Masterful Music: R.T. Legacy

This piece was commissioned by Mr. Steve Willemssen and the Wheaton Academy Orchestra. Mr. Willemssen had previously performed a string arrangement of mine that was based on a church hymn, and he specifically requested an arrangement of this hymn tune. The text is based on Psalm 23, which is probably the most well-known and beloved psalm in the Bible.

My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.

The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.
- Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 23

Recording will be coming soon.