By Gabriel González

The announcement in June 2018 that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would produce a new hymnbook generated some excitement among the faithful. Of course, hymnbooks have been part of Latter-day Saint worship since the very beginning.  As is often recalled, a July 1830 revelation directed Emma Smith “to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church” (D&C 25:11). She went on to produce the first of several hymnals “to be had in my church.” In English, these collected praises were A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of the Latter Day Saints (1835),  A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe, aka, the Manchester Hymnal (1840), Latter-day Psalmody (1889), Songs of Zion (1908), Deseret Sunday School Songs (1909), Latter-day Saints Hymns (1927), Hymns (1948), and the soon-to-be discontinued Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985).

The story of these hymnbooks is well known and has been told and retold in different ways, including on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ own website. What is at times overlooked in the Anglosphere is the obvious fact that the Church has also produced many hymnbooks in other languages. These include the Welsh Hymanu, Caniadau, ac Odlau Ysbrydol (1852), the French Recueil de Cantiques (1857), and the German Liederbuch (1861), among others. These early hymnals in languages other than English were published by the Church’s missions locally to satisfy the worship needs of converts in local areas. The hymnbooks themselves changed over time, as each mission saw fit. 

The evolution of non-English-language hymnbooks can be exemplified through the hymnals published by the Mexican Mission. While missionaries had been serving in Mexico on and off since 1876, it was not until 1901 that something called a Mission—the modern, ecclesiastical organization where a president oversees the actions of preaching missionaries within a specified geographical location—was organized in that country. By 1907, the Mission had published its first hymnal: Himnario mormón. This was a text-only collection of hymns which brought together translated lyrics from the LDS English-language hymnbooks, original Spanish-language compositions (most, but not all, penned by native speakers of English), Spanish-language hymns from other denominations, and even some hymns in English. A new, text-only hymnbook was published by the Mission in 1912 titled Himnos de Sión de la Iglesia de Jesucristo. The new hymnal was a corrected, expanded version of the 1907 one. This meant it also contained many translations (73 out of 105 texts) alongside several original Spanish-language lyrics. The Mexican Mission revised Himnos de Sión in 1927, producing a new, text-only hymnbook mainly through translation, with very few works originally in Spanish. 

In 1942, the Church decided to publish a single hymnbook for all the Spanish-speaking world, and thus a new Himnos de Sión came to be. Nearly 95% of hymns in it were translations from English. More recently, in 1992, the Church published its current hymnal, titled Himnos de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días. It was modeled after the 1985 English-language hymnbook, but roughly two thirds its size. Almost the entire content of Himnos is translated from English, with only a couple of original Spanish-language compositions remaining.

Thus, a gradual transition can be observed from a hymnbook created locally with a strong Spanish-language element to one that was created for an international audience almost exclusively through translation. (Hymns not originally written in English were translated into Spanish not from the original texts but from the English translations.) This is evident if one compares the composition of the 1907 hymnal and its 1992 counterpart. The 1907 Himnario mormón had 72 hymns, of which 15 were in English, 34 were translations from English, and 23 were original in Spanish. The 1992 Himnos has 209 hymns, of which 207 are translations from English and 2 are credited as original in Spanish (specifically, “La voz, ya, del Eterno” by  José V. Estrada G. and “Placentero nos es trabajar” by Andrés C. González).

So, if historical trends are any indication, the new, global hymnbook that has been announced will be largely a collection of lyrics written originally in English with a few translations from other languages. Granted, the current English-language hymnal has some translated lyrics (e.g., “Oh, Come, Al Ye Faithful” is a translation of the Latin-language hymn “Adeste Fideles”), but the new hymnbook promises more translations into English. In fact, when announcing the project, the Church’s press release quotes Elder Erich W. Kopischke as expressing the desire that “these new books will also include some of the best hymns and songs originating in other languages that will then be translated into English and the other languages of the world”  (West 2018). Thus, the intention has been stated that the unified hymnbook bring into English a number of hymns from other languages, which would then be translated out of English into the languages of the Church. The task ahead is enormous—more than 16,000 original songs were submitted from 66 countries. One might speculate, however, that it is likely many of the hymns from the current hymnbook will remain, and it is a safe bet that the new hymns being proposed are mostly in English (consider that there are roughly 60 sovereign states where English is an official language). In addition, the committee charged with the project is probably more knowledgeable of musical traditions from the Anglosphere. This means that while the new hymnbook may have more translations into English than previous ones, these will probably still be a minority. For languages other than English, however, the construction of the global hymnbook is a massive translation undertaking.

