One of the best-loved gospel songs worldwide, ?How Great Thou Art? began as a nine-stanza hymn of praise, ?O Store Gud? (?O Great God?), written in 1885 by Swedish poet and lay minister Carl Gustav Boberg (1859?1940). In 1891 Boberg published the poem, accompanied by a Swedish folk melody, in Sanningsvittnet (Witness for the Truth), a weekly Christian journal of which he was editor. Today, the tune is commonly named ?Sanningsvittnet? in hymnals. From its Swedish origins, the text was translated to German in 1907, then to Russian in 1912. The Russian text became the basis for a translation to English by Stuart W. K. Hine (1899?1989), a British Methodist missionary who discovered it in 1931 while on mission in the Ukraine. Hine's work commonly contains four verses: the first two being a relatively close translation of stanzas by Boberg, and the latter two being original verses by Hine. Published in 1949, ?How Great Thou Art? gained great popularity in North America after George Beverly Shea began singing it in the Billy Graham evangelistic crusades in 1955. It has been named the #1 favorite hymn by respondents to various polls in both the United States and United Kingdom. �Copyright 2013 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com

Like ?How Great Thou Art,? ?It Is Well With My Soul? is one of the most well-known and beloved gospel songs/hymns, expressing confidence in the promises of Christ ? his mercy, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal Kingship ? despite the trials and tribulations of this present life. The song?s text has its origins in the tragic events experienced by hymn-writer Horatio Spafford (1828-1888), who in 1871 suffered the death of an infant son and the loss of his personal fortune due to the Great Chicago Fire, and two years later suffered the deaths of his four daughters when the sailing ship Ville du Havre, on which his family was traveling for vacation, was struck by the English ship Lochearn and sank in only 12 minutes. Spafford, who had sent the family ahead while attending to business stateside, sailed to England to meet his surviving wife, and on the journey penned ?It Is Well With My Soul.? Philip Bliss (1838-1876), a teacher, singer, evangelist, gospel music composer, and family friend, wrote the music to accompany Spafford?s text and named the tune ?Ville du Havre.? The text and tune were published together in Gospel Hymns No. 2 (1876), compiled by gospel singer/songwriter Ira D. Sankey and Bliss. This enduring hymn?s comforting words have encouraged countless individuals facing their own trials and tribulations; and its flowing, soaring tune is one of the most memorable in all of hymnody.

?Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise,? one of the most popular hymn texts on the Ascension of Christ, was written by the great Methodist hymnist Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and published in 10 stanzas in his Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739) as ?Hymn for Ascension Day.? The ?alleluias? were added in George White's Hymns and Introits (1852). The tune most often associated with Wesley's text, ?Llanfair,? is attributed to Welsh singer Robert Williams (1781-1821). In this arrangement, elements of the tune are employed in a majestic, constantly modulating introduction before giving way to three presentations of melody ? first, straightforwardly by the full quintet; second, following a modulation down a major third, by a trio of brass; and third, following another modulation back to the original key, by the full quintet, with a short coda incorporating a flourish recalling the introduction. Especially appropriate at Ascension due to the associated text, this instrumental arrangement is also fitting as a prelude, postlude, or offertory/communion anthem at any time. �Copyright 2016 Todd Marchand / www.ConSpiritoMusic.com

"The Truth From Above," aka "[This Is] the Truth Sent From Above," and sometimes known as "The Herefordshire Carol," is an English folk melody that was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909, used in his Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912) and and published in Eight Traditional English Carols (1919).

Its text tells of God's creation of man and woman, their placement in Paradise, their sin and its subsequent consequences for all humanity, the nativity of Christ, His example and teaching, and His promise of salvation for all who believe in Him. Another text, "The Great Forerunner of the Morn," which tells of John the Baptist's preparation for the Christ, is also sung to the tune.

The Dorian-mode melody uses the first through fifth tones, and the seventh tone, of that mode. Although collected by Vaughan Williams just after the turn of the 20th century, its chant-like quality, both melodically and rhythmically, is reminiscent of centuries-old music.

This arrangement features solo tuba on the first presentation of the tune followed by the full ensemble in full harmony, a key change and canonic presentation by horn and trombone, and a return to the original key and concluding statement by full ensemble with harmonic variation.

Tschaikovsky's "The Volunteer Fleet March" stands on its own or makes a great wedding recessional march. At the end of the piece you'll experience hints of a passage from the "1812 Overture". It was first published as "The Russian Volunteer Fleet March," under a pseudonym, as a fundraising effort for the Russo-Turkish War. Arranged for brass quintet (two Bb trumpets, French horn, trombone, and tuba). Performance time is approximately 5:00. Visit our website, www.tootsuitebrasspublishing.com, for a catalog of our arrangements available through sheetmusicplus.com.