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Face to face with Christ my Saviour

Face to Face with Christ my Saviour is a hymn by American writer Carrie Breck, written in 1898. It is Breck's most well-known composition.

Background

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Carrie Breck wrote the hymn while living in Vineland, New Jersey, a temperance town founded by Charles K. Landis. It was first sung publicly in 1899 by Grant Tullar at First Presbyterian Church in Vineland.[1] Tullar was a singer and evangelist who had co-founded a music publishing company with Isaac H. Meredith in 1893.[2]

Words

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The hymn is based on 1 Corinthians 13:12, which describes how a Christian's relationship with Jesus will be transformed on his return: "Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."[1]

Tune

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The hymn has consistently been sung to a tune composed by Tullar, as originally sung in 1899.[1] Tullar originally composed the music for a different set of words, during an evangelistic campaign in Rutherford, New Jersey.[3] In his book Written Because, Tullar described how the composition had been inspired by an "almost-empty jelly dish":[2]

My fondness for jelly was not long a secret and my hostess did her best to see that a reasonable supply was always on the table. The three of us had spent the afternoon calling on the sick, so we were a bit hurried in the preparation for supper that evening, and the jelly dish was neglected. It had only a wee dab of jelly in it, and as I passed it to the others, I possibly showed fear lest they should not refuse it. But host and hostess refused it, and as I started to help myself I said, “So this is all for me, is it?” At that instant, “all for me” as a theme for a song thrust itself upon my mind with such force that I placed the dish again on the table without taking any jelly, and excusing myself, went to the piano and wrote the melody and a few verses.

This newly composed hymn, with the opening line "All for me the Savior suffered", was sung at a service in the Methodist Episcopal Church later that evening, by the minister Charles L. Mead.[3] Tullar intended to revise the words the following day.[3] In the morning, however, he received a letter from Breck containing a few of her poems,[3] requesting him to compose the musical accompaniment.[4] One of these poems was "Face to face with Christ my Savior", the words of which fitted the music Tullar had already written.[2][3] Discarding his own words, Tullar decided to pair his tune with Breck's text.[3][4]

Publication history

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"Face to face with Christ my Savior" is Carrie Breck's best-known composition, which has appeared in many hymnals.[5] It has mainly been sung in America, and is less known in the United Kingdom.[1] It was first published in an 1899 anthology by Grant Tullar and Isaac H. Meredith, Sermons in Song, No. 2.[1] It was later included in Breck's 1927 collection of poetry, To Comfort Thee, and Other Verses.[5] In the 20th century, it was included in the Baptist Hymnal (1956, and subsequent editions), Hymns for the Living Church (1974), Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (1985), and New Redemption Hymnal (1986), among others.[1] In 1910, the hymn was also published in a German translation, "Aug in Auge vor ihm stehen", in Evangeliums-Sänger.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Watson, J.R. "Face to face with Christ my Saviour". The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press.
  2. ^ a b c Osbeck, Kenneth W. (1985). 101 More Hymn Stories. Kregel Publications. pp. 86–88. ISBN 9780825434204.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Reynolds, William Jensen (1976). Companion to Baptist Hymnal. Broadman Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 9780805468083.
  4. ^ a b Hustad, Don (1978). Dictionary-Handbook to Hymns for the Living Church. Hope Publishing. p. 176. ISBN 0916642097.
  5. ^ a b Kimberling, Clark. "Carrie Breck". The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press.
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