Alternative names of hymn tunes
  • tandrews
    Posts: 174
    Hello all,

    I'm wondering if anyone has a list of hymn tunes that have alternative names? For example, I found that while Pleading Saviour (Sing of Mary) is not in Noel Rawsthorne's 400 Last Verses, the tune Saltash is listed, which is the same tune. I've been missing out on playing that delightful last verse all these years!

    I had a choir member enlighten me at my previous gig that the british were fond of renaming german chorales to different hymn tune names, and that was the case with some hymns in the 1940 hymnal. Is this accurate?

    Thank you!

  • davido
    Posts: 944
    I’ve noticed that the Hymnal 1940 does this a lot. JESU MEINE ZUVERSICHT for Let Thy Blood in mercy poured comes to mind. I think the tune CASWALL is another though I can’t recall the German title
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,093
    Oh yes. For example, GENEVAN 42 is also FREU DICH SEHR. American hymnals might follow English usage or German usage. Depends. Also, there can be some differences made to distinguish them, too.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,416
    Erhalt uns Herr becomes Spires in the 1940. There are others that don't come to mind at the moment.
  • madorganist
    Posts: 906
    Vigiles et sancti for Lasst uns erfreuen is another good example. There are a few tunes with three or more names, such as Seelenbräutigam/Rochelle/Arnstadt and St. Elizabeth/Crusader's Hymn/Schönster Herr Jesu, nor are the multiple names limited to German hymns. What is known in commonwealth countries as Praise My Soul becomes Lauda anima in the United States, and I can readily think of two tunes with two Latin names each: Ave Virgo virginum/Gaudeamus pariter and Corde natus/Divinum mysterium. The hymnary.org website is a good resource for deciphering what's what.
    Thanked by 3M. Jackson Osborn CHGiffen tandrews
  • tandrews
    Posts: 174
    Thanks everyone! This is a fascinating bit of hymnology that I'm just becoming aware of. I'll have to put a list together for easy reference, as it usually requires a bit of digging around on hymnary.org.

    Oh right, and the other example I remember from the 1940 Was O Sanctissima/Sicilian Mariners!
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,093
    Another example is ITALIAN HYMN aka MOSCOW.
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN a.k.a. PASSION CHORALE.
    Thanked by 3madorganist tandrews Liam
  • madorganist
    Posts: 906
    And O Sanctissima/Sicilian Mariners is a.k.a. O du fröhliche; Herzlich/Passion Chorale a.k.a. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden!
    Thanked by 1tandrews
  • oldhymnsoldhymns
    Posts: 229
    Another good source for hymn tune names is HANDBOOK FOR AMERICAN CATHOLIC HYMNALS by J. Vincent Higginson, Hymn Society of America, 1976. Higginson lamented the fact, though, that Catholic hymns (at least up until the 70s) did not have hymn tune names.
    Thanked by 1tandrews
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