Top of page

Article " Come, O Thou Traveler" by Harvey Bartlett Gaul

Come, O Thou Traveler, 1908, by Harvey Bartlett Gaul, 1881-1945.
Come, O Thou Traveler, 1908. Harvey Bartlett Gaul, 1881-1945. Music Division, Library of Congress. Call number: M2072.G

Gaul composed the anthem Come, O Thou Traveler for SATB mixed chorus and organ during his tenure as organist and choirmaster at Emmanuel Church in Cleveland. He dedicated the piece to Henry G. Eskuche, organist at St. Peter's Church in Brooklyn, New York. It was published in 1908 by the Boston Music Company.

The text of Come, O Thou Traveler is by Methodist hymn-writer Charles Wesley. The original hymn (1742) consists of fourteen verses, of which Gaul sets stanzas one, eight and nine. The work begins with a unison C-minor motif in the men's voices, "Come, O Thou Traveler unknown." The theme recurs three times throughout the anthem, always in octaves SATB at significant textual phrases: "I mean to stay and wrestle till the break of day;" "Speak, or Thou never hence shalt move, and tell me if Thy name is Love;" and "Thy nature and Thy name is Love." Hymn writer Isaac Waats commented that Wesley's single poem about wrestling Jacob was worth all the verse that Waats himself had written.

At the second stanza, "Yield to me now, for I am weak," Gaul changes the key to C major and the texture to solo quartet. The full chorus reenters at "'Tis Love! Thou die'st for me." The work climaxes on a C-major chord in second inversion with the sopranos on a high G, "Pure universal Love, Thou art to me, Thou art to all." Gaul then alters Wesley's concluding line. Wesley's "To me, to all, Thy bowels move," becomes Gaul's "To me, to all, Thy heart doth move." The anthem ends pp with the opening theme.

About this Item

Title

  • " Come, O Thou Traveler" by Harvey Bartlett Gaul

Headings

  • -  Gaul, Harvey B. (Harvey Bartlett), 1881-1945
  • -  Worship and Praise
  • -  Songs and Music
  • -  Parlor and Concert Stage
  • -  Progressive Era to New Era (1900-1929)
  • -  Articles

Genre

  • article

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as holders of publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. There may be content that is protected as "works for hire" (copyright may be held by the party that commissioned the original work) and/or under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations.

Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permission ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Users should consult the bibliographic information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding items and may assist users in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items as related to their desired uses.

Items included here with the permission of the rights holders are indicated as such in the bibliographic record for each item.

In some cases, the Library was unable to identify a possible rights holder and has elected to place some of those items online as an exercise of fair use for strictly non-commercial educational uses. The Library of Congress would like to learn more about these materials and would like to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information or know of their history. Please contact:  Performing Arts Reading Room.

Suggested credit line: Library of Congress, Music Division.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

" Come, O Thou Traveler" by Harvey Bartlett Gaul. Web.. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185384/.

APA citation style:

" Come, O Thou Traveler" by Harvey Bartlett Gaul. [Web.] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185384/.

MLA citation style:

" Come, O Thou Traveler" by Harvey Bartlett Gaul. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185384/>.