November 29, 2015 - Advent 1

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:

Gott sei dank – Harold Ruiz

Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670-1739) was born at Gandersheim, Brunswick, and studied at the University of Jena. In 1695, he went to Glaucha as assistant to Rev. A. H. Francke; and when Francke became pastor of St. Ulrich's, in Halle, 1715, Freylinghausen followed him there.  In 1723, he became also sub-director of the Paedagogium and the Orphanage; and after Francke's death in 1727, succeeded him as pastor of St. Ulrich's and director of the Francke Institutions. Almost all Freylinghausen's hymns appeared in his own hymnbook, Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, den Kern alter und neuer Lieder...in sich haltend (1704) with 683 hymns and 173 melodies, which was the standard collection of the Halle school, uniting the best productions of Pietism with a good representation of the older "classical" hymns. This work, which greatly influenced later collections, was the source from which many editors drew not only the hymns of Pietism, but also the current forms of the earlier hymns (as well as the new "Halle" melodies, a number of which are ascribed to Freylinghausen himself).  He also published Neues Geistreiches Gesangbuch (1714) with 815 hymns and 154 melodies.  A number of them are said to have been written during severe attacks of toothache. As a hymnwriter, Freylinghausen ranks as the best of the Pietistic school and as the first Pietistic hymnwriter among his contemporaries. His finest productions are distinguished by a sound and robust piety, warmth of feeling, depth of Christian experience, adherence to scripture, clarity, and variety of style, which gained for them wide acceptance.

“Gott sei dank” appeared in Geistreiches Gesang-Buch, Halle, 1704.

Our God, we thank thee, who hast made the earth so bright;
So full of splendor and of joy, beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here, noble and right.

Harold Ruiz (b. 1930) holds degrees from Concordia University in River Forest, IL, and Northwestern University.  He is former chair of the music department at Concordia University, Austin, TX.

From Heaven High to Earth I Come – Robert J. Powell

"Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") is a hymn text relating to the Nativity of Jesus, written by Martin Luther in 1534. The hymn is most often sung to a melody that first appeared in 1539 and that was likely composed by Luther as well. That version became a classic Christmas carol, and many composers referred to it in their compositions.  "Vom Himmel hoch" was first published as a hymn with 15 stanzas of four lines in the "Wittenberg hymnal" of 1535, under the header "Ein kinderlied auff die Weinacht Christi" ("A children's song on the Nativity of Christ"). In that publication, the text was coupled to the melody of the then well-known secular song "Ich kumm aus frembden Landen her." It was Luther's only contrafactum, reusing a tune of a secular composition for a religious text.  In 1539, the hymn was published with a new melody that was probably composed by Luther himself, in Geistliche lieder / auffs new gebessert vnd gemehrt /zu Witteberg. D. Marti. Luther. Viel Geistliche gesenge / von andern frommen Christen gemacht. Gedruckt zu Leyptzick durch Valten Schumann (Spiritual Songs / newly improved and extended / … made by other pious Christians …).

From heaven above to earth I come

To bear good news to every home;

Glad tidings of great joy I bring

Whereof I now will say and sing:

To you this night is born a child

Of Mary, chosen mother mild;

This little child, of lowly birth,

Shall be the joy of all your earth.

'Tis Christ our God who far on high

Hath heard your sad and bitter cry;

Himself will your Salvation be,

Himself from sin will make you free.

Robert Powell (b. 1932) is an American composer, organist, and choir director.  Powell earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University with a focus on organ and composition. He studied with Alec Wyton at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and he was also Wyton's assistant at The Episcopal Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. For three years (1965–1968), he served St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire) as Director of Music. Later, Powell was Director of Music and Organist of Christ Church (Episcopal) of Greenville, South Carolina from 1968 to 2003. He has composed in nearly all genres common to church music, including anthems, service music, hymn concertatos, organ music, music for handbell choir, and large-scale oratorios. Powell's conservative, neo-Romantic style stems from his practical approach to composition. According to Powell himself, he writes for "choirs of twenty-five because that's what most choirs are. When you come right down to it, most choirs are not of cathedral ability or size. My pieces are all practical things and useful for specific occasions." His publications appear in The Hymnal 1982 as well as in the catalogs of most of the significant American publishers of church music. According to publisher GIA, Powell is "a composer whose output bridges denominational boundaries and who is able to serve the larger Church. He has made ecumenical sharing a reality–-and always with a genteel touch."  Powell is an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists.

