All Creatures of Our God and King
SDAH-002SDAH Hymn #2 — "All Creatures of Our God and King" is a free paraphrase of the Canticle of the Sun ("Laudes Creaturarum") composed by Francis of Assisi around 1225, calling all of creation — sun, moon, wind, water, fire, earth — to join in praising God. The English text was written by William Henry Draper around 1910 for a children's Whitsuntide festival at Adel, near Leeds. The tune LASST UNS ERFREUEN ("Let Us Rejoice") first appeared in the 1623 Cologne hymnal Geistliche Kirchengesäng; Ralph Vaughan Williams brought it to the English-speaking world through his 1906 arrangement for The English Hymnal, which paired it with Draper's text.
Psalm 148; Daniel 3:57–88
Psalm 148 — "Praise the Lord from the heavens... praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars... Let them praise the name of the Lord." Echoes Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun.
Stately and joyful in 3/2 — feel the long phrases in two pulses per measure rather than counting six. The Alleluias should bloom open, not rush. Allow space at the end of each phrase for the congregation to breathe; the tune was written for full-voiced unison singing as much as choral harmony.
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