Arrangement of "Thou Who Hears When Sinners Cry"

Hello Dulcimer World!

This week we’re going to look at the hymn “Thou Who Hears When Sinners Cry”. After playing the dulcimer arrangement for a bit, you’re probably going to ask yourself, “where have I heard this before?” This hymn shares the same melody as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” (tune: HAMBURG, Long Meter).

Hymns, just like poetry, are organized in meters. For many years, before modern hymnals came into circulation in American churches, congregations would have a large book of hymn lyrics and a small collection of tunes. They sing the melody that matched the lyric’s meter. Today we are blessed with TONS of tunes, so much that most lyrics are inseparable from their tunes. Even so, the older practice of mis-matching is still very prevalent today; thus, this week’s hymn!

Just a small note; if you write lyrics but aren’t the most proficient composer, this is a great system for you (and vise versa). I hope you all enjoy this week’s arrangement!

God bless,

Ben