July 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:

Jesu, meine Freude – Roger Wilson

          Javi Betancourt, cello

"Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy) is a German hymn, written byJohann Franck in 1650,  with a melody by Johann Crüger. The song first appeared in Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica in 1653. The text addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemies and the vanity of existence.  The first stanza sets the theme of love of Jesus and the desire to be united with him, who is named Lamb, as in Revelation 5:6, and Bridegroom, based on Revelation 22:17.  It is a variant of the love song "Flora, meine Freude", published in 1645 by Heinrich Albert, organist at the Königsberg Cathedral.   The second stanza describes the protection by Jesus against threats from Satan, enemies, thunder, hell and sin, all pictured in drastic images. The third stanza repeats three times Trotz (defiance), facing the enemies "old dragon" (alter Drachen), death (Tod), and fear (Furcht). The believer, feeling safe even in adverse conditions as expressed in Psalms 23:4, stands singing (Ich steh hier und singe.).  The fourth stanza turns away from worldly treasures and honors, which should not separate the believer from Jesus. The fifth stanza repeats four times "Good night", to existence in the world, to sins, to pride and pomp, and to a vile life. The last stanza imagines the entry of Jesus as the "Freudenmeister" (master of joys), as a comforter in every misery. It alludes to Jesus returning after the resurrection (Luke 24:36).

Jesus, my joy, my heart's pasture, Jesus, my treasure!
Ah, how long, ah long has my heart suffered and longed for you!
God's lamb, my bridegroom, besides You on earth

nothing shall be dearer to me.

Under your protection I am safe from the storms of all enemies.
Let Satan rage, let the enemy fume, Jesus stands with me.
Whether now it thunders and flashes, whether sin and Hell terrify,
Jesus will protect me.

Defiance to the old dragon, defiance to the vengeance of death,
defiance to fear as well! Rage, world, and attack;
I stand here and sing in entirely secure peace!
God's strength holds me in watch; earth and abyss must fall silent,
however much they might rumble.

Away with all treasures, you are my delight, Jesus, my joy!
Away, you vain honors, I don't want to listen to you, remain unknown to me!
Misery, want, torture, shame and death shall, although I must suffer much,
never part me from Jesus.

Good night, existence that cherishes the world! You do not please me.
Good night, sins, stay far away, never again come to light!
Good night, pride and glory! To you utterly, life of corruption,
be good night given!

Hence, you spirits of sadness, for my Master of joy, Jesus, comes here.
For those who love God, even their troubles must be pure sugar.

Though I endure mockery and shame here already,
nevertheless you stay with me even in sorrow, Jesus, my joy.

Roger C. Wilson (1912-1988) was an American composer of choral and organ music.  He served as editor of The Organist, The Choir Herald, The Volunteer Choir, The Choir Leader, The Organ Portfolio, and The Quarterly Anthem Folio.  His works were frequently included in Lorenz Publishing's serials, and many were subsequently anthologized.  He also composed under the names Walter Price and Stewart Landon, as was a frequent practice at Lorenz.

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say - Charles Harriss

Javi Betancourt, cello

Horatius Bonar (1808-89) was a great lover of children and was concerned about how little the children understood of the metrical Psalms that were sung in the Scottish church of his day. "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" was one of the over 600 hymns he wrote to address the needs of the churches he served.  It was published in his Hymns Original and Selected, 1846, and in the 1st series of his Hymns of Faith & Hope, 1857, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, “The Voice from Galilee." It is one of the most popular of the author's hymns.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest;
lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad;
I found him in a resting place, and he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give

the living water, thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me; your morn shall rise, and all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk till traveling days are done.

Charles Albert Edwin Harriss (1862-1929) was an English-born composer, impresario, educator, organist-choirmaster, and conductor. Charles A.E. Harriss was an ambitious and indefatigable promoter of music within the British Empire. After being trained as an organist and choirmaster in English cathedrals, he was appointed to churches in Ottawa and Montréal. An honorary director of examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and the first director of the McGill Conservatorium, Harriss organized massive choirs and arranged many concerts and festivals in Canada and abroad. He organized the extensive Cycle of Musical Festivals in 1903, and in 1924 became music director of the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley (London, England). Many of his compositions were performed throughout the British Empire and have since been published by the Canadian Musical Heritage Society.

Fuga "Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn" - Christlieb Binder

The hymn-writer, Georg Grünwald (1490-1530) was a shoemaker from Kitzbühl in the Tyrol (Austria). He was an Anabaptist and was accused and found guilty of heresy.  He was executed by being burned at the stake in Kufstein (Tyrol).  He wrote this text in 1530, based on Matthew 11:28.

