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Hymn Tune Indexes

These hymn tunes are indexed by tune name, author and source, (poetic) meter, incipit, and by hymnal number in some hymnals.

Tune Name Index

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z

The Name index lists names by which the tune has commonly been known. A tune such as "New Britain" ("Amazing Grace") has over a dozen aliases; most other tunes are not so afflicted. Some tunes acquire a new name when they are included in a hymnal with another tune bearing the same name -- also a common problem. The index includes multiple names for each tune; but follows McCutchan's suggestion (in the book Hymn Tune Names) of adding the composer's name in parentheses to distinguish different tunes with one name (e.g. "Rest (Elvey)". Some tunes have no name in the sources: I've assigned a name: for Gospel Tunes, I use the beginning words of the associated text; for Anglican Chant (and in cases where the same author had two tunes with the same name) I use the author and an arbitrary Number: e.g. "Halle (Haydn, 3)" or "Stainer 3." (Some composers, notably Richard Redhead, used this last scheme already. All names that I assigned end with an asterisk.)

Composer Index

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z

The Composer index contains the name of persons who composed, collected, edited, arranged, or harmonized each tune, so far as my sources give them. All multiple attributions are listed, unless refuted by an authoritative source. This is a collection from sources of wildly various levels of scholarship, care in editing, and interest in sources; I have included what information each source gave, except where I could be sure that a particular attribution was both rare and wrong. For instance, I included the common but unlikely attribution of Antioch ("Joy to the World") to Handel. But I did not perpetuate the carelessness of that editor who attributed "Hanover" simply to "Haydn"; or the one who added the initials "F. J.", apparently being unaware of the other brother, Johann Michael. I also tried to standardize the spelling of some foreign names.

Source Index

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z

The Source index gives the name of (published or traditional) sources where the tune appeared in writing, or as attributed in its first appearance. This is usually given when the composer isn't known, or when the tune was significantly altered or adapted for use as a hymn tune. (Early sources often didn't list composers. Traditional or "folk" tunes often have obscure origins, where all that can be said is that they were first written down as heard in a particular region or culture.)

Metrical Index

3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8.3 · 8.4 · 8.5 · 8.6 · 8.7 · 8.8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · Irregular · Chant

The Metrical index gives the number of syllables in each line of the tune, and may be used to find tunes that might be suitable for a particular hymn text.

This index does not distinguish between four-line and eight-line tunes (that is, "Common Meter Doubled" tunes are listed with the Common Meter tunes as "8,6,8,6"). In practice, the difference is minor: one verse of the text may be combined with two verses of the tune (or vice versa). A more serious difficulty is that a line of eight syllables may be in iambic, dactylic, anapestic, or irregular meter; these are not consistently distinguished. The user must always verify manually whether the musical accents match the word accents of a particular text.

Hymnal Index

These Hymnal Indexes list the tunes included in some hymnals, by number.

A hymnal Index, unless noted, may not be complete: that is, some tunes in the hymnal may not be included in this index: and some tunes in the hymnal may be in this database, but not included in the hymnal's index. (This is a consequence of the growth pattern of these indexes. Eventually, I'd like to make each hymnal index complete, but that will entail adding many ephemeral or copyrighted tunes to the index.)

A tune may be included in a hymnal index even if that hymnal contains a different arrangement or harmonization than any available here.