1940 Hymnal

At my parish we use the 1940 Hymnal of the Epsicopal Church. It is an absolutely magnificent work, full of beautiful hymns and chants. It has the famous "4th Communion Service", the Willan mass, and gorgeous hymns with obscure words that you have to look up when you go home. It follows the Church year, and then has a supplemental section of general hymns. And it has suggested hymns for all of the services of the year. I love the settings of the music that it has too. It contains the "Rockingham" tune of "When I Survery the Wonderous Cross.", and it still contains the "Amens" at the end of the hymns. For a hymnal to be truly good it has to contain the full message of the Christian faith. It has to have the bright happy stuff as well as the dark dreary stuff. It has to talk about the precious blood, and the history of salvation. This is one of the best hymnals I have ever seen.