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"Sing the Waters Ever Flowing"

A 3-Verse Hymn Anthem for SATB & Soprano Solo Voices and Organ
( 15 pages )
Tune: Nettleton [ 87. 87. D ]
Original Text and Setting by Ennis Fruhauf

Notes

                                                            “Sing the Waters” is a traditionally rhymed and metered three‑verse hymn text. The first verse sings of waters and the Spirit; the second evokes images of light, rain and new growth; and finally, the third verse is an exhortation to preserve a 'Tree of Life' and to invoke the inner presence of a gentle guiding Shepherd.

            The hymn tune, Nettleton, is drawn from John Wyeth’s Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 1813), where it appeared in an altered form with the tune name, “Hallelujah.” At one point in time, its authorship was ascribed to Ahasel Nettleton (1783-1844), and that name has survived into present day hymnals as its proper tune name. [Hymnal Companion to The Lutheran Book of Worship, Philadelphia, 1981]

            The text is inspirational in nature, appropriate for general church seasons and occasions. The setting includes an elaborate obbligato organ accompaniment, in company with a rich array of 19th Century American romantic harmonies and textures. The choral parts are varied in content and manner but readily accessible; organ registrations and interpretive elements will benefit from an imaginative and sensitive approach.