The Music Of The Spheres

Doxology

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Praise to God immortal praise,

For the love that crowns our days:

Bounteous source of every joy,

Let thy praise our tongues employ.

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Flocks that whiten all the plain,

Yellow sheaves of ripened grain,

Clouds that drop their fat-t'ning dews,

Suns that temperate warmth diffuse;

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All that spring with bounteous hand

Scatters o'er the smiling land;

All that liberal autumn pours

From her rich o'er-flowing stores;

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These to thee, my God, we owe,

Source whence all our blessings flow;

And for these my soul shall raise

Grateful vows and solemn praise.

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Sing we to our God above

Praise eternal as his love;

Praise him, all ye heavenly host,

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen

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~Charles Wesley, 1772, #112 Trinity Hymnal

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I came across this lovely little sonnet/hymn this morning. I do not know the tune but the words are pretty. Lately my taste in sacred music has run towards the hymns of my childhood .... the ones I remember my grandparents singing .... Billy Graham Crusades .... Tennessee Ernie Ford ... George Beverly Shea .... Johnny Cash. Songs like On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand .... Break Thou The Bread Of Life .... Children Of The Heavenly Father .... here is another;

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Evening Praise

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Day is dying in the west;

Heav'n is touching earth with rest;

Wait and worship while the night

Sets her evening lamps alight

Through all the sky.

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Refrain;

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts!

Heav'n and earth are full of thee!

Heav'n and earth are praising thee, O Lord Most High.

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While the deep'ning shadows fall,

Light of light, on whom we call

Through the glory and the grace

Of the stars that veil thy face,

Our hearts ascend.

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Refrain;

Holy, Holy, Holy ...

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And when fading from our sight

Pass the stars, the day, the night,

Lord of Glory, on our eyes

Let eternal morning rise,

And shadows end.

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Refrain;

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts!

Heav'n and earth are full of thee!

Heav'n and earth are praising thee,

O Lord Most High. Amen.

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~William F. Sherwin, 1877, #343 Trinity Hymnal

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These selections are taken from unrevised Trinity Hymnal. I do not own the updated copy .... I wish I did. I think it is truly the best hymnal I have run across. I sometimes buy old copies of hymn books .... Baptist, Methodist .... they carry many of the same hymns. I know our revised Trinity Hymnal carries hymns and arrangements written in more recent year while retaining the old favorites. My Aunt Susan is a vocalist and worked on the revised copy. She could tell you more. It is the one you find in most pews in Presbyterian churches. Besides pew Bibles (usually the New International Version) you will sometimes find Psalters. The problems with psalters, according to my mother, is that they steal familiar hymn tunes and if you forget where you are you start singing the original hymn.

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As for other types of music ... I like Big Band, Opera, the cello, Pop .... I generally like a good bit of what my kids listen too but I have a growing nostalgia for the old love songs ... Smoke Gets In Your Eyes ... Strangers In The Night ... Blue Moon ... The Look Of Love ... I need to go looking for some Ray Conniff Singers, Windjammer, Tijuana Brass ..... I like Willie Nelson too, Georgia, and I've favored Carol King since I was in high school ... Norah Jones more recently ... am not fond of heavy metal or rap.

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I must add that I had the most wonderful recordings in my childhood. Burl Ives singing children's tunes and telling fairy tales .... original Disney sound tracks; Mary Poppins, Snow White .... Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin (with tunes) .... An enthralling children's Bible story series with sound effects ... like the old radio programs, David and Goliath, The Good Samaritan. I wish so much I had had updated recordings for my children and grand children. I played those records over and over on my little plastic turntable. My sister still has them .... as it was my children listened to tapes of Raffi, Narnia and Adventures in Odyssey. And we had Disney on videos. But the other day I did find some recordings of Burl Ives ... I was so excited.