Introduction
Religious music, especially Christian, has been evolving and diversifying over the centuries from centuries-old and traditional styled songs and hymns to contemporary styles. Before the eighteenth century, hymns were published separately as standalone texts without musical score accompaniment. The first publishing of hymnal text and songs was done in America in 1831, as the singing of hymns was not allowed in the Church of England before 1820 (Maslon, 2018). The hymns originally sang out ‘lining out’ the lyrics as the pastor would sing a line, and congregants would repeat it. The expensiveness informed this of books as an economical step to help congregants memorize the songs from one copy. This paper looks into the history of hymns, particularly the Rock of Ages, and analyzes its lyrics.
Background Information
A Christian hymn is a Christian religious devotional song written primarily for prayer and praise to dieties or promonent religious figures. The songs are compiled in books that pastors and congregants read to a tune during Christian services (Masud, 2019). The practice has roots in ancient times and continues till today and has been converted to recorded and performed songs in churches and concerts. The singing or performance of songs may or may not include musical or instrument accompaniment. However, the most used instrument in the performance of hymns in modern times is the Piano. Most famous performers of the songs include Thomas Hastings and Lowell Redhead.
Music Description
Rock of Ages is a famous Christian hymn by Augustus Toplady in the 18th century. The Gospel magazine published the first four lines of the first version in 1775, with the complete publication happening in 1776. The 1776 ‘alt’ version has been edited by different domination throughout the song’s history, creating several versions by other churches worldwide (Behr, 2019). The lyrics ‘when my eyes shall close in death’ were original ‘when my eye-strings break in death.’ The correctness of the words of the edited version ‘be of sin and double cure, Save from wrath, and make me pure’ was a heated pamphlet exchange between the composer, Toplady, and John Wesley, who converted him to Christianity. Wesley initially taught ‘double cure’ as salvation emanating from the atonement of sin and inbred sin cleansing by infilling the Holy Spirit. However, Toplady’s 1776 ‘alt’ version varies from Wesley’s teachings and contains the line’ be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power.’
The song has been lyrically compared to the ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ hymn, which also focused on personal salvation (Roberts, 2019). Notable recordings include Alma Gluck and Louise Homer’s 1914 version and Bing Crosby’s 1949 versions. Famous performers include Rosemary Siemens and different church choirs such as the Pillar of Truth Church choir, among many other performers, churches, and congregations worldwide.
Song Analysis
‘Rock of ages’ is sung to the tunes TOPLADY by Thomas Hastings and revised by Lowell Redhead 76, also named Petra, about the Biblical Peter the Rock. TOPLADY is mainly used in the United States, while Redhead 76 is used in the United Kingdom, although the tunes circulate freely in both countries and the entire world churches.
The hymnal is a multicultural gospel song focused on helping build stronger family relations through Christ. The piece, which evolves on the atonement of sin and betterment of relationships through maintaining a healthy relationship with God, calls for humility and God’s grace in the face of a trying world.
The song is a personal hymn that focuses on individual salvation as informed by the use of personal pronouns ‘I, me, we, our’ and offers assurance to self that even when we are alone, God will never abandon his people as the light and rock that we Christians stand upon. The song ‘Rock of Ages’ is also informed by Several Bible verses, such as Psalms 62:6, Samuel 2:2, Samuel 22:2, Psalms 144:1, and Hebrew 13:8, which refer to God as the rock of salvation who does not change.
Conclusion
Hymns have been part of human religious heritage with a long history dating back to many years before the Common Era. They have been used to instill humility, peace, and Godliness in the world. As such, preserving powerful hymns such as the Rocks of Ages as a religious heritage is imperative to offer comfort, strength, and hope where there was none in religious settings. Subsequent generations must, therefore, work to ensure that these compositions by their forefathers are kept.
References
Behr, J. (2019). The prologue as a paschal hymn. John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel, 245-270. Web.
Communal poetry. (2020).(Communal poetry, 2020) A Little History of Poetry, 105-111. Web.
Maslon, L. (2018). Hymn for a Sunday evening. Oxford Scholarship Online. Web.
Masud, N. (2019). Sound words: Hymns in twentieth-century literature. The Review of English Studies, 70(296), 732-751. Web.
Roberts, W. A. (2019). Church and organ music. Incorporated association of organists: Congress at hull. The Musical Times, 70(1040), 919. Web.