February 8, 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:

God Himself is With Us – Roger Wilson

Gerhardt Tersteegen (16970-1769) wrote this hymn (“Gott ist gegenwärtig”) in eight stanzas after his conversion experience in 1724, designing it to fit this tune by Neander. The hymn was first published in Tersteegen’s Geistliches Blumengärtlein (1729) with the heading “Remembrance of the glorious and delightful presence pf God.”

Stanzas 1 and 2 summon worshipers to praise and adore God, and stanza 2 (with an allusion to Isa. 6) begins a prayer for sanctification that continues through stanza 3. The emphasis is not merely on the presence of God, but on the awe and mystery of the God who chooses to allow us into his presence.  Though judged inadequate when compared with Tersteegen’s mystical original, the translation (with the current selection of stanzas) is a favorite in many hymnals. While many of Tersteegen’s hymns may be more suitable for private meditation, this one is a fine vehicle for public praise of God. The composite translation is mostly the work of Frederick W. Foster (1760-1835), John Miller (1756-1810), and William Mercer (1811-1873).

Tersteegen was a renowned representative of the Christian tradition of mysticism in German Reformed hymnody. He received a gymnasium (high school) education, but after his father’s death, family poverty kept him from university training. He became a merchant and then a weaver, producing silk ribbons. Reared in the Reformed Church, Tersteegen was influenced by a Pietist group but experienced a spiritual depression until 1724, when he dedicated his life to God in a confession written in his own blood.

After this he began to conduct prayer meetings. Attracted to mysticism, Tersteegen became an important spiritual leader to many, and from 1727 until late in his life, he ran a retreat center in Otterbeck, near Mühlheim. He preached in Prussia and the Netherlands and kept up an extensive correspondence. When it was necessary, Tersteegen was supported by his followers, and in turn he shared his goods and simple medicines with the poor, becoming known as the “physician of the poor and the forsaken.” Because his ministry was outside the established church, he often experienced the displeasure of church and civic authorities. His writings include translations into German from Latin and French mystics, sermons and meditiations, and over one hundred hymns published in Geistliche Blumen-Gärtlein (1729 and later editions).

God Himself is present:
Let us now adore Him
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple;
All within keep silence;
Humbly kneel in deepest rev'rence.
He alone
On His throne
Is our God and Saviour;
Praise His Name forever!

God himself is present:
Hear the harps resounding;
See the hosts the throne surrounding.
"Holy, Holy, Holy!"
Hear the hymn ascending,
Songs of saints and angels blending.
Bow Your ear
To us here:
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Your church now raises.

Fount of every blessing,
Purify my spirit,
Trusting only in Your merit.
Like the holy angels,
Worshiping before You,
May I ceaselessly adore You.
Let Your will
Ever still
Rule Your Church terrestrial
As the hosts celestial.

Roger C. Wilson (1912-1988) was an American composer of choral and organ music.  He served as editor of The Organist, The Choir Herald, The Volunteer Choir, The Choir Leader, The Organ Portfolio, and The Quarterly Anthem Folio.  His works were frequently included in Lorenz Publishing's serials, and many were subsequently anthologized.  He also composed under the names Walter Price and Stewart Landon, as was a frequent practice at Lorenz.

My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness – Robert Powell

Thought by some scholars to date back to the Middle Ages, KINGSFOLD is a folk tune set to a variety of texts in England and Ireland. The tune was published in English Country Songs (1893), an anthology compiled by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland. The hymn text, “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness”, was written for this tune and first published in With One Voice, 1995.  The author is unknown.  The first verse of this hymn of praise is based on the Magnificat from Luke 1:46.

My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord; I sing my savior’s praise!

You looked upon my lowliness, and I am full of grace.

Now ev’ry land and ev’ry age this blessing shall proclaim—

Great wonders You have done for me, and holy is Your name.

To all who live in holy fear Your mercy ever flows.

With mighty arm You dash the proud, their scheming hearts expose.

The ruthless You have cast aside, the lowly throned instead;

The hungry filled with all good things, the rich sent off unfed.

To Israel, Your servant blest, Your help is ever sure;

The promise to our parents made their children will secure.

Sing glory to the Holy One, give honor to the Word,

And praise the pow’r of the Most High, one God, by all adored.

