This hymn anthem is based on one of the great hymns of the Restoration, and was included in the very first LDS hymnal. The accompaniment sounds best on organ, but I wrote it so that it could also be played on piano. It uses three hymn tunes: DULCIMER, ST. ANN, and ANTIOCH. When I perform this, I usually invite the congregation to join the choir in the last two verses.
Vocabulary Booster:
FYI: In the wonderful world of hymnody, the word "hymn" is used to refer to the words, and "hymn tune" to refer to the melody. The names of hymn tunes are traditionally written in all caps. Hymn texts can and have been set to more than one tune. In popular parlance the word "hymn" can mean both the words and the tune. The hymn tune refers to only the melody. The arranger is the person who set the tune to four-part harmony, such as we find in our hymn books. Another type of arranger is the person who uses both hymn and hymn tune to create a choir anthem in which the choir harmony may or may not be the same as in the hymnal, and the accompaniment is usually newly composed.
I believe that church music does not have to be difficult to be effective. Many of my compositions are written for churches that have limited resources. Below are two free choir anthems based on hymn tunes by famous composers.
"How Wondrous and Great" SATB with piano or organ. Based on the hymn tyne LYONS attributed to Joseph Michael Haydn.
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October, 2007