Pentecost Sunday
About the Organ Music:
Spirit
of God, Descend Upon my Heart – Joe Utterback
George
Croly was born in Dublin, Aug. 17, 1780, and educated at the Dublin University.
After taking Holy Orders, he laboured in Ireland till about 1810, when he took
up his residence in London, and devoted himself to literature. In 1835 he succeeded
to the united benefices of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and St. Benet Sherehog,
retaining the same till his death, which occurred suddenly in the public
street, Holborn, Nov. 24, 1860. His prose publications, in addition to
contributions to Blackwood's Magazine, were numerous, and dealt with
biographical, historical, and scriptural subjects. His hymns were published in Psalms
and Hymns for Public Worship. Written and compiled by the Rev. George Croly,
LL.D. London Kendrick, 1854.
This hymn is an intense,
personal prayer for the working of the Holy Spirit (st. 1), for illumination
(st. 2), for more fervent love for Christ (st. 3), for greater holiness in our
walk with the Lord (st. 4), and for the fullness of the Spirit (st. 5). The
first line was changed from "Spirit of God, descend upon my heart" to
"Spirit of God, who dwells within my heart." The original text of the first verse was:
Spirit of God, who dwells within my
heart,
wean it from sin, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
and make me love you as I ought to love.
wean it from sin, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
and make me love you as I ought to love.
Joe Utterback (b. 1944) has been a compelling
artist on the American jazz scene for more than fifty years, which have
included European and American tours, as well as long-term gigs in the jazz
centers of Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco, and currently New York City. His piano style has been greatly influenced
by Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, and Art Tatum. Utterback’s nearly 400 published compositions
reflect the energy, color, and moods of his improvisations. His many
jazz-influenced works for piano, voice, chamber music, organ, and choir have
been performed throughout the United States and in more than fifty foreign
countries.
Song 13
– Eric Thiman
Orlando Gibbons composed SONG 13 in soprano and bass parts. Used as a setting for a text from the Song of Songs, the tune was published in George Withers' Hymnes and Songs of the Church (1623) as hymn number 13 (hence the tune name). In hymnals, the melody is presented in a simplified isorhythmic (all equal rhythms) form; the more rhythmically varied original also had more notes and was better suited to solo singing.
Samuel Longfellow (b. Portland, ME, 1819; d. Portland, 1892) wrote this text with the heading "Prayer for Inspiration." It was published in the Unitarian hymnal Hymns of the Spirit in 1864. Like "O Come, O Come, Immanuel" (328), this text is a catalog: it lists attributes of the Holy Spirit in successive stanzas. The text is a prayer that the application of the Spirit's attributes may result in more vibrant Christian living, which will then be manifest in discernment of God's will (st. 1), holiness and purity (st. 2), courageous servanthood (st. 3), obedience to God's rule (st. 4), peace and restfulness (st. 5), and the experience of joy (st. 6). The final stanza alludes to Numbers 21:17 ("song of the well") and to John 4:10 ("living water"). Note that this hymn addresses the Holy Spirit without any reference to the Trinity, a Unitarian position that should not, however, hamper its use.
Samuel Longfellow is not as famous as his brother, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, about whom he wrote a biography that was published in 1886. In his time, however, Samuel was well known as a Unitarian preacher and hymn writer. Educated at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School, he became a minister in 1848 and served Unitarian congregations in Fall River, Massachusetts (1848-1851), Brooklyn, New York (1853-1860), and Germantown, Pennsylvania (1860-1883). With Samuel Johnson he compiled two hymnals: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (1846) and Hymns of the Spirit (1864). He also published a number of his hymn texts in A Book of Hymns and Tunes (1860).
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine,
Dawn upon this soul of mine;
Word of God, and inward light,
Wake my spirit, clear my sight.
Eric Harding Thiman (1900 – 1975) was an English composer and organist.Largely self-taught, he was awarded an FRCO in 1921. From 1930 he was Professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music and later, from 1956 to 1962, was Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of London. From 1958, having moved from Park Chapel (a Congregational Church in Crouch End, later to join with Ferme Park Baptist Church to form a Union Church in the same district, he was organist of the City Temple in London, a Congregational Church where he increased his renown as an improviser of great skill. He was a keen advocate of amateur music-making and in the 1960s was the conductor and Musical Director of the Purley Choral Society. A prolific composer of small-scale works, he wrote much educational music for piano and other instruments, as well as accessible music for church choirs.
Komm Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott – J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and
musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through
his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of
rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions
include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been
lost to posterity. His music is
revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic
beauty. Bach's abilities as an organist
were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was
not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and
performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven,
Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began
writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music. Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony". He is now generally regarded as one of the
main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of
all time. A highly devout Christian,
Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory).
For centuries, "Komm,
Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" ("Come,
Holy Ghost, God and Lord") has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied)
for Pentecost in German-speaking Lutheranism. The hymn inspired composers from the
Renaissance to contemporary to write chorale preludes and vocal compositions.
The first stanza is a translation of the Latin antiphon for Pentecost
"Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium" (Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful)
from the 11th century.
