Hymns
Hymns on Sunday, 12 May 2024
Hymns with the theme of mercy feature in this week's programme, and there are some hymns to Mary to mark Mother's Day. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 5 May 2024
Hymns from the 12th century to the 20th this week, including Jesu, the very thought of thee (based on a poem by Bernard of Clairvaux) and NZ hymn writer Colin Gibson’s He came singing love. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 28 April 2024
A great rendition of William Kethe's hymn All people that on earth do dwell begins this week's programme. You can also hear harvest hymns, and hymns of thanksgiving. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 21 April 2024
Looking ahead to ANZAC Day this week, with hymns including Abide with me and Shirley Murray’s Honour the dead. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 14 April 2024
More Eastertide hymns today, including He is risen. The words, written by Cecil Frances Alexander in the 1840s, have been set to a tune by Dunedin composer and choral director Richard Madden. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 7 April 2024
George Woodward's hymn This joyful Eastertide begins today's programme. George was a man of many talents: as well as writing hymns, he was a bell ringer, he played the cello and euphonium, and he was… Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 31 March 2024
Celebrate Easter Sunday with favourite Easter hymns, including Jesus Christ is risen today, Thine be the glory, and the New Zealand Easter hymn Christ is alive! Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 24 March 2024
Holy Week begins today - the sixth and final week of Lent. Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, and our hymns include Ride on, ride on in majesty and All glory, laud and honour. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 17 March 2024
19th-century English architect James Edmeston wrote around 2000 hymns - it was said that he produced one every Sunday. We'll hear one of his best-known hymns this week: Lead us, heavenly Father, lead… Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 10 March 2024
It’s the Fourth Sunday in Lent, known as Laetare (‘rejoice’ in Latin) Sunday. Hymns include Praise, my soul, the king of heaven and the psalm paraphrase Praise God, for he is kind. And we remember New… Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 3 March 2024
This week, we’ve hymns that focus on peace, unity and consolation, including Make me a channel of your peace (The Prayer of St Francis), and Margaret Rizza’s In the Lord is my joy and salvation. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 25 February 2024
This week, we've a hymn by Dunedin GP Nigel Eastgate; two different settings of Psalm 130 - Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; and a hymn from Hatea Kapa Haka: E kino koe te ingoa nei. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 18 February 2024
In this week’s programme we’re marking the First Sunday in Lent, there’s a hymn written for Human Rights Day, and we get an insight into how American minister Robert Lowry wrote his hymns. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 11 February 2024
There’s a reflective feel to this week’s selection of listener requests, with hymns including There is a balm in Gilead, Nearer my God to thee, and Margaret Rizza’s Prayer for Peace. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 4 February 2024
It's all about descants today - those soaring vocal lines above the melody that are often sung on the final verse of hymns. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 28 January 2024
There are sea-related hymns in this week’s programme of requests, including Eternal Father, strong to save (also known as ‘the Navy Hymn’) and Will your anchor hold in the storms of life. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 21 January 2024
A memory of the Pope's visit to Cardiff in the 1980s, a favourite hymn from Bible Class days, and a dedication to a beloved grandfather: some of the inspirations behind this week's hymn requests. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 14 January 2024
A gentle start to this week's hymn requests programme, with an arrangement of Eleanor Farjeon's Morning has broken sung by the Choir of Trinity College, University of Melbourne. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 7 January 2024
One of the earliest surviving Christian hymns, a hymn to mark Epiphany, and St Francis of Assisi’s hymn All creatures of our God and king – all in this week’s programme of Summer Hymn Requests. Audio
Hymns on Sunday, 31 December 2023
Summer Hymn Requests begin today: for the next month or so, we’ll be playing your choices. Today’s programme includes Our life has its seasons by Shirley Murray, Charles Wesley’s hymn And can it be… Audio