B. E. Warren and the Gospel Trumpet hymn tradition

About B. E. Warren

Barney Elliott Warren was born on 20 February 1867 in Lewiston, New York, and converted in 1884 at a revival meeting at Grand Junction near Bangor, Michigan, joining the Church of God of Anderson, Indiana. Two years later he joined Daniel Sidney Warner's travelling company of singers as a bass, and he married another member of the company, Nannie Kigar. From 1888 until 1940 he worked on songbooks and hymnals for the Gospel Trumpet Company, the church's publishing house in Anderson, and he served as a minister and pastor to several congregations in the same years.

His output was enormous: he is credited with words, music or both for more than two thousand hymns and children's songs, though few are still sung outside the Church of God. With Warner he compiled Echoes from Glory in 1893, and his songs fill later Gospel Trumpet collections such as Songs of Grace and Glory, published in Anderson in 1918, where Come to the fountain so full and so free appears as Seek Ye the Lord with his words and music. He died on 21 April 1951 in Springfield, Ohio, and is buried there in Vale Cemetery.

The titles here are first lines, often scripture verses turned into refrains: Remember thy great Creator in the days of thy youth takes Ecclesiastes 12:1, and They that be wise shall shine takes Daniel 12:3. The catalogue marks all twenty-seven as classical, and several titles run to a whole verse of scripture rather than a short refrain.

Listening and playing notes

Play these as revival songs: a firm, regular beat, the tune on top, and the refrain a shade stronger than the verse. The harmony is largely primary, so the interest comes from the words and from keeping the inner parts moving rather than from colourful chords. On the piano, avoid heavy pedalling, which blurs the short note values; on the organ, choose a bright registration that lets a congregation hear the tune. Keep the last verse from dragging.

Selected scores

1. Remember Thy Great Creator

   The most-viewed entry, titled by its full first line and drawn from Ecclesiastes 12:1.

2. Are You Sinning Day by Day

   A revival warning in the Gospel Trumpet manner, with the first line used as the title.

3. I Have a Treasure in My Heart

   A short strophic song; the catalogue records no tune name or hymnal source.

4. They That Be Wise Shall Shine

   The title repeats its first line; the text is Daniel 12:3.

5. Hark! from the Regions of Darkest Night

   A Christmas-style narrative opening, filed among the revival songs.

6. O Praise the Blessed Lord of Hosts

   A hymn of praise with an exclamation mark carried over from the first line.

7. Come to the Fountain So Full and So Free

   Printed as Seek Ye the Lord in Songs of Grace and Glory (1918), where both words and music are credited to Warren.

8. Do You Sigh for Victory?

   A question-and-answer revival lyric, typical of the Gospel Trumpet songbooks.

9. Is There Any Firm Foundation

   A long first line used whole as the title, as the catalogue does with several entries.

10. Shout His Praises Louder

    An upbeat chorus song; the catalogue gives no date or hymnal.