Product Description
SET B
Conductors
Score,Trumpet
1, Trumpet
2, Horn
in F, Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, SATB
Choir/Organ
Now Thank We All Our God was originally written ca. 1636 by Protestant
minister, Martin Rinkart. The melody is
attributed to Lutheran Hymnist, Johann Crüger and was used in three J.S. Bach
chorales but the most common version we hear today was harmonized by Felix
Mendelssohn in 1840.
Martin
Rinkart was a deacon in Eisleben Germany where
he served during the Thirty Years War. The city of Eisleben and Rinkarts own home became a sanctuary for political
refugees during the war. The resulting overcrowding in the walled city resulted
in a horrible plague which hit its peak in 1637. Rinkart was the only surviving pastor in the city
and before the plague was over he would preside over 4000 funerals include that
of his own wife. Despite this, it was during this time that he wrote Now
thank we all our God.
This
new setting of Now Thank We All Our God draws on Rinkarts fierce spirit of optimism and faith in a
time of desolation and despair. To paint the picture of the circumstances in
which Rinkart wrote the hymn, this setting
opens with the text from Psalm 13:
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
The
setting turns quickly, in an act of disruptive optimism and faith, to a
lopsided dance of joy. In the end, the setting returns to the opening question
of Psalm 13, "How long?" only to be answered by Rinkarts declaration, "Gifts of love today!"
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.