Many of my days have time dedicated to composing and arranging. As you may already know, I start with a handwritten score. Then several people help me to transcribe my writing into a program that can be prepared for distribution.
"Like A River Glorious" is a hymn that has always caught my attention through both the melodies and harmonies and the text written by Havergal in 1878. The following line inspired me to create an arrangement of this hymn: "hidden in the hollow His blessed hand”. Where else do we want to be during the many challenges of this life, than to be in God's hands.... and even in the "hollow" of His hands. This describes security, protection, and safety, and I'm striving to write musical notes that describe this.
This work will be ready to be played for the first time in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on April 21 and then again at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena on April 28. I must say that in the weeks I've been composing this, the words "finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest" have given me great hope in these challenging times in which all of us are living.
I'll try to have this available sometime this summer, and I'm hoping it will remind both musicians and those who hear it that God is always with us, holding us in the "hollow of His hands" at all times.
