Excerpt from The Church of England Hymnal

With regard to the music of the present Hymn Book, it need only be said that the publishers have entrusted it to a gentleman of high musical abilities and position, Dr. A. H. Mann, Organist of King's College, Cambridge.

We know that music possesses, beyond all other arts, the power to soothe and touch, to encourage and to comfort, and this power belongs to sacred music especially. Spoken words are not great enough in them selves to convey all the possibilities of praise that lie within the soul, and must be wedded to music to give a voice to feeling and emotion. This divine gift of song, which lifts us out of ourselves, which elevates, teaches, consoles, will reach its perfection in heaven. Church music is a delightful part of our worship in the sanctuary. A church tune, says Jeremy Collier, should be a holy thing, fit for a seraph to sing and an angel to hear.

In the Musical Edition of this Hymnal will be found those tunes, venerable from use, which have been stamped with the general approval of the Church of Christ. They have been long associated with certain hymns, and their omission would be deplored. More modern tunes which have become popular will also be found here, and several have been expressly composed for this work.

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