82 PART 1 | FROM COLONIZATION THROUGH THE CIVIL WAR
harmony are coordinated to serve a highly personal set of words. In the second
half of the fi rst verse of Palmer’s text, the worshiper pleads with God: “Now hear
me while I pray; / Take all my guilt away; / O let me from this day / Be wholly
thine.” The second line, sung to the same music as the fi rst, seems more implor-
ing, simply through repetition. The third line is even more urgent, calling on
the highest note in the whole melody (“O let me from this day”). By the time a
cadence relieves the tension, Olivet has outlined a dramatic contour that sup-
ports the text’s self-dramatizing demands.date: 1831
performers: The Masonites; Larry
Hamberlin, director
genre: congregational hymn
meter: duple
form: strophicWHAT TO LISTEN FOR- block chord texture
- melody in soprano
Listen & Refl ect
- Does the melody of OLIVET fi t any other psalm or hymn texts studied so far? Why or why not?
- Apart from matching the right number of notes with the syllables, does the melody suit
the hymn text in any other ways; that is, does the music convey the spirit of the words, and
if so, how?
timing section text comments0:000:150:25stanza 1 My faith looks up to three...Now hear me while I pray...O let me from this day...Mason’s harmonization is in three parts (soprano,
alto, bass), instead of the typical four-voice SATB
texture of later hymnals. At mid-stanza, the men’s
voices drop out, leaving the women’s voices
harmonizing in thirds.
The men’s voices return, to conclude the stanza in
three-voice texture.0:36 stanza 2 May thy rich grace impart... In this performance, the tenors double the
sopranos’ melody an octave lower in stanza 2.
1:13 Amen Amen. A frequent addition to hymns that address God
directly, i.e., prayers. The two syllables are sung to
subdominant (IV) and tonic (I) chords, creating a
plagal or “Amen” cadence.CD 1.11 Listening Guide 3.3Olivet
LOWELL MASON172028_03_063-085_r3_ko.indd 82 23/01/13 8:12 PM