Three Jazz Hymns

1. Come down, O Love divine (Down Ampney)
2. God is Love/Love Divine (Blaenwern)
3. Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Picardy)

These jazz arrangements of well-known hymns were written for Andrew Earis and choirs of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London for various services and BBC broadcasts from that church. The setting of Come down, O Love divine supplies some new harmonic moves to Vaughan Williams’ lovely tune Down Ampney, gradually adding vocal harmony through the verses, with a short descant section in the final verse. The compound-time arrangement of God is Love, which can also be sung to the supplied words of Charles Wesley’s hymn Love Divine, again adds more of Todd’s iconic jazz harmonies and textures in the vocal parts with each successive verse. The setting of Let all mortal flesh keep silence is structured to gradually build layers over the moody piano chords and the pedal harmony. At the end the music builds to a large climax for ‘Lord most high’. The hymns can be performed using the supplied piano part or embellished using the chord symbols above. Double bass may also be used in addition to piano, again following the supplied chord symbols, and parts for optional jazz ensemble are available here. Performers of these hymns should feel free to include the congregation or audience in imaginative ways.