eHymns.org

Born: December 18, 1707, Epworth, Lincolnshire, England.

Died: March 29, 1788, London, England.

Buried: Marylebone Parish Church, London.

Charles Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns. Like most hymnists, his works were frequently altered. In the preface to the 1779 Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists, his brother John wrote:

I beg leave to mention a thought which has been long upon my mind, and which I should long ago have inserted in the public papers, had I not been unwilling to stir up a nest of hornets. Many gentlemen have done my brother and me (though without naming us) the honour to reprint many of our hymns. Now they are perfectly welcome to do so, provided they print them just as they are. But I desire they would not attempt to mend them, for they are really not able. None of them is able to mend either the sense or the verse. Therefore, I must beg of them these two favours: either to let them stand just as they are, to take things for better or worse, or to add the true reading in the margin, or at the bottom of the page, that we may no longer be accountable either for the nonsense or for the doggerel of other men.

In addition to hymn writing, Charles and his brother, John, founded the movement which became the Methodist denomination.

Sources

* Hatfield, pp. 647-58
* Julian, pp. 1257-66
* Robinson, pp. 17-18

Lyrics

1. Ah! Whither Should I Go?
2. All Glory to God
3. All Glory to God in the Sky
4. All Glory to Our Gracious Lord
5. All Wise, All Good, Almighty Lord
6. All Praise to Him Who Dwells in Bliss
7. All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord
8. All Ye That Pass By
9. All Ye That Seek the Lord Who Died
10. Ambassadors of God
11. And Am I Only Born to Die?
12. And Are We Yet Alive?
13. And Can I Yet Delay?
14. And Can It Be That I Should Gain?
15. And Let Our Bodies Part
16. And Let This Feeble Body Fail
17. And Must I Be to Judgment Brought
18. Angels Your March Oppose
19. Arise, My Soul, Arise
20. Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!
21. Author of Faith, Eternal Word
22. Author of Faith, We Seek Thy Face
23. Awake, Jerusalem, Awake!
24. Away with Our Fears!
25. Away with Our Sorrow and Fear
26. Be Merciful, O God, to Me
* My Heart Is Fixed, O God
27. Because Thou Hast Said
28. Behold, How Good a Thing
29. Behold the Servant of the Lord
30. Being of Beings
31. Blest Be Our Everlasting Lord
32. Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love
33. Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow
34. Break Forth into Praise
35. Brethren in Christ, and Well Beloved
36. By Faith We Find the Place Above
37. Captain of Israel’s Host
38. Celebrate Immanuel’s Name
39. Center of Our Hopes Thou Art
40. Charge to Keep I Have, A
41. Christ from Whom All Blessings Flow
42. Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
43. Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
44. Clap Your Hands, Ye People All
45. Come Away to the Skies
46. Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join
47. Come, Divine Interpreter
48. Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
49. Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire
50. Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue
51. Come, Let Us Ascend
52. Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above
53. Come, Let Us Rise with Christ
54. Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine
55. Come, Let Us Who in Christ Believe
56. Come, O Thou All Victorious Lord
57. Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown
58. Come On, My Partners in Distress
59. Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast
60. Come Then, Thou Prophet of the Lord
61. Come, Thou Almighty King
62. Come, Thou Conqueror of the Nations
63. Come, Thou Everlasting Spirit
64. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
* Come, O Savior, Long Expected
* Come, Thou Savior, Long Expected
* Hail, Thou Long Expected Jesus
65. Come, Thou Omniscient Son of Man
66. Come, Wisdom, Power, and Grace Divine
67. Come Ye That Seek the Lord
68. Come, Ye Weary Sinners, Come
69. Depth of Mercy
70. Earth with All Her Fullness Owns, The
71. Eternal Beam of Light Divine
72. Eternal Son, Eternal Love
73. Eternal Sun of Righteousness
74. Father, God, We Glorify
75. Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee
76. Father, in Whom We Live
77. Father of All, Whose Powerful Voice
* Eternal Son, Eternal Love
* Eternal, Spotless Lamb of God
* Son of Thy Sire’s Eternal Love
