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Text 1. Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.
2. Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood;
3. O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
Program Notes Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing has long been a favorite hymn of mine. It reminds me to embrace humility and admit my mistakes as I seek to live out the greatest commandments: loving God and loving each other. As we live in days where grace and mercy are scarce commodities, the text calls on us to give these gifts freely to one another, and just as importantly, accept them when others offer them to us. The University of Tennessee provided me with many transformative experiences, not the least of which was the privilege of conducting the Women’s Chorale for two semesters. Over the course of that year, I recognized that choral music would be my home—the place where I felt most comfortable and rewarded. I arranged this hymn as a gesture of thanks to the wonderful women who allowed me to make music with them. In a sense, this was my Ebeneezer—my monument of gratitude. It marked how far I had come during college and continues to provide a reference point for any progress I’ve made since then. —J.D.B.
SSA Version Premiered by the University of Tennessee Women’s Chorale, April 6, 2004. TTB Version Premiered by the University of Kansas Men’s Glee Club, October 22, 2017. Available for SATB, SAB, SSA, and TTB voicings as well as for Piano Solo. Cover image, Glistening taken by the composer on the Sea of Galilee, December 31, 2008. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing Dedicated to the University of Tennessee Knoxville Women's Chorale, 2003-2004. You have been a great blessing to me. Tune, NETTLETON, from Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813 Arranged by Julian David Bryson
Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
A
Perc.
q = 140
A
of
ev - 'ry bless - ing,
mp
9
S2
A
-
mer -
Perc.
S2
A
Perc.
cy,
cy,
nev - er
nev - er
13
S1
ceas - ing,
ceas - ing,
Tune my heart
to
sing Thy
Call for songs
of
Call for songs
mer
of
Streamsof
loud - est
Streamsof
loud - est
grace.
praise;
praise;
mf
1. Come, Thou
fount
mf
Perc.
5
S2
Teach me some mel - o - dious son - net, Sung by flam - ing tongues a Teach me
Teach me
some
mel - o - dious son - net, Sung by
flam - ing
some mel - o - dious son - net, Sung by
© Copyright 2003 Julian David Bryson
flam - ing tongues a -
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tongues a -
4
17
S1
bove.
S2
bove.
Perc.
21
S1
Thy
S2
A
Pno.
Perc.
Thy
Thy
A
Pno.
Perc.
Praise the
re - deem - ing
love.
re - deem - ing
love.
love.
mount!
I'm
it,
Mount of
it,
Mount of
fixed up - on
fixed up - on
fixed up - on
it,
Mount of
re - deem - ing
Praise the mount! I'm Praise the mount! I'm
S2
25
S1
bove.
A
mf
2. Here I mf
raise
2. Here I mf
raise
mine
mine
Eb - e - ne - zer;
Hith - er
by
Thy
help I'm
Eb - e - ne - zer;
Hith - er
by
Thy
help I'm
mf
2. Here I
raise
mine
Eb - e - ne - zer;
Hith - er
ad lib. mf
by
Thy
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help I'm
5
29
S1
come;
S2
come;
A
come;
Pno.
Perc.
Pno.
Perc.
I
And
I
home,
Safe - ly
Safe - ly
- ly Safe
hope,
by
Thy good
hope,
by
Thy good
hope,
by
Thy good
plea - sure,
Safe - ly
Safe - ly
to
ar - rive
- rive
at
to
ar - rive
at
ar - rive
to
Je - sus
ar - rive
to
ar - rive
at
at
at
home.
home.
home.
Je - sus sought
sought
me
when a
Je - sus sought
to
ar
at
to
plea - sure,
Safe - ly
plea - sure,
home.
A
I
home.
S2
And
33
S1
And
me
when a
me
when a
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
6
Wan - d'ring from
the
37
S1
stran - ger,
S2
stran - ger,
A
Pno.
Perc.
-
dan
A
Perc.
