Uplifting and sweet, this arrangement of The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want (BROTHER JAMES' AIR) makes use of stirring crescendos and orchestral-sounding sweeping musical lines. The "quiet waters" of the Psalm 23 text are reflected in the shimmering, peaceful first verse. The second verse gains momentum ("My soul He doth restore again") and the powerful crescendo into the third verse brings a confident sense of peace ("Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale / yet will I fear no ill"). At the final cadence, ethereal, unusual harmonies give way to a serene resolution, symbolizing heaven as a final resting place, calling to mind the last lines of the text: "and in God's house forevermore / my dwelling place shall be". The optional flute part sweetens the lovely soft sections and adds flourish and weight to the majestic third verse and coda. |
