Choral Choir,Choral,SATB Chorus - Level 2 - Digital Download
SKU: A0.1490010
Composed by Text: Eden Reeder Latta (1839 - 1915) Tune: Henry Southwick Perkins (1833 -1914. Arranged by Ken Litton. Christian,Lent,Religious,Sacred. 11 pages. Artist of Note, Inc. #1066874. Published by Artist of Note, Inc. (A0.1490010).
Whiter Than the Snow/Eden Reeder Latta - Henry Southwick Perkins BLESSED BE THE FOUNTAIN
arr. Ken Litton (ASCAP)As an SBC music missionary active in Brazil I quickly discovered the hymns missionaries had taken with them as the work gained impetus from the 1890s when the Bagbys arrived to build on the foundation laid by early pioneers like Solomon Ginsburg. I found myself leading those hymns from the nearly 100 year old Cantor Cristão (Christian Singer) in the strongly attended evening services at the Igreja Batista Rio Doce (Sweet River Baptist Church) in Recife, with people literally leaning in through the windows from outside to sing along. Just a normal p.m. attendance or... curiosity about the missionary leading? No, certainly it was the message of the gospel in these great hymns and in the Brazilians’ creative work as well. I mainly remember holding that small print hymnal in one hand and leading with the other (shaking badly) and singing in Portuguese!
From that kind of congregational participation I vividly remember the hymn Blessed be the Fountain by Eden Reeder Latta (1839 - 1915) and Henry Southwick Perkins (1833 -1914) with it’s energetic dotted eighth and sixteenth rhythm figures and text of confession based on Zechariah 13:1. That text was very important in the lives of disciples in Brazil and in my own heart. Here I have used only the verses of the text and tune, simply smoothing out the rhythm and adjusting the lyric to more modern usage (yet preserving the devotional pronouns Thee, Thy and Thine).
The tune BLESSED BE THE FOUNTAIN is altered in rhythm, tempo and one descending interval from the original. The arrangement is by me, having built the intro, interlude and key change as well as the ending from the material that constituted the refrain in the origina. As a bridge and additional textual/musical impulse into the key change and final verse I’ve interpolated the refrain from the well-known gospel hymn Whiter than Snow (FISCHER) by James Nicholson and William G. Fischer.
The voices include a wide variety of unison, two-part and four-part passages that are well within the capability of the average church choir. The accompaniment difficulty level is about as minimal as it can be I hope, while still reflecting support for the voices, a measure of variety as well as some real independence.
I certainly think choirs of some ability and their dedicated accompanists will enjoyWhiter Than the Snow as much as I have in developing it.
