[Hymns] Famous hymns and sacred songs. Recommended hymns and sacred songs.
Hymns and sacred songs beloved around the world.
Hymns and sacred songs are known as songs that praise the Christian God, but in Japan—where many people are Buddhist—their recognition is by no means high.
There are many excellent pieces, but the difficulty is that they can be hard to find.
This time, we’ve picked out some famous works among hymns and sacred songs.
We also explain in detail the background of each piece and the meaning of the lyrics, so even those without prior knowledge of hymns and sacred songs can enjoy it.
How about soothing a heart worn down by daily stress with hymns and sacred songs?
Please sit back and enjoy!
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[Hymns] Famous Hymns and Sacred Songs. Recommended Hymns and Sacred Songs (41–50)
The beautiful day is overHeinrich Isaac
A melody steeped in melancholy that sings of the beauty of days gone by and the poignancy of their end.
This time, we present a work by Heinrich Isaac, a master of Renaissance music.
In the late 15th century, Isaac served as a court composer to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and alongside his majestic sacred music, he produced numerous secular songs that deeply move the heart.
This piece captivates with its warm harmonies that seem to gently accept the close of happy days and cherish the beauty of the past.
Its calm, slightly sentimental atmosphere offers a character distinct from glittering chorales.
It is a perfect choice for moments of reflection at the end of the day, or for autumn nights when you wish to engage with music at leisure.
[Hymns] Famous Hymns and Sacred Songs. Recommended Hymns and Sacred Songs (51–60)
Hymn No. 194: “Filled with Glory”John Newton
This is a hymn that uses the melody of “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,” composed by the Austrian musician Joseph Haydn, who was active in the 18th century.
Haydn dedicated this piece in 1797 for the birthday of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, and it later became the official national anthem of the Austrian Empire established in 1804.
The lyrics of “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” were written by the English minister John Newton, famed as the lyricist of “Amazing Grace,” and it is a classic English hymn praising the church.
The morning star shinesPhilipp Nicolai
Among the great masterpieces of solemn chorales, this work shines with an especially radiant sense of hope—truly worthy of the title “Queen of Hymns.” Its author, Philipp Nicolai, was both a theologian and a poet.
Around 1597, amid a desperate situation in which as many as thirty graves were dug in a single day due to a plague outbreak, he wrote this piece to bring comfort to the people.
Its majestic melody, like the morning star piercing the darkness, sinks deeply into the heart.
Published in 1599 in the hymnal Frewdenspiegel deß ewigen Lebens, it soon became widely known, and later Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas based on this melody.
When the heart is weary or the night is still, its sacred harmonies seem to gently enfold the soul.
Hymnal 21, No. 471: “Longing for Victory”Charles Tindley
This is a song that became famous during the American civil rights movement led by Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
in the 1950s and 1960s.
Folk singer Pete Seeger helped popularize the song and made it an anthem of the movement.
The original piece is the spiritual “I’ll Overcome Someday,” published by Charles Tindley, an African American Methodist minister.
There is also a theory that it originated as a work song sung aboard ships by people who were taken from Africa through Europe and brought to America as slaves.
The song expresses a powerful desire for victory in freedom and peace, and the courage to move forward.
Hymn No. 370 “Awake, O My Soul”Philip Doddridge
“Awake, my soul” is the oldest morning hymn among English hymns and one of the four great English hymns.
The original author was Bishop Thomas Ken, a 17th-century English poet.
He composed it while serving as a special fellow at Winchester College for the religious instruction of the students there, and it later came to be used in worship.
Hymn No. 294: ‘Abundant Is Thy Grace’William Bradbury
This is a hymn whose lyrics were written in 1862 by Joseph H.
Gilmore, a Baptist pastor in Philadelphia, United States, and set to music by William Bradbury.
It is said to have been written based on Psalm 23 in the Old Testament: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”
Glory in the highestSakushi: Chāruzu Uesurē / Sakkyoku: Ferikusu Menderusuzōn
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is a Christmas carol published in 1733.
The lyrics were written by Charles Wesley, and the music—believe it or not—was composed by the famous Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn.
It’s a very popular hymn overseas, with artists like Mariah Carey having covered it on her albums!
