February 1, 2015

Each week, you may find information here about the music 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:

Prelude on “I Come With Joy” – Matthew Corl

“I Come with Joy” was written in 1971 by Brian Wren (b. 1936), Emeritus Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is a writer, preacher, worship and workshop leader, and internationally published hymn-poet, with entries in most recent denominational hymnals in North America, Britain and Australia. Some of his hymn-poems have been translated into Finnish, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and Korean. Brian holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Oxford University. He is a Minister of the United Reformed Church (UK). His publications include What Language Shall I Borrow? - God-Talk in Worship: A Male Response to Feminist Theology (1989 and 2009), Praying Twice: The Music and Words of Congregational Song (2000), Advent, Christmas and Epiphany: Liturgies and Prayers for Public Worship (2008), Hymns for Today (2009) and seven hymn collections totaling 250 hymns.

I come with joy to meet my Lord,
forgiven, loved, and free,
in awe and wonder to recall
his life laid down for me.

Matthew Corl is a graduate of Westminster Choir College and Peabody Conservatory. Since 1998,  Corl has been organist and associate director of music at First United Methodist in Lakeland, FL, and a published composer of works for organ, choir, handbells and instrumental ensembles.

Chorale Prelude on “Belmont” – Alec Rowley

A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonizations. The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation, especially in its Calvinist manifestation.  During the pre-reformation days, it was not customary for lay members of a church's congregation to communally sing hymns. Singing was done by the priests and other clergy; communal singing of Gregorian chant was the function of professional choirs, or among communities of monks and nuns. John Calvin, inspired by Erasmus's comments, desired singable versions of the Psalms and other Christian texts for the communal use of the Reformed churches.

This text is found in A New Version of the Psalms of David, which was first published in England in 1696. It was the work of two men, Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady. Tate was poet laureate of England, as well as being a playwright and an adapter of other's plays. Brady was an Anglican clergyman, poet and author. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 42: 1-7.

As longs the deer for cooling streams
in parched and barren ways,
so longs my soul, O God, for thee
and thy refreshing grace.

For thee, my God, the living God,
my thirsty soul doth pine:
O when shall I behold thy face,
thou majesty divine?

Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
Hope still, and thou shalt sing
the praise of him who is thy God,
thy health’s eternal spring.

Alec Rowley (1892-1958)  studied at London's Royal Academy of Music, and later taught at Trinity College in the same city. He frequently performed and broadcast piano duets with Edgar Moy, and was widely known for his songs and compositions for solo piano and solo organ. He was for many years the organist of St Alban's Church, Teddington and was a contributor to “The Rotunda”, the house magazine of Henry Willis & Sons Ltd., organ builders.

Toccata Pontificale – Gordon Young

A toccata (from Italian toccare, "to touch") is a virtuoso piece of music featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise rapid passages or sections.  This piece is from a collection of toccatas written by Gordon Young (1919-1998), who was born in McPherson, Kansas, and during his lifetime was recognized as one of this country's great church organists. He was a prolific and talented composer for both organ and choir, with nearly 1000 published works.  During the course of his career, he was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and choirmaster in churches in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Mr. Young taught organ in conjunction with Wayne State University and for 15 years was organist and choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit.

About the Choral Music:

Come to the Table – Allen Pote

Allen Pote (b. 1945) was born in Halstead, Kansas, and educated at Texas Christian University, where his diploma was in Church Music. A Fulbright Scholar, he studied in Brussels, Belgium, and took advanced work at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. For twenty-two years he served as a full-time Director of Music in churches in Texas and Florida. He is currently a full-time composer living in Pensacola, Florida, where, with his wife Susan, he is co-director of the Pensacola Children's Choir, an organization of over 200 singers which has achieved national recognition.

This communion anthem was commissioned by the Loft Choir of Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton, Florida.  It expresses the many emotions and needs we bring to the altar, and the family we find there with God and church.

            Come, come, come to the table and bring your joy,

            Bring all your gladness and come, come, come to the table.

            Eat the bread, drink the wine, come rejoice in the Lord.

