Click to enlarge

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (string orchestra)

Isaac Watts penned beautiful lyrics for a passion hymn focused on man's relationship to the cross of Christ. Lowell Mason adapted a plainsong chant and a classic Christian hymn entered the mainstream.

This new arrangement is very smooth and focuses on harmonies and putting an understanding of the hymn lyric first. The anthem encompasses all four stanzas commonly sung.

The piece begins with the second violins, violas, and cellos in a trio, with the second violins carrying the melody in a rather low key. The bass and first violins soon join and set the tone for the piece. The second stanza is introduced a minor third higher by the violins and violas. The cello and then bass later join to once again add depth.

The third stanza carries the piece back to its plainsong roots with unison violas and cellos, then the bass enters and we break into three parts to complete the stanza. The full ensemble then enters a half step higher with more volume for a broad, rich rendering of the fourth stanza. A simple coda finishes the work.

The arrangement was specifically intended for Good Friday or a communion service, and the intent is smooth sonorous harmonies and great reverence for the sacrifice on the cross, and for this great hymn.

This selection is also available for SATBB choir in the same key, which would allow for a choral performance with string accompaniment. If an introduction is needed before the choir enters, the first sixteen bars (the section prior to the first double bar) can be played for this purpose.

Mp3 sound sample: Entire piece (synthesizer/midi).



WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS, by Isaac Watts, arranged for string orchestra by Tom Kirkland, comes in a pdf file of 200K, with a four-page score, five one-page parts and a license page, ten pages in all. Performance time should be approximately 3:30.


TRK10228AUS$9.95
WE SEEK RECORDINGS TO USE AS DEMOS
The majority of our sheet music pieces use electronically-produced demos on the item pages. We would much prefer to use actual recordings, so if you email us a digital recording or link to an online video and we end up using it as a demo on our site (fully credited), we will send you a coupon code good for US$25 toward your next purchase from our site.

BLANKET RECORDING POLICY FOR SHEET MUSIC
Many of our sheet music licenses state that the purchaser does not have the right to record the work. We have modified our policy on this, and unless the license page states that you must obtain permission from a party other than www.tributek.com to record the work, we will allow a small number (less than 50) of copies of an audio or video recording of a live performance to be made and distributed and/or posted to a free web site for viewing/listening, so long as www.tributek.com, the composer, arranger, and lyricist are credited.

IN THE DOWNLOADABLES BUSINESS OVER
TWENTY THREE YEARS!

Visit our hard goods division at tributek.us.us

A customer commented: "Today I made my first purchase from Tributek. Every aspect of the transaction exceeded my expectations. The description of the product included a Quicktime demo in addition to a clear, interesting, well-written description of the product. The price of the product was a bargain. The ordering process could not have been easier or faster. I will definitely shop with Tributek again!"

Another customer commented: "I would like to compliment you on the ease of purchasing music on-line. I require the music for a wedding in a couple of weeks, and didn't want to wait for music to be sent in the mail. It was great to be able to hear the music and to know the length of the PDF file and performance time."

Another customer writes: "I bought some choral music off your site. It's great. I hope we can do all of it in our church. I don't know how you can sell it so cheap. It's a great service you offer."

NOTE: All www.tributek.com customers are given the opportunity to rate our service, value, and quality, and 98% of www.tributek.com customers who have ever returned satisfaction surveys rate their overall experience doing business with us as "excellent" (71%) or "good" (27%). You can't please all of the people all of the time, but we do try very hard.

Solution Graphics
www.tributek.com - PO Box 8025 - Elburn IL 60119 USA
Visit our hard goods division at tributek.us
Copyright (c)1999-2022 www.tributek.com
All rights to all text, sounds, and graphics are reserved.
Last update: 24 APR 2023