78. Father of Everlasting Grace
79. Father of Jesus Christ, My Lord
80. Father of Me, and All Mankind
81. Father, Our Hearts We Lift
82. Father, Son and Holy Ghost
83. Father, Son, and Spirit, Hear
84. Father, Whose Everlasting Love
85. Forever Here My Rest Shall Be
86. Forth in Thy Name, O Lord
87. Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild
* Holy Jesus, Savior Mild
* Loving Jesus, Gentle Lamb
88. Give Me a New, a Perfect Heart
89. Give Me the Enlarged Desire
90. Give Me the Faith Which Can Remove
91. Giver of Concord, Prince of Peace
92. Glorious God, Accept a Heart
93. Glory Be to God on High (1)
94. Glory Be to God on High (2)
95. Glory to God, Whose Sovereign Grace
96. God Is Gone Up on High
97. God of All Power and Truth and Grace
* Father, Supply My Every Need
* Holy, and True, and Righteous Lord
98. God of Love That Hear’st the Prayer
* God Love, That Hearest Prayer
99. God Only Wise, and Great, and Strong
100. Good Thou Art, and Good Thou Dost
101. Great Archangel’s Trump, The
102. Great God! To Me the Sight Afford
103. Great Is Our Redeeming Lord
104. Hail, Co-Essential Three
105. Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise
106. Happy Magdalene, to Whom
107. Happy Soul, That, Free from Harms
108. Happy the Man That Finds the Grace
109. Happy the Souls That First Believed
110. Happy the Souls to Jesus Joined
111. Hark! A Voice Divides the Sky
112. Hark, How the Watchmen Cry
113. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
114. He Comes! He Comes! the Judge Severe!
115. Head of Thy Church Triumphant
116. Head of Thy Church, Whose Spirit Fills
117. Hearken to the Solemn Voice
118. Heavenly Father, Sovereign Lord
119. Ho! Every One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh
120. Holy as Thou, O Lord, Is None
121. Holy, Holy, Lord
122. Holy Lamb, Who Thee Confess
123. Hosanna in the Highest
124. How Can We Sinners Know
125. How Glorious Is the Life Above
126. How Good and Pleasant ’Tis to See
127. How Happy Are the Little Flock
128. How Happy Are We
129. How Happy Every Child of Grace
130. How Happy Are Thy Servants, Lord
131. How Lovely Are Thy Tents, O Lord!
132. I Call the World’s Redeemer Mine
133. I Know That My Redeemer Lives
134. I the Good Fight Have Fought
135. I Want a Principle Within
136. If Death My Friend and Me Divide
137. In Age and Feebleness Extreme
138. Infinite God, to Thee We Raise
139. Inspirer of the Ancient Seers
140. Jehovah, God the Father, Bless
141. Jesu, Show Us Thy Salvation
142. Jesu, to Thee Our Hearts We Lift
143. Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
144. Jesus, Faithful to His Word
145. Jesus, from Whom All Blessings Flow
146. Jesus, Great Shepherd of the Sheep
147. Jesus Is Our Common Lord
148. Jesus, Let All Thy Lovers Shine
149. Jesus, Let Thy Pitying Eye
150. Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee
151. Jesus, Lover of My Soul
152. Jesus, My Advocate Above
153. Jesus, My Savior, Brother, Friend
* Jesu, My Savior, Brother, Friend
154. Jesus, My Strength, My Hope
155. Jesus, My Truth, My Way
* My Lord, My Truth, My Way
156. Jesus, Soft, Harmonious Name
157. Jesus, the All-Restoring Word
158. Jesus, the Conqueror, Reigns
159. Jesus! the Name High over All
160. Jesus, the Rising Lord of All
161. Jesus, the Sinner’s Friend
162. Jesus, the Truth and Power Divine
163. Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love
164. Jesus, Thou All Redeeming Lord
165. Jesus, Thou Soul of All Our Joys
166. Jesus, Thou Sovereign Lord of All
167. Jesus, United by Thy Grace
168. Jesus, We Look to Thee
169. Join All Ye Joyful Nations
170. Join, All Ye Ransomed Sons of Grace
171. Lamb of God I Look to Thee
172. Leader of Faithful Souls
173. Let All That Breathe, Jehovah Praise
174. Let Angels and Archangels Sing
175. Let Earth and Heaven Combine
176. Let Him to Whom We Now Belong
177. Let Not the Wise His Wisdom Boast
178. Let Saints on Earth in Concert Sing
* Come, Let Us Join with One Accord
179. Let the World Their Virtue Boast
180. Let Us Plead for Faith Alone
181. Lift Your Heads
182. Lift Up Your Hearts to Things Above
183. Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling
184. Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending
185. Lord, I Believe a Rest Remains
186. Lord, I Believe Thy Work of Grace
* O Joyful Sound of Gospel Grace
187. Lord, in the Strength of Grace
188. Lord of the Harvest, Hear
189. Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey
190. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
