Darwall's 148th

Descant to the hymn tune DARWALL's 148th. Free score with: prologue | bridge | harmonized descant. Free score.

The author of "Ye holy angels bright", Richard Baxter (1615-1692), was a poet and cleric - serving Oliver Cromwell at one point as a regimental chaplain, and then upon the Restoration, was appointed chaplain to the throne; he was subsequently offered the bishopric of Hereford, which he declined. He finished his career as a "nonconformist minister," a kind of freelance lecturer or speaker, not in holy orders and without a parish. The text appeared in his work, Poetical Fragments, which was expanded three times, then followed by a supplement.

John Darwall (1731–1789) was an English clergyman and hymnodist best known for his setting of Psalm 148, known as Darwall's 148th, which was sung at the inauguration of a new organ at his church in Walsall, England, UK. The first publication was in the New Universal Psalmodist (1770) with only soprano and bass parts - which is not as unusual as it might appear. At that time, many organists were able to read a figured bass, filling in the tenor and alto on sight. A written-out harmonization would have to wait until after the turn of the century.

For James Higbe, 2005.

Updated: October 2019 (changes to introduction only / no changes to any descant verse 9.2.2 or above)


Descant verse:

My soul, bear thou thy part, triumph in God above:

and with a well-tuned heart sing thou the songs of love!

let all thy daystill life shall end,

whate'er he send,be filled with praise.

– Richard Baxter, 1681


Wesley text - Rejoice, the Lord is King.


Make a contribution

All the downloadable scores published here are FREE for normal use (services, noncommercial events). But that doesn't mean we would turn you down if you bought us a cup of coffee.