What makes a good hymn? A hymn is a metrical composition, meaning “it has stanzas or verses that repeat the same (or nearly the same) syllabic pattern, just like metrical poems. In fact, the best hymns can stand on their own textual merit as poems. A regular meter is an important part of what makes hymns more [easily to sing] by an entire congregation of mostly novice musicians; the repetition makes it easy to anticipate the prosody and catch on to the song more quickly.
” The intention of a hymn is for people to sing it together. In a religious set up, hymn singing is a congregational or community expression of thanksgiving, commitment, prayer, adoration, asking for help or forgiveness, supplication, and celebration. Since this is both an individual/private and community articulation through music and words, it needs a harmonious and lyrical mode elegantly laid out in poetic form and musicality.
A quality hymn can be easily learned and sang and establishes a poetic logic, where musical notes are connected so that the rising and falling of notes can produce a lovely and beautiful melody. Listening to a good hymn encourages one to meditate, act according to what is instructed in its lines and words, and to sing it repeatedly with passion and conviction. Such definition leads me to think about the recent memorandum by President Marcos ordering government agencies and institutions to integrate the singing of the “Bagong Pilipinas” hymn in weekly flag ceremonies.
I wonder .
