“Evening Hymn” is a four stanza poem by George MacDonald that I set to music. I chose to use the second stanza as a chorus, thus repeating it after each of the other stanzas. Since the second one is about coming to God for forgiveness, it seemed to lend itself to a repetitive role, mirroring the way we can keep returning to God for forgiveness.
I read George MacDonald books for the first time in the nineties when I was a high schooler. I was blown away by his imagination and his portrayal of the power of God's love and goodness in books and stories such as The Princess and the Goblin, Heather and Snow, The Wise Woman, Thomas Wingfold, At the Back of the North Wind, The Golden Key, Lilith and others. I also enjoyed learning from the wisdom in his sermons. As an adult, I have continued to love his writing and have had the delight of sharing his works with my children, one of whom is also entering this songwriting contest. It has been a joy to spend time setting “Evening Hymn” to music AND to hear my daughter's entry, inspired by The Light Princess.