Amazing Grace Traditional / Arr. Guido Rennert

Genre: liturgical music

Amazing Grace is an English-language spiritual song that is one of the most popular hymns in the world. The author, John Newton, was initially the captain of a slave ship. After being rescued at sea after praying to God, he treated the slaves more humanely. After a few years, he even gave up his profession altogether, becoming a clergyman instead and campaigning against slavery. The now world-famous melody first appeared in a hymnal from 1831, the 'Verginia Harmony'. Amazing Grace was adopted by the African-American spiritual and gospel scene and is also considered a hymn of Christian values. In the 1960s, the song, originally popular almost exclusively in the USA, reached the British Isles. There, Amazing Grace became popular, especially in bagpipe versions. Therefore, countless instrumental versions by Scottish Highlanders exist, the most successful of which was by the military band of the 'Royal Scots Dragoon Guards', which even reached number 1 in the UK sales charts in 1972.