Thanksgiving (An Anthem for SATB Chorus & Organ) was composed in December 2008 and is dedicated to the Rev. John Shields in celebration of his beloved ministry to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Associate Rector, 1997 – 2007; Interim Rector, 2007 – early 2009). The words for this anthem of thanksgiving come from verses 6 – 13 of Psalm 65, as found in the early twentieth-century American Psalter, The Psalter (1912). The creation of this Psalter was the result of a collaboration between several American Reformed denominations. Unlike other Psalters (including the popular 1562 Genevan Psalter), The Psalter (1912) only used texts that were regular in meter. The Psalm text used in Thanksgiving is in three stanzas and my setting of it is, likewise, in three sections.
Duration : ca. 4 minutes
Dan Locklair
December 2008
Winston-Salem, NC
Thanksgiving
(An Anthem for SATB Chorus & Organ)
by
Dan Locklair
Text:
Thy might sets fast the mountains;
Strength girds Thee evermore
To calm the raging peoples
And still the ocean’s roar.
Thy majesty and greatness
Are through all lands confessed,
And joy on earth Thou sendest
Afar, from east to west.
To bless the earth Thou sendest
From Thy abundant store
The waters of the springtime,
Enriching it once more.
The seed by Thee provided
Is sown o’er hill and plain,
And Thou with gentle showers
Dost bless the springing grain.
The year with good Thou crownest,
The earth Thy mercy fills,
The wilderness is fruitful,
And joyful are the hills;
With corn the vales are covered,
The flocks in pastures graze;
All nature joins in singing
A joyful song of praise.
From Psalm 65 (vs. 6-13) as found in
The Psalter (1912)