Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter

Subject: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 28 Mar 13 - 05:02 PM

I've been whiling away the hours making MIDI files of an 1805 hymnal called "Christian Harmony." In this book there's a ripsnorting tune called "Germany." The lyrics are by Isaac Watts, thus:

With all my pow'rs of heart and tongue I'll praise my Maker in my song...

( You can find these lyrics online. It's interesting to think that these words were probably considered really old even in 1805.)

Anyway, I'll ask Joe to post the MIDI of the song, because it would make such a joyful instrumental piece for the Easter season. So watch this spot.   I hope you enjoy it.

(There is no other information in the book on the origins of the music.)

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Click to play (joeweb)

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 28 Mar 13 - 06:44 PM

Lyrics 1719 by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), the most common tune is by Samuel Webbe (1740–1816), both English and not exactly "ripsnorters" in my taste. Now I wonder what tune you will come up with, and what relation it has to Germany. (Haydn's Kaiser anthem does not scan, fortunately.)

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Mar 13 - 11:24 AM

The editors of the 1805 book didn't explain why it was called 'Germany' - neither the editor from 1805 or the editor from 1981.

When Joe posts it, it won't be something "I came up with," it will be an exact transcription, note for note, of the music in the 1805 book.

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 30 Mar 13 - 06:17 AM

Joe, the link seems to be either mistyped or anticipating a file that is not yet there.

Leeneia, sorry that I used an ambiguous idiom. As you know, I am not a native speaker of English (and, alas, not perfect in any language at all).

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Mar 13 - 10:22 AM

That's all right, then, Grishka. All is forgiven.

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: Joe Offer
Date: 30 Mar 13 - 04:51 PM

Hmmmm. It's not often that URLs are case-sensitive, but I guess this one was. I had the file name as Germany.mid - it's supposed to be germany.mid. But my fingers won't let me type "Germany" in lower case letters. Sorry for the mistake.
-Joe-

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Click to play (joeweb)

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 30 Mar 13 - 06:42 PM

Thanks, Joe. I clicked on it, heard it, left clicked and downloaded it - it works.

If I were playing it on instruments, I would play it faster, I think. I also think I would repeat the last four measures. Then people could trade parts, do it again, and you'd have a nice postlude for Easter season.

And as far as I can tell, nobody has heard it for lo! these many years.

Subject: RE: Tune Add: Germany - nice for Easter
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 31 Mar 13 - 06:33 AM

Thanks, Joe. The tune is definitely not related in any way to the one by Samuel Webbe. Here it is extracted, by software and manual post-editing:

X:1
T:Germany
I:linebreak $
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=88
K:A octave=-1
a2e'c'| a2a2| d'bg2| g2ea| gabc'| a4| z2b2| c'bab| c'f'e'd'| % 14
c'bab| c'/d'/c'/a/b2-| b3c'/d'/| e'3f'/d'/| e'3f'/d'/| c'bag| a4|] % 21

Who knows it, and its origin? Original lyrics, perhaps anti-Napoleon? English or German?

I am not sure whether I got the ABC right, particularly whether the metric structure is really the original one. If someone knows better, please post a correction.

Happy Easter - or "what you celebrate" - to all!