January 18, 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:

Lord, I Have Shut the Door – Don Hustad

William Runyan (1870-1957) served as the pastor of a number of congregations, and later was an editor for Hope Publishing Company. He edited and published books of sacred song, and wrote the words for many hymns. Runyan also composed tunes for the lyrics of others (such as for the text of Great Is Thy Faithfulness, written by his friend and fellow pastor Thomas Chisholm). But in the case of the 1923 hymn, Lord, I Have Shut the Door, as with many more, he has given us both.

There is a place for both public and private prayer, both group and individual prayer. At the tomb of Lazarus, the Lord Jesus prayed publicly. In the Gethsemane, He prayed privately. During the ten days between Christ’s ascension and the birth of the church at Pentecost, Christ’s followers gathered as a group for prayer. And after his dramatic confrontation with the glorified Christ, Paul spent time in personal prayer.  A superficial reading of the Lord’s instruction on private prayer in the Sermon on the Mount might suggest that He favors only private prayer. However, it is specifically public prayer offered for the reason of impressing others that He condemns.

“When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:5-6). 

In addition to worship and praise, confession and intercession, we need that personal and private time of prayer, regularly, to align ourselves with the will of God, and seek His mercy and grace to do His will. And it is that venue for personal prayer that William Runyan describes in his hymn.

Lord, I have shut the door, Speak now the word
Which in the din and throng Could not be heard;
Hushed now my inner heart, Whisper Thy will,
While I have come apart, While all is still.

Lord, I have shut the door, Strengthen my heart;
Yonder awaits the task – I share a part.
Only through grace bestowed May I be true;
Here, while alone with Thee, My strength renew.

Don Hustad (1918-2013) was one of the giants of Christian music of the 20th century. Hustad had a distinguished ministry and a life-long profession as a recording artist, composer, arranger, teacher, conductor, hymnal editor, and author.  He began work as staff musician of Chicago's WMBI in the early 1940s, worked with soloist George Beverly Shea on a weekly broadcast called "Club Time," and served for some 20 years as organist for a popular radio broadcast "Songs in the Night." He taught at Olivet Nazarene College in Kankakee, Illinois from 1946 to 1950, at which time Hustad was appointed director of the Sacred Music Department at Moody Bible Institute—a position he held until 1961.  During his 11-year tenure at Moody he developed the Moody Chorale into a superior choral ensemble that achieved fame nationally and internationally.   In 1961 he became Crusade organist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and directed the Crusader Men Choir in the "Hour of Decision" broadcasts.  His publications include over 100 articles and five books.  Throughout his career, Hustad devoted considerable energy to music arranging and hymnal editing, serving as editorial consultant and musical advisor to Hope Publishing Company. Among his editorial contributions are fourteen hymnals and songbooks, as well as dozens of collections.  In 1989, Hustad was awarded Fellow of the Hymn Society for his outstanding contribution to American hymnody.  In 2008, he was honored by the American Choral Director's Association Southern Division Conference for his contributions to church music. He earned diplomas as an Associate of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), London, UK.

January, from the “Calendar Suite” – John Tasker Howard

John Tasker Howard (1890-1964) was an early American music historian, radio host, writer, lecturer, and composer. His Our American Music, published in 1931, was an early general history of music in the United States.  Howard was also the curator of the New York Public Library from 1940 to 1956.  His Calendar Suite is a set of twelve pieces, one named for each month, that was originally written for piano.

Mein junges Leben hat ein End - Jan Pieterszn Sweelinck

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, (1562-1621, Dutch organist and composer, one of the principal figures in the development of organ music before J.S. Bach.  Sweelinck succeeded his father as organist of the Oude Kerk (Old Church), Amsterdam, in about 1580 and remained in this post until his death.

Although he composed much sacred and secular vocal music in the polyphonic traditions of France and the Netherlands (including the Chansons, the Cantiones sacrae, and settings of the Psalms), Sweelinck was chiefly known as an organist and keyboard composer. His keyboard music includes chorale variations, toccatas and fantasias showing the influence of the Venetian organ school, and sets of variations on secular tunes.  Sweelinck’s fantasias are among the first organ fugues, in which a single theme is subjected to augmentation, diminution, and changes of rhythm and combined with counter themes. 

