June 7, 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:

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross – Charles Callahan

Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) was the author of over 8,500 gospel songs. Though blind at 6 weeks of age, Crosby began composing texts at age 6. She later became a teacher at the New York School for the Blind, where she was a student. A friend of several presidents, Crosby became one of the most important advocates for the cause of the blind in the United States.  Her texts were set to the compositions of some of the most prominent gospel song composers of the day including William Bradbury, William Doane and Ira Sankey. Crosby composed under a number of pen names. She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne.  British hymnals identify her as Frances Van Alstyne, her married name.

This hymn first appeared in the collection Bright Jewels (1869), compiled by Bradbury, Doane, W.F. Sherwin and Chester G. Allen, at least two of whom were famous writers of gospel song tunes. Indeed, it was Doane who wrote the music and then gave it to Fanny Crosby to add the text—a practice that was not uncommon in their relationship.  It is one of many texts by Crosby that combine vivid imagery and powerful biblical and evangelical metaphors: the Cross, a fountain of healing streams, free grace, the daily walk of faith, God’s pursuing love and mercy, Jesus, the Lamb of God, beyond the river of death, heaven with its golden streets, and rest for the post-Raptured souls.”

The glory of the Cross, a theme of the refrain, is a common metaphor of Romantic-era hymnody. The Cross, a place where the pain of earth and the joy of heaven come together, is a kind of spiritual altar to which we might draw near for refuge and solace.  Though an instrument of cruel punishment and torture, the Cross is a source of a “healing stream” (stanza one) and a place where “the bright and morning star sheds its beams” on us (stanza two).  Stanza three invites us to meditate upon the Cross—“bring its scenes before me.”  The “shadow” of the Cross falls on my daily path.

Many writers have commented on Fanny Crosby’s ability to employ the technique of hypotyposis—painting a vivid scene as if it were present—even though she was blinded soon after birth.  Dwight L. Moody once asked Crosby: “If you could have just one wish granted, what would it be?”  Moody expected her to ask for sight. She replied, “If I could have one wish, I’d wish that I might continue blind the rest of my life.” Moody was taken aback and asked, “How can you say that?” Crosby responded, “Because, after being blind for all these years, the first face I want to see now is the face of Jesus.” 

Jesus, keep me near the Cross, there a precious fountain,
free to all a healing stream, flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the Cross, in the Cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Charles Callahan (b. 1951) is one of America’s leading organist-composers.  A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Catholic University of America.  In recognition of his service to the church and his commissioned compositions for Papal visits to the U.S., he was awared the Papal Honor of Knighthood in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1999.  In addition to compositions and performances, Charles Callahan is a noted educator and author whose two books on American organ-building have become standard reference works.

Stephen at Peace – Malcolm Williamson

While being martyred for the faith, Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God….Then falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’” (Acts 7:56, 60).  Those words testify of a man at peace and greatly blessed.  “Stephen at Peace” is from a suite called “Little Carols of the Saints”, and is a lament for the death of Saint Stephen.

Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003) was born in Sydney, Australia, and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 1950 he moved to London where he worked as an organist, a proofreader, and a nightclub pianist. Williamson was a prolific composer at this time, receiving many commissions and often performed his own works, both on organ and piano. In 1975, the death of Sir Arthur Bliss left the title of Master of the Queen's Music vacant. The selection of Williamson to fill this post was a surprise, over other composers such as Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett and Malcolm Arnold, such that William Walton had remarked that "the wrong Malcolm" had been chosen. In addition, Williamson was the first non-Briton to hold the post. He wrote a number of pieces connected to his royal post, including Mass of Christ the King (1978) (see below) and Lament in Memory of Lord Mountbatten of Burma (1980). However, controversy attended his tenure, notably his failure to complete the intended "Jubilee Symphony" for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. He became less prolific in "Royal" works during the last twenty years or so of his life, although he never completely ceased to take interest in writing music for the Royal Family. His overall compositional output slowed considerably due to a series of illnesses.

Hymn Prelude on “Arlington” – David Pew

Isaac Watts (1674-1748), who wrote this hymn, was the father of hymn-writing in the English language, and the author of many of our greatest hymns. He is to be ranked with Charles Wesley  at the summit of English hymnody.

Watts was born in Southampton, England. His father was not a member of the state church, and was twice thrown into jail for opposing it, so that when he was a baby his mother often carried him in her arms to visit his father in prison. There are remarkable stories of young Isaac's boyhood, one of them declaring that he begged for books before he could talk plainly, and others asserting that he began Latin at the age of four and wrote poetry at the age of seven!

Watts became a minister in London. He was a little man, only about five feet tall, and his health was very poor all his life. Once, when Watts was sick, Sir Thomas Abney invited him to his home for a week, where he lived for the rest of his life (36 years). Besides his preaching, Dr. Watts was a student of geography, astronomy, philosophy, and theology, and he wrote books on all these themes. His great life-work, however, as he himself saw, was his hymn-writing.

