Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

This track is an experiment with multitrack recording, about which I have much to learn! If you're new to this podcast/blog, and want to see what I'm about, please check out some of my other works.

Piano by Joel now has over 150 subscribers! I'd like to thank everyone for listening. A special thank you to those who frequent the blog... iTunes is fantastic, but it lacks the interactivity of a blog, and I love hearing from my listeners. Keep those comments and requests coming.

I thought I'd have some fun with Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, an old hymn by Robert Robinson (1735-1790) with music by John Wyeth (1770-1858.) What great lyrics:

Come, thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love

Similar to Oh For a Thousand Tongues (see this post), this song reminds me of my own inadequacy to express the praise that Christ deserves. I think the author would understand, as the phrases "tune my heart to sing thy grace" and "teach me some melodious sonnet" each indicate his dependency on God himself to provide the necessary inspiration.

In this rendition, I once again experiment with percussion and additional instrumentation. Although amateurish, I figure the only way I'll ever improve is to try new things. Hope you enjoy (or at least tolerate) the piece.

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O Love that will not Let Me Go

Some of you may know this one, sung to the tune, St. Margaret by Albert Peace (1844-1912.) This is the first verse, penned by George Matheson (1842-1906):

O Love that wilt not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

I like this melody so much, as well as the theme of the song, that I feel that this rendition does not do it justice. I may need to revisit this hymn at some point.

Anyway, turn down the lights, light some candles, and enjoy O Love that Will Not Let Me Go.

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The ocean sound effect is by Chris Taylor, and available from http://www.flashkit.com.

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Doxology (Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow)

The podcast has topped 100 subscribers this week, thanks to all you great people that happen to enjoy piano hymns! Thank you so much for putting up with my musical experiments. To celebrate, I'd like to play a familiar hymn that's often sung to the ancient tune, Old Hundredth. You may even have memorized the words of Thomas Ken (1637-1711):

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him all of ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

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Sweet Hour of Prayer

Hello again, piano fans. I took last week off (did you miss me?) but here's a new one for you. Today's hymn is an old favorite, Sweet Hour of Prayer, with music by William Bradbury (1816-1868) and words by William Walford (1772-1850.) I hope you will find it, well, sweet.

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