For the earth is the Lord’s…
Thanksgiving.
Ahhhhh…. the word conjures up so many wonderful associations… …gathering as much family as you can cram into one house… roast turkey… sweet potato casserole… eating way too much… pumpkin pie with real whipped cream… eating way too much… raucous family games…
No, I did not cook this. But if ever a poor turkey under my tender care looks this good, I will definitely take its picture.
In the US, our “Thanksgiving” holiday falls every year on the fourth Thursday of November. It’s a day we set aside for gratefully remembering our blessings and the heritage we’ve been given. Oh, and did I mention eating too much?
Sometimes we do family portraits after dinner. We really should do them before we eat.
Late in October, my wonderful little LDS Institute choir here in Colorado Springs will present a concert to kick off our Thanksgiving season. This year, as the choir considered the theme for the evening, we landed on the idea of the amazing earth our Heavenly Father created for us, and all the wonders in the world around us.
We chose as our title song, “This Is My Father’s World,” a beautiful hymn composed at the turn of the 20th century. The words were written by Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901), and the poem was set to music by Franklin L. Sheppard (1852-1930).
I have adapted the words and melody for this arrangement for SATB choir, and also for medium-low voice solo. The solo will easily transpose up a couple of steps for you higher voices; I’m not sure you’d want to lower it, as it will probably get lifeless and growly set any lower.
Here’s a rendition of the solo version, sung beautifully as usual by Mr. James Loynes:
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/112490017″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Our choir spent about half an hour on it over the last two weeks, and we’re finding it pretty easy to learn.
The SSAATTB split for a couple of chords on the last page is quite manageable, so don’t let its looks fool you. (The piano accompaniment does end in four sharps for the last verse and chorus, so consider the abilities of your accompanist. I wouldn’t want them all looking for me… 😉 )
Handy info…
Since you asked: How to Find Translations on This SiteFinding translations here is super easy. This is what you do: […]
Resizing Scores Using the Personal Composer DemoStep by step instructions on resizing scores or text using the Personal Composer demo. […]- Transposing Using Personal ComposerHow to transpose .pc scores using the Personal Composer Demo. Step by step instructions. […]
Sally, what a lovely arrangement for both a solo, and choir. Any thoughts about putting a violin or flute obbligato to this arrangement? In the works? I know what a busy schedule you have (please no qwerty on your forehead;-) ) but it would be a wonderful opportunity to take your arrangement “over the top”.
It’s a possibility… 😉
I was excited to hear an old ‘Presbyterian’ hymn I played and sang for many years! Thanks for bringing it back to us and with lovely modified words. I was ready for the higher key change on the last verse! As I remember, the hymnal had it in the Key of D, but that
has been many Thanksgivings and blessings ago.
So good of you to be in our musical lives….Many thanks from the land of turkeys and loons….really!