January 31, 2016

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:

O Gott, du frommer Gott – Flor Peeters

Johann Heerman (1585-1657), son of a furrier, was the fifth but only surviving child of his parents. During a severe illness in his childhood, his mother vowed that if he recovered she would educate him for the ministry, even though she had to beg the necessary money. He was appointed diaconus of Koben, a small town on the Oder, in 1611, and was promoted to the pastorate there.  Much of Heermann's life was spent amid the distressing scenes of the Thirty Years' War; and by his own ill health and his domestic trials he was trained to write his beautiful hymns of “Cross and Consolation." Between 1629 and 1634, Koben was plundered four times by the Lichtenstein dragoons and the rough hordes under Wallenstein sent into Silesia by the King of Austria in order to bring about the Counter-Reformation and restore the Roman Catholic faith and practice; while in 1616 the town was devastated by fire, and in 1631 by pestilence. In these troublous years Heermann several times lost all his moveables; once he had to keep away from Koben for seventeen weeks; twice he was nearly sabred; and once, while crossing the Oder in a frail boat loaded almost to sinking, he heard the bullets of the pursuing soldiers whistle just over his head. He bore all with courage and patience.  After 1623 he suffered from an affliction of the throat, which compelled him to cease preaching in 1634. 

As a hymnwriter, Heermann ranks with the best of his century.  He began writing Latin poems about 1605 and was recognized for his poetry at Brieg in 1608. He represents the transition from the objective standpoint of the hymnwriters of the Reformation period to the more subjective and experimental school that followed him. His hymns are distinguished by depth and tenderness of feeling; by firm faith and confidence in face of trial; by deep love to Christ, and humble submission to the will of God.In his House and Heart Music some of his finest hymns are in the section entitled "Songs of Tears. In the time of the persecution and distress of pious Christians."

Oh God, you righteous god you source of good gifts,
without whom nothing exists that does exist, from whom we have everything :
give me a healthy body and grant that in such a body
there may remain an inviolate soul and a pure conscience.

Grant that I may do diligently what it is my duty to do,
as your command guides me in my position.
Grant that I may do it promptly, at the time when I should,
and when I do it, then grant that it may turn out well!

Help me, so that I may always say what I can stand by,
let no useless word come from my mouth,
and when in my office I should and must speak,
then give my words force and weight without causing vexation.

If there is danger, then let me not despair,
give me heroic courage, help me to bear my cross !
Grant that I may overcome my enemies with gentleness.
And if I need counsel may I find good counsel.

Let me with everyone live in peace and friendship,
as far as is Christian. If you want to give me anything to do with
wealth, property and money, then give this also,
that nothing may be mixed up with any goods that are unjust.

If in this world I have to live my life longer,
through many a bitter step  press on to old age,
then give me patience. From sin and shame protect me,
so that I may bear with honour my grey hair

At my end let me depart relying on Christ's death,
take my soul to you to your joys in heaven,
bestow a little space on my body, a grave by my parents,
so that it may have peace by their side.

On that day when you will awaken the dead,
then stretch out your hand to my grave,
let me hear your voice, and awaken my body
and lead it beautiful and transformed to the multitude of your chosen people!

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.

Wo Gott zum Haus nicht gibt sein Gunst – J. C. Bach

Johann Kolrose (c.1487-1558) was a German poet, philologist, and pedagogue.  In 1528, he became director of the boys’ elementary school in Basel, and in 1530, he published a textbook for drama.  He wrote hymns texts for the Reformation. “Wo Gott zum Haus” was written in 1525 and published in Geistliche Lieder (1535).  It is a versified paraphrase of the Psalm 127.

If God will not the building bless, The builders’ toil is meaningless;
If God the city not maintain, The watchman waketh but in vain.

Oh, vain it is, ere dawn to rise, Or late to shut your weary eyes,
Or bread of sorrows to digest, For God shall give His lov’d ones rest.

