Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind

Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is a hymn with words taken from a prayer contained in the poem The Brewing of Soma by Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier. It is sung to the tune Repton by C. Hubert H. Parry, a composer best known for his setting of William Blake's poem Jerusalem. The hymn was recently voted second in BBC One show Songs of Praise's poll to find the nation's favourite hymn.[1] It can be heard being sung in the 2007 film Atonement during the Dunkirk evacuation.

This text is generally sung to the hymn tune Repton. This tune by Hubert Parry was originally written in 1888 for the contralto aria 'Long since in Egypt's pleasant land' in his oratorio Judith. In 1924 Dr George Gilbert Stocks, director of music at Repton School, set it to 'Dear Lord and Father of mankind' in a supplement of tunes for use in the school chapel. Despite the need to repeat the last line of words, the tune Repton provides an inspired matching of words and music.

Other tunes it can be sung to are:

Rest by Frederick Maker
Hammersmith by William Henry Gladstone

Category:

Music

Tags:

• lord
• father
• mankind
• hymn
• god
• religious
• christian
• traditional
• inspirational
• qvt
• howden
• choir
• church
• english
• tvnorth
• york

[benaggreyfynn]

Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love this hymn.

Peaceful comforting and indeed, celestial.

God is great!

Thanks for sharing.

Welldone†

[daspolitbuero]

@boltonwandererskings why do you need to comment on every version of this song that "there is a better tune"? suck it up.

[boltonwandererskings]

@daspolitbuero as I said I am not familiar with the term "suck it up". Is this offensive? What does it mean?

[boltonwandererskings]

@daspolitbuero Sorry, I am not familiar with the term "suck it up" - is this offensive? What does it mean?

[boltonwandererskings]

This is a dirge but there is a better tune (Rest)

[espeecee]

Dedicated to Roderick Wilgress Pipe (deceased) who I spent many minutes talking to in St Martin's-in-the-Bull-Ring Church B'ham. He was a lovely, kind man who among other things was a beel ringer at St Martins

[H15GWP]

Love the Hymn....Love the Yorkshire settings.

[candancealot]

wow, not what i expected at all. I'm so disappointed. Apparently there's two versions of this hymn. Same words by John Greenleaf Whitter but different tune by Fredrick C Maker, 1887.