Early in life he became wearied with the versified Psalms which the churches used and set out to compose hymns of his own. This was a new departure and met with persistent opposition, but his hymns soon became widely popular in nearly all the churches. In 1707, Watts published a collection of original hymns, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. There were 210 hymns in this first edition, and 144 were added to the second edition.

Isaac Watts understood what it was to face spiritual battles. He accomplished his ministry during a time of crisis within Christendom. The church was moving out of the Dark Ages. Creativity in music, teaching and evangelism was bursting forth, but some believed the creativity was not of God, and therefore fought against it.  In 1721, while preparing a sermon regarding spiritual warfare, based on the passage “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” ( I Corinthians 16:13), Watts wrote the hymn “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” to accompany this text.

Am I a soldier of the cross, A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His name?

Sure I must fight, if I would reign Increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy word.

When that illustrious day shall rise, And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies, The glory shall be Thine.

Dr. David Pew (b. 1905) was the organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness, Denver.

About the Choral Music:

We are Called to Proclaim – John Purifoy

John Purifoy (b. 1952) is a composer and arranger with numerous published choral cantatas, anthems and keyboard collections. His stage musical "Lambarene," based on the life of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, received workshop productions at the state theatre of New Jersey and the North Shore Musical Theater near Boston.  Mr. Purifoy served as editor and director of music publishing for Word, Inc. from 1975-1982. He is the recipient of the Freedom’s Foundation Award and five-time recipient of the ASCAP Standard Award. 

“We are Called to Proclaim” was written for the 25^th anniversary of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and is based on Luke 4: 18-19.

            The spirit of the Lord is upon me,

            He has called me to preach good news to the poor.

            He has called me to proclaim now the freedom

            For all who are captive, For all broken hearted,

            Recovery of sight for the blind, release for those oppressed,

            To proclaim now the favor of the Lord!

            We are called to proclaim now the favor of the Lord.

            We are called in His name to help the sick and poor,

            To tell now of the freedom that has come to all the earth.

            With His Spirit now upon us we are called to proclaim!

            We are called to proclaim and to set the captive free

            By the power of One who came to make our blind eyes see.

            His kingdom lies within us.  Let peace and justice reign.

            By the truth of God within us we are called to proclaim!

About the Hymns:

Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above

Philip Spener became the pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Frankfurt am Main in the mid-1600s, and effected a revival by fervent preaching that emphasized repentance, personal piety, and discipleship.  He encouraged prayer and Bible study as a means to personal spiritual growth.  He spelled out his five guiding principles in a document entitled Pia Desideria (Pious Desires).  These included: the increased use of scripture; lay participation in small groups, emphasizing prayer and Bible study; a balance of faith and actions; an emphasis on a pious clergy; sermons that encourage an active faith. Not only did the church that Spener was serving in Frankfurt prosper, but a pietistic movement swept across Germany through his influence.

An enthusiastic member of Spener's congregation was a young attorney, Johann Jakob Schutz, who not only encouraged Spener's work but also wrote hymns.  He wrote "Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above" in 1675, and published it in Christliches Gedenkbüchlein that same year. 

The hymn is usually sung to the tune, "Mit Freuden Zart" ("With great delight!").

The most common English translation in use is by Frances E. Cox from 1864, which was published in Orby Shipley's Lyra Eucharistica and her own Hymns from the German.  Deuteronomy 32:3 was the basis for this hymn of praise – “For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!” (ESV) Using a variety of metaphors for God and for His works, this text overflows with proclamations of God's loving care for His people.  Note the second verse, which emphasizes the presence of the Lord, a typical pietistic emphasis:  "The Lord is never far away, but thru all grief distressing an ever-present help and stay, our peace and joy and blessing."

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was the son of an English schoolmaster. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin at age four, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor.

The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His Horae Lyricae  was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he is said to have composed for religious worship, is "Behold the glories of the Lamb," written at the age of twenty. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is best known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. His published hymns number more than eight hundred.

The Lutheran Hymnal Handbook includes this little narrative about the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:” “With regard to the practical application of the final stanza, Father Ignatius of St. Edmund’s Church in London is reported to have blurted to his congregation: ‘Well, I’m surprised to hear you sing that. Do you know that altogether you put only fifteen shillings in the collection bag this morning?’”  While Watts might not have been talking explicitly about money in the last line of his text, there is the expectation that we dedicate ourselves entirely to God, for God demands not just a piece of who we are, but “our soul, our life, our all.” This can be an incredibly difficult line to sing with any sense of honesty. Devotional author Jerry Jenkins writes in his book Hymns for Personal Devotions, “Perhaps it’s the distance between where Watts encourages me to be and where I truly am that makes this hymn so hard to sing. It’s a lofty and worthy spiritual goal to say that ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all,’ but how short I fall!”  And so as we sing this hymn of love and awe, we must sing it with a prayer in our hearts, asking God to enable us each day to live our life wholly for him.

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).