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Track(s) taken from CDH88036

Immortal, invisible, God only wise – St Denio

First line:
Immortal, invisible, God only wise
composer
John Roberts (1822-1877)
NEH 377, adapted from a Welsh song
composer
John Scott (1956-2015)
last verse harmony and descant
author of text
Walter Chalmers Smith (1824-1908)

St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Christopher Dearnley (organ)
Recording details: February 1989
St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: October 1989
Total duration: 2 minutes 45 seconds
 

During his lifetime, the Scottish poet and preacher Walter Chalmers Smith (1824–1908) wrote much verse including the sacred poem Immortal, invisible, God only wise. Smith studied at Marischal College in Aberdeen and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1841. He then entered the Ministry and became a Free Church minister in Glasgow and Edinburgh between 1862 and 1894. A collection of his works was published in 1902.

The version of the tune ‘St Denio’ in use today was adapted from a Welsh song set to a hymn in John Roberts’ Caniadau y Cussegre, a collection of hymns published in 1839. John Roberts (1822–1877), a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist preacher, had a great influence on Welsh musical life, introducing the music of Bach, Handel and Mendelssohn to Welsh choirs and also a number of German chorale tunes.

from notes by Sarah Langdon © 1999

Other albums featuring this work

Praise to the Lord
St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor), Christopher Dearnley (organ)
CDH55036
The Music of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scott (conductor)
SPCC2000Super-budget price sampler — Last few CD copies remaining

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