Herbert G. Tovey: gospel songs for choir and solo

About Herbert G. Tovey

Herbert George Tovey was born in Australia in 1888 and died in California on 20 March 1972. The exact date and city of his birth are given differently in the sources: one hymnological notice says Melbourne or Sydney on 6 May, while a newspaper obituary gives 6 March. He studied at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and at the University of Southern California, and then taught at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Simpson Bible College in Seattle and the Western Bible Institute in Denver.

For 34 years he headed the music department at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and he also pastored the First Baptist Church in Montebello and other congregations. In 1914, aged 26, he wrote Give Me a Passion for Souls, the song for which he remained best known. He founded the Sacred Music Foundation, which held some 1,500 copyrights, and published Gospel Solos and Duets with Keith Brooks around 1920 and Applied Song Directing in 1939. He married Hilda Plant in 1915 and Eva Margaret Jaderquist in 1942.

The catalogue's 28 entries are all filed as classical and run to about 22 minutes. The files give no publisher or date for individual titles, and the lyric count of twelve is lower than the number of vocal pieces, since many scores carry a text layer only intermittently. The music is strophic gospel-song writing: verse, refrain, and a four-part or solo-and-keyboard layout.

Listening and playing notes

Tovey writes for the voice rather than the instrument: the melody usually sits in a comfortable middle range, the harmony is diatonic, and the refrain repeats without variation. Keep the verse moving and let the refrain broaden slightly, but do not slow down for effect. In the four-part pieces the inner voices should stay under the melody; in the solo settings the keyboard can be fuller, since it is carrying the harmony alone. The words are the point, so articulation matters more than dynamic range, especially in the long first lines.

Selected scores

1. Come unto Me and I Will Give You Rest

   The most-viewed score here (30 views), a setting of Christ's invitation in Matthew 11; short enough to serve as a solo or a closing hymn.

2. O God, We Praise Thy Holy Name

   A hymn of praise with a broad, syllabic vocal line, among the most-viewed entries.

3. Live for Others While on Earth You Live

   A practical Christian-living text, set in the plain four-square style of the gospel song.

4. Though the Storm-Clouds Gather

   A storm-and-refuge hymn; the long first line is compressed into a compact setting of about 33 seconds.

5. Nothing but Blood, the Precious Blood

   An atonement hymn built on the blood of Christ, one of the more direct revival texts in the list.

6. We Have a Dauntless Captain

   A militant hymn of discipleship, with a refrain that invites congregational singing.

7. Hear the Words of Courage Ringing

   A call to witness, set as a brisk march-like song.

8. We Are Called, a Band of Witnesses for God

   A corporate hymn about witness, one of the fuller four-part settings in the collection.

9. Whosoever Will, the Invitation Hear

   An invitation hymn on the 'whosoever' of John 3:16, designed for the close of an evangelistic service.

10. Jesus Still Lead On

    A long setting of about three minutes, far beyond the usual gospel-song length, with 1,145 notated notes.