Puritan Procession – Seth Bingham

Seth Daniels Bingham (April 16, 1882 – June 21, 1972) was born in New Jersey, the youngest of four siblings in a farming family. After extensive childhood activities in church music, he studied organ and composition at Yale University, and in Paris with Alexandre Guilmant, Vincent d'Indy and Charles-Marie Widor. Bingham taught theory, composition and organ at Yale from 1908 to 1919. Beginning in 1913, he was organist and choirmaster at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, a position he held until his 1951 retirement. He was an associate professor at Columbia University, received an honorary doctorate from Ohio Wesleyan University, and lectured at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary.  Bingham's compositions include orchestral, choral, and chamber music, but most of his compositions are for organ solo.

“Puritan Procession” is the final movement in a suite, “Pioneer America”, written by Bingham in 1928.  It features “York Tune”, which was a setting of the last section of Psalm 66, found in the Bay Psalm Book (1640), which was the Puritan Psalm book of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which merged with the colony at Plymouth Rock, where the first Thanksgiving took place.

            Come and hear; all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

            I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.

            If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

            But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

            Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer

            Or removed his steadfast love from me.

About the Vocal Music:

Of the Father’s Love Begotten – Thomas Gibbs

Of the Father's Love Begotten is a Christmas carol based on the Latin poem Corde natus by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his Liber Cathemerinon (hymn no. IX) beginning "Da puer plectrum"   The ancient poem was translated and paired with a medieval plainchant melody Divinum mysterium. Divinum mysterium was a "Sanctus trope" - an ancient plainchant melody which over the years had been musically embellished. An early version of this chant appears in manuscript form as early as the 10th century, although without the melodic additions, and "trope" versions with various melodic differences appear in Italian, German, Gallacian, Bohemian and Spanish manuscripts dating from the 13th to 16th centuries.  Divinum mysterium first appeared in print in 1582 in the Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a collection of seventy-four sacred and secular church and school songs of medieval Europe compiled by Jaakko Suomalainen and published by Theodoric Petri. In this collection, Divinum mysterium was classified as "De Eucharistia" reflecting its original use for the Mass.

The text of the Divinum mysterium was substituted for Prudentius's poem when it was published by Thomas Helmore in 1851. In making this fusion, the original meter of the chant was disturbed, changing the original triple meter rhythm into a duple meter and therefore altering stresses and note lengths. A later version by Charles Winfred Douglas corrected this using an "equalist" method of transcription, although the hymn is now found in both versions as well as a more dance-like interpretation of the original melody.

Thomas Gibbs holds the MM and PhD degrees in musicology from the University of Texas at Austin.  He is retired from the faculty of Birmingham-Southern College, where he taught music history, church music, and conducting.  He is the co-author of a music appreciation textbook, Contemplative Listening, that introduces meditation techniques specifically for music listeners, and he continues to be active as a church musician, conductor, editor, choral clinician, and composer.

            Of the Father’s love begotten ere the worlds began to be,

            He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,

            Of the things that are, that have been,

            And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore.

            O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts His praises sing;

            Powers, dominions bow before Thee and extol our God and King;

            Let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring

            Sanctus evermore.

About the Hymns:

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

Georg Weissel (1590-1635)  studied theology at the University of Königsberg,  and at Wittenberg, Leipzig, Jena, Strassburg, Basel and Marburg. In 1623, he became pastor of the newly erected Altrossgart church at Königsberg, where he remained till his death.  Weissel was one of the most important of the earlier hymn-writers of Prussia.  His hymns, about 20 in all, are good in style, moderate in length, and varied in meter. The earliest seem to have been written for use at the consecration of the Altrossgart church on the 2nd Sunday in Advent, 1623. The majority are for the greater festivals of the Christian year. They appeared in the Königsberg hymn-books, 1639-1650, and in the Preussische Fest-Lieder, 1642-1644.

