Minuet and Trio on "Hanover" (Twelve Hymn Tune Voluntaries, No. 7)

Ernest Alfred Dicks (1865-1948) was an organist in Cheltenham, and also to the Royal Masonic Lodge. He published several collections, including these fine set of "Hymn Tune Voluntaries - Twelve Pieces for Organ in Various Styles founded on Favourite Psalm and Hymn Tunes," published by Bayley & Ferguson in 1923.

The style is indeed varied, and some of the pieces, actually, most of the pieces, are filled with charm and color. They are unpretentious, and quite "old fashioned," especially when you consider what was happening in the musical world of 1923!

All of them are brief, and while none of them are really hard, I can't say that many of them are actually easy. I suppose it depends on the degree of "detailing" that you want to do.

I'm doing the entire set of 12, but skipping over the Christmas ones for now, and holding off on the Easter ones, which I'll do at the appropriate time. I've also omitted the "Thanksgiving" one for the time being.

"Minuet and Trio on 'Hanover'" is the 7th in the collection. It is dedicated: To "Leslie.", and takes the immortal melody by William Croft (1678-1727) as its theme. The selected text is: "O worship the King, all glorious above. O gratefully sing, His pow'r and His love"

This fine setting is, as the title says, a "minuet and trio," to which Dicks adds phrases from the melody in the Pedal. After a light-hearted opening, with some interplay between Swell and Choir, we move into a continuous crescendo, the theme again in the Pedal, and a grand culmination on the full organ.

Surely, this is all "predictable stuff," but the writing is sincere, honest, fresh and attractive - and it all WORKS!

The scores, which are rare, are courtesy, once again, of Dr. John Henderson, Librarian for the Royal School of Church Music. They are attached below in 2 pdf's, as the "complete" set omits two pages from the first piece in the collection.

THANK YOU, John!

Peace and safety to All!