Old 100th
Encyclopedia
"Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth" is a hymn tune
from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551) (the second edition of the Genevan Psalter
), and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian
musical traditions. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois
(c.1510 – c.1560).
Although the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, the melody receives its current name from an association with the 100th Psalm
, in a paraphrase by William Kethe entitled All People that on Earth do Dwell. The melody is commonly sung with diverse other lyrics as well.
was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss
city of Geneva
, a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation
, in response to the teaching of John Calvin
that communal singing of psalms
in the vernacular
language (French
, in this case) is a foundational aspect of church life. This was in contrast to the prevailing Catholic practice at the time of sacred texts being chanted
in Latin by the clergy only. Calvinist musicians including Loys Bourgeois
supplied many new melodies, and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of the psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong
during church services, but harmonizations were provided for singing at home.
Old 100th is commonly used to sing (and is named for) the version "All People That on Earth Do Dwell," made from Psalm 100
, which originated in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561) and is attributed to the Scottish clergyman William Kethe. Kethe was in exile at Geneva
at this time, as the Scottish Reformation
was only just beginning. This version was sung at the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II
in 1953, with harmonization and arrangement by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
. The first verse is as follows:
A hymn commonly sung to Old 100th is "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow," often known simply as The Doxology
, written in 1674 by Thomas Ken
, a clergyman in the Church of England
. This hymn was originally the final verse of a longer hymn entitled "Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun," though it is most commonly sung by itself as a doxology
. The traditional text is thus, although a modernized version is also widely used:
The melody can be (and often is) used for any hymn text in long meter
(four lines of eight syllables each). The hymn All People Than On Earth Do Dwell, a paraphrasing of Psalm 117
by Isaac Watts
with the above Doxology as the final verse, is commonly sung to the tune. In the Sacred Harp
and other shape note
singing traditions, the tune is sung with the text "O Come, Loud Anthems Let Us Sing," a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 95
from Tate and Brady
's A New Version of the Psalms of David.
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551) (the second edition of the Genevan Psalter
Genevan psalter
The Genevan Psalter is a collection of metrical psalms created under the supervision of John Calvin.-Background:Before the Protestant Reformation the singing of the Psalms was generally done by a select group of performers, not by the entire congregation. John Calvin understood that the entire...
), and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
musical traditions. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois
Loys Bourgeois
Loys "Louis" Bourgeois was a French composer and music theorist of the Renaissance. He is most famous as one of the main compilers of Calvinist hymn tunes in the middle of the 16th century...
(c.1510 – c.1560).
Although the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, the melody receives its current name from an association with the 100th Psalm
Psalm 100
Psalm 100 is part of the biblical Book of Psalms. It may be used as a canticle in the Anglican liturgy of Morning Prayer, when it is referred to by its incipit as the Jubilate or Jubilate Deo...
, in a paraphrase by William Kethe entitled All People that on Earth do Dwell. The melody is commonly sung with diverse other lyrics as well.
Background
The Genevan PsalterGenevan psalter
The Genevan Psalter is a collection of metrical psalms created under the supervision of John Calvin.-Background:Before the Protestant Reformation the singing of the Psalms was generally done by a select group of performers, not by the entire congregation. John Calvin understood that the entire...
was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
city of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, in response to the teaching of John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
that communal singing of psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
in the vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
language (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, in this case) is a foundational aspect of church life. This was in contrast to the prevailing Catholic practice at the time of sacred texts being chanted
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
in Latin by the clergy only. Calvinist musicians including Loys Bourgeois
Loys Bourgeois
Loys "Louis" Bourgeois was a French composer and music theorist of the Renaissance. He is most famous as one of the main compilers of Calvinist hymn tunes in the middle of the 16th century...
supplied many new melodies, and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of the psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong
Plainsong
Plainsong is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Catholic Church. Though the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church did not split until long after the origin of plainchant, Byzantine chants are generally not classified as plainsong.Plainsong is monophonic, consisting of a...
during church services, but harmonizations were provided for singing at home.
