奇異恩典

维基百科，自由的百科全书

《奇異恩典歌》是其中一首最著名的基督教聖詩。歌詞為約翰．紐頓(John Newtown)所填,是由他、威廉.科伯(Willaim Cowper)及其他作曲家创作的赞美诗集Olney Hymns]]的一部分

目录 1 历史 2 Bagpipes 3 歌詞 4 Recordings 5 External links

[编辑] 历史

约翰.牛顿(John Newton) (1725–1807) 曾经是一艘奴隶船的船长. 在1748年5月10日归家途中遇到了暴风雨,他经历了"伟大的判决".在他的航海日志中他写道:他的船处在即将沉没的重大危险中,他喊到"主怜悯我们".他逐渐走向光明,但在他与主的对话之后,仍然贩卖奴隶.

在非洲一个港口等待奴隶装船的时候，牛顿写下了歌曲《耶稣之名如此美妙》。以后，他和奴隶贩运割断了关系，当上了一名牧师，并且加入了威尔伯福斯领导的反奴隶运动。

Newton wrote the song "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" while waiting in an African harbor for a shipment of slaves. Later he renounced his profession, became a minister, and joined William Wilberforce in the fight against slavery.

Newton may have borrowed an old tune sung by the slaves themselves.

The now familiar and traditional melody of the hymn was not composed by Newton, and the words were sung to a number of tunes before the now inseparable melody was chanced upon.

There are two different tunes to the words. "New Britain" first appears in a shape note hymnal from 1831 called Virginia Harmony. Any original words sung to the tune are now lost. The melody is believed to be Scottish or Irish in origin; it is pentatonic and suggests a bagpipe tune; the hymn is frequently performed on bagpipes and has become associated with that instrument. The other tune is the so-called "Old Regular Baptist" tune. It was sung by the Congregation of the Little Zion Church, Jeff, Kentucky on the album "The Ritchie Family of Kentucky" on Folkways (1958).

Newton's lyrics have become a favourite for Christians of all denominations, largely because the hymn vividly and briefly sums up the Christian doctrine of Divine grace. The lyrics are loosely based around the text of Ephesians 2:4-8.

It has also become known as a favorite with supporters of freedom and human rights, both Christian and non-Christian, as it is believed by many to be a song against slavery, as Newton was once a slave trader. He continued to be a slave trader for several years after his experience, but later he became a clergyman. The song has been sung by many notable musical performers.

The hymn was quite popular among both sides in the American Civil War. While on the trail of tears, the Cherokee were not always able to give their dead a full burial. Instead, the singing of Amazing Grace had to suffice. Since then, Amazing Grace is often considered the Cherokee National Anthem. For this reason, many contemporary Native American musicians have recorded this song.

The name "Amazing Grace" was used as the title of a musical written by Mal Pope about the 1904 Welsh Revival and the life of Evan Roberts.

[编辑] Bagpipes

The association with bagpipes is a relatively modern phenomenon; for over a century the tune was nearly forgotten in the British Isles until the folk revival of the 1960s began carrying traditional musicians both ways between the British Isles and the United States (where Amazing Grace had remained a very popular hymn). It was little known outside of church congregations or folk festivals until Arthur Penn's film "Alice's Restaurant" (1969). Lee Hays of the Weavers leads the worshipers in "Amazing Grace". The song sounds particulay moving when played on the pipes and is commonly heard at funerals and memorial services

[编辑] 歌詞

1.)奇异恩典何等甘甜 我罪已得赦免 前我失丧今被寻回 瞎眼今得看见

2.)如此恩典使我敬畏 使我心得安慰 初信之时即蒙恩惠 真是何等宝贵

3.)许多危险试炼网罗 我已安然经过 靠主恩典安全不怕 更引导我归家

4.)将来禧年圣徒欢聚 恩光爱谊千年 喜乐颂赞在父座前 深望那日快现

[编辑] Recordings

The hymn has been recorded by countless artists over the last century. Two versions have made the UK Singles Chart; between 1970 and 1972, a version by Judy Collins spent 67 weeks in the charts, a record for a female artist, and peaked at number 5. In 1972, an instrumental version by the Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards spent five weeks at number one, also reaching the top spot in Australia. Likewise another artist, Hayley Westenra, released this song on her album Pure and this album did incredibly well, selling 19,068 copies in its first week of sales alone.

In addition to recording the hymn, Joan Baez also opened the US portion of Live Aid, the legendary 1985 concert for African famine relief, with a performance of "Amazing Grace".

Folk singer Arlo Guthrie closes many of his concerts with a version of "Amazing Grace" that includes a spoken retelling of its origin.

The composer Frank Ticheli has written a version of Amazing Grace that is frequently performed by various wind ensembles throughout the United States.

Celtic-influenced punk band the Dropkick Murphys have made several recordings of Amazing Grace, all of which feature the use of bagpipes.

Christian metal band Stryper recorded a heavy metal version of Amazing Grace, titled 10,000 years, which came out in their album 2005 album Reborn

Chris Squire of Yes also has recorded a bass solo version of Amazing Grace on the Rhino's rerelease of 'Going For The One' album.

The Groundhogs did a version of Amazing Grace for their Who Will Save The World? album.

Another version was used as the ending song for the Japanese drama series Shiroi Kyoto(2003-2004 version).

Thebandwithnoname, a Christian rap/hip-hop band have also released their version of the song, and it is always considered their most famous song, always performed at their gigs.

Mark Walz, Jr recorded an acoustic version of Amazing Grace with a different tune and a chorus. Found on TheMarque.org

There is also another bass solo version of this played by Victor Wooten. The main theme of the song is mainly played with harmonics. He often plays it at concerts. Listen here on Google Video.

[编辑] External links

• Amazing Grace: The Story of John Newton
• Who Has Recorded Amazing Grace?
• Easybyte - free easy piano arrangement of Amazing Grace
• Amazing Grace myths at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
• Art of the States: Amazing Grace variations on the hymn by composer John Harbison