![]() ![]() "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." ~ John 1:14 "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." ~ Luke 2:7 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." ~ Isaiah 9:6 ![]() The second verse contains another question that is answered, while the final verse is a universal appeal to everyone urging them "to accept Christ." Biblical Inspiration for "What Child Is This?" The lyrics of the carol are taken from a poem written by Dix called "The Manger Throne". The part of the poem that was utilized as the song's lyrics consist of three stanzas in total. The first verse poses a rhetorical question in the first half, with the response coming in the second half. Although it was formulated in Great Britain, the hymn is more popular in the United States than in its country of origin today. While recovering, he experienced a spiritual revival that led him to write several hymns, including lyrics to "What Child is This?" that was subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song. ![]() There are important primary and secondary cadence points on the significant words: "Lord," "cry," "groan," "live" and "rise." Note the marvelous contrary effect in the last phrase, "I'll hasten to his throne," in which Smallwood actually delays rather than hastens the final cadence by using an extended harmonic and melodic elaboration on the usually insignificant word, "to.At the time of creating this hymn, Dix served as an insurance company manager and had been struck by a critical illness. It opens with a short four-note sequence that is repeated, eventually winding its way harmonically through the Circle of Fifths to the final tonic. ![]() The second phrase also begins ("Long as I live") and ends ("throne") in C, and likewise is harmonically rich. The harmony is rich, and the progression is spun out. The first main phrase begins in C ("I love the Lord") and ends in C ("groan"), but in between makes use of every diatonic chord in the key plus the secondary dominant on D. Smallwood's setting is largely centered in the tonic harmony with frequent chord changes filling out the progressions and rhythms of the text. As long as we pray, God will take our grief and despair. Watts's Psalm is titled "Recovery from Sickness," and proclaims that when we cry out to the Lord, God hears our cries and groans, and that throughout our lives when we are troubled, our response is to pray. The words of "I Love the Lord" closely follow those of Isaac Watts' rendering of Psalm 116: The original soundtrack album is the best-selling gospel album of all time and remained number one on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart for twenty-six weeks. "I Love the Lord" was sung by Whitney Houston as the closing song of the 1996 movie, The Preacher's Wife. He was elected to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Smallwood has remained popular throughout his career, writing "Center of My Joy" with Bill and Gloria Gaither in 1984, and later such hits as "Total Praise," "Angels," "Healing," "Anthem of Praise," and "Bless the Lord." To date, Smallwood has recorded fifteen albums, and he produced the Grammy- and Dove-Award-winning Quincy Jones recording of Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. Their first album in 1982, The Richard Smallwood Singers, spent 87 weeks at no. After college, he taught music at the University of Maryland then in 1977, he formed the Richard Smallwood Singers. His father was the pastor of the historic Union Temple in Washington, D.C., and his mother strongly encouraged his musical talent. He earned a Masters of Divinity from Howard University in 2004. He earned degrees in vocal performance and piano performance from Howard University, with additional graduate work in ethnomusicology. TOPICS: breath/breathe cry out groan haste/hasten healing heart love for God prayer throne trouble worshipĬomposer, arranger, pianist, and music director Richard Smallwood was born November 30, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia. COMPOSER: African American Spiritual arr. ![]()
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