Ira B. Wilson, Lorenz editor and gospel-song craftsman

About Ira B. Wilson

Wilson was born on 6 September 1880 in Bedford, Iowa. His older sister taught him violin and organ at home, and around 1902 he went to Chicago to study at the Moody Bible Institute. In 1905 he joined the Lorenz Publishing Company in Dayton, Ohio, where his compositions appeared in The Choir Leader and The Choir Herald. He later served as editor-in-chief of The Volunteer Choir, one of the Lorenz periodicals aimed at small parish choirs.

Much of his output was editorial as well as creative. With Edmund S. Lorenz he compiled collections including The King's Message (1910), The Beginners' Choir (1911) and His Worthy Praise (1915). He also wrote under the pseudonym Fred B. Holton. His 1909 text beginning "Out in the highways and byways of life" became known as "Make Me a Blessing" after it was paired with George S. Schuler's tune in 1924, and it remains the piece most often associated with Wilson's name.

The catalog holds 163 Wilson scores, 89 with lyrics, adding up to about 107 minutes. Difficulty is spread fairly evenly across the easy, moderate and harder bands, which is unusual for gospel-song collections and reflects how much four-part anthem writing he did. Christmas and children's pieces sit beside revival marches and standard hymn settings. He spent his last twenty years in Los Angeles and died there on 3 April 1950.

Listening and playing notes

These are functional scores: strophic hymns, choruses with refrains, and anthems in straightforward homophonic writing. Expect clear cadences, modest ranges and accompaniments that double the voices. The Christmas items often use bell-like repeated figures, while the march titles want a firm, detached bass line. Because the pieces were written for volunteer choirs, the interest lies in shapely melody and text stress rather than counterpoint. Organists will also find short seasonal pieces among the vocal material.

Selected scores

1. Night of Nights! When the Bells of Heaven

   His most-viewed Christmas piece, opening with bell imagery that suits the Lorenz seasonal market.

2. Onward, Christian Soldiers 2

   One of several Lorenz settings of the Sullivan hymn, issued so small choirs could choose a version to fit.

3. With a Heart Brave and Ready

   A march-like chorus for young singers, written in the brisk idiom of the Sunday-school department.

4. Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

   A hymn setting that shows Wilson's editorial work: a familiar text fitted to music a volunteer choir could read.

5. All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

   Another standard hymn in a Lorenz arrangement, preserved here as an alternative to the usual tune.

6. Golden Day of Sunshine

   A bright children's number, typical of the cheerful pieces he supplied for The Beginners' Choir.

7. Scatter the Sunshine Wherever You Go

   A short moral chorus that turns its image into a refrain for unison singing.

8. March Along Rejoicing, Loyal Soldiers of the King

   A processional march for Sunday-school assemblies, with a firm bass and a repeated refrain.

9. Away in a Manger

   A Christmas setting of the familiar cradle song, issued for the seasonal issues of the Lorenz periodicals.

10. Good Morning, Brother Sunshine

    A greeting song for young children, one of the lightest pieces in the catalogue.