This song was sung at my Mom’s funeral. It was a good summary of her life experience. She went through many difficulties but always believed God was faithful. Every morning brought new mercies and new hope.
Three forces joined to make this one of the most popular hymns of the 20thcentury. The words came first. Portions came directly from Lamentations 3:23–24. The remainder came from the Methodist minister and prolific Christian poet Thomas Chisholm. [Read more…] about Great Is Thy Faithfulness
I’m having fun doing arrangements of classic songs. You can follow along as my professional musician friends share their insights.
And you can put in your thoughts too. Help me figure out how to make a good arrangement of this song. Just put your comments (click at top of post). We’ll crowd source an arrangement!
Here is my arrangement of a traditional Christmas carol: The First Noel. Its truths are eternal, its melody is old (13-14th century?), and the words recent (within the last 150 years). Many versions have been devised but the most common ones are based on the words of William Sandy in 1833. Similarly, the original folk melody most frequently reflects the arrangement of John Stainer’s 1871 arrangment.
The audio is an export of the Sibelius file used to make the arrangement.
In my version, we start in 4/4 time (a switch from the usual ¾ waltz-like rhythm. As composer Ken DeJung notes, it has some problems with the lead (T2) being buried under the baritone. And it is a bit muddy in some places (a problem with low-voice arrangements).
Here is the first version of the score, and an MP3 file of the computer pretending to be human.
The second version frills out the opening chords; they are not just “Ah!’s” anymore. To help open up the harmony, there are key changes, allowing the lead to more easily be switched between parts.
There is also a round. Which turned out better than I expected.
Here is the second version of the score, and an MP3 file of the computer pretending to be human.
Here is a performance by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, England.
Here is a traditional Irish tune on unknown origins with lyrics written by an English lawyer.
Here’s a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Not really a Christmas song but definitely a winter song, Jingle Bells (originally One Horse Open Sleigh) was published in the fall of 1857. Written by James Lord Pierpont, the song has been become a favorite for children’s piano, orchestras and singers.
My opening is a big unorthodox but originally, so was the song. For the 18-hundreds, jingling your bells was pretty racy.
This is the first song I recorded for this album. Just me and David Johnson. I had never met the musicians, and felt I had to prove myself. They all stood in the control watching carefully through the window. Afterward, they all nodded and said (some directly, some directly) “Well, okay then. Let’s do this.”
I wanted this to be so soft that David and I wouldn’t wake the baby. Silent Night has that kind of intimacy. In this version, it’s just you, me and Jesus.
