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Hymnal: 1940 Standard Harmony Edition Red

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Were you a choirboy? Did you get a copy of your hymnal or prayer book for perfect attandance at Sunday School? For two generations since the middle of World War II, the prize for many Episcopal choirboys was this book, The Hymnal 1940. Most hymnals are serious works of scholarship: laboriously constructed by a committee appointed by the church to review, revise, edit and augment its previous hymnals, they are then condemned to perpetual scrutiny and comment by its users. This hymnal was no exception; indeed, the similarly sized "Hymnal Companion," which dilated at length on each hymn, was published along with it. Now superseded by the 1982 version, it is still considered a masterpiece and superior in several respects to its successor, in particular for its legibility, certain of its texts, and its inclusion of some hymns dropped in 1982. By then the Hymnal 1940 had been augmented to over 700 hymns and 160 pieces of service music. It contains several indexes by which a hymn can be located in several different ways, including the useful "metrical index," not a feature of every hymnal. The music ranges in age from the earliest years of the Christian era right up to the 1930's; so you will find most of your favorite classical composers represented. If you have other hymnals, you should have this one. If you don't, this is about the best place to start.

This hymnal is replete with example after example of the best, most beautiful, most intelligent congregational music Christendom has to offer, from ancient to modern. Happy is the church that sings these songs of praise and affirmation.

This is the Hymnal used in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA)from 1940 until 1982. It is reflective of the classic and traditional orthodoxy of that period. Though the hymnal has been replaced in ECUSA it is still used by many traditional jurisdictions of Anglicans in the United States. Some of the tunes are unfamilar and difficult to follow for those who are only acquainted with contemporary church music. However,any added effort on the part of the learner is rewarded in the richness of the recovery of these classic tunes. The theology is vibrant and sound. The binding of the volume is durable and the type is clear and readable. The 1940 Hymnal is a sound investment for any church or individual who desires to regain familiarity with traditional Protestant hymnody. For many of us in the "buster generation" these hymns have provided a connection with the transcendent we were looking for. Well worth the purchase.

I'm in the process of reviewing the many Christian books of devotion, prayer, and spirituality that I believe may feed the souls of the faithful. It might not occur to some to include a hymnal in this list, but music has always been extremely important to God's people, from the Psalms of David, to Gregorian chant, to the hymns of the various revivals, to the praise choruses of today.

The 1940 Hymnal is simply one of the best hymnals ever printed. While it was only the official hymnal of the Episcopal Church from 1940 to 1982, its predecessor was used long before 1940, and the 1940 hymnal continues to be used by a wide variety of Anglicans. In my own life, I've found the 1940 Hymnal to be a wonderful worship resource, not just at church but at home. Sometimes I want to express my praise of God in hymns, and often we use the Hymnal in our family worship that we have every evening after dinner.

There are a lot of reasons why the 1940 Hymnal remains a classic and an amazing resource. There are more than 700 hymns, which represent centuries and centuries of the best of hymnody. One hymn has its words taken from the Didache (c. A.D. 100), there are a lot of hymns adapted from plainsong, and some of the hymns come from the 20th century. In this way, the 1940 Hymnal helps connect us to the Church of all ages, and not just the Church of the last 10 years. It's easy to find the hymn you're looking for. Not only is there an index of first lines of the hymns, but you can also search by composer, tune, and meter.

No hymnal is perfect, and I find it ironic that an Anglican hymnal doesn't include "Amazing Grace" by John Newton, who was an Anglican clergyman. I would also like to see more hymns by Wesley and to see some of the late 19th century ones dropped. But the bottom line is that this is a very rich treasury of beautiful, reverent music to the glory God. As such, it has the potential to lead us to worship Almighty God with the angels, archangels, and all the host of heaven!

This is a refreshing edition with the white paper and clear print. The old ones are yellowed and just plain tired. I don't sing unless they want "tree frogs" in the group. I really purchased this to leave at the church for ayone to use.

The Hymnal 1940 is so far superior to its follow-on that our Parish has refused to use the 1982 hymnal. Thanks to the Church Hymnal Corporation for continuing to offer this quality product. Highly recommended for those Parishes who still practice true Anglican worship.

We received 16 pristine, new copies of the Hymnal, 1940 (Used in the Episcopal Church from 1940-1982-- although there is no cut off date for the 1940) As a congregation which uses the Traditional Languague of the Services, we had some EXTREMELY well used 1940 hymnals (like 'falling apart')from which to sing God's Praises. The addition of these 16 new hymnals is much appreciated. The Rev. W.G.

A lovely edition of the hymnal we use at our church. I was able to purchase this new copy on Amazon. Amazing!

For those looking to maintain the tradition of raising a joyful voice unto to Lord, this hymnal has been used for generations and there is no substitute.

I came upon a first or second edition of this specific hymnal at a local used bookstore. I'm no longer active in the church, and in all honesty I was raised Methodist (though I have worked for churches of several denominations -- Episcopal not being one of them for whatever reason), but I am part of probably one of the last few generations to not have been raised on the pop-style worship songs that seem to have taken over lately. Not that there's anything wrong with the newer-style of liturgical song, but when you're raised on the "old" stuff you develop that special sort of nostalgia.

I'd gone looking for an old hymnal because I missed playing them on piano and thought it would be fun to have one of my own. I'd gone in hoping to find that ancient Cokesbury thing that I'm convinced hasn't been changed since the Great Revival, or possibly an old Methodist or Catholic book that I'm more familiar with, but of the few available, I chose this one because, well, it looked charming, and its age meant it was likely to have a wealth of my favorites.

When I got home I was just enamoured with the arrangements of the hymns. I was pleasantly surprised when I played through an old standard that had more than a few strange suspensions thrown in for good measure. An absolute beauty of a hymnal, to be sure. Lots of love went into its compilation. As I said, mine is one of the first ones to have been printed, so I'm sure a number of things have changed, so your mileage may vary, but I'd certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a brilliant collection of older liturgical music.