Music Notes 5-31-26

Fanny Crosby, who lived 1820-1915, is legendary in the world of Christian hymns. She’s been

called the "Queen of Gospel Song Writers" and the "Mother of modern congregational singing in

America", having written more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. In fact, she wrote so many

songs, some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, so

Crosby used nearly 200 different pseudonyms throughout her career. She was blind all her life

and wrote a poem about her blindness at age 8. At 6 weeks old, she caught a cold and developed

inflammation in her eyes. Mustard plasters were applied to her eyes to treat the inflammation,

and, according to Crosby, damaged her optic nerves. Modern physicians think it was more likely

that the blindness was congenital, and her parents simply hadn’t noticed it yet. She later stated:

"It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I

thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not

accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the

beautiful and interesting things about me." She also once said, "when I get to heaven, the first

face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior". According to biographer Annie

Willis, "had it not been for her affliction she might not have so good an education or have so

great an influence, and certainly not so fine a memory".

She wrote more than 1,000 secular poems and had four books of poetry published, as well as two

best-selling autobiographies. Additionally, she co-wrote popular secular songs, as well as

political and patriotic songs and at least five cantatas on biblical and patriotic themes,

including The Flower Queen, the first secular cantata by an American composer. She was

committed to Christian rescue missions and was known for her public speaking. In 1851, she

met George Root, with whom she was teaching at the North Reading Musical Institute in

Massachusetts. From 1851 to 1857, they wrote more than 60 “parlor songs” or “people’s songs”,

many of them written for the popular minstrel shows of the time. Sadly, the minstrel shows had

a negative connotation with Christian and classical musicians, so their involvement was

deliberately obscured. She was also heavily involved in the politics of the time, as a strict

abolitionist and supporter of Abraham Lincoln. After the election of Franklin Pierce in 1856, she

wrote “The election’s past and I’m pierced at last. The locos have gained the day.” Her hymn

I’ll Sing The Praise Of Jesus was written in 1893.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a non-denominational, multi-cultural church in the heart of

downtown Brooklyn that began as a small congregation worshiping in a rundown building, and

has grown into a congregation of over 16,000. The husband and wife team of Pastor Jim

Cymbala and music director Carol Cymbala took over leadership of the 30 member congregation

in 1971. By the 1980’s, the church had grown enough to purchase the 1383-seat Carlton Theatre

and convert it into their sanctuary. By 2002, they had outgrown that facility and purchased

Loew’s Metropolitan Theatre, a former vaudeville theatre, and renovated it into a state-of-the-art,

3,200-seat worship facility.

The choir began with just 9 members in 1971 and grew with the church. Carol Cymbala began

writing music for the choir, and they recorded their first album in the 1980’s. Now numbering

over 280 members, their music is sung all over the world, and they sang at the 2013 inauguration

of President Obama. The song Praise You was written by Elizabeth Goodine, arranged by Carol

Cymbala and was released in 2000 on the album Live…We Come Rejoicing.