Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
Encyclopedia
"Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" is a hymn
with words taken from a longer poem, The Brewing of Soma by American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier
. The adaptation was made by Garrett Horder in his 1884 Congregational Hymns.
In the United Kingdom
, the hymn is usually sung to the tune
REPTON by C. Hubert H. Parry
. In the US
, the prevalent tune is Rest by Frederick Charles Maker.
If sung to Parry's tune, REPTON, the last line of each stanza is repeated.
was a sacred ritual drink in Vedic religion
, going back to Proto-Indo-Iranian times (ca. 2000 BC), possibly with hallucinogenic properties.
The storyline is of Vedic priests brewing and drinking Soma in an attempt to experience divinity. It describes the whole population getting drunk on Soma. It compares this to some Christians' use of "music, incense, vigils drear, And trance, to bring the skies more near, Or lift men up to heaven!" But all in vain—it is mere intoxication.
Whittier ends by describing the true method for contact with the divine, as practised by Quakers
:
Sober lives dedicated to doing God's will, seeking silence and selflessness in order to hear the "still, small voice" described in I Kings 19:11-13 as the authentic voice of God, rather than earthquake, wind or fire.
The poem opens with a quote from the Rigveda
, attributed to Vasishtha.
originally wrote the score for what became Repton in 1888 for the contralto aria 'Long since in Egypt's pleasant land' in his oratorio Judith. In 1924 Dr George Gilbert Stocks, director of music at Repton School
, set it to 'Dear Lord and Father of mankind' in a supplement of tunes for use in the school chapel. Despite the need to repeat the last line of words, Repton provides an inspired matching of lyrics and tune. By this time, Rest, by Frederick Maker (matching the metrical pattern without repetition), was already well established with the lyrics in the United States.
Tunes it can be sung to are
took stanzas 14 and 16 of The Brewing of Soma ("O Sabbath rest.../Drop Thy still dews...") and set them to music as the song "Serenity"; however, Ives quite likely extracted his two stanzas from the hymn rather than from the original poem. Published in 114 songs in 1919, the first documented performance of the Ives version was by mezzo-soprano
Mary Bell accompanied by pianist
Julius Hijman.
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
with words taken from a longer poem, The Brewing of Soma by American Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
. The adaptation was made by Garrett Horder in his 1884 Congregational Hymns.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the hymn is usually sung to the tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
REPTON by C. Hubert H. Parry
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
. In the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the prevalent tune is Rest by Frederick Charles Maker.
Text
The text set appears below. Some hymnal editors omit the fourth stanza or resequence the stanza so that the fifth stanza as printed here comes last.If sung to Parry's tune, REPTON, the last line of each stanza is repeated.
- Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
- Forgive our foolish ways!
- Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
- In purer lives Thy service find,
- In deeper reverence, praise.
- In simple trust like theirs who heard
- Beside the Syrian sea
- The gracious calling of the Lord,
- Let us, like them, without a word
- Rise up and follow Thee.
- O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
- O calm of hills above,
- Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
- The silence of eternity
- Interpreted by love!
- With that deep hush subduing all
- Our words and works that drown
- The tender whisper of Thy call,
- As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
- As fell Thy manna down.
- Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
- Till all our strivings cease;
- Take from our souls the strain and stress,
- And let our ordered lives confess
- The beauty of Thy peace.
- Breathe through the heats of our desire
- Thy coolness and Thy balm;
- Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
- Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
- O still, small voice of calm!
The Brewing of Soma
The Brewing of Soma is the Whittier poem (1872) from which the hymn is taken. SomaSoma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
was a sacred ritual drink in Vedic religion
Historical Vedic religion
The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
, going back to Proto-Indo-Iranian times (ca. 2000 BC), possibly with hallucinogenic properties.
The storyline is of Vedic priests brewing and drinking Soma in an attempt to experience divinity. It describes the whole population getting drunk on Soma. It compares this to some Christians' use of "music, incense, vigils drear, And trance, to bring the skies more near, Or lift men up to heaven!" But all in vain—it is mere intoxication.
