When I was 11 yrs old, we sang in a broadcast of Songs of Praise. It was probably the first time I had been in an Anglican Church (St. Saviour's, Eastbourne). I do remember one of the hymns containing the lines/verse:

"And when the fields are fresh and fair,
Thy blessed feet shall glitter there,
And we will walk the weeded field
And till the golden harvest yield."

At least, those are the words I seem to remember. I remember the tune, certainly, but don't know its name; I know that I haven't sung it since, nor heard it sung to any other words.

I'm sure that someone will be able to tell me the first line of the hymn, please and maybe suggest what the tune might be.

I don't know the tune, but the words are from John Masefield’s "The Everlasting Mercy" if that helps at all.

This one? http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/o/o064.html

or here: http://ehymnbook.org/CMMS/hymnSong.php?fol...&id=pd08992

It's set to Gonfalon Royal in "Songs of Praise".

Well that's certainly the hymn. Thank you!

(But not the tune though - how can I best present the tune that's in my head?

- - - g | A C F e d | E C A_____ | __ A D B | G C f e d c | D ______


lower case (quavers), capitals (crotchets)

If you look up other hymns with the same meter (8 8 8 8 which is ?LM) then you'll probably find the tune. A lot of hymn tunes can be used interchangeably if the meter is the same.

Yes, I know that Flossie, but I was trying to avoid having to trawl through them in the couple of hymn-books I own (Old Methodist Hymnbook and its successor, Hymns & Psalms)



Any ideas?

the second half is rather like Gonfalon Royal .

Actually most of it is - rather like - except for the quaver on the first note.

I think the tune is Gonfalon Royal.

Snap, maggiemay!

: D

tune is here

http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/t/t127b.html

although very slightly different harmony from familiar version

Mea culpa!! Of course initial quaver ought to have been a crotchet! Sorry!

Thanks for identifying it, anyway.



Yes, that's the one. Many thanks!

I can't say that I have been searching for 30 years, but I am sure that I haven't heard it since that broadcast back in the 1970s).

Personally, I like the tune - I suppose I must, since I remembered it for all that time, words too; must have had some impact on me.

(So my coded tune worked!)

Don't apologise ! yes- it worked pretty well.

My first memory of it is in a school hymn book in the 70s.

I like it too. We sing it at our church, sometimes to O Salutaris Hostia (in English).

There is something rather wonderful about the tune 'Gonfalon Royal'. The broad sweep of the melody seems to carry the words along. The clever harmony underlines the melody by proper rhythmic emphasis. I place it in the same class as 'Cuddesdon', 'Wolvercote' and 'Ladywell'.

The only modern tune that gets anywhere near 'Gonfalon Royal' is San Rocco' by Derek Williams, who was, I think, at one time organist of the Walsingham Shrine. Again, clever harmony, (secondary sevenths, etc) underlines the broad, sweeping melody. It goes especially well to 'Give me the wings of faith to rise within the veil', where the phrase 'to rise' comes on a long high note. Regrettably, some hymn books have San Rocco transposed down to C major and omit the inter-verse interlude. The original version is in the supplement to the BBC Hymn Book.

I recall the impact 'Gonfalon Royal' had on me when I first sang it at school. The words were, I am almost certain, 'These things shall be a loftier race' from Songs of Praise. (The proper one, not more recent publications that have stolen the title!)

We need more hymns tunes of that quality. (We also need clergy who prefer good tunes to ditties!)


Barry Williams

Though I would reserve it for The Royal Banners forward go" for which it is terrific. It certainly isn't a good match for "O Christ who holds the open gate". Just try fitting the words of the first verse to it - how could anyone countenance the splitting of the slurred crotchets for "laughter" and, even worse, the last semibreve being changed to two minims to fit "after"!

O Christ who holds the open gate,
O Christ who drives the furrow straight,
O Christ, the plough, O Christ, the laughter
Of holy white birds flying after,

Did RVW really go along with this? (It's in "Songs of Praise")