Bread of the world in mercy broken

Peter Tranchell's setting of Bread of the world in mercy broken (tune: Durley Mill) was written in 1970 for unison voices & organ. The words are by Bishop Reginald Heber (1783-1826), from Hymns Ancient & Modern Revised Hymn 409. 

The piece has featured regularly on the Gonville & Caius College Chapel Music List as a communion anthem, and is now available from the Church Music Society.

Parts for Oboe, Violin and Cello are held in the Gonville & Caius College Chapel Music Library.

Bread of the world in mercy broken provides material for the later work Thou art Peter, written for unison voices and organ in 1980, then revised for SATB and organ in 1987.

Bread of the world in mercy broken has now been published by CMS, so we have removed the score from this site. It is now available to purchase here. It includes the original unison version, and an arrangement for SATB by Geoffrey Webber, informed by Tranchell's Thou art Peter setting. Geoffrey has also noted that it might be effective to do the original as a solo or in unison, then add the 4-part version as a reprise.

A review

"The striking chromaticism of the organ part in the unison version (especially on 'our sins are dead') is skilfully incorporated in the SATB in a way that makes vocal sense. The choir is supported throughout by the original organ part so that it is nothing like as tricky as it would be otherwise. It is a useful and original communion motet." - James L. Montgomery, www.rscm.org.uk, Sunday by Sunday, June 2019.