Arizona Masonry Senior Grand Steward Worshipful Brother Leigh Creighton The Pleyel Hymn The Pleyel hymn is sung in Arizona lodges as part of the Master Mason degree and I have always wanted to know more about its origin and meaning. I found a Short Talk Bulletin from August 2010 written by Reverend and Brother Joseph Fort Newton, who was the author of many Masonic writings, most significantly “The Builders”. His short talk is poetic and touched by the solemnity of our Masonic use of the hymn and its symbolic meaning. Let’s note the origins of the music and the lyrics we use. The music was written by Brother Joseph Ignaz Pleyel, a member of Lodge "zum goldenen Rad" in Eberau, Hungary. This lodge worked under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hungary, Grand Lodge of Austria, till the suppression of Freemasonry by Emperor Joseph II. There are many lyrics associated with the Pleyel hymn, not just the Masonic lyrics. Those we sing were written by Brother David Vinton in the early 1800s. Originally of eight stanzas we in Arizona use only five, and often only four depending on the speed of the perambulation. Solemn strikes the funeral chime, Notes of our departing time, As we journey here below, Through a pilgrimage of woe. The first stanza sets the tone for what the brotherhood is doing. I am not sure that we are journeying through a pilgrimage of woe however unless the lyricist is referring to a funeral procession only. Our pilgrimage through life is certainly, hopefully, one of joy. Mortals, now indulge a tear, For MORTALITY is here, See how wide her trophies wave, Over the slumbers of the grave. Again, we are reminded of our transient existence here on earth, but mortality, while inducing tears, is also a trophy, a reward for a good life. God of life’s ETERNAL DAY, Guide us – lest from thee we stray, By a false delusive light, To the shades of endless night. A prayer to God for guidance, recognizing that He is eternal, to keep us from drifting away from Him by false impressions. Calm, the GOOD MAN, meets his fate, Guards celestial round him wait, 11 Arizona Masonry—A Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Arizona Publication www.AzMasons.org
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