Lyrics
The original lyrics set to this tune, from the Genevan Psalter, are taken from Psalm 134. They have been translated thus:- You faithful servants of the Lord,
- sing out his praise with one accord,
- while serving him with all your might
- and keeping vigil through the night.
- Unto his house lift up your hand
- and to the Lord your praises send.
- May God who made the earth and sky
- bestow his blessings from on high.
Old 100th is commonly used to sing (and is named for) the version "All People That on Earth Do Dwell," made from Psalm 100
Psalm 100
Psalm 100 is part of the biblical Book of Psalms. It may be used as a canticle in the Anglican liturgy of Morning Prayer, when it is referred to by its incipit as the Jubilate or Jubilate Deo...
, which originated in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561) and is attributed to the Scottish clergyman William Kethe. Kethe was in exile at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
at this time, as the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
was only just beginning. This version was sung at the coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1953, with harmonization and arrangement by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
. The first verse is as follows:
- All people that on earth do dwell,
- Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
- Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
- Come ye before Him and rejoice.
A hymn commonly sung to Old 100th is "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow," often known simply as The Doxology
Doxology
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns...
, written in 1674 by Thomas Ken
Thomas Ken
Thomas Ken was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnology.-Early life:...
, a clergyman in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. This hymn was originally the final verse of a longer hymn entitled "Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun," though it is most commonly sung by itself as a doxology
Doxology
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns...
. The traditional text is thus, although a modernized version is also widely used:
- Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
- Praise Him, all creatures here below;
- Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
- Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The melody can be (and often is) used for any hymn text in long meter
Meter (hymn)
A hymn meter or metre indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing.-Hymn and poetic meter:...
(four lines of eight syllables each). The hymn All People Than On Earth Do Dwell, a paraphrasing of Psalm 117
Psalm 117
Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms. With just two verses and sixteen words in Hebrew, it is the shortest of all 150 psalms.It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible making it the middle chapter. It is also the shortest chapter in this version of...
by Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...
with the above Doxology as the final verse, is commonly sung to the tune. In the Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music.- The music and its notation :...
and other shape note
Shape note
Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in 1801, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools...
singing traditions, the tune is sung with the text "O Come, Loud Anthems Let Us Sing," a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 95
Psalm 95
Psalm 95 is part of the biblical Book of Psalms. One of the Royal Psalms, Psalm 93-99, praising God as the King of His people.-Judaism:*Is the opening paragraph of Kabbalat Shabbat.*Is recited on Shabbat Hagadol....
from Tate and Brady
Tate and Brady
Tate and Brady refers to the collaboration of Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, which produced one famous work, New Version of the Psalms of David . This work was a metrical version of the Psalms, and largely ousted the old version of T. Sternhold and J. Hopkins...
's A New Version of the Psalms of David.
Score
Uses in other works
- Hubert ParryHubert ParrySir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
's - Three Chorale Fantasias is based on the Old 100th. - Virgil ThomsonVirgil ThomsonVirgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
- quoted in several movements of his score for The Plow that Broke the PlainsThe Plow That Broke the PlainsThe Plow That Broke the Plains is a short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl...
(1936). - Paul HindemithPaul HindemithPaul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
- quoted in his TrauermusikTrauermusikTrauermusik is a suite for viola and orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith at very short notice in honour of King George V of the United Kingdom, who died the previous night...
(January 1936). - Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
- 1948 cantata St NicolasSt. Nicolas (Britten)Saint Nicolas is a cantata with music by Benjamin Britten and text by Eric Crozier, written in 1948.-Background:Benjamin Britten wrote the cantata Saint Nicolas in 1948 for the centennial celebrations of Lancing College in Sussex... - David MaslankaDavid MaslankaDavid Maslanka is a U.S. composer who writes for a variety of genres, including works for choir, wind ensemble, chamber music and symphony orchestra....
- Symphony No. 4 - Frank Ticheli - Angels in the Architecture
- Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
- Piano Trio in C minor Op 66, 4th movement Finale - Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
- The Old 100th Psalm Tune ("All people that on earth do dwell")