Free Music Recordings
Singing in the Bible: Miriam at the Red Sea, David, Jehoshaphat, hymn at the last supper, singing around the throne in Heaven
Oldest Hymn Extant - #555 - sing to tune of My Faith Looks Up to Thee - Bb
1483-1546 Martin Luther, German monk, Catholic priest, and leader of the Reformation. Luther loved music and wrote hymns to focus the heart on Christ and His Salvation. Luther wanted songs that everyone could sing so he would use well known tunes from that time putting sacred words to them. He wrote: "Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world."
1529: His beautiful hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," was written in this year during the period of history that we call the Renaissance (1400-1600, a time of special artistic development with artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo.) - #506 Bb
1653: Oliver Cromwell effectively disbanded the British Parliament and ushered in the culture of Puratinism. He banned Christmas Carols. Church music in England became very strict, sober, and proper.
1695: In this strict music environment, a teacher at a boys college who wrote hymns for his own worship, shared one with some of the boys at the school with the instructions that it could not be sung publicly...only in the privacy of their dorm rooms during their personal worship so as not to cause controversy: Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (Awake My Soul) - Thomas Ken
1707: Around this same time, a young man wanting to change church music, update it, and make it more personal and contemporary. Church leaders didn't care for him or his music, they thought if him as a trouble-maker and they thought the church music they had was just fine...no changes needed. They felt his music was not reverent enough. This young man reportedly wrote an answer to his critics in the form of a song: "Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God, but children of the heavenly King must speak their joys abroad. - Marching to Zion - #422 - D, Eb - Isaac Watts
1707: That same year, Charles Wesley was born. He and his brother John and their friend George Whitefield, were key leaders in the First Great Religious Awakening (1730s-1740s) which shaped Protestant America. George Whitefield went wherever his horse would take him preaching throughout America. Benjamin Franklin was a tremendous supporter of Whitefield even though he didn't agree with him in every point of theology.
Benjamin Franklin also published the first hymn book in America...a controversial compilation of Isaac Watt's hymns.
Eventually George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers had a falling out, and at least some of their split came through music controversy. Charles had written a hymn that George was publishing in 1739, but George changed one line of the hymn because he didn't like a word that Charles had used...Charles had written Hark how all the welkin rings. (Use original tune vs tune we use today which was written by Mendelssohn to commemorate the invention of the printing press)
1776: Another controversy with the Wesley brothers gave us a well known hymn. On July 4,1776, England's King George III wrote in his journal, "Nothing of any importance happened today." In addition, a theological debate was raging that year - Augustus Toplady published an article arguing that just as England could never hope to repay it's national debt, so sinful man would never satisfy the righteousness of a holy God. He published a poem at the end of his article that we sing today: Rock of Ages (not the labors of my hands, can fulfill Thy law's demands") 300 - Rock of Ages, G 1,2
1779: Amazing Grace - John Newton - #108
The Second Great Religious Awakening - a period of revival that swept throughout North America culminating in the 1830s-1840s, and the Seventh-day Adventist denomination grew out of this time.
1844: Watch Ye Saints - Phoebe Worrell Palmer
1846: Come, Come Ye Saints (All is Well) - William Clayton (Mormons fleeing persecution to Salt Lake City from Nauvoo. His wife Diantha couldn’t travel because she was pregnant. He wrote this when word reached them that she had been delivered of a healthy baby boy.)
