The Welsh are proud of their hymns. They have done much to study the texts; less work has been done on the tunes. But in reality it is the tunes that fascinate much of the hymn-singing world outside Wales.

In Welsh Hymns and Their Tunes Alan Luff, former Precentor at Westminster Abbey, and a respected consultant on church music of all kinds, has put the fruits of ten years’ service in North Wales into his work of wide and sensitive scholarship.

The hymns themselves are not only considere...