Robert Powell (b. 1932) is an American composer, organist, and choir director.  Powell earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University with a focus on organ and composition. He studied with Alec Wyton at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and he was also Wyton's assistant at The Episcopal Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. For three years (1965–1968), he served St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire) as Director of Music. Later, Powell was Director of Music and Organist of Christ Church (Episcopal) of Greenville, South Carolina from 1968 to 2003. He has composed in nearly all genres common to church music, including anthems, service music, hymn concertatos, organ music, music for handbell choir, and large-scale oratorios. Powell's conservative, neo-Romantic style stems from his practical approach to composition. According to Powell himself, he writes for "choirs of twenty-five because that's what most choirs are. When you come right down to it, most choirs are not of cathedral ability or size. My pieces are all practical things and useful for specific occasions." His publications appear in The Hymnal 1982 as well as in the catalogs of most of the significant American publishers of church music. According to publisher GIA, Powell is "a composer whose output bridges denominational boundaries and who is able to serve the larger Church. He has made ecumenical sharing a reality–-and always with a genteel touch."  Powell is an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists.

Prèlude du te Deum - Marc-Antoine Charpentier

The Te Deum (also known as Ambrosian Hymn or A Song of the Church) is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered as "Thee, O God, we praise".  Authorship is traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine, on the occasion of the latter's baptism by the former in AD 387.  It has also been ascribed to Saint Hilary, but Catholic-Forum.com says "it is now accredited to Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana; (4th century)". The petitions at the end of the hymn (beginning Salvum fac populum tuum) are a selection of verses from the book of Psalms, appended subsequently to the original hymn.

The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles' Creed, mixing a poetic vision of the heavenly liturgy with its declaration of faith. Calling on the name of God immediately, the hymn proceeds to name all those who praise and venerate God, from the hierarchy of heavenly creatures to those Christian faithful already in heaven to the Church spread throughout the world. The hymn then returns to its credal formula, naming Christ and recalling his birth, suffering and death, his resurrection and glorification. At this point the hymn turns to the subjects declaiming the praise, both the universal Church and the singer in particular, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and the hoped-for reunification with the elect.

The translation found in the Book of Common Prayer follows:

We praise thee, O God ; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud,  the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets  praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world  doth acknowledge thee;
The Father of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true  and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,

        thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.

            Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting.

            O Lord, save thy people  and bless thine heritage.
            Govern them and lift them up forever.
            Day by day  we magnify Thee;
            And we worship thy Name  ever world without end.
            Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin.
            O Lord, have mercy upon us; have mercy upon us.
            O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee.
            O Lord, in thee have I trusted;  let me never be confounded. 

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643- 1704) was a French composer of the Baroque era.  Exceptionally prolific and versatile, Charpentier produced compositions of the highest quality in several genres. His mastery in writing sacred vocal music was recognized and hailed by his contemporaries.  Charpentier worked as house composer to Marie de Lorraine, duchesse de Guise for seventeen years, composing a considerable quantity of vocal works for her, among them Psalm settings, hymns, motets, a Magnificat setting, a mass and a Dies Irae for the funeral of her nephew Louis Joseph, Duke of Guise, and a succession of Italianate oratorios set to non-liturgical Latin texts.  After her death, Charpentier worked first for the Jesuits, then for Louis XIV's son, the Dauphin. Writing primarily for the prince's private chapel, he composed devotional pieces for a small ensemble composed of royal musicians.  Charpentier was appointed maître de musique for the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in 1698, a royal post he held until his death in 1704. 

The prelude to his Te Deum (1690), a rondo, is the signature tune for the European Broadcasting Union, heard in the opening credits of Eurovision events. This theme was also the intro to The Olympiad films of Bud Greenspan.

About the Choral Music:

The Majesty and Glory of Your Name – Tom Fettke

Tom Fettke has taught music in both public and Christian schools and has served as a church choir director and minister of music in churches large and small for over 30 years. He is a composer, arranger, clinician, and producer of Christian music recordings.  Fettke was the creator and senior editor of the Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (1986). 

           When I gaze into the night skies and see the work of your fingers;
           The moon and stars suspended in space.
           Oh, what is man that you are mindful of him?
           You have given man a crown of glory and honor,
           And have made him a little lower than the angels.
           You have put him in charge of all creation:
           The beasts of the field, The birds of the air, The fish of the sea.
           Oh, what is man that you are mindful of him?
           O Lord, our God the majesty and glory of your name
           Transcends the earth and fills the heavens.
           O Lord, our God; little children praise You perfectly,
           And so would we.
           Alleluia! Alleluia!
           The majesty and glory of Your name. 
           Alleluia! Alleluia!

