"For the Beauty of the Earth" is a Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 hymn

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...

 by Folliott S. Pierpoint

Folliott Sandford Pierpoint

Folliott Sandford Pierpoint 7 October 1835 – 1917 was a hymnist and poet.Born at Spa Villa, Bath, England, he was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. Pierpoint was a classics schoolmaster and a devout Tractarian...

 (1835-1917).

Pierpoint was 29 at the time he wrote this hymn; he was mesmerised by the beauty of the countryside that surrounded him. It first appeared in 1864 in a book of poems entitled "The Sacrifice of Praise."

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....

 most widely used for this hymn is called Dix, composed by Conrad Kocher in 1838.

Hymn text

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies:

Refrain:

'Lord of all, to Thee we raise

this our joyful hymn of praise.

Alternative refrain:

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise

This, our sacrifice of praise.

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r

Sun and Moon and stars of light

Refrain

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child.

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild.

Refrain

For each perfect gift of Thine

To our race so freely given.

Graces human and divine

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n.

Refrain

Alternative last verse:

For thy church that evermore

Lifteth holy hands above,

Offering up on every shore

Her pure sacrifice of love.

Refrain

Settings

English composer John Rutter

John Rutter

John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...

's composition for SATB

SATB

In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...

, SA, or TTBB choir with piano/organ or orchestra accompaniment is a widely performed choral setting of this text. Another setting is by Geoffrey Shaw.

Along with such hymns as "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Come, ye thankful people, come

"Come, ye thankful people, come" is a harvest hymn written in 1844 by Henry Alford. It is often sung to the tune St. George's, Windsor by George Job Elvey.-Lyrics:1. Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home!...

", "We Gather Together

We Gather Together

"We Gather Together" is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as "Wilt Heden Nu Treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout. It was originally set to a Dutch folk tune...

" and "Faith of Our Fathers

Faith of Our Fathers (hymn)

Faith of our Fathers is an English Catholic hymn, written in 1849 by Frederick William Faber in memory of the Catholic martyrs from the time of the establishment of the Church of England by Henry VIII. Faber wrote two versions of the hymn: with seven stanzas for Ireland and with four for England...

", this is a hymn that is often sung during the Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 holiday period in many churches in America.

This hymnal was sung in the 1994 Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...

 version of Little Women

Little Women (1994 film)

Little Women is a 1994 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The screenplay by Robin Swicord is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. It is the fifth feature film adaptation of the Alcott classic, following silent versions released in 1917 and 1918, a 1933 George...

.

It is performed on the Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade

Thomas Kinkade is an American painter of popular and commercial realistic, bucolic, and idyllic subjects. He is notable for the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products via The Thomas Kinkade Company...

2000 album Music of Light.