Here we have a Swedish hymn, translated into Finnish, then into English, but still wedded to a delightful Finnish folk tune! Johan Kahl (1721-1746) was born in Visby on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. A civil servant in Stockholm, Sweden, he joined with the Moravian movement in that part of the country. In 1745 this group published a second edition of a book with 223 religious songs titled Sions Sänger; some 60 of the songs were by this pious young man.

For some reason, possibly because they were not officially authorized by the state church, his hymns did not find ready acceptance in his homeland, for the Swedish Psalmbook of 1819 included only one of his poems, and the same was true for the Psalmbook of 1937. But the original Sions Sänger was translated into the Finnish language in 1790 and became the favorite songbook of the Pietists in Southern Finland, known as the “Praying People.” Later the same book was used in revivals in other parts of the country, and nine of his hymns, including this one, were printed in the 1938 official hymnbook of the Church of Finland. Its first use in English was the translation from Finnish by Ernest Ryden (1886-1981; see SDAH 37), in the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal, 1958, which preserved the most unusual irregular form. 

The vigorous minor tune NYT YLÖS SIELUNI (Finnish for Arise, My Soul, Arise) was “found” by two young students, Berndt Nyberg and Ilmari Krohn, who in 1890 were traveling in central Finland listening to and writing down the fascinating folk melodies of the Praying People. An old sexton sang for them this text and tune, which had eventually been used together for many generations. The pair published it in a book titled People’s Gift to the church. From there it was included in the Finnish hymnbook of 1938.

As arranged by Uriah S. Leopold in the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal, it was in the key of D minor, with all the leading notes sharped. For SDAH the tunes committee elected to use a recent anthem version, and left all the leading notes natural.