April 5, 2015 Easter

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:

An Easter Fanfare – Carla Giomo

          Providence Brass & Organ

Carla J. Giomo is a composer, author, and teacher who resides in Glendale, Arizona. She received her B.M and M.A. in Music - Piano Performance, from the University of Denver and her Ph.D. in music education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has taught at the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Denver, Mesa Community College, and Glendale Community College. She also taught piano and organ privately. She currently is a general music specialist and children's choir conductor in West Phoenix.

Easter Morn – Edwin LeMare

Edwin Henry Lemare (1865- 1934) was an English organist and composer who lived the latter part of his life in the United States. He was the most highly regarded and highly paid organist of his generation, as well as the greatest performer and one of the most important composers of the late Romantic English-American Organ School.  He gained fame by playing two recitals a day, over a hundred in total, on the one-manual Brindley & Foster organ in the Inventions Exhibition in 1884. He gave bi-weekly recitals at the Park Hall, Cardiff, from 1886; this was followed by further appointments around Great Britain.  After apparently treating church services in London as concerts, he left for a hundred-recital tour of the USA and Canada from 1900–1901, and stayed in North America for most of the remainder of his life. He also toured Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, where he helped to design the organs for Auckland Town Hall and Melbourne Town Hall.

In dir ist Freude – J. S. Bach

The Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") is a collection of 46 chorale preludes for organ, which form the first of Bach's masterpieces with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument.  Each of them treats a known Lutheran chorale with a motivic accompaniment.  Bach explored a wide diversity of forms in the Orgelbüchlein.  As stated by Spitta in his biography of Bach:

A further step towards perfection this form was taken by Bach when he made the contrapuntal elements in his music a eans of reflecting certain emotional aspects of the words.  Pachelbel had not attempted this; he lacked the fervid feeling which would have enabled him thus to enter into his subject.   And it is entering into it, and not a mere depicting of it.  For, once more be it said, in every vital movement of the world external to us we behold the image of a movement within us; and every such image must react upon us to produce the corresponding emotion I that inner world of feeling.

The tune, “In dir ist Freude”, is one of many balletti (dance-like songs) written by Giovanni G. Gastoldi (1554-1609), a priest and composer from Mantua, Italy.  It was originally published in his Balleti a cinque voce (1591), where it was set to "Alieta vi.a, Amor ciinuita", which like so many balletti had a "fa-la-la" refrain.  Cantor Johann Lindemann (1549-1631) wrote this text to fit the tune.  It was published in Lindemann's Amarum Filii Dei Decades Duae (1598).  Catherine Winkworth prepared the English translation for the second series of her Lyra Germanica (1858).  The text confesses with joy the Christian's security of walking intimately with God through the ups and downs of daily life.  Bach has set the melody in complex counterpoint which expresses pure joy in virtual abandon.

Below is the first verse of this hymn of Johann Lindemann with the English translation by Catherine Winkworth.

In Thee is gladness admid all sadness, 
 Jesus, Sunshine of my heart!    
By Thee are given the gifts of heaven,                                   
Thou the true Redeemer art!                        
Our souls Thou wakest, our bonds Thou breakest.  Hallelujah. 
Who trust Thee surely hath built securely;  through life and death,  
He stands forever:  Hallelujah!

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).   

About the Handbell Music:

Jesus Christ is Risen Today – Albert Zabel

          Rings & Strings/Providence Brass 

"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" was first written in Latin titled "Surrexit Christus hodie", as a Bohemian hymn in the 14th century by an unknown author on manuscripts written in Munich and Breslau.  In Latin, it had eleven verses.  It was first translated into English in 1708 by John Baptist Walsh to be included in his Lyra Davidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and Hymns. The verses of the hymn were revised in 1749 by John Arnold. Initially the hymn only had three verses translated with just the first verse being a direct translation; in 1740 Charles Wesley  added a fourth verse to the hymn as an alternative, which was later adopted into the hymn as part of it. The hymn is also noted for having Alleluia as a refrain after every line.

It is an Easter hymn referring to the Resurrection of Jesus and based on Matthew 28:6, Acts 2:32, 1 Peter 3:18 and Revelation 1:1718.  The hymn is set to a piece of music entitled "Easter Hymn" which was composed in the Lyra Davidica for "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today". There was a later version of "Easter Hymn" composed by William Henry Monk which is also used for "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today". Some denominations of Christianity often just use one while some use both. The hymn is sometimes confused with "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", which was written by Wesley. This is because the wording is similar except that "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" uses Llanfair instead of "Easter Hymn".

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

Albert J. Zabel, Jr. (b. 1935) was born in Bellingham, Washington. He received his undergraduate degree in Education at Western Washington University and his Master's in Music from The Westminster Choir College. Zabel composes organ music, handbell music, and children’s choir musicals.  