191. Lovers of Pleasure More Than God
192. Meet and Right It Is to Sing
193. Messiah, Prince of Peace
194. My God, I Am Thine
195. My God, I Know, I Feel Thee Mine
196. My Heart Is Full of Christ
197. My Soul, Inspired with Sacred Love
198. None Is Like Jerushun’s God
199. O Astonishing Grace, That the Reprobate Race
200. O Come and Dwell in Me
201. O for a Heart to Praise My God
202. O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
203. O for That Tenderness of Heart
204. O God, Most Merciful and True
205. O God of Our Forefathers, Hear
206. O God, Thy Righteousness We Own
207. O How Happy Are They Who the Savior Obey
* How Happy Are They
208. O Jesus, My Hope
209. O Jesus, Our King
210. O Love, Divine, How Sweet Thou Art
211. O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done
212. O Mercy Divine, O Couldst Thou Incline
213. O That I Could, in Every Place
214. O That I Could Repent
215. O That My Load of Sin Were Gone!
216. O the Depth of Love Divine
217. O Thou Eternal Victim Slain
* O Thou, Before the World Began
218. O Thou, Our Husband, Brother, Friend
* O Thou, Our Savior, Brother, Friend
219. O Thou Who at Thy Creature’s Bar
* Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray
* Servants of Christ, His Truth Who Know
* Thou Jesus, Thou My Breast Inspire
* Thy Power and Saving Truth to Show
220. O Thou Who Camest from Above
221. O Thou, Whom All Thy Saints Adore
222. O Thou Whose Offering on the Tree
223. O What Shall I Do, My Savior to Praise
224. Object of All Our Knowledge Here
225. Omnipotent Lord, My Savior and King
226. Our Earth We Now Lament to See
227. Our Friendship Sanctify and Guide
228. Our Lord Is Risen from the Dead
229. Peace, Doubting Heart!
230. Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above
231. Prisoners of Hope, Arise
232. Rejoice for a Brother Deceased
* Weep Not for a Brother Deceased
233. Rejoice, the Lord Is King
234. Righteous God! Whose Vengeful Phials
235. Rise All Who Seek the Crucified
236. Savior, and Can It Be
237. Savior, Prince of Israel’s Race
238. Savior, Whom Our Hearts Adore
239. See How Great a Flame Aspires
240. See, Jesus, Thy Disciples See
241. See, Sinners, in the Gospel Glass
242. Shepherd Divine, Our Wants Relieve
243. Sing to the Great Jehovah’s Praise
244. Sing, Ye Ransomed Nations, Sing
245. Sinners, Believe the Gospel Word
246. Sinners, Dismiss Your Fear
247. Sinners, Rejoice: Your Peace Is Made
248. Sinners, Obey the Gospel Word
249. Sinners, Turn: Why Will You Die?
250. Soldiers of Christ, Arise
251. Son of the Carpenter, Receive
* Servant of All, to Toil for Man
252. Spirit of Faith, Come Down
253. Stand the Omnipotent Decree
254. Stay, Thou Insulted Spirit, Stay
255. Surrounded by a Host of Foes
256. Talk with Us, Lord
257. Terrible Thought! Shall I Alone
258. Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
259. This Is Thy Will, I Know
260. Thou God of Glorious Majesty
261. Thou God of Truth and Love
262. Thou Great Mysterious God Unknown
263. Thou Judge of Quick and Dead
264. Thou Son of God, Whose Flaming Eyes
265. Thou, the Great, Eternal God
266. Thousand Oracles Divine, A
267. Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love
268. Thy Faithfulness, Lord, Each Moment We Find
269. ’Tis Finished! The Messiah Dies
270. To Us a Child of Royal Birth
271. Try Us, O God
272. Victim Divine, Thy Grace We Claim
273. Watched by the World’s Malignant Eye
274. Weary of Wandering from My God
275. Weary Souls That Wander Wide
276. What Am I, O Thou Glorious God!
277. What Is Our Calling’s Glorious Hope?
278. What Shall I Do, My God to Love
279. What Shall I Render to My God
280. When Quiet in My House I Sit
281. Where Is the Holy Heav’n-Born Child?
282. Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?
283. Wherewith, O Lord, Shall I Draw Near?
284. Whether the Word Be Preached or Read
285. What Are These Arrayed in White?
* Who Are These Arrayed in White?
286. Who in the Lord Confide
287. Whom Jesu’s Blood Doth Sanctify
288. With Glorious Clouds Encompassed Round
289. With Solemn Faith We Offer Up
290. Woe to the Men on Earth Who Dwell
291. Worship, and Thanks, and Blessing
292. Would Jesus Have the Sinner Die?
293. Ye Heavenly Choir
294. Ye Men of Israel, Hear
295. Ye Neighbors and Friends of Jesus
296. Ye Ransomed Sinners, Hear
297. Ye Servants of God
298. Ye Simple Men of Hearts Sincere
299. Ye That Pass By, Behold the Man
300. Ye Thirsty for God
301. Ye Virgin Souls, Arise
302. Ye Waiting Souls, Arise
303. Young Men and Maidens, Raise

