SUNSET SONGS
"In the night I sang of him."
(_Psa. 42:10, Moffatt_).
"One of the most successful numbers sung in the series of Sunday
evening concerts, which for several years it was my privilege and
pleasure to sponsor, was that old English hymn, 'Now the Day is Over.'
That hymn marked the close of each Sunday night concert, and the
thousands of letters I received from listeners throughout the country
gave sure evidence that this old religious song struck a responsive
chord in the heart of listeners everywhere."
--_A. Atwater Kent in a broadcast on "Radio's Influence on Music."_
A group of young men from an English theological college, the "Cliff
College Trekkers," went, during the summer of 1936, to Morecambe, and
there this band of energetic youth held Sunday services on the slipway.
Evening prayer was also held by them at the slipway, and one who was
present expressed gratitude through the press for the privilege of
sharing these moments of quiet devotion. Following prayers, the entire
company united in singing:
"All hail the power of Jesus' name."
People who had listened to the inspirational hymn were doubtless singing
in their hearts, as they walked to their seaside residences, the glowing
words:
"And crown Him Lord of all."
Nature Gave the Perfect Touch
Some of the great moments of a lifetime were experienced by lovers of
sacred music on an evening in late June, 1931, at the stadium of Cornell
University. The Westminster Choirs, arrayed in their resplendent robes,
sang under the leadership of the distinguished conductor, Dr. J. Finley
Williamson. A representative of The Syracuse Post-Standard thus sketched
the event for his newspaper:
"The scene:--Eleven harps were ranged on the velvet green in front of
the singers. The skies were hung with black clouds for a canopy. The
soft beauty of the marvellous scenery, as far as the eye could reach,
surrounded all. Lightning darted through the clouds, and the low
rumble of thunder was a background for the celestial music of the
harps as they played the hymn:
"'Day is dying in the west;
Heaven is touching earth with rest:
Wait and worship while the night
Sets her evening lamps alight
Through all the sky.'
"When the voices, in unison with the harps, hummed the melody, it was
something to be cherished in memory. Words fail to describe adequately
the impression. It was the perfect touch that only nature is able to
give to human effort."
During such sublime moments the musicians passed to the close of the
hymn:
"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of Thee!
Heaven and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!"
The music combined with the display of nature to induce a mood which
brought God very close to his earthly children that June afternoon.
The Bells of Trinity
Startled as he wandered rather aimlessly amid lower New York, a
distinguished visitor listened to the Bells of Trinity Church as they
joyously pealed forth the strains of:
"Hark, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling
O'er earth's green fields and ocean's wave-beat shore;
How sweet the truth those blessèd strains are telling
Of that new life when sin shall be no more!"
The music fell with soul-stirring effect on the ears of Dr. John A.
Hutton, long-time editor of _The British Weekly_, who was in the United
States, as he frequently was in summer-time, to fulfill engagements in
preaching and lecturing.
The location of Trinity Church, whence came the eventide music, deepened
the interest in the hymn. Said Dr. Hutton: "I was hearing the Lord's
song just where the Lord's song stands in most need of being heard, and
just where the Lord's song sounds most sweetly. I was hearing the Lord's
song in a strange land." Down opposite Wall street, "Where Mammon holds
the throne, dwarfed and almost overshadowed by immense business and
financial houses, rises the spire of Trinity." Hence, "where men were
engrossed in the things of time and sense, there fell upon the ear a
song that spoke of heaven."
The most popular setting in America for this hymn is "Pilgrims" by Henry
Smart, with what H. Augustine Smith calls its "plaintive wistfulness."
This hymn therefore, according to Boyd, "appeals to both the poetic
sense and the musical ear."
Personally I have seen congregations deeply moved as they have joined in
singing, at an evening service of worship:
"Angels, sing on! your faithful watches keeping;
Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above;
Till morning's joy shall end the night of weeping,
And life's long shadows break in cloudless love."
Singing Soldiers
Fifteen soldiers were gathered together on a Thursday evening in a
little French village behind the line during the First World War.
Forming themselves into a semicircle around the chaplain, Thomas
Tiplady, who has described the scene in "The Cross at the Front," they
made choice of the hymn they would like sung to open their devotional
meeting. Then they joined in singing:
"At even, ere the sun was set,
The sick, O Lord, around Thee lay;
O in what divers pains they met!
