Voices Found: To God be the Glory VF 108



Voices Found #108, verse 1


To God be the glory, great things he has done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his son,

who yielded his life an atonement for sin

and opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Refrain

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father, through Jesus the son,

and give him the glory! Great things he has done!


Words: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)

Music: W. H. Diane (1832-1916)

Fanny Crosby's rousing chorus is a powerful  opening hymn or  song of praise, perhaps especially appropriate at Eastertide.  Blind from birth, she became the most important Protestant hymn writer of the Nineteenth Century. She is remembered as the mother of congregational singing in America.  In addition to writing over 8.000 hymns she lobbied for education for the blind and was the first woman to speak to a joint session of Congress. 

An American mission worker, poet, and teacher, as well as author and lyricist, Fanny Crosby wrote over 8,000 hymns. Her prolific work is published in the  hymnals of most  Protestant denominations in America, but not in the Episcopal Hymnals 1982 or 1940. Voices Found:Women in the Church's Song, the latest  supplement to the Hymnal 1982, published in 2003, rectifies this exclusion.

Voices Found   proudly  offers two of her most inspirational hymns: "To God be the glory," and "Blessed Assurance."(VF 119)  During Women's History month, and always,  these shouts and murmurs of Salvation and Grace celebrate the glory of God in the songs of his daughters.

https://www.churchpublishing.org/products/voicesfound2

For background and performance suggestions please see The Leader's Guide to Voices Found



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voices Found:A ballad for Mary VF #4

Image
                                                                                       Voices Found #4 Mary heard the angel's message, Verses 1 and 2 Mary heard the angel's message: "Greetings, Mary, favored one. Do not fear, for God is with you; you will one day bear God's son." Filled with questions, filled with wonder, she proclaimed her faith in God: "May it be as you have spoken; I'm the servant of the Lord!" When she heard her cousin's greeting, Mary's heart was filled with joy, so she sang of God's great blessing promised in her baby boy: "God has looked on me with favor, so I sing this song of praise. God has worked, the proud to scatter; humble hungry ones to raise." Words: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette Music:  Ecce Deus,  Alfred V. Fedak "Mary heard the an...
Read more

Voices Found: Kyrie, by Hildegard of Bingen, Wonder Love and Praise #841

Image
                                                                                     Kyrie by Hildegard of Bingen  Hildegard's Kyrie is published in Wonder Love and Praise, a  supplement to the Hymnal 1982 of The Episcopal Church . Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was the first woman to write liturgical music for the Western Church. Her music, notated in the neumes of her time, is preserved in two  manuscripts in Europe.   With the publication of Wonder Love and Praise,   my transcription of Hildegard's chant is available in modern notation for today's worship.    Now all can sing Hildegard's ethereal music . Kyrie  is ecstatic,  florid, and filled  with soaring melismas  best performed by a soloist or small group...
Read more

Voices Found: Singing of Joseph, the Dreamer, VF 64

Image
                                                                                                              A lily, symbol of Faithfulness  Voices Found #64, verse 2  Joseph in your darkest night, angel message hearing, You cast not your live aside, scorn and anger fearing. When a loved one brings us grief, rips our world asunder, Dreamer, may we have your heart, open to God’s wonder. Words: Carol Goodwin King Music: Tempus ad est floridum from Piae Cantiones, 1582 Joseph  rarely appears in  Christmas Carols even though he courageously   nurtured and  and protected Mary during her Holy Pregnancy. His love affirmed her willingness to bear the Christ-child. Therefore it is appropriate t...
Read more