77. The stars were silent and the hills
E. Royce
The poem was published in the Presbyterian about 1939. No specific information is at hand concerning the author. Bixel, composer of the music, is under the impression that E. Royce was a missionary to China who sent this poem to her church paper for publication.
MUSIC. SILENT was composed for this carol by James W. Bixel, who was born at Bluffton, Ohio, November 7, 1913. After graduating from Bluffton College, Bixel studied music in Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he received his Master of Music degree in composition. He taught music in the public schools of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and then spent nearly four years in Civilian Public Service. In the fall of 1947 he became a teacher of harmony and piano in the music department of Bethel College. The tune, begun and completed in one evening, has the distinction of being the only one in the Hymnary composed by a Mennonite. Which leads one to observe that our hymns and tunes, like many other elements in our culture, are “ours” by appreciation and use rather than by invention or creation. It may be the future will find us less “practical” minded than heretofore and that poetic and musical gifts will yet come to fruition to make our contribution to the stream of hymns and tunes that have enriched the worship of the Visible Church of all places and ages.