Hungarian Brethren Begin to Visit Brethren in Communist Ukraine
This excerpt was related by a letter from a sister who traveled with a group of Brethren to Ukraine in 1983 after the Communist government began to relax their tight hold on Christianity and their borders. Hungarians place a lot of emphasis on music and sing in very beautiful four-part harmony. In Ukraine musical understanding and talent had not yet developed technically, yet the brethren sang with heart in unison.
“We visited an older couple. The husband was over 80 years old, and the wife was the one who translated the Zion’s Harp into their native tongue. She asked us to sing a few songs and proceeded to request the most difficult song. She had translated ‘It Is a Good Thing to Give Thanks Unto the Lord’ and written it by hand with the music for all four parts, without ever having the opportunity to hear how it sounded. Her handwriting was so beautiful that it looked like it had been printed. As we started to sing she began crying. I was curious to see if she would know where we were in the song, and sure enough, she was following the notes with her finger exactly where we were, though she had never studied music. As we sang a few songs for them, they were so deeply touched that they cried aloud—all the brethren.”
Stories of Faith and Courage Volume 3, page 137
This excerpt was related by a letter from a sister who traveled with a group of Brethren to Ukraine in 1983 after the Communist government began to relax their tight hold on Christianity and their borders. Hungarians place a lot of emphasis on music and sing in very beautiful four-part harmony. In Ukraine musical understanding and talent had not yet developed technically, yet the brethren sang with heart in unison.
“We visited an older couple. The husband was over 80 years old, and the wife was the one who translated the Zion’s Harp into their native tongue. She asked us to sing a few songs and proceeded to request the most difficult song. She had translated ‘It Is a Good Thing to Give Thanks Unto the Lord’ and written it by hand with the music for all four parts, without ever having the opportunity to hear how it sounded. Her handwriting was so beautiful that it looked like it had been printed. As we started to sing she began crying. I was curious to see if she would know where we were in the song, and sure enough, she was following the notes with her finger exactly where we were, though she had never studied music. As we sang a few songs for them, they were so deeply touched that they cried aloud—all the brethren.”
Stories of Faith and Courage Volume 3, page 137