Chopin-nocturne style of another evening-themed hymn.
Of the 6 in Great Hymns of the Faith, this one was
probably the hardest. The reason is, Chopin nocturnes
usually have relatively short melodies, strung out over
a lot of accompaniment to make them take longer. This
hymn, however, had a pretty long tune. So, I took some
liberties with the form. The verse comprises the A
section, repeated. Then, in the stormier middle
section, we have a sort of polonaise. Finally, we
return to the quiet ...(+)
Chopin-nocturne style of another evening-themed hymn.
Of the 6 in Great Hymns of the Faith, this one was
probably the hardest. The reason is, Chopin nocturnes
usually have relatively short melodies, strung out over
a lot of accompaniment to make them take longer. This
hymn, however, had a pretty long tune. So, I took some
liberties with the form. The verse comprises the A
section, repeated. Then, in the stormier middle
section, we have a sort of polonaise. Finally, we
return to the quiet contemplative mood--only, this
time, it is the chorus, not the A theme like a true
Chopin nocturne would have done. Not a perfect
imitation, but this melody is not the one you would
have chosen for a perfect imitation. I hope you enjoy
this arrangement!
1. Day is dying in the west,
Heav’n is touching earth with rest;
Wait and worship while the night
Sets her evening lamps alight
Thru all the sky.
2. Lord of life, beneath the dome
Of the universe, Thy home,
Gather us who seek Thy face
To the fold of Thy embrace,
For Thou art nigh.
3. While the deep’ning shadows fall,
Heart of Love, enfolding all,
Thru the glory and the grace
Of the stars that veil Thy face,
Our hearts ascend.
4. When forever from our sight
Pass the stars, the day, the night,
Lord of angels, on our eyes
Let eternal morning rise,
And shadows end.
Chorus: Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Hosts!
Heav’n and earth are full of Thee!
Heav’n and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!
This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
The great Romantic-era
composer Frederic Chopin wrote
twenty-one pieces for piano
that he dubbed Nocturnes.
While not specifically about
anything, the pieces were
given a title that means,
“Piece of music to be
performed at night.” So,
rather a lullaby, you ask.
Sure, to an extent. These
pieces tend to feature smooth,
lyrical melodies over a
repetitive
accompaniment—though chords
provide moments of tension,
they are gentle—for the most
part—but not all the way
through. One of the many
traits which made Chopin so
successful as a composer were
the sudden mood swings found
in his music—rarely do you
hear a piece by him that has
the same character all the way
through, unless it’s only
about a couple minutes. Thus,
Op. 32, No. 2 has one of the
most exciting musical climaxes
ever written; Op. 48, No. 1
uses the dynamics ff and
sempre ff for extended
passages in the middle, and
Op. 55, No. 1 has a fast,
stormy middle section. This
differentiates the nocturne
from the lullaby—the music
might not put you to sleep,
but it still has an
association with the evening
or the night.
What does this have to do
with hymns, though? Well,
nothing—until this
collection came about. You
see, friends, Great Hymns of
the Faith has a section marked
“Evening Service Hymns,”
featuring seven hymns which
all had something to do with
the evening. When I stumbled
across that section, I thought
to myself, “What better way
to arrange an evening service
hymn than in Chopin-nocturne
style? After all, by their
very words, these pieces have
something to do with night.”
One of them, “Lord, Dismiss
Us with Thy Blessing,” uses
the same tune as “Lo, He
Comes with Clouds
Descending,” so I didn’t
bother to rearrange that one
for the collection—however,
the other six have all been
arranged in Chopin’s
nocturne style as closely as I
could follow in that great
composer’s steps. Now, the
shortest of the Chopin
nocturnes usually takes longer
than four minutes to play, so
these pieces are a little long
for an offertory (though you
could make cuts if you wanted
to use them in that capacity).
They’re probably more
ideally suited for a prelude
to open the service; at any
rate, that’s how I use them.
Or, just play them for fun at
a concert if you get a chance.
However you use them,
friends, I hope they are a
blessing to you!