ERE’S a dirty little secret about hymnal editors: some do nothing more than compile hymns from their youth plus additions from 2-3 major hymnals. We have taken a different approach in the creation of the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal—for five years, we have collected 77,000 pages from rare Catholic hymnals, choosing the very best. We have also commissioned contemporary texts and melodies. Ours is unlike any hymn book produced in the last 100 years.
Most German hymnals we’ve come across contain words only—but this one has harmonies:
* * PDF Download • 1847 Hymnal (879 pages)
For reasons I don’t fully understand, the most beautiful hymn tunes we’ve discovered are usually English or German in origin.
Before long, proofreading will begin for the Brébeuf hymnal. Those interested in proofreading the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal should email the committee. My understanding is they’re searching for proofreaders. Make sure the word “proofreader” is in your email subject line.
What Dr. Hugo Riemann has to say about Fr. Lück’s Hymnal:
Gesang- und Gebetbuch für die Diözese Trier (1847)
“Hymnal and Prayer Book for the Diocese of Trier” (1847)Lück, Stephan, b. Jan. 9, 1806, Linz-a-Rh., d. Nov. 4, 1883, Trèves, studied at Linz, Bonn, Trèves, took holy orders Sept. 20, 1828; up to 1831 he was chaplain at Kreuznach, up to 1835 parish priest at Waldalgesheim, up to 1849 professor of moral philosophy at the clerical college, Trèves, and, finally, became member of the cathedral chapter in that city. Lück distinguished himself in the restoration of Catholic Church music. He published; “Gesang und Gebetbuch für die Diöcese Trier” (1846); “Theoretisch-praktische Anleitung zur Herstellung eines würdigen Kirchengesanges” (1856); “Sammlung ausgezeichneter Kompositionen für die Kirche” (1859)—the 2nd edition (in four volumes) was published by M. Hermesdorff (1884) and H. Oberhoffer (1885).