Ever since The Church Music Report's "Favorite Anthem Survey" began surveying music ministers decades ago, only one anthem has appeared every year at the top of their "All-time Favorite Anthems" list: Tom Fettke's "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name."  This is his story of that anthem:

About the Hymns:

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Greek: Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία) is an ancient chant of Eucharistic devotion based on words from Habakkuk 2:20, "Let all the earth keep silence before him". The original was composed in Greek as a Cherubic Hymn for the Offertory of the Divine Liturgy of St James; it probably antedates the rest of the liturgy and goes back at least to 275 AD, with local churches adopting arrangements in Syriac.

The text expresses awe at Christ's coming and the mystery of our perception of Christ in the body and blood. With images from Isaiah 6 and Revelation 5, it portrays the glory of Christ and his victory over sin. Although it has eucharistic emphasis, the text pictures the nativity of Christ in a majestic manner and in a much larger context than just his birth in Bethlehem. We are drawn into the awe and mystery with our own alleluias.

Gerard Moultrie (1829-1885) translated the text from the Greek; his English paraphrase was first published in Orby Shipley's Lyra Eucharistica (1864) and entitled "Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn." The Psalter Hymnal alters that paraphrase in part to solve Reformed sensitivities about eucharistic theology. Moultrie's great-grandfather had settled in South Carolina, but after siding with England during the American Revolution, he had moved back to Britain. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford, England, Moultrie served as a pastor and chaplain in the Church of England. In addition to writing his own hymns he prepared translations of Greek, Latin, and German hymns. He also edited several hymnals, including Hymns and Lyrics for the Seasons and Saints' Days (1867) and Cantica Sanctorum or Hymns for the Black Letter Saints' Days in the English and Scottish Calendars (1880).

The text contains much language which is unfamiliar today:  the concept of approaching God with so much awe that it causes “fear and trembling”. Seraphim are a type of celestial being in the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy. A passage in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy".  This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness (a formula that came to be known as the Trisagion), profoundly influenced subsequent theology, literature, and art.  Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels, heaven and apotheosis. Seraphs are mentioned as celestial beings in an influential Hellenistic work, the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Revelation.  Cherubim are a winged angelic beings who are represented in ancient Middle Eastern art as a lion or bull with eagles' wings and a human face, and regarded in traditional Christian angelology as an angel of the second highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy. Cherubim are mentioned throughout the Old Testament and once in the New Testament in reference to the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:5).

 O Worship the King

Of Scottish ancestry, Robert Grant (1779-1838) was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839).

Grant’s text was influenced by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns. Stanza 3 was omitted in the Psalter Hymnal.

Rather than being a paraphrase or versification, the text is a meditation on the creation theme of Psalm 104, focusing on God’s creation as a testimony to his “measureless might.” More personal in tone, stanzas 4 and 5 confess the compassion of God toward his creatures and affirm with apocalyptic vision that the “ransomed creation, with glory ablaze” will join with angels to hymn its praise to God.  In the last verse, Grant points to Christ as the ultimate reconciler of a broken, but still beautiful creation. An original last stanza that we no longer sing reads, “The humbler creation, though feeble their lays, with true adoration shall lisp to Thy praise.”

Holy, Holy, Holy

Reginald Heber  (1783-1826) wrote this text for Trinity Sunday, the day for which lectionary in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer prescribes the reading of Revelation 4. Using reverent and apocalyptic language, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" alludes to Revelation 4:6-11; 5:13;  15:2-4; and Isaiah 6:1-3 to sing the great majesty of the triune God. Note the cosmic scope of the text: human beings, saints and angels in glory, and all creation praise the name of the Lord. Though God's holiness, love, and purity are cloaked in mystery, we can still experience God's mercy and mighty power, and we can participate in praising God.  It references the Sanctus, which is often called the "Holy holy holy" in English. The name is a tribute to the First Council of Nicaea which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity in 325.

It was first published in the third edition (1826) of  A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury  and was also published posthumously in Heber's Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Services of the Year (1827). It is the best known and most widely used of the author's hymns.