Music for Harvest or Thanksgiving.

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God of all creation,
we praise and thank you

for all that you have done

to bring safe the fruits of the ground; our harvest:

grant that we may use them well,

grant that we may use them in your name. 

 

For these, and all your gifts,

we praise and magnify your name,

and ask that we may bring forth

the fruits of the Holy Spirit

and, at the last, be gathered into your eternal store.

 

Words: Olivia Sparkhall, adapted from BCP prayers for harvest.

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Composed for Creationtide; the season of harvest (UK) or thanksgiving (USA), God of all creation is characterised by its flowing accompaniment and lyrical melody. There’s some unison singing, some passages where the melodic phrases are shared between the voice-parts, and use of sequential repetition to extend the phrase.

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Review:

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Olivia Sparkhall's anthem allows the music to be propelled along by keyboard quaver figurations - the accompaniment is marked 'piano or organ' but has the feel of being conceived for piano. The Book of Common Prayer texts, covering the fruits of the harvest and the fruits of the Spirit have been arranged to form both a hymn of thanksgiving and a prayer to use God's gifts well. The vocal lines are well written, singable and with more musical interest than in many easy anthems.

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James L. Montgomery, Church Music Quarterly Magazine, June 2022

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