Two Trios on Catholic Hymn Tunes
by David Lasky
Organ - Sheet Music

Organ

SKU: C5.6067

Composed by David Lasky. Preludes on two quintestential Catholic hymns. General. Published by CanticaNOVA Publications (C5.6067).

The tempo marking on these trios is "In baroque style, but not too fast." That sums up these charming settings of two popular Catholic hymn tunes. Grosser Gott, sung with the text "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name," is a tune from the Allgemeines Katholisches Gesangbuch, published in Vienna in 1774. Variations of the tune abound; the one used here is quite simple, but it does include a repeat of the last phrase, often lacking in modern or non-Catholic settings. There are several hymn tunes called Saint Thomas; this one is also known as Wade, from its composer, John Francis Wade (1711-1786). Wade, also credited with the music for "Adeste fidelis / O Come, All Ye Faithful," was an English Catholic living in exile in France. Saint Thomas [Wade] is most often sung with the Latin text, "Tantum ergo Sacramentum," which is the last few stanzas of the hymn "Pange lingua gloriosi," written by Saint Thomas Aquinas - from which the tune gets its name. English translations of Tantum ergo are numerous: "Down in Adoration Falling" / "Humbly Let Us Voice Our Homage" / "Therefore We before Him Bending." Each of these trios is scored for two manuals and pedal, with the hymn tune found in tenor range in the left hand. As with all trios, they require a degree of independence on the part of the organist, but are of medium difficulty on the "trio" spectrum.