Thaxted (tune)
Encyclopedia
Thaxted is a hymn 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....

 by the British composer Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....

, based on the stately theme from the middle section of the Jupiter movement of his orchestral suite The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...

and named after the English village where he resided much of his life. He adapted the theme in 1921 to fit the patriotic poem I Vow to Thee, My Country
I Vow to Thee, My Country
I Vow to Thee, My Country is a British patriotic song created in 1921 when a poem by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice was set to music by Gustav Holst.-History:...

by Cecil Spring-Rice
Cecil Spring-Rice
Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice GCMG GCVO , was a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1912 to 1918.-Early life:...

 but that was as a unison song with orchestra. It did not appear as a hymn-tune called Thaxted until his friend Vaughan Williams included it in Songs of Praise in 1926. This setting was sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.

Other hymns written to the tune include
  • "O Merciful Redeemer" - Frances Ridley Havergal
    Frances Ridley Havergal
    Frances Ridley Havergal was an English religious poet and hymn writer. Take My Life and Let it Be and Thy Life for Me are two of her best known hymns. She also wrote hymn melodies, religious tracts, and works for children.-Life:She was born into an Anglican family, at Astley in Worcestershire...

    , an obscure version of the lyrics which reminds many Catholics of Saint Faustina
    Saint Faustina
    Saint Faustina may refer to:*Saint Faustina , 6th century Italian saint, feast day January 18*Mary Faustina Kowalska , Polish nun and saint, feast day October 5...

     and the Divine Mercy
    Divine Mercy
    The Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it...

     devotion.
  • "We Pledge To One Another" - Jill Jenkins
  • "Building The Kingdom" - Jo Kenderes
  • "O God Beyond All Praising" - Michael Perry
    Michael Perry (hymnwriter)
    Michael Arnold Perry was one of the UK's leading hymnwriters of the 20th century. He was closely associated with Jubilate Hymns.-Early life:Michael Perry was born in Beckenham, Kent on 8 March 1942...

  • "O Spirit All-Embracing" - Delores Dufner, OSB
  • "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God" - a paraphrase
    Paraphrase
    Paraphrase is restatement of a text or passages, using other words. The term "paraphrase" derives via the Latin "paraphrasis" from the Greek , meaning "additional manner of expression". The act of paraphrasing is also called "paraphrasis."...

     of the Te Deum Laudamus by Stephen P. Starke in the 2006 Lutheran Service Book
    Lutheran Service Book
    Lutheran Service Book is the newest official hymnal of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada . It was prepared by the LCMS Commission on Worship and published by Concordia Publishing House, the official publisher of the LCMS...

  • "Let Streams of Living Justice" - William Whitla, in Canadian Anglican hymnal Common Praise
  • "Three Days" - M.D. Ridge
  • "From Penola's Plains" - Australian hymn in honour of Mary MacKillop - Michael Herry and Geoffrey Cox
  • "O God, Show Mercy to Us" - a setting of Psalm 67 in the Reformed Presbyterian Church's Book of Psalms for Worship.
  • "The Iron Rod" - a setting by Bob Galbraith of a popular hymn of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based on 1 Nephi 11 and environs of the Book of Mormon. It was first performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...

     during the 175th Semiannual General Conference in 2001.


Secular songs written to the tune include:
  • "In the Quest for Understanding" - sesquicentennial anthem for Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin
  • "For the Splendor of Creation" - arranged by Jameson Marvin for the Harvard University Commencement Choir
  • "World in Union" - the anthem of the Rugby World Cup
    Rugby World Cup
    The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

     with lyrics by Charlie Skarbek, introduced at the 1991 edition
    1991 Rugby World Cup
    The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...

     and sung at that time by Dame Kiri te Kanawa, and again for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, this time sung by Hayley Westernra.
  • "The Answer" - song with lyrics by Corrinne May
    Corrinne May
    Corrinne May is a Singaporean singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles.Corrinne composed and performed the theme song for Singapore's National Day 2010, titled "Song for Singapore"...

    , which appears on her fourth album, The Gift
    The Gift (Corrinne May album)
    The Gift is Corrinne May's first Christmas album, released in 2006. In it, she covers traditional Christmas carols.-Track listing:#"Silent Night"#"Hark the Herald Angels Sing"#"Joy to the World"#"Angels We Have Heard on High"#"The Answer"...

    .


A literary reference appears in "The Adventure of the Lost World", a Sherlock Holmes pastiche written by Dominic Green
Dominic Green (science fiction writer)
Dominic Green is a British writer of short science fiction. His short story "The Clockwork Atom Bomb" was nominated for a 2005 Hugo Award. Green is best known for his stories published in Interzone during the 1990s and 2000s, many of which have been reprinted in various Year's Best anthologies...

, where the tune is a major plot element.

Commercial uses

  • Sarah Brightman
    Sarah Brightman
    Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...

     has recorded a song "Running" in 2007. It was the theme song for the IAAF Championships; she performed it at the opening ceremony in Osaka.
  • Maddy Prior
    Maddy Prior
    Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...

     includes the tune in two pieces of her 2003 album Lionhearts.
  • Ayaka Hirahara's "Jupiter" is based on the tune.

External Links

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