It Is Well

Advancing brass players will find this arrangement very rewarding; it is suitable for concerts, recitals, church and memorial services and other special occasions. This melody is so closely wedded to the text of this hymn that any arrangement of it will evoke the lyrics by Horatio G. Spafford. Spafford was a Chicago businessman who lost much of his wealth in the Chicago Fire of 1871. Shortly thereafter his wife and daughters were on a ship that sank off the coast of Wales. His wife sent him a telegram that read, iSaved alone.i When Spafford sailed the same route a few weeks later, passing by the presumed location of the earlier tragedy, Spafford penned these words: iWhen peace like a river attendeth my way; When Sorrows like sea-billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say: It is well, It is well with my soul.i These comforting words have sustained many Christians in the years since they were written. Although the Horn has the melody in the first stanza, this arrangement is not technically a ihorn feature.i