Look What You've Done to My Song: A Tale of Three Tunes

Any church music director, organist, or pastor who has altered or replaced the tune of a familiar, beloved congregational hymn has likely received the scorn of the people in return. At the very least, most of us who have done so have been made to account for, if not repent of, our musical sin. It is sometimes serious business, this changing of the congregation's tunes and harmonies, perhaps even more serious than changing the words. Although the very word hymn is often used to mean hymn text, many worshipers first associate the melody and music that accompany a text with a hymn's title.

In 1935, The Methodist Hymnal, edited by Robert G. McCutchan, was separately and simultaneously issued by three Methodist denominations: The Methodist Episcopal Church, The Methodist Episcopal Church South, and The Methodist Protestant Church. The hymnals shared the same hymns and a common ritual in the front of the book, but included each denomination's distinctive liturgies in the back. These three denominations merged in 1939 to form The Methodist Church, and the hymnal was updated that year to reflect the merger and to add another common ritual.

There were also three musical changes to the 1935 hymnal made in its twentieth printing of 1939. Carlton Young writes: "In 1939 at its first General Conference in an unparalleled action, the newly formed church, responding to thousands of complaints from church members, ordered the harmonizations by Van Denman Thompson of three tunes (including 'What a friend we have in Jesus') removed from the 1935 hymnal and restored to their original and traditional harmonies."¹ Thompson had served as music editor for the hymnal, and in that role substituted his three harmonizations for the hymns, "Just as I am" (tune, WOODWORTH, by William B. Bradbury, no. 198), "What a friend we have in Jesus" (tune, CONVERSE, by Charles C. Converse, no. 240), and "Jesus, Lover of my soul" (tune, MARTYN, Simeon Marsh, no. 338, first of the three settings in the hymnal).

What is interesting about Thompson's substitution is that there is no indication on the page of these hymns or anywhere else in the hymnal that these harmonizations are by Thompson. With no such editorial note or attribution, one might assume that the harmony on these pages is actually the work of the composers listed. The changes to two of the hymns are given brief, passing mention in the companion volume to the 1935 hymnal.²

Given the large number of tunes in the hymnal, it would seem that Thompson's selection of these three for reharmonization was quite deliberate. All three are from the last half of the nineteenth century. All three were well known to Methodists of the time, as well as to other denominations. All three were often sung in worship and perhaps might even have been named by many worshipers as favorites. Is it possible that Thompson sought to "improve" these settings by updating them with more contemporary harmonies and progressions? And is it possible that by selecting these three traditional favorites Thompson was seeking to introduce a more modern harmonic idiom to the church's congregational song, to give a more forward looking, contemporary identity to the soon-to-be merged denomination?

Just As I Am, Without One Plea (WOODWORTH)
William Bradbury's traditional harmonization (available in most hymnals), as it was restored in the 1939 hymnal, is entirely diatonic and, except for unaccented passing tones, the harmony never extends beyond the primary tonic, dominant, and subdominant harmonies. Other than one cadential second inversion chord (m. 7) and a passing first inversion tonic chord resulting from melodic bass movement (m. 10), all harmonies are in root position. The harmonization is simple, slowly changing, perhaps even static.

Thompson's harmonization (example 1) for the 1935 hymnal, although it retains the essential harmonic scheme, the same cadential patterns, and the unchanged melody of the traditional harmonization, does so while making use of an expanded harmonic vocabulary within the phrases and leading to the cadences. Each of the hymn's four phrases is given an increasingly adventurous harmonic treatment over the preceding phrase. Phrase one is identical to the traditional harmony, except for a bass leap to the leading tone on the penultimate chord. In the second phrase of the traditional setting, the bass voice contained only Bb and Eb, while in Thompson's setting the bass line takes on a more melodic nature without repetition — except at the cadence. The traditional setting's second phrase also consists of only primary I, IV, and V harmonies, while Thompson's setting includes a secondary dominant and a passing seventh. Thompson's phrase three brings the first major change to the traditional harmony with its use of a dramatic, harmonically unstable, fully voiced diminished-seventh chord at a point where the traditional harmony contained a simple subdominant harmony as part of a plagal cadence. The impact of this harmonic change is made even more dramatic by its appearance at the melody's highest point — the melodic climax. Thompson's use of the diminished harmony, rather than leading to a point of harmonic stability at the third cadence, moves on to another highly unstable harmony, the second inversion tonic followed by a series of harmonies that contains a secondary dominant and a melodic nonharmonic tone. The traditional setting's fourth phrase ending includes the longest and most static harmonies of the entire hymn on the words "come, I come" with full-measure harmonies on the dominant and tonic. Thompson's setting replaces these static harmonies with an additional harmonic change in each measure leading to the final measure.

The 1935 setting also makes a significant change in the meter. The traditional setting was in 3/4 meter, which Thompson recast in 6/4. His resulting phrases of two rather than four measures, plus his faster harmonic rhythm and less static harmony, seem to call for a quicker tempo. If so, one result would be that some of his harmonic changes within the phrases would take on a passing or decorative quality, and thus may have a less jarring effect than at a slower tempo.

Thompson's setting thus begins and ends with the traditional setting; and at its most basic and simplified structure, it shares almost the same traditional harmonic scheme. But in between, it makes a significant detour. McCutchan's commentary volume reads, "Some of the monotony of the original harmonization has been relieved here but it is printed in its original form at No. 195."³ Thus, even while attempting to enliven the setting by harmonic and rhythmic changes, the editors offered the people the opportunity to continue to sing the hymn to a traditional setting on a different page.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus (CONVERSE)
With the exception of a single eighth note dissonant neighbor on a weak beat, the entire melody and harmony of the traditional setting by Converse (available in most hymnals) is diatonic. All the harmonies are tonic, dominant, or subdominant; and even the more rapid patter of eighth note melody notes is harmonized diatonically within the primary chords. Of the eight measures consisting mostly of eighth notes, seven of them contain a pedal point in the bass voice. All four phrases end in full-measure cadence chords, as do the internal cadences at the midpoint of each phrase.