Source: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/w/e/s/wesley_c.htm

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Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 - 29 March 1788) was a leader of the Methodist movement, the younger brother of John Wesley. Despite their closeness, Charles and his brother did not always agree on questions relating to their beliefs. In particular, Charles was strongly opposed to the idea of a breach with the Church of England into which they had been ordained. Charles Wesley is chiefly remembered for the many hymns he wrote. He founded Wesley Chapel in the village of Brayton, which is just south of Selby. His house, located nearby, can still be visited today.


Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Marriage and children
* 3 Best-known hymns
* 4 Legacy
o 4.1 Tercentenary
* 5 References
* 6 External links


Biography

Charles Wesley was the son of Susanna Wesley and Samuel Wesley. Like his brother John, Charles Wesley was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, where their father was rector. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where his brother had also studied, and formed the "Oxford Methodist" group among his fellow students in 1727 which his elder brother, John joined in 1729 soon becoming its leader and moulding it to his own notions. George Whitefield also joined this group. Charles followed his father and brother into the church in 1735, and travelled with John to the colony of Georgia in America in the entourage of the governor, James Oglethorpe, returning a year later.

Charles lived and worked in the area around St Marylebone Parish Church and so, just before his death, he sent for its rector John Harley and told him "Sir, whatever the world may say of me, I have lived, and I die, a member of the Church of England. I pray you to bury me in your churchyard." On his death, his body was carried to the church by eight clergymen of the Church of England and a memorial stone to him stands in the gardens in Marylebone High Street, close to his burial spot. One of his sons, Samuel, was later organist of the present church.


Marriage and children

In 1749, he married the much younger Sarah Gwynne, daughter of Marmaduke Gwynne, a wealthy Welsh magistrate who had been converted to Methodism by Howell Harris. She accompanied the brothers on their evangelistic journeys throughout Britain, until Charles ceased to travel in 1765.

Charles and Sarah had 8 children together. However only three of them survived infancy, Charles Wesley junior (1757-1834), Samuel Wesley (1766 – 1837), and their sister Sarah Wesley. Both Samuel and Charles junior were organists and composers; Samuel Wesley's son, Samuel Sebastian Wesley was one of the foremost British composers of the 19th century, and some of Charles junior's works are still available and played.


Best-known hymns


In the course of his career, Charles Wesley published the words of over five and a half thousand hymns, writing the words for a further two thousand, many of which are still popular. These include:

* "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?" (Lyrics)
* "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" (Lyrics)
* "Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies" (Lyrics)
* "Come, O Thou Traveler unknown" (Lyrics)
* "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" (Lyrics)
* "Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise" (Lyrics)
* "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (Lyrics)
* "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" (Lyrics)
* "Jesus, The Name High Over All" (Lyrics)
* "Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending" (Lyrics)
* "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" (Lyrics)
* "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" (Lyrics)
* "Rejoice, the Lord is King" (Lyrics)
* "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" (Lyrics)
* "Ye Servants of God" (Lyrics)

The lyrics to many more of Charles Wesley's hymns can be found on Wikisource.

Some 150 of his hymns are included in the Methodist hymn book Hymns and Psalms.


Legacy

He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on March 2 with his brother John.

As a result of his enduring hymnody, the Gospel Music Association recognized his musical contributions to the art of gospel music in 1995 by listing his name in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.


Tercentenary

On 24th May 2007, there was a tercentenary celebration to celebrate 300 years since the birth of Charles Wesley, and many celebrations were held throughout England. It was held on the 24th May, known to all Methodists as 'Wesley Day,' although Charles Wesley was not born until December 1707. The May date actually commemorates the spiritual awakening of first Charles and then John Wesley in 1738. In particular, in the Village of Epworth, North Lincolnshire, at the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, there was a fantastic flower festival, on the 26th 27th and 28th May, with some of the most astounding flower arrangements, representing some of Charles Wesley’s hymns, from ‘O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,’ to ‘And Can It Be,’ and not forgetting ‘O For a Trumpet Voice,’ the name of the flower festival.

In November 2007, An Post, the Irish Post Office issued a 78c stamp to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of his birth.


References

* Abbey, Charles J. (1892) Religious thought in old English verse, London : Sampson Low, Marston, 456p., ISBN (?) 0-7905-4361-3
* Tyson, John R. (Ed.) (2000) Charles Wesley : a reader, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 519 p., ISBN 0-19-513485-0
* Tyson, John R. Assist Me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans and Göttingen: Edition Ruprecht 2007, ISBN 978-3-7675-3052-2 DOI 10.2364/3320751449


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley

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Born: December 18, 1707, Epworth, Lincolnshire, England.
Died: March 29, 1788, London, England.

Biography Charles Wesley was a famous English hymn writer, composing over 6000 hymns in his lifetime. He was the father of Charles Wesley, Jr.. Like most hymnists, his works were frequently altered. In the preface to the 1779 Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists his brother, John, railed against the reprinting of their hymns with no credit given. The text is here. In addition to hymn writing, Charles and his brother, founded the movement which later became known as the Methodists.

Listen to and view lyrics of any of Charles Wesley's 265 hymns listed below at the Cyber Hymnal.


