125-406: A hymn is a type of song , and partially synonymous with devotional song , specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer , and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification . The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος ( hymnos ), which means "a song of praise". A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist . The singing or composition of hymns
250-534: A Friday, and the next day is Lazarus Saturday . The Vespers which begins Lazarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast continues through the following week. The Paschal Vigil begins with the Midnight Office , which is the last service of the Lenten Triodion and is timed so that it ends a little before midnight on Holy Saturday night. At the stroke of midnight
375-406: A cappella congregations, hymns are typically sung in unison. In some cases complementary full settings for organ are also published, in others organists and other accompanists are expected to adapt the available setting, or extemporise one, on their instrument of choice. In traditional Anglican practice, hymns are sung (often accompanied by an organ) during the processional to the altar, during
500-612: A cappella ) or accompanied by instruments. In popular music, a singer may perform with an acoustic guitarist, pianist, organist, accordionist, or a backing band . In jazz, a singer may perform with a single pianist, a small combo (such as a trio or quartet), or with a big band . A Classical singer may perform with a single pianist, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. In jazz and blues, singers often learn songs "by ear" and they may improvise some melody lines. In Classical music, melodies are written by composers in sheet music format, so singers learn to read music. Songs with more than one voice to
625-540: A composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form . The accompaniment of European art songs is considered as an important part of the composition. Some art songs are so revered that they take on characteristics of national identification. Art songs emerge from the tradition of singing romantic love songs , often to an ideal or imaginary person and from religious songs. The troubadours and bards of Europe began
750-469: A hymn any way they felt led to; this idea was opposed by a writer of the time, Rev. Thomas Walter, who felt it was "like Five Hundred different Tunes roared out at the same time". William Billings , a singing school teacher, created the first tune book with only American born compositions. Within his books, Billings did not put as much emphasis on " common measure " - a quatrain that rhymes ABAB and alternates four-stress and three-stress iambic lines - which
875-474: A major aspect of national or cultural identity . Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music ), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every culture. The German term Volkslied was coined in the late 18th century, in the process of collecting older songs and writing new ones. Popular songs may eventually become folk songs by
1000-609: A new focus: expressing one's personal feelings in the relationship with God as well as the simple worship seen in older hymns. Wesley's contribution, along with the Second Great Awakening in America led to a new style called gospel , and a new explosion of sacred music writing with Fanny Crosby , Lina Sandell , Philip Bliss , Ira D. Sankey , and others who produced testimonial music for revivals, camp meetings, and evangelistic crusades. The tune style or form
1125-549: A novel and Catholic introduction to worship, which was to be rejected. All hymns that were not direct quotations from the Bible fell into this category. Such hymns were banned, along with any form of instrumental musical accompaniment, and organs were removed from churches. Instead of hymns, biblical psalms were chanted, most often without accompaniment, to very basic melodies. This was known as exclusive psalmody . Examples of this may still be found in various places, including in some of
1250-404: A number of synods were convened to deal with the controversy, which he regarded as all ruling in support of Easter on Sunday. Polycrates ( c. 190 ), however, wrote to Victor defending the antiquity of Asian Quartodecimanism. Victor's attempted excommunication was apparently rescinded, and the two sides reconciled upon the intervention of bishop Irenaeus and others, who reminded Victor of
1375-712: A part singing in polyphony or harmony are considered choral works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms and types, depending on the criteria used. Through semantic widening , a broader sense of the word "song" may refer to instrumentals , such as the 19th century Songs Without Words pieces for solo piano. Art songs are songs created for performance by classical artists, often with piano or other instrumental accompaniment, although they can be sung solo. Art songs require strong vocal technique, an understanding of language, diction, and poetry for interpretation. Though such singers may also perform popular or folk songs on their programs, these characteristics and
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#17327725769321500-472: A range of styles often influenced by popular music . This often leads to some conflict between older and younger congregants (see contemporary worship ). This is not new; the Christian pop music style began in the late 1960s and became very popular during the 1970s, as young hymnists sought ways in which to make the music of their religion relevant for their generation. This long tradition has resulted in
1625-512: A rich hymnody from spirituals during times of slavery to the modern, lively black gospel style. The first influences of African-American culture into hymns came from slave songs of the United States a collection of slave hymns, compiled by William Francis Allen, who had difficulty pinning them down from the oral tradition, and though he succeeded, he points out the awe-inspiring effect of the hymns when sung in by their originators. Some of
1750-406: A romance generally has a simple accompaniment, art songs tend to have complicated, sophisticated accompaniments that underpin, embellish, illustrate or provide contrast to the voice. Sometimes the accompaniment performer has the melody, while the voice sings a more dramatic part. Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain ) that are transmitted orally . They are frequently
1875-655: A single congregation, often between revivalist and traditionalist movements. Swedish composer and musicologist Elisabet Wentz-Janacek mapped 20,000 melody variants for Swedish hymns and helped create the Swedish Choral Registrar, which displays the wide variety of hymns today. In modern times, hymn use has not been limited to strictly religious settings, including secular occasions such as Remembrance Day , and this "secularization" also includes use as sources of musical entertainment or even vehicles for mass emotion. Hymn writing, composition, performance and