He,
He,
res - cue
me from
to
res - cue
me from
the
fold
of
God.
to
blood.
blood.
pre - cious
blood.
pre - cious
His
pre - cious
His
In - ter - posed
rit.
His
In - ter - posed
ger,
ger,
In - ter - posed
-
ger,
-
dan
Pno.
dan
S2
God.
Wan - d'ring from
of
He, to res - cue me from stran - ger, Wan - d'ring from the fold of God.
41
S1
fold
rit.
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q. = h
f
44
S1
S2
A
Pno.
Perc.
S2
A
Perc.
to
3. O
to
f
f
3. O
grace
be.
be.
Let
Let
Thy
grace,
Thy
grace,
Let Thy grace,
Lord,
Lord,
Lord,
a
like
a
like
a
debt - or
Dai - ly
I'm
con - strained to
I'm
rall.
ter,
Bind my
wan - d'ring
heart to
Bind my
wan - d'ring
heart to
fet -
ter,
ter,
Bind my
wan - d'ring
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
heart to
rall.
fet -
fet -
con - strained to
con - strained to
Dai - ly
I'm
debt - or
how great a debt - or Dai - ly
like
f
f
grace how great a
to
7
grace how great a
be.
Pno.
3. O
48
S1
h = 70
8
Tempo primo
52
S1
p cresc. to m. 62
Thee:
S2
Prone to
wan - der,
Lord, I feel cresc. to m. 62 p
Thee:
A
Prone to
Thee:
Pno.
wan - der, Prone to
S2
Pno.
Perc.
it,
Prone to
wan - der,
Lord, I
the
God
I
wan - der, Prone to
feel
it,
Prone to
p cresc. to m. 62
Prone to
I
love;
Prone to
leave
God I
the
God I
God I
the
leave
God
wan - der,
Lord, I cresc. to m. 62 p
Prone to
the
leave
love,
Prone to
it.
p cresc. to m. 62
leave
wan - der,
feel
A
56
S1
Tempo primo
Perc.
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60
S1
9
ff
love; ff
S2
love; ff
A
Pno.
Perc.
love; ff
ff
64
S1
A
Pno.
Perc.
for
Here's my
Here's my mf
Thy
courts a
courts a
-
-
Lord,
take and
seal
Lord,
take and
it,
seal
Seal
it,
it
Seal
it
mp
bove.
bove.
heart,
Thy
for
Seal mp
it
seal
mf
it
take and
Seal mp
Lord,
it,
Seal
it
mf
heart,
mf
heart,
Thy
Here's my
for
S2
mf
for
Thy
mp
courts a - bove.
courts a - bove.
for
Thy
courts a
-
bove.
Seal
it
for
Thy
courts a - bove.
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Come,Thou
10
rit.
68
S1
S2
A
mf
Of
ev - 'ry
Fount
Pno.
Perc.
Pno.
ing,
Tune f
my
heart
Tune
my
2
to
sing Thy
heart
rit.
sing Thy
2
to
heart
my
to
sing Thy
grace.
ff
ff
A tempo
Perc.
-
Tune f
grace.
A
A tempo
grace.
