Anzac Song - Kipling RECESSIONAL - Lest We Forget

[brucewileshain]

Correction: It doesn't start broadening till the first "Lest we Forget" (or analogous words of the fourth verse) or maybe ok not till end of verse / last "Forget" Then reestablish original tempo at return of first verse intro.

[brucewileshain]

The second/every-other-verse (Unlike the more famous setting - not nearly as good for this text - this one has a different tune for 2nd, 4th verse.) in this performance is too slow. It should be about twice as fast, then broadens out again at and during "Lord God of Hosts.." or the analogous words in the fourth verse.

[brucewileshain]

I was a student at Eaglebrook School in Massachusetts where Kipling apparently lived for a while, and my first year there, '67, there was a woman who played this Blanchard setting among other fancy piano arrangements and this was everyones favorite hymn.

[ThePhilBest]

A pleasure, I feel remiss at not having promoted this setting to anyone before. Yes, "haunting" is a good description of it. All the more so given what has happened to Britain and her empire since the words were written. Imagine this being performed at "Last Night of the Proms" in London. Too shattering, perhaps? I'd love to hear it a capella with a choir, but if sung solo I think it demands an organ of some kind. If a choir did not have strong bass singers, a good organ could help there too.

[ThePhilBest]

There is a MAGNIFICENT multi-part setting of these words by a little known British composer named George Blanchard, far better than the DeKoven setting. It is a mystery to me why it is not better known. It can be found in Methodist hymnals from a few decades ago, and the "Boy Scouts Song Book". I presume Blanchard was not C of E.

[Songuine]

@ThePhilBest Thanks for the tip! I'll have a look for it!

[ThePhilBest]

@Songuine, thanks for the positive response. I am sure you won't be disappointed, and I hope the Blanchard setting ultimately becomes famous. A friend of mine played it to me and my family on the Organ a few years ago, and within the first few bars I sat up, with the hair on my neck tingling, and we all looked at each other with that "wow" look on our faces. The impact was maintained to the end, too. I think it deserves to be ranked with "Land of Hope and Glory", "Jerusalem", "Non Nobis", etc.

[Songuine]

@ThePhilBest Wow, that's Recommendation indeed!

[Songuine]

@ThePhilBest What a surprise to find the music in my mail box! Thank you so much! The setting is certainly very different to Reginald De Koven's. Quite haunting, isn't it? It suits my voice much better. I'll be glad to add it to my Anzac repertoire. What do you think -- acapella? or with organ? I have access to a wonderful pipe organ, but it's not in the venue where Anzac programs are presented. (Voice is somewhat more portable. =) But I suppose I could engineer a recording just for YouTube...

[QuixoticTendencies]

Meh. Koven doesn't really capture the grandeur of Kipling. I'm not saying the music is bad, it just doesn't suit the prose.

@jhurstiv : We don't live in a secular world. If we did, the Arts would be much more appreciated. And this isn't a hymn, it's a poem set to music.

[Songuine]

Hi! Yes, I love this piece also. It's not particularly suited to my voice, but it carries a lot of punch. The music is by Reginald De Koven. Copyright 1898 by the John Church Co. Have you tried googling for it? My favourite online sheetmusic providers are musicnotes and sheetmusicplus. If you can't find it, I'd be happy to email you a copy of the version I used.

[jhurstiv]

A wonderful hymn, one that has almost been lost in today's secular world. Can anyone tell me who wrote the music, and is there sheet music available for piano and/or choral?