13. Mennonite Hymnody.

Mennonites have made many contributions to society through their religious life and practices, but we have produced no important hymnody of our own. Throughout the four hundred years of our existence as a church, we have been a singing people, in times of persecution as well as in times of peace. Great emphasis has always been laid upon the importance of congregational singing in our worship services. Since the beginning of the 19th century the Mennonites of various branches, in America alone, have published over fifty hymnbooks. But an examination of these hymnbooks shows that we are heavily indebted to others. Instead of producing original hymns and tunes, we have borrowed, with minor exceptions, our entire repertory from other denominations. The wealth of verse and music produced by German and English writers throughout the centuries has been found to serve our needs adequately and well.

The churches in Europe used hymnbooks compiled from Lutheran and Reformed sources. Upon coming to the United States and Canada, they gradually adopted English and American hymns and in some sections of the church, the Gospel Songs came into wide use.

Our German collections of hymns have, until recently, been uniformly on a higher level, both as to music and poetry, than the collections used after the change was made to the English language. During the transition from the German to the English language, many churches, in their choice of their hymnbooks, sacrificed the fine chorales which had been a part of their religious heritage. This was due partly to the revivalistic influences of the times and partly to the fact that there were no good translations available of the German hymns which earlier were in use. The situation is gradually correcting itself. We are re-evaluating our hymnody, sifting the wheat from the chaff, and bringing back into our worship the rich treasure of song which had been used in the past. The Mennonite Hymnary is an effort in this direction.

14. The Antecedents of the Mennonite Hymnary.

The story of the hymn books antedating the Hymnary may be briefly summarized by listing the following books:

1565. The first German Mennonite hymn book was published in 1565 or 1566 (date omitted from title), entitled, Ein schön Gesangbüchlein Geistlicher Lieder, zusammengetragen aus dem A. und N. Testament durch fromme Christen und Liebhaber Gottes, welcher hiefür etliche getrucht sei gewesen, aber noch viel dazu gethan, welche nie im Truck aussgangen seindt, in welchen auch ein recht Leben und Fundament dez rechten Christlichen Glaubens gelehrt wirdt. Coloss. 3.

A second edition, 1570-1583, (date not given), adds to the above title the following:

Jetzo von neuem widerum übersehn, an vielen Orten gebessert und mit etlichen newen Liedern vermehret. Coloss. 3.

Of the 133 hymns in the book, 9 had been in use among other churches. Many of the others were by Mennonite authors, among them Johann Schütz, Thomas Ducker, Gerhard Siebenakker von Sittart, and Heinrich Krenen von Breidtbock. Many of the hymns are of a controversial nature and have no literary value; for example, this on infant baptism:

Die Schrift sagt nicht von Kindertaufe Davon hab ich nicht gelesen. Wer nach Gottes Wort getauft soll sein Der musz gläubig wesen.

Es ist ein Bad der Wiedergeburt, Ein Bund eines guten Gewissens Ein’ Verneurung des heiliges Geistes Davon keine Kinder wissen.

Most of the hymns were set to secular melodies popular at the time. Very little of this first hymnal survives.

1570—Ausbund, Das ist: Etliche schöne Christliche Lieder, wie sie in dem Gefängnis zu Passau in dem Schlosz von den Schweizer-Brüdern und von andern rechtglaubigen Christen hin und her gedichtet worden.

At least twelve editions have been printed in Europe, the last one in Basel, 1838. Its use was confined to the South Germans and Swiss Mennonites. Reprinted in America and still in use by the Amish, the Ausbund has the distinction of being the oldest hymn book officially in use by any church in America.

1780—Geistreiches Gesangbuch zur öffentlichen und besonderen Erbauung der Mennonitischen Gemeinde in und vor der Stadt Danzig.

The book has had long use in Danzig. A revised edition appeared in 1908.

1803—Das Kleine Geistliche Harfe der Kinder Zions. Germantown, Pa. The first Mennonite hymnbook printed in America. It was the official hymnbook of the Franconia Conference of Mennonites of which John H. Oberholzer, founder of the General Conference of Mennonites, was a member. Seven editions were printed, the last in Elkhart, Ind., 1904.

1804—Unpartheyisches Gesangbuch, Lancaster, Pa. The official hymnbook of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference for almost a century. Fourteen reprints were made, the last in 1923 for the Amish.

1843—Gesangbuch in welchem eine Sammlung geistreiche Lieder befindlich. 9th ed. Elbing. The hymnbook of the Prussian Mennonites. It was taken by the Prussians to Russia where it was republished in Odessa, 1844.

