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Jesus Shall Reign (LEMINGTON, Jarman)

Thomas Jarman

Score

Read it and listen to it right here. It can't be downloaded — to sing it with your choir, use it in Cantico.

History

Jesus Shall Reign (LEMINGTON, Jarman)

The words are by Isaac Watts (1674–1748), a paraphrase of Psalm 72 published in 1719. This four-voice choral version carries the tune by Thomas Jarman (1776–1861), an English hymn composer who was widely known in the chapels of the United Kingdom.

About the piece

A hymn proclaiming Christ's kingship over all the earth. The edition, 17 measures in 2/2, carries soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

How to prepare it

The ranges are demanding in the outer voices: sopranos C4–G5 (a twelfth), altos B3–A4 (a minor seventh), tenors E3–E4 (an octave) and basses G2–C4 (an eleventh). The soprano reaches a G5 that should be prepared calmly, without forcing. Rehearse the text in four voices as a block, very slowly at first, until the harmony sounds in tune; then raise the tempo. In a chapel-hymn style the stress falls on the first beat of each measure.

When to use it

It works in Advent (for its expectation of Christ's reign) and in Ordinary Time, as an entrance or closing chant.