2000-481: A small group of instruments. A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a secular (vs. ecclesiastical) song written or arranged for several vocal parts . Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all-male or all-female ensemble. The patter song is characterized by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note. It
2125-480: A song in a hymn-like fashion such as " In Christ Alone ". In ancient and medieval times, string instruments such as the harp , lyre and lute were used with psalms and hymns. Since there is a lack of musical notation in early writings, the actual musical forms in the early church can only be surmised. During the Middle Ages a rich hymnody developed in the form of Gregorian chant or plainsong. This type
2250-660: A time after the Council of Nicaea. In any case, in the years following the council, the computational system that was worked out by the church of Alexandria came to be normative. The Alexandrian system, however, was not immediately adopted throughout Christian Europe. Following Augustalis ' treatise De ratione Paschae (On the Measurement of Easter), Rome retired the earlier 8-year cycle in favor of Augustalis' 84-year lunisolar calendar cycle, which it used until 457. It then switched to Victorius of Aquitaine 's adaptation of
2375-399: A wide variety of hymns. Some modern churches include within hymnody the traditional hymn (usually describing God), contemporary worship music (often directed to God) and gospel music (expressions of one's personal experience of God). This distinction is not perfectly clear; and purists remove the second two types from the classification as hymns. It is a matter of debate, even sometimes within
2500-448: Is a musical composition performed by the human voice . The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure to them, such as the common ABA form , and are usually made of sections that are repeated or performed with variation later. A song without instruments is said to be a cappella . Written words created specifically for music, or for which music
2625-485: Is a folk song that celebrates fox hunting , horse racing , gambling and other recreations. Although songs about boxers and successful racehorses were common in the nineteenth century, few are performed by current singers. In particular, fox-hunting is considered politically incorrect . The most famous song about a foxhunter, " D'ye ken John Peel " was included in The National Song Book in 1906 and
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#17327725769322750-512: Is a staple of comic opera , especially Gilbert and Sullivan , but it has also been used in musicals and elsewhere. Easter Easter , also called Pascha ( Aramaic , Greek , Latin ) or Resurrection Sunday , is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by
2875-763: Is based on Revelation 5:6, 8, 9, 10, 12. Relying heavily on Scripture, Watts wrote metered texts based on New Testament passages that brought the Christian faith into the songs of the church. Isaac Watts has been called "the father of English hymnody", but Erik Routley sees him more as "the liberator of English hymnody", because his hymns, and hymns like them, moved worshippers beyond singing only Old Testament psalms, inspiring congregations and revitalizing worship. Later writers took even more freedom, some even including allegory and metaphor in their texts. Charles Wesley 's hymns spread Methodist theology , not only within Methodism, but in most Protestant churches. He developed
3000-575: Is called hymnody . Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymn books. Hymns may or may not include instrumental accompaniment. Polyhymnia is the Greco/Roman goddess of hymns. Although most familiar to speakers of English in the context of Christianity , hymns are also a fixture of other world religions , especially on the Indian subcontinent ( stotras ). Hymns also survive from antiquity, especially from Egyptian and Greek cultures. Some of
3125-454: Is celebrated has again differed. In 725, Bede succinctly wrote: "The Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after the equinox will give the lawful Easter." However, this does not precisely reflect the ecclesiastical rules. The full moon referred to (called the Paschal full moon ) is not an astronomical full moon, but the 14th day of a lunar month . Another difference is that
3250-522: Is derived from the Saxon spring festival Ēostre ; Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by its name ( Hebrew : פֶּסַח pesach , Aramaic : פָּסחָא pascha are the basis of the term Pascha), by its origin (according to the synoptic Gospels , both the crucifixion and the resurrection took place during the week of Passover) and by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in
3375-435: Is divergence in the date of Easter in most years (see table). Easter is determined on the basis of lunisolar cycles. The lunar year consists of 30-day and 29-day lunar months, generally alternating, with an embolismic month added periodically to bring the lunar cycle into line with the solar cycle. In each solar year (1 January to 31 December inclusive), the lunar month beginning with an ecclesiastical new moon falling in
3500-585: Is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a homophonic texture. The composition was written for a solo voice with an accompaniment, usually the lute. It was not uncommon for other forms of accompaniments such as bass viol or other string instruments, and could also be written for more voices. The composition could be performed either solo or with
3625-530: Is kept in many different ways among Western Christians. The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among Roman Catholics, Lutherans , and some Anglicans begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil which follows an ancient liturgy involving symbols of light, candles and water and numerous readings form the Old and New Testament. Services continue on Easter Sunday and in
3750-422: Is known as a hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called hymnody ; the same word is used for the collectivity of hymns belonging to a particular denomination or period (e.g. "nineteenth century Methodist hymnody" would mean the body of hymns written and/or used by Methodists in the 19th century). A collection of hymns is called a hymnal , hymn book or hymnary . These may or may not include music; among
3875-593: Is made, or they are performed "live" for audience. (In some cases a song may be performed live and simultaneously recorded.) Songs may also appear in theatre (e.g., opera ), films and TV shows. A song may be for a solo singer, a lead singer supported by background singers , a duet , trio , or larger ensemble involving more voices singing in harmony , although the term is generally not used for large classical music vocal forms including opera and oratorio , which use terms such as aria and recitative instead. A song can be sung without accompaniment by instrumentalists (
