Music Ministry Series: Part IV (Hymns and Songs)

Hymn, Song, Chant—what’s the difference?

It’s easy to become confused about the different terms that get thrown around regarding what it is we are singing at any given moment...Sometimes we sing an “Opening Hymn,” sometimes it’s a “Communion Song”...and then there’s that word “chant” that gets used from time to time.

So, let us take a moment to look at some of the different words and try to sort them out.

Most of the liturgical documents from Rome, as well as from the U.S. Bishops, use the word “chant” to describe anything we sing in the liturgy. For us this term tends to conjure up images of ethereal Latin-singing monks, slow and mystical music hearkening to a traditional and “high church” style of worship. While Gregorian Chant, this centuries-old form of church song, is still a traditional and beautiful form of sung prayer, when the documents refer to a “chant” they are simply translating the Latin word cantus—basically, “song” or “something sung.” It also can refer to any non-rhythmic unaccompanied speech-singing, such as when the priest chants “Through him, with him, in him…” or other texts through the liturgy. Generally, the more festive the occasion, the more the priest will choose to chant. (If he is comfortable chanting at all, that is—we are blessed to have some wonderful singing priests at our parish!)

So: what is the difference between a song and a hymn?

A hymn is usually a term for a specific kind of sacred song, one with several verses or stanzas (or, if you like, strophes). The melody will repeat several times, exactly the same, with different words for each verse. “I Come with Joy,” sung this week to open the liturgy, is a hymn. So is “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”; so are most of our favorite Christmas carols— “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and so on.

The word song can be a bit more confusing, though. On the one hand, it can (like chant) refer to anything that is sung. But a piece of music in song form is very specific—this means that it may have verses like a hymn, but each ends with a chorus or refrain—a passage of music that comes back, with the same words, every time. Songs like “Here I Am, Lord” and “On Eagle’s Wings” are good examples of music in “song” form.

(But what about “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” another Christmas carol, you may ask? Just because it has the repeating refrain “O come, let us adore him,” does that mean it’s not a hymn?)

The good news—and I hope this is not a disappointment to those who have managed to read to the end of this column—is that when it really comes down to it, it doesn’t matter much. None of these terms is absolute, and very seldom will anyone be able to say “You’re wrong!” if you should refer to any piece of sacred music by almost any of these titles. This is just a little background given for the benefit of those who’ve asked the question in the past—call it what you will, just keep singing!