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.
I
Love to Tell the Story – Emma Lou Diemer
"I Love to Tell the Story" is a
well-known hymn which was written as a
poem by an English evangelist, Katherine Hankey (1834-1911). Hankey was
the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of
William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the
Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible
Society, promoted the abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the
lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in
London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her
writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart
to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879).
Hankey had a serious spell of sickness while in a mission
in Africa. During her long days of convalescence, she wrote a long on the life
of Jesus in 1866 in two parts. The first part was a poem of fifty stanzas,
titled "The Story Wanted" (dated January 29, 1866) and second part
titled "The Story Told" (dated November 18, 1866). Certain verses
were taken from Part I. by Dr. W. H. Doane in 1867 to make the popular and
familiar hymn beginning, "Tell me the old, old story". From Part II. certain verses were selected to
make the hymn, "I Love to Tell the Story".
I love to tell the story of unseen things
above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
I
love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
Peace, the Gift of God’s Love – Peter Marshall
Peter Philip Bilhorn (1865-1936) was born in Mendota, Ill. Bilhorn’s family name was originally Pulhorn; it was changed by a judge in Ottawa, Illinois, named Abraham Lincoln. Peter and his brother formed the Eureka Wagon and Carriage Works in Chicago, Illinois. Later, Peter became involved in Gospel music, studying under George Root, George Stebbins, and others. He wrote some 2,000 Gospel songs in his lifetime, and for a while, worked with evangelist Billy Sunday. He also invented a folding pump organ used at revivals in the late 19th Century, and founded the Bilhorn Folding Organ Company in Chicago, Illinois.
There comes to my heart one sweet strain,
A glad and a joyous refrain,
I sing it again and again,
Sweet peace, the gift of God's love.
Peace, peace, sweet peace,
Wonderful gift from above,
Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace,
Sweet peace, the gift of God's love.
Peter
Marshall, son of Jane Marshall, currently holds the Hugh and Jessie Hodgson
Keyboard Chair at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He performs on piano,
harpsichord, and organ. Active as an
accompanist and coach in Atlanta since 1993, Marshall has appeared with the
cutting-edge contemporary ensemble Bent Frequency, and in 2004 joined the
roster of the Southeastern Festival of Song.
Marshall joined the faculty of the Georgia State University School of
Music in 2001. In addition to teaching accompanying, he is the musical director
of the opera workshop during the academic year, and serves as a coach for the
Harrower Summer Opera Workshop. Marshall
has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras in Atlanta, Washington, D. C.
(National Symphony), Richmond, Norfolk (Virginia Symphony), and Columbus, as
well as with the chamber groups Hesperus and Folger Consort, and has given solo
recitals in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Marshall chaired the organ department at the Catholic University of
America from 1984- 1993, having previously taught at Duke University and served
as its chapel organist. He holds degrees from Oberlin College and Yale
University, and studied at the Musikhochschule Lübeck as a Fulbright Scholar.
Fanfare for the Common Man –
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (1900- 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career
a conductor of his own and other American music. Instrumental in forging a
distinctly American style of composition, in his later years he was often
referred to as "the Dean of American Composers" and is best known to
the public for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately
accessible style often referred to as "populist" and which the
composer labeled his "vernacular" style. Works in this vein include
the ballets Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo, his Fanfare for the Common Man
and Third Symphony. The open,
slowly changing harmonies of many of his works are archetypical of what many
people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American
landscape and pioneer spirit. In addition to his ballets and orchestral works,
he produced music in many other genres including chamber music, vocal works,
opera and film scores.
About the Choral Music:
Creation
Will Be At Peace – Anna Laura Page
Anna Laura Page (b. 1943) received a B.M. degree in vocal
music education with a concentration in piano, and a M.M. in music theory with
a concentration in organ from the University of Kentucky. Active as a composer,
clinician and organist, she served on the Music Committee of the Southern
Baptist 1991 Hymnal Committee and has received the ASCAP Standards Award for
the past several years. She has taught organ as an adjunct faculty member at
Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and theory/organ as an adjunct faculty
member at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. She served as
director of the Austin Peay Community Children's Chorus in Clarksville,
Tennessee for three years. Mrs. Page currently serves as Handbell Music Editor
for Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Her publications include choral works for
children, youth and adults, and compositions for handbells, organ and piano.
She is married to Dr. Oscar C. Page, President of Austin College in Sherman,
Texas.
“Creation
will be at Peace” is an ardent prayer for world peace based upon the prophecy
in Isaiah 11:6-9.
In
the holy mountain of the Lord, all war and strife will cease;
In
the holy mountain of the Lord, creation will be at peace.
The
wolf will lie down with the lamb, the cow and bear will feed,
Their
young will play together; a little child will lead.
The
leopard and goat will graze, the lion will feed on straw.
They
will war no more; a child will lead them all.
About the Hymns:
Lord,
Whose Love Through Humble Service
Bayly wrote this text in response to a Hymn Society of
America search for new hymns on social welfare. It was chosen as the theme hymn
for the Second National Conference on the Churches and Social Welfare held in
Cleveland, Ohio, October 23-27, 1961. The Hymn Society published the text in Seven New Social Welfare
Hymns (1961).
Behold a Broken World
Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926) has been a leading voice
in British hymnody for more than five decades. Born in Manchester, England,
Bishop Dudley-Smith was educated at Pembroke College and Ridley Hall,
Cambridge. In 1950, he was ordained an Anglican priest. He has served as editor
and secretary of several publications and societies, archdeacon of Norwich, and
bishop of Thetford, Norfolk. Bishop
Dudley-Smith has written more than 300 texts, and he is the author of four
collections of hymns. Bishop
Dudley-Smith lives in retirement in the cathedral city of Salisbury, England.
He has been recognized for his contributions to hymnody with honors from the
United Kingdom (an honorary vice-president of the Hymn Society of Great Britain
and Ireland) and the United States (a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United
States and Canada). In 2003, he received an OBE (Order of the British Empire)
award "for services to hymnody."
"Behold a Broken World" is an eloquent prayer
for peace. Echoes of Isaiah 2:4 — "And he shall judge among the nations,
and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." The predominant theme running throughout is
of fulfilling the "ancient dream of peace" (stanza one). Stanza three
pleads for the cessation of war, "a waking dream fulfilled." Stanza
four prays that "the lofty visions [of the] dreamers of the day"
should prevail. The arrival of the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) who
died to save and redeem a lost world heralds "our waking dream"
(stanza five). The hymn first appeared
in the July 1985 issue of The Hymn, the journal of The Hymn Society in
the United States and Canada, as one of five chosen in a search by the society
for hymns on the theme of peace.
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.
“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.
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