Orison on
Rock of Ages
A Setting for Organ
(8 pages of music)

Available as a complimentary PDF booklet
for download in January 2022

FMPRock of Ages2022PDF

Notes

Orison on Rock of Ages is composed on a tune that has become one of the cornerstones of the American hymn tradition. Thomas Hastings wrote his musical setting of the text, “Rock of Ages,” for its 1832 publication in Hastings’ and Mason’s Spiritual Songs  for  Social Worship.

Following  Orison’s  brief  introductory flourishes, the hymn tune is presented in the soprano line, followed by a modulation from B-flat major to D major for a contrasting variation in which the melody is sounded in canon between soprano and pedaled bass line. A return to the beginning (i.e., a da capo restatement) and a brief codetta round out this gentle arrangement.  The score is user friendly in that there are alternative abbreviations and/or cuts that can readily be adapted to varying performance conditions.