{"id":6983,"date":"2024-01-26T23:26:58","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/26\/how-great-thou-art-gets-a-new-verse-in-matt-redman-collaboration\/"},"modified":"2024-01-26T23:26:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T17:56:58","slug":"how-great-thou-art-gets-a-new-verse-in-matt-redman-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/26\/how-great-thou-art-gets-a-new-verse-in-matt-redman-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How Great Thou Art\u2019 Gets a New Verse in Matt Redman Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"body\">\n<p class=\"text\"><span class=\"dropcap\">\u201cT<\/span>he choir and Mr. Shea now sing for you \u2018How Great Thou Art.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Cliff Barrow\u2019s announcement at Billy Graham\u2019s New York Crusade at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1957, preceded the televised performance that helped cement the hymn\u2019s position as a fixture in American Protestant repertoire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The choir of hundreds began the performance with the last line of the chorus: \u201cHow great thou art, how great thou art.\u201d Then George Beverly Shea\u2019s famous baritone introduced the hymn to millions of viewers\u2014an estimated 96 million by the end of Graham\u2019s New York Crusade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">As Shea sang the second verse, taking expressive liberties with the tempo, the text at the bottom of the broadcast invited viewers to call the phone line \u201cto begin a relationship with Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of \u201cHow Great Thou Art,\u201d and to celebrate the hymn\u2019s legacy, Integrity Music commissioned songwriters Matt Redman and Mitch Wong to contribute new text for a collaborative recording, featuring an array of popular performers like Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Naomi Raine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cThis is a hymn that everyone knows and loves,\u201d Redman said in an interview with CT. \u201cIt felt quite daunting to come in and make changes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/system\/media\/embed.html?type=youtube&amp;id=kSfTnv9NvV8&amp;width=100%&amp;image=&amp;autoplay=&amp;info=&amp;link=&amp;window=\" height=\"360\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Redman and Wong\u2019s version of the hymn, \u201cUntil That Day (How Great Thou Art),\u201d preserves the original English text and nods to the song\u2019s international origins and history. Their recording debuted Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The timeless song captures the tension of the Christian life, having to live with eyes open to both the temporary and the eternal. \u201cWe\u2019ve got these two realities: the here and now, and the beautiful reality of God\u2019s forever reign and ultimate plan,\u201d Redman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Few hymns and sacred songs have achieved a position in the American national imagination as powerfully as \u201cHow Great Thou Art.\u201d It was even the title track of Elvis Presley\u2019s 1967 album, <em>How Great Thou Art, <\/em>which won the artist his first Grammy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">More recently, singers like Alan Jackson and Carrie Underwood have performed the hymn; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MHusNDxUHNA\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Underwood\u2019s rendition with Vince Gill at the Grand Ole Opry in 2011<\/a> was so well received that the country star made it a regular feature on her set lists, including during her Las Vegas residencies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The evolution of the 19th-century Swedish poem \u201cO Store Gud\u201d (\u201cO Mighty God\u201d or \u201cO Great God\u201d) into the current standard \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d is part of a centuries-old practice of borrowing and imitation in sacred music. It allows hymn writers to trade out one tune for another, relying on metrical patterns to create new easily singable songs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cSongs like \u2018How Great Thou Art,\u2019 they\u2019re great the way they are,\u201d said singer-songwriter Matt Maher. \u201cBut this is part of a long tradition; composers have always taken lyrics and melodies and creatively adapted them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The original poem, written in 1885 by Carl Boberg, was set to a traditional folk tune and published in the Swedish Missionary Alliance hymnbook as well as a US Swedish hymnbook called <em>Sionsharpen<\/em>. Subsequent translations preserve Boberg\u2019s focus on God\u2019s power displayed in creation and human wonder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The song was translated into Russian by I. S. Prokhanoff in 1908 and into German by Manfred von Glehn in 1912, making its way to the United States again by way of the Russian translation in a collection of hymns published by the American Bible Society in 1922.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The first English translation\u2014\u201cO Mighty God, When I Behold the Wonder\u201d\u2014came a few years later by E. Gustav Johnson, a relatively literal reflection of the original Swedish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">The version we know and sing now came from British missionary Stuart Hine, who learned the Russian version while ministering in western Ukraine in the 1930s and eventually created his own translation in English. He wrote the fourth verse (\u201cWhen Christ shall come \u2026\u201d) in 1948, moved by his encounters with some of the Ukrainian refugees flooding into England in the aftermath of World War II.