Choral Choir,Choral (SATB) - Level 3 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.1243842
Composed by Charles Wesley and Trad. Scottish Melody. Arranged by Nathaniel Hontz. Christian,Folk,Religious,Sacred,Traditional. 10 pages. TigerSong LLC #838814. Published by TigerSong LLC (A0.1243842).
Charles Wesley's poem Jacob Wrestling is better known by its first line, Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown. A sermon in itself, the poem recontextualizes the struggle of the Old Testament story of Jacob wrestling with an angel to current believers' struggles with faith. Isaac Watts, one of the fathers of English hymnody, stated that this poem was worth all the verses [he] had written. It is set here to a traditional Scottish melody, Candler or Ye Banks and Braes of Bonnie Doon, and arranged for SATB choir. It opens with a tenor soli, joined by the other voices. When the speaker makes demands of his divine opponent, the anthem modally shifts to the parallel minor. Eventually, the choir wrestles, as the four wrestling verses of the poem are sung at the same time in a 4-part canon. Finally, the speaker's epiphany is accompanied by a key change and a joyous conclusion in 4-part harmony.