WINCHESTER NEW

Composer: Bartholomäus Crasselius

The original version of WINCHESTER NEW appeared in Musikalisches Handbuch der geistlichen Melodien, published in Hamburg, Germany, in 1690 by Georg Wittwe. It was set to the text “Wer nur den lieben Gott” (see 446). An expanded version of the tune was a setting for "Dir, dir Jehova" (see 203) in Johann Freylinghausen's Geistreiches Gesangbuch (1704). The melody was also used by John and Charles Wesley (PHH 267) for their texts and was reworked by William J. Havergal as a long-meter tune in his Old Church Psalmody (1864). Havergal's version closely resembled its original 1690 form. Named for the ancient English city in Hampshire noted for its cathedral, the tune gained much popularity because of its extended use. It is called WINCHESTER NEW (also called CRASSELIUS) to distinguish it from WINCHESTER OLD (see 215 and 628).

Sing this dignified psalm tune in unison on the outer stanzas and in parts on the middle ones. Use solid organ tone and phrase in two long lines.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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