Music Notes March 7th

Be Thou My Vision

The text of Be Thou My Vision dates from the 8th century, and the music originated in medieval Ireland. Irish nationalism is to thank for the prevalence of this hymn today. During the early 1900s, there was a movement to rediscover Irish contributions to world history and culture, and two scholars, Mary Byrne and Eleanor Hull translated the Old Irish poem into English and set the text to the tune SLANE. Ever since it has been one of the most popular hymns.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art
thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word; I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
thou my redeemer, my love thou hast won, thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor vain empty praise, thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart, Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.

If You Will Trust in God to Guide You

The text and music for this hymn were written by Georg Neumark (1621-1681). The backdrop for this hymn was the thirty-Years War, (1618-1648), one of the longest and most devastating wars in modern history. Many hymns that have become timeless classics were conceived during this time, including “Oh Sacred Head, Now Wounded” and “Ah, Holy Jesus”, among others. This hymn was written during a particularly rough patch of Neumark’s life – he had been robbed of everything he owned while traveling, couldn’t find work, and when he finally found some income, once again lost all of his belongings, this time to a fire. That context makes the steadfast hope and trust conveyed in this text all the more powerful.