Jessie Seymour Irvine
Encyclopedia
Jessie Seymour Irvine was the daughter of a Church of Scotland
parish minister who served at Dunottar, Peterhead
, and Crimond
in Aberdeenshire
, Scotland
. She is referred to by Ian Campbell Bradley in his 1997 book Abide with Me: The World of Victorian Hymns as standing "in a strong Scottish tradition of talented amateurs ... who tended to produce metrical psalm tunes rather than the dedicated hymn tune
s increasingly composed in England
".
: "The Lord's my shepherd". It is believed that Irvine wrote the tune while still in her teens, as an exercise for an organ class she was attending.
The tune first appeared in The Northern Psalter where it was credited to one David Grant. It was subsequently revealled, however, that Grant had only arranged and not composed the tune, and the 1929 Scottish Psalter credits Irvine. The controversy is discussed Ronald Johnson's article: "How far is it to Crimond?" and Jack Webster's column in the Glasgow Herald.
Irvine is buried in St. Machar's Cathedral
in Aberdeen
.
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
parish minister who served at Dunottar, Peterhead
Peterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
, and Crimond
Crimond
Crimond is a village in the northeast of Scotland, located nine miles northwest of the port of Peterhead and just over two miles from the coast.- Local area :...
in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. She is referred to by Ian Campbell Bradley in his 1997 book Abide with Me: The World of Victorian Hymns as standing "in a strong Scottish tradition of talented amateurs ... who tended to produce metrical psalm tunes rather than the dedicated hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
s increasingly composed in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
".
Works
Her most famous tune is Crimond, which is best known as one of the most popular settings for the (paraphrased) words of Psalm 23Psalm 23
In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music....
: "The Lord's my shepherd". It is believed that Irvine wrote the tune while still in her teens, as an exercise for an organ class she was attending.
The tune first appeared in The Northern Psalter where it was credited to one David Grant. It was subsequently revealled, however, that Grant had only arranged and not composed the tune, and the 1929 Scottish Psalter credits Irvine. The controversy is discussed Ronald Johnson's article: "How far is it to Crimond?" and Jack Webster's column in the Glasgow Herald.
Irvine is buried in St. Machar's Cathedral
St. Machar's Cathedral
St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
.