O with what joy they went away!
"Once more 'tis eventide, and we,
Oppressed with various ills, draw near;
What if Thy form we cannot see?
We know and feel that Thou art here."
The evening was still, and the voices of the men playing football not
far away were heard, as well as the sound of guns. Yet as the men sang
the birds were also singing in some neighboring trees. Chaplain Tiplady
makes this observation: "To him who has only sung this hymn in a church
much of its beauty must of necessity be hidden. It is revealed only in
the light of the setting sun. The men were facing the Golden West. The
pomp of the dying day lay upon the rustling leaves of the trees and upon
the grass at our feet. It lit up with beauty the faces of the men as
they sang. Soon it would be gone, and the shadows would wrap us round as
with a mantle." But those Englishmen in France sang their faith and
prayer:
"Thy touch has still its ancient prayer,
No word from Thee can fruitless fall;
Hear in this solemn evening hour,
And in Thy mercy heal us all."
Hymn Discussion at Oyster Bay
Captain Archibald W. Butt, personal aide to President Theodore
Roosevelt, spending a week-end at the Roosevelt residence in Oyster Bay,
N. Y., accompanied the family to a morning service of worship on July
27, 1908, at the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Roosevelt was a member of this
church. Mr. Roosevelt was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, but
when in Oyster Bay he used to worship with the family; and so, on this
occasion, he took Captain Butt, also an Episcopalian, with him. Later in
the day Captain Butt referred to the hymns sung in the service, and,
being from the South, made this observation: "I think the South likes
strong, sentimental hymns, while every one which was sung at Oyster Bay
had some poetic value."
Theodore Roosevelt sang hymns with zest, and enjoyed variety. On this
day, however, he declared that his favorite hymn was:
"Christ is made the sure Foundation,
Christ the head and corner-stone,
Chosen of the Lord, and precious,
Binding all the Church in one;
Holy Sion's help for ever,
And her confidence alone."
This is a translation from an old Latin hymn by Dr. John Mason Neale.
Information concerning this hymn by Dr. Charles S. Robinson is as
follows: "It is more popular in England than it is on this side of the
water, except, perhaps, among Episcopalians, who, as a denomination,
seem very fond of it. It is used for corner-stone services, and for
dedications and the like, with much acceptance."
"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!"
was given by Mr. Roosevelt as his next choice. But he also expressed
admiration for "Jerusalem the Golden," and very naturally for a man of
his type:
"The Son of God goes forth to war."
Mrs. Roosevelt, on the other hand, named as her choice:
"Nearer, my God, to Thee;"
and also:
"Art thou weary, art thou laden,
Art thou sore distrest?
'Come to Me,' saith One, 'and coming,
Be at rest.'"
"For the first time I realized that I had no favorite hymn," said
Captain Butt in a letter which he wrote to his mother that very night;
and which, fortunately, has been preserved in "The Letters of Archie
Butt." He added: "I have thought of it during the day, and I believe
that I shall take 'Nearer, my God, to Thee,' as my favorite. It appeals
to the sentimental side of me at least."
"I think I should like to have sung at my funeral, 'Nearer, My God, to
Thee,'" said Butt in this letter. Singularly enough, this was the last
music which he heard played before he died. He was drowned when the
_Titanic_ sank; and the ship's band, which had been playing popular
music during the fateful period after the great ship had struck an
iceberg on a Sunday night, rendered as its last selection, when the boat
was going down and carrying hundreds of the passengers and crew to a
swift death in the Atlantic:
"Nearer, my God, to Thee."
The following interesting observation, which I have not elsewhere seen,
is made by Lawrence F. Abbott, who edited "The Letters of Archie Butt":
"It is said by survivors of the _Titanic_ that as the ship was going
down Captain Butt ordered the band to play the music of this hymn."
Most fruitful was the discussion of hymns held at Oyster Bay on that
July Sunday afternoon and evening. As a result we know the first choice
of Theodore Roosevelt of the many hymns he loved; the hymns which most
appealed to Mrs. Roosevelt; and on that eventful day Archibald Butt made
his decision in favor of the hymn which went with him to his death in
the Atlantic Ocean.