Bath Abbey hosted a well-attended evening event: a hymn forum in which four people involved with compiling hymnbooks (in particular the Revised English Hymnal) discussed hymnody, the part it had played in their lives, the history of recent hymnals, and the use of hymns for meditation and teaching.
In between, we had the chance to sing a few with words and music from various periods, including the inevitable Coe Fen (‘Look! Someone’s written a good tune in the last 80 years!’) I’m afraid my heart sinks whenever I’m asked to sing this as I just find it too gushy for my taste. We had some more interactivity by singing a couple of verses of Praise to the Holiest to each of the three tunes named above and then being invited to choose our favourite among them. (Actually I have no very strong view here as I like all three, although I think Billings just edges it.)
There was time for discussion afterwards with questions from the nave on such matters as how to introduce the young to great hymns and the grounds for changing words from what was originally written.