Category Archives: Lynda Lyre

“Angel” #Music

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Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. Wherever you live, this can be a time to reflect on and express gratitude and thankfulness. Gratitude is the inner feeling that you have received kindness. Thankfulness is the expression of that feeling. Both are positive and, though seemingly small, add so much to our lives. After all, if we don’t acknowledge the good things we already have, how can we receive more? The feeling of gratitude opens us to more positive feelings, including kindness and compassion toward ourselves and others.

“Angel” is a piece I wrote in 2003, on keyboard and harmonica. I hope you enjoy hearing it on lyre, Oriole soprano recorder, Oriole Dolce Duo (a double flute), and viola. Putting this together was a labor of love!

I wish each one of you a blessed, happy, hopeful, peaceful, and safe Thanksgiving, and many moments of gratitude and thankfulness now and every day!

“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” #Music

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Henry Alford wrote this hymn in 1844. The text is based on
Psalm 104.
The melody is “St. George’s Windsor” by George Job Elvey.

I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving/Harvest Festival hymn played on ukulele, viola, alto recorder, and lyre!

“We Gather Together” #Music

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“Wilt Heden Nu Treden” is the original Dutch title of the hymn we know as “We Gather Together.” Adrianus Valerius wrote the text in 1597, to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces at the Battle of Turnhout. The melody is a traditional Dutch folk tune, author unknown. Today the hymn is most often associated with Thanksgiving. You can read the English lyrics
here.

I hope you enjoy hearing “We Gather Together” on lyre, viola, and Oriole (soprano) recorder!

Holy, Holy, Holy #Music

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Anglican bishop Reginald Heber wrote the lyrics to “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!” but the hymn was not published until after his death. The melody is called “Nicaea” and was composed by John Bacchus Dykes. This hymn endures into the 21st century in many Christian denominations. I remember singing it as a child, in celebration of the Trinity.

I hope you enjoy this arrangement on alto recorder and lyre!

“Over the River and Through the Wood” #Music

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“Over the River and Through the Wood” is a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia Maria Child. It was first published in 1844 as “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day.” An anonymous musician set the poem to the tune we know today. You may find it interesting to read
Over the River and Through the Wood: 7 Fun Facts
by New England Historical Society, while you listen to this fun song on lyre and alto recorder!

Day by Day #Music

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“Day by Day” is a popular hymn, translated from the Swedish, “Blott en dag.” Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg wrote the lyrics in 1865, several years after witnessing her father’s tragic death by drowning. In 1872 Oscar Ahnfelt wrote the melody we still sing today. The Swedish lyrics were translated by Andrew L. Skoog, and the hymn first appeared in American hymnals in the 1920s. Though it is often sung at funeral services, “Day by Day” offers a comforting message at any time:

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best-
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

I hope you enjoy listening to this hymn on alto recorder and lyre!

Fairest Lord Jesus #Music

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We don’t know who wrote “Fairest Lord Jesus,” also called “Beautiful Savior.” However, we do know it was a German hymn entitled “Schönster Herr Jesu.” The melody is a Silesian folk song often called “Crusaders’ Hymn,”, and its authorship is also unknown. The melody and German lyrics were first printed together in 1842. It is a beautiful, relaxing melody, and I hope you enjoy listening to it on recorder and lyre!

This arrangement can be played on a lap harp that goes down to G below Middle C, and up to the G that is 2 above Middle C. In Scientific pitch notation, this is G3-G5. In other words, you need 2 octaves, starting on G below Middle C. If you would like an audio tutorial to learn this tune, please
contact me.

Glissful Love #Poem #Music

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Play or download the poem with lyre accompaniment.

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What we don’t know, we cannot miss,
Except for longing deep inside.
The Music only Love provides
Brings Peace and Comfort, Joy and Bliss.
Now hear the magic of the gliss*
That lifts us to a higher place,
Where there’s no conflict we must face.
The Love we try but fail to find
Exists forever in the mind
Beyond our mortal time and space!

*Gliss, short for Glissando: Italian musical term meaning a continuous slide upward or downward between two notes.

—
This is a Decima for
Ronovan Writes Decima Poetry Challenge Prompt No. 27: Bliss. This week, it’s the A rhyme line.

Softly and Tenderly #Music

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Will Lamertine Thompson wrote this hymn in 1880. The lyrics are based on Matthew 11:28, which reads, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

“Softly and Tenderly” is Thompson’s best known composition and has been widely translated. It has spread throughout many Christian denominations beyond its origins in the American Restoration Movement and the Churches of Christ, where Thompson was a member.

I hope you find comfort in this lyre arrangement!