The original Nativity, #350

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Tim Cook

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Nov 26, 2021, 8:10:30 AM11/26/21
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Greetings, singers,

 

I’ve heard the story that Nativity, #350, was stripped of its alto part when alto parts weren’t in, then added back later, but that the later alto was different from the original. Does anyone know where one might find the original online anywhere?

 

Thanks,

Tim Cook

Iwaki, Japan

N M

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Nov 26, 2021, 11:09:52 AM11/26/21
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Dear all,

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a PDF of the original here, but just in case I am, I've attached a PDF in shapes. I suspect that there are two misprints in the original, which I did not correct:

Alto, bar (measure) 2: last note should probably be "lah" (E)
Bass, bar (measure 7): the rhythm should probably be dotted minim and crotchet (dotted half-note and quarter-note).

Regards,

Nicholas


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NATIVITY._C.M.pdf

Wade Kotter

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Nov 26, 2021, 3:38:08 PM11/26/21
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I'm a little surprised that your message with the PDF attached came through; we are asked not to include attachements because some people have limited space in their mail boxes.. Anyway, according to Nicholas Temperley's Hymn Tune Index, Jarman's original was set to the words "Mortals, awake; with angels join, and chant the solemn lay." I believe the association with the current Wesley text is attributable to Phil Taber, who rearranged this tune (including removing the fuging section) in 1988 and submitted it for the 1991 edtion, where his arrangement recieved it's first publication. This was also, I believe, the first time this tune in any form appeared in The Sacred Harp or any other shape note tune book.

Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"


N M

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Nov 26, 2021, 3:38:16 PM11/26/21
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I'm sorry if I committed a faux pas, and hope that that has not caused anyone any inconvenience.

The association of Nativity with Wesley's text goes back to at least 1911, when it was printed in the Mennonite "Church and Sunday School Hymnal with Supplement".

Regards,

Nicholas


Wade Kotter

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Nov 26, 2021, 3:38:26 PM11/26/21
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Thanks so much, Nicholas. I assume this is the version you're referring to; note that it's called LINGHAM and attributed to Joseph Funk:

https://archive.org/details/churchsundayscho00yode/page/6/mode/2up?view=theater

I wonder if Phil Taber was familiar with this version. Unfortunately, Phil passed away in 2005, so we can't ask him.

Anyway, the attribution to Josep Funk made me wonder if his arrangement goes back to an earlier Funk tunebook, possibly the Harmonia Sacra, and, low and behold, here it is from the 1860 10th edition of the Harmonia Sacra, where it appears in 3 parts:

https://archive.org/details/harmoniasacrabei00funk/page/302/mode/2up?view=theater

It's not in the 1832 or 1835 edtions of Funk's Genuine Church Music, so Funk's arrangement can date to no later than 1860 and no earlier than 1842, when the 3rd editon of Funk's tunebook was published. Now, the challenge for us "hymn detectives" is to determine if Funk based his arrangement directly on Jarman's original, which I rather doubt, or if he got it from an intermediate source.

Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

N M

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Nov 26, 2021, 3:38:34 PM11/26/21
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Yes, indeed. This side of the pond, NATIVITY is generally known as LYNGHAM (spelt with a Y), as there is another (non-fuging) tune called NATIVITY in general use by Henry Lahee, sung to "Come let us join our cheerful songs".

I think you're on the right tracks with the source of Phil Taber's arrangement: the removal of the fuging, with the repetition of the first three words of the last line is strikingly similar to Funk's arrangement. No disrepect to him, but I so wish he had submitted Jarman's original: I can only presume he was unaware of it.

Nicholas

John Bealle

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Nov 26, 2021, 4:34:49 PM11/26/21
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Sorry folks. It has been so long since this came up that I had forgotten.

The list is set to allow attachments from members only. The gist of the discussion as I recall is that attachments can be dangerous, so members are advised to send upload links instead of attachments. I will change the setting to block attachments so as to reflect that view.

 -  John

Gerald Hoffman

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Nov 27, 2021, 1:31:56 AM11/27/21
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The original hymn upon which NATIVITY is based is LINGHAM by Thomas Jarman.  It is a fuguing tune, and it is found on p. 60 of Karen Willard's American Christmas Harp.

Gerry Hoffman


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Chris Brown

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Nov 27, 2021, 1:32:20 AM11/27/21
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This tune has undergone so many changes since Thomas Jarman wrote it. Everyone seems to have wanted to arrange it. The earliest coupling of the tune with the Wesley words that I have found was in 1979 in a Mennonite hymn book "Sing & Rejoice" published by The Herald Press in Scottdale PA.  There it appeared under its alternative title Lyngham. There was a 1987 version of the tune and words together in "Hymns for Today's Church" published on my side of the pond in London,   The combination may well have earlier roots. 

