Oh, Sing, My Soul, Your Maker's Praise
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I just love this Julius Krohn text. On the surface, it is a general hymn of praise. But it is so profound under the surface. This is about convincing yourself to praise God when you really don't feel like it. At times of adversity, we need to remind ourselves of His steadfast love, mercy, and commitment to us. He captures this as if the speaker/singer is addressing her/his own soul with encouragement.
There is a 500 year-old Engenolff melody with a Vaughan Williams adaptation used in some hymn books for this text. With respect to these amazing musicians, I don't think the old setting quite aligns. Perhaps this is why it is so infrequently sung anymore. I think the music needs to complement the text by being reflective in nature; like saying "I know. I know I should be happy, but it is just so hard right now."
I started it low in the range as if one's head was hanging with weight. I tried to capture a lifting of sights to God's faithfulness by using tonicization on the word "ascending." I followed with traditional hymn motifs to stimulate feelings of singing in church as a youth (slight, intentional reference to Azmon - O Master of the Loving Heart). Also, I ended it with a structural slowing to repeated notes that are higher than the quicker repeated notes at the beginning. This is intended to show resolution and confirmation of why we can lift our heads.
I hope you play through it and maybe give it a try. Thanks for checking it out.