“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” first appeared in Hymns for the Young, 4th edition (1836), edited by Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779-1847). Although no author’s name appears with the text, some think that Thrupp wrote it, since she often published hymns anonymously. However, the same text next appears in the Rev. W. Carus Wilson’s Children’s Friend (1838), signed “Lyte” — an attribution to the Anglican cleric and hymnodist Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847).
The tune we sing today was definitively written by William Bradbury (1816-1868), a protege of the noted music educator and church musician Lowell Mason (1792-1872). Bradbury, who studied composition in Europe and edited a number of hymnbooks, wrote the tune expressly for “Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us.” His most well-known tune, perhaps, is the children’s song “Jesus Loves Me! This I Know.”
This arrangement for brass quintet explores Bradbury’s tune in three different keys and with a variety of harmonizations. Simple yet lovely, “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us” is ideal as a prelude to worship, an offertory or communion meditation, or a lyrical selection on a recital of sacred music.
Score, parts (Bb tpt. 1, Bb tpt. 2, F horn, tbn, tuba) — $12.99