            Bring all your sorrow, bring all your pain, bring all the heartaches you bear.

            Bring who you are and hope to become, come to the table to share.

            Come, come, come to the table, remember Christ,

            Remember his love when you come, come, come to the table.

            Come in faith, come to serve, come rejoice in the Lord.

            Share in the bread, share in the wine, share in the risen Lord.

            Share as a family, one in community, one in the name of the Lord.

            Come, come, come to the table to follow Christ forgiven and free,

            You must come, come, come to the table.

            Come in faith, come in love, come, rejoice in the Lord.

About the Hymns:

I Sing the Almighty Power of God

Isaac Watts (1674-1748), often labeled the “Father of English-language hymnody,” believed that hymns were a formative tool in the Christian education of children.  Watts’ Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language, for the Use of Children (1715) was one of the most popular collections published in its day. Poems from this hymnal were used to instruct many English children in Watts’ day and for decades after his death.   In his preface,” Watts cites a biblical precedent for teaching songs to children for educational value: “The children of Israel were commanded to learn the words of the song of Moses, Deut. xxxi 19, 50, and we are directed in the New Testament, not only to sing ‘with grace in the heart, but to teach and admonish one another by hymns and songs,’ Ephes. v. 19.”  Of the four reasons he gives for learning these songs, he states that these songs “will be a constant furniture of the minds of children, that they may have something to think upon when alone, and sing over to themselves. This may sometimes give their thoughts a divine turn, and raise a young meditation. Thus they will not be forced to seek relief for an emptiness of mind, out of the loose and dangerous sonnets of the age.”

“I Sing the Almighty Power of God,” originally published as “Praise for Creation and Providence,” is now the only song that remains in common usage from this children’s hymnal. Expanding on the creation narrative in Genesis 1 and 2, Watts’ Calvinistic theology comes to the fore.  For Watts, God is an all-powerful and sovereign being who knows every “plant or flower” and controls all of nature.  This sovereign God of the Calvinist Watts was also an omnipresent judge and ruler.  While not specifically a hymn based on the Apostles’ Creed according to the preface, any child of Watts’ day who sang the hymn would likely think of it as a theological amplification of the first article of the Creed: “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” Even the opening line of the hymn cites the “almighty power of God,” echoing the beginning of the Creed.

As the Deer

“As the deer,” written in 1981, is one of the most popular songs in the contemporary Christian musical genre written in the latter twentieth century. Martin J. Nystrom (b. 1956) is a native of Seattle, Washington. After graduating from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, he served as musical evangelist with Christ for the Nations, Dallas, Texas, and produced five praise and worship albums for Hosanna! Music, Mobile, Alabama.

Lindsay Terry, in his book The Sacrifice of Praise: The Stories Behind the Greatest Praise and Worship Songs of All Time (2002), describes the circumstances surrounding the creation of this song:

Marty was a schoolteacher in Seattle, and since he had the summer off, he decided to go to the summer term of Christ for the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas. Little did he know what was about to happen to him, especially with all that he would be exposed to and the worship emphasis of the school. . .

He had graduated from Oral Roberts University and, frankly, was a little overwhelmed in ministry. He had been involved in many things at the school, not the least of which was the television ministry of ORU. All of his studies combined with many other activities had caused stress to take its toll on Marty’s spiritual life. . . .

Marty’s roommate at CFNI was a vibrant Christian who challenged Marty to go on a fast, thinking it would help him recover his joy. Marty took up the challenge, and on the nineteenth day of the fast, he found himself sitting at the piano in a room of the school, trying to write a song. He was simply playing chord progressions when he noticed a Bible on the music stand of the piano, open to Psalm 42. His eyes fell on the first verse of that chapter. After reading the verse he began to sing its message, right off the page. He wrote the first verse and the chorus of a song, practically straight through. The entire song was completed in a matter of minutes.”

Though Mr. Nystrom had not intended to perform the song publically, he shared it with a friend at Christ for the Nations before returning to Seattle. His friend introduced it to the others at the Institute, and it became a favorite. Contrary to his website, the composer appears to have written closer to 250 songs. He travels extensively in the United States and Asia, participating in conferences and retreats.

