Sacred Harmony
or a choice Collection of Psalms and Hymns, Set to Music in two and three Parts for the Voice, Harpsichord & Organ
by John Wesley
Edited by S T Kimbrough Jr. and Carlton R. Young
Imprint: Resource Publications
S T Kimbrough, Jr., a leading Charles Wesley scholar and Research Fellow of the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition of Duke Divinity School, has taught on theological faculties in the USA and abroad. He has edited numerous books of global song and has previously published a number of volumes with Wipf and Stock, including The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley; Radical Grace; Participation in the Life Divine; May She Have a Word with You; and three books of poetry.
Carlton R. Young is Emeritus Professor of Church Music at Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He has edited two authorized hymnals for United Methodists, and compiled a number of collections of congregational song which include his settings of texts by Charles Wesley. He is USA Editor, emeritus, for The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology.
“Scholars and the public at large have not been aware of Sacred Harmony, published in year 1780 and intended as the musical accompaniment for the 1780 Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, edited by John Wesley. With this critical facsimile re-publication of Sacred Harmony, we can understand far better how the texts related to the specific tunes that John Wesley prescribed for them. The fact that Wesley moved to including two- and three-part harmony shows his own advancement over the single-line melodies he had favored in the past. This volume is thus an absolutely critical development in the understanding of the evolution of Wesleyan and Methodist hymnody, and a very welcome and accessible addition to our sources for understanding the Wesleyan movement.”
—Ted A. Campbell, Professor of Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
“This volume completes a vital resource for all who are interested in early Methodist worship: access to the tunes commonly used in Britain and beyond. Kimbrough and Young previously issued variorum editions, with introduction and notes, of the “Foundery Collection” (1742) and the tunes in Select Hymns (1761). Sacred Harmony (1780) is the final—and most extensive—set of tunes published by John Wesley for early Methodist worship. This critical edition is based on Wesley’s personal copy, incorporating his manuscript corrections of the published version. It is enriched by introductory remarks placing the collection in context, identifying sources of the tunes, and other matters; as well as a number of appendices. The volume is masterfully produced and highly recommended.”
—Randy L. Maddox, William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies,Duke Divinity School
“This facsimile of and critical commentary on an important Wesleyan tune book is a welcome addition to the publications in this series. It is a special treat to see the original printing and have it—and its contents—explained in so perceptive and thorough a manner. This is the sort of work that we have come to expect from these editors—and we are not disappointed with the results.”
—David W. Music, Baylor University
“This edition of Sacred Harmony (1780) sets the standard for annotated facsimile resources. A musical companion to the momentous A Collection of Hymns (1780), the seasoned editorial duo of Kimbrough and Young transform a lesser known eighteenth-century musical document into living sonorities that both link today’s reader directly to the heart of the Wesleys and deepen our understanding of the identity and soul of Methodism.”
—C. Michael Hawn, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University