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What does the revision of Christian Hymns consist of?

The continuing appeal of the existing book, now over 25 years old, suggested that it was a revision rather than a completely new compilation that was needed. A number of surveys indicated which hymns do not seem to be in common use. This led us to compile a list of approximately 200 that could be replaced with mainly newer (although in some cases older) hymns that evidently are widely used today.

How have you gone about selecting new hymns and deciding which ones to exclude?

We were greatly indebted to more than 50 churches that presently use the book who responded to a questionnaire. Many of these sent us copies of supplements that they have compiled over the years. While not in any sense dictating the content of the proposed revision these were particularly helpful in enabling us to get a wider perspective on contemporary usage. Quite a number of unsolicited compositions, words and music, were submitted when news of the possible revision got around and a large number of suggestions were sent to us. Of course, in addition to all this a wide-ranging search was made of the not inconsiderable number of books that have been published in recent years.

How did you deal with modern hymns?

Hymnbook editors of many generations have found this to be a contentious issue, but from the start of our work we were determined to follow the principles that were followed in the original edition and that, incidentally, guided Spurgeon when he faced the same problem. Consequently we always aimed to assess a hymn on its own intrinsic merits rather than on the basis of its author's denominational or theological affiliations. We have included a number of compositions by contemporary authors including Dudley-Smith, Kendrick, Seddon and Townend, some of which are widely used among the churches. Besides including many of the compositions that have become well-known and widely used in recent years we are also including several excellent new hymns that have never been published before.

How have you gone about modernizing old hymns?
John Wesley once famously said of those who presumed to tamper with his own compositions 'I desire they would not attempt to mend them; for they really are not able.' We have sought to follow Wesley's strictures and have always dealt, we trust, respectfully with what an author has written. Nor have we yielded to the pressures of making hymns 'gender neutral' or politically correct, as often seems to be the fashion today. Quite frankly, we have too much respect for the integrity of the original authors and for the intelligence of contemporary congregations. Such modernization as we have adopted has involved the alteration of obsolete or obscure expressions. In addition in many (but not all) of the hymns we have substituted second person plural pronouns and verbal inflections for second person singular ones provided that this has not involved an alteration in the poetic and rhyming schemes of the hymns. We trust that this will meet the needs of those who are unfamiliar with 'thee's' and 'thou's' while not alienating those who have no such difficulties.

Who are the people involved?
The editors of the original publication - Revds Paul Cook and Graham Harrison - were joined by Revd Robert Strivens of Banbury Evangelical Church and Mr David Clark, Director of Evangelical Press.

What about the music for the hymns?
In this we have been greatly assisted by a Music Team consisting of Mr Philip Watson (one of the original musical editors), Mr Peter Moss and Revd Brian Freer. While we have not attempted to break well-loved and proven connections of words and music, many alternatives were suggested, new tunes included and where the existing settings were found to be too high for most modern congregations lower settings have been provided.

Is there a separate Psalm section?
We preferred to place the Psalms (or hymns based on Psalms) throughout the book in the appropriate categories. This was the policy adopted in the original edition. However, we added considerably to their number and have a separate index for them at the beginning of the book and the MP3 DVD. This will be of help to those who will want regularly to choose from this collection.

We are looking for a means of playing Christian Hymns over a Church PA system. Do you have any means of doing this now or in future with the new Christian Hymns?
The MP3 version of the hymnbook, coming in 2007, will make this possible. See our MP3 section.

What are the copyright limitation of the hymns on the MP3, or printed copies?
Many of the hymns in the New Christian Hymns are covered by copyright. This is clearly printed in the both the music and words books. You may be able to reproduce these hymns under licence using a current Christian Copyright Licence (and Music Reproduction Licence). Hymns by members of the Christian Hymns Committee and other hymns without copyright may be freely reproduced. All copyright issues have been covered in the MP3 version that that all tunes are included. However a CCL license is still required.