September 4, 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 wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen

Simon Dach (1605-1659) attended the Cathedral school at Königsberg, the Town school at Wittenberg, and the Gymnasium at Magdeburg. In 1626, he returned to Königsberg, where, after studying philosophy and theology at the University, he for some time acted as a private tutor. In 1633, he was appointed assistant in the Cathedral school, and in 1636 Conrector. In 1639, he became Professor of Poetry in the University, was five times Dean of the Philosophical Faculty. Dach was virtually an invalid, and nearly broke down under the hard labour and poor pay of his early tutorial work at Königsberg.. In his later years the effects of the Thirty Years' War made themselves visible in Königsberg by depression of trade and famine. In 1648, he lost his wife by death, and in 1649 many of his fellow professors fell victims to the pestilence. During the last year of his life, he suffered from a lingering consumption. These facts explain the sombreness of much of his verse. In 1636, he joined in forming the Poetical Union of Konigsberg  and was its poetic soul. He was the most important poet of the Königsberg School, and one of the first lyric poets of his time happy in expression, pure in style, and true hearted. But of his poems (some 1360 in all, many of which were "occasional" pieces for the Electoral House of Brandenburg, and for private friends) very few retain popularity. Dach's hymns, some 165 in all, appeared in broadsheet form, in H. Alberti's Arien, 1638-1650, and in the Königsberg Hymnbooks, 1639-1690. They deservedly place him amongst the best hymn writers of his time, and win him the distinction of being one of the most lovable, most profound and most elegant of the more contemplative hymn writers. Their personal and subjective character, and the fact that so many are hymns of preparation for death, have prevented all but a few from finding a place in modern hymnals.

“O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen [Blessed are ye who live in faith unswerving]” was printed at Danzig, 1635, with music by J. Stobaus, as the Musikalisches Ehrengedächtniss of Hiob Lepner, Burgomaster of the Königsberg Altstadt.  It is a fine hymn, founded on Revelations 14:13-14.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a German composer and pianist.  Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs".  Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. He was a master of counterpoint, perfected in the Baroque period, and of thematic development, characteristic of the Classical era. Brahms aimed to honor the "purity" of these established "German" structures and advance them into a Romantic idiom, in the process creating bold new approaches to harmony and melody. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, the diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers.

Christus, der ist mein Leben – Johann Pachebel

Melchior Vulpius (1570-1615) wrote the chorale melody for “Christus, der ist mein Leben”, an anonymous hymn text.  It first appeared in print in Ein schön geistlich Gesangbuch (1609).

            Christ is my life, to die is my gain,

            To him I surrender myself, with joy I depart.

            With joy I depart from here to Christ, my brother,

            So that I may come to him and be with him forever.

            Now I have overcome affliction, suffering anxiety and distress;

            Through his five holy wounds I am reconciled with God.

When my strength breaks, my breathing become difficult

            And I can no more say a word: Lord, accept my sighs!

            When my heart and thoughts fade away like a light

            That must flicker here and there as thee flame fails:

            Then gently and calmly, Lord, let me fall asleep

            According to your plan and wish, when the hour of my death comes.

            And let me stick to you like a burr to cloth

            And live forever with you in heaven’s joy and bliss.

            Amen, that you will, Christ, grant mercifully!

            Arm me with your spirit so that I may go blessedly.

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era. Pachelbel's music enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime; he had many pupils and his music became a model for the composers of south and central Germany. Today, Pachelbel is best known for the Canon in D, as well as the Chaconne in F minor, the Toccata in E minor for organ, and the Hexachordum Apollinis, a set of keyboard variations.       

Azmon – Barbara Harbach

"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,000 hymns. Wesley was suffering a bout of pleurisy in May, 1738, while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Böhler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness on May 21, Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words and at peace with God. Shortly, his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal and counted it as a renewal of his faith; when his brother John had a similar experience on the 24th, the two men met and sang a hymn Wesley had written in praise of his renewal.