1856—Gesangbuch zum Gottesdienstlichen und haeuslichen Gebrauch in Evangelischen Mennoniten Gemeinden. Worms.

Published by the churches of Baden and the Palatinate. The hymnal committee was fortunate in securing the assistance of the eminent German hymnologist, Albert Knapp. The book contains 600 hymns and an appendix of prayers. A book of melodies was also provided. This collection holds an important place in Mennonite hymnody. It was reprinted in Danzig, 1873, for use by the Danzig Mennonites, and in Philadelphia, 1873, for use in the General Conference of Mennonites. The excellent qualities of the more recent Gesangbuch mit Noten may be traced, in considerable measure, to this work.

1869—Gesangbuch in Mennoniten Gemeinden für Kirche und Haus. Published for the churches of West Prussia, this work went through at least four editions, the fourth in 1901. The book was republished in Danzig, 1873.

1873—Gesangbuch zum Gottesdienstlichen und häuslichen Gebrauch in Mennoniten Gemeinden. Philadelphia. Ordered by the sixth General Conference of Mennonites held at Wadsworth, Ohio. The main body of the book is the same as that published in Worms, 1856, but with the appendix of prayers omitted, and an appendix of 22 hymns added, the latter the contribution of the Mennonites in Pennsylvania. The book was intended to form a closer bond of union between the Mennonites in the East and those west of the Mississippi.

1890—Gesangbuch mit Noten. Herausgegeben von der allgemeinen Conferenz der Mennoniten von Nord America. Berne, Ind. The book passed through 15 editions, the last in 1936. A noteworthy collection of hymns and tunes that met with wide approval in the General Conference churches.

1894—Mennonite Hymnal, A Blending of Many Voices. Berne, Ind. An A. S. Barnes publication adopted, practically unchanged, by the General Conference of Mennonites. Our first official English hymnal, though many collections from other sources were finding wide use in our churches. The book has nothing of distinctiveness or distinction.

1927—The Mennonite Hymn Book. Berne, Ind. Published by the General Conference of Mennonites. Compiled and edited by a committee appointed by the Conference. The book was more satisfactory than the Mennonite Hymnal of 1894, but never became very popular. Total sales of three editions were less than 5,000 copies.

1940—The Mennonite Hymnary. Published by the General Conference of Mennonites of North America, Board of Publication, Mennonite Publication Office, Newton, Kansas, 1940. Now in its sixth edition.

15. The Translation of Hymns.

A word may be in order concerning the translation of hymns. It is difficult to transfer the color and feeling of one language to another. For this reason many people who know the German hymns by heart have a sense of disappointment when they read them in an English version. In some instances a translation is inferior to the original but this is not necessarily the case. It is well to remember that nearly all of us read the Bible only in a translation, yet never doubt the literary quality of the English King James Version or the German Version of Luther. The hymn, “Ich weiss einen Strom,” is superior as poetry, and in its religious feeling, to the English original, “O have you not heard of that beautiful stream,” though the former is a translation of the latter. The reason is that Gebhardt, the translator, was a poet in his own right. Good translations are possible if the translator has poetic ability of a high order, and if he translates into his native tongue. Catherine Winkworth was the foremost translator of German hymns into English and Ernst Gebhardt performed a similar role in translating English and American hymns into German. Had either tried to do the work of the other, the results would in all probability have lacked true color and correct idiomatic and poetic expression.

16. Church Unity in the Hymnbook.

The unity of the Christian Church is expressed nowhere more eloquently than in the hymns we sing. Every modern hymnal, regardless of the denominational interest it represents, reaches across the ages to gather its treasures from sources new and old; it knows nothing of the external barriers which divide Christians into denominations, but makes use of the hymns of widely divergent Christian groups. The Mennonite Hymnary is no exception. Here are found hymns from the early church, East and West, translated from the Greek and Latin fathers. Others, like Savonarola’s hymn, come from the Middle Ages. Many are chorales from the land of Luther, or metrical psalms from the Calvinistic reformers. A substantial body of our hymnody stems from the Anglican Church, while some of our best hymns are from sturdy independents like Watts and Doddridge, and still others breathe the evangelistic fervor of Wesley, Cowper, and Newton. The Quakers too have made their contribution as well as certain Roman Catholics and Unitarians. In no aspect of our church life do we attain so nearly to ecumenicity as in our worship in song. Christians may differ widely in their religious views but they are able to unite as one body in singing their songs of praise.