The very first descant I encountered was in HYMNS FOR THE FAMILY OF GOD, edited by one of my hymnody hero’s Fred Bock, and published in 1976 by Paragon Music. I attended PraiseGathering, hosted by Bill Gaither in Cincinnati, OH as a freshman in college and was given (in the conference packet) a paperback edition of the newly published hymnal.
Later that year, I arranged an a cappella version of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” for an ensemble I was in to be sung in college chapel – and for the last verse, I used the descant, written by Mary E. Caldwell, that I found in that hymnal. At that point in my life, I’d actually never heard a descant sung with a hymn – but from the moment we concluded our arrangement of ”A Mighty Fortress” in chapel and I heard the echo of the last chord die away with that high descant note, I was hooked!
I have used them whenever I thought it would bring the hymn to life. So this week, the recessional hymn in my church is ”A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, and I’ll be using a descant I composed in 2001 for the ordination of my good friend Freddy Richardson, now the pastor of Faith Anglican Fellowship in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Click HERE to download the PDF. You are free to make copies and use this in your church at no cost.
