Favourite French Hymns

This is the third and final post in a series about French hymns.

The first post was tips and tricks on how anglophone churches can learn to sing in French.

The second post was about French hymns in my own denomination, the United Church of Canada.

Today, I want to share with you some French hymns that are very popular in my mostly anglophone church.

Our Favourite French Hymns

1. Gloire à Dieu notre créateur (Voices United #541)

This is a French version of a popular doxology. We sing it as an offertory hymn. The song is *so* simple in French. I think that the French words are actually even more beautiful than the English ones.

An offertory/doxology is a song that is easy to learn because it is frequently repeated. I often find myself singing the song when I'm on a walk, at the grocery store, or driving home.

2. N'ayez pas peur (More Voices #90).

This is the French version of the short, simple chant: "Don't be afraid, my love is stronger..."

The hymn has a powerful message of God's love. It is really easy to learn.

3. Oh! Prends-moi tel que je suis (More Voices #85)

This is a song of commitment to God. It is the French version of "Take, O take me as I am..."

We sing this song to offer ourselves to God. It is repeated several times and I find it entering into my heart and soul.

4. Jésus, je voudrais te chanter (Voices United #641)

This is an awesome bilingual hymn. The music is gorgeous. The words are about what Jesus has done for us and also about how we long to offer ourselves to Jesus.

This would be a good song for pilgrimage, or a song of praise. We sing half of it in French and half in English. I usually have us sing verses 1 and 2 in French, with verses 3 and 4 in English. This is because, in Voices United, the words for verses 1 and 2 are written in syllable form and matched with the appropriate music notes. Why is this helpful? You can read more about syllables here: https://jesusetlesenfants.blogspot.com/2019/10/anglophone-church-french-hymns.html

5. Psaume 100 - Vous qui sur la terre habitez (Voices United p. 822)

This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 100. The English version of the hymn is well known and loved. In French, it is a beautiful hymn of praise.

We usually sing verses 1 and 2 in French, with 3 and 4 in English. As with the song above, this is because Voices United puts the first two verses in syllable form. (At least in the big version of the hymn book that has music notes!)

Vous pouvez louer Dieu en français! Happy Singing!