Prof Colin Gibson works on his latest composition before he
heads to present his ideas to conferences in the United
Kingdom and United States. Photo by Linda Robertson.
NewZealand's "special tone of voice" when writing hymns
will be one characteristic Emeritus Prof Colin Gibson will
speak about at international hymn society conferences next
month.
Prof Gibson, of Dunedin, has been invited to speak at a hymn
society conference in Berkeley, California, and the British
Hymn Society in Liverpool, England.
The invitations are the result of his work editing a New
Zealand and Australian history of hymn writing and composing
for an update of a 19th century European dictionary of hymns
which would soon include writings from around the world.
"It'll be a monster volume of well over 1000 pages," he said.
Prof Gibson had been working on the project for five years,
detailing not only the history, but also biographies of
writers and the backgrounds of significant hymns, like his
own He Came Singing Love or Kapiti writer Shirley Murray's
Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You.
The dictionary was due to be published early next year by
Canterbury Press in England and Eerdman's Press, United
States.
At the conference in Liverpool, Prof Gibson would speak about
New Zealand hymn writers' special voice and how they slowly
broke away from the habit of copying the English to develop
their own plain and natural way of writing.
"We emerged from the shadow to stand tall with a special tone
of voice," he said.
Hymns featured things special to New Zealanders, such as
dolphins and the concern for the natural world.
At the US conference, which would be attended by several
thousand composers, writers and publishers from North
America, he planned to talk about how New Zealand hymn
writers had tried to honour our native language.
"New Zealand has been at the forefront. Pakeha cheerfully
sing in Maori just as Pakeha hymns are sung by Maori."
They also showed New Zealanders' social alertness by dealing
with issues of justice and equality, as well as their keen
interest in ecology and landscape.
Also attending the conference was New Zealand's Hymn Book
Trust and Bill Wallace, of Christchurch, would be there with
his latest collection of hymns.
Prof Gibson leaves for the conferences on July 13.
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