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:
Praeludium: Fuga "Ein feste Burg ist unser
Gott" - Christlieb Siegmund Binder
"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott”) is one of
the best known of Martin Luther's hymns. Luther wrote the words and composed the melody sometime between 1527 and 1529. It has been translated into English at least
seventy times and also into many other languages. The words are a paraphrase of Psalm 46. "A Mighty Fortress" is
one of the best loved hymns of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. It has been called the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation" for the effect it had in increasing the support
for the Reformers' causeHeinrich Heine states that it was sung by Luther and his companions as they entered Worms on 16 April 1521 for the Diet.
The
earliest extant hymnal in which it appears is that of Andrew Rauscher (1531),
but it is supposed to have been in Joseph Klug's Wittenberg hymnal of 1529, of
which no copy exists. Its title was “Der
xxxxvi. Psalm. Deus noster refugium et virtus.” Before that it is supposed to have appeared in
the Hans Weiss’ Wittenberg hymnal of 1528, also lost. This evidence would support its being written
in 1527–1529, since Luther's hymns were printed shortly after they were
written.
Tradition
states that the third Protestant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, had it played as his forces went to battle in
the Thirty Years' War.
The hymn had been translated into Swedish already in 1536, presumably by Olaus Petri, with the incipit, “Vår
Gud är oss en väldig borg.” In
the late 19th century the song also became an anthem of the early Swedish socialist movement.
It was
first translated into English by Myles Coverdale in 1539 with the title, “Oure God is a defence and towre.” The
first English translation in common usage was “God is our Refuge in Distress, Our strong Defence” in J.C.
Jacobi's Psal.
Ger. in 1722. The most popular English version is “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark
never failing” and was translated by Frederick H. Hedge in 1853.
The
hymn's enduring popularity in Western Christendom
has breached boundaries set in the Reformation as it is now a suggested hymn
for Catholic Masses.
It currently appears in the second
edition of the Catholic Book of
Worship, published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, though its adoption is not without
controversy.
Luther
composed the melody, named "Ein feste Burg" from the text's first
line, in meter 87.87.55.56.7.
This is sometimes denoted "rhythmic tune" to distinguish it from the
later isometric variant, in 87.87.66.66.7 meter which is more widely known and
used. In 1906 Edouard Rœhrich wrote, "The authentic form of this melody
differs very much from that which one sings in most Protestant churches and figures
in (Giacomo Meyerbeer's) The
Huguenots. ... The
original melody is extremely rhythmic,
by the way it bends to all the nuances of the text ..." While 19th-century
musicologists
disputed Luther's authorship of the music to the hymn, that opinion has been
modified by more recent research; it is now the consensus view of musical
scholars that Luther did indeed compose the famous tune to go with the words.
A
mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in
our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though
this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word
above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
This contrapuntal setting is by
Christlieb Siegmund Binder (1723-1789), who was organist at Dresden. A very prolific composer, Binder was one of
the first to adopt the “elegant” style in his instrumental and symphonic works.
Partita
on an Early American Folk Hymn - Franklin Ashdown
In 1787, Dr. John Rippon published A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors as a supplement
to Isaac Watts’ classic Psalms and Hymns. The book was an immense success, partly
due to the large number of original hymns first printer there. Among these original hymns was the title “How
Firm a Foundation.” Rippon
attributed the authorship simply to “K-.”
He says in the preface that such attributions meant either that the
author was unknown or that the hymn had undergone significant revisions
for publication. The anonymous tune “Foundation” first appeared in Joseph
Funk's A Compilation of Genuine Church Music (1832) as a setting for this
text. The tune was also published in Southern
Harmony and Sacred Harp. Later studies have revealed that “K”
almost certainly referred to R. Keene, who was at one time a song leader in Dr.
Rippon’s church and is also known to have authored the hymn’s melody.
How firm a
foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
Fear not, I am
with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
Franklin Ashdown is a composer and a medical doctor, and has
pursued dual careers for the past three decades. Born in 1942, he was recruited
to play the organ for a local congregation at age 13. He is a widely published composer of organ
and choral music. A resident of
Alamogordo, NM, Dr. Ashdown enjoys a full life as an internist, composer, and
organist-choir director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
This partita consists of five variations based on phrases from
the hymn. The third variation is titled
“Chorale” and presents the text “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.”
The fourth variation, “Psalm” is “What more can He say than to you He hath
said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”.
St.
Anne – Healey Willan
“Our God, Our Help in
Ages Past” is a hymn by Isaac
Watts which paraphrases Psalm 90. It
originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is
usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five, seven and nine. In 1738, John
Wesley in his hymnal, Psalms
and Hymns, changed the first line of the text from "Our
God" to "O God." Both Watts' wording and Wesley's rewording
remain in current use. The hymn was
originally part of The Psalms of
David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by
Watts in 1719. In this book he paraphrased in Christian verse the
entire psalter with the
exception of twelve Psalms which he felt were unsuited for Christian usage.
