Old Rugged Cross, The

The church small ensemble looking for offertory or prelude music will find this arrangement musically satisfying as well as appropriate. The first section of the piece adheres somewhat to the traditional harmonization, using a simple arpeggio pattern in the lower three parts to underline the quiet, pensive mood. The second segment builds upon the first by using harmonic and dynamic changes to build tension to a point of release in the middle of the chorus, after which the music gently eases back to the state in which the piece began. Both performer and listener will be moved by the inherent beauty of this work.