May 24, 2015 - Pentecost

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:

Veni, Creator Spiritus – Flor Peeters

Veni Creator Spiritus ("Come Creator Spirit") is a hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century. When the original Latin text is used, it is normally sung in Gregorian Chant. As an invocation of the Holy Spirit, in the practice of the Roman Catholic Church it is sung during the liturgical celebration of the feast of Pentecost (at both Terce and Vespers). It is also sung at occasions such as the entrance of Cardinals to the Sistine Chapel, when electing a new pope, as well as at the consecration of bishops, the ordination of priests, when celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation, the dedication of churches, the celebration of synods or councils, the coronation of kings, the profession of members of religious institutes and other similar solemn events.

Since the English Reformation in the 16th century, there have been more than fifty English language translations and paraphrases of Veni Creator Spiritus. The version included in the 1662 revision of the Book of Common Prayer retained the Latin title and was written by Bishop John Cosin for the coronation of King Charles I of Great Britain in 1625. The same words have been used at every coronation since, and is sung by the choir after the singing of the Creed, while the sovereign is dressed in a white alb and seated in the Coronation Chair, prior to the Anointing. The first verse is:

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,

and lighten with celestial fire.

Thou the anointing Spirit art,

who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

Another well known version by the poet John Dryden was first published in his 1693 work, Examen Poeticum. It may be sung to the tune "Melita" by John Bacchus Dykes. Dryden's first verse is:

Creator Spirit, by whose aid

The world's foundations first were laid,

Come, visit every pious mind;

Come, pour thy joys on humankind;

From sin and sorrow set us free,

And make thy temples worthy thee.

Flor Peeters (1903-1986) was an important Belgian composer, organist and teacher.  When sixteen years old, he began his studies at the Lemmens Institute in Mechelen (since moved to Leuven), which was named after the nineteenth-century organist Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens.  In 1923 he became an organ teacher at the Institute; simultaneously he acquired the position of chief organist at the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, which he held for most of the rest of his life;  As an organist and pedagogue, Peeters enjoyed great renown, giving concerts and liturgical masterclasses all over the world. He also made recordings of sixteenth-, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century organ music; some of these have been reissued in recent years on compact disc. Most of his own pieces (he wrote well over 100) were for organ, for choir, or for both. Peeters was created a baron by King Baudouin of Belgium in 1971.

Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart – Joe Utterback

The words of this sung prayer are among the most passionate in the history of hymnody.  This masterpiece of Christian devotional poetry is the work of George Croly (1780-1860), an Anglican minister born in Dublin, Ireland, but whose ministry took place in London. Having served a small parish in Ireland, he moved to London to pursue a literary career where he wrote in several mediums including poetry, novels, history and biography.  In 1835, Croly accepted the challenge to reopen a church in one of the worst slum areas of London, that had been closed for over a century. He was known among his peers as thoroughly conservative in theology with no tolerance for liberal views. Through personal charisma and dynamic preaching, he attracted large crowds to St. Stephen’s Church.  Croly prepared a new hymnal in 1854 for his congregation and published it as Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. “Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart” first appeared in that hymnal under the title “Holiness Desired.” It is the only hymn by Croly to have survived. 

This hymn is an intense, personal prayer for the working of the Holy Spirit (st. 1), for illumination (st. 2), for more fervent love for Christ (st. 3), for greater holiness in our walk with the Lord (st. 4), and for the fullness of the Spirit (st. 5). The first line was changed from "Spirit of God, descend upon my heart" to "Spirit of God, who dwells within my heart."  The original text of the first verse was:

Spirit of God, who dwells within my heart,
wean it from sin, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are,
and make me love you as I ought to love.

Joe Utterback (b. 1944) has been a compelling artist on the American jazz scene for more than fifty years, which have included European and American tours, as well as long-term gigs in the jazz centers of Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco, and currently New York City.  His piano style has been greatly influenced by Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, and Art Tatum.  Utterback’s nearly 400 published compositions reflect the energy, color, and moods of his improvisations. His many jazz-influenced works for piano, voice, chamber music, organ, and choir have been performed throughout the United States and in more than fifty foreign countries.

Fantasia super “Komm, Heiliger Geist” – J. S. Bach

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).   

The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The works form an encyclopedic collection of large-scale chorale preludes, in a variety of styles harking back to the previous century, that Bach gradually perfected during his career. Together with the Orgelbüchlein, the Schübler Chorales and the third book of the Clavier-Übung, they represent the summit of Bach's sacred music for solo organ.  Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist [Come, Holy Ghost] BWV 641, has the canto fermus in the pedal.  Over the pedal chorale melody sweeps an exuberant toccata, conveying the "rushing mighty wind" of the Holy Spirit; a second ornamented subject symbolises the Hallelujas at the culmination of the hymn.

For centuries, "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" ("Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord") has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Pentecost in German-speaking Lutheranism.  The hymn inspired composers from the Renaissance to contemporary to write chorale preludes and vocal compositions. The first stanza is a translation of the Latin antiphon for Pentecost "Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium" (Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful) from the 11th century.

Martin Luther added two more stanzas, keeping not only the meter and the tune, but also the structure, with acclamations at the beginning of lines 1 and 5, and the final Halleluja. In his stanzas, the group of "deiner Gläubigen" (your believers) is speaking directly, stating "wir" and "uns" ("we" and "us"). Luther alludes to several of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to Isaiah 11:2: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. He also drew on Galatians 4:6 ("because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"), Matthew 23:8-10 ("for one is your Master"), and Romans 8:26 ("the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities"). In the second stanza, Luther uses the attributes "heiliges Licht, edler Hort" (holy light, precious refuge) and words the request "protect us from strange doctrines / so that we may never look for any teacher / except Jesus in true belief". In the last stanza, the Spirit's "ardent love" and "sweet consolation" are named, asking for help "always to remain joyful and comforted / in your service" and "so that we may bravely struggle / through life and death to reach you!"