1873: After the War Between the Statesa group of businessmen came together in New York to form an insurance company which became Met Life - Joseph and Phoebe Knapp (her mother is Phoebe Worrell Palmer) - Phoebe wrote the tune for Blessed Assurance C
Fanny Crosby gave her life and gift of poetry to God while singing Isaac Watts, that once-controversial hymn writer, At the Cross 163 - C#
1873 - Phillip Bliss - It Is Well With My Soul, I Will Sing of My Redeemer, also wrote Dare to Be a Daniel (d. 1876 - Great Ashtabula Railway Disaster) 343 - D
1886 Standing On the Promises - R. Kelso Carter, Professor of Mathematics Pennsylvania Military Institute - after reading “all the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen” - #518 F#
1887 Leaning On the Everlasting Arms
1892 The Holy City, a lawyer and a judge, Frederic Weatherly wrote lyrics (Danny Boy), music by Stephen Adams
1899 Power In the Blood
1905 His Eye Is On the Sparrow - Civilla Martin
1912 In the Garden - Charles Austin Miles (a pharmacist, wrote Wide, Wide as the Ocean)
1913 The Old Rugged Cross - George Bennard
1917 The Love of God - Frederic Lehman (3rd stanza found written pencil on wall of insane asylum or prison - depending on the story)
1923 I Bowed On My Knees - Nuttie Dudley or Nettie Dudley Washington
1925 Great Is Thy Faithfulness - William Chisholm
1933 He Lives - Alfred Ackley - 251 - G
1935 The Lord's Prayer - Albert Haye Malotte (John Charles Thomas recorded it, Albert boxed with Jack Dempsey)
1948 It Took A Miracle - John W. Peterson
1949 Mansion Over the Hilltop - Ira Stamphill
1953 How Great Thou Art - Stuart Hime - 86 G
1953 The Captain Calls for You - A. W. Spalding
1955 What A Day That Will Be - Jim Hill
1958 Until Then - Stuart Hamblin - 632, G
1962 We Have This Hope - Wayne Hooper
1962 The Blood - Andre Crouch (c. 1966 although some places say he wrote it in 1962)
1964 Fill My Cup, Lord - Richard Blanchard
1968 He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need - Dottie Rambo
1969 Pass It On - Kurt Kaiser
1970 The King Is Coming - Bill and Gloria Gaither, and Charles Milhuff
1971 Because He Lives - Bill and Gloria Gaither
1971 My Tribute - Andre Crouch
1971 Though It All - Andre Crouch
1972 Side By Side - Jeff Wood
1975 Soon and Very Soon - Andre Crouch
1977 Majesty - Jack Hayford
1977 Rise Again - Dallas Holme
1980 We Shall Behold Him - Dottie Rambo
1981 As the Deer - Martin Nystrom, a native of Seattle, WA
1982 Friends - Michael W. Smith, and Deborah Smith
1984 God and God Alone - Phill McHugh
1985 Lamb of God - Twila Paris
1986 Calvary's Love - Phill McHugh and Greg Nelson
1993 Shout to The Lord - Darlene Zschech
1993 Go Light Your World - Chris Rice
1994 The Anchor Holds - Lawrence Chewning, Ray Boltz
1999 Above All - Paul Baloche, Lenny LeBlanc
2005 How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin
© Live at the Well
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Live at the Well.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kelly Mowrer. © Live at the Well.
Oldest Hymn Extant - #555 - sing to tune of My Faith Looks Up to Thee - Bb
1483-1546 Martin Luther, German monk, Catholic priest, and leader of the Reformation. Luther loved music and wrote hymns to focus the heart on Christ and His Salvation. Luther wanted songs that everyone could sing so he would use well known tunes from that time putting sacred words to them. He wrote: "Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world."
1529: His beautiful hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," was written in this year during the period of history that we call the Renaissance (1400-1600, a time of special artistic development with artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michaelangelo.) - #506 Bb
1653: Oliver Cromwell effectively disbanded the British Parliament and ushered in the culture of Puratinism. He banned Christmas Carols. Church music in England became very strict, sober, and proper.
1695: In this strict music environment, a teacher at a boys college who wrote hymns for his own worship, shared one with some of the boys at the school with the instructions that it could not be sung publicly...only in the privacy of their dorm rooms during their personal worship so as not to cause controversy: Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow (Awake My Soul) - Thomas Ken
1707: Around this same time, a young man wanting to change church music, update it, and make it more personal and contemporary. Church leaders didn't care for him or his music, they thought if him as a trouble-maker and they thought the church music they had was just fine...no changes needed. They felt his music was not reverent enough. This young man reportedly wrote an answer to his critics in the form of a song: "Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God, but children of the heavenly King must speak their joys abroad. - Marching to Zion - #422 - D, Eb - Isaac Watts
1707: That same year, Charles Wesley was born. He and his brother John and their friend George Whitefield, were key leaders in the First Great Religious Awakening (1730s-1740s) which shaped Protestant America. George Whitefield went wherever his horse would take him preaching throughout America. Benjamin Franklin was a tremendous supporter of Whitefield even though he didn't agree with him in every point of theology.
Benjamin Franklin also published the first hymn book in America...a controversial compilation of Isaac Watt's hymns.