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4000-604: Is now often heard as a marching tune. A. L. Lloyd recorded two EPs of sporting ballads; "Bold Sportsmen All" (1958) and "Gamblers and Sporting Blades (Songs of the Ring and the Racecourse)" (1962). The High Level Ranters and Martin Wyndham-Read recorded an album called "English Sporting Ballads" in 1977. The Prospect Before Us (1976) by The Albion Dance Band contains two rarely heard hunting songs. The term lute song
4125-646: Is often marked with fasting. The week before Easter, known as Holy Week , is an important time for observers to commemorate the final week of Jesus' life on earth. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday , with the Wednesday before Easter being known as Spy Wednesday (or Holy Wednesday). The last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday , Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus's entry in Jerusalem,
4250-773: Is specifically created, are called lyrics . If a pre-existing poem is set to composed music in classical music, it is an art song . Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants . Songs composed in a simple style that are learned informally "by ear" are often referred to as folk songs . Songs composed for the mass market , designed to be sung by professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows, are called popular songs . These songs, which have broad appeal, are often composed by professional songwriters, composers, and lyricists; art songs are composed by trained classical composers for concert or recital performances. Songs are performed in studios and an audio recording
4375-451: Is swallowed up in victory". The First Epistle of Peter declares that God has given believers "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". Christian theology holds that, through faith in the working of God, those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation , and can hope to be physically resurrected to dwell with him in
4500-574: Is technically designated "gospel songs" as distinct from hymns. Gospel songs generally include a refrain (or chorus) and usually (though not always) a faster tempo than the hymns. As examples of the distinction, " Amazing Grace " is a hymn (no refrain), but " How Great Thou Art " is a gospel song. During the 19th century, the gospel-song genre spread rapidly in Protestantism and to a lesser but still definite extent, in Roman Catholicism;
4625-404: Is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice.") The Protestant Reformation resulted in two conflicting attitudes towards hymns. One approach, the regulative principle of worship , favoured by many Zwinglians, Calvinists and some radical reformers, considered anything that was not directly authorised by the Bible to be
4750-659: Is the same as in the Western church. The Greek island of Syros , whose population is divided almost equally between Catholics and Orthodox, is one of the few places where the two Churches share a common date for Easter, with the Catholics accepting the Orthodox date—a practice helping considerably in maintaining good relations between the two communities. Conversely, Orthodox Christians in Finland celebrate Easter according to
4875-501: Is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Eastertide , or Paschaltide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of Pentecost , seven weeks later. In Eastern Christianity , the spiritual preparation for Easter/Pascha begins with Great Lent , which starts on Clean Monday and lasts for 40 continuous days (including Sundays). Great Lent ends on
5000-523: Is unclear, but according to some it is due to the radical shift of style and devotional thinking that began with the Jesus movement and Jesus music . In recent years, Christian traditional hymns have seen a revival in some churches, usually more Reformed or Calvinistic in nature, as modern hymn writers such as Keith & Kristyn Getty and Sovereign Grace Music have reset old lyrics to new melodies, revised old hymns and republished them, or simply written
5125-483: The Easter Bunny and egg hunting . There are also traditional Easter foods that vary by region and culture. The modern English term Easter , cognate with modern Dutch ooster and German Ostern , developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ēastrun , Ēastron , or Ēastran ; but also as Ēastru , Ēastro ; and Ēastre or Ēostre . Bede provides
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5250-595: The Hebrew calendar , generating a number of controversies . The First Council of Nicaea (325) established common Paschal observance by all Christians on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox . Even if calculated on the basis of the Gregorian calendar , the date of that full moon sometimes differs from that of the astronomical first full moon after the March equinox . The English term
5375-763: The Kingdom of Heaven . Easter is linked to Passover and the Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper , sufferings , and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection. According to the three Synoptic Gospels , Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the upper room during the Last Supper he prepared himself and his disciples for his death. He identified
5500-666: The Last Supper and the crucifixion . Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum ( Latin for "Three Days"). Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called the Easter Vigil . The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter , and each day is prefaced with "Easter", e.g. Easter Monday (a public holiday in many countries), Easter Tuesday (a much less widespread public holiday), etc. Easter Saturday
5625-674: The Missouri Harmony , Kentucky Harmony , Hesperian Harp , D.H. Mansfield's The American Vocalist , The Social Harp , the Southern Harmony , William Walker 's Christian Harmony , Jeremiah Ingalls ' Christian Harmony , and literally many dozens of others. Shape notes were important in the spread of (then) more modern singing styles, with tenor-led 4-part harmony (based on older English West Gallery music ), fuging sections, anthems and other more complex features. During this period, hymns were incredibly popular in
5750-610: The Northern Hemisphere spring equinox. The Sardica paschal table confirms these complaints, for it indicates that the Jews of some eastern Mediterranean city (possibly Antioch ) fixed Nisan 14 on dates well before the spring equinox on multiple occasions. Because of this dissatisfaction with reliance on the Jewish calendar, some Christians began to experiment with independent computations. Others, however, believed that
