"For the beauty of the earth" is a sacred choral composition by John Rutter, a setting of the hymn of the same name by Folliott S. Pierpoint. The work was published by

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in 1980. Recorded several times, it has been described as "one of Rutter's more popular, enduring anthems".

History

Rutter set the first four

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s of the 1864 hymn " For the Beauty of the Earth" by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint. Pierpoint had written eight stanzas as a hymn for the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

with a refrain addressing "Christ, our God". It appeared in his hymnal ''Lyrica Eucharistica, The Hymnal Noted'', entitled "The Sacrifice of Praise". The poet wrote about his experience of feeling blessed some day when he looked at the countryside near

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...

, reflecting the beauty of the earth, of "each hour of the day and of the night", and of "the joy of human love". The hymn was combined in hymnals with the hymn tune "Dix". It was first used as a communion hymn, but soon became a favorite for the Thanksgiving season. Rutter, as others before him, changed the refrain to addressing "God of all", giving it a more general meaning of thanks and praise for the

Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

. Rutter composed the anthem in 1978. He dedicated the composition to Rosemary Heffley and the Texas Choral Directors Association. Heffley was a choral conductor and music pedagogue, in the 1970s teaching at Mesquite High School, and around 1980 the association's director. The anthem was published by

in 1980, in a version for mixed choir SATB and one for two-part choir SA, with accompaniment by keyboard or small orchestra.

Music

The piece is set in 2/2, begins in B-flat major and is marked to be sung "Happily". It begins with eight measures of instrumental introduction, with broken chords in constant flowing eighth-notes in an obbligato flute and harp, accompanied by

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. The

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

s alone enter, singing a long lyric melody. The melody follows the text, first upward, reaching the key note on "earth"; it culminates in the refrain on "Lord of all, to thee we raise", illustrating the raising, an renders the final line "this our joyful hymn – of praise" with a soft descent in syncopes. In the choral version, the men's voices enter in unison in the second verse. In the third verse, focused on human relationships, the men sing the melody with the women adding a descant melody. In the final verse, the melody is given to the altos, with a high counterpoint in sopranos and violin. A reviewer noted Rutter's gift for composing melodies that are singable by lay singers and children, and that he "writes for enjoyment ... He gives them sufficient challenge, specially in keeping the rhythms neat and lively". He noted Rutter's characteristics as "lingering around a nostalgic third or fifth of the scale, exercising a catchy phrase in sequences, introducing a little groovy syncopation".

Recordings

''For the beauty of the earth'' was first recorded in 1983, with the composer conducting

the Cambridge Singers The Cambridge Singers is an English mixed voice chamber choir formed in 1981 by their director John Rutter with the primary purpose of making recordings under their own label Collegium Records. The group initially comprised former singers from ...

and the

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera ...

in a collection ''Be Thou My Vision: Sacred Music by John Rutter''. It was featured in several other collections of music by Rutter, including in 2012 the ''John Rutter Christmas Album," and chosen to begin the second part, of other music. The anthem was recorded in 1996 by the Choristers of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

in London and City of London Sinfonia, conducted by

John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...

for a collection of sacred choral music entitled ''How can I keep from singing?''. In 1999, Donald Pearson conducted in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

's St. John's Episcopal Cathedral Choir, Boys and Girls Choir, accompanied by organist Eric Plutz and Tom Blomster (glockenspiel). The Australian

Gondwana Voices Gondwana Choirs is an Australian national choral organisation. It was founded in 1989 as Sydney Children’s Choir by Lyn Williams AM, who is its artistic director. The choirs' rehearsal studios are located at the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct in D ...

included the song in their 2003 album ''New Light New Hope'' of music by mostly living composers, with pianist Sally Whitwell and conducted by Mark O'Leary. The anthem was included in a 2008 recording of 20th century music for children, performed by the New London Children's Choir with pianist Alexander Wells, conducted by Ronald Corp.

References

External links

* {{authority control Compositions by John Rutter 1980 compositions Choral compositions