THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY
Each singing school night the class sang farther
and farther over in the book. On the last night
they sang the anthem at the very end; page one
hundred forty-four. 'The Heavens Declare the
Glory.' -- These Happy Golden Years, Chapter
23, "Barnum Walks"
In These Happy Golden Years, one of the
town activities participated in by Laura
Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder during their courtship
was singing school. There was a singing
school held in De Smet from February through April
1884, conducted by a Mr. Forbush. Laura Ingalls
Wilder wrote that singing school was taught by Mr.
Clewett; Frank Clewett had taught the De Smet
school classes during the spring 1883 term. A
homesteader in neighboring Clark County, Mr.
Clewett often lived in De Smet until moving to
California in the 1890s. It is possible that he
taught a singing school that was never mentioned
in the local newspapers.
Laura's singing school book was called The Conqueror; it was written by C.E. Leslie and R.H. Randall, and published in 1880 by The Chicago Music Company. Leslie wrote a number of hymnals and singing school books, and he traveled widely, promoting his program and holding classes in a number of states. Many of the songs in The Conqueror were composed by Leslie or Randall. Laura's singing school book was purchased for seventy-five cents and is today on display at the Laura Ingalls Wilder / Rose Wilder Lane Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri. The book begins as Wilder wrote in These Happy Golden Years, with an explanation of notes, rests, and clefs. It then continues with simple exercises, starting with "do re mi fa sol la si do" and moving on to simple songs.
Wilder went into more detail about singing school in both the Pioneer Girl manuscripts and the manuscript for These Happy Golden Years. Obviously an important and pleasant memory from her young adulthood, she included complete lyrics for a number of songs which were omitted from the published These Happy Golden Years. "The Heavens Declare the Glory" is indeed found on page 144 of The Conqueror, but it is not the last anthem in the book. With words taken from Psalm 19, the song Laura and Almanzo sang was set to music by H.R. Palmer. The song is included in the These Happy Golden Years manuscript as in the published version, yet it was not mentioned in any of the versions of Pioneer Girl.
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THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY (from The Conqueror)
The heav'ns declare the glory of God, And the firmament showeth his handiwork; Day unto day uttereth speech. Night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
Hallelujah, Amen! Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah, Amen! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujan, Amen and Amen.
PSALM 19: 1-3
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. |
THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY (from These Happy Golden Years)
The heavens declare the glory of God and The Firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and Night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
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