By the Welsh National Opera, with Gareth Jones
Yesterday I posted Alleluiah, Sing to Jesus, and Elder Mike found it hauntingly familiar but couldn’t place it. When I told him the melody goes with several different hymns, he asked me what they were. I didn’t know, offhand, so I’ve looked it up.
“Hyfrydol” is a Welsh melody; the word means “delightful” or “pleasant” in Welsh. I love to play it on my harmonica, and churches all over the world have adopted it as a setting for some of their favorite hymns.
Here are seven hymns [source: Wikipedia] that use the Hyfrydol melody:
Alleluiah, Sing to Jesus; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling and Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (these two with lyrics by Charles Wesley); I Will Sing the Wondrous Story; Our Great Savior; I Will Sing of My Redeemer; and In Humility, Our Savior
I have no idea how many different hymnals these appear in. It has every chance of seeming familiar to lots and lots of Christians of all denominations.
And one thing’s sure–you can’t beat a Welsh choir.