Welcome to Anthem 37 in my attempt to write a new choir anthem every week for a year. I’m Kevin Mulryne and I hope you will enjoy listening to my progress throughout 2024. Please do visit the website Anthem52.com, follow along on x.com – @realanthem52 or Instagram – @realanthem52 and send me a message to show@anthem52.com.
It’s been a week of changes for me and my family. Charlotte has started her university course and there is a new Interim Director of Music at Holy Trinity Church. Both of these changes are, of course, very positive. Charlotte is finding her feet and getting to know her lecturers and the rest of her group as well as settling in to her Uni Hall of Residence. What fun! Ollie is our new DoM but we all know him because he was our Organ Scholar a few years ago before going off to Uni. It’s going to be fascinating to see how both of these new situations work out.
Back to this week’s anthem, only a few days after I found it I don’t have a clear recollection of how I decided to use part of Psalm xxiv (24). However, the words are highly effective for an anthem and the end of the Psalm contains some of the most well-known anthem words of all:
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors : and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory : even the Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.”
If you don’t know the anthem by Mathias take a listen to this really good Covid-time version:
I chose words form earlier in the Psalm:
Words for Anthem 37:
The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is : the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas : and prepared it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord : or who shall rise up in his holy place?
Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart :
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord : and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
As usual, I missed out a couple of phrases but I think the sense of the passage is still clear.
This week it was the turn of a choir and organ setting and I decided to have a long organ introduction. For most of the anthem the organ bass stave contains a 2-note chord, often a 5th, with quite a complex treble stave part containing some large gaps between the notes in chords or parts. Not being an organist, I’m not 100% sure this would work. I’m guessing that the bass notes could be played on the pedal board, leaving both hands free to play the treble stave parts. If I ever get to the point of this anthem being performed, I will, of course, make sure the organ part can be played!
After the long organ introduction which features moving parts, a key change and quite a bit of clashing, the choir come in with a declamation of the title of the anthem – ‘The earth is the Lord’s’ – which is then repeated. A shorter version of the introductory organ material leads to a repeat of the choir parts and then organ joins in to extend the passage to include ‘and all that therein is’. I’m pleased with the way this works.
There is then another key change with the organ playing the opening material and the choir carrying on with the text. Then at bar 40 the organ accompaniment becomes less dense and I throw in a bit of word painting for the seas and floods part of the lyrics. All the parts move upwards towards the words ‘upon the floods’.
The next section, after a general pause, is quieter to convey the asking of the question – ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?’ but grows in volume again during the second part of the question – ‘who shall rise up in his holy place. The answer comes at high volume after which there is another general pause.
There is a restatement of the opening organ material and the choir uses its opening material as well, altered to fit the new words.
The final section starts after yet another general pause and begins with the choir repeating its opening material again but with the original words this time. The words ‘all that therein is the Lord’s’ using a little artistic licence, bring the anthem to a highly triumphant close with held chords on the organ and in the choir.
I’m pleased with the way this anthem came out. There is light and shade and also some good movement and drama. It feels fairly finished and I’m particularly pleased with the organ part which is one of my best so far, I think.
Anyway, see what you think:
Well, what do you think? Let me know on X.com @realanthem52, Instagram @realanthem52, as a comment below or via email show@anthem52.com
I hope you will join me next week for a new episode – and a new anthem – only 15 to go – but until then the question remains – will I make it to Anthem 52?