Our children are God’s heritage, His gift to us, His goodly pledge;
As arrows in the hand of might, So is the youth in God’s own sight.

That man is happy and at ease, Who hath his quiver full of these;
They shall not fall to shame and woe, For God preserves them from their foe.

Praise God the Father and the Son And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
As ‘twas, is now, and so shall be, World without end, eternally!

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:

Festivo! – Bob Burroughs

Bob Burroughs (b. 1937) is known primarily in music circles as a composer and arranger of church music. He is a graduate of Mars Hill College, holds a BME from Oklahoma Baptist University and a MCM with a double major in theory and composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has been active in church music for 55 years. He was on the faculty of Samford University, Mercer University (Atlanta campus) and Palm Beach Atlantic University- as Composer-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Theory and Composition. He was the Director of the Church Music Department, Florida Baptist Convention, Jacksonville, Florida, until his retirement in 2001.  Burroughs has over 1,300 compositions published in the United States, and was awarded the Hines Sims Award by the Baptist Church Music Conference, June, 2007.

About the Choral Music:

One Faith, One Hope, One Lord – Craig Courtney

A native of Indiana, Craig Courtney received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati. He served on the faculty of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, serving as piano teacher and accompanist for the woodwind and brass department. While serving in the music ministry of the Salzburg International Baptist Church, Courtney began composing sacred choral music. In 1985, his compositions came to the attention of John Ness Beck through the publication of his octavo, Thy Will Be Done, initiating a close working relationship between the two men which continued until Beck’s death in 1987. In making plans for the ongoing of Beckenhorst Press, Beck appointed Craig Courtney staff composer and editor. Courtney’s published works include more than two hundred choral octavos, nine vocal collections, two piano solo collections and six extended works for choir and orchestra. Courtney combines his background as pianist, cellist, vocal coach, accompanist and choral director to create works in his unique style.  

Dignified and thoughtful, this powerful affirmation of faith is harmonically rich and features beautiful choral writing, which thickens through the piece. The text is based on Ephesians 4:4-6, 13.

            One faith, one hope, one Lord, one church for which He died,

            One voice, one song, we lift in praise to Him who was and is and shall be evermore.

            There is one body, one spirit, as you were called to one hope.

            One Lord, baptism and faith, one God and Father of all, who is in you all.

            Though we be many people, diverse with various gifts,

            We are given to each other for the unity of faith,

            That we grow in the knowledge of the Son of God, in the fullness of Christ.

            One faith.  One hope.  One Lord.

About the Hymns:

Christ for the World We Sing

Samuel Wolcott (1813-1886) was born at South Windsor, Connecticut, and educated at Yale College and Andover Theological Seminary. From 1840 to 1842, he was a missionary in Syria. On his return to America, he was successively pastor of several Congregational congregations. He was Secretary of the Ohio Home Missionary Society for some time.  His hymn-writing began late in life, but has extended to more than 200 hymns, many of which are still in manuscript.  On Feb. 7, 1869, Wolcott attended a meeting of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Ohio.  The pulpit at the church where the meeting was held was inscribed, “Christ for the World, and the World for Christ.”  On the way home, Wolcott composed the hymn, “Christ for the World We Sing”. 

Take Time to Be Holy

“Take Time to Be Holy” was written by William Longstaff (1822-1894) in 1882.  Longstaff, an English businessman, had often meditated on 1 Peter 1:16, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”, and considered it to be the heart of the gospel.  Upon hearing Dr. Griffith John, a missionary from China, speak and use the phrase, “Take time and be holy”, he was inspired to write this hymn.  Longstaff showed the hymn to Ira Sankey, who in turn passed it on to American songwriter George C. Stebbins (1846-1945) to set in 1882. Stebbins laid it aside and did not recall it until an evangelistic meeting in India, during which the theme of holiness was explored. Stebbins recalled Longstaff’s hymn and set it to music for the revival. He sent his tune “HOLINESS” to Sankey, who published the hymn in New Songs and Sacred Solos (1888).

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.