Psalm 24 is a majestic song of praise to the King of glory. It concludes with a herald’s announcement of the King’s approach: “Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory”.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Although “O come, O come, Emmanuel” is most commonly known by that English title, it is in fact a translation of the original Latin, “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel”; translations into other modern languages (particularly German) are also in widespread use. The 1861 translation from Hymns Ancient and Modern is the most prominent by far in the English-speaking world, but other English translations also exist.  The hymn is a metrical paraphrase of the O Antiphons, a series of plainchant antiphons attached to the Magnificat at Vespers over the final days before Christmas.  The words and the music of "O come, O come, Emmanuel" developed separately. The Latin text is first documented in Germany in 1710, whereas the tune most familiar in the English-speaking world has its origins in 15th-century France. 

The pre-history of the text stretches back to the origins of the O Antiphons, which were in existence by, at the latest, the eighth century.  They were paraphrased extensively by the English poet Cynewulf in a poem written before the year 800.  While "O come, O come, Emmanuel" is often linked with the 12th century, the earliest surviving evidence of the hymn's text is in the seventh edition of Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, which was published in Cologne in 1710. That hymnal was a major force in the history of German church music: first assembled by Jesuit hymnographer Johannes Herringsdorf in 1610 and receiving numerous revised editions through 1868, it achieved enormous impact due to its use in Jesuit schools.

The text of the Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum version is essentially expanded, rather than altered, over the subsequent centuries. That version exhibits all of the hymn's characteristic qualities: it is strophic and metrical, and the order is altered so that the last of the O Antiphons (the titular "Veni Emmanuel") becomes the first verse of the hymn. Each stanza consists of a four-line verse, which adapts one of the antiphons, and a new two-line refrain ("Gaude, gaude! Emmanuel \ nascetur pro te, Israel," i.e. "Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel \ Shall come to thee, O Israel"), which provides an explicitly Advent-oriented response to the petition of the verse.

The familiar tune called “Veni Emmanuel” was first linked with this hymn in 1851, when Thomas Helmore published it in the Hymnal Noted, paired with an early revision of Neale's English translation of the text. The volume listed the tune as being "From a French Missal in the National Library, Lisbon."  The pairing of the hymn text with the Veni Emmanuel tune was an extremely significant combination. The hymn text was embraced both out of a Romantic interest in poetic beauty and medieval exoticism and out of a concern for matching hymns to liturgical seasons and functions rooted in the Oxford Movement in the Church of England. The Hymnal Noted, in which the words and tune were first combined, represented these goals. This hymnal consisted entirely of versions of Latin hymns, designed for use as Office hymns within the Anglican Church despite the fact that Office hymns had no part in the authorized liturgy. The music was drawn chiefly from plainchant, as was the case with the Veni Emmanuel tune for "O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

Go Forth for God

"Go Forth for God" exhorts believers to "go forth for God" to the world in peace”, "in love", "in strength", and "in joy", using phrases from Romans 12:9-21 and 1 Thessalonians 5:13b¬22-.   John R. Peacey (1896-1971) wrote the original text to this hymn in 1968. The 1987 Psalter Hymnal version of the text, however, is a result of revisions made by Peacey in 1970 and by the editors of the English Hymnal supplement, English Praise (1975). Educated in theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge, Peacey was ordained in the Church of England in 1923. In addition to serving several churches in England, he was also headmaster and principal of the Bishop Cotton School in Simla, India (1927-1945), and principal of Bishop's College in Calcutta, India (1935-1945). Peacey concluded his career at Bristol Cathedral (1945-1966). Written mainly during his retirement years, his hymn texts were published posthumously in Go Forth for God (1981).

November 22, 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.  

(This is the Sunday that we celebrate the Saints in our lives, past and present, and honor those who have passed in the last year.)

About the Organ Music:

Dundee – Healey Willan

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley.  As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly amazing how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumors of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift.  The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream. “Let Saints on Earth in Concert Sing” was published in Wesley’s Funeral Hymns, 1759.

Let saints on earth in concert sing With those whose work is done;
For all the servants of our King In earth and heav'n are one.

