Analysis of Eternal Father, Strong to Save (The Navy Hymn)

Hello everyone! Back in May, Rustin's Honor's Wind Ensemble performed an arrangement of the Navy Hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." So we thought it would be fun to analyze that piece next for our ongoing series of analyses. This analysis will almost certainly be shorter than usual, but never the less, the theory behind this piece is still quite interesting, so let's get into the analysis:

Analysis

Form

I am fairly certain that this hymn is through-composed (when it comes to one verse), meaning that the music changes as the lyrics progress. It is rather strophic in regards to the fact that each verse has the same music, but the music does not progress in a "binary" way. I can't say with certainty that there is an A section followed by a B section.

Harmonics

The harmonics of this piece are not super complex, but I will say it is quite impressive (especially for a hymn). The composer obviously knew his harmony. I will say that there is a leap of a tritone in the bass in the second to last measure. This leap occurs during the phrase, so I will say that that is moderately sloppy voice leading, but overall, it moves smoothly and progresses logically. I especially enjoy the chromatic motion of the bass in the 5th and 6th measures. I also enjoy the tonicizatiton of IV in measure 9, and the modulation which occurs throughout this whole piece. This modulation is what made this piece fascinating to analyze.
In the piece, there were several areas where sevenths seemed to be left unresolved. I figured that the composer considered them to be resolved by a different voice later on, so I highlighted the notes involved in blue. There was one appoggiatura which I highlighted in green, and there were several instances of passing tones, which I highlighted in red. Anyway, here is my harmonic analysis of Eternal Father, Strong to Save:

Previous Analyses

• The Rustin High School Alma Mater by Samuel Barber (7/17/18)
• The Star Spangled Banner (Our Nation's National Anthem)(7/18/18)
• The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa (7/19/18)
• Eternal Father, Strong to Save (7/20/18)

Closing

Thanks for reading this! As always, feedback is appreciated. Please let us know what you think of the analysis. Have a nice day!

Appendix

Here is the Band's performance of an arrangement of this hymn. The hymn occurs at 4:20, and is introduced by a French horn quartet (@cmp2020 played the bass part):

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Thank you for your time and attention.

Posted by Christopher Palmer (@cmp2020)

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