I originally wrote God in mine eternity as a little anthem for upper voices in two parts, in which form it has had quite a number of performances over the years, by school choirs and other groups. It is a setting of a traditional poem from the Hebrides, (from Carmichael’s Carmina Gaedelica) which I slightly adapted:
God to enfold me, God to surround me, God in my speaking and God in my thinking.
God in my sleeping, God in my waking, God in my watching and God in my hoping.
God in my life, God in my lips, God in my soul, God in my heart, God in mine eternity.
In 2007, I added an optional ‘Men’ part, to make an SABar anthem for The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems, and then in 2010, reworked the textures a bit more to make a four-part anthem which was published in Alan Bullard Anthems. I believe this collection is now out of print, but that digital downloads (pdfs) will be available soon from OUP’s digital partners.
So now there are versions for two-part upper voices, three part SABar, and four part SATB.
In the upper voice and flexible version, the first verse is set to a unison melody in the sopranos and altos in which the music (I hope) enfolds and surrounds the listener, the short phrases covering the range of a ninth and ending in the middle. In the second verse, the melody is repeated by the altos, in the key a tone lower, (doubled by the men in the flexible version), while the sopranos sing a responsive descant. Then in the third verse the upper voices sing in two part harmony (with an added third part for the men in the flexible version) with a mainly sequential descending phrase, concluding with a simple oscillation between dominant and tonic.
In the SATB version, the first verse is given to a solo voice or to S/A in unison. In the second verse the bass has the melody, and the responsive descant figure is now sung in harmony by the upper three voices: and the last verse is now in four part harmony.
The accompaniment (piano or organ) is the same in each version, and apart from the first part of the third verse, where it doubles the voices, it uses the same 5-note figure in each bar, transposed to different pitches.
Probably on account of its genesis as a two-part song for upper voices, this is a quite short and simple setting, with an easily grasped melody (despite shifting key-changes) and an independent but unpretentious accompaniment. And I think that is its advantage, and, whichever version it is sung in, its brevity and clarity makes it possible for the listener to focus on the beautiful words without the music getting in the way or going on for too long. In fact I think I’ve gone on for too long here, and should let the piece speak for itself…
There are several recordings – this one (SATB version) was made at a service in Brentwood Cathedral by massed choirs from churches around Essex and you can follow the score along with it. And here is the flexible version (with men) sung by a small church choir as part of a parish service.
And here is one more recording made during lockdown with the voices individually recorded and then mixed. The upper voices are choristers from Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the organist is me in my living room, playing to a click track!
The Flexible version is in The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems
The SATB version is in Alan Bullard Anthems – now out of print but Forwoods ScoreStore still had 3 copies left when I checked yesterday (at half-price too). The separate digital download of this anthem is available from here – or will be soon, I expect.