“O taste and see how gracious is the Lord” was composed for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. Ralph Vaughan Williams married his melody with the scripture found in Psalm 34. The hymn was inspired by Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (KJV) Williams was born in […]
This week my dear friend and critique partner Stacy Simmons released her book A Journey of Hope. But, you see, Stacy celebrated her release day in heaven. It was my privilege to journey through this story with Stacy as Hope’s story sprang to life. Last July Stacy shared about a personal struggle and the first book in this series A […]
Blaenwern is a Welsh hymn. The song was composed by William Penfro Rowlands during the 1904-1905 Welsh revival. Rowlands was born on April 19, 1860. He was a Welsh schoolteacher, composer, and conductor of the Morriston United Choral Society. He died on October 22, 1937. The song was first published in the 1915 Cân a Moliant by Henry H. Jones. This […]
My Soul, There is a Country was written by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry. He was the 1st Baronet and an English composer, teacher and historian of music. He was born February 27, 1848. He is best known for his choral songs “Jerusalem” and anthem “I was Glad”. He died on October 7, 1918 from the Spanish flu. “In May […]
Every year we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Day, but where did it come from? Auld Lang Syne is a Scots poem that was written by Robert Burns in 1788. His poem was set to a traditional folk song. Music historians are unsure if the melody used today is the original melody Burns set to the song or […]