For that reason alone, one might briefly consider what it takes to translate musical lyrics. In some ways, translating the lyrics of hymns is very much like translating poetry. The translator must seek to carry meaning across languages and cultures (the verb translate, after all, comes from the Latin translatus: to carry across), but this transfer must take into account meter, rhythm, and rhyme. Ideally, a good poetic or hymnic translation would convey the desired message within those parameters. Each line in the hymn would have the same number of syllables, would follow a similar rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, and would rhyme at the end of the same lines. This can be challenging because different languages and cultures have different poetic conventions. What works as poetry in one language may be unpoetic, or sometimes impossible, in a different language. For example, English has no tones, but Vietnamese poetry takes into account tone classes when creating rhymes. In addition, different cultures assign different values to certain aspects of poetry. For example, in English poetry, the rhythm created by the meter is more valued than the rhyme, while in Spanish the rhyme is more valued than the rhythm. Because poetry is about creating an effect more so than conveying information, all these linguistic but also cultural differences matter when translating sacred poems.

In addition, because hymns are poetry put to music, there are certain musical elements that need to be considered. This is particularly important when considering rhythm because the rhythm of the lyrics must match the harmonic stress of the music. This can be accomplished by making sure that stressed syllables are lined up with strong beats. If this is not done properly, the hymn will sound awkward when sung, as if something is off, because the music will not match the words. Another important musical consideration has to do with phrasing, or the way in which a group of notes is sequenced to feel complete. The phrases in the lyrics must match musical phrases if the hymn is to sound beautiful. Misaligned phrasing can lead to breathing in improper places or words sounding unnatural when sung. Because hymns are about creating a harmonious experience, these musical considerations must be taken into account when translating sacred music.

These considerations, both poetic and musical, are at once constraining and liberating. They are constraining because every line that is translated, every phrase that is carried across languages, must meet several technical criteria. Thus, finding the right phrase may come easily, as if carried in the wind, or may take several hours, as if extracted from a riverbed. Perhaps ironically, such considerations are also liberating because they free the translator from the prison of literalness. Languages evolved differently, in often strikingly different cultural contexts, and thus the way they convey things may be very, very different. Literal translation at times becomes difficult to understand because it carries over a foreign grammar and style, but also, and perhaps more importantly with hymns, it can be quite dull and fail to move the listener. Thus, the poetic and musical constraints that force the translator to give up on literalness provide greater freedom, the freedom to recreate a feeling.

Therefore, when the new hymnbook does roll around—whenever that might be—pay special attention to the translated hymns, no matter what your native language is. Consider the long legacy of translation in the way Latter-day Saints praise God through song. Savor the richness of meter and rhyme as they cross into your language. Appreciate the beauty of rhythm and phrasing as they flow off your lips in your own language. In essence, feel the awesomeness of translated praise.

Sources

Duffy, John-Charles, and Olaiz, Hugo (2002), “Correlated Praise: The Development of the Spanish Hymnal,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 35(2): 89–113.

Kern, Chelsea (2022), “Update on Hymnbook Revision: Latter-Day Saints from 66 Countries Submitted More Than 16,000 Original Songs,” LDS Church News. Available at https://www.thechurchnews.com/2020/11/10/23265168/hymnbook-revision-update-childrens-songbook-submissions-elder-soares  

Liu ,Yvonne (2018), “How the LDS Hymnbook Has Evolved Over Nearly 200 Years,” LDS Living. Available at https://www.ldsliving.com/how-the-lds-hymnbook-has-evolved-over-nearly-200-years/s/88733   

Nielsen, Chad (2022), “The Mexican Mission Hymns Project,” Times and Seasons. Available at https://www.timesandseasons.org/index.php/notable-series/the-mexican-mission-hymns-project/  

Prescott, Marianne Holman (2018), “How the Current Hymnbook Came to Be,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Available at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/how-the-current-hymnbook-came-to-be?lang=eng 

West, Camille (2018), “Church Announces Plans for New Hymnbook and Children’s Songbook,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Available at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/church-announces-plans-for-new-hymnbook-and-childrens-songbook?lang=eng