I love the words for this hymn so much! Some of the lines are just gorgeous and beg to be said or sung; "glad adoration" is probably my favorite part because it's such a great and unexpected moment of internal rhyming. Not only is the message lovely, but it's set to a lively Welsh tune that makes me smile. Here's a video to give you an idea of how it sounds when sung:
And just because I love the hammered dulcimer, here's a rendition of the tune alone on that enchanting instrument:
That's my submission for this month -- I hope you enjoyed it!
Great choice!:D I don't think I'd heard of this one before, but you're right, it does beg to be sung! I was saying it to a little tune in my head as I read it (though I doubt it was anything like the correct tune) XD
ReplyDeleteThanks, Olivia! Doesn't it just roll merrily along like music?
DeleteOh, I love that tune, too! I didn't know it was Welsh, but I knew it was something from the British Isles. "The Ash Grove" is such a beautiful song. And the hymn is wonderful too, of course--I'm not sure if I'd heard it before, but I definitely liked it!
ReplyDeleteJessica, isn't it just a joyful, lovely song? I love both the tune and hymn lyrics.
DeleteOhhhhh, you know what?!? This is one of our family's favoritest of favorites! ;D We didn't have it in our hymnbook growing up, but we sang it one time at a baby shower and then loved it so much we had it taped up by our dining room table for a couple years and we all still have it memorized like ten years later. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I have heard the Ash Grove! It's so gorgeous, haunting, bittersweet and beautiful it brings a lump to my throat almost every time. And I actually participated in a mountain dulcimer workshop one time (I'd still like to get one) and I'd love to someday play the hammered dulcimer. Dreaming of it anyway. ;)
Heidi, it's in our hymnal, and I'm always super excited if it shows up in a Thanksgiving service. I've been humming it for days now, and Sam says he's tired of it, and can't I start humming something else? Hee!
DeleteThat is amazing that you got to participate in a dulcimer workshop! They're fascinating. I'd never even heard of them until we moved to NC when I was 12, but I love them now.
I forgot to ask... :P You're reading The Moonstone! Is this your first time?? It's a favorite of mine. :D Does your copy have a history of the story at all? Mine had a really neat introduction about how it was actually kind of the first "modern detective" story (i.e. having the first Holmes or Wimsey type character in literature). So all in all pretty fascinating.
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, and yes -- I'm reading The Moonstone for the first time. Not getting far cuz this week is Horrifyingly Busy, but I'm like 3 chapters in and it's very intriguing. And I did read a long introduction to it first about how and when Collins wrote it and its influence on mysteries and detectives and such. PD James wrote a book about the history of mystery stories a while back, and talked a lot about this in it, so I've been wanting to read this since then.
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