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Hine\u2019s English version was featured alongside the Russian in the missionary magazine <em>Grace and Peace, <\/em>circulating the hymn to over 15 countries and eventually reaching George Beverly Shea and Billy Graham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">After the performances of \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d during Graham\u2019s New York Crusade in 1957, the hymn became a favorite among the crowds that gathered to hear the famous evangelist and among American congregations who now associated the song with the powerful revivalism witnessed at his events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cWe sang it about a hundred times at the insistence of the New York audiences,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/2009\/january\/how-great-thou-art-100-year-old-bass.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Shea told CT in 2009<\/a>. \u201cAnd from then on, it became a standard at most of the crusades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">One could argue that Hine\u2019s decision to copyright the text and tune of \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d halted the process that allowed the hymn to move and adapt so freely between 1885 and his publication in 1949.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">But it also allowed him to try to harness the song\u2019s popularity and success for God\u2019s kingdom, with royalties benefiting the Stuart Hine Trust. The UK-based organization funds Christian outreach and relief organizations around the world, supporting Bible translation efforts and evangelism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cWhen Carrie Underwood sings \u2018How Great Thou Art\u2019 in Vegas, that helps the song,\u201d said Phil Loose, a volunteer trustee. \u201cWhen people sing it, more royalties come in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">If and when churches use Redman and Wong\u2019s new version, the songwriting royalties that typically flow to the cowriters will also go to the trust. It\u2019s a striking example of how \u201cmusic and mission collide,\u201d said Loose.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Redman and Wong\u2019s addition to \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d comes after the fourth verse; it follows the structure of the verses but alters the traditional melody, carrying on the forward-looking tone of Hine\u2019s final verse:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"text\"><p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Until that day <br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nWhen heaven bids us welcome,<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAnd as we walk this broken warring world,<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nYour kingdom come,<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nDeliver us from evil,<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAnd we\u2019ll proclaim our God how great You are!<\/p>\n<p>&#13;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"text\">Redman and Wong wanted to acknowledge the connection between Stuart\u2019s work in Ukraine and with Ukrainian refugees and the current conflict in the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cI wanted the word \u2018war\u2019 in there,\u201d said Redman. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a gritty word. But we have to sing about both the everyday and the eternal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">For Redman, \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d is an example of a hymn that teaches and invites a response of praise\u2014like inhaling and exhaling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cI love old hymns, but as rich and robust as they are, sometimes they can offer a lot of information and doctrine without inviting the singer to exhale, to respond in praise,\u201d said Redman. \u201cDuring the verses, I inhale. Then during the chorus, I get to exhale. The best hymns are both a chapel and a classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">Maher finds that \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d offers a wonderfully compelling invitation to respond to encounters with God\u2019s power in creation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201c\u2018Then sings my soul\u2019 is something you can grab with both hands,\u201d said Maher. \u201cIt\u2019s a response. It\u2019s your invitation to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">For Maher and Redman, the hymn offers doctrine and transcendence, it is a classroom and a chapel. \u201cHow Great Thou Art\u201d remains popular and resonant because of what it teaches and because of the response it invites.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">It is an invitation to sing, to praise, to approach God. Perhaps this is what made it such an ideal fit for Billy Graham\u2019s Crusades, featured in arenas and on screens alongside an invitation to salvation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text\">\u201cIt packs quite a theological punch,\u201d said Redman. \u201cThere\u2019s reenactment, realization, and anticipation. The song does a tremendous job of encompassing all three.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"js-countPages\" data-pages=\"1\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n  n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n  document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('init', '1800576576821396');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  fbq('track', 'ViewContent');\n  <\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2024\/january-web-only\/how-great-thou-art-matt-redman-anniversary-history-stuart-h.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThe choir and Mr. Shea now sing for you \u2018How Great Thou Art.\u2019\u201d Cliff Barrow\u2019s announcement at Billy Graham\u2019s New York Crusade at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1957, preceded the televised performance that helped cement the hymn\u2019s position as a fixture in American Protestant repertoire. The choir of hundreds began the performance with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[]},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6983"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}