One family, we dwell in Him, One Church, above, beneath,
Though now divided by the stream, The narrow stream of death.

One army of the living God, To His command we bow;
Part of His host hath cross'd the flood, And part are crossing now.

E’en now to their eternal home There pass some spirits blest;
While others to the margin come, Waiting their call to rest.

Jesu, be Thou our constant guide; Then, when the word is given,
Bid Jordan’s narrow stream divide, And bring us safe to Heav’n.

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and composer.  He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but is best known for his religious music.  Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne.  He earned, by examination in organ playing, harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant").  In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada.  In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto), where he remained until his death.  St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians.  In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department.  In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it disbanded in 1939.  From 1937 to 1950, Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so honoured.  People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption."

Behold a Host – F. Melius Christiansen

Hans Brorson (1694-1764) was a Danish Pietist bishop and hymn writer.  Brorson belonged to a clerical family; his father and two brothers were also vicars.  He began publishing hymns in 1732 while a pastor in southern Jutland, and became Bishop at Ribe in 1741.  Almost forgotten after his death, his hymns became popular again in the Romantic period, and Brorson is now ranked among the four greatest Danish hymn writers. The tune of “Behold a Host” is a Norwegian folksong dating from around 1600.

Behold a host, arrayed in white, Like a thousand snow clad mountains bright,                           With palms they stand.  Who is this band before the throne light?                                    

Lo, these are they of glorious fame who from the great affliction came                                       And in the flood of Jesus’ blood are cleansed from guilt and blame.                                           Now gathered in the holy place their voices they in worship raise,                                               Their anthems swell where God doth dwell, mid angels’ song of praise.

Then hail, ye mighty legions, yea, all hail! Now safe and blest for aye,                                       And praise the Lord, who with His Word sustained you on the way.                                           Farewell, now bring your sheaves and sing salvation’s glad refrain.         

Swing high your palm, lift up your song, Yea, make it myriad voices strong.                             Eternally shall praise to Thee, God, and the Lamb belong.

Fredrik Melius Christiansen (1871-1955), the son of a Norwegian factory worker, was born in Eidsvold, Norway and emigrated to the United States at the age of 17. He settled in Wisconsin and studied at Augsburg College. In 1897, he returned to Europe to study at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Leipzig, Germany.  In 1901, Christiansen was recruited by St. Olaf College president John N. Kildahl. The St. Olaf Choir was founded as an outgrowth of the St. John's Lutheran Church Choir in Northfield. For the next 30 years, Christiansen led the St. Olaf Choir, striving for perfect intonation, blend, diction and phrasing. He was a skilled conductor, directing bands and choirs alike. He assumed direction of the St. Olaf Band in 1903, and took the ensemble on tour to Norway in 1906 to play for King Haakon VII, making it the first college music ensemble to conduct a tour abroad. Though his first love was the violin, he received international fame as founding director of the St. Olaf Choir of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA from 1912 to 1944. Christiansen was considered a pioneer in the art of a cappella (unaccompanied) choral music. Christiansen composed and arranged over 250 musical selections and his choral techniques were spread throughout the U.S. by St. Olaf graduates. The great Christiansen choral tradition is a recognized feature of American Lutheranism.

Cortège – Marcel Dupré

Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) was born into a musical family and was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and built an organ in the family house when Marcel was 14 years old. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1904.  In 1914, Dupré won the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, Psyché. In 1926, he was appointed professor of organ performance and improvisation at the Paris Conservatoire, a position he held until 1954.  Dupré became famous for performing more than 2000 organ recitals throughout Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe, which included a recital series of 10 concerts of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1920 (Paris Conservatoire) and 1921 (Palais du Trocadéro), both performed entirely from memory. The sponsorship of an American transcontinental tour by the John Wanamaker Department Store interests rocketed his name into international prominence. Dupré's "Symphonie-Passion" began as an improvisation on Philadelphia's Wanamaker Organ. In 1934, Dupré succeeded Charles-Marie Widor as titular organist at St. Sulpice in Paris, a post he held until his death in 1971.  From 1947 to 1954, he was director of the American Conservatory, which occupies the Louis XV wing of the Château de Fontainebleau near Paris. In 1954, Dupré became director of the Paris Conservatoire; but he held this post for only two years before the prevailing national laws forced him to retire at the age of 70.
Aside from a few fine works for aspiring organists (such as the 79 Chorales op. 28) most of Dupré's music for the organ ranges from moderately to extremely difficult, and some of it makes almost impossible technical demands on the performer. Being a virtuoso of the highest order, he contributed extensively to the development of technique (both in his organ music and in his pedagogical works). A fair and objective critique of his music should take into account the fact that, occasionally, the emphasis on virtuosity and technique can be detrimental to the musical content and substance. However, his more successful works combine this virtuosity with a high degree of musical integrity, qualities found in works such as the Symphonie-Passion, the Chemin de la Croix, the Preludes and Fugues, the Esquisses and Évocation, and the Cortège et Litanie.

