0:00:01 > 0:00:04A hymn means literally "a song of praise",
0:00:04 > 0:00:08and as such, they've been around for millennia.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11But hymns in the form that we recognise them today
0:00:11 > 0:00:15came about in the 17th century, through Isaac Watts,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18known as "the father of English hymnody".
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Since then the hymn has become one of the great treasures
0:00:22 > 0:00:24of the English-speaking world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29Thanks in part to organisations like the Royal School of Church Music,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32based here at Sarum College in Salisbury,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35the British hymn-writing tradition is still alive, well,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37and thriving in the 21st century.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Tonight, join in with congregations from all over the country,
0:00:43 > 0:00:49to sing traditional hymns and tunes written and arranged over the last five decades.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54And some of today's distinguished hymn writers and composers share the secrets of their craft.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Our first hymn combines words by Anglican vicar Michael Saward
0:01:05 > 0:01:10and a tune by schoolmaster and composer John Barnard.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13They're both prolific hymn-writers,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17but their most famous work is truly a triumph of their combined arts.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22It sounds as fresh today as when it was written back in the 1980s.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56That tune is named after the pretty Cotswold village of Guiting Power,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59and in fact, you could travel round Britain
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and recognise many tunes as place names.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Hymn writers are often very conscious of the community in which they live.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Very often it'll be a church that will inspire somebody to write a hymn
0:04:11 > 0:04:15and then that can extend through to the village or town or wherever.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20It's a wonderful feeling to be in a congregation singing a hymn.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24The emotional response, the words and music, two art forms coming together.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I think it's something that's very special to me.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I think it's very important always to be encouraging new music in church,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36in all its shapes and forms, and all its different styles.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40There are, of course, some wonderful traditional hymns
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and it's important that we keep these going and we continue to use those,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47but at the same time we should be looking to new influences,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51new styles, new hymn-writers to support the worship of today.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Hymn-writer Brigid Pailthorpe's 2003 hymn, Living In The Light,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59was set to a tune by Peter Moger.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04Now precentor of York Minster, when Pam Rhodes met Peter during Advent 2003,
0:05:04 > 0:05:10he was then vicar of the Huntingdonshire town of Godmanchester.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14'I try to work at integrating music with ministry.'
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Earlier this year I was asked to write a tune
0:05:17 > 0:05:20for a new set of hymn words - the hymn, Living In The Light.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24And having sat down at the piano and written the tune,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28I realised that this embodied much of what it felt like
0:05:28 > 0:05:32to be in this place of Godmanchester, and so that's the name I gave the tune.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36It's important that people have a sense of belonging,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39that they know where they can be truly at home.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41And I think the church has a lot to offer here,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44in that it can be a real home, a spiritual home for people,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48a place where they know they can be accepted for who they are,
0:05:48 > 0:05:53and where they can be fully part of things, part of God's family of the church.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47OBOE PLAYS
0:07:47 > 0:07:51In the early 20th century, composers Ralph Vaughan Williams
0:07:51 > 0:07:56and Gustav Holst went on walking tours around the English countryside.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00As they travelled, they sought out and collected the traditional folk songs
0:08:00 > 0:08:05which are now more famous as the tunes to some of our best-loved hymns.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Hymn-writer John Bell also sets new words
0:08:10 > 0:08:13to the traditional folk music of his native Scotland.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23A folk tune gives you the possibility of using language
0:08:23 > 0:08:27which a formal Victorian hymn tune - or that style of music -
0:08:27 > 0:08:30just does not let you use.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35And the 20th, 21st centuries are full of things that never happened
0:08:35 > 0:08:38in the Victorian era, whether it's nuclear war or money laundering
0:08:38 > 0:08:42or that kind of stuff. These should be able to be sung about,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47if God is God of the whole world, and not just the nice churchy parts of it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:59Years ago, my colleague and I were working in Iona Abbey, leading a week,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03and the healing service at that time was on the Wednesday night.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07And we knew there weren't many hymns about healing.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14There was a couple who'd lost a child, there was someone who'd been the victim of abuse,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19and I suppose knowing we had a limit to the number of hymns about healing,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23and realising that these people's experiences
0:09:23 > 0:09:26were not caught up in the words we'd normally sing,
0:09:26 > 0:09:31gave us the kind of impetus to write a new song on this subject.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04John Bell is one of today's most published hymn writers.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06But as well as the prolific professionals,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09many people just write hymns for the love of it.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17I got into hymn-writing really with the help of my wife, Elaine.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Because in retirement she took to writing poetry.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Elaine and I are members of the Methodist Church in Shepshed.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27As a Methodist,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31obviously have a great affection for the work of Charles Wesley,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34and owe a great debt to him.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Obviously I don't presume to supplant anything of that sort,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41but clearly language has moved on,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45and I would hope to build on the foundation he's laid
0:12:45 > 0:12:50and perhaps insert a few new ideas that more easily commends itself
0:12:50 > 0:12:53to a present-day narration in the 21st century.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59# Welcome truth! But little caring
0:12:59 > 0:13:02# Whence it come... #
0:13:02 > 0:13:08In writing hymns, I'm trying to avoid saying what's already been well said,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and probably better than I could manage.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16And my aim is to use language which is clear, concise,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20free of jargon, and maybe with a touch of poetry as well.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28The good hymn is, in a sense, a prayer with music.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30To that extent, it combines two elements,
0:13:30 > 0:13:35and it has the great advantage that it involves the congregation
