Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Friday, August 21, 2020

"Now That the Daylight Fills the Sky"

"Now That the Daylight Fills the Sky" was one of the hymns in an online church service I watched about a month ago.  I don't think I've ever sung (or even heard) this hymn before, but I found a few interesting features in it.  It's sung to the tune "Laurel."  Here's the first phrase:


The first line is, of course, "Now that the daylight fills the sky."  "Daylight" is sung with a melisma (D F# G), musically giving something of a sense of abundance (for "fill[ing] the sky").  The fourth verse is a doxology, which begins, "All praise to You, creator Lord!"  That "All" is also sung with a melisma (D E), for a sense of entirety.

There's a similar feature in the second line of the fourth verse:  "All praise to You, eternal Word!"  Here's the notation:


The specific melisma for this "All" is different (A B), but the idea is the same.  Additionally, "eternal" is sung with a melisma (G# A F# F#), giving a sense of duration.