Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing

"Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing", originally titled "Good Christian Men, Rejoice", is an English Christian hymn written by Cyril Alington. It was first published in 1931 and is mostly used as an Easter hymn.[1]

History

In 1931, Alington was the headmaster of Eton College and had been writing hymns in English and Latin since his ordination as a Church of England priest in 1901. He wrote "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" to be published in "Songs of Praise", set to the tune of Melchior Vulpius' "Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron".[1] The hymn was later altered and renamed "Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing" to avoid confusion with the earlier Christmas carol, "Good Christians All, Rejoice".[2] The words "Good Christian Men" were later changed to "Good Christians all" as a result of ecumenism which started a trend of altering older hymns to use inclusive language.[3] Alington wrote the hymn with four stanzas, but a fifth verse focusing on the Trinity was added by Norman Mealy in 1982[4] and appeared in the Episcopal Church's "The Hymnal 1982" in 1986.[5]

Critical analysis

In 1965, hymnologist Austin C. Lovelace praised "Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing" as a good example of a contemporary hymn (as it was recent to him at the time of writing and not related to Contemporary Christian music) that used the older 8.8.8 meter (with, additionally, the alleluia refrain).[6] Stanley L. Osbourne also praised the hymn stating that the verses "... vibrate with excitement, they utter the encouragement of victory, and they stir the heart to praise and thanksgiving".[1] The Presbyterian Church in the USA said that the first three verses of the hymn are directed at the congregation as a song of encouragement, while the final verse is focused on the Resurrection of Jesus.[7]

References
  1. "Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  2. Glover, Raymond F. (1990). The Hymnal 1982 companion, Volume 3, Part 1 (reissue ed.). Church Hymnal Corp. p. 413.
  3. Lindsey, Linda (2015). Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective. Routledge. p. 408. ISBN 978-1317348085.
  4. "Norman Mealy". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  5. "The Second Sunday of Easter" (PDF). Washington National Cathedral. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  6. Lovelace, Austin C. (1965). The Anatomy of Hymnody. GIA Publications. p. 52. ISBN 0941050025.
  7. Presbyterian Publishing (2013). Glory to God (Purple Pew Edition, Ecumenical). Westminster John Knox Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-1611643039.
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