Tune: FARMER (J. Farmer)

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FARMER (J. Farmer)

Composer: John Farmer (1892)
Published in 51 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
	Hail to the Lord's Anointed

Choral
	Go Make of All Disciples / The Day of Re…

Instrumental
	DAY OF RESURRECTION, THE

Composer: John Farmer

Born: August 16, 1835, Nottingham, England. Died: July 17, 1901, at his home in Oxford, England. Buried: St. Sepulchre’s Cemetery, Jericho, Oxford, England. Eldest child of butcher John Farmer and milliner Mary Blackshaw Farmer, John learned to play the piano, violin, and harp when young. He was apprenticed to his uncle Henry Farmer, an organist, composer, and music teacher with a music and musical instrument business in Nottingham. At age 14, John went to study at the Leipzig Conservatory, then three years later under Andreas Spaeth in Coburg for a year. He returned to England in 1853, and entered his father’s lac… Go to person page >

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Tune Information

Title:	FARMER (J. Farmer)
Composer:	John Farmer (1892)
Meter:	7.6.7.6 D
Incipit:	11135 65531 72111
Key:	C Major
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Texts

The Corn Is Ripe for Reaping

Go Forward, Christian Soldier

Go forward, Christian soldier,
Beneath His banner true!
The Lord Himself, thy Leader,
Shall all thy foes subdue.
His love foretells thy trials;
He knows thine hourly need;
He can with bread of heaven
Thy fainting spirit feed.

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O happy time of reaping, Fields flow with ruddy grain

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Alternative Tunes

More tunes with meter 7.6.7.6 D ^ top

Notes

The tune FARMER is marked by dramatically ascending melodic phrases and energetic rhythms in its opening lines. Sing in harmony throughout, possibly reserving unison for the third stanza. Use solid organ accompaniment; accompany with brass if possible.

Presumably, the source of FARMER is John Farmer's Hymns and Chorales (1892). A self-taught pianist, violinist, and harpist, Farmer (b. Nottingham, England, 1836; d. Oxford, England, 1901) studied music in Leipzig, Germany, and Coburg, Germany. He taught in Zurich from 1857 to 1861 but then returned to England, where he taught at Harrow School–not in a traditional, academic manner but through lighthearted choral singing. In 1885 he became organist at Balliol College, Oxford, a position he retained until his death. At Balliol he introduced Sunday evening performances of classical music despite the objections of many church folk. He also wrote many songs for the Harrow School as well as oratorios and operas. Farmer was a major force in introducing Bach and Brahms to the English public. He edited works of Bach as well as Hymns and Chorales for Schools and Colleges (1892).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

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