COMPASSION (Brink)

Composer: Emily R. Brink

Emily R. Brink is a Senior Research Fellow of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Adjunct Professor of Church Music and Worship at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her main areas of responsibility are conference planning and global resources. She is program manager of the annual Calvin Symposium on Worship, which draws more than 70 presenters and 1600 participants from around the world. She also travels widely to lecture and to learn about worship in different parts of the world, especially in Asia, where she has lectured in Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Her areas of interest include congregational song from all times and places;… Go to person page >

Psalter Hymnal editor Emily R. Brink (PHH 158) composed COMPASSION for Morse's text in 1987. The Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee on which Brink served had tried various tunes for this text, but due to its unusual accents no successful match was found among preexisting melodies. In composing the tune Brink tried to create music that reflected a spirit of compassion and repentance as well as of hope. She named the tune COMPASSION after the theme of Morse's words.

COMPASSION consists of several melodic motives that are united by a regular alternation of measures with three and five beats. Sing the outer, framing stanzas in unison and the middle ones in parts. Accompany with modest resources.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook