Page 51 - Forbes L'Estrange Mountains shall bring peace download

Composer’s Notes
I chose these particular verses from Psalms 72 and 149 because they reflect not only King Charles’s faith but also something of his well-documented passion for nature - ‘the mountains shall bring peace to the people’ - and music - ‘let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp’. When I think of our former Prince of Wales, I picture him walking in the Welsh mountains or in the Scottish Highlands. (Being Welsh born myself and with Scottish ancestry on my father’s side this is familiar territory for me). It’s generally believed that Psalm 72 was the coronation hymn for the King of Judah; the words speak of the king’s role in relationship to his people and to God. Best of all is the third verse which in the King James version reads ‘The mountains shall bring peace to the people’. In such a turbulent time for our world, this struck me as the ideal title.
Central to the commission brief was to write a big, singable tune, the kind of memorable melody which anyone and everyone can enjoy singing. The first melody which came to me was for ‘the mountains shall bring peace to the people’. The melodic shape of rising and falling 4ths with a falling semitone at the top is intended to paint a musical picture of mountains, repeated in sequence. This section should be sung molto legato in contrast to the emphatic beginning and the dance-like ending. The rising 4ths became a motif for the whole anthem, from its opening fanfare to its closing Amen.
Hymn tunes have been a big inspiration for this piece. Having sung church music all my life, I’m fascinated by what makes a really good hymn tune and why so many of us still love to sing them. Most of my personal favourites seem to be in 3/4 rather than 4/4 which is why I opted for that metre for the ‘Sing unto the Lord’ section. If this piece is being performed during a service, I would love the congregation to stand and join in at this point (bar 67).
It is no coincidence that whenever the word ‘King’ appears in the text, the melody lands on C for Charles. However, I didn’t want the whole piece to be in the key of C. Instead I chose Bb, which always strikes me as a very regal key, probably due in no small part to a certain Hubert Parry. In the opening phrase the emphasis is not on the word ‘King’ but rather on ‘Thy’; the point is that we are imploring God to give to our King His judgement. There’s a similar underlay for the next two phrases: ’Thy righteousness’ and ’Thy people’ to keep the focus on God.
This piece is as much about inclusivity and accessibility as anything else; it is hoped that everyone will want to sing it, regardless of any previous experience of singing in choirs. The vocal ranges in all voice parts are deliberately kept to a minimum. Even at the highest point (bar 86 ‘let the children of Zion be joyful’) the top Ab in the soprano line is optional; for the unison version the melody stays Db. Choirs can either choose to perform the anthem in its SATB version, with a choice of organ or piano accompaniment, or in its unison version.
It has been a huge honour to be the chosen composer for the RSCM’s Sing for the King commission and I hope that choirs throughout the world will enjoy singing this piece. Do let me know how you get on.