The hymn appeared first in 1524 in Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn (de), (booklet of spiritual song), collected by Johann Walter.The same year it appeared also in Eyn Enchiridion in Erfurt, titled "Der gesank Veni sancte spiritus".   It has been translated, for example by Catherine Winkworth as Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord! in 1855, and has appeared in hymnals of various denominations.

Come, Holy Spirit, Lord God, fill with the goodness of your grace the heart, spirit and mind of your believers, kindle in them your ardent love ! O Lord, through the splendour of your light you have gathered in faith people from all the tongues of the world; so that in your praise Lord, may there be sung Halleluja! Halleluja!
You holy light, precious refuge, let the word of life enlighten us and teach us to know God truly, to call him father from our heart! O Lord, protect us from strange doctrines so that we may never look for any teacher except Jesus in true belief and may trust him wholeheartedly! Halleluja! Halleluja!
You sacred warmth, sweet consolation, now help us always to remain joyful and comforted in your service, do not let sorrow drive us away! O Lord, through your power make us ready and strengthen the feebleness of our flesh so that we may bravely struggle through life and death to reach you! Halleluja! Halleluja!

About the Choral Music:

Anthem for Pentecost – Hal Hopson

Hal H. Hopson (b. 1933) is a full-time composer and church musician residing in Dallas, Texas. Hopson was born in Mound, Texas, in a family of thirteen children where music making figured prominently. His first piano teacher was his older sister, Merle, whom he holds in deep regard for her enormous musical and personal influences on his life. Hopson’s well-known hymn tune, MERLE’S TUNE, is named in her honor. He first accompanied worship services at age thirteen and later graduated from Baylor University and Southern Baptist Seminary with B.A. and M.S.M. degrees, respectively. He completed additional study at universities and conservatories in the United States and Germany.  He has over 1000 published works, 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 is active as a conductor and clinician, having conducted choral festivals and workshops in United States, Europe, and Asia. More recently he has been recognized for his contribution to music by being included in The International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England, and by being awarded the esteemed title of National Patron by Delta Omicron, a national professional fraternity of musicians. He is active in several professional organizations, having served on the national boards of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and Choristers Guild. As a member of ASCAP, Hal has received an annual award from that agency for many consecutive years.

Hopson drew this text from both Old and New Testaments.  In order, he quotes Acts 2:2, Ephesians 2:20, Ephesians 4:5, Ephesians 3:28, Psalm 113:3; and Revelations 5:13, to create a rousing, majestic anthem for Pentecost Sunday.

            With a mighty wind and tongues of fire, He called His Church into being –

            The Household of the living God;  An instrument of His holy will.

The foundation is that of the apostles and the prophets.

            The chief Cornerstone is Jesus Christ, the Lord.

            There is One Lord, There is One Faith, One Father of us all.

            There is neither Jew nor Greek; There is neither bond nor free.

            From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same,

His Name shall be praised.

Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him forever and ever.

            Alleluia

About the Hymns:

O Spirit of the Living God

Henry Hallam Tweedy (1868-1953) hailed from the northeast, born in Binghamton, N.Y. He was granted degrees from Phillips Andover Academy, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary and the University of Berlin.  A Congregational pastor, he served churches in New York and Connecticut, and later taught practical theology from 1909-1937 at Yale Divinity School.  He co-authored several books, including Training the Devotional Life (1919) and Religious Training in School and Home (1917). His most important contribution, however, was as editor of the hymnal Christian Worship and Praise (1939). In addition to editing a hymnal, Tweedy published a practical volume, The Minister and His Hymnal, and won several hymn contests sponsored by the Homiletic Review and the Hymn Society of America.

Tweedy said he composed “O Spirit of the Living God” because “some of the old Pentecostal hymns were to me unsatisfactory, and I was eager to interpret the symbolism of the story in Acts in a way that modern men could understand and sincerely mean.”  The text is an exposition of Acts 2, a passage focused on Pentecost. The hymn was first published in the Methodist Hymnal (1935).

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.

God of Grace and God of Glory

“God of grace and God of glory” was written in 1930 by Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) for the dedication of the famous Riverside Church in New York City.   Fosdick was granted degrees from Colgate University and Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1903 to ministry in the Baptist Church and became pastor of First Baptist Church, Montclair, N.J.   Fosdick served as a chaplain during World War I and then was pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New York City. From this congregation he was called to pastor Park Avenue Baptist Church, which was renamed Riverside Church.

“God of grace and God of glory” was written while the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression between the two World Wars. Fosdick was a champion of the social gospel, a movement that recognized the plight of the poor, especially in the urban Northeast during the Industrial Revolution.   UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young has noted: “Fosdick’s stirring radio sermons, books, and public pronouncements established Riverside as a forum for the critique of the same wealth and privilege whose gifts had made possible the building of the church.  Under his leadership Riverside Church was interdenominational, interracial, without a creed, and, astonishingly for Baptists, required no specific mode of baptism. At the center of Fosdick’s ministry was urban social ministry.”   Fosdick was perhaps the most vocal proponent of the social gospel of his time—a position that brought both wide acclaim and broad disdain.