Help Yourself V: "Saved Alone"

Nothing I have done is as celebrated as a little arrangement I created for Melissa Givens and her inaugural recording project, let the rain kiss you. It's the hymn by Horatio G. Spafford, "It is well with my soul," tune Ville du Havre by Philip P. Bliss.

This hymn has endured, and the story behind the text is probably well known by now. Spafford's wife and four daughters were on a trans-Atlantic crossing when their ship collided with another, and the four daughters drowned. Mrs. Spafford's message in her telegram is now echoed in sermons, blogs, Sunday School lessons, and moving stories everywhere: "Saved alone."

This arrangement seeks to illustrate the calm of the ocean and life's troubled waters, while giving soloist and organist more to negotiate than quarter notes. Links are below to four versions for high and low voices with organ or piano accompaniment. Click, print, use, and please enjoy.

It is well (high voice with organ)

It is well (low voice with organ)

It is well (high voice with piano)

It is well (low voice with piano)