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Composer
Stephanie Martin
Text William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1881-1945)
Voicing SATB, a cappella
Topic Christian Life, Love (God's, of others)
Price $2.85 (U.S.)
Released 8/24
Cat. no. 410-662
Difficulty Mod. Diff.
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Min. of 5
Description
Stephanie Martin has set a text by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple (this prayer is carved into stone in Winchester Cathedral), that calls for God's love to pervade every aspect of our lives. Each section of the work has a different character, but they are all knit together with a consistent harmonic tone and characteristically strong part-writing.
It was composed by Stephanie Martin for the 2022 North American Cathedral Deans conference at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento, California, and commissioned by David Link, Canon Precentor/Director of Music.
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Review
"Temple's extended poem takes the form of a collect petitioning God for the gift of love in its many incarnations. Martin sets the prayer as an earnest, introspective essay for choir; largely homophonic, pairs of voices frequently move together (i.e. SA and TB or ST and AB) while preserving the stable vertical chordal alignment. As Martin moves through the somewhat lengthy text, she explores several tonal areas, giving each section of the text an individual character. As the poem concludes, the list of conditions in which to experience love, the final "love in life, and love in death," reaches an affecting chromatic cadence that Martin uses to pivot back to the original home key for the concluding phrase that begins resolutely forte and settles gently into a serene pianissimo. This anthem, written in four parts throughout without any part divisions, would suit smaller choirs as well as large ensembles." --AAM Journal, May/June 2025
Anthem text
O God of love, we pray thee
to give us love:
Love in our thinking,
Love in our speaking,
Love in our doing,
and love in the hidden places of our souls;
O God of love, we pray thee
to give us love:
Love of our neighbours near and far;
Love of friends, old and new;
Love of those whom
we find it hard to bear,
and love of those
who find it hard to bear with us;
Love of those with whom we work,
and love of those
with whom we take our ease;
Love in joy,
Love in sorrow;
Love in life,
and love in death;
That so at length
we may be worthy to dwell with thee,
who art eternal love.
O God of love, we pray thee
to give us love.
--William Temple (1881-1945)
Archbishop of Canterbury |
