I taped (from Cox DVR) the whole funeral and have played the portion of "The Mansions of the Lord" no fewer than 100 times. I have never heard a piece more moving than this one. The drum rolls (directly after the voice part ends) is simply amazing. If you have surround sound, it is even more awesome! I have found several pieces from Nick Glennie-Smith and there are a couple of them that kind of "play around" with the tune to this song. Go to any downloading music program, type in his name and you should be able to pull them up. Purchased the movie “We Were Soldiers” and there are different parts in the movie where this music is played. The whole song in its entirety is played at the end of the movie. However, it doesn’t sound nearly as good as the one at the National Cathedral (the violins at the funeral were much crisper and the orchestral part plays two times).
If someone has a recording on DVD of the portion of this funeral, I will definitely pay to get it. In the meantime, I will be trying to download that portion onto VHS tape since I don't have a DVD recorder yet.
P.S. To see the looks on the Reagan family while this piece of music is being played will definitely move you, for sure! To see Nancy's eyes look up from the floor towards the last of the voice part is amazing. Also, right as the casket passes Nancy, has anyone noticed that she tries to touch it? I think Patti whispered to her something to the effect of "did you try to touch him" and her (Nancy)'s answer was "yes, yes."
This is a phenomenally beautiful hymn. I have the MP3 on my computer, and I cannot stop playing it. Nearly a week after the service for Reagan, it still brings tears to my eyes.