韓德爾 (George Frideric Handel, 1685-1759) 是巴洛克時期重要的音樂家。出生於德國，年輕時旅居歐洲各地，學習音樂創作與寫作。一七一二年開始，工作版圖轉移至英國，而後在此奉獻一生。一七一七至一八年，韓德爾為第一任項多斯公爵 (First Duke of Chandos) 創作樂曲，其中以十一部《項多斯頌歌》(Chandos Anthem) 最具代表。
《項多斯頌歌》承襲英國國教聖樂—頌歌 (anthem) 之傳統與風格，以詩篇 (Psalm) 經文作為歌詞，並採用「詩節頌歌」(verse anthem) 的形式創作，通常包含了獨唱、重唱與合唱等數首樂曲，並加入樂器伴奏。此十一部作品將頌歌這個曲種推及至盛，其完美的樂曲結構、典雅優美的樂曲風格，展現了韓德爾純熟的寫作技法，為後期大型神劇作品奠下良好的根基。
《我要永遠歌頌你的恩惠》為第七部《項多斯頌歌》，內容包含一首器樂序奏、三首獨唱曲、一首二重唱曲、一首獨唱與合唱曲、以及兩首純合唱曲等共八首樂曲。第一曲〈序奏〉為雙賦格曲，展現巴洛克時期對位技巧；第二曲〈我要永遠歌頌你的恩惠〉為女高音獨唱與合唱樂曲，女高音獨唱溫柔婉約，合唱團則氣勢輝煌，以人聲編制對比表現經文之意涵；第三曲〈誰能比主〉與第四曲〈神是大有威嚴〉為男高音獨唱曲，前者以伴奏吟誦調 (Accompagnato) 款款稱頌上帝，後者以大量附點節奏展現上帝如君王般的威嚴形象；第五曲〈天地皆屬你〉為假聲男高音與男低音的二重唱曲，以高音聲部展現“天”的高，以低音聲部象徵“地”的深；第六曲〈公平與正義〉為純合唱曲，以輕巧躍動的三拍子寫作，塑造歡欣鼓舞之氛圍；第七曲〈那民是有福的〉為女高音獨唱曲，利用大量的快速音群展現榮耀上帝時雀躍的心情；第八曲〈你是他們的力量和榮耀〉各聲部此起彼落地歡唱“阿雷路亞”，將前七曲對上帝之讚頌送及至天。《我要永遠歌頌你的恩惠》典雅內斂、精巧細緻的音樂外貌，將經文表達的淋漓盡致。雖未受到後世注目，但其光芒仍不容忽視，研究者希望透過本論文，讓此部頌歌在台灣更廣為流傳。
本論文共分為五章，第一章「緒論」探討研究動機、研究範圍與內容、及研究方法與文獻；第二章「背景探究」分為三節，分別論述韓德爾之生平、頌歌的發展、及本作品歌詞之分析；第三章「創作手法分析」分為八節，依序論述本作品中八曲之創作手法；第四章「音樂詮釋」共分八節，給予八首樂曲演出之詮釋與建議；第五章為「結論」。

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the greatest musicians of the Baroque era. Born in Germany, Handel travelled across Europe to study music composition during his youth. Starting in 1712, he chose to further his career in London, where he remained for the rest of his life. From 1717 to 1718, Handel composed music for the First Duke of Chandos. Among the works written in this period, the eleven Chandos Anthems particularly stand out as the most distinctive of Handel’s style.
The Chandos Anthems inherited the tradition and style of the Anglican sacred music: the anthem genre. Using Psalms for text, the anthem was composed in the form of verse anthem, and often comprised soli and choral pieces with instrumental accompaniment. The genre culminated in Handel’s exemplar eleven Chandos Anthems. Their impeccable structure and elegant style attested Handel’s adept composition techniques, which laid a firm foundation for future large-scale oratorios.
My Song Shall Be Alway, Chandos Anthems No.7, includes eight pieces: a sinfonia, three solo movements, one duet, one solo and chorus piece, and two choral movements. The soprano soloist exalts the name of the Almighty Lord by employing the coloratura technique. The majestic image of the Lord is duly captured in the musical expression of the rhythmic dotted notes, written for the tenor solo piece. The movement for alto-tenor and bass soloists sets the singers’ contrasting vocal range in opposition to signify the “heaven” and the “earth”. The magnificent, dynamic chorus symbolizes the coming of the angelic host and God Himself. My Song Shall Be Alway displays at once a graceful and refined musical outlook that gives shape and expression to the scriptures. Though less well-known, this work deserves to be recognized as an extraordinary work.
This thesis comprises five chapters. The Introduction chapter covers research motivation, research scope and content, methodology, and related academic literature. The second chapter, divided into three parts, includes a biography of the composer, the development history of anthem, and lyric analysis of the Chandos Anthems. The third and fourth chapters—Compositional Analysis and Musical Interpretation—are both divided into eight sections to discuss, respectively, eight movements in this anthem. The final chapter concludes the thesis.

【中文書目】
台灣聖公會。《公禱書》。台北：財團法人台灣聖公會，2010。

史惟亮。《韓德爾》。台北：希望，1972。

李振邦。《教會音樂》。台北：世界文物，2002。

杜蘭。《宗教改革 (The reformation : the religious revolution, 1957)》。幼獅文化編譯中心 譯。台北：幼獅文化，1977。

祈伯爾。《歷史的軌跡：二千年教會史》。李林靜芝譯。台北：校園，1986。

皆川達夫。《巴洛克音樂》。吳憶帆 譯。台北：志文，2001。

陳錦文。《當以嘴親子：從詩篇結構看其信息》。香港：天道書樓，2009。

張國定。《詩篇》第三冊。香港：天道書樓，1999-2004。

【西文書目】
Beeks, Graydon. Bach, Handel, Scarlatti: Tercentenary Essays. Edited by Peter Williams. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Best, Terence. Handel collections and their history. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.

Blume, Friedrich. Renaissance and Baroque music; a comprehensive survey. Translated by M. D. Herter Norton. New York: Norton & Company, 1967.

Burrows, Donald. The Cambridge companion to Handel. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Demaree, Robert W. and Don V. Moses, The Complete Conductor. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1995.

Donington, Robert. Baroque music: style and performance: a handbook.
New York: Norton & Company, 1982.

Garretson, Robert L. Choral Music: History, Style, and Performance Practice.
Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1993.

________. Conducting Choral Music. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1998.

Harris, Ellen T. Handel as Orpheus : voice and desire in the chamber cantatas.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.

Hogwood, Christopher. Handel. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1988.

Kaplan, Abraham. Choral Conducting. New York: Norton & Company, 1985.

Lang, Paul Henry. George Frideric Handel. New York: Norton & Company, 1966.

Smith, Ruth. Handel's oratorios and eighteenth-century thought. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Ulrich, Homer. A Survey of Choral Music. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.

Weinstock, Herbert. Handel. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1979.

【樂譜】

Händel, Georg Friedrich. My Song Shall Be Alway (Mein Lied sing' auf ewig), HWV 252. Edited by Gerald Hendrie. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1987.

Händel, Georg Friedrich. Brockes-Passion, HWV 48. Edited by Friedrich Chrysander.Leipzig: Deutsche Händelgesellschaft, 1863.

Händel, Georg Friedrich. Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74. Edited by Friedrich Chrysander. Leipzig: Deutsche Händelgesellschaft, 1887.

Händel, Georg Friedrich. Drei Te Deum. Edited by Friedrich Chrysander.
Leipzig: Deutsche Händelgesellschaft, 1872.