Sweelinck’s keyboard playing was widely known. His organ pupils included the German composers Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Scheidemann; Scheidemann’s pupil J.A. Reinken handed on this tradition of organ playing to the Danish organist Dietrich Buxtehude. Many outstanding organists of the following generation, particularly in northern Germany, were pupils of Sweelinck; Handel and Bach were influenced by this northern German school of organ playing.

While we do not know the reception to Mein junges Leben in the 17^th century, it has been recognized as a masterpiece of the variation form since its first publication in 1894. Sweelinck composed six variations on the tune of Mein junges Leben, a German Kirchenlied, or "Churchsong," from the large body of vernacular hymns that flourished during and after the German Reformation. Since it was not known in the Low Countries, the melody of Mein junges Leben may have been introduced to Sweelinck by one of his German pupils.  Very little is known about the song Mein junges Leben, and no text is available.  The title translates “My Young Life ((or youth) is at an end.”

About the Choral Music:

A Celtic Prayer – Michael Ekbladh

Born in Dallas, Texas, Michael E. Ekbladh has served numerous churches in Dallas, Houston, Ft. Worth, and Illinois and Arkansas. He holds a Masters in Music-Conducting from Texas Christian University and has pursued a Masters in Sacred Music from Southern Methodist University. Michael currently serves as director of choirs for Pulaski Technical College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is President-elect for the Arkansas Chapter of The Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians. Most recently, Michael served as Associate Director of Music and Arts for Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Copyright and License Administrator for the Choristers Guild.

In this anthem, Ekbladh has set texts from two sources.

          God be in my head, and in my understanding;

            God be in my mouth and in my speaking;

            God be in my heart and in my thinking;

            God be at my end and at my departing.

This portion of the text is from the Sarum Primer of 1514, which was a book of prayers and Christian worship resources in the Roman Catholic Church that was collected by the clergy at Salisbury Cathedral in the south central part of England. It was published in 1514 in the “Book of Hours” (Cambridge) and republished as the “Sarum Primer” in Salisbury in 1558. (“Sarum” is the abbreviation for Sarisburium, the Latin word for Salisbury, which was and is both a city and a diocese in England.).

            Christ be with me, Christ be within me,

            Christ behind me and Christ before me,

            Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

            Christ to comfort and restore me,

            Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

            Christ in hearts of all that love me,

            Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

This text is an excerpt of a prayer written by St. Patrick in 433, known as “St . Patrick’s Breastplate.”  According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote it for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects from paganism to Christianity.   

About the Hymns:

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was a prolific hymn writer of the 18th century. Coming from a musical family, he left a lasting legacy of congregational song.  The youngest of 18 children, Charles possessed prodigious talents that soon blossomed. Little did he know that “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” would rise to become one of the most popular and consistently vocalized Christian songs.  Writing hymn texts that are solidly based on the Scriptures gives them an appeal across denominational lines. It is estimated that during his lifetime, Wesley penned more than 9,000 poems of a spiritual nature, 6,000 of which are hymns. What really set Charles apart from other hymn writers was his effective use of scriptural allusions, providing a spiritual roadmap whereby individuals could imagine a Christ-centered life. His writings were passionate and well-crafted, conveying the true essence of Christian teaching. 

Charles Wesley

A substantial number of his writings were completed while riding on horseback to his evangelical meetings.  Scholars suggest that he was able to compose about 10 lines of verse daily for 50 years. Charles’ brother John sometimes served as editor to his hymns. John’s typical response was, “some were good, some were mediocre, and some were exceptional.” John can also be credited with improving the singability of Charles’ hymns.

Both John and Charles were instrumental in changing the spiritual environment of Britain during the 18th century. In doing so, they formed the bedrock of what Methodism has become worldwide. Their unwavering devotion to expressing Christian spirituality through hymns has impacted individuals across all denominational lines.  We are fortunate to be the recipients of the poetic genius of Charles Wesley. He influenced Methodism more than any other hymn writer. Upon hearing of Charles’ death, an elderly Londoner asked, “Who will write poetry for us now?” 

