Descants

The hymn tune St. Denio appeared first in its current form in the 1839 Welsh volume, Caniadau y Cyssegr (Hymns of the Sanctuary). Though its origins are uncertain, the tune most likely had a prior life as a song or a ballad, and there are several cited examples that are likely sources. If it seems odd that a Welsh hymn tune should bear the name of the patron saint of France, note that the Welsh think so too; they refer to the hymn as Joanna. The text is from Walter Chalmers Smith, and appeared in his Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life, published almost thirty years later, in 1867. This tune was paired with the text, "Immortal, invisible, God only wise," by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the The English Hymnal (1906). The final stanza was crafted from two stanzas of the original by Percy Dearmer; there is an additional alteration for inclusive language in The Hymnal 1982.

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St. Denio 4.2.3

Organ Score
Immortal, invisible, God only wise (v4., "Thou reignest in glory...," The Hymnal 1982)


Organ Score
Immortal, invisible, God only wise (v4., "Great Father of glory...," Lutheran Service Book 2006)

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hymnal verse
descant verse

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