My little Gnudren, old Gnu, like many of us has fallen into silence and dumbness of spirit after the tragic events of the recent weeks in which lives have been cut tragically short.  They have knocked him somewhat senseless as will be confirmed by what is written below.  For those of us who are not in the midst of personal tragedy there is challenge from the Bible; no sorry, it’s from Charles Dickens’ novel Nicholas Nickleby.   Mr.Crummles says: In every life, no matter how full or empty one’s purse, there is tragedy. It is the one promise life always fulfils. Thus, happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it but to delight in it when it comes; and to add to other people’s store of it. It almost sounds as if it is from the book of Ecclesiastes.

So, to lift his spirits in these past weeks old Gnu has buried himself in the archives and unearthed things old and new. Under the Scores & Arrangements menu there has recently appeared a hymn tune that he nicked from someone who is out of copyright. He has substituted two simple verses in place of the original words. This derangement was a hit in 1996 at Christ Church Clifton. The melody used for this piece was composed by C.C. Williams. We don’t know a great deal about him except that his name was Charlie and his life was cut tragically short.  He was 30 and had been married for just 2 years when he died in 1882. We also know that he was a  professor (American word for teacher) at Dr. Root’s Normal Musical Institute of Erie, Pennsylvania. (Gnu has the feeling that he wouldn’t have qualified for entry into this establishment.) Anyway C.C. Williams wrote this tune for the hymn Have you any room for Jesus?  Unfortunately, we do not know the author of the words, but we do know they were adapted from an anonymous writer by one Daniel Webster Whittle. Amidst this lack of information about composer and original author one thing is certain: Daniel Webster Whittle (the adapter) looked like this:

Illustration 1: Picture of Daniel Webster Whittle, the Adapter.

 Have you any room for Jesus? was a very popular hymn at our Gospel Meetings in the Brethren Assemblies in London when Gnu was a teenager. He loved it when a visiting preacher chose this hymn, as by the age of 13 he was one of the regular the harmonium players at the Gospel Service.  He delighted in doing naughty things to the harmony; C.C. Williams’ wonderful tune has great potential for harmonic enrichment. Little did he know at the time that our great father in God, Johann Sebastian Bach (also known as the fifth Evangelist) had been reproved as a young organist in Arnstadt for the very same thing. The authorities in a report wrote the following: “Point out to him that in the chorales [hymns] he has made many curious variations and mingled many strange tones with them, so that the congregation was confused thereby.”  More pithy versions of this statement were unwittingly and occasionally expressed by some at Christ Church Clifton in the 1970’s to 1990s. Little did these protestors know that they were spiritual descendants of the early 18^th Century municipal authorities in Arnstadt ; for a few in the congregation had their sensitivities sorely “discomfited” by the vexatious harmonisations. But, alas, the Christ Church congregations came back for more punishment in their hundreds to ‘sit it out’ and to prove the truth of the Bible verse, “but we glory in tribulation knowing that tribulation worketh patience” (Romans 5:3-4) and that it is through great suffering we must enter the kingdom.

The BBC religious broadcasting producers also came back for more, so they could inflict this vexation on the nation.  We misguidedly thought at the time that this was a recognition on their part that they had discovered universal greatness. After BBC Religious Broadcasting moved to Manchester we realised it was more a matter of convenience because they only lived half a mile or so away at the BBC on Whiteladies Road, and thereafter they appeared no more. But we were extremely grateful to these kind and patient producers who worked under budget restraints I’m sure. They gave us more than one bite of the cherry over a period of 17 years. In the words of Mr. Crummles, they ‘added to the store of happiness of others’; ‘others’, in this case, being us.

Anyway, the words (All Authority & Power) which I have so presumptuously substituted for Have you any room for Jesus? move away from being a challenge to the sinner who may be present in your ‘Gospel Meeting’ (alas sinners didn’t attend that often), to a hymn of praise to Jesus. Since it is a stonking good tune, in 1996 I felt a bit like General Booth (Founder of the Salvation Army) when he said, “Why should the Brethren have all the best tunes?” (or was it the devil?)….it was General Booth said this, wasn’t it?

Incidentally, General Booth looked like this:

Illustration 2: General William Booth (I love the tee-shirt!)

My enjoyment in such hymnody from my Brethren days was greatly dented when in 1969 I was told by a very clever post-graduate in the Music Department at University that such hymns which used only 2 or 3 different chords of harmony were musically worthless.

I didn’t have the gumption [as an awestruck undergraduate still wearing his old school uniform – Central Foundation Boys’ (& Gnus’) Grammar School] to retort that many folk songs which academics treasure as part of our national musical heritage also have very little or even less harmonic content. So, us old codgers mustn’t turn up our noses at some of the latest worship songs. They may become part of our treasured religious heritage, although we know that by that stage we will very sadly no longer be here to enjoy them.

But all academics are not like that. This one:

Illustration 3: Saint Roger Bullivant, MBE MA BMus  DPhil(Oxon) HonDMus

Dr. Roger Bullivant (Senior Lecturer in the Music Department at Sheffield University, Conductor and Harpsichord Player who once recorded for Deutsche Grammophon) offered to play the Organ part in the Gnu’s Rock Musical –Elijah¹ which he composed when he was meant to be concentrating on writing his thesis on that ever popular and evergreen topic, The Deuteronomistic History. (My hope of this tome becoming a world number one best-seller are receding somewhat after 41 years.) “Bully” as he was affectionately known, was the gentlest and kindest of men. He has been canonized by musical Gnus worldwide. He was a leading international authority on Bach, but he played a mean jazz piano when other academics weren’t looking. He loved trains and was not afraid or ashamed to ride an ancient bicycle when everyone was looking. The bicycle looked something like this, only much, much older.

I am also fairly sure it had a basket on the front.

Despite his mighty musical abilities and knowledge ‘Bully’ never looked down on anybody despite the fact that he was over 6 feet tall.

The photo of the bicycles reminds old Gnu of the days when Britain was truly Great. But this is the way with old codgers, we always look back and say,  Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end, ……. La la la la, La la, La la la la, La la, La la la la, la la la la la la…….  In so doing we enshroud our youngsters with gloom and negativity. Well snap out of it, says old Gnu! One of the biggest sins in life is pessimism, and to kill hope is a tantamount to murder. We are people of hope. And hope in God is not an option in the Bible, but a command. After all, we believe He is omnipotent.

And another quote from the Bible, sorry I mean  Nicholas Nickleby: “It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last!” 

And finally, please, please, resist the urge to play the demo track of All Authority (Have you any room for Jesus?) in a Brethren Assembly. Just don’t do it. I’ll tell you now, they won’t appreciate it.