hymn – dw piano music

I’m very happy, after a very long hiatus, to post new music again today. This piece is a side-effect of a collaboration with my friend Ehsan to write a new Sanctus (which we will share once we have a good recording). The recurring motif is from the hymn “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”. I hope you enjoy it.

Grace and peace to you…

As promised last week, here is part two of my setting of the hymn known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate. Posted here is the piano accompaniment; maybe in the future I can post the whole hymn, sung.

The text for part two is very familiar:
Continue reading “Saint Patrick, part 2 – Christ be with me” →

In honor of Saint Patrick’s day, I’m sharing some music I shared before, a partial setting of the hymn known as Saint Patrick’s Breastplate.

I say ‘partial’ because this hymn traditionally has two parts: this is the music for part one; I hope to post the music for part two next week.

Continue reading “Saint Patrick” →

Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash

Here’s a traditional gospel tune by Samuel Webbe, words by Thomas Moore and Thomas Hastings. My arrangement is based largely on the beautiful recording done by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway: https://youtu.be/7h8hTomC_8M

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying—
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

A meditation based on the traditional hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”.

The words are by Joachim Neander, translated by Catherine Winkworth. Two of the verses that are never included in modern hymnals seem almost eerily appropriate for our current times. I have included below all seven verses listed on cyberhymnal.org.

hymnary.org does a nice job of providing background and full texts from just about every hymnal imaginable.

Grace and peace to you…

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.