Composed by C. Keith Landis (b. Chicago, IL, 1922), WALLACE first appeared in Sixty Hymns from Songs of Zion (Praise Publications, Inc., 1977). It was first sung at the American Guild of Organists Southern California Conference in 1978. The tune was named for a family friend. Landis was a pastor in the Los Angeles area with a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (1946), and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, California (1958).
WALLACE was harmonized by Jeffrey H. Rickard (b. Pasadena, CA, 1942), who received both his B.M. and M.M. from the University of Redlands in California and is currently director of choral activities there. Composer of many choral works, he is also minister of music at Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, California, and associate director of publications and musical editor for Praise Publications, Whittier, California.
WALLACE calls for solid organ support. Sing the stanzas in unison, perhaps with the "alleluia" refrain in harmony. Those alleluias should tax the resources of your organ and, if possible, a brass ensemble! Work up an animated pace. Many hymnals set Geyer's text to Charles V. Stanford's ENGELBERG (512), the tune Geyer intended for his text. ENGELBERG may be a bit more difficult –and although it's an older tune, it sounds more modern than WALLACE–but is another fine match for the text.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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