E. Tune Names
Composers usually name their tunes in order to facilitate their identification. The names given them are selected quite arbitrarily. W. H. Havergal, prolific composer of church music, named his tunes after the rivers, mountains, valleys, etc., of Palestine, e.g. “Abana,” “Ahava,” “Ararat,” “Baca,” etc. Other tunes have been named for the composer, e.g., “Bradbury” (395); the name of a friend, e.g., “Rockingham” (105); name of a city or village, e.g., “Boylston” (214); a street, “Federal Street” (192); a cottage, “Hollingside” (159); an event in history, “Nicaea” (1); or the central idea in the words, “Pilot” (161).
In Germany, the usual practice has been to name the tune after the first line of the hymn to which it was originally set.
Some tunes, unfortunately, are known by more than one name, e.g., “St. Michel’s” (93) and “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” (125). In a few cases the same name is given to several tunes, e.g., “Wesley” (309 and 332). This is confusing and it is highly desirable that hymnbook editors strive toward uniformity of nomenclature.