As you might gather from the title, this is a hymn that
speaks to the majesty of God. The verses are as
follows:
1. Hark! ten thousand harps and voices
Sound the note of praise above;
Jesus reigns, and heav’n rejoices—
Jesus reigns, the God of love;
See, He sits on yonder throne—
Jesus rules the world alone.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
2. Jesus, hail! Whose glory brightens
All above, and gives it worth;
Lord of life, Thy smile ...(+)
As you might gather from the title, this is a hymn that
speaks to the majesty of God. The verses are as
follows:
1. Hark! ten thousand harps and voices
Sound the note of praise above;
Jesus reigns, and heav’n rejoices—
Jesus reigns, the God of love;
See, He sits on yonder throne—
Jesus rules the world alone.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
2. Jesus, hail! Whose glory brightens
All above, and gives it worth;
Lord of life, Thy smile enlightens,
Cheers and charms Thy saints on earth:
When we think of love like Thine,
Lord, we own it love divine.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
3. King of glory, reign forever—
Thine an everlasting crown;
Nothing from Thy love shall sever
Those whom Thou hast made Thine own.
Happy objects of Thy grace,
Destined to behold Thy face.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
4. Savior, hasten Thine appearing—
Bring, O bring the glorious day,
When, the awful summons hearing,
Heav’n and earth shall pass away:
Then with golden harps we’ll sing,
“Glory, glory to our King!”
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Lowell Mason was a nineteenth-century American composer
who wrote over 1600 hymn tunes during his life,
including such favorites as “Nearer, My God, to
Thee” and “Work, for the Night Is Coming!” He
was also responsible for arranging “Joy to the
World!” and “O, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”
This is one of his more obscure works; however, it is
still worthy to be heard.
This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
It’s an undisputable fact
of history that the United
States of America was founded
as a Christian
nation—Christian in its
beliefs. Thus, it should come
as no surprise that America
has spawned a great number of
composers who used their
talents to write hymns.
America is a relatively young
nation, though, so it is
easier for us to trace the
history of hymnwriters in this
country/ This enables us to
comfortably dub Lowell Mason
the “Father of American
Church Music.”
Mason was born January 8,
1792, in Medfield,
Massachusetts, where he grew
up. A talented musician, by
the age of 17 he was already
the music director at First
Parish church in Medfield. By
the time he was an adult, he
had moved to Savannah,
Georgia. There, he worked at
a dry-goods store before
eventually becoming a banker,
but he continued to study
music during this time. He
taught himself a lot and also
received lessons from
Frederick L. Abel. While in
Savannah, he began to write
music, and he also directed
the choir and served as
organist at the Independent
Presbyterian Church in
Savannah. Additionally, he
spearheaded the creation of
the first Sunday school for
black children in the United
States.
Back during this time, the
words to many hymns had not
necessarily become associated
with specific tunes. In
Jonathan Edwards’s day, for
instance, the words and then a
tune would be called out, and
the congregation would attempt
to put them together. Over in
Great Britain, though,
publishers had already started
pairing words and tunes in
hymnals, and Mason sought to
do the same over here. He
compiled a hymnal that used
tunes from many classical
composers for religious words.
Publishers were reluctant to
accept it at first, but Dr. G.
K. Jackson, Boston’s
toughest music critic, took a
liking to it and helped it get
published by the Handel and
Haydn Society of Boston took
it in 1822. Jackson’s
instincts were correct; the
hymnal was a success. An
anonymous success, because at
this time, Mason was still
concentrating on a career as a
banker, and he didn’t want
his musical endeavors to
thwart his career prospects.
Though he failed to take
credit for it, the hymnal
became very popular with
singing schools and church
choirs, running through 17
editions. This hymnal was the
first of about 50 such
publications.
Mason moved back to Boston in
1827 and, though he continued
his banking, he became the
organist at Park Street Church
in Boston from 1829 to 1831.
His talents were so in demand,
he was named the music
director at three different
churches—duties he handled
by rotating between them every
six months. One of them was
the Hanover Street Church,
pastored by fervent
abolitionist Lyman Beecher.
Eventually, Mason gave up
those three to focus on
directing the music at the
Bowdoin Street church,
developing the choir into a
group which became renowned
for its excellence.
It was understood by Mason
that in order to sing your
best, you must be taught, and
so Mason worked to get music
added as part of Massachusetts
public schools’ curriculum.
He was successful, and he
taught it himself in Boston
schools, becoming the music
superintendent for Boston
schools in 1838. During this
time, he set to music a song
that’s not normally thought
of as a hymn, but which is one
of the most famous nursery
rhymes of all time—Mary Had
a Little Lamb. For whatever
reason, the people of
Massachusetts could be fickle
in their support of religious
leaders—Jonathan Edwards,
for instance, was voted out of
his congregation not too long
after the Great Awakening.
