Christ, you are the fullness

Christ, you are the fullness. Bert Polman* (1945-2013). This is a Bible song on Colossians 1:15-18 and 3:1-4, 15-17; written in 1986 for the Psalter Hymnal (1987). Bert Polman wrote this unrhymed paraphrase of the New Testament epistle to ensure that a Korean folk melody, ARIRANG, would be included in this Christian Reformed hymnal. The biblical text reaffirms the new life in Christ. The tune was adapted by Bert Polman for congregational singing, and harmonized by composer Dale Grotenhuis who put a drone in the bass line, a music device common in Asian folk music. In the Psalter Hymnal Handbook (pp. 363-4), Polman identified it as a tune learned by American soldiers while serving in the...