5875-805: The Patriarch of Constantinople and the Serbian Patriarch , met in Constantinople in 1923, where the bishops agreed to the Revised Julian calendar . The original form of this calendar would have determined Easter using precise astronomical calculations based on the meridian of Jerusalem . However, all the Eastern Orthodox countries that subsequently adopted the Revised Julian calendar adopted only that part of
6000-620: The Presbyterian churches of western Scotland . The other Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship , produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" (" A Mighty Fortress Is Our God "), " Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ " ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ"), and many others . Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of
6125-651: The Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD . It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus , preceded by Lent (or Great Lent ), a 40-day period of fasting , prayer , and penance . Easter-observing Christians commonly refer to the week before Easter as Holy Week , which in Western Christianity begins on Palm Sunday (marking the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem), includes Spy Wednesday (on which
6250-602: The Western Christian date. In the 20th and 21st centuries, some individuals and institutions have propounded changing the method of calculating the date for Easter, the most prominent proposal being the Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite having some support, proposals to reform the date have not been implemented. An Orthodox congress of Eastern Orthodox bishops, which included representatives mostly from
6375-636: The astronomical equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 19, 20 or 21 March, while the ecclesiastical date is fixed by convention on 21 March. In addition, the lunar tables of the Julian calendar are currently five days behind those of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, the Julian computation of the Paschal full moon is a full five days later than the astronomical full moon. The result of this combination of solar and lunar discrepancies
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#17327725769326500-481: The cymbals and the triangle only. The Indian Orthodox (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) use the organ . The Tewahedo Churches use drums , cymbals and other instruments on certain occasions. Thomas Aquinas , in the introduction to his commentary on the Psalms, defined the Christian hymn thus: " Hymnus est laus Dei cum cantico; canticum autem exultatio mentis de aeternis habita, prorumpens in vocem ." ("A hymn
6625-556: The 1860s musical reformers like Lowell Mason (the so-called "better music boys") were actively campaigning for the introduction of more "refined" and modern singing styles, and eventually these American tune books were replaced in many churches, starting in the Northeast and urban areas, and spreading out into the countryside as people adopted the gentler, more soothing tones of Victorian hymnody, and even adopted dedicated, trained choirs to do their church's singing, rather than having
6750-610: The 19th century witnessed an explosion of hymn tune composition and congregational four-part singing in Wales . Along with the more classical sacred music of composers ranging from Charpentier (19 Hymns, H.53 - H.71) to Mozart to Monteverdi , the Catholic Church continued to produce many popular hymns such as Lead, Kindly Light , Silent Night , O Sacrament Most Holy, and Faith of Our Fathers . In some radical Protestant movements, their own sacred hymns completely replaced
6875-448: The 29-day period from 8 March to 5 April inclusive is designated as the paschal lunar month for that year. Easter is the third Sunday in the paschal lunar month, or, in other words, the Sunday after the paschal lunar month's 14th day. The 14th of the paschal lunar month is designated by convention as the Paschal full moon , although the 14th of the lunar month may differ from the date of the astronomical full moon by up to two days. Since
7000-543: The Alexandrian system. Because this Victorian cycle differed from the unmodified Alexandrian cycle in the dates of some of the Paschal full moons, and because it tried to respect the Roman custom of fixing Easter to the Sunday in the week of the 16th to the 22nd of the lunar month (rather than the 15th to the 21st as at Alexandria), by providing alternative "Latin" and "Greek" dates in some years, occasional differences in
7125-717: The Biblical Book of Psalms . The Western tradition of hymnody begins with the Homeric Hymns , a collection of ancient Greek hymns, the oldest of which were written in the 7th century BC, praising deities of the ancient Greek religions . Surviving from the 3rd century BC is a collection of six literary hymns ( Ὕμνοι ) by the Alexandrian poet Callimachus . The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 short poems in Greek religion. Patristic writers began applying
7250-522: The British Empire and colonies, a determination of the date of Easter Sunday using Golden Numbers and Sunday letters was defined by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 with its Annexe. This was designed to match exactly the Gregorian calculation. In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, within about seven days after
7375-692: The Christian celebration was, and still is, called Pascha (Greek: Πάσχα ), a word derived from Aramaic פסחא ( Paskha ), cognate to the Hebrew פֶּסַח ( Pesach ). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover , commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt . As early as the 50s of the 1st century, Paul the Apostle , writing from Ephesus to
7500-691: The Christians in Corinth , applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus , not just about the Jewish Passover ritual. In most languages, the feast is known by names derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha . Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in
7625-409: The Council in 325. The Canons of the Council preserved by Dionysius Exiguus and his successors do not include any relevant provision, but letters of individuals present at the Council mention a decision prohibiting Quartodecimanism and requiring that all Christians adopt a common method to independently determine Paschal observance following the churches of Rome and Alexandria, the latter "since there
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#17327725769327750-676: The Easter or Paschal season , begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday , but in Eastern Christianity the leavetaking of the feast is on the 39th day, the day before the Feast of the Ascension . Easter and its related holidays are moveable feasts , not falling on a fixed date; its date is computed based on a lunisolar calendar (solar year plus Moon phase) similar to
