This week on Knowing Hymn, Angi and Steve discuss hymn #192, He Died, the Great Redeemer Died, with text by Isaac Watts and music by George Careless. Explore the more common text and the many tunes associated with this hymn (and hear Steve attempt to play and sing them!). Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: [email protected]

Angi and Steve take a deep dive into our least-sung Easter hymn, #198 That Easter Morn, with lyrics by Marion D. Hanks and music by Richard Cundick. As you learn about these two men and about writing this hymn, you can learn to appreciate this hymn in ways you might not have before. Plus, learn which to current apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were heavily influenced by Elder Hanks. Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing...

Angi and Steve close out the first season of Knowing Hymn by talking about one of the best-beloved gospel hymns of all time (#2 after Amazing Grace according to some charts), hymn #86 How Great Thou Art with words and music adapted from a Swedish folk song by Stuart K. Hine. Hear the fascinating journey from 19th century Sweden through Germany and Russia, a trip to India, then to California before soaring to popularity.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group:...

Though unfamiliar to many, hymn #37 The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close is one that you should get to know. This hymn with text by Orson F. Whitney and music by Edward P. Kimball boasts some of the most unique harmonies in the hymnbook (yes, Steve nerds out for a minute). Learn more about the poetry of Orson F. Whitney as well as a new hymn of gratitude set to the same tune. Plus, a quiz for Angi about wintry clothes.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group:...

This week, join us as we talk about the history and our very personal feelings about the special hymn #301, I Am a Child of God, with text by Naomi Randall and music by Mildred Pettit. You'll learn about these remarkable women and how their song has touched millions of lives.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: [email protected]

Steve shares his arrangement of Come, Come, Ye Saints which is now being used as the intro and outro for Knowing Hymn. Enjoy! Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: [email protected]

Hymn #30 - Come, Come, Ye Saints (also found for men's choir as #326) - with words by William Clayton and based on an English folk song (maybe) is a special hymn beloved by the Mormon Pioneers as they crossed the plains while trekking to the Salt Lake Valley. Learn about the circumstances surrounding Clayton's writing of the text, the lyrics he used as a metric guide, and get a brief lesson about shape note singing. Plus...five fun facts about Catholic Saints! Connect with us! Website:...

As a nice pairing to last week's discussion, Angi leads a discussion about #309, As Siters in Zion, with text by Emily H. Woodmansee and music by Janice Kapp Perry. We learn about Emily's amazing journey across the plains while pulling her sister in a handcart and Janice's journey from sportswoman to world-respected composer. Angi also turns the tables on Steve and gives him a quiz about all things Janice Kapp Perry!  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing...

This week, Knowing Hymn visits one of Steve's favorites, #319 Ye Elders of Israel with words by Cyrus Wheelock and tune (possibly) by Thomas H. Bayly. Take a quiz about early missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, learn about Wheelock's last visit with Joseph Smith in Carthage Jail, and hear Steve sing a couple of Thomas Bayly hits from the 1840s.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @...

Steve shares his arrangement of Ring Out, Wild Bells for SATB a cappella choir. Sheet music can be found at http://sacredsheetmusic.org/song/Ring_Out_Wild_Bells_SATB_by_Steve_Danielson Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: [email protected]

Knowing Hymn takes on #215, Ring Out, Wild Bells with words by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and music by Crawford Gates. Learn about the friendships and tragedies that inspired both of these men to write this hymn. Learn about the amazing accomplishments of both Tennyson and Gates - both of them writing very young and having a lasting impact on the world.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email:...

Join us this week for another classic Christmas hymn (or is it?), Joy to the World with words by Isaac Watts, adapted by W.W. Phelps, and music by G. F. Handel, adapted by Lowell Mason. Hear about how the stars aligned for these four powerhouse creators to come together to bring us this hymn. Whether you are talking about Christ's first or second coming, this hymn should always be on your list! Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram:...

On this special bonus episode, Steve shares an arrangement of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day written by his friend and colleague Stephen Weatherford, arranged for chorus, orchestra, and narrator. This recording is by the Ensign Symphony & Chorus in December 2018. 

