Jerusalem (And did those feet in ancient times)

This is uploaded by request. :-)

It is also offered as a small "statement of support" for the British nation, which has been assailed lately by attacks of terrorism and hatred.

And did those feet in ancient time" is a short poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton a Poem, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books. The date of 1804 on the title page is probably when the plates were begun, but the poem was printed c. 1808. Today it is best known as the anthem "Jerusalem", with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916.

In adapting Blake's poem as a unison song, Parry deployed a two-stanza format, each taking up eight lines of Blake's original poem. He added a four-bar musical introduction to each verse and a coda, echoing melodic motifs of the song. The word "those" was substituted for "these" before "dark satanic mills".

The song was first called "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time" and the early published scores have this title. The change to "Jerusalem" seems to have been made about the time of the 1918 Suffrage Demonstration Concert, perhaps when the orchestral score was published (Parry's manuscript of the orchestral score has the old title crossed out and "Jerusalem" inserted in a different hand).

For ALL the information about "Jerusalem," you'll find this very interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time

The dates of Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet are (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), and those of William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827).

The organ arrangement that I have played here was made by Sir George Thomas Thalben-Ball CBE (18 June 1896 – 18 January 1987), who was organist of the Temple Church in London for over 50 years.

Photos of Parry, Blake (painting), and Thalben-Ball are attached below.

There is also a copy of Blake's own "illuminated version" of the text attached.

The text is given in the First Comment.