Fill My Cup, Lord

Richard Eugene Blanchard Sr. (1925-2004) was born in 1925 in Chungking, China, to Methodist missionary parents. When the Blanchard family returned home to the United States, Richard grew up as a child and youth in Indiana and North Carolina.  Blanchard was ordained in 1950, after serving two years as pastor of the Snellville-Grayson circuit of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Transferring to the Florida Conference in 1950, Blanchard completed 40 years in the ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Certainly Blanchard's most famous song was "Fill My Cup, Lord". During the 1970s the song was popularized throughout much of the United States by Blanchard's close friend, musician and evangelist Rev. Ray Vaughn.  Our United Methodist Hymnal only has the chorus.  The verses are as follows:

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy;
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from my well that never shall run dry".

There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford.
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

So, my brother, if the things this world gave you
Leave hungers that won't pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray.

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  First embraced by Roman Catholics, this hymn has since become well-known and a favorite in many denominations.   Following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the role of congregational song became much more prominent in Roman Catholic worship. The ecumenical worshipping community has been the beneficiary of some music composed for Catholic worship since that time, especially music for Communion.   We would not have some of our favorite Communion hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal and The Faith We Sing without the contribution of post-Vatican II Catholic composers. “One bread, one body” (UMH No. 620) and “Take our bread” (UMH No. 640) are just a two of these. 

Omer Westendorf (1916-1997) was one of the leading post-Vatican II composers and his hymn, “Gift of finest wheat,” is one of the best-known Communion hymns to come from the decades immediately following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  The hymn was first published in We Celebrate with Song (1979).

Beginning at age 20, Westendorf received his master of music degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and for most of his professional musical career served as organist and choirmaster at St. Bonaventure Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Under his direction, the Bonaventure Choir sang concerts and recorded sacred music for several decades. One of his greatest achievements was the founding of the World Library of Sacred Music in 1950 and World Library Publications in 1957. These organizations have been primary distributors of music for the Mass in the U.S. and beyond.  Westendorf was also known for his lectures and seminars on sacred music, consultations on liturgical music, and as a hymn writer. UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young notes that Westendorf’s “People’s Mass Book, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1976, was the first vernacular hymn and service book to implement the Catholic liturgies decreed by Vatican Council II. He wrote Music Lessons for the Man in the Pew to teach the art of sight reading choral music.”

One of the prominent features of Catholic hymns from this era is a memorable and singable refrain. For example, think of how easily congregations learn the refrain by Catholic musician Daniel Schutte, “Here I Am, Lord.”  “You satisfy the hungry heart” has an equally memorable refrain, though more reflective.   The refrain evokes the agrarian image of “finest wheat,” the source of bread, a primary staple that sustains life. The hymn writer first addresses Christ directly in the second person, implying an intimate relationship, and offers a petition to Christ to “give to us... the bread of life to eat.”

The hymn is replete with biblical references. The refrain echoes John 6:25-37, a passage where Christ develops the imagery of bread and says, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger.” Stanza one focuses on the metaphor of Christ as shepherd drawn from several passages, but especially from John 10. Stanza three is almost a direct quotation of I Corinthians 10:16-17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ. The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”  The final stanza sites the selfless and self-giving gift of Christ reminding us of Philippians 2:5-11, a creedal hymn of the early church. 

January 25, 2015

Each week, you may find information here about the music 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:

Slane – Healey Willan

"Be Thou My Vision" (Old Irish: Rop tú mo baile or Rob tú mo bhoile) is a traditional hymn from Ireland. The most well-known English version, with some minor variations, was translated by Eleanor Hull and published in 1912. In 1919, the lyrics were set to the tune of the Irish folk tune "Slane", to which the song is sung to this day, both in English and Irish. The song dates from at least the eighth century, though the text dates to the sixth-century.

The original Old Irish text, "Rop tú mo Baile" is often attributed to Saint Dallán Forgaill in the 6th century. Eochaid Mac Colla (c. 530 – 598), better known as Saint Dallan or Dallán Forgaill (Old Irish: Dallán Forchella; Latin: Dallanus Forcellius), was an early Christian Irish poet whose writings include the "Amra Choluim Chille" ("Elegy of Saint Columba") and "Rop Tú Mo Baile" ("Be Thou My Vision").  Saint Dallan was Chief Ollam of Ireland (similar to poet laureate), as well as a scholar of Latin scriptural learning. He helped to reform the Bardic Order at the Convention of Drumceat.  He reputedly wrote Amra Choluim Chille, which he completed shortly after the death of Saint Columba in 597, because Columba had successfully saved poets from expulsion from Ireland at the assembly of Druim Cett in 575. The “Amra Choluim Chille,” is the earliest Irish poem that can be dated.

"Rop tú mo Baile" had been a part of Irish monastic tradition for centuries before its setting to music. It was translated from Old Irish into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne in Ériu (the journal of the School of Irish Learning), in 1905. The English text was first versified by Eleanor Hull, in 1912, and is now the most common text used.

Translation  of the original Old Irish by Mary Byrne, 1905:

Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart

None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.

May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.

Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.

Be thou with me, be I with thee

Be thou my father, be I thy son.

Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.

Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.

Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.

Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.

Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.

Be thou every good to my body and soul.

Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.

Be thou solely chief love of my heart.

Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.

Till I am able to pass into thy hands,

My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love

Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.

I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.

Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.

For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.

Thy love in my soul and in my heart --

Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.

O King of the seven heavens grant me this --

Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,

May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.

Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,

O ruler of all, be thou my vision.

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was a 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 became 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."

Von Gott will ich nicht lassen – J. S. Bach

Lewis Helmbold (1532-1598) was one of the old Lutheran hymn-writers, and was called by his contemporaries the German Asaph.  From his boyhood he wrote poetry, but his first sacred hymn, which became the most popular, was written in 1563, during the rage of the pestilence at Erfurt, "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (From God shall nought divide me)"  In 1566, the Emperor Maximilian II nominated him poet laureate, an honor which the modest Helmbold declined. He wrote a great number of German hymns, besides many Latin poems. “Von Gott” was a favorite with many pious German princes, who chose it for their companion in wars, calamities, and in the hour of death. The Protestant emigrants from Salzburg also sang it on their wanderings and derived from it great comfort and strength in life and in death. Its tune was, according to Helmbold's own statements, taken by him from a popular air.

English Translation by Francis Browne, 2013:

I shall not abandon God
For he does not abandon me,
he leads me on the right way,
where I would otherwise go far astray,
he reaches out his hand to me.
Morning and evening
he takes good care of me
wherever I may be.

In him I shall place my trust
in my time of difficulty,
I can never regret doing so,
he transforms all suffering.
Let it be entrusted to him;
may my body, my soul, my life
be given to the Lord our God,
may he do as pleases him.

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).  

Fantasy on the chorale, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” – Michael Praetorius

"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' cause.  Heinrich 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.  It numbers among the hymns whose narrative requires the singing of all verses.  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 does 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.
You 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 has 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!

Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) was the son of Michael Schultze (Praetorius being a Latinization of the name). At an early age, Praetorius attended the University of Frankfurt. Praetorius became organist at Frankfurt and later was organist and Kapellmeister at Lüneburg. In 1604 he entered the service of the Duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbüttel, first as organist, later as kapellmeister and secretary. He was appointed honorary prior of the Ringelheim Monastery near Goslar. Praetorius became famous as composer of church music, including the mammoth edition of over twelve hundred songs. He began to write a complete encyclopedia of the art and practice of music, of which he finished three volumes with the title Syntagma Musicum. The second volume of this work is the most elaborate and valuable of all treatises on instruments and instrumental music in the 16^th century. It is considered one of the most remarkable examples of musical scholarship in existance. He also wrote Musae Sioniae, published in nine parts, and Hymnodia Sionae.