The hymn tune
"St. Anne" to which the text is most often sung was composed by William
Croft in 1708 whilst he was the organist of the church of St
Anne, Soho. It first appeared
anonymously in the Supplement to
the New Version of the Psalms, 6th edition in 1708. It was
originally intended to be used with a version of Psalm 62. It was not until
sometime later when set to Watts' text that the tune gained recognition.
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to
come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever rolling stream, Bears all its sons
away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.
Healey Willan
(1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and
composer. He composed more than 800
works including operas, symphonies, chamber
music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and
piano, but is best known for his religious
music. Willan was born
in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St.
Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne. He earned, by examination in organ playing,
harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship
in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to
an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London
Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant"). In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada. In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene
(Toronto), where he remained until his death. St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a
North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians. In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music)
appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department.
In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it
disbanded in 1939. From 1937 to 1950,
Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of
Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In
Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally
grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth
Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of
Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so
honoured. People who remember Willan from his time at St
Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by
quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction;
Scotch by absorption."
About the Choral Music:
We
are Singing, for the Lord is Our Light – Hal Hopson
The
history of South
Africa under white British rule is marked by the
existence of one of the most brutal systems of racial segregation that the
world has ever known. A system by the name of “Apartheid”, literally meaning
“separateness” in the Afrikaans language, made Africans of color aliens in their homeland. The
laws of Apartheid forced millions to live in impoverished townships where they
were denied the most basic human
rights. Apartheid, under which the white minority
held power over the entire population, was met with strong internal and
external resistance, prompting global boycotts of sales and trade with South
Africa. The most powerful form of resistance, however, was the refusal of South
African blacks to remain prisoners in their own land. Throughout every stage of the struggle, the
“liberation music” both fueled and united the movement. Song was a communal act
of expression that shed light on the injustices of apartheid, therefore playing
a major role in the eventual reform of the South African government.
Siyahamba is a South African hymn that became popular in North
American churches in the 1990s. The title means "We Are Marching" or
"We are Walking" in the Zulu language. It is said to have been composed around 1950
by Andries van Tonder, an elder of the Judith Church. The original composition was in Afrikaans (with
the title "Ons marsjeer nou in die lig van God") and was subsequently
translated into Zulu by Thabo Mkhize.
Siyahamba ekukhanyen' kwenkhos
(We are marching in the light of God)
We are singing, oh, we are singing for the Lord is our
light.
The
Lord is the strength of our lives; of whom shall we be afraid?
Though
foes may be near to destroy; the Lord will be our light.
One
thing have we asked of the Lord, yes, this is the thing we seek:
To
dwell in the house of the Lord; to live with God forever.
When
burdens are heavy to bear, our shelter is God alone.
Our
feet are lifted high; yes, high upon a rock.
We
walk in the strength of the Lord, God’s love is ever sure.
We
shout that the world may hear, we sing a joyful song.
About the Hymns:
God
of Grace and God of Glory
“God of
grace and God of glory” was written in 1930 by Harry Emerson Fosdick
(1878-1969) for the dedication of the famous Riverside Church in New York
City. Fosdick was granted degrees
from Colgate University and Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1903
to ministry in the Baptist Church and became pastor of First Baptist Church,
Montclair, N.J. Fosdick served as
a chaplain during World War I and then was pastor of First Presbyterian Church
in New York City. From this congregation he was called to pastor Park Avenue
Baptist Church, which was renamed Riverside Church.
“God of grace and God of glory” was written while the United States was in the
throes of the Great Depression between the two World Wars. Fosdick was a
champion of the social gospel, a movement that recognized the plight of the
poor, especially in the urban Northeast during the Industrial
Revolution. UM Hymnal
editor Carlton Young has noted: “Fosdick’s stirring radio sermons, books, and
public pronouncements established Riverside as a forum for the critique of the
same wealth and privilege whose gifts had made possible the building of the
church. Under his leadership Riverside Church was interdenominational,
interracial, without a creed, and, astonishingly for Baptists, required no
specific mode of baptism. At the center of Fosdick’s ministry was urban social
ministry.” Fosdick was perhaps the
most vocal proponent of the social gospel of his time—a position that brought
both wide acclaim and broad disdain.
Standing on the Promises
R. Kelso Carter became an ordained Methodist
minister (1887) at the age of 38. A year earlier, he was a professor at the
Pennsylvania Military Academy, where he wrote the hymn, "Standing On the
Promises," after reading Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians
I: 20: "For all the promise of God
in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." I was published in Songs of Perfect Love,
one of two hymns compiled by Carter. The
drum-beating, military march style of the music reflects the influence of the
military academy life that surrounded Carter when it was written. Carter was active in the Methodist
Camp-Meeting movement, and “Standing on the Promises” was widely used in
evangelistic crusades well into the 20th century and is still found in many
hymnals. It is a reminder of the
Christian’s daily dependence on the promises of God.
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