Hymns

* Ah! Whither Should I Go?
* All Glory to God
* All Glory to God in the Sky
* All Wise, All Good, Almighty Lord
* All Praise to Him Who Dwells in Bliss
* All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord
* All Ye That Pass By
* All Ye That Seek the Lord Who Died
* Ambassadors of God
* And Am I Only Born to Die?
* And Are We Yet Alive?
* And Can I Yet Delay?
* And Can It Be That I Should Gain?
* And Let Our Bodies Part
* And Let This Feeble Body Fail
* And Must I Be to Judgment Brought
* Angels Your March Oppose
* Arise, My Soul, Arise
* Arm of the Lord, Awake, Awake!
* Author of Faith, Eternal Word
* Awake, Jerusalem, Awake!
* Away with Our Fears!
* Away with Our Sorrow and Fear
* Be Merciful, O God, to Me
* My Heart Is Fixed, O God
* Because Thou Hast Said
* Behold the Servant of the Lord
* Being of Beings
* Blest Be Our Everlasting Lord
* Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love
* Blow Ye the Trumpet, Blow
* By Faith We Find the Place Above
* Captain of Israel’s Host
* Celebrate Immanuel’s Name
* Charge to Keep I Have, A
* Christ from Whom All Blessings Flow
* Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
* Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
* Clap Your Hands, Ye People All
* Come Away to the Skies
* Come, and Let Us Sweetly Join
* Come, Divine Interpreter
* Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
* Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire
* Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue
* Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above
* Come, Let Us Rise with Christ
* Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine
* Come, Let Us Who in Christ Believe
* Come, O Thou All Victorious Lord
* Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown
* Come On, My Partners in Distress
* Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast
* Come, Thou Almighty King
* Come, Thou Conqueror of the Nations
* Come, Thou Everlasting Spirit
* Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
* Come, O Savior, Long Expected
* Come, Thou Savior, Long Expected
* Hail, Thou Long Expected Jesus
* Come, Ye Weary Sinners, Come
* Depth of Mercy
* Earth with All Her Fullness Owns, The
* Eternal Beam of Light Divine
* Eternal Son, Eternal Love
* Eternal Sun of Righteousness
* Father, God, We Glorify
* Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee
* Father, in Whom We Live
* Father of All, Whose Powerful Voice
* Eternal Son, Eternal Love
* Father of Everlasting Grace
* Father of Jesus Christ, My Lord
* Father of Me, and All Mankind
* Father, Our Hearts We Lift
* Father, Son and Holy Ghost
* Father, Whose Everlasting Love
* Forever Here My Rest Shall Be
* Forth in Thy Name, O Lord
* Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild
* Holy Jesus, Savior Mild
* Loving Jesus, Gentle Lamb
* Give Me a New, a Perfect Heart
* Give Me the Enlarged Desire
* Give Me the Faith Which Can Remove
* Glorious God, Accept a Heart
* Glory Be to God on High (1)
* Glory Be to God on High (2)
* Glory to God, Whose Sovereign Grace
* God Is Gone Up on High
* God of All Power and Truth and Grace
* Father, Supply My Every Need
* Holy, and True, and Righteous Lord
* God Only Wise, and Great, and Strong
* Good Thou Art, and Good Thou Dost
* Great Archangel’s Trump, The
* Great God! To Me the Sight Afford
* Hail, Co-Essential Three
* Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise
* Happy Magdalene, to Whom
* Happy Soul, That, Free from Harms
* Happy the Man That Finds the Grace
* Happy the Souls to Jesus Joined
* Hark! A Voice Divides the Sky
* Hark, How the Watchmen Cry
* Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
* He Comes! He Comes! the Judge Severe!
* Head of Thy Church Triumphant
* Head of Thy Church, Whose Spirit Fills
* Hearken to the Solemn Voice
* Heavenly Father, Sovereign Lord
* Ho! Every One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh
* Holy as Thou, O Lord, Is None
* Holy, Holy, Lord
* Holy Lamb, Who Thee Confess
* Hosanna in the Highest
* How Can We Sinners Know
* How Glorious Is the Life Above
* How Happy Are the Little Flock
* How Happy Every Child of Grace
* How Happy Are Thy Servants, Lord
* How Lovely Are Thy Tents, O Lord!
* I Call the World’s Redeemer Mine
* I Know That My Redeemer Lives
* I the Good Fight Have Fought
* I Want a Principle Within
* If Death My Friend and Me Divide
* In Age and Feebleness Extreme
* Infinite God, to Thee We Raise
* Jehovah, God the Father, Bless
* Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
* Jesus, Faithful to His Word
* Jesus, from Whom All Blessings Flow
* Jesus, Let All Thy Lovers Shine
* Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee
* Jesus, Lover of My Soul
* Jesus, My Advocate Above
* Jesus, My Savior, Brother, Friend
* Jesu, My Savior, Brother, Friend
* Jesus, My Strength, My Hope
* Jesus, the All-Restoring Word
* Jesus, the Conqueror, Reigns
