Evening Hymn - Balfour Gardiner

Henry Balfour Gardiner's Evening Hymn.

Sung by the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral, London

To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favour, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Amen.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• evening hymn
• anthem
• english
• choral
• choir
• st pauls
• balfour gardner
• gardner
• balfour gardiner

[chad75ful]

Really like the blend of voice and organ. Each is emphasized and featured at appropriate times. Beautiful! I hate to reveal my ignorance but what choir is singing?

[morphthing1]

@chad75ful St Pauls Cathedral, London (if you click show more on the information tab below the video it has some the choir and occasionally more details - this is the same for all my videos -)

[JSC1401]

@morphthing1

Another post as if the organist (not named) and the choirmaster (not named) weren't responsable for anything !

[morphthing1]

@JSC1401 I am certainly not taking anything from either the current Organist (who I know personally) or the Choir Master. By describing it as the 'Choir of St Paul's' I am generalising, but by all means not detracting from, all those who work towards this wonderful recording.

[chad75ful]

@a1vocalcoachdotcom Thanks  for providing the word I was trying to find. I am definitely sensitive to the dynamics in a piece of music, particularly choral works. That's why I love Elijah (Elias) so much.The range of e-motion expressed by all the elements, solo, trio, choir et. al., are almost overwhelming. I feel the same about the duet between soprano and contralto in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. The "movement" of the two voices is beautiful.

[a1vocalcoachdotcom]

@chad75ful

Ignorance wouldn't be not knowing what choir is singing, but not knowing that the "voice and organ are emphasized and featured at different times." Good call! That's one reason why I love hearing this performed "well." It features a variety of dynamics.

[waldenhouse]

Every 'goose-bump' I've ever got has been raised by this fabulous piece, which I remember well singing in my youth at Leeds. Thank you for posting!

[Buggaton]

epic winning Morph. I love this piece.

[OrbiliusMagister]

Let me spoil some irony: Talking about evening, this could be a British answer to Rachmaninov's Vespers "si parva licet componere magnis".

There is a similar use of "orchestral" voices. then everything else shouts its patriotism :D