As well as composing prolifically, Dupré prepared study editions of the organ works of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, César Franck, and Alexander Glazunov. He also wrote a method for organ (1927), 2 treatises on organ improvisation (1926 and 1937), and books on harmonic analysis (1936), counterpoint (1938), fugue (1938), and accompaniment of Gregorian chant (1937), in addition to essays on organ building, acoustics, and philosophy of music. As an improviser, Dupré was able to take given themes and spontaneously weave whole symphonies around them, often with elaborate contrapuntal devices including fugues.

Sine Nomine – Charles Callahan

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1982-1958) wrote “Sine Nomine”, which is the musical setting of the “For All the Saints” hymn text.  He is arguably the greatest composer Britain has seen since the days of Henry Purcell. In a long and extensive career, he composed music notable for its power, nobility and expressiveness, representing, perhaps, the essence of ‘Englishness’.

Vaughan Williams was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Later he was a pupil of Stanford and Parry at the Royal College of Music, after which he studied with Max Bruch in Berlin and Maurice Ravel in Paris. Vaughan Williams volunteered to serve in the Field Ambulance Service in Flanders for the 1914-1918 war, during which he was deeply affected by the carnage and the loss of close friends such as the composer George Butterworth. For many years Vaughan Williams conducted and led the Leith Hill Music Festival, conducting Bach's St Matthew Passion on a regular basis. He also became professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in London. Vaughan Williams received the Order of Merit in 1938.  His ashes are interred in Westminster Abbey, near Purcell.

At the turn of the century he was among the very first to travel into the countryside to collect folk-songs and carols from singers. As musical editor of The English Hymnal he composed several hymns that are now world-wide favorites (For all the Saints, Come down O love Divine). Later he also helped to edit The Oxford Book of Carols.  In a long and productive life, his compositions included nine symphonies, five operas, film music, ballet and stage music, several song cycles, church music and works for chorus and orchestra.

This setting is by Charles Callahan (b. 1951), 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.

About the Choral Music:

Recollection of Joy – Donna Butler

Donna Butler Douglas has enjoyed parallel careers in church music and graphic design. For over 20 years she served as Director of Music for churches in Oklahoma, Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City and Little Rock, Arkansas. She currently manages communications and publications for Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.A native of Ada, Oklahoma, Donna holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree in Piano from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Donna is published under her maiden name, Donna Butler, and has received annual standard awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) each year since 1989. Mrs. Douglas is an accomplished pianist, soloist and free-lance composer with over 100 compositions in print. Donna is a recipient of the “Profiles in Excellence” award, presented by Oklahoma Baptist University to noteworthy alumni.

“Recollection of Joy” is based on Phillippians 1.

            I think my God when I remember you, For He has blessed my life with yours.

            With every prayer of mine for you, I’m filled with joy;

            For I hold you in my heart.

            And I pray that your love may abound yet more in knowledge

            And in all judgement, that you may approve excellent things.

            That you may be sincere, being filled with the fruits of  righteousness

            Unto the glory and praise of God.

            Grace to you and peace to you from God our Father, Christ our Lord.

            Oh, I thank my God when I remember you.