7875-679: The Feast of All Saints , or during particular seasons such as Advent and Lent . Others are used to encourage reverence for the Bible or to celebrate Christian practices such as the eucharist or baptism . Some hymns praise or address individual saints , particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary ; such hymns are particularly prevalent in Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy and to some extent High Church Anglicanism . A writer of hymns
8000-417: The Gregorian calendar (during the 20th and 21st centuries). Consequently, the date of Orthodox Easter varies between 4 April and 8 May in the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Easter is usually several days or more than a month later than Western Easter. Among the Oriental Orthodox , some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter, as for other fixed and moveable feasts,
8125-421: The New Testament, Saint Paul wrote to the Ephesian and Colossian churches, enjoining the singing of psalms and hymns for "mutual encouragement and edification." This was demonstrated when he joined Silas in singing hymns in the Phillipian jail, even during unfortunate circumstances. Psalms 30:4 and Revelation 14:3 , among other Scriptural verses, encourage Christians to sing hymns to praise God. As such, since
8250-461: The Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration. Others call the holiday "Resurrection Sunday" or "Resurrection Day", after the Greek Ἀνάστασις , Anastasis , 'Resurrection' day. Easter celebrates Jesus' supernatural resurrection from the dead, which is one of the chief tenets of the Christian faith. Paul writes that, for those who trust in Jesus's death and resurrection, "death
8375-473: The Paschal celebration itself begins, consisting of Paschal Matins , Paschal Hours , and Paschal Divine Liturgy . The liturgical season from Easter to the Sunday of All Saints (the Sunday after Pentecost ) is known as the Pentecostarion (the "50 days"). The week which begins on Easter Sunday is called Bright Week , during which there is no fasting, even on Wednesday and Friday. The Afterfeast of Easter lasts 39 days, with its Apodosis (leave-taking) on
8500-460: The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches had begun to determine a common date for the celebration of Easter. The agreement is expected to be reached for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025. The WCC presented comparative data of the relationships: In most branches of Western Christianity, Easter is preceded by Lent , a period of penitence that begins on Ash Wednesday , lasts 40 days (not counting Sundays), and
8625-514: The Sunday in the period from 9 to 15 April). However, the legislation has not been implemented, although it remains on the Statute book and could be implemented, subject to approval by the various Christian churches. At a summit in Aleppo , Syria, in 1997, the World Council of Churches (WCC) proposed a reform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced the present divergent practices of calculating Easter with modern scientific knowledge taking into account actual astronomical instances of
8750-432: The United States, and one or more of the above-mentioned tunebooks could be found in almost every household. It is not uncommon to hear accounts of young people and teenagers gathering together to spend an afternoon singing hymns and anthems from tune books, which was considered great fun, and there are surviving accounts of Abraham Lincoln and his sweetheart singing together from the Missouri Harmony during his youth. By
8875-452: The absence of instruments in worship by the church in the first several centuries of its existence, and adhere to an unaccompanied a cappella congregational singing of hymns. These groups include the 'Brethren' (often both 'Open' and 'Exclusive'), the Churches of Christ , Mennonites , several Anabaptist-based denominations—such as the Apostolic Christian Church of America — Primitive Baptists , and certain Reformed churches, although during
9000-512: The allegory of Jesus as the Passover lamb . As the Gospels assert that both the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred during the week of Passover, the first Christians timed the observance of the annual celebration of the resurrection in relation to Passover. Direct evidence for a more fully formed Christian festival of Pascha (Easter) begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps
9125-420: The astronomical full moon. The preceding Friday, Good Friday , and following Monday, Easter Monday , are legal holidays in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions. Eastern Orthodox Christians use the same rule but base their 21 March according to the Julian calendar. Because of the thirteen-day difference between the calendars from 1900 through 2099, 21 March Julian corresponds to 3 April in
9250-529: The betrayal of Jesus is mourned), and contains the days of the Easter Triduum including Maundy Thursday , commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper , as well as Good Friday , commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. In Eastern Christianity , the same events are commemorated with the names of days all starting with "Holy" or "Holy and Great", and Easter itself might be called Great and Holy Pascha. In both Western and Eastern Christianity, Eastertide ,
9375-513: The bread and cup of wine as his body , soon to be sacrificed, and his blood , soon to be shed. The Apostle Paul states in his First Epistle to the Corinthians : "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." This refers to the requirement in Jewish law that Jews eliminate all chametz , or leavening, from their homes in advance of Passover, and to
9500-529: The calendar. In most European languages, both the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover are called by the same name; and in the older English translations of the Bible, as well, the term Easter was used to translate Passover. Easter traditions vary across the Christian world , and include sunrise services or late-night vigils ; exclamations and exchanges of Paschal greetings ; flowering
9625-465: The chanting ( bhajan and kirtan ) of the devotional songs of the poet- sants ( Basava , Chandidas , Dadu Dayal , Haridas , Hith Harivansh , Kabir , Meera Bai , Namdev , Nanak , Ramprasad Sen , Ravidas , Sankardev , Surdas , Vidyapati ) in local languages in a number of groups, namely Dadu panth, Kabir panth , Lingayatism , Radha-vallabha , Sikhism , completely or significantly replaced all previous Sanskrit literature . The same and with
9750-604: The cross ; the wearing of Easter bonnets by women; clipping the church ; and the decoration and the communal breaking of Easter eggs (a symbol of the empty tomb ). The Easter lily , a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity, traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include Easter parades , communal dancing (Eastern Europe),
