Handbook to the Mennonite Hymnary

by Lester Hostetler

39. Unheard the dews around me fall

Anonymous

This hymn, emphasizing the silences of God as manifested in the world without and within, is of anonymous authorship. It is found in Hymns of the Spirit but most of the other modern hymnals have overlooked it.

MUSIC. WINDSOR is an English tune of unknown origin. It was set to Psalm 116 in a book of Psalm tunes by M. William Damon, published in 1591. It is one of a number of tunes written in the minor mode which appear in the Hymnary. Note that the “Amen” closes with the chord in F major, in keeping with the general practice of following a minor tune with an “Amen” in which the last chord is in the major mode.

In Songs of Praise, London, 1931, this tune is set to the hymn “Jesus, the very thought of Thee” ([155]).