I Vow to Thee

Also known as "Jupiter", from "The Planets", by Gustav Holst, this arrangement is designed for lever or pedal harp. The beginning is fairly simple, in something of a Celtic style, followed by an additional verse in a full, chordal, dramatic style. In the key of C, with no accidentals. Gustav Holst originally wrote this melody as part of his large-scale orchestral suite, "The Planets", Opus 32.It was contained in the movement entitled "Jupiter". Holst later lifted the tune out and set it as the patriotic hymn, "I Vow to Thee". Ralph Vaughan Williams, a close friend of his, named the hymn tune "Thaxted", after the village in England where Holst lived for most of his life. Vaughan Williams included it in his 1926 hymnal, "Songs of Praise". It has since appeared in countless hymnals with a variety of sacred texts. "I Vow to Thee" was sung at the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997. Jo Ann Buice, a friend of mine and dedicated harp therapist in the Atlanta, Georgia area, was very fond of this hymn and had desired an arrangement of it prior to her death in 2015. This setting is given in her memory.