Martin Luther added two more stanzas, keeping not only the meter and the tune, but also the structure, with acclamations at the beginning of lines 1 and 5, and the final Halleluja. In his stanzas, the group of "deiner Gläubigen" (your believers) is speaking directly, stating "wir" and "uns" ("we" and "us"). Luther alludes to several of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to Isaiah 11:2: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. He also drew on Galatians 4:6 ("because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"), Matthew 23:8-10 ("for one is your Master"), and Romans 8:26 ("the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities"). In the second stanza, Luther uses the attributes "heiliges Licht, edler Hort" (holy light, precious refuge) and words the request "protect us from strange doctrines / so that we may never look for any teacher / except Jesus in true belief". In the last stanza, the Spirit's "ardent love" and "sweet consolation" are named, asking for help "always to remain joyful and comforted / in your service" and "so that we may bravely struggle / through life and death to reach you!"
The hymn appeared first in 1524 in Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn (de), (booklet of spiritual song), collected by Johann Walter.[4] The same year it appeared also in Eyn Enchiridion in Erfurt, titled "Der gesank Veni sancte spiritus". It has been translated, for example by Catherine Winkworth as Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord! in 1855, and has appeared in hymnals of various denominations.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity. His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music. Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony". He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time. A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory).
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About the Choral Music:
Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Faure
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Fauré was born into a cultured but not especially musical family. His talent became clear when he was a small boy. At the age of nine, he was sent to a music college in Paris, where he was trained to be a church organist and choirmaster. Fauré was a precociously brilliant composer. By his late teens, he had already developed his own unique and utterly assured musical voice. Cantique de Jean Racine (Op. 11) is a work for mixed chorus and piano or organ by Gabriel Fauré. Written by the nineteen-year-old composer in 1864-5, the piece won Fauré the first prize when he graduated from the École Niedermeyer de Paris and was first performed the following year on August 4, 1866, with accompaniment of strings and organ. It was first published around 1875 or 1876 (Schoen, Paris, as part of the series Echo des Maîtrises) and appeared in a version for orchestra (possibly by the composer) in 1906. The text, "Verbe égal au Très-Haut", is a paraphrase by Jean Racine (Hymnes traduites du Bréviaire romain, 1688) of the pseudo-ambrosian hymn for Tuesday matins, Consors paterni luminis.
O
Redeemer divine, our sole hope of salvation,
Eternal
Light of the earth and the sky, we kneel in adoration.
O
Savior turn on us Thy loving eye!
Send
down on us the fire of Thy grace all consuming,
Whose
wondrous might dispersed the powers of hell,
And
rouse our slumbering souls with Thy radiance,
That
they may waken Thy mercy to tell,
O
Christ, bestow Thy blessing on us, we implore Thee,
Who
here are gathered on penitent knee.
Accept
the hymns we chant to Thine eternal glory
And
these Thy gifts we return unto Thee.
O Spirit of the Living God
Henry
Hallam Tweedy (1868-1953) hailed from the northeast, born in Binghamton, N.Y.
He was granted degrees from Phillips Andover Academy, Yale University, Union
Theological Seminary and the University of Berlin. A Congregational pastor, he served churches
in New York and Connecticut, and later taught practical theology from 1909-1937
at Yale Divinity School. He co-authored
several books, including Training the Devotional Life (1919) and Religious
Training in School and Home (1917). His most important contribution,
however, was as editor of the hymnal Christian Worship and Praise
(1939).
In addition to editing a hymnal, Tweedy published a practical volume, The Minister and His Hymnal, and won several hymn contests sponsored by the Homiletic Review and the Hymn Society of America.
In addition to editing a hymnal, Tweedy published a practical volume, The Minister and His Hymnal, and won several hymn contests sponsored by the Homiletic Review and the Hymn Society of America.
Tweedy
said he composed “O Spirit of the Living God” because “some of the old
Pentecostal hymns were to me unsatisfactory, and I was eager to interpret the
symbolism of the story in Acts in a way that modern men could understand and
sincerely mean.” The text is an
exposition of Acts 2, a passage focused on Pentecost. The hymn was first
published in the Methodist Hymnal (1935).
Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart
The
words of this sung prayer are among the most passionate in the history of
hymnody. This masterpiece of Christian
devotional poetry is the work of George Croly (1780-1860), an Anglican minister
born in Dublin, Ireland, but whose ministry took place in London. Having served
a small parish in Ireland, he moved to London to pursue a literary career where
he wrote in several mediums including poetry, novels, history and
biography. In 1835, Croly accepted the challenge to reopen a church in
one of the worst slum areas of London, that had been closed for over a century.
He was known among his peers as thoroughly conservative in theology with no
tolerance for liberal views. Through personal charisma and dynamic preaching,
he attracted large crowds to St. Stephen’s Church. Croly prepared a new
hymnal in 1854 for his congregation and published it as Psalms and Hymns
for Public Worship. “Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart” first appeared
in that hymnal under the title “Holiness Desired.” It is the only hymn by Croly
to have survived.
O Church of God, United
"O Church
of God, United" was composed for a hymn search conducted by The Hymn
Society of America (now The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada) for
the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Evanston,
Illinois, on the campus of Northwestern University, August 15-31, 1954, on the
theme, "Jesus Christ – the Hope of the World." This contest attracted
nearly 500 submissions. Though the hymn did not win the competition, its merit
was recognized, appearing in the July 1954 issue of The Hymn, the
journal of the Society, and included in a small collection entitled Eleven
Ecumenical Hymns; written at the invitation of The Hymn Society of America in
recognition of the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston.
Illinois. August, 1954.
The author,
Frederick B. Morley (1884-1969) was born in Canada and educated at Syracuse
University and Boston University School of Theology. He was ordained as a
Methodist minister in 1915 and served churches in New Jersey and New York.
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