          “Come to me”, says God’s Son, “all you who are burdened,

            Heavily laden with sins, people young and olde, men and women,

            What I want to give you will cure your troubles.

My yoke is easy, my burden light, and everyone who willingly takes it up
will escape from hell. I help each person to carry what is difficult;
with my health and strength he will win the kingdom of heaven.

Today someone is handsome, young and active, look, tomorrow he is weak and ill,
soon he even has to die; just as the flowers in the field
so also will this beautiful world perish in an instant.

The rich man is not helped by his wealth, nor the young man by his proud spirit,
he must go away in the springtime, even if someone had the whole world,
silver and gold and all money, he must still take his turn.

The learned man is not helped by his expertise, worldly splendour is useless,
we must all die. Whoever does not prepare himself in Christ,
while the time of grace still lasts, must perish eternally

Hear and take note, dear people, what God has given to you:
do not let trouble disturb you hold fast to God’s holy word,
that is your consolation and greatest treasure, God will give you joy.

And what the eternally good God has promised in his word,
sworn by his name, that he upholds and fulfils most surely.
May he help us to join the company of saints through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Christlieb Siegmund Binder (1723-1789),  was organist at Dresden.  A very prolific composer, Binder was one of the first to adopt the “elegant” style in his instrumental and symphonic works.

About the Vocal Solo Music:

O Rest in the Lord, from “Elijah” – Felix Mendelssohn

          Emma Griffin, soprano

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn,  was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.  A grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn was born into a prominent Jewish family. He was brought up without religion until the age of seven, when he was baptized as a Reformed Christian. Mendelssohn was recognized early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalize on his talent.  Mendelssohn enjoyed early success in Germany, where he also revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and in his travels throughout Europe. He was particularly well received in Britain as a composer, conductor and soloist, and his ten visits there – during which many of his major works were premiered – form an important part of his adult career. His essentially conservative musical tastes, however, set him apart from many of his more adventurous musical contemporaries such as Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz. TheLeipzig Conservatoire (now the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig), which he founded, became a bastion of this anti-radical outlook.

Mendelssohn wrote symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his Overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. His Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. After a long period of relative denigration due to changing musical tastes and antisemitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his creative originality has now been recognised and re-evaluated. He is now among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.

 Elijah (German: Elias), Op. 70, MWV A 25, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn. It premiered in 1846 at the Birmingham Festival. It depicts events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament.  It was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn's Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he loved. Elijah is modelled on the oratorios of these two Baroque masters; however, in its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral color the style clearly reflects Mendelssohn's own genius as an early Romantic composer.  Mendelssohn uses these Biblical episodes relating to Elijah:  the resurrection of a dead youth, the bringing of rain to parched Israel through Elijah's prayers, and the ascension of Elijah on a fiery chariot into heaven. A dramatic episode is the contest of the gods, in which Jehovah consumes an offered sacrifice in a column of fire, while a sequence of increasingly frantic prayers by the prophets of the god Baal failed.

Movement 31 is “O Rest in the Lord” (Sei stille dem Herrn), which is based on Psalm 37.  In the oratorio narrative it is sung to Elijah by an angel.

            O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him,

            And He shall give thee thy heart’s desires.

Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him;

            And fret not thyself because of evildoers.

About the Hymns:

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

"The Hymn of Joy" (often called "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" after the first line) is a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 with the intention of musically setting it to the famous "Ode to Joy" melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's final symphony, Symphony No. 9.   Van Dyke wrote this poem in 1907 while staying at the home of Williams College president Harry Augustus Garfield. He was serving as a guest preacher at Williams at the time. He told his host that the local Berkshire Mountains had been his inspiration. The lyrics were first published in 1911 in Van Dyke's Book of Poems.

Van Dyke wrote of this hymn: “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.” This hymn is generally considered by hymnologists to be one of the most joyous expressions of hymn lyrics in the English language.

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris. By appointment of President Wilson, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors.  Among his popular writings are the two Christmas stories, The Other Wise Man (1896) and The First Christmas Tree (1897). Various religious themes of his work are also expressed in his poetry, hymns and the essays collected in Little Rivers (1895) and Fisherman’s Luck (1899).

Near to the Heart of God

Cleland B. McAfee (1866-1944) is known for this one hymn, his “one-hit-wonder”.  McAfee wrote “Near to the Heart of God” in 1903, after two daughters of his brother Howard died os diphtheria within 24 hours of each other.  The choir of Park College went to Howard McAfee’s quarantined house and sang it outside the window to encourage the grieving family.  McAfee was at Park College, Parkville, MO, for almost 20 years, serving on the faculty and as college chaplain and choir director.  He then pastored in Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY.  He was also on the faculty at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and directed the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.

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).