(430) Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace 

♪Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.♪

I felt good, very good with a beautiful chorus surrounding me. I was on the stage with other members of the Gospel group last March. Except me most of other members were experienced singers of this song. We sang it a cappella 1). This was the first time for me to sing it so I needed some practice before the performance. I taught myself the song by singing to the video of the same tune on the Internet. At that time I knew there were many different arrangements of the song. The biggest difference for me was its beat. I learned to sing it in quadruple measure 2), but most of songs I found in YouTube were sung in triple measure. It took some time for me to find the same tune video.

We sang only the first verse on the stage. First I could not get its meaning but while I repeated it and tried to memorize it I came to get its meaning. Now I want to know the whole verses and learn to sing the song in triple measure version. I know there is  Amazing grace in my wife’s home karaoke machine. I shall start practicing it with this karaoke.

I just wondered who composed this song. I downloaded several music scores of this song. One said it was an American folk song, another said a British folk song. Anyway the composer is unknown. I
continued to search for its information. It was not so difficult to get more information about this. According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779, with words written by the English poet and clergyman 3) John Newton (1725–1807). It has been associated4) with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.  

A traditional song named "New Britain" was itself an amalgamation 5) of two melodies ("Gallaher" and "St. Mary").  As neither tune is attributed 6) and both show elements of oral transmission, scholars can only speculate that they are possibly of British origin. In this sense, this song is a British folk song.

An 1847 publication of Southern Harmony, showing the title "New Britain" and shape note music.　(Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational 7) and community singing.)

I can see the music score of “New Britain” published in 1847. It seemed to be triple measure.  I’d like to stop here about Wikipedia’s information. 

My research is not enough, but I learned there are very many things to read and to know about Amazing grace. And, now I’m satisfied only to know it is a very beautiful song to sing and it has a very long history.

Thanks for listening.

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1) sing songs a cappella[ὰːkəpélə] / アカペラで歌う
2) in quadruple[kwɑdrúːpl] measure / 四拍子で
3) Clergyman [klˈɚːdʒimən] /牧師
4) associate / (transitive) To connect or join together; combine.
5) amalgamation [əm`ælgəméɪʃən] / 融合.
6) attributed [ətrɪ́bjətəd] / ascribed
7) congregational [kὰŋgrɪgéɪʃ(ə)nəl] / 会衆派教会制の.
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From Wikipedia
"Amazing Grace", with the words written by Newton and joined with "New Britain", the melody most currently associated with it, appeared for the first time in Walker's shape note tunebook Southern Harmony in 1847.William Walker, the composer who first joined John Newton's verses to "New Britain", to create the song that has become "Amazing Grace"A traditional song named "New Britain", was itself an amalgamation of two melodies ("Gallaher" and "St. Mary").  As neither tune is
attributed and both show elements of oral transmission, scholars can only speculate that they are possibly of British origin.
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