Listening to our public radio station as we woke up, I thought, “Hey, I know that.” It was Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity [LISTEN], from The Planets by Gustav Holst. And I do own a CD of The Planets, but my recollection was more recent, more specific.
The Wikipedia led me to I Vow to Thee, My Country, “a British patriotic song, created in 1921 when a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice was set to music by Gustav Holst.” It was sung at both Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles, and her funeral.
Not incidentally, many years later, it evoked controversy. “In August 2004, the Right Reverend Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, called for the first verse of the hymn to be removed from Church of England services, calling it ‘totally heretical’. He believed it placed national loyalties above religious ones and encouraged racism and unquestioning support of governments. His words sparked a debate on the wider implications of the hymn.”
The verse in question:
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
But nah, those are not the words I was thinking of, but it IS the Thaxted hymn arrangement, named after “the English village where [Holst] resided much of his life. As it turned out it was a hymn called O Spirit All Embracing [LISTEN], which we had just started practicing for choir, and would sing about a month after hearing it that morning on the radio. It is one of several hymns created from that tune.
The Wikipedia is correct, and the Yahoo answer person, who said it was NOT used as a hymn, was incorrect.
Wikipedia had an unmeasurable knowlegde… if all is true or not. i truly don;t know 😉
One can learn al lot from it…. internet is not that bad at all 😉
Wonderful and knowledgeable information.
Thanks for the beautiful hymns! I especially love ” O Spirit All Embracing”. It is so typically English. I am glad we added some English hymns in our song book.
Wil, ABCW Team.
‘I Vow To Thee My Country’ was my college Hymn and ended
every morning assembly. I particularly remember it being sung at Princess Diana’s wedding and sadly, her funeral.
I love The Planet Suites, amongst my top ten of classical music!
best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.
Tis a lovely hymn.
I never heard the song before, but for me God always comes before country, no matter where I would live in the world. Thanks for the history lesson today.
I always come away a bit smarter from your posts. Thanks and have a great week!
Another informative post.
My ABC WEDNESDAY
Wikipedia is good for information though sometimes it needs to be counter checked as people can edit information there.An informative post!
This is the kind of music I never listen too, lol, so I can’t comment at all !
Went and heard Jupiter Bringer of Jollity – it’s magnificent.
Have always loved ‘I vow to Thee’ and did enjoy your post, Roger.
Informative and interesting!
Happy ABCW!
I love the melody of this hymn. It’ll stick with me all day, I’m sure, even while wandering the forest trails with Tegan.
Leslie
abcw team
Having one of the dullest national anthems around its a close run thing between ‘I vow to thee my country’ and ‘Jerusalem’ as a preferred alternative.
Very interesting and informative! I sometimes wish my Master’s had been in library science rather than educational administration. I love libraries!
Lowe’s interpretation is interesting. I don’t see it, but then it could be because I’m not English.
if I were to remember the planets, I would remember Jupitor for being the biggest.