The Lord is My Shepherd

This is my latest arrangement for "The Lord is My Shepherd".  It was my attempt to write a "Hymplicity" type of arrangement where you can pretty much sing the song from the hymn book as written.  In this case it is only the soprano and alto parts that can be sung with this arrangement.  First verse-women sing soprano and alto.  2nd verse- men sing soprano and alto parts an octave lower.  The alto part is pretty much the same except for 2 notes that are indicated by the asterisks*. 3rd verse- men and women sing together either soprano or alto.  In the 3rd verse the altos have a couple of F naturals to watch out for and we hold the lyrics that are circled for longer to go along with the arrangement.  I know it's a little confusing.  It was for the choir, but I think it was a nice offering.

I really do like the arrangement and like most of my pieces-I wanted it sung with great pathos-dramatic crescendos and diminuendos. At the end I just had the choir fade out instead of cutting them off.  It was nice touch to create a more reverent feel.

This latest music was my meager attempt to be like King David and worship God with psalms.  Through my study of the Old Testament, I have learned to love King David and echo the sentiment of many of the OT writers-to seek for a heart like David, trusting the Lord in all things.  While singing this hymn, "The Lord is My Shepherd" last year, I was moved by the wonderful lyric and sentiments contained therein.  Especially coming to the 3rd verse about being richly blessed, even amidst affliction-"With perfume and oil though anointest my head-Oh what can I ask of thy providence more?"  I feel that way.  What more can we really ask for?  He has given us everything.