About the Choral Music:

Alleluia, Christ is Risen! – Jay Althouse

          Chancel Choir/Providence Brass

Jay Althouse (b. 1951) is a native of Denver, Pennsylvania. He received a B.S. degree in Music Education and an M.Ed. degree in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For eight years he served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher. During that time he served a term on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America. As a composer of sacred and secular choral music, Mr. Althouse has more than 600 works in print for choirs of all levels. Althouse has co-written several cantatas and musicals with his wife, Sally K. Albrecht; compiled and arranged vocal solo collections; and is the co-writer of the best-selling books The Complete Choral Warm-up Book, and Accent on Composers.  He is the co-writer, with Sally K. Albrecht, of  I Hear America Singing, a choral work performed at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

The text of this anthem combines original text by Althouse and text by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885).  Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of the Rev. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity and a nephew of the poet William Wordsworth.  He was educated at Winchester and Trinity, Cambridge.  He won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for poetry in 1827 and 1828.  He was Vicar of Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire (1850–1869) and Archdeacon of Westminster (1864–1869). In 1869 Benjamin Disraeli appointed him Bishop of Lincoln which he retained until his death in 1885.  He is best known for his edition of the Greek New Testament (1856–1860), and the Old Testament (1864–1870), with commentaries; but his writings were many in number, and included a volume of devotional verse, The Holy Year The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holydays Throughout the Year, and for Other Occasions (1862), Church History up to A.D. 451 (1881–1883).  The middle section of this text is drawn from his hymn, “Hallelujah! Christ is Risen!”

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  We rejoice this day of days.

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  Sing to God a song of praise.

            He, who on the cross, as Savior, for the world’s salvation bled,

            Jesus Christ, the King of glory: He is risen, risen from the dead.

            Alleluia, Christ is risen from the earth up to the sky!

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  Glory be to God on high!

            Glory be to God on high!  Alleluia!

About the Hymns:

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

"Hymn for Easter Day" was written by Charles Wesley in 1739 for the inaugural service at the Foundry Meeting House, London's first Wesleyan chapel.  As with many of the most popular hymns, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" has survived the centuries thanks to a successful marriage of lyrics and music.  The tune first circulated in 1708 with the Lyra Davidica hymnal, but no composer has ever been acknowledged.  It was first published in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, John Wesley's hymnbook first published in 1780. Charles Wesley's original text does not include the song's most distinctive characteristic—the "Alleluia!" that ends each line.  An unknown editor added the alleluias later.

“Alleluia”, meaning "Praise the Lord," prominently leads off Psalms 106, 111, 112, 113, 117, and 135 in the Hebrew hymnal.  In the years immediately following Christ's resurrection, “alleluia” particularly connoted praise for Jesus' victory over death.  Early Christians began greeting each other on Easter with the now-familiar call and response:  "Alleluia! He is risen!" "Alleluia! He is risen indeed!"  Alleluia is meant to convey emphatic joy, thanksgiving, and triumph. 

John captures the triumph in Revelation 19 with his vision of the great multitude in heaven roaring, "Alleluia!"   Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, conveyed the joy when he wrote that Christian houses of worship in the fourth and fifth centuries shook from the intense alleluias shouted by believers.  Roman Catholics and Anglicans refrain from speaking or singing alleluia during Lent, but they reintroduce the word into their liturgies to express their thanksgiving on Easter morning. Even in nonliturgical churches, alleluia retains a kind of liturgical significance. Bernard Lord Manning, a hymnologist, historian, and observer of Methodism during the early 20th century, explained how hymns like "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" functioned as a liturgy for John and Charles Wesley's spiritual descendants.

But in the evening at the chapel [the Dissenting church], though I was uncertain about the prayers, there was no gamble about the hymns.  I knew we should have Charles Wesley's Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," with its 24 "Alleluias": and we did have it.  Among any Dissenters worth the name that hymn is as certain to come on Easter Day as the Easter Collect in the Established Church.  And mark this further—those 24 "Alleluias" are not there for nothing: the special use of "Alleluia" at Easter comes down to us from the most venerable liturgies.  Our hymns are our liturgy, an excellent liturgy. Let us study it, respect it, use it, develop it, and boast of it.

This melodic liturgy conveys the triumphant joy that is ours on Easter morning.  Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Christ is Risen

This text was written in 1984 by Brian Wren (b. 1936), an internationally published hymn writer whose work appears in hymnals from many denominations and traditions. Ordained in Britain’s United Reformed Church, he holds BA and PhD degrees from Oxford University. On July 1, 2000, he was appointed the first John and Miriam Conant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta.  "Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna!" celebrates God's surprising Easter turnaround of the Good Friday events.

Lift High the Cross

George W. Kitchin (1827-1912) wrote the original version of this text in 1887 for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The hymn was intended to be used for a festival service at Winchester Cathedral, England. Michael R. Newbolt (1874-1956) revised the text for the 1916 Supplement to Hymns Ancient and Modern.  Sir Sydney H. Nicholson (1875-1947) composed the tune “Crucifer” for the text as revised by Newbolt. The tune name means "cross-bearer" and refers to one who carries the cross in a liturgical procession.  Often considered Nicholson's finest tune, “Crucifer” has broad melodic gestures and an effective cadence to the stanzas, which leads right back into the refrain without interruption, pause, or slowing down. Perhaps similar to Constantine's vision of Christ's cross, this text makes clear that the cross is a symbol of Christ's love. "Lift High the Cross" reveals many implications of Christ's cross: Christ rallies his people behind him (st. 1-2); Christ gathers his people from throughout the world (st. 3-5); Christ gives healing to the despair of the world (st. 6); Christ's victory enjoins our praise to him (st. 7).