An American folk song birthed in Appalachia’s oral tradition, “What Wondrous Love Is This,” first was published as words only in 1811. The author is unknown, and the tune, “Wondrous Love,” was paired with the text in William Walker’s shape-note collection, Southern Harmony, in 1835. This publication is attributed with spreading the use of the song to many US communities in the 1800s.
Shape-note singing originated in the USA’s rural South, where it still can be found. This music notation uses shapes such as squares, ovals, and triangles to represent each pitch. For example, in the four-note scale, triangles represent “fa,” and ovals represent “sol.”
As demonstrated in the song, the melody often is sung in octaves by lower and upper voices.
English theologian and musician Erik Routley described the “What Wondrous Love Is This” melody as “incomparably beautiful” (Psalter Hymnal Handbook). It hasn’t undergone many alterations since it first appeared and has been published in more than eighty hymnals since 1979. In Community of Christ, its first inclusion was in Hymns of the Saints, 1981. While there is disagreement over whether it is a natural minor tune or in the Dorian mode, either provides a hauntingly beautiful sound.
The harmonization of the melody line for Hymns of the Saints and Community of Christ Sings was created by Louita Clothier, musician, choir director, composer, and evangelist from Lamoni, Iowa, USA. Louita provided this memory in a recent email:
When I began composing choral and orchestral music in the 1960’s I fell in love with the Greek modes and open 5th chords as a way to add freshness and originality to my harmony without making it too difficult for my Lamoni Congregation Choir to sing. Over the years that became a characteristic of my style. I was drawn to the melody of “What Wonderous Love Is This” because it begins and ends in the ancient scale, with an occasional shift with a half-step in the middle phrases. Applying my harmonic style with an ancient quality, seemed a perfect fit for the text…
Her harmonization is notable for sensitive restraint that does not overshadow the traditional unison singing. It begins with simple octaves but grows into fuller accompaniment, returning to the unison voices at the beginning of each stanza.
The hymn, addressed to our souls, affirms Christ’s amazing love for all humanity. Originally there were six stanzas, but it most often is published today with four. The first stanza can be read as full of awe for God’s gift and, possibly, a profound question for us to consider: What did cause Jesus Christ to bear the painful cross?
The original second stanza presented some challenges:
When I was sinking down…
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.
It was updated in Community of Christ hymnals (and many others) to:
What wondrous love is this...
that caused the Lord of Life
to lay aside his crown for my soul.
The rewriting feels more aligned with grace and mercy.
In the third stanza, the song of the individual singer becomes communal as “millions join the theme.” It is a doxology. Stanza four is an unending song of praise as “through eternity, [we’ll] sing on.” It is a wonderful affirmation of the life to come.
While the song is placed in the Lent section of Community of Christ Sings, it can be sung anytime to experience and ponder God’s grace-filled gift of Jesus Christ. While a simple folk song, it comes directly from the heart or, in this context, from our souls.
