Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace (English for Amazing Grace ) is an English hymn, one of the most popular hymns in the world. 1972 came in a version of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards to the top of the British charts.

Genesis

Amazing Grace owes its origin to a key experience of its author, John Newton, the captain of a slave ship was. After he was advised on 10 May 1748 in severe distress and rescued after invocation of God's mercy, he first treated the slaves human. After a few years he gave up his job even completely on, was a clergyman and instead joined forces with William Wilberforce and for the fight against slavery.

Melody

The now world-famous melody, the so-called New Britain, first appeared in a hymnal of 1831, the Virginia Harmony. It is pentatonic and originally intended to go back to American or English roots, but is also attributed to James P. Carrell and David S. Clayton. The originally sung to the tune of the original text is lost today. The now commonly sung text by John Newton is sometimes sung with a different melody, the Old Regular Baptist in 1958 resulting in Kentucky.

In its aftermath particular importance is the harmonization as is necessary in the hymnal Southern Harmony of 1835. The characteristic of this hymn book Put manner in which the main melody is in the middle voice, and each one above or below it, quietly singing voice is accompanied, continues to be found in American music for vocal trios and was especially known by the style of Andrews Sisters.

Text

In the first time in 1779 published in the Olney Hymns text tells John Newton of his conversion to Christianity. He leans loosely on several Bible passages to be mentioned, among others, the description of God's grace in Eph 2.8 EU and the healing of the blind man by Jn 9,25 EU.

Some versions of the song contain an additional stanza:

This verse does not come from Newton, but was taken from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The protagonist Uncle Tom combined there are stanzas of various songs. Those who have taken the lyrics from this book, assumed that the verse that includes the full text.

Some versions also contain the following verse:

This was introduced by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie in their version of the song. You actually belongs to the song Am I a Soldier of the Cross? by Isaac Watts.

Effect story

Great popularity enjoyed Amazing Grace for both parties to the American Civil War as well as the Indians. The Cherokee considered it even as an unofficial national anthem, but they have their dead often buried during the infamous path of tears in 1838 for lack of time without much ceremony, but only singing of Amazing Grace. The song is played even today often at funerals or memorial services and sung, so about 2004 on the occasion of the funeral of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Although the hymn of one entangled in the slave trade Euro Americans came, Amazing Grace has been adopted by the African-American spiritual and gospel scene. It has been interpreted by the Blind Boys of Alabama as well as Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin or the Montreal Jubiliation Gospel Choir and the Harlem Gospel Choir. Today, Amazing Grace is one of the most popular hymns in the world and is sung by members of different Christian denominations. In addition, the piece is considered as a protest song against slavery as well as the anthem of Christian and non- Christian human rights activists.

In the 1960s, originally used almost exclusively in the U.S. The song reached the British Isles. There Amazing Grace became popular especially in bagpipe versions, also because musicians increasingly recollected during the folk revival of the traditional melodies and songs. Therefore, numerous instrumental versions exist especially of Scottish Highlanders, of which the commercially most successful comes from the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the even number 1 on the sales charts in the UK was in 1972.

Until the movie Alice 's Restaurant 1969 by Arthur Penn, the song was relatively unknown outside of churches and folk festivals. 1972 won Like the light after the night, sung by Siegfried Fietz in the Free Church and evangelical churches large spread with a text transmission by Renate Wagner with the title.

Over time, the song was often processed and interpreted by a little more managable variety of artists. Among them are Meryl Streep (1983 in her film Silkwood ), Connie Francis, Ray Price, Vera Lynn, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Judy Collins, Hayley Westenra, Johnny Cash, Yes, Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Groundhogs, Lena Valaitis (1976 ), Helmut Lotti, flipper (1991 ), Ireen Sheer, David Hasselhoff, André Rieu, The Priests, Céline Dion, Steve Morse, Nana Mouskouri, Charlotte Church, LeAnn Rimes and Katie Melua and Jessye Norman. Opened in 1985, Joan Baez, who in 1970 managed with the song in the UK Top Ten, their contribution to the legendary Live Aid concert for famine relief in Africa, with a performance of Amazing Grace. Mike Oldfield used the text with new tune on his album The Millennium Bell and on the concert at the Berlin Victory Column at the turn of 1999/2000. Next there is punk ( Dropkick Murphy's ) and heavy metal versions ( Stryper ).

The song has also become a jazz standard. But the title, the Louis Armstrong introduced into jazz, and is often heard, particularly in the marching bands of New Orleans jazz and Dixieland, is played in modern jazz rare. Here interpretations of Herbie Mann, Archie Shepp, David Murray and Cassandra Wilson are emphasized. Diane Schuur and also Gabrielle Goodman sang the song in the jazz context; bassist Victor Wooten has published a bass version of the title.