Morning has Broken
Morning has Broken, 3-5 octaves, level 2, 2006, Lorenz, 20/1349L
“Morning has broken” became part of popular culture when recorded by Cat Stevens in 1971. This setting of the popular traditional Scottish Gaelic lullaby “Bunessan” is suitable for performing in a concert situation or in a worship setting as an aid to meditative reading of the text of the hymn text “Morning has Broken” or the Christmas hymn text “Child in the Manger”. The melody was first published in “Songs and Hymns of the Gael” in 1888. This arrangement is in a reflective style to evoke the tranquility of the village of Bunessan (which gave the melody its name) on the Ross of Mull (Ross means peninsula) at the south of the isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. This is inextricably linked to Iona, the island which has been a place of pilgrimage for Christians since St Columba landed there in the 6th century AD, and more recently home to the Iona Community. The setting makes judicious use of handbell techniques Echo, Martellato Lift , Tower Swing), and Vibrato, and intersperses an original motif with the well-known melody.
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