Baylor University Men's Choir
Randall Bradley - Director
O Love - Elaine Hagenberg
Sam Johnson, cello
“O Love that Wilt Not Let Me Go” is a hymn written by pastor and theologian George Matheson in 1882, compelling its listeners to find solace in Jesus and bask in His goodness when struggling through life’s hardest circumstances. Struck blind at the age of nineteen by a degenerative disorder and abandoned due to his blindness by the woman he loved, Matheson thereafter devoted his life to ministry and placed his trust solely in Christ. After successfully starting his own ministry and receiving an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by the University of Edinburgh, on the eve of his sister’s marriage,
Matheson recalled the trauma of his youth and the comfort he found in God’s unending love, bringing quill to paper with an uncommon level of ease and inspiration in writing this profound text. He possessed “the impression of having it dictated to
[him] by some inward voice rather than of working it out [himself]…this came like a dayspring from on high.” This beloved text has been published in many hymn books since its first hymnal publication in the 1885 version of the Scottish Hymnal.
Elaine Hagenberg who lives in Des Moines, Iowa, set this particular version of the hymn; the piece utilizes gentle rhythms and recurring phrasing to illustrate the infinite rest and utter stability found within the embrace of Christ. O Love! O Joy! While already working on a TTBB arrangement of this piece when contacted by Dr. Bradley in the summer of 2018, the cello was added specifically for the Baylor Men’s Choir.
Notes by Gordon McCormack