While I think the best setting of this text is undoubtedly John Rutter’s, this simple melody by Conrad Kocher brings an enjoyable 19th century folk hymn quality to the text.

This hymn has always been a favorite of mine and I’ve arranged it before but was never truly happy with it.  In this new arrangement, I tried to expound on the simple melody to a more complex (but singable) harmony reflecting the real depth behind the simple beauty of God’s earth, and his plan.

I arranged this piece many years ago for a stake conference and subsequently for the BYU Men’s Chorus (Homecoming Spectacular) where Nate Hofheins arranged the orchestra (see the video on YouTube).

It’s a great anthem and brings an energetic spirit.  Someone recently reminded me that this was no longer on the site.  I dusted off the old arrangement, reformatted it for easier reading and performing, and am now posting (thanks, Gretchen!).

My friend, Brenda Baugh, in the Lehi, Utah Stake, asked for this arrangement for an upcoming stake conference.  Every so often when arranging, a musical idea comes along that truly seems at one with the text.  Such was the case with How Gentle.

Like everyone else, I feel anxious and concerned about the state of the world and its impact on my family and I worry about the future.  While arranging this hymn I felt a peaceful, calming spirit which reminded of the scripture: “Be still, and know that I am God.”  In this piece, I especially like the cascading echoes at the end that highlight the line:  Come cast your burdens on the Lord … and bear a song away.

With only a handful of music-readers in the group, our ward priesthood quorums (adult and young men) received a call to sing this hymn at an upcoming meeting.  This very simple arrangement calls for the men to sing in unison and a few tenors taking parts towards the end of verse 3.  The quaint text seems especially appropriate given the setting of our, truly, mountain home.

Through this piece I find one of the best expressions of how I feel about the Atonement of Christ.  As I grow older and, hopefully, more humble I realize how much I need the power of the Atonement every hour, every moment of mortality. 

How grateful I am for Christ’s atoning sacrifice and the opportunity it affords me to not only be forgiven, but to confidently forgive; how it fills me at once with both humility and compassion.  The harmony is meant to represent our ‘wandering’ through mortality with a bright and profound conclusion that we truly do need the Savior “every hour.”

This is one of my earliest “published” arrangements; somewhat revised and updated for this year’s stake conference.  The accompaniment is light and gentle, providing some forward motion for the piece.  The choral parts are not too difficult, but I’ve learned to be careful with the last verse: the key change and forward motions have a tendency to push the volume of the choir, but the sound is much better when restrained (strong, but not loud).

As a husband and father of four, I’ve really come to appreciate the powerful message of Love at Home.  Consider one of my favorite lines: Sweeter sings the brooklet by / Brighter beams the azure sky / Oh, there’s One who smiles on high When there’s love at home.  Truly, when we feel peace in our hearts and love in our family relationships (the most important relationships we have on earth), the world seems a better place.  The hymn text uses lots of garden imagery and in the accompaniment I reference flowing water, blooming roses and bright, sparkling moments that suggest peace, tranquility and joy.  The choral parts are simply and straight forward, with a little complexity at the climactic “Love at Home” near the end of the last verse.

I first arranged this many years ago but revised it for our Stake Conference last year.  I smoothed out the harmony and added a rolling piano accompaniment to give the arrangement a sense of forward motion – moving from worry and longing to comfort and confident peace.  Another case of combining melodies (my version of a “mash-up”, I suppose; see Testimony: I am a Child of God / I Believe in Christ) this piece offers the question and answer to recurring struggles we face in mortality.  For those of you familiar with the old arrangement:  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this new one.