The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will soon debut its new hymnal, entitled “Glory to God.” The chair of the hymnal editorial committee, Mary Louise Bringle, has written an article explaining some of the issues faced by the committee. The article is somewhat lengthy, but those who are “into” hymnals might find it interesting, as some (though admittedly, not all) of the issues are faced by editors of Catholic hymnals as well:
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/debating-hymns
A second article by the same author deals more with hymnals in general:
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/singing-one-book
It is also interesting to read the comments at the end of the articles, mainly from non-Catholics, as some of the views expressed echo similar reactions to editorial decisions made for Catholic hymnals! So, it’s not just here at the CMAA forum that people have strong opinions about hymns and hymnals!
I really respect the comment Bringle made about the hymnal committee when she says: “We will inevitably have made some wrong decisions as a hymnal committee; but to the best of my knowledge we made no careless or cavalier ones.”
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/debating-hymns
A second article by the same author deals more with hymnals in general:
http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-04/singing-one-book
It is also interesting to read the comments at the end of the articles, mainly from non-Catholics, as some of the views expressed echo similar reactions to editorial decisions made for Catholic hymnals! So, it’s not just here at the CMAA forum that people have strong opinions about hymns and hymnals!
I really respect the comment Bringle made about the hymnal committee when she says: “We will inevitably have made some wrong decisions as a hymnal committee; but to the best of my knowledge we made no careless or cavalier ones.”