Thanks David–I guess I should learn to read. But that 1st Tenor line–all those G’s–is still a bit high for the typical men’s chorus in the church these days.

The bishop asked me to choose three months of hymns and special musical numbers. (Our ward has not had a choir for years, and I had intended to make myself choir director until they called someone else. The best laid plans.) I started with the three months, but couldn’t get my head around it. I would try to lay out the songs and groups to sing, and literally couldn’t make sense if it.

After a lot of prayer and frustration, I decided to lay out the whole year instead. I went through the hymn book and marked every page that I felt inspired to include with a sticky note. After I had them all picked, I wrote the number and name on each sticky note, and then started plugging songs in. I got sacrament hymns finished, and then opening and closing hymns. One rest hymn a month also went pretty quickly. As I started plugging things in, some Sundays I knew that a particular group should sing a particular song. Other I just put the organization, and TBA.

I turned in the whole year at once, and it was approved. I have copies of the schedule to the organists (we have rotating young women who play once a month) and then sent the assignments to the different organizations. The next week was my last week at a full sacrament meeting. I have asked a few times why I haven’t been released.

It has been almost six months since I was there for more than sacrament. I was feeling really guilty about not having the choir up and going, and tried to resign so that someone else could do it. The response was that the music program was running better than anyone could remember it running. Having the assignments far ahead mean that the priesthood have actually learned their songs, by singing them over and over during their opening exercises. With 3-6 months to learn them, the hymns are being sung by more than three members. The Young Women and Primary love choosing their own songs, the priesthood and Relief Society enjoy having them assigned. The organists have the list for the entire year, and have been talking groups of members into singing the songs that the choir was supposed to sing. I guess Heavenly Father really needed an absent music director for our ward. Apparently I am most effective not being there.

So, where does this song come in? I am getting started on next year’s music, and one request is to have some older hymns be sung be some groups. Since one if the High Councilors from our ward has helped adjust music for our ward, I am sending this to him to see if he can help make it in range for the men. They sing Elders of Israel the Sunday after conference, so they can start getting ready to sing this in January.

I recognized Townsend’s name instead of Parry’s, as he’s listed in Nibley’s “Stalwarts of Mormonism.” He’s one of the most prolific contributions to the current hymnbook including favorites like:
Hope of Israel, To Nephi Seer of Olden Time, Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words to Each Other, and Reverently and Meekly Now.

But the women’s parts are both extremely high by today’s standards–90% of the women in the church couldn’t sing the alto line, much less the soprano. (And 95% could sing the alto line if it were an octave lower, but that’s a different issue.)

The men’s parts, by contrast are well within the range of any semi-talented tenor or bass. Except for all those low F’s–there aren’t enough real basses that can hit that note, unless they have a cold.