From the Organist & Choirmaster

This Sunday is the last Sunday after Pentecost: The Feast of Christ the King. The Scripture lessons appointed for this Sunday all culminate in making sure that we understand that Christ is the Lord of all and as Paul tells the Church in Colossae “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things have been created through him and for him.”

While there are many hymn texts that extoll this point, of Christ’s Kingship, hymn 494 Crown him with many crowns, I believe beautifully interprets Jesus’ Kingship: that of “life,” “Lord,” and “heaven.”

The hymn text was written in 1851 by Matthew Bridges, an Anglican who later converted to the Roman Catholic Church. Bridges was born in Essex in 1800 and pursued literary interests in history and poetry. He was influenced by John Henry Newman and the Oxford movement, which of course aimed to reconnect the Anglican tradition with ancient history and liturgy, ultimately leading Bridges himself to convert to Catholicism in 1848. Bridges wrote the original six stanzas of the hymn after being inspired by the “exaltation and many crowns of Jesus” described in Revelation 19”12. The text reflects on the different roles and honors of Christ, referring to him as the “Lamb upon his throne” and “Son of God” who wears “many diadems” (A subtle hint to where the hymn tune gets its name!).

In 1868, Anglican priest Godfrey Thring wrote additional verses while serving at Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor. Thring spent his life in dedication to the Church of England, and as a protestant priest, he brought a different theological perspective than Bridges’ more Catholic version. Thring’s new stanzas broadened the hymn’s vision by focusing on Jesus as the “Lord of Life,” “Lord of love,” and “Lord of years” - bringing out more on Christ’s eternal nature and Lordship.

Though the hymn originally contained 12 verses, 6 by Bridges and 6 by Thring, most modern hymnals today only include 4, with our own Hymnal 1982 containing five! Three by Bridges and two by Thring. It is interesting to view different hymnals and see which verses the editors have chosen to keep and leave out.

The tune DIADEMATA was composed in 1868 by Sir George Job Elvey, a prominent English organist who served the royal family at the Chapel Royal. His tune perfectly captures the celebratory, march-like spirit of the text. The name “diademata” is the Greek word for “crowns,” and it’s one of the only hymn tunes to only be used for this hymn text.