This week on Knowing Hymn, Angi leads the discussion about hymn #214, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, with music by John Baptiste Calkin and words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Before you go see the movie, take a listen to learn about the background of this beloved Christmas hymn. Hear some other texts that have used the same tune, and learn about Steve's connection to Longfellow and the Song of Hiawatha.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing...

Ring in the season with the beloved Christmas hymn, #212 Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains - words and music by John M. Macfarlane. Written on a cold winter night in St. George, Utah, this hymn has spread to become a Christmas classic throughout the world. Listen and learn more about how and why this Christmas treasure was written.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: [email protected]

This week, we tackle a more unfamiliar hymn, #275 Men Are That They Might Have Joy. Pulling inspiration from 2 Nephi in Book of Mormon, this hymn was written by journalist and professor J. Marinus Jensen and composer and organist J.J. Keeler. Learn about the interesting connection between these two and dive into the scriptures that inspired this piece.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email:...

As we pass through Thanksgiving and head to the holiday season 2022, we are talking about #92 For the Beauty of the Earth. We start with a quick quiz to test Angi's knowledge of the hymn. Then, we take a journey from a hymn in German to a Christmas carol to the version that we all know and love today. We even have a special visit from John Rutter (well...at least from his music).  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter...

This week on Knowing Hymn, we discuss #97, Lead Kindly Light with text by (Saint!) Cardinal John Henry Newman and music by John Dykes. We talk about the stressful life of John Dykes and how the famous Swedish soprano, Jenny Lind, shaped his career. We talk about how John Henry Newman went from teaching at Oxford to becoming a Catholic Cardinal. And of course, we talk about the text to this beautiful hymn that points toward the everlasting Light that leads us through the storms of...

Steve shares a hymn with lyrics written by John Taylor, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The hymn, "O, Give Me Back My Prophet Dear," was written in remembrance of his friends, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, killed in Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. Steve sings the 4-part setting as found in the 1927 Latter-day Saint Hymnbook.  For more about this hymn, listen to our discussion on episode 6, Hymn #29, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. 

This week on Knowing Hymn, we discuss hymn #29, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. We, of course, talk about the poet James Montgomery and the composer George Coles, but we also dive into the scriptural backing found in Matthew and the way this hymn features in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Steve attempts to sing it the way John Taylor sang it in Carthage jail - which is slightly different from how we have it in our current hymnbook! Take a listen! Connect with...

This week, Angi and Steve discuss rousing hymn #249, Called to Serve. We not only talk about the poet, Grace Gordon, and the composer, Walter Tyler, (or are those even their real names?!), but we also share several personal experiences surrounding this hymn and what it means to us. Join us to learn about the missing third verse and the mysterious fourth verse. If you have been a missionary, have a child on a mission, or have known a missionary, you need to know Called to Serve!  Connect with...

Steve shares his new acquisition, a 1927 hymnbook! Then, Angi and Steve talk about hymn #120, Lean On My Ample Arm with text by Theodore E. Curtis and music by Evan Stephens. Hear all about Evan Stephen's work with the (then) Mormon Tabernacle Choir, including their trip to the World's Fair in Chicago and other milestones. Then Steve shares his rarely-heard arrangement of Lean On My Ample Arm for choir, piano, and 2 violins.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group:...

This week, Knowing Hymn talks about hymn #3, Now Let Us Rejoice, text by W.W. Phelps, and music by Henry Tucker. Join us as we talk about the amazing signs and wonders that brought about the writing of these wonderful words and the mystery surrounding the music. As a bonus, Steve sings one of Henry Tucker's popular songs, When This Cruel War is Over.  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email:...

This week, Steve and Angi have a lot to say about Hymn 292, O My Father, text by Eliza R. Snow and music by James McGranahan. We discuss the poetry as well as the poet - both highly fascinating! And we discuss the myriad of tunes used before finally settling on the one we use now, and why it's Evan Stephen's fault. Have you ever tried singing familiar words to a separate but just as familiar tune? It's hard than it sounds, but Angi and Steve give it a try! Connect with us! Website:...

Angi and Steve Danielson feel their way through this first episode of Knowing Hymn. They talk this week about one of Angi's favorite hymns, "Because I Have Been Given Much," with words by Grace Noll Crowell and music by Phillip Landgrave. Hear the background and personal experiences about this beloved hymn (and offer some much needed forgiveness for the awkwardness of this first episode!).  Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram:...