“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” was first published in a collection of hymns entitled Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have, Redemption in the Blood of Christ (1747). The incipit (opening line) was a play on the opening line of John Dryden’s (1631-1700) poem “Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling” set to music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) in the generation before Charles Wesley was born.  The hymn is written around a progression of thoughts: (1) our prayers for the Holy Spirit, (2) praying for the return of our Lord through the second coming, and (3) prayers for the finalization of his new creation.

Stanza 2 expresses the Wesleyan concept of the “second rest.” When Charles referred to this in his hymns, it specifically applies to the “second birth,” “second blessing,” “second gift.” All of these are directed toward achieving full “sanctification” or “Christian perfection.” This is an important theological tenet of Methodist preaching from the very beginning.

There is no better way of describing the culmination of adhering to the biblical teachings of Christ, than in stanza four of this hymn. Wesley’s phrase, “changed from glory into glory” is almost a direct quotation from 2 Corinthians 3:18 (KJV). Wesley describes that day in heaven when “we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.”

Spirit of the Living God

This is one of the most long-lasting and widely used choruses in Christian worship. Every aspect of the song embodies a simple sincerity.  The melody encompasses only five notes, and three of the four lines repeat the same nine words. Yet for many, the straightforward petitions of this song draw the singer into an attitude of prayer.

During January and February of 1926, the George T. Stephans Evangelistic Party conducted a citywide revival in the tabernacle in Orlando, Fla.  Daniel Iverson, a Presbyterian minister from Lumberton, N.C., spent several days in Orlando visiting with the Stephans team. The day he arrived, he was greatly impressed by a message on the Holy Spirit given by Dr. Barron, a physician from Columbia, S.C.  Later that day Iverson went to the First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, sat down at the piano, and wrote this song.  Miss Birdie Loes, the pianist for the Stephans team, wrote it out on manuscript paper.  E. Powell Lee, the team song leader, was immediately impressed and taught it to the people that evening in the tabernacle, and used it throughout the campaign.

While the inspiration for the hymn is not known for certain, it is likely that Iverson knew a hymn by Adelaide Pollard (1862-1934), “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” based on Jeremiah 18:6: “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel” (KJV).  The first stanza of Pollard’s hymn uses similar language (“Mold me and make me”). The final stanza also contains a petition to the Spirit (“Fill with thy Spirit”).  Pollard’s hymn was written about 25 years before Iverson’s 1926 composition.

The authorship of “Spirit of the Living God” was lost for a time because the song could so easily be taught without music or even printed words. It first appeared in Revival Songs (1929) in a slightly revised version.  Southern Baptist gospel song composer B.B. McKinney made slight alterations and published it again in his Songs of Victory (1937).   E. Powell Lee, the song leader for the Stephans evangelistic team, brought Iverson’s name to light and his name was restored to the song in later printings of the Baptist Hymnal in the 1960s.

The Gift of Love

Among the most prominent New Testament texts is the discourse on love found in I Corinthians 13. Hal H. Hopson has paraphrased part of this beautiful text in what has become one of the most popular late 20th-century hymns, appearing in many major hymnals published in the U.S. since 1980. "The Gift of Love" first appeared as a very popular anthem in 1972. Both the text and the music are effective paraphrases -- the text of I Corinthians 13:1-3 and the melody as an adaptation of the beautiful folk melody "O Waly, Waly." The original tune was collected by American folksong specialist Cecil Sharp and published in his Folk Songs from Somerset (1906).  "The Gift of Love" is very flexible and, according to Hope Publishing Co., is Mr. Hopson's most popular composition -- widely used as an anthem, solo and as a hymn. Speaking of the popularity of his hymn, Hopson said: "The first 'Gift of Love' was a two-part choral arrangement. Years later, at the suggestion of  George Shorney at Hope Publishing Company, I cast it in a form to be used as a congregational hymn. Since then it has become a standard hymn to be included in many hymnals. It is noteworthy that The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, was the first hymnal that included 'The Gift of Love.' I was once surprised to be introduced at a seminar as the Gift-of-Love-Man."

Mr. Hopson (b. 1933) is a native of Mound, Texas, and now resides in Dallas. He has an international reputation as a clinician and composer, and has published more than 1,300 compositions, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and responsorial psalm settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published hymnals and psalm collections.