Hark! a Thrilling Voice is Sounding
Lyrics translated by Edward Caswall
The title of this devotional is “SHUT UP AND LISTEN!” Or in advent speak: “HARK!”
Hark is a word we sing often during Advent and Christmas. Coming from hearken, meaning listen, the word is rarely sung outside of this season for good reason. When you know Christ is coming, dropping everything and listening up is a good idea! Translated from an ancient Latin poem, “Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding”, is clearly a shut up and listen hymn. Words like warning, bondage, sorrow, and fear aren’t in our modern culture’s typical Christmas vocabulary. But just reading the words without the music evokes feelings of triumph over these in Christ’s coming. His mercy, glory, pardon, and light drown out the fear, and we better shut up and listen… I mean, Hark!
The melody of this hymn is one I like to call “ploddy.” With all even rhythms, meaning every note has the same value, this is a hymn that is better studied using the text. William Henry Monk, who wrote the famous tunes to “All things bright and beautiful” and “Abide with me” clearly knew how to write interesting melodies. As I’m an optimist when it comes to composers, I’d like to think that he chose to write this seemingly uninteresting melody to highlight the meaningful poetry. As you listen to and reflect on the text of “Hark!”, may you find beauty in the simplest of songs, as they serve to comfort as much as our favorite familiar Christmas meals.
Listen
Traditional
Praise/Worship
