Amazing Grace (Northern Version)

"Amazing Grace" is an American folk hymn of British origins. Written in 1779 by the theologian John Newton (1725-1807), it expresses his personal feelings of salvation which grew out of his renunciation of his former life, that of a sea captain engaged in the slave trade. In America his text became associated with two different folk tunes. The most famous of these, which is of Southern origin, may be found in THE SACRED HARP (1844), where it is titled, "New Britain." The one here published, which is of Northern origin, may be found in THE AMERICAN VOCALIST (1849), whrer it is simply titled, "Amazing Grace." The primitive harmonization of the original with its occasional parallel fifths and octaves has been preserved in our setting. The tune, which had been notated in the harmonic minor, has been restored to its Aeolian form. This arrangement by Sandy Valerio and Alan Buechner for SATB a cappella chorus is part of the Old Bethpage Village Series.