Songs We Sing: Day Is Done
Dear Lydians,
Here’s “Day Is Done,” a bit of a St. Lydia’s tradition. It was our closing hymn for a number of weeks in a row when we were first starting out as a congregation. Now we sing it toward the end of the Summer, as we will this August. Not to be confused with the charming version by Peter, Paul and Mary, of course. Or Nick Drake. Or REM. Everybody wants to sing about the day being done, apparently.
Jake couldn’t find any existing recordings of this hymn that would be useful for the purposes of learning the harmony parts, so he created a version using sampled strings. (It sounds a bit syrupy as a result, but the sense of the harmonies come through.) Listen to the links below to learn the harmony lines, with piano illustrating the given part and the rest of the choir (represented by the strings) panned to the right.
We’ll sing the first verse in unison before breaking into parts on the second verse, so the recordings of the alto, tenor and bass parts begin with a piano lead in from the final phrase of the first verse: “Watch our sleeping, guard our waking. Be always near.” This will help you make the transition into the harmony parts. (The audio for the soprano part starts at the beginning of the hymn.)
In 2020, we updated the verse two lyrics, so make sure to use this updated version of the sheet music.
Enjoy!