?The King of Love My Shepherd Is? is a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 23, written by the Anglican cleric and hymn-writer Sir Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) for the second edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1868), of which he was editor as well as contributor. Baker's hymn has been described as perhaps the most beautiful of the many versions of the beloved psalm, and it has been said that the author's own last words before dying were the third stanza:

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

Originally, the hymn was paired with the tune DOMINUS REGIT ME, written by Baker's friend John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) specifically for Baker's text. Later, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) sought to republish the hymn in The English Hymnal (1906), of which he was editor, and was denied the right to use Dykes's tune. He then paired Baker?s text with his own arrangement of an Irish traditional air, ST. COLUMBA.

It is on ST. COLUMBA that this arrangement for brass quintet is based. Following a short introduction, the tune is presented three times: first, by trumpets in a modal melodic/harmonic fashion; next, by low brass trio evoking Vaughan Williams' familiar harmonization; and finally, in a broad, full presentation by the entire ensemble, followed by a quiet, peaceful ending.

�2019 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com

?Angels We Have Heard on High? (?Gloria?) is a Christmas carol based on an 18th-century French noel, ?Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes.? The well-known English-language version of the carol with text by James Chadwick (1813-1882) retains the tune of the French noel, though Chadwick?s text is a largely original adaptation, with parts only loosely translated from the French. The carol commemorates the birth of Jesus as told in the Gospel of St. Luke, and its chorus recalls the ?multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ?Glory to God in the highest?.?? (Luke 2:13-14). The signature feature of the chorus is a rising and falling melisma on the ?o? vowel of ?Gloria? ? thus, the tune is often ascribed the name ?Gloria.? Its familiar harmonization was written by the American organist and composer Edward Shippen Barnes (1887-1958) in 1937. In this festive arrangement, the tune and refrain are presented multiple times in a variety of keys, harmonizations, and orchestration. �Copyright 2017 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com