Thine is the Glory (JUDAS MACCABAEUS) is a fantastic Easter hymn set to a tune from Handel's opera Judas Maccabaeus (See the Conquering Hero Comes). It is a stately, moving, very baroque chorus with tremendous harmonies and is easy to sing.
This version was originally conceived for brass quintet, but the thought that some churches might wish to use it with organ instead of or along with the brass quintet led to the creation of an organ part that doubles the brass parts. Finally, since many churches will try to do something larger and different for Easter services, the addition of a tympani part was a natural fit for the tune.
The tune here appears as it is most commonly harmonized, so adding a choir or using this with congregational singing is very easy. We did not include choral parts, as the lyrics do not go public domain until 2040, and we desired to avoid copyright issues. Each of the three stanzas can be sung directly out of a hymnal, and if desired, the final two measures can be sung as an Amen! or Alleluia! with ease, the choir singers picking a part out of the simple harmony.
The piece is introduced and the stanzas are connected by a brass bridge, each time ending in the same way to easily cue the choir or congregation.
The brass quintet can stand alone, or the organ can stand alone, or the tympani can be added to either, organ can play with just one or two trumpets, or all can play together, and again, adding singers is also very easy. So this is a sort of a one-size-fits-many piece. The brass quintet is two trumpets, F horn (a euphonium part is included if needed to substitute), trombone, and tuba. The first trumpet part has two high Ds in it, but a B can be easily substituted without much loss of effect. We also created an alternate first trumpet part (pdf) that stays at or below a G, if you want to play this on a straight Bb trumpet without a cheater mouthpiece and just don't have the lip to consistently get a quality sound out of the higher notes.
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Thine is the glory,
Risen, conquering Son;
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won.
Angels in bright raiment
Rolled the stone away,
Kept the folded grave clothes
Where Thy body lay.
Thine is the glory,
Risen conquering son;
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won.
Lo, Jesus meets thee,
Risen from the tomb!
Lovingly he greets thee,
Scatters fear and gloom;
Let His church with gladness
Hymns of triumph sing,
For the Lord now liveth,
Death has lost its sting,
Thine is the glory,
Risen conquering son;
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won.
No more we doubt Thee,
Glorious Prince of Life;
Life is nought without Thee;
Aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors,
Through Thy deathless love;
Bring us safe through Jordan
To Thy home above.
Thine is the glory,
Risen conquering son;
Endless is the victory
Thou o'er death hast won.
THINE IS THE GLORY by G. F. Handel, arranged by Tom Kirkland for two trumpets, F horn or euphonium, trombone, tuba, organ, and tympani, comes in a pdf file of 454K, with an eleven-page score, seven two-page parts, one six-page (organ) part, and a license page, thirty-two pages in all. Performance time should be about 3:40.