First published in Henri Frederick Hemy's Easy Hymn Tunes for Catholic Schools (1851), STELLA was a folk tune from northern England that Hemy heard sung by children in Stella, a village near Newcastle-upon-Tyme. In modified bar form (AA'B), the tune has an interesting rhythmic structure. Antiphonal performance and part singing help in singing the entire psalm.

Gerald Hocken Knight (b. Par, Cornwall, England, 1908; d. London, England, 1979) composed the harmonization in 1950 for Hymns Ancient and Modern Revised (1950). Knight studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, England, and at the Royal College of Music in London. He was organist at Truro Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral (1937-1952) as well as director of the Royal College of Music (1952-1972). A music editor of the 1950 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern, he also served on the committees that compiled its two supplements, 100 Hymns for Today (1969) and More Hymns for Today (1980).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook