Each week, you may find information here about the
organ music and hymns in the traditional worship services at First United
Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is
original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia,
GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance
your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Organ Music:
Vater
unser im Himmelreich – Dietrich Buxtehude
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an Augustinian monk and priest who became a
professor at the University of Wittenberg.
In 1517, he published his 95 Theses, proposing major reforms in the
Roman Catholic Church. These reforms
were rejected by Papal Bull, resulting in the German Reformation and leading to
the foundation of the Lutheran Church.
Luther translated the Bible into German (1521-1534) and had a huge
influence on German hymnody, publishing nine hymnals containing German chorales
written by Luther and others.
“Vater unser im Himmelreich” was included in Geistliche Lieder auffs
neu gebessert (1539), in 9 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled
"The Lord's Prayer briefly expounded and turned into metre" (apparently
first as a broadsheet with the same title, in 1539. Each of the first eight stanzas amplifies one
of the clauses of the Lord's Prayer (omitting the doxology), and the ninth is
on the Amen. It is a beautiful rendering, and has been by some regarded as
Luther's finest hymn.
Vater unser
im Himmelreich, Our
Father in Heaven,
der
du uns alle heissest gleich who
calls us all to be
Brüder sein, und
dich rufen an, brothers and
to call on you;
und
willt das Beten von uns han: and who desires prayer from us:
gib, dass nicht
bet allein der Mund, grant
that we do not pray just with our mouths;
hilf, dass es geh von
Herzengrund. Help our
prayer to come from the bottom of
our hearts.
Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637/39-1707)
was a Danish-German organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a
central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church
services. He composed in a wide variety of vocal and instrumental idioms, and
his style strongly influenced many composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1705, J.S. Bach, then a young man of twenty, walked
from Arnstadt to Lübeck, a distance
of more than 250 miles, and stayed nearly three months to hear the “Abendmusik”, meet the pre-eminent
Lübeck organist, hear him play, and, as Bach explained, "to comprehend one
thing and another about his art". Today, Buxtehude is
considered one of the most important composers in Germany of the mid-Baroque.
There are over 40 surviving chorale settings by
Buxtehude, and they constitute the most important contributions to the genre in
the 17th century. His settings include chorale variations, chorale ricercares,
chorale fantasias and chorale preludes. Buxtehude's principal contributions to
the organ chorale are his 30 short chorale preludes. The chorale preludes are
usually four-part cantus firmus settings of one stanza
of the chorale; the melody is presented in an elaborately ornamented version in
the upper voice, the three lower parts engage in some form of counterpoint (not
necessarily imitative). The ornamented
cantus firmus in these pieces represents a significant difference between the north German and the south German schools; Johann Pachelbel and his pupils would almost always leave the chorale
melody unornamented. This is the form
Buxtehude has chosen for this setting of “Vater Unser”.
A Child’s Prayer – Noel Goemanne
Noël Goemanne (1926-2010) was born in December
in Poperinge, Belgium, and was named "Noël" in honor of Christmas,
and during his long career as a composer of sacred music, he wrote many choral
and organ pieces to celebrate that season. He attended The Lemmens Institute
and the Royal Conservatory of Liege in Belgium. Outspoken about the importance
of music from his earliest years, he was arrested during World War II for
publicly playing the music of the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn during the
Nazi occupation. In 1952, he and his wife Janine immigrated to the United
States, and he took the position of church organist at St. Mary's Catholic
Church in Victoria, Texas. When the
liturgical rites of the Catholic Church changed in the early 1960s, he was quick
to adapt to the changes while adhering to classical good taste. He composed the
first Vatican II-approved Masses in English for use in the Church. Goemanne held organist and choirmaster
positions at St. Rita's Catholic Church and Out Lady, Queen of Martyrs Church
in Detroit, Michigan; St. Monica's Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Seminary in
Dallas; and, finally, Christ the King Catholic Church from 1972 until his
death. During his long composing career,
Goemanne received the "Pro Ecclesia" medal from the Vatican in 1977,
the award from the Institute of Sacred Music, Manila, Philippines in 1974, and
numerous ASCAP awards.
“A
Child’s Prayer” is part of a suite called “Church Windows”, written in
1960. He has cited Mark 10:14 as the
inspiration for simple, contemplative meditation: “Let the little children come to me, and do
not hinder them, for of such is the Kingdom of God.”
Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren - Georg
Kauffmann
Nikolaus Selnecker (1532-1592) was organist
at the Kaiserburg chapel in Nürnberg. In 1550, he went to the University
of Wittenberg. At the end of 1557, he
was appointed second court preacher at Dresden, and tutor to the heir apparent
Prince Alexander, also supervising the education of the choir boys of
the royal chapel. He was ordained at Wittenberg on January 6,
1558. He wrote this chorale in 1587.
Now let us come
before Him,
With song and prayer adore Him,
Who to our life hath given
All needed strength from Heaven.
Georg Friedrich Kauffmann (1679-1735) was a Baroque composer and organist from southern
Germany who composed primarily
sacred works for the organ and voice. Late in his life, Kauffmann started to
publish a complete edition of his organ chorales; however, he died of consumption before they had been
completely published. His widow completed the publication of the Harmonische Seelenlust. While they did not make a great first
impression, over the next century they became one of the most significant
achievements in German organ music, and remained in high demand well into the
19th century. They consisted of ninety-eight preludes on sixty-three chorales, including today’s postlude.
About the Hymns:
Christ
is Risen
This
text was written in 1984 by Brian Wren (b. 1936), an internationally published
hymn writer whose work appears in hymnals from many denominations and
traditions. Ordained in Britain’s United Reformed Church, he holds BA and PhD
degrees from Oxford University. On July 1, 2000, he was appointed the first
John and Miriam Conant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in
Atlanta. "Christ Is Risen! Shout
Hosanna!" celebrates God's surprising Easter turnaround of the Good Friday
events.
Near to the Heart of God
Clcland
B. McAfee (1866-1944) is known for this one hymn, his “one-hit-wonder”. McAfee wrote “Near to the Heart of God” in
1903, after two daughters of his brother Howard died os diphtheria within 24
hours of each other. The choir of Park
College went to Howard McAfee’s quarantined house and sang it outside the
window to encourage the grieving family.
McAfee was at Park College, Parkville, MO, for almost 20 years, serving
on the faculty and as college chaplain and choir director. He then pastored in Chicago, IL and Brooklyn,
NY. He was also on the faculty at
McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and directed the Presbyterian Board
of Foreign Missions.
Take Time to Be Holy
“Take
Time to Be Holy” was written by William Longstaff (1822-1894) in 1882. Longstaff, an English businessman, had often
meditated on 1 Peter 1:16, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”, and considered it to be
the heart of the gospel. Upon hearing
Dr. Griffith John, a missionary from China, speak and use the phrase, “Take
time and be holy”, he was inspired to write this hymn. Longstaff showed the hymn to Ira Sankey,
who in turn passed it on to American songwriter George C. Stebbins (1846-1945)
to set in 1882. Stebbins laid it aside and did not recall it until an
evangelistic meeting in India, during which the theme of holiness was explored.
Stebbins recalled Longstaff’s hymn and set it to music for the revival. He sent
his tune “HOLINESS” to Sankey, who published the hymn in New Songs and Sacred Solos
(1888).
About the Vocal Music:
Restless
– Audrey Assad
Audrey Nicole Assad (b. 1983) is an
American singer-songwriter and contemporary Christian music artist. Her debut album, “The House You're Building”, was released through Sparrow Records in July 2010 and went
to be named Christian Album of 2010 on Amazon.com and the Christian
Breakthrough Album of the Year on iTunes.
A majority of her religious songs are written in a way that emphasizes
being sung to God rather than about God.
You dwell in the
songs that we are singing,
Rising to the Heavens, Rising to Your heart,
Our praises filling up the spaces in between our frailty and everything You are.
You are the keeper of my heart.
Oh, speak now for my soul is listening;
Say that You have saved me; Whisper in the dark,
'Cause I know You’re more than my salvation.
Without You, I am hopeless. Tell me who You are.
You are the keeper of my heart.
Still my heart. Hold me close.
Let me hear a still small voice.
Let it grow. Let it rise Into a shout, Into a cry.
I am restless until I rest in You.
Our praises filling up the spaces in between our frailty and everything You are.
You are the keeper of my heart.
Oh, speak now for my soul is listening;
Say that You have saved me; Whisper in the dark,
'Cause I know You’re more than my salvation.
Without You, I am hopeless. Tell me who You are.
You are the keeper of my heart.
Still my heart. Hold me close.
Let me hear a still small voice.
Let it grow. Let it rise Into a shout, Into a cry.
I am restless until I rest in You.
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