Hymn: My Song is Love Unknown (Rhosymedre)

Excerpt from Festival Worship at Old South Church, Boston, 3/24/24 (Palm Sunday). While I did not employ a reharmonization, the text invites the use of creative registrations to highlight its meaning.
The melody was penned by John David Edwards, a 19th century Anglican priest who served as vicar of the parish in the Welsh town for which it was named. It was one of the hymns set by Ralph Vaughan Williams in his "Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes," which has been performed at several recent royal weddings as well as the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. My rendition can be found here: • Chorale Prelude on "Rh...
The text was written in 1664 by Samuel Crossman, a Puritan minister who was one of over two thousand clergy ejected from the Church of England for their refusal to swear and oath supporting the Act of Uniformity. He was later reconciled to the established church, and the text was published as an Anglican hymn for the first time in 1684. Though perhaps more frequently sung to John Ireland's tune "Love Unknown," it is nonetheless set to "Rhosymedre" in many Protestant hymnals.
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