The prolific 18th-century hymnwriter Isaac Watts initially penned the lyrics for “Joy to the World” as a rhyming paraphrase of Psalm 98, and his poem was first published in 1719. It became a ...

Mason routinely gave credit to other composers for his own hymn tunes, and described the music of “Joy to the World” as being “after G. F. Handel.” While there are fleeting similarities to ...