« Every dollar is a vote: some thoughts on fashion, veganism, and Kate Goldwater
Loving the look, ignoring the sport: some thoughts on Allison Stokke: UPDATED »

Tearing up

Published
by
Hugo Schwyzer
on June 3, 2007
in All Saints Pasadena and Music
.

There are a few hymns that are guaranteed to make me cry, every time. The spirituals like “Oh, Freedom” tend to do it. “Great is thy Faithfulness” can do it, depending on the orchestration (it can soar, or be very tendentious.) “Guide me, oh thou Great Jehovah” is great, and makes me think of Welsh rugby. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” frequently makes me a bit teary. But for some reason, I always come undone when we sing “St. Patrick’s Breastplate.” The tune is murderously hard (makes “Lift Every Voice” seem easy), but cripes, it just flattens me. And it flattened me today.

6 Responses to “Tearing up”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address
  1. 1 Treifalicious
    Jun 4th, 2007 at 12:48 am

    I’ve never heard of most of these songs. Would there be mp3 samples of them somewhere?

  2. 2 NBarnes
    Jun 4th, 2007 at 2:37 am

    Amazing Grace almost always makes me bawl. For rootless deracinated apostates like me, it’s like a vision of Heaven.

  3. 3 franksta
    Jun 4th, 2007 at 6:11 am

    Treif, one site is cyberhymnal.org, they have texts and sound files (though typically just organ accompaniment, not anybody singing the actual words). You can probably Google any individual hymn and find similar sites with sound files.

    Hugo, I agree that tune is unsingable! When I was a church music director, we did a modified version of the Breastplate to a different tune. But what a great hymn for Trinity Sunday!

  4. 4 Jendi
    Jun 4th, 2007 at 7:49 am

    Oremus Hymnal (http://hymnal.oremus.org/) has words and sound files for hundreds of the old Protestant standbys. Along with “Great is thy faithfulness,” my tearjerker list would have to include “My song is love unknown” (for Lent), “Praise, my soul, the king of heaven”, “A mighty fortress is our God”, and “Just as I am” (corny but effective!).

  5. 5 Rob
    Jun 4th, 2007 at 8:29 am

    Our choir has been singing quite a few spirituals lately. I’ve been floored by them. There’s a simplicity in the lyrics, yet a profound certainty about them. And the music has been anything but simple. Very complex harmonies that soar.

    One in particular is called “Give me Jesus”. I can’t find it anywhere on the web, but it goes something like… “Oh, when I go to die, oh when I go to die, Give me Jesus… You may have all the rest, give me Jesus.” It’s gorgeous.

  6. 6 Skylark
    Jun 7th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    “How Great Thou Art” makes me cry. As does “Amazing Love/oh what sacrifice” (as opposed to “Amazing Love/how can it be”)

    And, strangely, I well up at just about any solo at my church or other under-200-people gathering. I don’t know why. It’s odd.

Comments are currently closed.
« Every dollar is a vote: some thoughts on fashion, veganism, and Kate Goldwater
Loving the look, ignoring the sport: some thoughts on Allison Stokke: UPDATED »