C. C. Case: gospel hymn tunes from Ohio

About C. C. Case

Charles Clinton Case was born on 6 June 1843 at Linesville, Pennsylvania, and moved with his family to Gustavus, Ohio, at about four. His father was a violinist, and Case learned the instrument before he could read music. At sixteen he began attending singing school without his parents' consent, and in 1866 he studied in Boston with Benjamin Baker; his teachers later included George Root, Carl Zerrahn, William Mason, Horatio Palmer and Philip Bliss. He taught music, became a friend of James McGranahan, and compiled gospel songbooks for the rest of his life.

Those books are the record of his working method: Pure Delight (1883) and Wondrous Love (1885) with George Root, The Portfolio of Sunday School Songs (1887) with William Sherwin, Uplifting Songs (1896), Choice Songs (1902) and Spirit of Praise (1911). He died on 1 December 1918 at Oberlin, Ohio, and is buried at Gustavus.

The catalogue draws on that hymn repertoire. Millford is a tune name, not a text, and several entries set well-known hymn verses. Twenty-one of the 35 scores sit at complexity index 1, and the average length is under a minute, so the page is a set of short four-part settings rather than a collection of extended anthems.

Listening and playing notes

These are four-part hymn settings: the tune normally sits in the soprano, with the other voices moving underneath in block chords. Keep the tempo steady and let the text govern the phrasing; a hymn does not need rubato to sound expressive. On the organ, register the inner voices lightly so the melody stays clear. Where a score has no lyrics, check whether the tune is meant for a repeated stanza before deciding on repeats.

Selected scores

1. Rejoice, the Lord Is King

   The most-viewed score: Case's tune for the hymn, with the parenthetical '(Case)' distinguishing it from other settings.

2. Awake, My Soul, to Joyful Lays

   A hymn setting in the gospel-song idiom, second in view count.

3. Crown Him, Crown Him, Every Nation

   A short four-part setting; the catalogue does not say whether it is a complete hymn or an excerpt.

4. The Lord Is My Refuge and Here Will I Stay

   A setting of a psalm-derived text, filed at complexity index 1.

5. Millford

   A tune name rather than a text incipit; hymnals use such names to pair a melody with different words.

6. We Sing of the Days That Have Passed Away

   A reflective hymn text set in four parts, one of the shorter entries on the page.

7. God of Mercy, God of Love

   A hymn setting whose text addresses mercy and love; the catalogue gives no hymnal source.

8. Across the Distant Plains of Time

   A hymn on the passage of time, with the tune in the soprano and block harmony beneath.

9. As White as Snow! Oh, Can It Be

   A gospel-song text with an exclamation in the incipit; the catalogue keeps the punctuation of the original title.