9875-539: The customary practice of consulting Jews should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error. The settlement of the controversy about the Paschal season caused by the Quartodeciman practice of Asian churches is listed in our principal source for the works of the Council of Nicaea , Socrates Scholasticus 's Ecclesiastical History , as one of the two reasons for which emperor Constantine convened
10000-408: The date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar . The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter of contention. By the later 2nd century, it was widely accepted that the celebration of the holiday was a practice of the disciples and an undisputed tradition. The Quartodeciman controversy, the first of several Easter controversies , arose concerning
10125-516: The date of Easter as fixed by Alexandrian rules continued. The Alexandrian rules were adopted in the West following the tables of Dionysius Exiguus in 525. Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used an 84-year cycle. From the 5th century onward this cycle set its equinox to 25 March and fixed Easter to the Sunday falling in the 14th to the 20th of the lunar month inclusive. This 84-year cycle
10250-548: The date on which the holiday should be celebrated. The term "Quartodeciman" refers to the practice of ending the Lenten fast on Nisan 14 of the Hebrew calendar , "the L ORD 's passover". According to the church historian Eusebius , the Quartodeciman Polycarp (bishop of Smyrna , by tradition a disciple of John the Apostle ) debated the question with Anicetus (bishop of Rome). The Roman province of Asia
10375-445: The date; subsequent scholarship has refuted this tradition, but, with regards to the rule of the equinox, evidence that the church of Alexandria had implemented it before 325 suggests that the Council of Nicaea implicitly endorsed it. Canons and sermons condemning the custom of computing Easter's date based on the Jewish calendar indicate that this custom (called "protopaschite" by historians) did not die out at once, but persisted for
10500-692: The day before the Feast of the Ascension . Pentecost Sunday is the 50th day from Easter (counted inclusively). In the Pentecostarion published by Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, the Great Feast Pentecost is noted in the synaxarion portion of Matins to be the 8th Sunday of Pascha. However, the Paschal greeting of "Christ is risen!" is no longer exchanged among the faithful after the Apodosis of Pascha. The Easter festival
10625-480: The documented tradition of romantic songs, continued by the Elizabethan lutenists. Some of the earliest art songs are found in the music of Henry Purcell . The tradition of the romance, a love song with a flowing accompaniment, often in triple meter, entered opera in the 19th century and spread from there throughout Europe. It expanded into popular music and became one of the underpinnings of popular songs. While
10750-452: The earliest extant primary source referring to Easter is a mid-2nd-century Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis , which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one. Evidence for another kind of annually recurring Christian festival, those commemorating the martyrs, began to appear at about the same time as the above homily. While martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in
10875-488: The earliest times, Christians have sung "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs", both in private devotions and in corporate worship. Non-scriptural hymns (i.e. not psalms or canticles) from the Early Church still sung today include ' Phos Hilaron ', ' Sub tuum praesidium ', and ' Te Deum '. One definition of a hymn is "...a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses
11000-588: The ecclesiastical new moon falls on a date from 8 March to 5 April inclusive, the paschal full moon (the 14th of that lunar month) must fall on a date from 22 March to 18 April inclusive. The Gregorian calculation of Easter was based on a method devised by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius (or Lilio) for adjusting the epacts of the Moon, and has been adopted by almost all Western Christians and by Western countries which celebrate national holidays at Easter. For
11125-464: The entire congregation participate. But in many rural areas the old traditions lived on, not in churches, but in weekly, monthly or annual conventions were people would meet to sing from their favorite tunebooks. The most popular one, and the only one that survived continuously in print, was the Sacred Harp , which could be found in the typical rural Southern home right up until the living tradition
11250-656: The faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum . Count Zinzendorf , the Lutheran leader of the Moravian Church in the 18th century wrote some 2,000 hymns. The earlier English writers tended to paraphrase biblical texts, particularly Psalms ; Isaac Watts followed this tradition, but is also credited as having written the first English hymn which
11375-556: The first hymns in the black church were renderings of Isaac Watts hymns written in the African-American vernacular English of the time. The meter indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing. In practice many hymns conform to one of a relatively small number of meters (syllable count and stress patterns). Care must be taken, however, to ensure that not only
11500-439: The following Sunday, had in common the custom of consulting their Jewish neighbors to learn when the month of Nisan would fall, and setting their festival accordingly. By the later 3rd century, however, some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with the custom of relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of Easter. The chief complaint was that the Jewish communities sometimes erred in setting Passover to fall before
11625-476: The gospel-song genre is unknown in the worship per se by Eastern Orthodox churches, which rely exclusively on traditional chants (a type of hymn). The Methodist Revival of the 18th century created an explosion of hymn-writing in Welsh , which continued into the first half of the 19th century. The most prominent names among Welsh hymn-writers are William Williams Pantycelyn and Ann Griffiths . The second half of
11750-764: The holy scripture of the Sikhs, regarded as the teachings of the Ten Gurus. The role of Guru Granth Sahib, as a source or guide of prayer, is pivotal in Sikh worship. Sutra chanting is a religious action recommended for Shin Buddhist followers to carry out in their daily lives. Temple service chanting may include: dedications to the Three Treasures ( Buddha , Dharma , Sangha ) common to all Buddhist traditions; selections from The Three Pure Land Sutras , which record
