organist was very grateful to do something new.

Organists should charge an extra levy for the Widor Toccata because it’s technically tricky , extended and over played .

[mopsus]

In my choir days (1965 to 1975) the wedding music was nearly always Crimond, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Lead us, Heavenly Father, Lead us. Organ music to start was Trumpet Voluntary or Trumpet Tune and Air while the closing voluntary was either the Mendelssohn Wedding March or the Widor Toccata. It rarely varied.

At St Ann's Manchester (the only city centre C of E church apart from the Cathedral) we offered a standard choice of Jesu Joy or Mozart Ave Verum. The choir pay for this (in the mid1990s) was about £2 each, which just about covered my bus fare. The combined cost of the singers was less than 10% of that of the cheapest wedding dress!

[Pulcinella]

I'm sure that's spot on.

In my last organist's post (many years ago now), we had ATBB at every single wedding I played for without exception. It was recommended to the couples by the priest for this very reason—and still the gawping spectators in the nave were invariably too embarrassed (or drunk) to sing.

I don't mind the hymn at all: it's far, far better than the Janet-and-John dross that the priest influcted on the faithful every Sunday (though, come to think of it, I'm probably being.very unfair to those perfectly competent children's books).

I took that as one alto, one tenor, and two basses (or music for that combination) at first!

[Serial_Apologist]

well I had Wacht Auf from Die Meistersinger , the March of the Mastersingers and Crown Imperial . The organist was very grateful to do something new.

Organists should charge an extra levy for the Widor Toccata because it’s technically tricky , extended and over played .

There we have it. I always suspected you were older than your youthful contributions to this forum suggested, EH!

[hmvman]

I took that as one alto, one tenor, and two basses (or music for that combination) at first!

Now that would be some piece!

At the, admittedly few, church services I go to I often find myself floored by a new tune to a hymn I thought I was familiar with. I don't have a problem with ATB&B though.

[Vox Humana]

I took that as one alto, one tenor, and two basses (or music for that combination) at first!

Sorry! I ought to have have written "All things B&B"!

[Serial_Apologist]

Sorry! I ought to have have written "All things B&B"!

More suitable for the buy to let brigade, methinks!

[Pulcinella]

Three replies in today's Times, including one from Roger Judd, who I hope won't mind being quoted.
Slightly edited to take links out to the previous day's article and letter already quoted.

All things trite or beautiful?

Sir, Lord Lisvane is not alone in his wish to consign All Things Bright and Beautiful to the bin [...]. The sad fact is that with the demise of regular churchgoing and the sort of assembly in school when a hymn used to be sung daily, the repertoire of familiar hymns has drastically diminished. It is not only weddings where this is evident: funerals are faring no better in my experience. When playing for either of these I seldom have direct contact with wedding couples or with bereaved families. Regrettably, the clergy are often as unaware and lacking in imagination as the families for whom they are acting.
Roger Judd
Former organist, St George’s Chapel Windsor; Clehonger, Herefordshire

Sir, Lord Lisvane may not like All Things Bright and Beautiful but it is one of the few hymns that many people know. Even then, ministers can find themselves singing a solo in front of a silent, non-singing congregation. I do wonder if the default for weddings and funerals where hymns are sung should be a karaoke-style backing track so that the congregation can sing along.
The Rev Peter Crumpler
St Albans

Sir, For me, the reason All Things Bright and Beautiful remains such a popular hymn is because it sums up everything good about my childhood, especially the first two lines. We sung it regularly right through my school years, it was sung at my wedding and I intend it to be sung at my funeral. Furthermore, I have requested those first two lines be engraved on my headstone, should I be given one.
Wendy Farrington
Kendal, Cumbria