Whittier ends by describing the true method for contact with the divine, as practised by Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
:
Sober lives dedicated to doing God's will, seeking silence and selflessness in order to hear the "still, small voice" described in I Kings 19:11-13 as the authentic voice of God, rather than earthquake, wind or fire.
The poem opens with a quote from the Rigveda
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
, attributed to Vasishtha.
- "These libations mixed with milk have been prepared for Indra:
- offer Soma to the drinker of Soma." (trans. Max MüllerMax MüllerFriedrich Max Müller , more regularly known as Max Müller, was a German philologist and Orientalist, one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion...
).
Associated tunes
Hubert ParryHubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
originally wrote the score for what became Repton in 1888 for the contralto aria 'Long since in Egypt's pleasant land' in his oratorio Judith. In 1924 Dr George Gilbert Stocks, director of music at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
, set it to 'Dear Lord and Father of mankind' in a supplement of tunes for use in the school chapel. Despite the need to repeat the last line of words, Repton provides an inspired matching of lyrics and tune. By this time, Rest, by Frederick Maker (matching the metrical pattern without repetition), was already well established with the lyrics in the United States.
Tunes it can be sung to are
- Repton by Hubert ParryHubert ParrySir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet was an English composer, teacher and historian of music.Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is best known for the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad" and the hymn tune "Repton", which sets the words...
- Rest by Frederick Charles Maker
- Hammersmith by William Henry GladstoneWilliam Henry GladstoneWilliam Henry Gladstone was a British Liberal Party Member of Parliament, and the eldest son of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone and his wife Catherine née Glynne....
- Elegy for Dunkirk by Dario MarianelliDario MarianelliDario Marianelli is a composer of piano, orchestral, and film music. He has composed the soundtracks for The Brothers Grimm , Pride & Prejudice , and Atonement , the last two for which he received Oscar nominations for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score...
Serenity (song by Charles Ives)
The American composer Charles IvesCharles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
took stanzas 14 and 16 of The Brewing of Soma ("O Sabbath rest.../Drop Thy still dews...") and set them to music as the song "Serenity"; however, Ives quite likely extracted his two stanzas from the hymn rather than from the original poem. Published in 114 songs in 1919, the first documented performance of the Ives version was by mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Mary Bell accompanied by pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Julius Hijman.
Uses
- In 2005 the hymn was voted second in BBC OneBBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
show Songs of PraiseSongs of PraiseSongs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...
poll to find the nation’s favourite hymn. - It was used in the BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of the musical Jekyll & HydeJekyll & Hyde (musical)Jekyll & Hyde is a musical based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The music is by Wildhorn and the lyrics and book are by Leslie Bricusse.The musical ran on Broadway for 1,543...
, at the wedding scene. - It can be heard being sung by the Bede CollegeBede CollegeBede College is a sixth form college located off Marsh House Avenue in Billingham, County Durham. It merged with Stockton Riverside College in May 2008 and has recently started the new year in a brand new 12 million pound building.-Admissions:...
Choir in the 2007 film AtonementAtonement (film)Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
during the Dunkirk evacuation. - The pipes and drumsPipe bandA pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....
of the Royal Scots Dragoon GuardsRoyal Scots Dragoon GuardsThe Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of...
covered the hymn for their 2007 album, Spirit Of The Glen: Journey.
Audio clips
- Performed by Besses o' th' BarnBesses o' th' BarnBesses o' th' Barn is an area of Whitefield within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies between Radcliffe and Prestwich....
Band, arranged by Gordon LangfordGordon LangfordGordon Langford is an English composer, arranger and performer. Although well known in the brass band community as a composer and arranger, he is less well known as a composer of orchestral music, despite winning an Ivor Novello award for his March from the Colour Suite in 1971.Born in Edgware,...