Learn Gwenifer Raymond’s Haunting Solo Guitar Arrangement of the Sacred Harp Hymn ‘Idumea’

“Idumea,” also known as “And Am I Born to Die,” is a traditional song written by Charles Wesley and first published in Hymns for Children in 1763. It is best known as part of the canon of sacred harp—a form of a cappella choral singing that originated in New England in the 1700s and uses a simplified musical notation known as shape notes. It’s a beautiful hymn that has been performed secularly by many folk singers over the years; however, the version I present here is mostly inspired by sacred harp incantations.

My instrumental arrangement of “Idumea” was originally conceived for clawhammer banjo (as heard on my 2018 album, You Were Never Much of a Dancer), but here I’ve translated it to guitar with an alternating bass pattern. The guitar is tuned to G modal (a common tuning used in old-time banjo pieces), from the lowest note to the highest: D G D G C D. This is one of my favorite tunings on the banjo, and it translates nicely to the guitar, lending a distinctly melancholic air.

Following a four-bar intro, my arrangement consists of two main sections. The first (bars 5–20) outlines the song’s core melody. On the repeat, I play it with more ornamentation, using hammer-ons and pull-offs in triplets. The second section (bars 21–45) is not part of the original composition. Here, the idea is to emulate the overwhelming volume often reported from the center of the hollow square of sacred harp choirs (from which the singers are led). These passages are intended to provide a sense of drama and should contrast with the more delicate segments.

Finally, after the rising drama, we return to a simple realization of the melody to remind us of how we started.

There are two ways to access the musical notation and tab for this song: Join our community at Patreon.com/acousticguitarplus OR purchase the November/December 2024 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.

Gwenifer RaymondGwenifer Raymond is a Welsh composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Brighton, England.