Advent Songathon (5 Dec)

I’ve featured a lot of music by American artists so far on the Songathon, so today I’ll mix things up a bit with something distinctly British and very traditional. This hymn is one of my favourites. It dates back to 1719 and the words are a paraphrase of the 90th Psalm. The simple step-like melody is deeply affecting and for me the hymn powerfully evokes the ancientness of God.

Written by William Croft (melody) and Isaac Watts (lyrics) this song is a staple of Anglican church services throughout the year, but is also often sung on special occasions – it was, for instance, sung at the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill. I hope you enjoy this version, which is the most popular on YouTube and I absolutely love it.