For each of the last couple years, I've recorded a piece from James Bastien's Great Christmas Carols Arranged for Organ for an-other project. I've been sticking to the less overtly religious pieces for that project, but this piece was on the opposite page of the one I did this year, and I ended up learning and recording it, too. I used the pipe organ sound on my Nord Electro 5D with the Hammond XPK-130G bass pedals.
Showing posts with label Dix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dix. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Friday, January 11, 2019
"As with Gladness Men of Old"
A couple years ago, I wrote about a feature in "As with Gladness Men of Old." When I sang it in church on Sunday (Epiphany), I noticed a few more things.
The hymn is sung to the tune "Dix." Here are the first two musical phrases:
The second verse begins with the lines "As with joyful steps they sped, / Savior, to Thy lowly bed." "Lowly bed" is sung entirely to D notes, and since this is the lowest pitch in the phrase (in the whole hymn, in fact), there's a musical sense of its being "lowly."
The fourth verse begins with the lines "Holy Jesus, ev'ry day / Keep us in the narrow way." "Narrow way" is also sung entirely to D notes, and through that consistency of pitch, there's a musical sense of "narrow."
The first verse ends with the lines "So, most gracious Lord, may we / Evermore be led by Thee," sung to these musical phrases:
"Evermore be led by Thee" is sung to two conjunct phrases (E up to G and C down to G). Musically, they're "step-wise," so there's a sense of "be[ing] led" step by step.
The hymn is sung to the tune "Dix." Here are the first two musical phrases:
The second verse begins with the lines "As with joyful steps they sped, / Savior, to Thy lowly bed." "Lowly bed" is sung entirely to D notes, and since this is the lowest pitch in the phrase (in the whole hymn, in fact), there's a musical sense of its being "lowly."
The fourth verse begins with the lines "Holy Jesus, ev'ry day / Keep us in the narrow way." "Narrow way" is also sung entirely to D notes, and through that consistency of pitch, there's a musical sense of "narrow."
The first verse ends with the lines "So, most gracious Lord, may we / Evermore be led by Thee," sung to these musical phrases:
"Evermore be led by Thee" is sung to two conjunct phrases (E up to G and C down to G). Musically, they're "step-wise," so there's a sense of "be[ing] led" step by step.
Friday, March 3, 2017
"As with Gladness Men of Old"
While transcribing the lyrics for "As with Gladness Men of Old," I found an interesting connection between the text and the tune to which it's sung ("Dix").
The beginning of the fifth verse describes how the New Jerusalem will have no need of the sun because it has the light of the glory of God (Revelation 21:23): "In the heav'nly country bright / Need they no created light; / Thou its light, its joy, its crown, / Thou its sun which goes not down."
The melody for "goes not down" sustains the same pitch:
Isolated from the harmony, that's:
The hymn describes Christ as a sun that doesn't descend, and the melody to which that description is sung doesn't descend either.
The beginning of the fifth verse describes how the New Jerusalem will have no need of the sun because it has the light of the glory of God (Revelation 21:23): "In the heav'nly country bright / Need they no created light; / Thou its light, its joy, its crown, / Thou its sun which goes not down."
The melody for "goes not down" sustains the same pitch:
Isolated from the harmony, that's:
The hymn describes Christ as a sun that doesn't descend, and the melody to which that description is sung doesn't descend either.
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