About the Choral Music:

The Storm is passing Over – Charles Tindley, arr. Barbara Baker

Along with Thomas Dorsey, Rev. Charles Tindley (1851-1933) is considered one of the fathers of modern Black gospel music.  He wrote more than sixty hymns and gospel songs, including “I’ll Overcome Someday”, which later became the significant Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome”.  “The Storm is Passing Over” was published in a collection of Tindley’s songs in 1905. 

The son of slaves, Tindley was born free in Maryland but worked as a hired plantation worker alongside slaves and other “hired on’s” for much of his youth.  After the Civil War, he moved to Philadelphia, one of many who left rural life for the hope and promise of urban centers.  In the evenings, he enlisted the help of tutors to learn to read not only English, but also Greek and Hebrew.  Eventually, he became the pastor of the Methodist church where he was first a janitor.  It is now known as the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church.  Tindley is equally known as a tremendous preacher and an activist for racial equality and social injustice.

One overriding characteristic of Black gospel is the critical importance of the message that needs to be transmitted.  As Marvin Curtis writes, “It is not so much about the performance medium, as it is about the meaning of the performance. This is music that tells a story about what it means to be free, to be redeemed.”
 

Have courage my soul and let us journey on.

Though the night is dark and I am far from home.

Thanks be to God the morning light appears.

The storm is passing over, The storm is passing over.

The storm is passing over, Hallelu.

Dr. Barbara Baker is an active teacher, arranger, and clinician with a nationally recognized reputation.  She currently directs choral ensembles at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, as well as the Gospel Choir at the Colesville United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. She is the recipient of the Maryland Award for Excellence.

About the Hymns:

How Firm a Foundation

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.

Through It All

The opening words to the song, Through it All, written by one of gospel music’s most loved songwriters and singers, Andráe Crouch (1942-2015), tell the story of his life.  His father, Benjamin Crouch Sr., his mother, Catherine, and his brother, Benjamin Jr., all died within two years of each other. Later, he was afflicted with four different kinds of cancer and had congestive heart failure for a year-and-a-half.  Through everything, he has kept up his music career and also is the pastor of Christ Memorial Church in Pacoima, California.  He has been singing and writing gospel songs for over 40 years.  Crouch was a key figure in the Jesus Music movement of the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, helped bring about contemporary Christian music, and began to bridge the gap between black and white Christian music. Though sometimes criticized for diluting the Gospel message by using contemporary styles, his songs have become staples in churches all around the world and recorded by mainstream artists such as Elvis Presley and Paul Simon.  His diverse styles of Christian music include hymns, traditional gospel songs, like the ones pioneered by Thomas A. Dorsey, contemporary light rock and pop-oriented songs backed by jazz musicians, to contemporary rhythm and blues.

Be Still My Soul

Little is known about the author of this hymn.  Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel was born in 1697.  The date of her death is unknown.  Some hymnologists suggest that she may have become a Lutheran nun.  We know her as the author of "Stille, mein Wille; dein Jesus hilft siegen" published in a collection entitled Neue Sammlung geistlicher Lieder (A new collection of spiritual songs) in 1752.  This text appears at the time of German pietism, similar in spirit in many regards to the Wesleyan revival in England of the same era.  Philipp Jacob Spener (1635-1705) led the German pietistic movement.  Though not a hymn writer himself, he inspired a revival in German hymnody characterized by faithfulness to Scripture, personal experience, and deep emotional expression.  Katharina von Schlegel is thought to be the leading female hymn writer of this period.

The hymn comes to us via a translation by Jane L. Borthwick (1813-1897), a member of the Free Church of Scotland.  Borthwick was second only to Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) in bringing the riches of German hymn heritage to the English language.  Her translation included five of the original six stanzas, appearing in Hymns from the Land of Luther, second series (1855).  The melody comes from the symphonic tone poem “Finlandia, Op. 26”,  by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).  David Evans (1874-1948), a Welsh organist-choirmaster, matched the translation with the tune for the Revised Church Hymnary  (1927). It was brought to the United States when it was used in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. for The Hymnal (1933).