Love One Another – Brad Nix

          God’s Project

Brad Nix currently serves as Associate Professor of Piano and Chair of the Music Department at Sterling College, located in Sterling, KS. His responsibilities include overseeing the department, teaching applied and group piano, music theory, aural skills, and arranging. He has also taught music appreciation, music history, and piano pedagogy.  Brad received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Brad remains an active recitalist, pedagogue, and freelance pianist.  He makes frequent appearances as an adjudicator for local and statewide piano competitions and recently acted as the Georgia State Chair of the Music Teachers National Association Senior Performance Competitions.  

“Love One Another” is based on I Corinthians 13:4-7 and John 13:34.

            Love is patient; love is kind; love is gentle; love divine.

            Love forgives, is never rude.  Love rejoices in the truth.

            Love is faithful; love is pure; love is hopeful; love endures.

            Love is humble; love is strong; love is such a joyous song.

            Love one another, as God has also loved you.

About the Hymns:

Come, Let Us Join Our Friends Above

When Charles Wesley penned and later -- with his brother John -- printed these words, he was not imagining they might be sung as a processional hymn on All Saints Day at Westminster Abbey or Coventry Cathedral. Indeed, such would have been out of the question. "Man-made" hymns such as this were not permitted in worship in the Church of England during his lifetime.

But more than this, as the text of this hymn shows, Charles had a vision of sainthood that was at once more inclusive and more demanding than any impressive public ritual one day a year could express. Charles and his brother John were both convinced that sainthood was the intended destiny not of just a few, but indeed of all Christians. God's intention in salvation is nothing less than to make saints of us all. God's desire for us is not simply to forgive us of our sins, nor even to work in our hearts and lives to deliver us entirely from the power of sin, but rather to work in us and with us "a complete salvation" that will "perfect us in love" in this life.

This hymn isn't and could not be for Wesley "special music for special worship on a special day." It was an "anthem for a lifetime," intended to be sung regularly by the early Methodists in society meetings, class meetings, and in daily life as a constant invitation to "join our friends above who have obtained the prize, and on the eagle wings of love to joys celestial rise."

Blest Be the Tie that Binds

John Fawcett (1740-1817) was born into a poor family in Yorkshire, England, and was orphaned at age 12.  To survive, he accepted a lengthy apprenticeship to a tailor.  While still in his teens, he heard the great George Whitfield preach and became a Christian.  Fawcett became active in a Baptist church and was often asked to speak.  At age 25 (and newly married), he was invited to serve as pastor of a small church at Wainsgate.  The poor people of that little village were able to pay very little, and much of Fawcett's pay came as potatoes and other produce.  Once his wife, Mary, began having children, they found it difficult to survive.

Fawcett learned that the pastor of a large Baptist church in London was retiring, and he let the church know that he would be interested in serving them.  They called him to be their pastor at a much larger salary, so John and Mary packed their household and prepared to move.  But, as the story is told, Mary told John that she didn't think she could leave these people whom they had both learned to love, and John admitted that he shared her sentiment; so, the two of them unpacked the wagon and told the London church know they wouldn't be coming.

Fawcett, who wrote a number of hymns during his lifetime, wrote the hymn, "Blest Be the Tie," to convey his sentiments and those of his wife to the poor people among whom they had chosen to live.  Fawcett served that little church for the rest of his life –– 54 years in all.

For All the Saints

“For All the Saints” is the quintessential hymn for All Saints’ Day, with its uplifting text and triumphant music.  Bishop William Walsham Howe, author of the hymn text, wrote over 60 hymns.  Combining pure poetic rhythms with great directness and simplicity, his hymns are simple and unadorned, but enthusiastic.  “For All the Saints” is his most popular hymn.  Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the tune “Sine Nomine” for this text and published it in the English Hymnal in 1906.  Equipped with a walking bass, it is a glorious marching tune and considered by many to be among the finest of 20^th century hymn tunes.

November 15, 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:

Give Me Jesus – Richard Billingham

Give Me Jesus originated as an African-American spiritual written during the time of slavery in the United States.  The lyrics of Give Me Jesus are simple, but poignant. Whether we are in tragedy or triumph, whether we are weathering storms or counting treasures, our hearts’ desire should simply be Jesus.  That Give Me Jesus was written by people stripped of all dignity and every human possession says so much about what Jesus is, what He can give and His very nature!