* Jesus! the Name High over All
* Jesus, the Rising Lord of All
* Jesus, the Sinner’s Friend
* Jesus, the Truth and Power Divine
* Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love
* Jesus, Thou All Redeeming Lord
* Jesus, Thou Soul of All Our Joys
* Jesus, United by Thy Grace
* Jesus, We Look to Thee
* Join All Ye Joyful Nations
* Join, All Ye Ransomed Sons of Grace
* Lamb of God I Look to Thee
* Leader of Faithful Souls
* Let All That Breathe, Jehovah Praise
* Let Angels and Archangels Sing
* Let Earth and Heaven Combine
* Let Him to Whom We Now Belong
* Let Not the Wise His Wisdom Boast
* Let Saints on Earth in Concert Sing
* Come, Let Us Join with One Accord
* Let the World Their Virtue Boast
* Let Us Plead for Faith Alone
* Lift Your Heads
* Light of Those Whose Dreary Dwelling
* Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending
* Lord, I Believe a Rest Remains
* Lord, I Believe Thy Work of Grace
* O Joyful Sound of Gospel Grace
* Lord, in the Strength of Grace
* Lord of the Harvest, Hear
* Lord, Whom Winds and Waves Obey
* Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
* Lovers of Pleasure More Than God
* Meet and Right It Is to Sing
* Messiah, Prince of Peace
* My God, I Am Thine
* My God, I Know, I Feel Thee Mine
* My Heart Is Full of Christ
* My Soul, Inspired with Sacred Love
* O Astonishing Grace, That the Reprobate Race
* O Come and Dwell in Me
* O for a Heart to Praise My God
* O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
* O for That Tenderness of Heart
* O God, Most Merciful and True
* O God, Thy Righteousness We Own
* O How Happy Are They Who the Savior Obey
* How Happy Are They
* O Jesus, My Hope
* O Love, Divine, How Sweet Thou Art
* O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done
* O Mercy Divine, O Couldst Thou Incline
* O That I Could, in Every Place
* O That I Could Repent
* O That My Load of Sin Were Gone!
* O the Depth of Love Divine
* O Thou Eternal Victim Slain
* O Thou, Before the World Began
* O Thou, Our Savior, Brother, Friend
* O Thou Who at Thy Creature’s Bar
* Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray
* Servants of Christ, His Truth Who Know
* Thou Jesus, Thou My Breast Inspire
* Thy Power and Saving Truth to Show
* O Thou Who Camest from Above
* O Thou, Whom All Thy Saints Adore
* O Thou Whose Offering on the Tree
* O What Shall I Do, My Savior to Praise
* Object of All Our Knowledge Here
* Omnipotent Lord, My Savior and King
* Our Earth We Now Lament to See
* Our Lord Is Risen from the Dead
* Peace, Doubting Heart!
* Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above
* Prisoners of Hope, Arise
* Rejoice, the Lord Is King
* Righteous God! Whose Vengeful Phials
* Savior, and Can It Be
* Savior, Prince of Israel’s Race
* Savior, Whom Our Hearts Adore
* See How Great a Flame Aspires
* See, Jesus, Thy Disciples See
* See, Sinners, in the Gospel Glass
* Shepherd Divine, Our Wants Relieve
* Sing to the Great Jehovah’s Praise
* Sing, Ye Ransomed Nations, Sing
* Sinners, Believe the Gospel Word
* Sinners, Dismiss Your Fear
* Sinners, Rejoice: Your Peace Is Made
* Sinners, Obey the Gospel Word
* Sinners, Turn: Why Will You Die?
* Soldiers of Christ, Arise
* Son of the Carpenter, Receive
* Servant of All, to Toil for Man
* Spirit of Faith, Come Down
* Stand the Omnipotent Decree
* Stay, Thou Insulted Spirit, Stay
* Surrounded by a Host of Foes
* Talk with Us, Lord
* Terrible Thought! Shall I Alone
* Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose
* This Is Thy Will, I Know
* Thou God of Glorious Majesty
* Thou Great Mysterious God Unknown
* Thou Judge of Quick and Dead
* Thou Son of God, Whose Flaming Eyes
* Thou, the Great, Eternal God
* Thousand Oracles Divine, A
* Thy Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love
* Thy Faithfulness, Lord, Each Moment We Find
* ’Tis Finished! The Messiah Dies
* To Us a Child of Royal Birth
* Victim Divine, Thy Grace We Claim
* Watched by the World’s Malignant Eye
* Weary of Wandering from My God
* Weary Souls That Wander Wide
* Weep Not for a Brother Deceased
* What Am I, O Thou Glorious God!
* What Is Our Calling’s Glorious Hope?
* What Shall I Do, My God to Love
* What Shall I Render to My God
* When Quiet in My House I Sit
* Where Is the Holy Heav’n-Born Child?
* Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?
* Wherewith, O Lord, Shall I Draw Near?
* Whether the Word Be Preached or Read
* What Are These Arrayed in White?
* Who Are These Arrayed in White?
* With Glorious Clouds Encompassed Round
* With Solemn Faith We Offer Up
* Woe to the Men on Earth Who Dwell
* Worship, and Thanks, and Blessing
* Would Jesus Have the Sinner Die?
* Ye Heavenly Choir
* Ye Neighbors and Friends of Jesus
* Ye Ransomed Sinners, Hear
* Ye Servants of God
* Ye Simple Men of Hearts Sincere
* Ye That Pass By, Behold the Man
* Ye Thirsty for God
* Ye Virgin Souls, Arise
* Ye Waiting Souls, Arise
* Young Men and Maidens, Raise

