Blessed be the God and Father - Wesley

[elgar34]

I am speechless. What a magnificent anthem. 

[bakelitetim]

We sang this in church a couple of weeks back!

[1bunnyish]

Takes my breath away. Literally.

[choirboyfromhell1]

If clerics can preach twenty-minute sermons, then they can listen to an eight or nine-minute anthem, and this is the one!!!!

[DappsJames]

Thank you for posting the manuscript, it makes it so amazing!

[DappsJames]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, so many memories as a treble

[nmp0627]

Who is this singing? I see consortium, but which?

[morphthing1]

@nmp0627 It is a group called Consortium

[stad97]

2.59, the note for 'ye' in 'so be ye holy' should be F.

[Stewbone]

@stad97 I see it - weird. :/

[ibijoy]

i sang this song with St. Cyprains Anglican church Port Harcourt, Nigeria

[ibijoy]

smooth soprano; she sings like me

[dcarr43]

It's a great anthem. James May (of BBC's "Top Gear") some time ago wrote, in his Sunday newspaper column, (I paraphrase) that if you are ever in a spot when you need a friend with true courage, your best bet is to find someone who has sung the treble solo in Wesley's "Blessed be the God and Father".

[practicecrazypianist]

I sang this with the choir of St Peter's College, Oxford last week and loved evry minute of it! Isn't it exactly the same progression at ' abundant mercy ' as Mozart uses in Ave Verum?! Wonderful stuff.....

[hello152984]

1:04....beautiful :P

Our choir are doing this at church :D

[m0bob]

I will be singing tenor in this piece at my wedding (and my best man). I just hope our trebles can cope with this.

[hello152984]

@m0bob very high up, isn't it? our sopranos are finding it difficult. Good luck for your wedding and I wish you and your partner a very happy life together

[hello152984]

Our choir are thinking od doing this :)

[pr4840]

Thanks for this. Love it.

[Buggaton]

Why does the Bass have a "D" on "Which" at 0:29? That's neither what's sung or written, is it?

[Bonleychurch]

@Buggaton

It's a fault copied over from CPDL.

[Buggaton]

@Bonleychurch Fair enough. Thanks for the info! :)

[waldenhouse]

@Buggaton Well spotted! Clearly a mis-print I would imagine. Especially if it has been 'transposed' from the original.

[waldenhouse]

@Buggaton Well spotted! Clearly a mis-print I would imagine. Especially if it has been 'transposed' from the original.

There are others as well.

[Buggaton]

@waldenhouse I sing bass and was singing along with this piece. I do so quite frequently.

[Buggaton]

@waldenhouse ooooh and the G should be an F on "Ye" at 2:51-2:54. Yes, I've been singing along with that too even though I'm a bass(!)

[waldenhouse]

@Buggaton We were always fearful of the tuning after singing unaccompanied right through to bar 18 (I think it is) until the organ begins in preparation for "......Jesus Christ From the dead".....before the Bass/Tenor recite.

[hexonatapeloop]

I think the soprano is rushing his solo a bit. Georgeous music though

[ibijoy]

i sang this anthem with the St Cyprians Anglican church choir port Harcourt. its a very good song.

[ibijoy]

very good anthem, the st Cyprian Anglican church choir port Harcourt love this anthem.

[vocalinstrument]

this is one of my favourite pieces ok, and you all sound lovely but this version is too slow, if we sang it at this speed we would never get to the end. That is all Bye now

[oktav1970]

Very good and also good organist!

[DonaIdMcDonut]

Absolutely wonderful...

[64ftContraBombarde]

Quite a few misprints in the score, thats why I don't use cpdl.

[Brondahl]

Fantastic!

I sang this many years ago and I can still remember how hard it was to keep that

a capella opening in tune until the big organ chord comes in!

[cdlaing]

I'd forgotten how beautiful this piece is.. And sung very well here..

[treblechoir99]

Of course, always magnificent from this tradition in England. Thank you for this nice moment with this Cathedral Choir and nice treble.

[notyobs]

An utterly superb peformance of this piece. My favourite recording though, to top them all, is one of Salisbury Cathedral Choir from the late 1980s. So very moving.

[roodavil]

hmmm at 2:52 is it just me or is there an odd note on the score for the soprano solo...? (The "ye" is sung in an F not a G isn't it...?)

[skem68]

@roodavil

You are right. Very well spotted. But it is a brilliant performance of this wonderful anthem.

[Buggaton]

haha... years after I stop singing as a cathedral choristor (10 years to be precise) and people are still singing "Peyaaaw heart fervantly" XD Love it.

[kapariz44]

A fine period piece: as evocative of the Victorian era as Balfour Gardiner's "Te Lucis ante Terminum" is of the Edwardian.

[notyobs]

To me this piece has a timeless beauty and grandeur. It's up there with the greatest music of human history.

[Raichu234]

I wonder when I am going to have to sing the sop solo OMG soon I think :) it's amazing tho I cried when my friend sung it!

[elpudino]

lol at 6:30.

Thats exactly how large the organ should sound.

[FR665XN]

Lovely, but at about 2.56, isn't the semibreve being sung an f?

[D0r1k4]

I love this piece. We performed it a couple of times with our choir. Love it!! <3

[Raichu234]

OMG this sounds like my friend singing as well. Even more tearful! :( x

[Raichu234]

Also the solo reminds me of the religious and angelic character in my book

[Raichu234]

Makes me cry because my best friend sung the solo when it was her last time in choir. :( I was sooo sad and the music is just gorgeous to top it all. My friend was amazing singing this! x

[Buggaton]

haha! 6:30. Love it XD  I've been waiting for an upload of this onto youtube in so long. This, a latin version of Balfour Gardeners "Evening Hymn" and Blessed Pair of Sirens by Parry.

[EddiBennett]

Wonderfully helpful, my school choir are going to be doing this in a major service this week, it's good to hear another choir to know how it should sound, especially so when I've barely looked at the music so far.