All Creatures of Our God and King

From Wind Repertory Project
William Henry Draper

William Henry Draper (arr. David Gilson)


General Info

Year: c. 1919 / 2018
Duration: c. 4:20
Difficulty: IV+ (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Hymn
Publisher: Unpublished
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Snare Drum
  • Tubular Bells
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The hymn tune Lasst Uns Erfreuen has several texts that it uses; virtually all of them are Easter hymns, or at the very least, praise texts, echoing “Alleluia!” in each verse. The hymn text that inspired this work, All Creatures of Our God and King, begins that way, with the text,

All creatures of our God and king
Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

'The verse that stuck with me, though, was the fourth verse:

And thou most kind and gentle death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.
O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

This piece is about all these texts working together as one prayer: a prayer of thanksgiving and of praise, a song of joy and laughter, a prayer of faith and hope. We need not fear death, but we instead rejoice in it, as it carries us to our eternal kingdom where our Alleluias may never cease.

In the middle of the piece, there is a trumpet solo that quotes the opening line of the tune Engleberg, used for the hymns We Know That Christ is Raised and When in Our Music God Is Glorified. A stanza from each hymn is listed below:

We know that Christ is raised and dies no more.
Embraced by death He broke its fearful hold;
And our despair He turned to blazing joy. Alleluia!
Let ev’ry instrument be tuned for praise!
Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!

And may God give us faith to sing always: Alleluia!

Indeed, in the hope and joy of Christ’s resurrection, let us with all creatures sing that “Alleluia!” always. For that is what this piece is about; all the different keys, colors, tempos, cymbal crashes, and trumpet sounds work together to praise the One who gives us that hope, that we might sing to Him forever.

- Program Note by David Gilson


All Creatures of Our God and King is an English Christian Easter hymn by William Henry Draper, based on a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. It was first published in a hymn book in 1919. It is not known when Draper first wrote the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper wrote it for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book.

Like Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, Draper's text is usually set to the tune of Lasst uns erfreuen, a German Easter hymn published by Friedrich Spee in 1623 in his book Auserlesene Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng. This tune became widespread in English hymn books starting with a 1906 arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams. John Rutter also wrote a piece of music for the hymn. Despite the hymn being initially written by Draper for Whitsun (the Anglican and English designation for Pentecost), it is mostly used in the earlier weeks of the Easter season.

- Program Note from Wikipedia


Commercial Discography


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Concordia University (River Forest, Ill.) University Band (Richard R. Fischer, conductor) – 8 November 2019


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources