Gwahoddiad
Gwahoddiad is a Welsh hymn of American origin.
Gwahoddiad (Welsh for invitation), also known as Arglwydd Dyma Fi and by its first line Mi glywaf dyner lais, was originally the English-language gospel song I Am Coming, Lord, the first line of which is I hear thy welcome voice. The English words and the tune were written in 1872 by the American Methodist minister and gospel songwriter Lewis Hartsough (1828–1919) during a revival meeting at Epworth, Iowa, where Hartsough was minister.[1] Hartsough was musical editor of The Revivalist, a collection of hymns which had begun in 1868 and continued through 11 editions. The English words with Hartsough's tune first appeared in the 1872 edition.[2]
The tune is in 3/4 time, with fermatas at the option of the songleader. The metrical pattern is 6686 with refrain 5576. The rhyme scheme is abcb; the second and fourth lines rhyme, whether in the verse or in the refrain.
In 1906 the American gospel singer and composer Ira D. Sankey wrote:
The words and music of this beautiful hymn were first published in a monthly entitled Guide to Holiness, a copy of which was sent to me in England. I immediately adopted it, and had it published in Sacred Songs and Solos. It proved to be one of the most helpful of the revival hymns, and was often used as an invitation hymn in England and America.[3]
The Welsh version Gwahoddiad was translated by Calvinistic Methodist minister and musician Ieuan Gwyllt (literally John the Wild, bardic name of John Roberts) (1822–1877). It has become so well known in Wales that, despite its American origin, many people believe it to be an indigenously Welsh hymn.[4]
"I Am Coming, Lord" is an invitation song, typically sung at the end of a sermon in evangelistic meetings. The tune is usually called WELCOME VOICE in American hymnals[5] and may be labeled CALVARY in British hymnals.[6] During World War I Hartsough expressed gratification not only for having heard the song in various languages but also for having learned of its popularity with soldiers in the trenches of Europe.[7]
Consider now the lyrics, with the Welsh version printed first.
Welsh words
"Gwahoddiad"
The Roberts (Gwyllt) translation has four verses. The first verse is a virtual equivalent of Hartsough's original (see infra). Roberts essentially skipped Hartsough's second verse and then conflated the remaining three verses into similar but not verbatim thoughts matching Welsh to the metrical pattern of Hartsough's tune.[8]
Mi glywaf dyner lais,
Yn galw arnaf fi,
I ddod a golchi 'meiau gyd,
Yn afon Calfari.
Byrdwn
Arglwydd, dyma fi
Ar dy alwad di,
Golch fi'n burlan yn y gwaed[9]
A gaed ar Galfari.
Yr Iesu sy'n fy ngwadd,
I dderbyn gyda'i saint,
Ffydd, gobaith, cariad pur a hedd,
A phob rhyw nefol fraint.
Yr Iesu sy'n cryfhau,
O'm mewn Ei waith trwy ras;
Mae'n rhoddi nerth i'm henaid gwan,
I faeddu 'mhechod cas.
Gogoniant byth am drefn,
Y cymod a'r glanhad;
Derbyniaf Iesu fel yr wyf,
A chanaf am y gwaed.
Original English words
"I Am Coming, Lord!" as it appeared in the Revivalist (1872, p. 231, No. 464):[10]
I hear thy welcome voice,
That calls me, Lord, to thee;
For cleansing in thy precious blood,
That flow'd on Calvary.
Chorus
I am coming, Lord!
Coming now to Thee!
Wash me, cleanse me, in the blood
That flow'd on Calvary!
Though coming weak and vile,
Thou dost my strength assure;
Though dost my vileness fully cleanse,
Till spotless all, and pure.
'Tis Jesus calls me on
To perfect faith and love,
To perfect hope, and peace, and trust,
For earth and heaven above.
And he the witness gives
To loyal hearts and free,
That every promise is fulfilled,
If faith but brings the plea.
All hail! atoning blood!
All hail! redeeming grace!
All hail! the gift of Christ, our Lord,
Our strength and righteousness.
The fourth verse from Hartsough's original has attracted some clarification from editors. Roberts (Gwyllt) in the Welsh version simply massaged the concerns away via the translation. English-language editors have sometimes gone the way of B. B. McKinney in simply eliminating the verse[11] or Elmer Leon Jorgenson in revising it as follows:[12]
[13]And He assurance gives
To loyal hearts and true,
That ev'ry promise is fulfilled,
To those who hear and do.
American hymn editor William Jensen Reynolds asserted in 1976,[14] as he had done earlier, in 1964,[15] another verse, between the third and fourth verses above:
- 'Tis Jesus who confirms
- The blessed work within,
- By adding grace to welcomed grace,
- Where reigned the power of sin.[16]
Notable recordings
Gwahoddiad has been used as the title of a number of albums:
A number of notable recordings appear on other records:
- Morriston Orpheus Choir, on their 1994 album 60 Years of Song: EMI Records TCPR 133.
- Cerys Matthews, on her 2003 album Cockahoop: Blanco y Negro Records 2564-60306-2
- Lleuwen Steffan (daughter of Steve Eaves), with Huw Warren and Mark Lockheart, on their 2005 album Duw A Wyr / God Only Knows: Babel Label and SAIN SCD2507
- Only Boys Aloud, on their 2012 self-titled debut album: Relentless Records
- Côr y Penrhyn (Bethesda), on their 2011 album Anthem SAIN SCD2679 [18]
- Treorchy Male Choir (1973) The Very Best of Welsh Choirs: 16 Fabulous Tracks, EMI Records: EMC 3099
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., No. 464, with "I Am Coming, Lord!" indicated as title atop the score. The 1872 edition, first to bear this gospel song, had 336 pages including revised and enlarged indexes but was otherwise similar in appearance to the 1868 and 1869 editions.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sean Curnyn, in his discussion of the quick spread and persistence of the song in Wales, writes that more than a century prior to the internet one might have said that Gwyllt's popularization of the song caused it to go "bacterial" even if then it could not go viral. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[better source needed][self-published source]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Not an easy task, in translation. See dynamic equivalency.
- ↑ Or "Canna f'enaid yn y gwaed" (an alternative translation).
- ↑ Which is identical in every detail to this slightly later source: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., No. 264.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found., No. 83.
- ↑ Quoted from this contemporary hymnal which adheres mostly to Jorgenson: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. No. 263.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ That verse actually appears in all editions of Elmer Leon Jorgenson's Great songs of the church prior to 1937: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Jorgenson eliminated the verse in his 1937 edition, Great songs of the church Number Two. Cf. Forrest Mason McCann (1994), Hymns & history: An annotated survey of sources (Abilene: ACU Press), p. 573. ISBN 0-89112-058-0.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
