Hymns are “important in the history of ideas, the formation of culture, and the inner life of individual readers,” J. R. Watson reminds us in this time when the disciplines of hymn writing and singing ...

Prayer and song is one way to get into the spirit of East Sunday -- ESPECIALLY song, many would say. Our Cover Story is from is from Tracy Smith: If angels somehow descended on Midtown Manhattan, it ...

The 27 worship songs that have made the hymnal cut time and again. There are many ways to identify the most lasting or best loved hymns among American Protestants. But what would we find by looking at ...

What makes a good hymn? A hymn is a metrical composition, meaning “it has stanzas or verses that repeat the same (or nearly the same) syllabic pattern, just like metrical poems. In fact, the best ...

We tend to think we have one national anthem, but to me, we have always seemed to have two. The first is the official one, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The second is “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The ...

If you ever find yourself at a rugby game in Wales, don’t be surprised when the crowds begin to belt out Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, known as Bread of Heaven to the Welsh. Called the “Land of Song ...