11875-523: The hymnals without printed music, some include names of hymn tunes suggested for use with each text, in case readers already know the tunes or would like to find them elsewhere. A student of hymnody is called a hymnologist , and the scholarly study of hymns, hymnists and hymnody is hymnology . The music to which a hymn may be sung is a hymn tune . In many Evangelical churches, traditional songs are classified as hymns while more contemporary worship songs are not considered hymns. The reason for this distinction
12000-411: The keeping of this or any other festival. Although he describes the details of the Easter celebration as deriving from local custom, he insists the feast itself is universally observed. Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts , in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead,
12125-833: The last century or so, several of these, such as the Free Church of Scotland have abandoned this stance. Eastern Christianity (the Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches) has a variety of ancient hymnographical traditions. In the Byzantine Rite , chant is used for all forms of liturgical worship: if it is not sung a cappella , the only accompaniment is usually an ison , or drone . Organs and other instruments were excluded from church use, although they were employed in imperial ceremonies. However, instruments are common in some other Oriental traditions. The Coptic tradition makes use of
12250-582: The late 19th century Ira D. Sankey and Dwight L. Moody developed the relatively new subcategory of gospel hymns . Earlier in the 19th century, the use of musical notation, especially shape notes , exploded in America, and professional singing masters went from town to town teaching the population how to sing from sight , instead of the more common lining out that had been used before that. During this period hundreds of tune books were published, including B.F. White's Sacred Harp , and earlier works like
12375-529: The local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by means of the local Jewish lunisolar calendar . This is consistent with the celebration of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest, Jewish period , but does not leave the question free of doubt. The ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of pre-Christian custom , "just as many other customs have been established", stating that neither Jesus nor his apostles enjoined
12500-412: The metre of words and tune match, but also the stresses on the words in each line. Technically speaking an iambic tune, for instance, cannot be used with words of, say, trochaic metre. The meter is often denoted by a row of figures besides the name of the tune, such as "87.87.87", which would inform the reader that each verse has six lines, and that the first line has eight syllables, the second has seven,
12625-799: The oldest surviving examples of notated music are hymns with Greek texts. Ancient Eastern hymns include the Egyptian Great Hymn to the Aten , composed by Pharaoh Akhenaten ; the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal ; the Rigveda , an Indian collection of Vedic hymns; hymns from the Classic of Poetry ( Shijing ), a collection of Chinese poems from 11th to 7th centuries BC; the Gathas —Avestan hymns believed to have been composed by Zoroaster ; and
12750-471: The only documentary source for the etymology of the word, in his eighth-century The Reckoning of Time . He wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English for 'Month of Ēostre', translated in Bede 's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre , in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month". In Latin and Greek,
12875-482: The publishing of Christian hymnals were prolific in the 19th-century and were often linked to the abolitionist movement by many hymn writers. Stephen Foster wrote a number of hymns that were used during church services during this era of publishing. Thomas Symmes, a clergyman of the third generation of Puritans in New England, spread throughout churches a new idea of how to sing hymns, in which anyone could sing
13000-545: The qualities of God and why one should meditate on God's name. The Guru Granth Sahib is divided by their musical setting in different ragas into fourteen hundred and thirty pages known as Angs (limbs) in Sikh tradition. Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), the tenth guru, after adding Guru Tegh Bahadur 's bani to the Adi Granth affirmed the sacred text as his successor, elevating it to Guru Granth Sahib . The text remains
13125-582: The receiving of communion, during the recessional , and sometimes at other points during the service. The Doxology is also sung after the tithes and offerings are brought up to the altar. Contemporary Christian worship , as often found in Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism , may include the use of contemporary worship music played with electric guitars and the drum kit , sharing many elements with rock music . Other groups of Christians have historically excluded instrumental accompaniment, citing
13250-532: The revised calendar that applied to festivals falling on fixed dates in the Julian calendar. The revised Easter computation that had been part of the original 1923 agreement was never permanently implemented in any Orthodox diocese. In the United Kingdom , Parliament passed the Easter Act 1928 to change the date of Easter to be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April (or, in other words,
13375-535: The same hymn (e.g., the hymn "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God"), the meter is called Irregular. The Rigveda is the earliest and foundational Indian collection of over a thousand liturgical hymns in Vedic Sanskrit . Between other notable Hindu hymns ( stotras and others) or their collections there are: A hymnody acquired tremendous importance during the medieval era of the bhakti movements . When
13500-768: The same process of detachment from their source. Folk songs are more or less in the public domain by definition, though there are many folk song entertainers who publish and record copyrighted original material. This tradition led also to the singer-songwriter style of performing, where an artist has written confessional poetry or personal statements and sings them set to music, most often with guitar accompaniment. There are many genres of popular songs, including torch songs , ballads , novelty songs , anthems , rock, blues and soul songs as well as indie music. Other commercial genres include rapping . Folk songs include ballads, lullabies , love songs , mourning songs, dance songs, work songs , ritual songs and many more. A sporting song
13625-515: The songs of Baul movement. That is, the new hymns themselves received the status of holy scripture. An example of a hymnist, both lyricist and composer is the 15th–16th centuries Assamese reformer guru Sankardev with his borgeet -songs. The Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib ( Punjabi : ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ Punjabi pronunciation: [ɡʊɾu ɡɾəntʰ sɑhɪb] ), is a collection of hymns ( Shabad ) or Gurbani describing