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.

            And when I am alone, give me Jesus.

            You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.

            And when I come to die, give me Jesus.

            And when the trumpet sounds, give me Jesus.

            You can have all this world, but give me Jesus!

Richard Billingham (b. 1934) is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois and organist at First Methodist Church of Chicago and the Chicago Temple.

Warum betrübst du dich mein Herz – J. C. Bach

"Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz?"  is a very old German chorale, which has been set by many composers, both for organ and for choir.  The chorale melody is found on undated manuscripts that appeared around the middle of the 16^th century in Nürnberg. One of these is listed as coming from Nürnberg in 1561. The composer and/or text author is unknown. For many years it had been thought that Hans Sachs could have written both song and melody. The melody was noted on a manuscript from Crailsheim in 1565.  The chorale text has a total of 14 verses.  The source of the text and general theme are very similar to “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”  A rough translation of 3 of the verses is as follows:

Why do you trouble yourself, my heart, tormenting yourself and bearing pain only about perishable goods?  Alas, I am poor; heavy worries oppress me.  From evening until morning, my dear necessity lasts.  May God have mercy!  Who will rescue me yet from the body of this evil and cruel world?  How wretched it is beset around me!  Alas!  If I were only dead! 

Trust in your Lord God, who has created everything.  He can and will not abandon you. He knows well what you lack; heaven and earth are His!  Ah, how?  God freely tends to the wild animal: He gives the bird his meal; He nourishes the young raven.  Your Father and your Lord God, He will stand with you in all necessity.

Well then!  I will also rest quite peacefully.  Now I can live as if in heaven.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s life was surrounded by Johann Christophs:  an uncle, a cousin, an older brother, and a son.  Here we have a chorale prelude by his 1st cousin once removed, who became the town organist in Eisenach in the year 1665 and court chamber musician there in 1700.  Prior to Johann Sebastian, Johann Christoph (1642-1703) would have been considered the most famous musician of the Bach family. His work is of the highest quality and, in some instances, has been improperly attributed to Johann Sebastian himself (e.g. the motet Ich lasse dich nicht). Johann Christoph composed choral works (motets and cantatas) and works for organ (preludes and fugues). Johann Sebastian described his cousin as "the great and expressive composer," and performed his works often as did Carl Philipp Emanuel.

About the Handbell Music:

Ring, Zing, Swing – John Behnke

This fun, jazz piece is by John Behnke, who  is Professor of Music at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin where he teaches organ, graduate handbell courses, directs The Alleluia Ringers, Concordia's touring handbell choir and the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble.  He is also the Music Editor for AGEHR Music - Handbell Musicians of America.  Behnke is a frequent organ recitalist, handbell clinician, and festival director. He enjoys composing and arranging having over 250 handbell, choral, and organ compositions in print.  

About the Choral Music:

I Surrender All – Claude Bass

"I Surrender All" was written by American art teacher and musician Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855–1939), who subsequently became a music minister and evangelist. It was put to music by Winfield S. Weeden (1847–1908), and published in 1896.Van DeVenter said of the inspiration for the text:

For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.

Following his decision to surrender his life to the Divine, Van DeVenter traveled throughout the United States, England, and Scotland, doing evangelistic work. Winfield S. Weeden, his associate and singer, assisted him for many years. Toward the end of his life, Van DeVenter moved to Florida, and was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute for four years in the 1920s. After his retirement, he remained involved in speaking and in religious gatherings. Van DeVenter published more than 60 hymns in his lifetime, but "I Surrender All" is his most famous.

Claude Leroy Bass was born in 1935 in Gainesville, TX. He received his BM from Oklahoma Baptist University, a MM from the University Oklahoma, and a PhD from North Texas States University. He was a high school music teacher, and professor of music at Oklahoma Baptist University and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.

            All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.

            I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

           

All to Jesus I surrender, make me Saviour, wholly Thine.

            Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine.

            All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee;

            Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.

           

I surrender all, I surrender all;

            All to Thee my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.

