Product Description
As years come and go, one increasingly recalls memories of
earlier times. One of the most vivid and cherished memories I have while
growing up is of Sunday mornings, going to church, sitting in the same pew each
week with my grandmother, hearing and singing the beautiful hymns of our faith,
and then returning home to the aroma of beef slowly roasting in the oven. My
father directed the church choir, my mother and older brothers sang in the choir,
so the wonderful music of our faith was instilled in me from an early age. This
medley, and others in the series, are arrangements of many of my favorite hymns
from those early years, many of which have been lost in more recent editions.
For this series, I have elected to use the older texts as that is the way they
were first written and the way I first learned them. There is a reverence and
beauty in the language enriching the vocal/choral tone which, I believe, is
lost in contemporary, conversational, or politically correct syntax. I shudder
to think of the day when a penitential phrase such as "Hear thou my
prayer, O Lord" is rendered as "Hey, God-dude, listen up - I'm talkin'
atcha!" I have also opted not to include the many wonderful hymns and
carols which are associated with the major festivals of Christmas and Easter as
those are commonly found in other collections. A caveat: I have no delusions,
and I offer no pretenses, that these settings are great art. They are simply
expressions of faith which I hope may bring a small measure of joy to other
church musicians. The general concept of each medley is to present the hymn,
often in its original chorale form, and then vary its harmony or texture. The
hymns in this set include "My Faith Looks Up to Thee", "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind", and "Nearer, My God, to Thee".
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.