Author: Hilton Kean Jones

Cate Colgan has been videoing Rev. Kim’s sermons and, recently, has started videoing the choir when they do a piece of mine, for which I’m am very grateful. I’m so lucky to get to work with these folks. They deserve to be heard and acknowledged. They’re always game to tackle anything, including my stuff.

Below is the text of the anthem they’re singing in this video.

Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning
Text: Bishop Reginald Heber, 1783-1826; modified: HKJ
Music: Hilton Kean Jones

1. Hail, the blest morn when the great Mediator
Down from the mansions of glory descends;
Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger,
Lo! for his guard the bright angels attend.

CHORUS: Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

2. Cold on the cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies Christ’s head with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore Christ in slumber reclining,
Lover and Teacher and Savior of all.

CHORUS

3. Shall we not give Christ, in costly devotion
Odors of Edom and off’rings divine,
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?

CHORUS

4. Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would we favor secure.
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

CHORUS

The Staff of Faith, has turned into one of my very, very favorite hymns. There’s just something about it that makes me happy, regardless what misery might be happening in real life.

I’ve written DOZENS of descants over the years…and improvised hundreds more during church services. I’m trying to collect all my descants into a publishable package. The task is tracking down the descants I bothered to write down. LOL

This one, and All Beautiful the March of Days that I posted recently are two I’ve found so far. If you go to my YouTube page, I’ll be posting all the descants there as I find them under my Trumpet Descants playlist.

EVENTUALLY, I’ll get the sheet music for them all available on the Hal Leonard sites: Sheet Music Plus, and Sheet Music Direct.

The new year approaches. This hymn with its English folk tune harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams is the perfect song for the season. This little arrangement of mine of two descants that work with the Vaughan Williams harmonization can be played on a trumpet with a congregation singing it or as an EZ 2-part mixed anthem (this recording is organ, trombone on the tune, and trumpet on the descants). #music #trumpet #descants #newyear #hymn