13750-490: The spring equinox and full moon based on the meridian of Jerusalem, while also following the tradition of Easter being on the Sunday following the full moon. The recommended World Council of Churches changes would have sidestepped the calendar issues and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, and despite repeated calls for reform, it
13875-504: The teachings of the Buddha; compositions of Pure Land Buddhist teachers such as Nagarjuna and Shandao . Stotras are Sanskrit hymns or eulogies sung in praise of the divine and the transcendent. Usually associated with the Hindu and Jain traditions, stotras are melodic expressions of devotion and inspiration found in other Sanskrit religious movements as well. Song A song
14000-622: The term ὕμνος , or hymnus in Latin , to Christian songs of praise, and frequently used the word as a synonym for " psalm ". Originally modelled on the Book of Psalms and other poetic passages (commonly referred to as " canticles ") in the Scriptures, Christian hymns are generally directed as praise to the Christian God . Many refer to Jesus Christ either directly or indirectly. In
14125-458: The third line eight, etc. The meter can also be described by initials; L.M. indicates long meter, which is 88.88 (four lines, each eight syllables long); S.M. is short meter (66.86); C.M. is common metre (86.86), while D.L.M., D.S.M. and D.C.M. (the "D" stands for double) are similar to their respective single meters except that they have eight lines in a verse instead of four. Also, if the number of syllables in one verse differ from another verse in
14250-457: The tolerant precedent of Anicetus. Quartodecimanism seems to have lingered into the 4th century, when Socrates of Constantinople recorded that some Quartodecimans were deprived of their churches by John Chrysostom and that some were harassed by Nestorius . It is not known how long the Nisan 14 practice continued. But both those who followed the Nisan 14 custom, and those who set Easter to
14375-409: The use of poetry are what distinguish art songs from popular songs. Art songs are a tradition from most European countries, and now other countries with classical music traditions. German-speaking communities use the term art song ("Kunstlied") to distinguish so-called "serious" compositions from folk songs ( Volkslied ). The lyrics are often written by a poet or lyricist and the music separately by
14500-419: The worshipper's attitude toward God or God's purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it." Christian hymns are often written with special or seasonal themes and these are used on holy days such as Christmas , Easter and
14625-585: The written Bible. An example of this, the Book of Life (Russian: "Zhivotnaya kniga") is the name of all oral hymns of the Doukhobors , the Russian denomination, similar to western Quakers . The Book of Life of the Doukhobors (1909) is firstly printed hymnal containing songs, which to have been composed as an oral piece to be sung aloud. Many churches today use contemporary worship music which includes
14750-529: Was "re-discovered" by Alan Lomax in the 1960s (although it had been well-documented by musicologist George Pullen Jackson prior to this). Since then there has been a renaissance in "Sacred Harp singing", with annual conventions popping up in all 50 states and in a number of European countries recently, including the UK , Germany , Ireland and Poland , as well as in Australia . African-Americans developed
14875-556: Was Quartodeciman, while the Roman and Alexandrian churches continued the fast until the Sunday following (the Sunday of Unleavened Bread), wishing to associate Easter with Sunday. Neither Polycarp nor Anicetus persuaded the other, but they did not consider the matter schismatic either, parting in peace and leaving the question unsettled. Controversy arose when Victor , bishop of Rome a generation after Anicetus, attempted to excommunicate Polycrates of Ephesus and all other bishops of Asia for their Quartodecimanism. According to Eusebius,
15000-496: Was among the Egyptians an ancient science for the computation ." Already in the end of the 4th century and, later on, Dionysius Exiguus and others following him maintained that the bishops assembled at Nicaea had promulgated the celebration of Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox and that they had adopted the use of the 19-year lunar cycle, better known as Metonic cycle , to determine
15125-492: Was not a direct paraphrase of Scripture. Watts (1674–1748), whose father was an Elder of a dissenter congregation, complained at age 16, that when allowed only psalms to sing, the faithful could not even sing about their Lord, Christ Jesus. His father invited him to see what he could do about it; the result was Watts' first hymn, "Behold the glories of the Lamb". Found in few hymnals today, the hymn has eight stanzas in common metre and
15250-570: Was not ultimately adopted by any member body. In January 2016, the Anglican Communion , Coptic Orthodox Church , Greek Orthodox Church , and Roman Catholic Church again considered agreeing on a common, universal date for Easter, while also simplifying the calculation of that date, with either the second or third Sunday in April being popular choices. In November 2022, the Patriarch of Constantinople said that conversations between
15375-478: Was replaced by the Alexandrian method in the course of the 7th and 8th centuries. Churches in western continental Europe used a late Roman method until the late 8th century during the reign of Charlemagne , when they finally adopted the Alexandrian method. Since 1582, when the Roman Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar while most of Europe used the Julian calendar, the date on which Easter
15500-676: Was sung in unison, in one of eight church modes , and most often by monastic choirs. While they were written originally in Latin , many have been translated; a familiar example is the 4th century Of the Father's Heart Begotten sung to the 11th century plainsong Divinum Mysterium . Later hymnody in the Western church introduced four-part vocal harmony as the norm, adopting major and minor keys, and came to be led by organ and choir. It shares many elements with classical music . Today, except for choirs, more musically inclined congregations and
15625-489: Was the typical way hymns were sung. Noting in his preface the fondness of other compilers for tunes in common measure, Billings promised his subscribers a well-balanced collection, with "a Sufficiency in each measure ". And indeed The Singing Master's Assistant has many tunes whose declamation is based on the dactyl in duple time . Boston's Handel and Haydn Society aimed at raising the level of church music in America, publishing their "Collection of Church Music" in 1822. In
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