The lyrics were crafted in solid hymn text meter and rhyme scheme. They supported the main theme throughout three verses, though could have used more poetic devices. The melody had some good ideas and some unifying repetition, but it lacked word painting and a general sense of being unique and appealing. The harmonies and voice leading did nothing to help create a definitive mood and they rarely followed standard musicianship practices such as smooth voice leading or engaging chord progression. Unfortunately, this hymn needs revising.
Good hymn writing takes skill and patience. Writing a strong melody that is memorable and matches the lyrics but stays in a tight meter and form is downright difficult. Add to that, creating an underpinning of harmonies with an interesting chord progression (which cannot be too predictable) following all of the Rules of Proper Voice Leading, then the task becomes even harder. And in the end, the hymn just has to be enjoyable to sing. Good hymns are difficult to write.
Good hymn writing takes skill and patience. Writing a strong melody that is memorable and matches the lyrics but stays in a tight meter and form is downright difficult. Add to that, creating an underpinning of harmonies with an interesting chord progression (which cannot be too predictable) following all of the Rules of Proper Voice Leading, then the task becomes even harder. And in the end, the hymn just has to be enjoyable to sing. Good hymns are difficult to write.
The hymn mentioned above was submitted for review by a young composer who clearly had some good ideas, but the execution was somewhat immature. It was obvious, looking at the manuscript, that the composer was a pianist. He made some classic mistakes in part writing that pianists don't see as problematic because they are not singers, or at least they don't think to test out their product by attempting to sing each part. Basses really don't like singing awkward jumps of strange intervals. Altos really hate being stuck on E flat for measure after measure. Tenors feel confused if suddenly they don't get their own pitch notated in the score or if their part crosses over the alto or bass notes. And if the melody is not gratifying to sing, you lose the entire Soprano section (or most of the congregation). Sometimes a line is a "garbage part" - meaning that the singers must jump to random notes to fill in the missing harmony with no thought of satisfying melodic movement that makes sense. Good melodic writing and voice-leading are not only acquired skills but take a lot of work and a dose of real talent.
It can be baffling to contemplate why we like what we like and dislike vehemently what doesn't work for our ears or our hearts. Some of our favorite hymns are deceptively simple. The melodies seem like they just always existed because they fit the text so well. The meters, rhythms, rhyme schemes, motives, and word painting all come together so seamlessly that they are always thought of together. And how can a melody so interesting and beautiful be underpinned by just three chords? 'Tis a puzzlement, for sure!
I do hope that the young composer will take more time to study part-writing for SATB Mixed Chorus so that when he revises his hymn, it will work beautifully
It can be baffling to contemplate why we like what we like and dislike vehemently what doesn't work for our ears or our hearts. Some of our favorite hymns are deceptively simple. The melodies seem like they just always existed because they fit the text so well. The meters, rhythms, rhyme schemes, motives, and word painting all come together so seamlessly that they are always thought of together. And how can a melody so interesting and beautiful be underpinned by just three chords? 'Tis a puzzlement, for sure!
I do hope that the young composer will take more time to study part-writing for SATB Mixed Chorus so that when he revises his hymn, it will work beautifully
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