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

Friday, February 3, 2023

"Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old"

Over the last two years, I found a couple small features to note in "Your Hand, O Lord, in Days of Old," sung to the tune "Kingsfold."

Near the end of the second verse, there's a line that describes God as "Almighty as before," sung to this musical phrase:


The "al-" of "almighty" is sung with a merism (G A), giving a sense of this entirety.

The last two lines of the third verse (and of the whole hymn) are "That whole and sick and weak and strong / May praise You evermore."  That last line is sung to this phrase:


"Evermore" is sung with a melisma (A G E E), and since it's drawn out, there's a sense of that duration.