The Touch of the Master's Hand, Opp. 4, 4a

This three-verse song is a gospel based on a Christian poem written in 1921 by Myra Brooks Welch of the same name, also sometimes referred to as “The Old Violin”.

Myra Brooks Welch was born in 1877 and died in 1959. While she authored many other poems, she is best known for this work.

The poem tells of a battered old violin about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance, until a violinist steps out of the audience and plays the instrument, demonstrating its beauty and true value. The violin then sells for $3,000 instead of a mere $3. The poem ends by comparing this instrument touched by the hand of a master musician to the life of a sinner touched by God’s hand.

The voice part of this gospel was originally composed by Simon Phillips (which was transcribed into music by Evans as his Op. 4). The new accompaniment parts were co-arranged by Evans Chou, Tyler Chan and Peter Huon in mid-2024, with the new opus number Op. 4a. This piece is a strophic-like approach, retaining most of the original text from the poem as a tribute to its original writer. 

Dedicated to Harmony Chen, former music teacher of Wa Ying College.