Source: http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Charles_Wesley

Born: February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany.

Died: November, 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany.

Sources

* Randel, pp. 574-6

Music

1. Bartholdy
2. Consolation
3. Elven
4. Lord’s Day
5. Mendelssohn
6. Munich
7. Nun Danket
8. Praise Song
9. Sherborne
10. Stukely
11. Trust

Source: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/m/e/mendelssohn_f.html

--------------------------------------------------

Born: February 3, 1809 - Hamburg, Germany
Died: November 4, 1847 - Leipzig, Germany

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, now known generally as Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer of the early Romantic period. His work includes symphonies, concertos, oratories, piano and chamber music. After a long period of relative denigration, his creative originality is now beiong recognised and re-evaluated.

Biography

Mendelssohn was the son of a banker, Abraham, who was himself the son of the famous Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn, and of Lea Salomon, a member od the Itzig family. Abraham sought to renounce the Jewish religion; his children were first brought up without religious education, and were baptised as Lutherans in 1816. (Abraham and his wife were not themselves baptised until 1822). The name Bartholdy was assumed at the suggestion of Lea's brother, Jakob, who had purchased a property of this name and adopted it as his own surname. Abraham was later to explain this decision in a letter to Felix as a means of showing a decisive break with the traditions of his father Moses: 'There can no more be a Christian Mendelssohn than there can be a Jewish Confucius'. Although Felix continued to sign his letters as 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy' in obedience to his fsther's injunctions, he seems not to have objected to the use of 'Mendelssohn' alone.

The family moved to Berlin in 1812. His sister Fanny Mendelssohn (later Fanny Hensel), became a well-known pianist and amateur composer; originally Abraham had thought that she, rather than her brother, might be the more musical.

Mendelssohn is often considered the greatest child prodigy after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He began taking piano lessons from his mother when he was six, and at seven was tutored by Marie Bigot in Paris. From 1817 he studied composition with Carl Friedrich Zelter in Berlin. He probably made his first public concert appearance at the age of nine, when he participated in a chamber music concert. He was also a prolific composer as a child, and wrote his first published work, a piano quartet, by the time he was thirteen. Zelter introduced Felix to his friend and correspondent, the elderly Goethe. Felix later took lessons from the composer and virtuoso Ignaz Moscheles who however confessed that he had little to teach him. Moscheles became a close colleague and lifelong friend.

As an adolescent, Felix's works were often performed at home with a private orchestra for the associates of his wealthy parents amongst the intellectual elite of Berlin. Mendelssohn wrote his first twelve symphonies in his early teens (more specifically, from ages twelve to fourteen). These works were ignored for over a century, but are now recorded and heard occasionally in concerts. At fifteen he wrote his first acknowledged symphony for full orchestra, his opus 11 in C minor in 1824. At the age of sixteen he wrote his String Octet in E Flat Major, the first work which showed the full power of his genius, and, together with his overture to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which he wrote a year later, the best known of his early works. (He wrote incidental music for the play in 1842, including the famous Wedding March). In 1827 he saw the first production of his opera, Die Hochzeit des Camacho.

In 1829 Mendelssohn paid his first visit to England, where Moscheles, already settled in London, introduced him to influential musical circles. Felix had a great success, conducting his First Symphony and playing in public and private concerts. On subsequent visits he met with Queen Victoria and her musical husband Prince Albert, both of whom were great admirers of his music. In the course of ten visits to Britain during his life he won a strong following, and the country inspired two of his most famous works, the overture Fingal's Cave (also known as the Hebrides Overture) and the Scottish Symphony (Symphony no.3). His oratorio Elijah was premiered in Birmingham on August 26, 1846.

In 1835, he was appointed as conductor of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. This appointment was extremly important for him as he felt himself to be a German and wished to play a leading part in his country's musical life. Despite efforts by the king of Prussia to lure him to Berlin, Mendelssohn sought to develop the musical life of Leipzig and in 1843 he founded the Leipzig Conservatory, where he succesfully persuaded Moscheles to join him.

Mendelssohn's personal life was conventional. His marriage to Cécile Jeanrenaud in March of 1837 was very happy and the couple had five children. Felix was an accomplished painter in water-colour, and his enormous correspondence shows that he could also be a witty writer (in both German and English - and sometimes accompanied by humorous sketches and cartoons in the text).

Mendelssohn suffered from bad health in the final years of his life, probably aggravated by nervous problems and overwork, and he was greatly distressed by the death of his sister Fanny in May 1847. Felix Mendelssohn died later that same year after a series of strokes, in Leipzig. He is buried in the Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof (Trinity Cemetery) I in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

Mendelssohn's Revival of the Music of Bach and Schubert

Mendelssohn was deeply influenced by the music of J.S. Bach. His aunt, Sarah Levy (née Itzig) was a pupil of Bach's son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and had supported the widow of another son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. She had collected a number of Bach manuscripts. J.S. Bach's music, which had fallen into relative obscurity by the turn of the 19th century, was also deeply respected by Felix's teacher Zelter. In 1829, with the backing of Zelter and the assistance of Felix's friend, the actor Eduard Devrient, Felix arranged and conducted a performance in Berlin of Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244). The success of this performance (the first since Bach's death in 1750) was an important element in the revival of J.S. Bach's music in Germany and, eventually, throughout Europe. It earned Mendelssohn widespread acclaim at the age of twenty. It also led to one of the very few references which Felix ever made to his origins: 'To think that it took an actor and a Jew-boy (Judensohn) to revive the greatest Christian music for the world'.

Mendelssohn also revived interest in the work of Franz Schubert. He conducted the premiere of Schubert's Ninth Symphony at Leipzig on March 21, 1839, more than a decade after the composer's death.

Mendelssohn and his Contemporaries

Throughout his life Mendelssohn was chary of the more radical musical developments undertaken by some of his contemporaries. He was generally on friendly, if somewhat cool, terms with the likes of Berlioz, Liszt and Meyerbeer but in his letters expresses his frank disapproval of their works.

