The Music of Aurelia

Mom shared some surprising news with me during her visit in May. As she was working on making a lullaby CD for Raya's birthday, her friend shared with her that our daughter's name is the title of an old hymnal tune. And the spellings are just the same!

Wanting to know more, I stopped by the help desk at our library several weeks ago. I expressed what I knew, and after a short search, the man confirmed that "Aurelia" was the name of a hymnal tune that has been used for many different song lyrics. He shared that one song set to this music is "The Church's One Foundation." I was trying to retrieve that tune from my memory and mentioned that I couldn't quite remember how it goes. Next to me this little, old lady chirps in, "Yes, 'The Church's One Foundation'!" and sings me through the first couple lines. She was so cute, and the song came right back to me. I was so excited; I put several library CDs on hold that included that song!

Now I know that the tune "Aurelia" was written my Samuel Wesley, a grandchild of the famous Charles Wesley, in the 1800s. This tune apparently was used for many hymns, including a well-loved Japanese and Korean song.



Sweet Aurelia! One of my aunts who is a gifted pianist and teacher noted in a congratulations card after Raya's birth that her name sounds very musical. Now it makes me wonder if my aunt, with all of her experience playing music, unconsciously knew there was a tie.

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