Up here in Yorkshire we use the tune in fuguing form for "While Shepherds Watched".

Chris Brown

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Steve Nickolas

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Nov 27, 2021, 3:20:50 AM11/27/21
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On Fri, 26 Nov 2021, Chris Brown wrote:

> This tune has undergone so many changes since Thomas Jarman wrote it.
> Everyone seems to have wanted to arrange it. The earliest coupling of the
> tune with the Wesley words that I have found was in 1979 in a Mennonite
> hymn book "Sing & Rejoice" published by The Herald Press in Scottdale PA.
> There it appeared under its alternative title Lyngham. There was a 1987
> version of the tune and words together in "Hymns for Today's Church"
> published on my side of the pond in London, The combination may well have
> earlier roots.
>
> Up here in Yorkshire we use the tune in fuguing form for "While Shepherds
> Watched".
>
> Chris Brown

I just remembered that I had an unattributed tune on my computer labelled
"lyngham" which was the result of my curiosity getting the better of me
when I heard that a tune by that name was associated with "O for a
thousand tongues to sing" outside the US. It's doremi form on two staves,
not fasola, and I never marked the composer, but it's definitely fugued
(and indeed sounds like the kind of thing I might find in a fasola book)
and common-meter, meaning it could certainly be used for "While shepherds
watched their flocks by night".

That Lyngham?

-uso.

Wade Kotter

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Nov 27, 2021, 11:28:49 AM11/27/21
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Gerald, as I said earlier in this thread, Jarman named the tune NATIVITY when he fiirst published it in England in hs Sacred Harmony, which dates to ca. 1804 and was used as a setting for Samuel Medley's "Mortals awake, with angels join." The second publication, also under the name NATIVITY but unattributed, was in an 1815 tune book complied by Joseph Henry Walker titled The Beauties of Sacred Harmony, published in Bungay, England; in this case, the text used was Wesley's "Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire." At some later time, apparently after 1820, a version of this tune was published, probably in England, that was given the name LYNGHAM (often spelled LINGHAM in America), Also, sometime after 1820, this tune became associated with Charles Wesley's "O for a thousand tongues to sing" and was also use to set several other CM texts (many with a Christmas theme). In Scotland, it was printed in an 1819 collection titled 
Peattie’s Selection. Psalm & Hymn Tunes, adapted to various metres used in the principal churches, chapels & dissenting congregations in Scotland, where it appeared in 3 parts, unattributed and without a text, under the name IPSWICH NEW.

Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

Wade Kotter

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Nov 27, 2021, 12:54:46 PM11/27/21
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Here are some additional 19th century American versions of this tune under the name LINGHAM:


















Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"
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Wade Kotter

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Nov 27, 2021, 3:23:57 PM11/27/21
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And here are some 19th century versions of Jarman's tune under the name NATIVITY and, curiously, under the name DESERT




Finally, here is one 19th century version of Jarman's tune under the name LYNGHAM



Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

David Wright

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Nov 28, 2021, 4:56:25 AM11/28/21
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Tim Cook wrote:

I’ve heard the story that Nativity, #350, was stripped of its alto part when alto parts weren’t in, then added back later, but that the later alto was different from the original. Does anyone know where one might find the original online anywhere?


Hello,
While the story of NATIVITY is somewhat more complicated than that, you might have been thinking of another tune as this did happen in several cases -- EDOM (yes, in the 19th c. there was a peculiar silence in the middle of this piece, where the alto fuguing entrance should have been), MORNING, SOUNDING JOY, all (?) of Stephen Jenks' tunes*, ALL SAINTS NEW, possibly others.

All of these had altos credited to S.M. Denson in 1911. I suspect he got the altos for at least ALL SAINTS NEW and EDOM from The Hesperian Harp (with a few minor changes) -- one might think these would be the composers' original altos (or maybe not) but I haven't looked them up. On the other hand SOUNDING JOY was also in The Hesperian Harp in four parts, but the Denson alto actually is by Denson.

--David W. (Seattle)

*that appeared in 19th-c. Sacred Harps. NORTH SALEM was added in 1911.

