The words of one of our most loved hymns, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, were taken from the last six verses of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Brewing of Soma, an attack on ostentatious and overt religious practise.

But it wasn't until over 50 years later, that a school teacher at Repton in Derbyshire had the inspiration to pair it with a tune by Sir Hubert Parry, thus confirming it as a favourite for assemblies, funerals and weddings.

Repton’s former music director, John Bowley, explains how this happened, while composer and conductor Bob Chilcott explains why this was a musical marriage made in heaven.

We hear from those for whom the hymn has special significance, including Gloucester MP, Richard Graham; when briefly imprisoned in a Libyan gaol in 1978 he found enormous comfort in the words and tune.

Pipe Major Ross Munro remembers recording the piece in the sweltering heat of Basra with members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and film director Joe Wright recalls how the inclusion of this hymn was central to the power of his famous scene depicting the evacuation of Dunkirk in his film, Atonement.

Contributors:

John Bowley
Richard Graham
Ian Bradley
Bob Chilcott
Joan Lambley
Ross Munro
Richard Hoyes
Joe Wright

Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.

Producer: Lucy Lunt

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2011.