Bread of the World – Bratt

Bratt combines the hymn text of the title with two verse of L. F. Benson’s For the bread which thou hast broken,” all using an original melody in a hymn-anthem format. The music alternates between B minor and D major, with a generous dosage of unusual chromaticism creating a distinctive language. An attractive organ introduction/interlude concludes with an evaded Landini cadence, not a standard gesture for contemporary church music, to say the least. Otherwise the organ generally doubles the choir with no additional commentary. The memorable tune remains in the soprano throughout and never reaches above a D on the staff. Other part writing is similarly conservative, making this quite accessible to choirs once they have aurally absorbed the peculiarities of Bratt’s idiom.
The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians
April 2013