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.
Words
of the Sun – Zhou Long
The Tibetan traditions of Buddhism encourage the use of song and dance in certain ceremonies. In Tibetan Buddhism’s larger ceremonies, Lamas can be seen utilizing a variety of exotic ceremonial instruments such as specialized types of drums, windpipes, spiral conches, and trumpets. When Buddhism was first introduced into China from northeast India, linguistic differences meant that monastics later recomposed and adapted classical folk songs along with some music commonly played to royalty and officials in the Imperial Court, to give rise to the unique flavour and tradition of Chinese Buddhist Music. Chinese Buddhist Music utilizes a rich variety of musical instruments. Other than the inverted bell, thought to have originated in northern India, the instruments used in traditional Chinese Buddhist Music are native to China, and include the gong, large bell (qing), large drum (gu), a resonant wooden block known as the wooden fish, small cymbals, large cymbals and Chinese tambourine.
The lifestyle common to most people today is busy and quite stressful. With many people seeming to have no place to take any kind of spiritual refuge it can often become quite easy for them to become lost in themselves. However, the pure and clear sounding melodies of Buddhist Music aim to provide a way to communicate the higher spiritual states of mind that are advocated by the Dharma, and can serve to enrich and re-energize the hearts of people.
Zhōu Lóng (b. 1953) is a Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese American composer. Zhou Long, along with several other Chinese-born composers of his generation, has contributed greatly to the sounds of new music in the United States. Accompanied by accomplished composers such as Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, and Chen Yi, Zhou Long entered conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai immediately following the Cultural Revolution. After their studies, they all arrived in the United States in pursuit of higher degrees and evolving their music by intertwining elements of their old and new musical cultures. Considering himself as neither a solely Chinese nor American composer, Zhou Long draws upon influences from both musical spheres to create unique and unheard sounds in Western music circles. He says, "Thinking about what we could do to share different cultures in our new society, I have been composing music seriously to achieve my goal of improving the understanding between peoples from various backgrounds. My conceptions have often come from ancient Chinese poetry." Zhou Long’s compositions imbue listeners with a sense of meditative calmness versus soporific melodies. Zhou Long is considered a pioneer in the area of combining ancient Chinese musical traditions with contemporary Western ensembles as his visions reach exciting and novel, yet common grounds.
Words of the Sun, a poignant evocation of morning with its air of expectation slightly tinged with melancholy, sets a poem by the respected Chinese poet Ai Qing (1910-1996). Described by Newsweek as the “prince of Chinese poets”, his collected works include at least 20 long lyrical and narrative poems, 1000 shorter poems, and nearly 200 essays on the arts.
Open
your windows, open your doors, quickly let me come into your little rooms.
I come
with a sprig of golden flowers, I come with fragrance from the grove,
I come
with light and warmth, I come with dew all over.
Get up,
riase your head quickly from the pillow,
Open
your eyes hidden by your eyelash, to let your eyes see I am coming.
Let your
hearts be like wooden houses, to open the windows, closed for so long.
Let me
bring your flowers and fragrance, let me bring your light, warmth, and dew,
To
sprinkle all space of your hearts.
God of
Our Life, All Glorious Lord – Barbara Harbach
God of our life all glorious Lord, be
now and evermore adored!
Into the op’ning of this day bring
grace and love and peace, we pray.
Make clear our path, that we may see
where we must walk to be with thee
and ever listen for Thy voice, that we
may make Thy way our choice.
Give us Thy help in ev’ry task, nor
let us fail of Thee to ask
for grace in speech, for love in deed
from wrongful actions to be freed.
Barbara Harbach, Curators’ Professor of Music at the
University of Missouri-St. Louis, has a large catalog of works,
including; symphonies, operas, string orchestra, musicals, works for
chamber ensembles, film scores, modern ballet, pieces for organ, harpsichord and piano; choral
anthems; and many arrangements
for brass and organ of various Baroque works. She is also involved in
the research, editing, publication and recording of manuscripts of
eighteenth-century keyboard composers, as well as historical and
contemporary women composers. Harbach has toured extensively
as both concert organist and harpsichordist throughout the United States
and Canada, and overseas in Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Romania, Serbia and Russian Siberia. Barbara
Harbach initiated Women in the Arts-St. Louis, a celebration of the
achievements of women creators. Over 800 events by various cultural
organizations in the St. Louis region provided audiences with new and
historical examples of the work of women writers, composers and
artists.
About the Choral Music:
May
the Mind of Christ My Savior – Lloyd Larsen
Lloyd
Larson (b. 1954) is an active composer and arranger for several major
publishing companies of church and school music. His compositions and
arrangements include well over 1,000 published works—including choral anthems,
numerous extended Christmas, Easter and non-seasonal works, keyboard
collections, vocal solo and duet collections, instrumental works for solo and
ensembles, orchestrations, and handbell settings. It is Lloyd's work in his
local church that continues to be the catalyst for much of his writing. He
currently directs the adult choir in his home church in addition to being
involved in worship planning and leadership.
May
the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day,
By
his love and power controlling all I do and all I say.
May
the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,
So
that all may see I triumph only through God’s love and power.
May
the peace of God my Father rule my life in everything,
That
I may be calm to comfort the sick and sorrowing.
May
the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea,
Christ
exalting, self abasing, for this is victory!
May
I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking
only unto Jesus as onward I will Go!
May
the mind of Christ live in me. Amen.
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.
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.”
Lord, I Want to Be a Christian
In Negro Slave
Songs in the United States (1953), Miles Mark Fisher suggests that
this African American spiritual could well have originated in Virginia in the
1750s, based on this story from Hanover, Virginia, 1756: "A black slave
asked Presbyterian preacher William Davies, 'I come to you, sir, that you may
tell me some good things concerning Jesus Christ and my duty to God, for I am
resolved not to live any more as I have done. . . Lord [Sir], I want to be a
Christian.'" Both text and tune
were first published in Folk Songs of the American Negro
(1907), compiled by brothers Frederick Work and John W. Work, Jr.
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."
Hal 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.
Hal 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.
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