So Who Actually Composed “O Lord, Increase My Faith?”
For Sunday, October 19, 2025
O Lord, Increase My Faith by Gibbons (Loosemore?)
By David Jolliffe
There are several things one could say about the anthem, “O Lord, Increase My Faith,” which the St. Paul’s choir will sing at the 11 a.m. service on October 19, that are absolutely true. It was composed sometime in the 17th century. It is superb example of polyphony—the composition simultaneously combines a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonizing with each other. Its lovely lyrics represent an extension of Luke 17:5, where the disciples ask Jesus to “increase” their faith:
O Lord, increase my faith,
strengthen me and confirm me in Thy true faith,
endue me with wisdom,
charity, and patience.
In all my adversity,
sweet Saviour, say Amen.
It is a staple in the repertoire of many church choirs of many denominations.
One thing that one cannot say with any certainty about the anthem is who wrote it. From the time it was composed and initially performed until the second half of the 20th century, scholars of church music attributed the composition to Orlando Gibbons (1583 to 1625) a musician in service to the English court during the waning years of Elizabeth I and the early years of James I. Not much is known about Gibbons. He came from a musical family, and age 9 he was already a chorister in the Chapel Royal. At age 22, he was appointed to the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal and served as “the junior organist.” In the final two years of his life, he served as organist in Westminster Abbey. And he was known as the composer of “O Lord, Increase My Faith.”
That changed in 1971, when the scholar John Morehen discovered an ancient book of Renaissance church music in the New York Public Library. This book describes an original, hand-written version of the anthem with an indication that it was being incorporated into the Chapel Royal music registry. The handwriting, Morehen explains, matched precisely the handwriting of one Henry Loosemore (1607 to 1670), whose principal claim to fame was that he served as organist at King’s College, Cambridge, for 43 years.
So now, when choirs perform this tidy anthem, you may see the composer listed as Gibbons, Loosemore, or Gibbons/Loosemore.