English Literature, the 1982 Hymnal, George Herbert, and Ralph Vaughan Williams: Partners in Joy!

For Sunday, November 23, 2025
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing by Ralph Vaughan William

By David Jolliffe

                  As an English teacher and Episcopal chorister for most of my life, I have always loved the indexes (indices?) you find near the end of the 1982 Hymnal, the larger (and blue) book in the racks on the back of the pews. In these lists of composers, authors, translators, and sources for the 720 hymns and settings of liturgical  music that we plumb for our services,  I find, much to my joy, the names of a wide range of poets and essayists whose works I’ve taught and which have come to be favorites over the years:  G.K. Chesterton, John Dryden, James Weldon Johnson, John Milton, Christina Rossetti, even the quirky Richard Wilbur–the list could go on.

In the middle of the alphabetical list of authors, translators, and sources, one finds several hymns, the lyrics for which were written by George Herbert (1583-1633), one of the 17th-century English writers known as the “metaphysical” poets, whose work was characterized by lofty themes, elaborate word play, and lofty conceits–extended metaphors with surprising conclusions.  If you don’t know Herbert’s poetry, treat yourself to two of my favorites, “The Collar” and “Love III,” sometimes known by its first line, “Love bade me welcome.”  

Herbert’s poetry shows up five times in our hymnal:  Hymns 382, 402, 403, 487, and 592.  Both 402 and 403 are settings of Herbert’s joyful poem, “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing,” known by Herbert simply as “Antiphon”:

Chorus:  Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing
'My God and King.'
Verse:  The heav'ns are not too high,
His praise may thither fly:
The earth is not too low,
His praises there may grow. 

Chorus:  Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing,
'My God and King.'

 Verse:  The church with psalms must shout
No door can keep them out:
But above all, the heart
Must bear the longest part. 

Chorus:  Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing,
'My God and King.'

Notice how Herbert incorporates “performance” directions in the poem:  the verse can be sung by a soloist or cantor, and then the entire congregation can join in on the chorus.

The twentieth-century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) capitalizes and expands upon Herbert’s poem in his anthem with the same name, “Let Every World in Every Corner Sing,” which the St. Paul’s choir will perform at the 11 a.m. service on November 23.  Williams clearly reveres Herbert’s poem and builds his love for the piece in his composition.  As you experience the anthem, listen to the ways Williams helps us to experience Herbert’s text:  Williams assigns the words “the heavens are not too high” to the high voices and “the earth is not too low” to the low voices.  To amplify the phrase “the four corners of the world,” Williams layers one voice upon another, showing the whole earth adding voices to the chorus of praise. In the phrase, “But above all, the heart must bear the longest part,” the composer prolongs the note on the word “longest.”  In short, notice how artistry and devotion come together in this sublime anthem.