"Thaxted" is a hymn tune by the English composer Gustav Holst, based on the stately theme from the middle section of the Jupiter movement of his orchestral suite The Planets and named after Thaxted, the English village where he lived much of his life. He adapted the theme in 1921 to fit the patriotic poem "I Vow to Thee, My Country" by Cecil Spring Rice but that was as a unison song with orchestra.[1] It did not appear as a hymn-tune called "Thaxted" until his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams included it in Songs of Praise in 1926.[2]

The Manse in Thaxted, where Gustav Holst lived from 1917 to 1925

The tune

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Hymns written to the tune

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Many Christian hymns have been written to the tune. Notable ones include:

Other uses

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The tune has been played at various major events:

Secular songs written to the tune include:

Other uses of the melody include:

A literary reference appears in "The Adventure of the Lost World",[18] a Sherlock Holmes pastiche written by Dominic Green, where the tune is a major plot element, though the story contains a chronological error in that its Autumn 1918 setting would pre-date the publishing of the tune under the name "Thaxted".

References

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  1. ^ Holst, Imogen (1974). A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music. Faber. p. 145. ISBN 978-0571100040.
  2. ^ Vaughan Williams, Ralph; Shaw, Martin; Dearmer, Percy, eds. (1926). Songs of Praise. Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ "The order of service for the funeral of Baroness Thatcher". Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  4. ^ "The Queen's Funeral: what music was played at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II?". www.classical-music.com. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ "King Charles III Coronation Order of Service". www.classical-music.com. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  6. ^ "O God Beyond All Praising". Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  7. ^ "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God". Starke, Stephen P. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  8. ^ "A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools 425. For the splendor of creation | Hymnary.org". hymnary.org. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Reproducible Congregation Page, O Spirit All-Embracing" (PDF). ECS Publishing Group. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  10. ^ "I Vow to Thee, My Country". C-SPAN. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  11. ^ "The meanings behind the songs Prince Philip chose for his funeral". ITV News. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Lawrence University: College Songs of Past and Present". Archived from the original on 6 March 2001. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  13. ^ 平原綾香 (Hirahara Ayaka) at last.fm (in English)
  14. ^ "Jupiter | 平原綾香". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Lionhearts track listing at allmusic.com". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  16. ^ "Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force soundtrack credits".
  17. ^ "Kentaro Kobayashi's Jupiter arrangement from Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021.
  18. ^ originally published 2004 online in BBCi Cult Sherlock Holmes Magazine, and reprinted in The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, ed. John Joseph Adams. San Francisco: Night Shade Books (ISBN 978-1597801607), 2009.
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