The John Betjeman Hymnbook

by Betjeman, John; Games, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781441164346
• ISBN10: 1441164340
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-29
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

The late poet laureate Sir John Betjeman was a National Treasure. His poems such as 'Joan Hunter Dunn', 'Phone for the Fishnives, Norman' and 'Come on ye bombs and fall on Slough' gripped the public imagination and made him one of the most loved of English characters of the last century. His battles for the restoration and vindication of Victorian Architecture were life long. His two-volume Collins Guide to the Parish Churches of England, Wales and the Isle of Man was a huge bestseller and remains in print to this day. His profound love for The Church of England was exemplified in his love for English hymn writers of whom he realised and advocated their historical as well as their liturgical and spiritual importance. Nowhere is this more evident than in the radio talks he gave to huge audiences on English hymns. These have been assembled here by one of Betjeman's greatest admirers, scholars and researcher - Stephen Games.

Table of Contents

Preface \ Introduction \ Isaac Watts \ William Cowper and Augustus Toplady \ The Wesleys \ Reginald Heber and James Montgomery \ Hymns of the Mission \ Welsh Hymns \ Hymns of the Oxford Movement \ Mrs C.F. Alexander and Other Women \ Keble and Other Tractarians \ Victorians \ More Victorians \ Seventeenth Century Hymns Writers \ Some Poets Laureate \ The Yattendon Hymnal \ American Hymns Writers \ More Translations \ More Hymns of the Eighteenth Century \ Four Rectors \ Scottish Hymn Writers \ Some Bishops \ From the Cathedral \ Some Non Conformists \ Songs of the Old \ From the Chief Musicians \ From the Orhgan Loft \ From Germany \ From the Rev J.B. Dykes \ English Traditional Melodies \ Indexes of Hymns, Hymn Writers, Melodies and Composers.