It Is Well With My Soul: The Sheet Music
Contents
A collection of the sheet music for the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.”
The history of the hymn
It Is Well With My Soul was written in 1876 by Horatio G. Spafford after the death of his four daughters. The hymn has been recorded by many artists over the years and has been used in movies and television shows. The sheet music for the hymn is available for purchase online.
The hymn was written in 1873 by Horatio Spafford, a successful lawyer and businessman from Chicago. Spafford’s wife and four daughters died in a shipwreck in 1873, and the hymn is believed to have been written soon after as a expression of his deep faith in the midst of personal tragedy.
The story behind the hymn
It Is Well With My Soul was written by hymnist Horatio Spafford in 1873, following the tragic death of his wife and four daughters in a shipwreck. The hymn has since become a cherished part of many Christian worship services and continues to bring comfort to those who are grieving.
While Spafford was originally from New York, he had moved to Chicago in 1871 to set up a law practice. That same year, he also suffered significant financial losses in the Great Chicago Fire. Just two years later, his young family met with tragedy when their ship, the Ville du Havre, sank after colliding with another vessel. Spafford’s wife and daughters all perished in the accident, leaving him devastated.
As he grieved, Spafford turned to God for comfort and guidance. He continued to trust in God even when everything around him seemed dark and hopeless. This faith is reflected in the words of the hymn: “When peace like a river attendeth my way/ When sorrows like sea billows roll/ Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to know/ It is well, it is well with my soul.”
The first few verses of the hymn are based on Psalm 46:1-2, which reads: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” These verses emphasize that God is always with us, even in our darkest times. They also remind us that we do not need to be afraid because God is in control.
Spafford later experienced more tragedy when his son died of diphtheria at age four. But through it all, he continued to cling to his faith. In 1881, he traveled to Palestine where he helped establish an orphans’ home in Jerusalem. He also wrote several other hymns during his lifetime, including “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “Oh How I Love Jesus.”
It Is Well With My Soul remains one of the most popular hymns today because it speaks to the human experience of pain and suffering. The message of hope and comfort that it offers continues to resonate with people all over the world.
The sheet music
I found the sheet music to the song “It Is Well With My Soul” while going through my grandfather’s things after he passed away. I had never heard the song before, but the words resonated with me. The sheet music was dated 1915, and I wondered if my grandfather had played it during World War I.
Where to find the sheet music
The sheet music for “It Is Well With My Soul” can be found in a variety of places. One easy way to find it is to do a search for the song title on a sheet music website such as Sheet Music Plus. You can also find the sheet music at your local music store, or you can order it online from a music retailer such as Amazon.
How to read the sheet music
If you have never read sheet music before, it can look like a foreign language. Notes are represented by symbols that tell you what pitch to play and how long to hold it. The clef at the beginning of the staff (the five horizontal lines) tells you which pitches belong on which lines and spaces. Once you know how to read the notes, you can begin to put them together to play a song.
To read the notes on a staff, start by finding the note on either the line or space that corresponds to the pitch you want to play. The notes on the lines, from bottom to top, are E-G-B-D-F, while the notes in between the lines are F-A-C-E. If there is more than one note on a line or space, they are played in order from left to right.
Once you know which note(s) to play, look at the time signature at the beginning of the staff to figure out how long each note should be held. The bottom number in the time signature tells you how many beats are in a measure and the top number tells you what kind of note gets one beat. For example, if you see 4/4 at the beginning of a song, that means there are four quarter notes in a measure and each quarter note gets one beat. To count measures, tap your foot along with the beat and count each time your foot hits the floor until you get to the end of a measure.
Rests are also marked on sheet music and indicate that no sound should be made for a certain period of time. Just like notes, rests have different lengths depending on how many beats they get in a measure. A whole rest lasts for four beats (a whole measure), while a half rest lasts for two beats, and so on. When counting measures with rests, be sure not to count them as part of your measure – simply skip over them when you’re tapping your foot!
Once you know how to read sheet music, try playing some simple songs such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” With some practice, reading sheet music will become second nature and you’ll be able to play all of your favorite songs!
The lyrics of the hymn
It Is Well With My Soul was written by hymnist Horatio Spafford in 1873. The lyrics of the hymn are based on Spafford’s experiences after the deaths of his children and business failures. Despite the trials and tribulations he faced, Spafford was able to find peace in knowing that God was in control.
The meaning of the lyrics
It Is Well with My Soul is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in Gospel Songs No. 2 by Ira Sankey and Bliss (1876), it is possibly the best-known of all 19th-century gospel hymns. The fate of Spafford’s family in two maritime disasters and his subsequent reflections on God’s faithfulness inspired the words.
The hymn has been called “the anthem of peace in the midst of trial” and has been a source of comfort to many people who have experienced loss or adversity. In moments of trouble, countless people have been comforted by singing or reading the words:
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.
The meaning of the lyrics reflects Spafford’s personal tragedies, which included the death of four of his children. In 1873, his family was sailing to Europe when their ship collided with another vessel and sank, killing all four children. Two years later, Spafford’s wife died unexpectedly from a brain hemorrhage. Despite these great losses, Spafford remained steadfast in his faith andtrust in God.
The first stanza of the hymn describes Spafford’s initial reaction to tragedy:
When 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.
In the second stanza, he reflects on how much worse things could have been:
Though Satan should buffet Though trials should come Let this blest assurance control That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate And hath shed His own blood for my soul
The third stanza looks to the future:
My sin O the bliss Of this glorious thought My sin not in part but the whole Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more Praise the Lord praise the Lord O my soul
The message of the hymn
The hymn It Is Well With My Soul was written in 1876 by Horatio Spafford after the death of his wife and four daughters. The hymn is a testimony to Spafford’s faith in the face of great tragedy and has become a popular hymn for Christians around the world.
The lyrics of the hymn are based on a story from the Bible, specifically, the story of Job. In the story, Job loses everything – his family, his wealth, and his health – but he remains faithful to God. At the end of the story, God restores everything to Job and he is able to say, “It is well with my soul.”
The message of the hymn is one of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. No matter what happens in life, those who know Christ can have peace in their souls because they know that He is sovereign and will ultimately triumph.