As with "Just as I am," Thompson's setting (example 2) retains the melody and overall harmonic structure as defined by the cadences of "What a friend." Thompson also harmonizes the measures of eighth notes, although he does so without use of any bass pedal points. Thompson's harmonies have also been expanded to include a number of secondary chords, including the minor vi and vi7, minor ii and ii7, and IV chords with an added 7^th. Other harmonic surprises include several harmonies that do not progress to their expected harmonies within the circle of fifths; the use of secondary dominants at cadences in the first and third phrases; an augmented tonic triad leading into the first cadence; replacing the traditional setting's dominant harmony at the opening of phrase three with a rather dramatic and highly unstable added seventh in the bass voice; and added sevenths in other chords. The fact that some of these changes may result from normal voice leading rather than froma conscious decision by Thompson to make the harmonic alterations even more distinctive does not make those changes any less jarring. There is no mention of the 1935 alterations in McCutchan's commentary volume.

Jesus, Lover of My Soul (MARTYN)
The 1935 Methodist Hymnal contained three different tunes for Charles Wesley's "Jesus, Lover of My Soul": MARTYN by Simeon B. Marsh, HOLLINGSIDE by John B. Dykes, and ABERYSTWYTH by Joseph Parry. Marsh's familiar MARTYN setting (available in most hymnals), completely diatonic and consisting almost entirely of primary chords, shares some features of the other two hymns: slowly moving harmonies, extended notes and harmonies at the cadences, and a repetitive rather than a melodic bass line. Of the traditional setting's four phrases, the first, second, and fourth are identical, with only the third differing.

Thompson's setting (example 3) retains nearly the same cadence structure, differing only in the third phrase. There is much more melodic movement in Thompson's voices with few repeated notes. The second phrase illustrates Thompson's use of a faster harmonic rhythm: the traditional setting contains only three different harmonies with seven changes, while Thompson's setting contains ten different harmonies that change on each one of the fourteen melody notes, a rate of harmonic change that is twice as fast as the traditional setting. This faster harmonic rhythm, coupled with the addition by Thompson of passing tones and harmonies under a sustained melody note, in general gives the impression of harmonic and rhythmic movement, which contrasts greatly with the sense of unhurried peace and tranquility that result from Marsh's use of sustained harmonies and an unceasingly homorhythmic accompaniment of the melody. Thompson also makes liberal use of added sevenths, secondary dominants, and inverted harmonies.

In his commentary volume (pages 357-361), McCutchan goes to considerable lengths to document the greatness of this text, the special place it holds in the hearts of singers, and the many tunes that have accompanied it. In his discussion of the MARTYN tune, McCutchan writes, "Greatly loved as it is by older people, the tune does have a certain dullness and lack of appeal for young people trained in music in the public schools. To relieve its monotony, some changes have been made in the voice leadings."⁴

Conclusion
Singers today may find Thompson's settings more interesting, perhaps even more enjoyable to sing than the older, traditional settings. As mild as Thompson's settings may sound to twenty-first-century ears, they must have been quite surprising, perhaps jarring, and certainly unexpected to the Great Depression-era Methodists of 1935. Perhaps they were just too reminiscent of some of the secular jazz harmonies of the Roaring 1920's. But for whatever reason, many worshipers who sang the hymns in 1935 were unwilling to accept Thompson's changes.

Perhaps the Methodists of the 1930's were no different from the Methodists (and most Christian singers) of other eras in that we enjoy a certain level of comfort when we sing familiar hymns. There is continuity, perhaps even predictability, when we once again sing the old, old story to the old, old tunes. We anticipate and expect that comfort of the familiar tunes. There is joy and satisfaction in experiencing anew the events and associations that accompanied our singing of them in the past, perhaps having first learned them as children. So, when the old, old story is suddenly cast in a new, new tune, or even a new arrangement of the old tune, then the comfort, continuity, and predictability, and even the joy and satisfaction, may be denied. One of the lessons for hymnal editors and revision committees may be that it is easier to introduce new hymns than to revise the old ones.

The preface to the 1935 Methodist Hymnal reads, "In the selection of the music those tunes emphasizing the melodic content were given preference. Care was taken to continue the associations of words and music that have grown familiar by long usage."⁵ When that association was strained by new harmonies, it was the people's familiarity with and ownership of their congregational song that made them protest, "Look what you've done to my song."

Example 1 (in pdf format): "Just as I am, without one plea" (WOODWORTH), Van Denman Thompson setting in the 1935 Methodist Hymnal

Example 2 (in pdf format): "What a friend we have in Jesus" (CONVERSE), setting by Van Denman Thompson in the 1935 Methodist Hymnal

Example 3 (in pdf format): "Jesus, lover of my soul" (MARTYN), setting by Van Denman Thompson in the 1935 Methodist Hymnal

¹ Companion to The United Methodist Hymnal, Carlton R. Young. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), pages 115 and 688.

² Our Hymnody, Robert McCutchan. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1937), as quoted in this article.

³ Ibid., page 247.

⁴ Ibid., page 361.

⁵ The Methodist Hymnal, Robert G. McCutchan, ed. (New York, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Nashville: Methodist Book Concern (Methodist Episcopal Church, North), Southern Publishing House (Methodist Episcopal Church, South), and the Book Concern (Methodist Protestant), 1935.