About the Hymns:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" is a hymn based on Joachim Neander's German chorale Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, published in 1680. John Julian, in his A Dictionary of Hymnology, calls the German original "a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest creation of its author, and of the first rank in its class."  Neander wrote this particular hymn while dying and it says much about his faith. While contemplating the words to go along with the melody, he reflected on Psalm 103 with its claim that everything within us should praise the Father’s holy name.  It was the favorite hymn of King Frederick William III of Prussia, who first heard it in 1800.  In the Neander original, first the singer calls himself (my beloved soul) to praise God, then calls for a larger group to join the praise with musical instruments as well as song.  John Julian‍‍ '​‍s A Dictionary of Hymnology lists more than ten English translations of "Lobe den Herren" printed in various nineteenth century hymnals.

The melody used by Neander, first published in 1665, is probably based on a folk tune. The common name given to this melody is "Lobe den Herren". Several variants were published with various secular texts between 1665 to 1680, when Joachim Neander published his German hymn, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, using its meter. The text paraphrases Psalm 103 and Psalm 150.  

One interesting piece of history is the later use of Neander’s name. He often taught in a valley near the Düssel river, and over 100 years after his death the valley was named after him. It was in that valley that bones were later found, from which we get the name “Neanderthal.”

For the Beauty of the Earth

Folliott Piermont (1835-1917) was born in Bath, England and was a lay member of the Anglican Church. Following his graduation from Queen's College, Cambridge, he taught the classics for a time at Somerset College, later becoming a freelance writer. During his 82 years of life, Pierpoint published seven volumes of poems and hymn texts, many of them showing his love for nature. He is most remembered for this beautiful hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth.

Piermont was about 29 years old when he wrote the text for this joyful hymn.  It was a lovely day in late spring.  While enjoying the surrounding area of his native city of Bath, in England, he was inspired by the beautiful countryside with its winding cool and peaceful river, Avon, in the distance. The tuneful songbirds, the wind whispering over a vibrantly colored hillside, all seemed to be praising the Creator with their unrestrained gladness and peace.  Overwhelmed with emotion, he expressed his feelings of gratitude in the penning of this sacred song.  The text was inspired by Hebrews 13:15:  "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."  It first appeared in 1864 in a book of Eucharistic hymns and poems entitled Lyra Eucharistica, Hymns and Verses on The Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern, with other Poems with the title "The Sacrifice of Praise".

To God Be the Glory

Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915), born in New York and died in Connecticut, wrote over 8,500 gospel hymns. In 1972, Hope Publishing Co. found over 1,000 unpublished manuscripts. Her work defined what it meant to be a successful writer of gospel hymns.  By the age of six weeks, Fanny Crosby was completely blind. She entered the New York School for the Blind at age twelve. She began writing hymns and poetry at age twelve.  Her collaborators in publishing gospel hymns included the most successful and popular composers of her day, including William Bradbury, William Doane, Robert Lowry, Ira Sankey, and William Kirkpatrick. Crosby used numerous pen names in publishing her songs, including: Ella Dale, Mrs. Kate Gringley and Miss Viola V. A.  She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne, and the British most often refer to her by her married name rather than Fanny Crosby.  She was a lifelong Methodist and her contributions to The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) include: “Blessed Assurance,” “Close to Thee,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “To God Be the Glory.”

Frances Jane Crosby’s hymns have historically been among the most popular songs sung by Methodists.  “To God be the glory” was included in William Doane’s Songs of Devotion in 1870.  Ira Sankey probably saw the hymn in Doane’s collection and incorporated it into the first edition of his Sacred Songs and Solos (1875).  Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey helped to establish the hymn’s popularity during their revivals in Great Britain in the late 19th century.  It also appeared in some British hymnals including the Methodist Hymn Book (1933).

However, it was not until the 1954 Billy Graham Crusade in Nashville that Cliff Barrows introduced this song to congregations in the United States.  Mr. Graham and Mr. Barrows had learned the song during the 1952 revivals they had conducted in Great Britain.  Hymnologist William J. Reynolds, writing in his hymnal companion Hymns of Faith (1964), documented the return of this hymn to the USA: “It is most extraordinary that this long-forgotten American gospel song should have been imported from England and become immensely popular during the last decade.”