Utopia

Woodcut from Thomas More's original book of 1516.

Utopia

This is the first hymn ever written for the Church of Infinite Dimensions. It is built on the great English anthem: "Jerusalem" and is intended as a stirring rally cry to the ID faithful. In 3 short verses it reminds us of where we have come from, what our objective is and what we need to fight against to achieve it. It is an appropriate hymn at any time, to remind the faithful of what the Church of Infinite Dimensions is all about and what is expected of all Parishioners.

William Blake was the famous Artist, Poet and Dissenting Visionary who wrote the original words. The text came from the preface to his epic: "Milton a Poem", and was little known, so it is quite amazing that it was latched onto by Poet Laureate: Robert Bridges, who was looking to bolster English patriotic morale during the First World War.

Bridges asked the then Director of the Royal College of Music: Sir Hubert Parry to set the poem to music and the rest is history. Parry's tremendous organ arrangement was later orchestrated by Sir Edward Elgar for large orchestra and that is the version that is generally heard today. The anthem was used as the official hymn of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) in England and later by the Women's Institutes.

I have adapted Parry's organ arrangement somewhat in order to suit piano, but hopefully it retains all the good features of the original. Naturally the original organ arrangement may be employed if preferred. I have also done an SATB arrangement in the key of F, although this is not appropriate for congregational singing due to its higher key.

I have, of course, removed all of Blake's words, since they are inappropriate to the Church of Infinite Dimensions. Nevertheless the hymn retains his rhythm and meter and so the ghost of "Jerusalem" remains as a palimpsest underneath the modern trappings. Vale William Blake!

Utopia is, of course, the ideal society, and this is precisely what the Church of Infinite Dimensions attempts to achieve, not only for humans but for all Ura. Not only must we struggle to ACHIEVE this state, we must also struggle to KEEP it! The enemy of Utopia is excessive selfishness and since this is an innate human characteristic we can expect outbreaks of greed to occur forever. The price of Utopia is eternal vigilance.

Words: Warren Mars: 2012
Music: CHH Parry: 1916

And did our feet in ancient time, walk out from under jungle tall?
And water, famine, beasts and cold, did we not face and beat them all?
And did our light of genius true, shine forth at last from darkened years?
And was Utopia dreamed of then, amongst travail, filth and tears?

When we were threatened with the gun, subjugation, spoil and fear,
Did we not stand against the foe, and scrap for all that we held dear?
Shall we bow down to ignorance, to superstition, greed and lies?
Or shall we fight for science fact, holistic view and actions wise.

We have the pow'r to make things right and optimise this world for life.
Give nature back her proper share, oppose the greed though it cause strife.
Be vigilant, consider all, and make things go the way we planned,
And we shall hold Utopia, in Arda's rich and varied land.

If you are of a musical bent, you can view my score for voice and piano here.
I have also provided an SATB arrangement for choirs here.

Finally, I have provided a recording of my computer synthesizer playing the SATB arrangement. There is no singing and the synthesizer is very ordinary. Nevertheless the parts are all there and one can sing along with it or use it get an idea of how it should sound with your choir.