Introducing the judges for the
2026 Hymn Competition
"Ages Past - Years To Come"
To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland,
new hymns are invited on the theme of
“Ages Past – Years to Come”.
The competition honoured the legacy of Elizabeth Cosnett (1936-2024)
with an opportunity to set one of her texts to a new tune.
Hymn were invited in the following categories:
A Original text to a well-known melody
B Original text to an original melody
C Original melody to an Elizabeth Cosnett text
The winning text in category A is:
So many voices echo through the ages by Colin Thompson.
Available with the usual copyright restrictions.
The winning text in category C is:
THORNLEIGH (Shaping Spirit, move among us) by Stephen Barber.
Tune: copyright Stephen Barber
Text: Copyright Stainer & Bell Ltd A CCLI or One license copyright licence is essential if hymn text is reproduced in worship, in print or on screen.