 |
|
Title: Then Sings My Soul, Book 2: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories (Then Sings My Soul)
ISBN: 0785251685
Author:
Robert J. Morgan
Publicate Date: 2004-09-12
Publish: 2004-09-12
List Price: $19.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.67
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $3.27
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.13
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Excellent Follow Up Book
If you liked Book 1 you will like this book. Excellent compliation of information about our favorite hymns.
|
2: Then Sings My Soul, Vols 1 and 2
These are very nice books for anyone who likes hymns and their history. Each hymn is printed on one page and looks very much as it does in a main-line church hymnal. On the facing page is a history of the composer, author of the words or both and story about the writing of the hymn. I recommend them for church goers, former church goers, choir members and ministers. The binding does not lend itself to sitting open on my piano rack, but I could alter that if I really wanted to play from the book. They are good books for picking up to read just a few pages at a time. Enjoyably informative.
|
3: More Hymn Stories to Know and Share
If you ever wanted to know the background behind the hymns that we sing, this two-volume collection is for you. Robert J. Morgan has collected and compiled stories of hymns from all over the world and from every time period. Each book takes a look at 150 hymns, so the sum total is 300 - certainly, most of the familiar hymns including your favorite hymns are included. And there are other hymns herein, that you would enjoy singing and reading about.
In Book II, there are stories about many hymn favorites, including: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus", "The First Noel", "Break Thou the Bread of Life" and "Joy to the World!"
Both books would be very helpful to pastors planning worship-and indeed could be the springboard for any number of sermons, illustrations or hymn festivals.
But the usefulness does not stop there. These volumes are really a mini compendium of faith's response to God's wonders and blessings, and so, together, they are treasuries of devotional resources.
For more than twenty years, author Robert J. Morgan has served as the pastor of The Donelson Fellowship in Nashville, Tennessee, so he brings a pastor's reverence and appreciation of these hymns to his narrative
|
4: Presents Hymns & Carols in Historical & Theological Context
Robert Morgan has collected the stories of familiar hymns which transcend denominational boundaries. I sang many of these as a youth at Catholic Mass, and later, as I have regularly attended Protestant services. Not only did I enjoy reading the lyrics in the quiet of my living room, but I also learned more about the intended meaning of each song.
Significant Songs (just a few of another 50 I could list)
* "O Sacred Heart Now Wounded"
* "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
* "Joy to the World!"
* "The First Noel"
* "O Holy Night"
* "O How I Love Jesus"
* "I Love to Tell the Story"
* "Beulah Land"
* "Nothing But the Blood"
* "God of Our Fathers"
* "Softly and Tenderly"
* "I'll Fly Away"
* "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"
Christian hymns are part of world music, going back hundreds of years. Whether written by a repentant slave owner or a Catholic priest who believes scripture should be in the common man's language, or as an extension of a theologian's great poetic skill, the stories of the classics are anything but ordinary.
What impressed me was the easy style of Morgan's writing as he explained the theology and origin of the songs. Each song receives one page describing its author and history.
I learned, for example, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" by Ada Ruth Habershon isn't a secular song of generic faith sung only by folk singers, but a rich song of longing for eternity in Heaven specifically for Christians.
I like that Morgan included "Away in the Manger" and other Christmas carols. In the Christmas holiday context, they feel like simple ditties, but reading the lyrics showed me how many started as hymns sung throughout the year as worship.
A downside of the book was the organization. Morgan researched this carefully and grouped the hymns chronologically. Each song gets its own entry. In many cases, specific material was lacking, or, as in the case of the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, many were written by one author. There was only so much Wesley information to spread out over all of their songs. It would have made more senses to collection the songs of one author together, with one essay to avoid this problem.
"Then Sings My Soul" is aptly titled, referencing the famous lyric. It is as instructive as it is encouraging. For me, as I walked through memories new and old, I found that this coming Sunday as I sing these with my fellow parishioners, I will be singing with more soul than the Sunday before.
I fully recommend "Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories" by Robert J. Morgan.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
|
|
|
|
|
