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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 Tune, NETTLETON, from Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813 Arranged by Julian David Bryson
Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
A.
q = 140
mf
1. Come, Thou
Perc.
6
S.
A.
bless - ing,
Perc.
ceas - ing,
A.
ceas - ing,
B.
Perc.
Tune my heart
to
sing Thy
Call for songs
of
Call for songs
loud - est
grace.
praise;
praise;
mer
-
-
cy,
Streamsof
ev - 'ry
mp
Streamsof
of
loud - est
of
10
S.
mf
fount
Carefully tune the congas to the key of Db to help keep the singers on pitch.
(Ad lib)
mer
cy,
nev - er
nev - er
Teach me
Teach me
mel. Teach me
©2003 Julian David Bryson
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4 S.
mel - o - dious
son - net, Sung by
mel - o - dious
some
mel - o - dious
14
some
A.
some
B.
Perc.
A.
B.
Perc.
A.
B.
love.
love.
Pno.
Perc.
mount!
Praise the
mount!
flam - ing
tongues a - bove.
it,
Mountof Thy
re - deem - ing
fixed up - on
Mountof
re - deem - ing
it,
Thy
fixed up - on
it,
Mountof Thy
re - deem - ing
fixed up - on
mf
2. Here I
mf
2. Here I mf
2. Here I
I'm
tongues a - bove.
I'm Praise the mel.
love.
son - net, Sung by
Praise the mount! I'm
flam - ing
22
S.
son - net, Sung by
tongues a - bove.
18
S.
flam - ing
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5
26
S.
A.
B.
raise
mine
raise
mine
raise
Pno.
Perc.
Eb - e -
A.
by
hope,
B.
by
hope,
Pno.
Perc.
by
by
Thy
help I'm
Eb - e - ne -
zer;
Hith - er
by
Thy
help I'm
Thy good
Hith - er
Thy good
help I'm
zer;
Thy good
Thy
mf
hope,
by
Hith - er
30
S.
zer;
ad lib.
ne -
Eb - e - ne -
mine
mf
plea - sure,
plea - sure,
plea - sure,
Safe - ly
Safe - ly
to
ar
to
Safe - ly
ar
to
ar
come;
come;
-
-
come;
I
And
I
And
I
-
And
rive
at
rive
at
home,
at
home.
rive
home.
Safe - ly
Safe - ly
Safe - ly
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6
34
S.
A.
B.
Pno.
Perc.
to
ar
to
ar
to
ar
38
S.
Perc.
rive
at
home.
home.
of
God.
from
the
fold
of
God.
when
a
stran - ger,
Wan- d'ring
to
to
to
res - cue
dan -
ger,
In - ter -
dan -
ger,
In - ter -
dan -
ger,
In - ter -
me from
me from
res - cue
me from
res - cue
me
He,
Je - sus sought
He,
Wan- d'ring
stran - ger,
Wan- d'ring
a
stran - ger,
He,
when
a
me
when
God.
sought
me
of
sought
fold
Je - sus
mel.
the
Je - sus
fold
at
rive
the
Pno.
-
home.
from B.
-
at
rive
from
A.
-
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S.
posed
A.
B.
His
Pno.
Perc.
His
rit.
A.
B.
Pno.
Perc.
Dai - ly
I'm
Dai - ly
I'm
debt - or
Dai - ly
I'm
debt - or
debt - or
3. O
to
3. O
be.
con - strained to
f
to
Let
be.
Thy
f
grace,
Lord,
Lord,
con - strained to
be.
Let
Thy
grace,
Lord,
grace how great a
Let Thy grace,
grace how great a
f
f
7
grace how great a
con - strained to
to
h = 70
f
46
S.
3. O
pre - cious blood.
pre - cious blood.
posed
pre - cious blood.
posed
His
q. = h
rit.
42
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like
a
like
a
like
a
8 S.
50
A.
Bind my
Perc.
54
S.
A.
B.
Pno.
Perc.
wan - d'ring
Lord,
I
feel
p cresc. to m. 62
p cresc. to m. 62
heart to
Thee:
heart to
Thee:
heart to
Lord,
I
it.
feel
Prone to
p cresc. to m. 62
Tempo primo
Prone to
it,
wan - der,
wan - der,
Lord,
I
feel
it,
to
wan - der,
Prone to
Prone to
God
I
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the
leave
Prone to
Prone
Prone to
p cresc. to m. 62
Thee:
wan - der,
Prone to
p cresc. to m. 62
rall.
Tempo primo
wan - der,
Bind my
wan - d'ring
Pno.
Bind my
fet - ter,
wan - d'ring
fet - ter,
B.
fet - ter,
rall.
9
58
S.
leave
God
A.
wan - der,
B.
Pno.
Perc.
love,
Prone to
heart,
A.
heart,
B.
heart,
Pno.
Perc.
Lord,
Lord,
the
the
take and
take and
Lord,
take and
seal
seal
seal
God I
ff
love;
God I
leave
God I
leave
62
S.
love;
I
Prone to
the
ff
ff
Seal
Seal
it
it
it,
Seal
ff
it,
love;
it,
love; ff
it
for
Here's my mf
Here's my
mel. mf
Thy
Here's my
mf
courts a -
bove.
mp
Seal
it
mp
for
for
Thy
Thy
courts a -
courts a -
bove.
bove.
Seal mp
it
Seal
it
mf
mf
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10
66
S.
for
A.
B.
Pno.
Perc.
Perc.
for
Thy
courts a - bove.
mp
Tune
Tune
my
my
f
my
Tune f
bless - ing,
of
freely, slower
ev - 'ry
Come,Thou Fount
f
Of
rit.
to
sing Thy
2
heart
to
A tempo
2
to
Pno.
courts a - bove.
courts a - bove.
heart
B.
Thy
heart
A.
Thy
70
S.
for
rit.
mf
sing Thy
grace.
grace.
sing Thy
grace.
ff
A tempo ff
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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:
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