Parry: Hear my words, ye people

‘Hear my words, ye people’ was composed and published in 1893 as a commission for the Salisbury Diocesan Choral Association and was first performed in Salisbury Cathedral on 10 May 1894. Parry’s extended anthem was divided into parts for a ‘full choir’, as well as a more experienced ‘semi-chorus’. In this new addition to the RSCM’s Classics range, Professor Jeremy Dibble brings together a number of editions published within Parry’s lifetime to create an authoritative new account of this prodigious extended anthem. 

The text, taken from the books of Job, Isiah and the Psalms are characteristic of Parry’s creative and resourceful use of biblical texts. The music, which was originally scored for brass as well as organ, culminates in the stirring tune for the setting of Psalm 150, the melody and text of which have subsequently become closely linked as a popular hymn (Laudate Dominum).  

The RSCM Classics edition of Hear My Words includes an editorial and textual commentary by Professor Dibble.