Product Description
For most of us, Charles Wesley's
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" has traditionally been associated with the
tune BEECHER. But if you are looking for a way to freshen up this
classic hymn, may I offer this arrangement for your consideration.
First, I wedded the text to the inspired Welsh tune: HYFRYDOL. Then I
arranged the vocals in a flexible three-part format. Then I added a
contemporary piano part with a bass line that can be played by the
electric bass, and then I included the chord symbols for your
guitarist(s). Finally, I orchestrated the piece for pretty much every
instrument except trumpets and trombones (though they can adapt the clarinet and bassoon parts if you desire to add them in).
If
you don't need the orchestration, I'd suggest going to the Vocals /Piano / Chords package, listed separately on SMP, which includes
the following three charts:
Vocal / Piano / Chords
Piano / Chords
Vocals only
But the Full Orchestration package, which you are currently looking at, contains the three charts above plus the Full Score and individual parts. So, there's no need to purchase both packages.
For
the price listed, you may duplicate as many
parts as needed for your praise team and/or choir and band and/or orchestra.
I would also mention that this works well for
(unison) congregational singing; the text has not been altered here, so
you can display the traditional text that appears from wherever you
import your lyrics. At this suggested tempo, it is 3:00 in duration.
Here are some program notes regarding the text:
Charles
Wesley (1707-1788) and his brother John (1703-1791), sons of an
Anglican minister (Samuel), both trained for ministry at Oxford
University. While there, they were labeled (somewhat derisively)
"methodists" because of the strict regimen of spiritual exercises and
scholarship that they developed. After a short unsuccessful stint as
missionaries to the ColoniesGeorgia, specificallythey returned home to
England, frustrated in their spiritual lives. In an interesting
parallel to John Newtons life, it was during the sea voyage that seeds
were planted, as they watched a group of Moravians experiencing amazing
peace during rough seas. Shortly thereafter the Wesley brothers
experienced spiritual rebirth, and the rest is historywith Johns
preaching and Charles hymn-writing becoming the catalyst for a great
revival that swept across England.
Besides being preachers and
social reformers, the brothers John and Charles Wesley made enormous
contributions to English hymnnody. John wrote a few hymns himself, but
mainly translated Moravian texts and edited hymnbooks. Charles, on the
other hand, wrote almost 9,000 poems, of which some 6,500 were hymn
texts. With Isaac Watts, he stands at the pinnacle of importance in the
shaping of English hymnody. Besides "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,"
other Wesley hymns still in use today include "Hark! the Herald Angels
Sing," "Rejoice, the Lord Is King," "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," "A Charge
to Keep I Have," "Arise, My Soul, Arise," "Come, Thou Long-Expected
Jesus," "Soldiers of Christ, Arise," "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,"
and "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing."
***********
It
has been my lifelong passion to provide fresh, yet accessible music
for
the churches and schools with whom I have been associated. Because of
the slowdown caused by Covid-19, I
finally have the time to start posting 45 years' worth of custom
arrangements on Sheet Music Plus. If you are curious about what else is
available, please navigate to my publisher page here on SMP
&l
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.