Hymns on Sunday

Hymns to celebrate Christ the King Sunday in this week’s programme, as well as St Clement’s Day and the hymn writer Isaac Watts. Read more Audio

It’s World Day of the Poor today. This is a relatively recent initiative, begun by Pope Francis in 2017. You can hear some hymns with a social justice theme in the programme, to mark the day. Read more Audio

A favourite setting of The Lord’s My Shepherd (Psalm 23) in this week’s programme. It’s known as ‘Brother James’ Air’, named after the tune’s composer James Leith McBain. Read more Audio

It’s Reformation Day today (31 October): it was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. We’ll hear Luther’s great hymn A… Read more Audio

Some light-themed hymns in this week's programme, including John Henry Newman's Lead, kindly light and the South African hymn Siyahamba (We are walking in the light of God). Read more Audio

Lawyer, politician, church minister, teacher, opera singer: just some of the many and varied occupations of the hymn writers in this week's episode of Hymns on Sunday. Read more Audio

Hymns in this week’s programme include a Jewish-Methodist collaboration, one of the Queen’s favourites and setting of Psalm 96: O sing unto the Lord a new song. Read more Audio

We're celebrating the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi (4 October) in Hymns on Sunday, which marks the end of the Season of Creation in the church calendar. Read more Audio

Voices of women in Hymns on Sunday today, with hymns from across the centuries written or translated by the likes of Shirley Murray, Marnie Barrell, Cecil Frances Alexander and Catherine Winkworth. Read more Audio

It’s the final day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week – and we’ve a great selection of te reo hymns including Wairua Tapu by Ngapo Wehi and a setting of Whakaaria mai by Ryan Youens. Read more Audio

We’re looking upward in this week’s home edition of the programme with two settings of Psalm 121: ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills’. Read more Audio

The Season of Creation is an annual, worldwide, ecumenical celebration of prayer and action for the environment which takes place from 1 September through to 4 October. In this week's home edition of… Read more Audio