Descant to the hymn tune FINNIAN. Free score with harmonized descant. Free score. 

1 hymnal (Christopher Dearnley)
Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness,
wake your noblest, sweetest strain,
with the praises of your Savior
let his house resound again;
him let all your music honor,
and your songs exalt his reign.

4. descant
Now on high, yet ever with us,
from his Father's throne the Son
rules and guides the world he ransomed,
till the appointed work be done,
till he see, renewed and perfect,
all things gathered into one.

Originally marked by its author - the prolific hymnologist John Ellerton (1826-1893 ) with more than fifty hymns to his credit, most still in publication -  as The Hymn of the Incarnation, "Sing, ye faithful, sing with gladness" has had a checkered history in some hymnals. In the Episcopal Church for example, four verses of the original nine were dropped (and a refrain) from the 1892 book, the hymn itself was dropped in the 1940, and reappeared in the 1982, but in four-verse array, having lost the doxology....now magnificently paired with Christopher Dearnley's 1966 composition, FINNIAN, which Dearnley wrote while organist at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and named after a 6th century saint, and originally paired with "Sing to him in whom creation." Dearnley was an enthusiastic and cheerful promoter of traditional church music, and of the pipe organ. Sing to him in whom creation, a Whitsunday processional by the Rev. Michael Hewlett, underwent some alterations for the Hymnal 1982 with the collaboration of the poet, the result being a hymn for Pentecost, Praise the Spirit in Creation. A text comparison can be found on the eHymn website.

 

Updated: July 2019

Single sheet includes:

  • Sing, ye faithful (Ellerton)
  • Optional: Ellerton's original doxology
  • Sing to him in whom creation (Hewlett) / (alt. H82, Praise the Spirit in Creation)

Note: the text to Praise the Spirit in creation is © Oxford University Press; the verse included in this set used by permission.

Make a contribution

Your donation in any amount support for the incidental costs of hosting a website that contains almost entirely free resources for the performance of this literature.

Via PayPal (Credit/Debit accepted)