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

Friday, October 23, 2020

"I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus"

I transcribed "I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus" last month and found a few features to write about.  Every verse begins with "I am trusting Thee...."  This is a rhetorical device called anaphora, and in its use here, it illustrates the surety of that trust.

I also found a couple connections between the text and the music, specifically the last two phrases:

The tune is "Stephanos," a transliteration of στέφανος, the Greek word for crown.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "Ev'ry day and hour supplying / All my need."  "Ev'ry" is sung with a melisma (C D E), musically giving a sense of frequency.  The last (sixth) verse ends with the lines "I am trusting Thee forever / And for all."  "Forever" is sung with a melisma (G A Bb A), musically giving a sense of duration, and "all" is sung to a whole note for a sense of entirety.