Why it's a good choice: One of the most sung hymns at funerals, this is really a prayer to God to stay with him in death as He did with us in life. Henry Francis Lyte, Vicar of Brixham in Devon ...

As a U.S. Army band arranger ... for the outer sections — what’s known as the funeral march rhythm — bookending a more upbeat hymn in the middle. “In the middle section I wanted to ...