Product Description

Famous throughout the world, "Hymns Ancient and Modern" was first compiled in 1860 and published the following year. Since then, its various editions have sold in excess of 160 million copies. "Hymns Ancient and Modern" is surely the most popular, influential and lasting of all hymn books.

"The New Standard Edition" was introduced in 1983 and has sold well over a million copies. It incorporates many additional features including thematic and seasonal indexes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38063 in Books
• Published on: 1983-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1248 pages

Customer Reviews

A concise, useful and clearly presented book.
This book is clearly presented and easy to utilise. The first section 'Times and Church Seasons' has a catholic selection of hymns and tunes which span from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with Epiphany hymns like 'The heavenly child in stature grows' to the old favourite Passiontide hymn, 'Ride on, ride on, in majesty'. Further very useful ecclesiastical themes are 'The Eternal God', 'The Family of God' and 'Sacraments and other occasions'. At the back are found '100 Hymns for Today' and 'More Hymns for Today' which provide a clear balance of more contemporary words and music, such as 'Bread for the world' (A.F.Bayly 1901-84), set to an Old Gaelic Melody. An extremely useful book to own, I highly recommend it.

A Fair Interim Measure
This isn't so much a revision as a rearrangement of material already available when it came out in 1983.

The book divides into three sections. The first 333 of its 533 hymns make up a collection which is abridged from the 636 hymns found in its predecessor, Hymns Ancient and Modern Revised, from three decades earlier. I imagine that many of the now omitted hymns were being used very little by 1983, though inevitably somebody somewhere will find that one of their favourites has been left out. A plus mark goes to the compilers for including a note of the A and M Revised hymn number beside each hymn, making it possible to use the two books in tandem easily where this is desired.

The remainder of the book consists of a lock, stock and barrel transfer of, first, 100 Hymns for Today (1969) and then More Hymns for Today (1980), with nothing added or take away. It's a pity that the opportunity wasn't taken to do any revision of these two parts of the book and that no one could see any merit in integrating the three sections.

There are, however, some tunes in the book which didn't make previous volumes, mainly ones on which English Hymnal at one time jealously guarded the copyright. Most users will thus be pleased to note the inclusion of such tunes as Down Ampney, Monk's Gate, Sine Nomine and Herongate.

Many of the tunes which were also in A and M Revised appear in lower keys here--good for those singing the melody but sometimes quite a strain for altos and basses!

Overall I can give this book a qualified welcome but more could have done to provide a new hymn book for its age and it has to be regarded as a stop-gap pending the arrival of Common Praise in 2000.