Favourite Music

CHARLES WESLEY

December 2007 marks the tercentenary (300 years!) of Charles Wesley’s birth.  There are about 70 million Methodists worldwide (290,000 in the UK) and Charles Wesley is remembered as co-founder, with his elder brother John, of the Methodist movement.  However, his chief legacy is probably his hymns.  It is estimated that he wrote between 7,000 and 10,000 hymns, one every couple of days throughout his adult life.  These include ‘Hark, the herald angels sing’ and ‘Love divine, all loves excelling’.

In the 18th century hymns often used secular tunes, and for the working classes were the primary means by which church members learnt Christian doctrine and grew in faith.