Dale Grotenhuis (b. Cedar Grove, WI, 1931) composed PHILIP in 1985 for the Psalter Hymnal, naming it after his third son. The tune is well suited for part singing. The occasional stretching of the prevailing 2/2 meter into 3/2 supports the lament character of the tune.
Grotenhuis, a member of the Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee, was professor of music and director of choral music at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, from 1960 until he retired in 1994 to concentrate on composition. Educated at Calvin College; Michigan State University, Lansing; and Ohio State University, Columbus; he combined teaching with composition throughout his career and is a widely published composer of choral music. He also directed the Dordt choir in a large number of recordings, including many psalm arrangements found in the 1959 edition of the Psalter Hymnal.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988