David Holsinger's On A Hymnsong Of Philip Bliss

David Holsinger’s “On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss” is a moving piece for concert band that is based off text whose history dates back to 1873 when the lyricist Horatio G. Spafford wrote them in response to the sinking of the S.S. Ville du Havre and subsequent deaths of his four daughters who were on the ship with their mother heading to England. Supposedly, when going to meet his wife, Spafford stopped near where his daughters drowned and began to create the text for “It is Well With My Soul” (Holsinger, 1989. pg 2). The text express the hurt and pain that Spafford felt over the loss of his daughters, but focuses on his steadfast faith as he is able to proclaim “It is well with my soul” throughout the entire experience. Three years later, songwriter
For example, the first eight measures of the piece feature constant, mostly scaler eighth notes with the horn starting the melody just barley louder than the eighth note lines which reference to the text of the first lines “When peace like a river, attendeth my way,/When sorrow like sea billows roll…” creating a moment of text painting that is not directly relevant to Holsinger’s rendition due to performance media used (Timeless Truths, 2016). Melodically, Holsinger’s is able to reflect the somber mood of the text by having lower, mellower voices carry the main tune while the upper voices serve as the more accompanimental figures until the high points of the piece, mostly when the melody goes into the refrain. This melody is mainly carried by the horn and trombone in the brass and low clarinet in the woodwinds (Holsinger, 1989). When the upper voices do come in, however, they help to create a very sublime moment within the music that is meant to reflect Spafford’s profound declaration of praise in the face of the deaths of his daughters. These moments are reflected quite simply, but still beautifully in Holsinger’s arrangement of the hymn that has worked its way to become a concert band