Eventually George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers had a falling out, and at least some of their split came through music controversy. Charles had written a hymn that George was publishing in 1739, but George changed one line of the hymn because he didn't like a word that Charles had used...Charles had written Hark how all the welkin rings. (Use original tune vs tune we use today which was written by Mendelssohn to commemorate the invention of the printing press)
1776: Another controversy with the Wesley brothers gave us a well known hymn. On July 4,1776, England's King George III wrote in his journal, "Nothing of any importance happened today." In addition, a theological debate was raging that year - Augustus Toplady published an article arguing that just as England could never hope to repay it's national debt, so sinful man would never satisfy the righteousness of a holy God. He published a poem at the end of his article that we sing today: Rock of Ages (not the labors of my hands, can fulfill Thy law's demands") 300 - Rock of Ages, G 1,2
1779: Amazing Grace - John Newton - #108
The Second Great Religious Awakening - a period of revival that swept throughout North America culminating in the 1830s-1840s, and the Seventh-day Adventist denomination grew out of this time.
1844: Watch Ye Saints - Phoebe Worrell Palmer
1846: Come, Come Ye Saints (All is Well) - William Clayton (Mormons fleeing persecution to Salt Lake City from Nauvoo. His wife Diantha couldn’t travel because she was pregnant. He wrote this when word reached them that she had been delivered of a healthy baby boy.)
1873: After the War Between the Statesa group of businessmen came together in New York to form an insurance company which became Met Life - Joseph and Phoebe Knapp (her mother is Phoebe Worrell Palmer) - Phoebe wrote the tune for Blessed Assurance C
Fanny Crosby gave her life and gift of poetry to God while singing Isaac Watts, that once-controversial hymn writer, At the Cross 163 - C#
1873 - Phillip Bliss - It Is Well With My Soul, I Will Sing of My Redeemer, also wrote Dare to Be a Daniel (d. 1876 - Great Ashtabula Railway Disaster) 343 - D
1886 Standing On the Promises - R. Kelso Carter, Professor of Mathematics Pennsylvania Military Institute - after reading “all the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen” - #518 F#
1887 Leaning On the Everlasting Arms
1892 The Holy City, a lawyer and a judge, Frederic Weatherly wrote lyrics (Danny Boy), music by Stephen Adams
1899 Power In the Blood
1905 His Eye Is On the Sparrow - Civilla Martin
1912 In the Garden - Charles Austin Miles (a pharmacist, wrote Wide, Wide as the Ocean)
1913 The Old Rugged Cross - George Bennard
1917 The Love of God - Frederic Lehman (3rd stanza found written pencil on wall of insane asylum or prison - depending on the story)
1923 I Bowed On My Knees - Nuttie Dudley or Nettie Dudley Washington
1925 Great Is Thy Faithfulness - William Chisholm
1933 He Lives - Alfred Ackley - 251 - G
1935 The Lord's Prayer - Albert Haye Malotte (John Charles Thomas recorded it, Albert boxed with Jack Dempsey)
1948 It Took A Miracle - John W. Peterson
1949 Mansion Over the Hilltop - Ira Stamphill
1953 How Great Thou Art - Stuart Hime - 86 G
1953 The Captain Calls for You - A. W. Spalding
1955 What A Day That Will Be - Jim Hill
1958 Until Then - Stuart Hamblin - 632, G
1962 We Have This Hope - Wayne Hooper
1962 The Blood - Andre Crouch (c. 1966 although some places say he wrote it in 1962)
1964 Fill My Cup, Lord - Richard Blanchard
1968 He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need - Dottie Rambo
1969 Pass It On - Kurt Kaiser
1970 The King Is Coming - Bill and Gloria Gaither, and Charles Milhuff
1971 Because He Lives - Bill and Gloria Gaither
1971 My Tribute - Andre Crouch
1971 Though It All - Andre Crouch
1972 Side By Side - Jeff Wood
1975 Soon and Very Soon - Andre Crouch
1977 Majesty - Jack Hayford
1977 Rise Again - Dallas Holme
1980 We Shall Behold Him - Dottie Rambo
1981 As the Deer - Martin Nystrom, a native of Seattle, WA
1982 Friends - Michael W. Smith, and Deborah Smith
1984 God and God Alone - Phill McHugh
1985 Lamb of God - Twila Paris
1986 Calvary's Love - Phill McHugh and Greg Nelson
1993 Shout to The Lord - Darlene Zschech
1993 Go Light Your World - Chris Rice
1994 The Anchor Holds - Lawrence Chewning, Ray Boltz
1999 Above All - Paul Baloche, Lenny LeBlanc
2005 How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin
© Live at the Well
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Live at the Well.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kelly Mowrer. © Live at the Well.