0:13:35 > 0:13:38in a very direct way, in a user-friendly way.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43So, as a tool for worship, it's very important indeed.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47For more than 250 years,
0:13:47 > 0:13:52Charles Wesley's immortal words "love divine, all loves excelling"
0:13:52 > 0:13:56have inspired many musical settings, and, of course, we all have a favourite.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01There's his own choice of tune, by his contemporary, Henry Purcell,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06and the 19th-century one by John Stainer, called Love Divine.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11And of course the early 20th-century classic, Blaenwern.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14So here's a new arrangement of all three of them,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18by the 21st-century composer, Malcolm Archer.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Malcolm Archer has been director of music
0:17:55 > 0:17:58at several of England's great cathedrals.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02And his talent for arranging pieces for young singers is put to good use
0:18:02 > 0:18:04in his present role, at Winchester College.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10There's always new texts being written,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and there's always new music to be written.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16One should never stifle that flow of inspiration.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21And you never know when a new gem is going to be composed,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and each generation will produce its great music,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28as it has for years and years and years.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33In a sense, there shouldn't be a battle between ancient and modern,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37if all composers are writing music which is accessible
0:18:37 > 0:18:39and which people enjoy singing.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42I think that's a very important starting point for me.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46I always want to write music which I feel will stand the test of time, hopefully,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50and which people will want to perform and want to sing.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56And Malcolm's tune to our next hymn is rapidly becoming a favourite.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55As well as being home to the Royal School of Church Music,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Sarum College is also a Christian ecumenical centre,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02where people of all faith backgrounds can research and study.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Despite its Anglican roots,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10the Royal School of Church Music is an ecumenical organisation,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14and we work very closely with a range of different traditions.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20I suppose we've exemplified this in our Sing Praise, a new hymn book,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23which tries to draw in on all those different traditions.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27When Methodism began, hymn singing was very important.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Also, in the Roman Catholic Church, there are some very important hymn-writers.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Bernadette Farrell does a tremendous job
0:21:33 > 0:21:37in writing music and hymns for the Roman Catholic Church.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40# There's someone who knows me... #
0:21:40 > 0:21:44'Sometimes people say to me, "I didn't know you were still alive!"
0:21:44 > 0:21:49'Sometimes they say, "I was expecting an older lady with white hair in a bun!"
0:21:49 > 0:21:51'For me, music is a language of faith.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56'We've all got the reign of God inside us.'
0:21:56 > 0:22:00We all want to see a world
0:22:00 > 0:22:04where people no longer die of hunger and war,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06where everyone has an equal chance.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14But do we wait for someone else to make that happen?
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Writing is part of my response to the Scriptures
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and the Scriptures are full of the reign of God.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26We need all the gifts that God's given us to bring that reign about.
0:25:04 > 0:25:10There's one 21st-century composer whose music is everywhere at Christmas time.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13John Rutter and his fellow Cambridge-based composer,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Sir David Willcocks, edited Carols For Choirs,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21one of the best-loved resources for churches and schools
0:25:21 > 0:25:24to learn both new and old words and music.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27I think that the institutions
0:25:27 > 0:25:32and tradition of the Christian Church have inspired far more people
0:25:32 > 0:25:36than those who would just call themselves card-carrying Christians.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39In England, our worshipping history
0:25:39 > 0:25:44is one that goes back to, for goodness' sake, 597 or earlier.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48It's woven into the fabric of our lives and our thinking.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53I was one of actually the last generations to have a morning assembly at school,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56so knocking around in my mind
0:25:56 > 0:26:02is a repertoire of, I suppose, 200 or 300 hymns, psalms, prayers,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06passages from the Bible, which are just part of my mental furniture
0:26:06 > 0:26:09which will only be erased by senility or death.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11They're just there, they're part of me.
0:26:11 > 0:26:16The churches that are everywhere to be seen in our landscape
0:26:16 > 0:26:18are just part of my life.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23And nothing seemed more natural to me than to write for the church
0:26:23 > 0:26:26that I was baptised into, and that I grew up in.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29I wanted to write music that would reach out.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34Music that even might now and again have a tune in it!
0:26:34 > 0:26:37And that's something that's now far, far easier to do
0:26:37 > 0:26:39in the concert world, in the 21st century.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44I think composers starting out now have a much more favourable climate,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47if they want to be accessible and approachable.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It was not so when I started out,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and so most of my working life has been devoted to writing music,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57a lot of it vocal and choral, that can be done by non-professionals.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59And that's fine.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07Although John Rutter is known in some circles as Mr Christmas,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11pieces such as this timeless blessing delight choirs, audiences
0:27:11 > 0:27:15and congregations alike, at any time of year.
0:30:10 > 0:30:19# Amen. #
0:30:22 > 0:30:24It's only right that we leave the last word
0:30:24 > 0:30:27to one of the greatest hymn-writers of the 21st century -
0:30:27 > 0:30:32that's retired bishop Timothy Dudley-Smith, who now lives here in Salisbury.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34He's responsible for more than 300 hymns,
0:30:34 > 0:30:39including Lord Of The Years, and one of my favourites, Tell Out, My Soul.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42When Mary had been told by the angel that, though unmarried,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45she was going to be the mother of the saviour,
0:30:45 > 0:30:50she bursts into this song or meditation,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52in which she glorifies God
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and thanks him for this, and accepts the privilege that she's been given,
0:30:56 > 0:31:02and meditates on how God is choosing the humble people of the Earth
0:31:02 > 0:31:04to bring the saviour of mankind.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Next week, my special guest is keyboard legend Rick Wakeman.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Rick tells me how his faith has survived the ups and downs
0:33:37 > 0:33:41of a rock'n'roll life, and performs some of his favourite hymns,
0:33:41 > 0:33:45including his famous arrangement of Morning Has Broken.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:33:59 > 0:34:04E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk