The latest ACNA hymnal

I have been writing about the REC’s Book of Common Praise 2017 since I bought my first copy in fall 2017. This is the first American Anglican hymnal of the 21st century, which is an updated Hymnal 1940 with updates from Hymnal 1982, the 2006 Lutheran Service Book and a range of Methodist, Southern and CCM pieces.

There are two important updates.

Two Editions: Book of Common Praise and Magnify the Lord

The publisher of BCP 2017 has re-released the hymnal with a new title and new ISBN as Magnify the Lord. After the first three pages, the remaining 907 pages of each hymnal is identical. Here are the covers and ISBN numbers:

Book of Common Praise 2017 ISBN:  978-0-9993910-1-3

Magnify the Lord (2019) ISBN: 978-1-732448-8-4

The are available from the same publisher (Anglican Liturgy Press) at the same price ($25). According to the publisher, the assumption is that REC parishes will buy Book of Common Praise but all other parishes will prefer (the more neutrally named) Magnify the Lord.

This hymnal is the first new ACNA hymnal  — from the ACNA’s publisher — but noticeably did not have any editorial input from anyone outside the REC dioceses within the ACNA. (By my calculation, the REC accounts for about 7% of the ACNA’s ASA. Apparently some of the remaining ACNA got annoyed at this non-ACNA sponsored hymnal from ACNA dioceses. So a Publisher’s Note in all editions of the hymnal now say

This is not the hymnal of the Anglican Church in North America. However, it has been commended for use in the Anglican Church in North America along with such other hymnals as are in use in the Province.

First Hymnal Review of MTL

Last month, The Hymn published my 500-word review of the new hymnal: as far as I (and the publisher) know, this is the first independent review of this new hymnal. Although I submitted my review last May, when I saw my first copy of MTL, I rushed to update the review to talk about the new title not the old.

For copyright reasons, I won’t post the entire review (but am glad to email it to anyone who requests it).

What if a church wanted an updated selection of hymns but with traditional (pre-1980s) language? That is the goal of Magnify the Lord (originallyBook of Common Praise 2017) edited by Chris Hoyt, music director of the Reformed Episcopal Church cathedral in Dallas.

Although nominally an update to the REC’s hymnal [Book of Common Praise] from 1885, 1907 and 1943, the first goal of the hymnal was “to preserve the best of The Hymnal (1940).” That hymnal is still in widespread use by REC and other Anglican churches that rejected Hymnal 1982 with its more inclusive language. Thus the MTL hymns retain the older wording, with H40 providing 318 of the 639 hymn-tune pairings in MTL. 

The other half will be new to H40 readers.

I then noted the additions from Hymnal 1982, Southern Harmony, The Sacred Harp, Charles Wesley and CCM stars Stuart Townend/Keith Getty.

My conclusion

Overall, Magnify the Lord offers a 21st century interpretation of English, American and contemporary hymns for tradition-minded parishes.

According to the publisher, the first adoption of the BCP 2017 outside of the REC was made in 2018 Christ Church, Waco, a Diocese of Ft. Worth parish of the ACNA. The rector decided this hymnal was the best fit to their local style, which combines a high church (modern language) liturgy with more of a blended repertoire of music — including a lot of Wesley, Baptist hymns and Townend/Getty.

References

• Chris Hoyt, ed., The Book of Common Praise 2017, Newport Beach, Calif.: Anglican House Media Ministries, 2017.
• Chris Hoyt, ed., Magnify the Lord, Newport Beach, Calif.: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019.
• J. W. West, “Magnify the Lord,” book review, The Hymn,  71, 1 (Winter 2020): 41.