In particular he seems to have regarded Paris and its music with the greatest of suspicion, with an almost Puritan distaste. Attempts made, during his visit there, to interest him in Saint-Simonianism ended in embarrassing scenes. He thought the Paris style of opera vulgar, and the works of Meyerbeer insincere. and cost him When Ferdinand Hiller suggested in conversation to Felix that he looked rather like Meyerbeer (they were distant cousins, both descendants of Rabbi Moses Isserlis), Mendelssohn was so upset that he immediately went to get a hair-cut to differentiate himself. It is significant that the only musician with whom he was a close personal friend, Moscheles, was of an older generation and equally conservative in outlook. Moscheles preserved thioutlook at the Lepizig Conservatoire until his own death in 1870.

Reception History

This conservative strain in Mendelssohn, which set him apart from some of his more flamboyant contemporaries, bred a similar condescenscion on their part toward his music. Together with Felix's success, his popularity and his Jewish origins, it irked Richard Wagner sufficiently to damn him with faint praise, three years after Felix's death, in his anti-Jewish pamphlet Das Judenthum in der Musik. This was the start of a movement to denigrate Mendelssohn's achievements which lasted almost a century, the remants of which can still be discerned today amongst some writers. The Nazi regime was to cite his Jewish origin in banning his works and destroying memorial statues.

In England however Mendelssohn's reputation remained high for a long time; the adulatory (and today scarcely readable) novel Charles Auchester by the teen-aged Sarah Sheppard, published in 1851, which features Mendelssohn as the 'Chevalier Seraphael', remained in print for nearly eighty years. However many critics, including George Bernard Shaw began to condemn his music for its association with Victorian cultural insularity.

Over the last fifty years a new apprecation of his work has developed which takes into account not only the popular 'war horses' such as the Violin Concerto and the Italian Symphony, but has been able to remove the Victorian varnish from the oratorio Elijah, and has explored the frequently intense and dramatic world of the chamber works. Virtually all of Mendelssohn's published work is now available on CD.

Music

Juvenilia and Early works: Influences
The young Mendelssohn was greatly influenced in his childhood by the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and these can all be seen, albeit often rather crudely, in the twelve early 'symphonies,' mainly written for performance in the Mendelssohn household and not published or publicly performed until long after his death.

His astounding capacities are, however, clearly revealed in a clutch of works of his early maturity (that is, before he was 18 years old!) : the String Octet (1825), the Overture 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (1826), and the String Quartet in A minor (listed as no. 2 but written before no. 1) of 1827. These show a intuitive grasp of form, harmony, counterpoint, colour and the compositional technique of Beethoven which justify the claims often made that Felix's precocity exceeded even that of Mozart in its intellectual grasp.

Orchestral Music
Mendelssohn wrote the concert overture The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) in 1830, inspired by visits he made to Scotland around the end of the 1820s, although its main theme is now known to have been sketched before this. These visits also inspired his Symphony No 3, The Scottish, which was written intermittently between around 1830 and 1842. The piece, whilst 'atmospheric' in the ethos of Romanticism, does not include any actual Scottish folk melodies.

Mendelssohn travelled widely in Europe throughout his life, and a visit to Italy inspired the Symphony No 4 in A major, known as the Italian. Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in 1833, but he did not allow the score to be published during his lifetime as he continued to rewrite it.

Concertos
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64, (1844).written for Ferdinand David, has become one of the most popular of all of Mendelssohn's compositions. Many violinists have commenced their solo careers with a performance of this concerto, including Jascha Heifetz, who gave his first public performance of the piece at the age of seven.

Mendelssohn also wrote two piano concertos, a less well known, early, violin concerto, and a double concerto for piano and violin.

Chamber Music

Choral Music
The two large oratorios, St. Paul in 1836 and Elijah in 1846, were greatly influenced by Bach.

Use of Chorale Melodies in his works

Title
Chorale Melody
Year

Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein for Mixed Chorus, Baritone Solo, and Orchestra
Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
1832

Use of Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein in Athalia, incidental music (for Jean Baptiste Racine's religious drama), Op. 74
Contributed by André Papillon (May 2006)
Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
1845

Allein Gott in der Höh', chorale harmonization for chorus
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr
Sep 1824

Allein Gott in der Höh, chorale harmonization for chorus & winds [Chorale harmonizations (3) No. 1]; performed Berlin, Christmas 1843
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr
Dec 1843

Drei Kirchenmusiken (Cantatas) (Bonn, 1832): Aus tiefer Noth, F, T, chorus, org
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir
1830

Herr Gott, dich loben wir (TeDeum), solo voices, double chorus, 4 trombones, strings, organ
Herr Gott, dich loben wir [The German Tedeum]
1843

Jesu, meine Freude, Chorale Cantata for chorus, strings in E minor
Jesu, meine Freude
1828

The chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich appears in op. 65, no. 6 in Felix Mendelssohn’s set of 6 organ sonatas
Vater unser im Himmelreich
1844-1845

Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, Chorale Cantata for Solo Voice, Chorus, Strings and Continuo
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
1829

Source: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Mendelssohn-Felix.html

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