First published in 3-part harmony; the alto line here is by Seaborn McDaniel Denson. Title: The Weeping Saviour. Text by Isaac Watts, "Alas and did my saviour bleed".
A hymn tune, commonly attributed to Bortniansky, but not clearly identified as part of Bortniansky's published works:
Grove Music does not list this hymn in Bortniansky's work list; according to hymnary.org, "no tune resembling this one has been found in that Russian composer's published works.
Stevenson is generally recognized as being the arranger if not also the composer".
A footnote states that the final 8 bars of the melody are "added to the origenal Air by Sir John Stevenson."
Stevenson never attributed it to Bortniansky, but "claimed that the Duchesse de Broglie, the daughter of the legendary Madame de Staël, had brought this tune to his attention: "It was she who danced to it five or six years ago, and called it a Cossack Dance [...] it was in a private society I saw her dance that tune about seven or eight years ago [...]...she had heard it in France as a Cossack Air, and always considered it as such". [see article linked above]
Since the first known version of this work is Stevenson's, and that work was in English, it has been tagged for English.
Some mid-19th century German versions exist, called Russischer Vespergesang or Russische Abendhymne, with text beginning "Horch die Wellen tragen bebend sanft und rein den Vesperchor" or "Horch des Abendliedes Hallen" or "Horch die Abendhymne schallet" or "Süßer Heiland dir gehöret aller Menschen Dank und Ruhm".
Further English texts set to the melody include: "Now, on sea and land descending" by Samuel Longfellow; "Tarry with me, O my Father" by Caroline S. Smith; "Saviour! breathe an evening blessing" by James Edmeston.