Tim Cook

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Nov 28, 2021, 1:53:03 PM11/28/21
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Dear singers,

 

Yet again, I am floored by the knowledge of you all. I looked at all the versions Wade and Nicholas shared. Many thanks. Nativity in the Sacred Harp has always been one of my favorites, but I think I love Jarman's original score even more, so I put into MuseScore to share with everyone. He called it "Nativity" and it does sound Christmasy, but the "Mortals awake" lyrics didn't really grab me, so I used the old favorite "While shepherds watched." The links below are to the PDF and a video of MuseScore playing it.

 

Sheet music

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1beSyiqm8LVCeWhU7827Dw33h3ky5WYP8/view?usp=sharing

 

MuseScore playing the sheet music

https://youtu.be/bp8v2_KtSbw

 

Hope I could add to the spirit of the season.

 

Tim Cook

Wade Kotter

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Nov 28, 2021, 1:53:19 PM11/28/21
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This "stripping" of Alto parts was not, however, systematic. The following tunes were printed in 4 parts in the 1844 1st edition:

ALYESBURY
WELLS
ROCHESTER
AMERICA
NINETY-FIFTH
CHINA
WINTER
WINDHAM
LENOX
DUBLIN
OLD HUNDRED
CONSOLATION
TENNESSEE
ALBION
GEORGIA
PARIS
VERNON
PISGAH
PORTUGAL
CORONATION
KINGWOOD
SALEM
MINISTER'S FAREWELL
PARADISE
AITHLONE
SUFFIELD
GREEN FIELDS
MESSIAH
EXULTATION
SOLITUDE IN THE GROVE
STRATFIELD
PLEYEL'S HYMN SECOND
JUBILEE
WASHINGTON
SYMPHONY
FUNERAL THOUGHT
NORTHFIELD
COWPER
EXHORTATION
PHOEBUS
VERMONT
EXIT
NEWBURGH
GREENWICH
ENFIELD
SHERBURNE
PROTECTION
MONTGOMERY
VIRGINIA
SCHENECTADY
HUNTINGTON
WORCESTER
ALABAMA
NEW LEBANON
FLORIDA
PLEASANT HILL
WHITESTOWN
NEW TOPIA
DELIGHT
BALLSTOWN
MOUNT PLEASANT
OCEAN
EASTER ANTHEM
DAVID'S LAMENTATION
CLAREMONT
HEAVENLY VISION
ROSE OF SHARON
FAREWELL ANTHEM

4 part tunes added in the 1850 ed.

DUKE STREET
HEBRON
GRAVITY
UXBRIDGE
EXHORTATION
RUSSIA
BRIDGEWATER
WESTFORD
CAMBRIDGE
GREENSBOROUGH
TRUMBULL
ST. THOMAS
SARDINIA
CONVERSION
NEW JERUSALEM
CALVARY
NEW JORDAN
LITTLE MARLBOROUGH
MORGAN
SILVER STREET
CONCORD
CARMARTHEN
PLEYEL'S HYMN
NORTH PORT
COLUMBIANA
O COME AWAY!
NORWICH
SOUTHWELL

4 part songs added in 1859/60:

HEAVENLY DOVE
NEW HUNDRED
HINGHAM
WE'LL SOON BE THERE
THE DYING BOY

My hypothesis is that B. F. White and his collaborators, for songs taken from other sources, used the number of parts found in their source (which may not have been the original printing) and, if the source did not have an alto part, they did not add one. We know that one source for the 1844 ed. was The Southern Harmony. Here are the tunes printed in 4 parts in 1835 ed. of The Southern Harmony that also appear in the 1844 ed. of The Sacred Harp:

DUBLIN
MINISTER'S FAREWELL
OLD HUNDRED
ALBION
AMERICA
NINETY FIFTH
TENNESSEE
SOLITUDE IN THE GROVE
SALEM
PLEASANT HILL
WASHINGTON
GREEN FIELDS
GEORGIA
LENOX
PISGAH
EXULTATION
MESSIAH
KINGWOOD
ALABAMA
JUBILEE
FLORIDA
WHITESTOWN
NEW LEBANON
BALLSTOWN
NEW TOPIA
DELIGHT
HUNTINGTON
MONTGOMERY
SCHENECTADY
OCEAN
CLAREMONT
DAVID'S LAMENTATION
EASTER ANTHEM
THE ROSE OF SHARON
HEAVENLY VISION
FAREWELL ANTHEM

I'm not suggesting that The Southern Harmony was the souce for all of these, but it certainly was for some of them. My point is that the situation with four part and three part tunes is much more complex than the idea that White and King "stripped" out the alto parts becuase the alto parts were not in.

Wade

Wade Kotter
South Ogden, UT
"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

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