This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
Northgate Baptist Church in
Norman, Oklahoma, used to use
Soul-Stirring Songs &
Hymns as their hymnal (they
recently got new hymnbooks,
and now they use The
All-American Hymnal). Our
songleader, Avan Lanzo,
didn’t actually read music,
but he knew the hymns, so if
he called out a number, we’d
turn to it, he’d sing it,
and we’d be fine. That
is…unless we happened to be
singing Stand Up, Stand Up for
Jesus or Onward, Christian
Soldiers. You see, there were
two tunes for those hymns in
that hymnal, and Brother Lanzo
had a knack for calling out
the one he didn’t mean. The
first time he called out 432
(instead of 433) for Stand Up,
Stand Up for Jesus, I just
played 433, because it was the
Webb version—easier, and I
wasn’t sure I could handle
Geibel’s tune for it on the
spot…but I went home, and
practiced 432, and the next
time we were singing it and he
called out 432, I was ready.
Played the introduction and
everything. Problem was, he
just started singing 433—the
tune he’d meant in the first
place. After that, I would
just play the Webb tune
regardless of what he called
out.
As for Onward, Christian
Soldiers, when he called out
485…well, forget it! That
was some obscure choir
arrangement that NOBODY in the
church had ever heard
before—it was too difficult
to sit down and play on the
spot, and we knew he had to
mean the Arthur Sullivan tune
at 422.
However, there are definitely
hymns where you might hear the
same words under a different
tune once in a while. Take
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.
The Webb tune is probably the
most famous, but Geibel’s
appears in most hymnals with
it—and it’s a very good
tune in its own right.
Jude’s choir setting of
Onward, Christian Soldiers
only appears in three hymnals,
but once you master it, it’s
a stirring, triumphant piece
that really fits the meaning
of the words. In this
collection, I’ve included
three other pairs that I’ve
run across—Glory Be to the
Father, where the Greatorex
tune is definitely the most
famous but where both are
often included in hymnals—I
Will Sing of My Redeemer,
where Prichard’s alternate
tune is famous for also being
the setting to Jesus, What a
Friend for Sinners and Come,
Thou Long Expected Jesus—and
Jesus Shall Reign, which I
recently discovered that
Haldor Lillenas (composer of
Wonderful Grace of Jesus)
wrote an alternate choral
setting for. It’s not
well-known, but like Jude’s
Onward, Christian
Soldiers—if you can learn
it, boy! what an impact it
will have.
As you play through these
hymns, if you can, think about
the words to them…especially
when you play both versions.
Which one fits the words
better? Are they about equal?
Which one do you like to play
more? And please, even if
you’re more familiar with
one of these tunes than the
other—give the other one a
try too. That way, you’ll
be ready if the songleader
actually means it when he
calls out 432…
Note: For Onward, Christian
Soldiers by Sullivan, see
Wonderful Grace of Jesus and
Nine Other Hymns for Solo
Piano
Note: For I Will Sing of My
Redeemer by Prichard, see
Jesus, What a Friend for
Sinners in Wonderful Grace of
Jesus and Nine Other Hymns for
Solo Piano
Note: For I Will Sing of My
Redeemer by McGranahan, see I
Know Whom I Have Believed and
Nine Other Hymns by James
McGranahan Sheet music list : › Greatorex, Henry Wellington : Glory Be to the Father › Meineke, Charles : Glory Be to the Father › Hatton, J. : Jesus Shall Reign › Lillenas, Haldor : Jesus Shall Reign › Jude, William Herbert : Onward, Christian Soldiers › Geibel, Adam : Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus › Webb, George James : Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus