Matching Text and Tune

Matching Emotions

Admittedly this can be a subjective area, but it requires some consideration. A case in point is matching Fred Anderson's paraphrase of Psalm 2 ("Why Are Nations Raging"; hymn 159 in the 1990 hymnal) with the gentle introspective tune "Salzburg". This tune is better matched to texts such as the one that gave it its alternative name "Alle Menschen muessen sterben" - "All men must die", or, more poetically, "Hark a Voice Saith All Are Mortal." One effective use in the 1990 hymnal of "Salzburg" is for hymn #524 - "Holy Spirit, Lord of Love". Psalm 2 would have worked far better with the tune Aberystwyth.

Matching Meters

Because a tune and a text have the same meter does not necessarily mean they are a good match. 423 and 87 are examples. Both are LM, but one begins with a weak syllable (542 - "all PRAISE to thee") and the other a strong one (423 - "JE-sus shall reign"). The two LM tunes are appropriately assigned; (542 - Tallis' Canon - begins with a weak beat - beat 4); (423 begins with a strong beat - beat 1). These are extreme examples, but when a new text is to be matched with a tune all verses should be sung to make sure there is at least a reasonable match of syllabic with rhythmic emphases.

Faithful vs Promiscuous Tunes

By "Faithful" I mean a tune that is so firmly attached to a single text that it would (or should) be unthinkable to use it for a different text. Ein feste Burg ("A Mighty Fortress") is one example. Stille Nacht ("Silent Night") is another. Some "Promiscuous" tunes (at the other end of the spectrum, in the 1990 Hymnal) are Abbot's Leigh, Aberystwyth, Caithness, Es flog ein kleins Waldvögelein, Forest Green, Llangloffan, and Winchester Old, each of which is used for four different texts. Whether a particular tune should be used for a second text may depend on how closely it is associated with its first text. In the 1955 Hymnbook, Adeste Fideles ("O Come All Ye Faithful") was also used for "How Firm a Foundation", despite the availability of a traditional tune (Foundation, used as an alternate in the 1955 Hymnbook). Sometimes it appears that a tune with a high level of emotion (either from its original text or from its musical structure itself) is used for a new text in an attempt to transfer some of that emotion to the new text; one may observe this phenomenon in the world of television commercials, that sometimes use the opening section of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" to push a product. I think care should be used in selecting old tunes for new texts, but have no problems with additional verses for old hymns, so long as they are in the same spirit as the original verses.