S2
bless
of
freely, slower
71
S1
f
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If you enjoyed Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, please also consider the following works from my catalog, available at or coming soon to MusicSpoke.com:
A Parable of Choices won the Yale Glee Club Emerging Composers Competition in 2017. It juxtaposes The Parable of the Old Man and the Young by WWI soldier and poet Wilfred Owen with the story of Abraham and Isaac as told in Genesis 22. Oscillating between two starkly contrasted sonic worlds, the parable presents a relentlessly confrontational choice: humility vs pride; life vs. death; peace vs. war. Though one may see it as a rebuke of national hubris, these concepts resonate most vibrantly for me when held up to the daily decisions of life. In our habits of commerce, travel, communication, and the like, may we move consistently toward humility, life, and peace. Commissioned to celebrate the ordination of a deacon, All Things New (SATB Choir and String Quartet or Piano) speaks to the human desire to improve ourselves and our world. Built upon a handful of symbolic musical motives, this piece yearns, grows, and eventually comes to rest transformed and inspired. Fire and Ice (SSATB, a cappella) along with Quibbles and Quirks for wind quintet and Conflictions for brass quintet, began as exercises in counterpoint. Though I didn’t conceive of them as a set, upon further reflection, I see them as having remarkable similarities. All are for five voices, involve imitation, and represent conversations. Fire and Ice, in particular, takes the well-known poem and weaves it into a dialogue— at times an argument—inviting both choir and audience to take sides. Because the text is so familiar, I didn’t concern myself with clarity in its setting, instead focusing on the similar vowel sounds central to key words. This leaves the conclusion up to the audience’s decision, even as late as the final chord, where both fire and ice sound simultaneously. Lacrimas (SATB with mezzo-soprano solo, a cappella) weaves the familiar Psalm text, "They that sow in tears will reap in joy" into a poignant moment from St. Augustine's confessions: "And sending out tears, where I was holding them in, so that they should flow so smoothly, they spread out beneath my heart and it rests on them." Musically, the piece develops in waves that emanate from the opening “sobbing” gesture. The University of Alabama in Huntsville Chamber Choir premiered the work under the direction of Dr. Erin Colwitz-Dehning as part of the Huntsville New Music Festival of 2011. Commissioned and premiered by Louisville's Youth Performing Arts School Gentlemen's Ensemble, under the direction of Jacob Cook, for the Intercollegiate Male Chorus Festival of 2014 hosted by Rutgers University. …with music… (TTBB, SATB, or SSAA Choir and Piano) combines two previously unpublished songs by Kentucky Composer (and graduate of Louisville's Manual High School) John Jacob Niles. Come Gentle Dark and Epitaph provide a poignant look into the composer's later views on life and death interwoven with beautiful melodies and subtle harmonic surprises. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Thomas Moore’s Minstrel Boy (SATB, SSAA, or TTBB with piano) describes an iconic “warrior bard,” committed to defending not only land, but ideals. For him, freedom of thought, speech, and art was more important than his life, and this strong and creative soul preferred death to oppression. While this tune has long been associated with memorials for first responders, I also see it as a call to arms for artists. Join us on the battlefield of ideas with harp and song and voices. O nata lux (SATB, a cappella): On September 12, 2001, members of the University of Tennessee Concert Choir walked into our choir room in a state of shock. Reeling from the previous day’s attacks, none of us really wanted to rehearse, but somehow we knew it was exactly where we needed to be. After warm-ups, we sang Morten Lauridsen’s setting of O nata lux, which we had just begun to learn. Suddenly, the music took on a new meaning and ushered in a memorable hour of sharing, crying, and healing. Something about the line, “for the sake of the lost ones” stuck with me, and over the next several days, I developed my own musical response to both the tragedy and text that had invaded all of our lives. I am humbled by so many beautiful settings of this prayer and in some ways feel ill-equipped to offer yet one more. However, I continue to count it among my favorite compositions. Winner of the 2013 American Choral Directors Association Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition, Redemption Mass (SATB chorus, wind quintet or strings, piano, and percussion) is a tuneful, rhythmic, and inspiring setting of traditional and non-traditional texts. The simple, yet haunting Kyrie evokes ancient chants, while the rhythmically driving Gloria uses overlapping ostinato paints a picture of the Heavenly throne room described in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. Credo is an exuberant statement of faith filled with text painting, while the most accessible movement, Sanctus, is an uplifting song of praise again referencing the scene in Isaiah 6. Finally, Agnus Dei recalls themes from previous movements of the Mass against a stunning wall of sound, erupting into a passionate plea for peace. Also available as individual movements for mixed choir and piano. This accessible setting of We Are the Music Makers (SATB, SSAA, or TTBB and piano) brings O'Shaughnessy's famous text to life through lush harmonies, word painting, and exciting fanfares. Dedicated to the Randolph High School Class of 2011, it was premiered by their Concert Choir during their Commencement ceremonies. This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.