Jack M. Grotenhuis (b. Bellingham, WA, 1956; d. Tempe, AZ, 1983) composed BERNARD for this text in November 1983, a few weeks before he died in a traffic accident. His wife, Kathy, first used BERNARD with her choir at Second Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 1984. Grotenhuis's parents named the tune in honor of Bernard Haan, a close boyhood friend of Jack's. The tune consists of two very long, almost identical lines; both resolve their quarter-note rhythms into stately half notes at the cadences. The harmony invites four-part singing at a moderate tempo.
Grotenhuis studied music at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, and the University of lowa, and taught music at Lynden Christian High School, Lynden, Washington, from 1979 to 1981. Like his father, Dale (PHH 4), his main interest was in choral music, but he also loved jazz. He had almost completed his doctoral program in choral music at the University of Arizona when he died.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
