The English Hymnal
Front cover
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| Editor | Percy Dearmer & Ralph Vaughan Williams |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Sheet Music - Religious |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
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Publication date
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1906 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| ISBN | (later edition) |
| Website | The English Hymnal on OUP.com |
The English Hymnal was a hymn book which was published in 1906 for the Church of England by Oxford University Press. It was edited by the clergyman and writer Percy Dearmer and the composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams. The preface to the hymnal began with the statement, "A collection of the best hymns in the English language." Much of the contents was used for the first time at St Mary's Primrose Hill in north London, and the book could be considered a musical companion to Dearmer's book on English ceremonial, The Parson's Handbook.
The high quality of the music is due largely to the work of Vaughan Williams as musical editor. The standard of the arrangements and original compositions made it one of the most influential hymnals of the 20th century. The hymnal included the first printing of several arrangements and hymn settings by Vaughan Williams. Among the most famous are Sine Nomine, a new tune to "For All the Saints"; and "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones", a new text for the hymn tune Lasst uns erfreuen. The hymnal also includes many original plainsong melodies (in plainsong notation).
The book is a characteristic green colour and is traditionally associated with the High Church or Anglo-Catholic movement within Anglicanism. When the book was published, High and Broad churches used Hymns Ancient and Modern, and Evangelical churches normally used the Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer. The hymnal has, however, been adopted not only in various movements of Anglicanism but also in several other denominations in Britain, such as some Roman Catholic churches.
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