NEW! "Now Thank We All Our God" Piano Solo Arrangement

Now thank we all our God, With heart and hands and voices who wondrous things has done, in whom His world rejoices; who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

A minister named Martin Rinckart wrote the words to this hymn in 1636. He and his family lived during the horrors of the Thirty Years War and suffered from famine and disease as refugees. With the tragic events that have occurred over this past year, the words from someone of the past afflicted with the same pain many are experiencing now, connect us to the past and give us hope for the future.

As a child, I attended church with my mom and dad and sister every Thanksgiving morning. Mom would pop a stuffed turkey in the oven and off we’d go. Along with We Gather Together and Come, Ye Thankful People Come,Now Thank We All Our God was sure to be sung—all three verses. The organist would pull out all the stops on the last verse. As a church organist myself, I now enjoy “adding the kitchen sink” on the last verse to power up this magnificent hymn of thankfulness and hope.

The “Norman Rockwell” memories of a joyful Thanksgiving morning service with a pipe organ and a roasting turkey awaiting our family's arrival back home are precious. As shocking world events continue to rock the security we hold so dear, it’s when Rinckart’s profound poetry (translated by Catherine Winkworth) and Johann Cruger’s majestic hymn tune, Nun Dunket, become even more profound.

With these thoughts and memories in mind, I was inspired to move this favorite hymn tune from the organ to the piano and create my own version with a 21st-century twist.

https://youtu.be/utyOoqsyATk

The syncopated rhythms, fresh chords and returning interlude make it a prime prelude choice for welcoming worshippers as well as a possible postlude for ushering congregants out the door with grateful hearts.

Both the single use and studio license are ON SALE. Get them just in time so you can play it at your Thanksgiving service or ANY time it's appropriate to give thanks.

-Leila