Mason, likewise, was forced
out of his music
superintendent role in 1845,
but music itself has endured
in the Massachusetts public
school curriculum to today.
Horace Mann, the father of
public school education in
America, said he would walk 50
miles if he had to just to see
Mason teach music.
Boston was not the only place
where Mason’s teaching had
an influence. He early on
became a fan of Teacher’s
Conventions, and he hosted
ones that brought in teachers
from several states, who
learned his techniques and
returned home to use them in
their towns. Mason helped in
classes in surrounding towns,
hosting a particularly notable
class in North Reading
Massachusetts. Later, after
he had moved to New York, he
travelled to Rochester,
teaching a choir of five
hundred.
Mason eventually became
president of the Handel and
Haydn Society. Additionally,
he co-founded the Boston
Academy of Music. He taught
music to thousands, including
his own children, several of
whom also went on to be
composers and musicians.
William Mason was a famous
composer, and Lowell Jr. and
Henry founded a famous organ
company. Mason also mentored
the young William B. Bradbury,
another famous hymnwriter, and
found him a couple of music
jobs.
Despite losing his school job,
Mason remained active in the
Boston music scene until 1851.
He moved to New York City,
but shortly thereafter set
sail to Europe, which he
toured in 1852. While there,
he observed European music
schools, taking notes on their
techniques. He was very
impressed with the
congregational singing he
heard over there, particularly
in Leipzig and Dresden. When
he returned to New York in
1853, it was with a new
musical philosophy. He became
music director at Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church in New
York City and disbanded the
choir and orchestra, opting
for only congregational
singing, with organ
accompaniment. This focus on
congregational singing gave
the church the reputation of
having the best in America’s
largest city. Mason, Edwards
A. Parks, and Austin Phelps
co-published another hymnal in
1859, the Sabbath Hymn and
Tune Book.
At 68, Mason finally retired
in 1860 and moved to Orange,
New Jersey, remaining active
in its Congregational Church
for the rest of his life. He
died August 11, 1872, 80 years
old, at his estate of
Silverspring. At his death,
he donated his vast musical
library to Yale.
Charles C. Perkins attributed
Mason’s success to three
factors. First, Mason was
talented, but not so talented
as to be too far ahead of the
average church musician—he
wrote and taught music that
was readily learnable.
Second, Mason was a natural at
teaching. Finally, Mason was
muchly self-taught, a man who
could readily understand how
the untrained could learn
music—he himself had done
it, and excelled.
Mason’s objective as a
hymnwriter was to get tunes
paired with hymns, and some of
his most famous pairings are
tunes he only identified,
rather than wrote. He took an
aria from the Handel Opera,
Siroe, and made the tune most
famous as the music for “Joy
to the World.” A tune most
likely written by Mozart
became the music for “His
Matchless Worth” (included
here). Mason didn’t just
use classical tunes, though.
Other famous pairings of his,
included in this collection,
are “When I Survey the
Wondrous Cross” (adapted
from a Gregorian chant) and
“”There Is a Fountain”
(arranged from an American
folk melody).
Still, Mason wrote his own
music as well—in fact, he
wrote over 1600 hymn tunes in
his life. His most famous,
probably, are “Nearer, My
God, to Thee,” “Work for
the Night Is Coming,”
“From Greenland’s Icy
Mountains,” and “My Faith
Looks Up to Thee.” All of
these are included here, along
with “Safely through Another
Week,” “Hark! 10,000 Harps
and Voices,” and “Hail to
the Brightness.” Even
though many hymnwriters have
come along since Mason, these
hymns have all managed to
remain in the
hymnbooks—several of them
have remained famous. I hope
they are a blessing to you as
you play them!
NOTE: For When I Survey the
Wondrous Cross, see To God Be
the Glory and Nine Other Hymns
for Solo Piano
NOTE: For His Matchless Worth,
see Joyful, Joyful, We Adore
Thee and Nine Other Classical
Hymns
NOTE: For Safely through
Another Week, see It Is Well
with My Soul and Nine Other
Hymns for Solo Piano Sheet music list : › Mason, Lowell : From Greenland's Icy Mountains › Mason, Lowell : Hail to the Brightness › Mason, Lowell : Hark! 10,000 Harps and Voices › Mason, Lowell : My Faith Looks Up to Thee › Mason, Lowell : Nearer, My God, to Thee › Anonymous : There Is a Fountain › Mason, Lowell : Work, for the Night Is Coming