One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines “Glory to God, and praise, and love Be ever, ever given” and was published in 1740 and entitled “For the anniversary day of one's conversion”. The seventh verse, which begins, 'O for a thousand tongues to sing', and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls the words of Peter Böhler who said, “Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all.” The hymn was published first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists in 1780. It has appeared first in every Methodist hymnal since that time.

The original 10 verses are:

O For a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise!
The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the world abroad The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of cancell'd sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avail'd for me.

He speaks, - and, listening to his voice, New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; The humble poor believe.

Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, Your loosen'd tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, And leap, ye lame, for joy.

Look unto him, ye nations; own Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone, Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain;
His soul was once an offering made For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature's sleep, And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep, And wash the AEthiop white.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven.

Barbara Harbach, Curators’ Professor of Music at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has a large catalog of works, including; symphonies, operas, string orchestra, musicals, works for chamber ensembles, film scores, modern ballet, pieces for organ, harpsichord and piano; choral anthems; and many arrangements for brass and organ of various Baroque works. She is also involved in the research, editing, publication and recording of manuscripts of eighteenth-century keyboard composers, as well as historical and contemporary women composers.  Harbach has toured extensively as  both concert organist and harpsichordist throughout the United States and Canada, and overseas in Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Romania, Serbia and Russian Siberia. Barbara Harbach initiated Women in the Arts-St. Louis, a celebration of the achievements of women creators.  Over 800 events by various cultural organizations in the St. Louis region provided audiences with new and historical examples of the work of women writers, composers and artists.

About the Choral Music:

With Heart and Hands – John Rutter

Martin Rinkart (1586-1649) was the Bishop of Eilenberg, Germany during the Thirty Years’ War.  Since Eilenberg was a walled city, it became a place of refuge for fugitives of the war, and also a place of famine and disease due to overcrowding.  In 1637, at the height of their misery, Rinkart was the only clergyman left in the city who could perform the 40 or 50 daily burial services, one of which was for his wife.   The city was sacked three times by invaders.  During this time, Rinkart managed to write 7 dramas and 66 hymns.  The hymn “Nun danket alle Gott” was originally titled “Tisch-Gebetlein” (a little prayer before the meal).  This humble prayer of thanksgiving is laid out simply and beautifully in the first verse.  This verse of thanks is followed by a verse asking for strength in time of trial and a doxology.   The tune, “Nun Danket” is named for Rinkart's text, has been associated with it ever since they were published together by Johann Crüger (1598-1662) in his Praxis Pietatis Melica (1647).

John Rutter (b. 1945) studied at Cambridge, where he wrote his first published compositions and conducted his first recording while still a student.  His compositional career has included both large and small scale choral works, orchestral and instrumental pieces, a piano concerto, two children’s operas, and music for television.  In 1979, he formed the Cambridge Singers, a professional chamber choir primarily dedicated to recording sacred choral works, and he now divides his time between composition and conducting.  In 1980, he was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians.  In 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contributions to church music.

          For all the blessings you have granted us, Lord, give us thankful hearts we pray;

            For life and health and happiness, and for the gift of each new day;

            For all our families and loved ones, the friends we meet along our way,

            We thank you, Lord, they are your gifts: Lord, we praise you,

            Lord we bless you, In your service let us all your love repay.

            Look all around you: You’ll see a miracle or two;

            Every valley, hill and mountain is calling to you.

            For all the wonders of creation, A world whose marvels we behold;

            Where winter turns to spring again; the changing scenes of life unfold,

            But there is One who never changes: through all eternity the same:

            Be with us, Lord, forevermore: Alleluia, Lord, we praise your Holy Name.

            Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,

            Who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices;

            Who from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way

            With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

            Amen.

About the Hymns:

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).

Lead Me, Lord

“Lead Me, Lord” is based on Psalm 5:8 and 4:8, and was written by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876), the grandson of Charles Wesley

Are Ye Able

Earl Bowman Marlatt (1892–1976) was an American theologian and poet.  He graduated from DePauw University and Boston University School of Theology. In 1923, he began teaching in the Boston University. From 1945 to 1957, he taught at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology.  He wrote many hymns, one of the best known being “Are Ye Able”.  He also collected church hymns, with the intent to establish a museum. Many of his papers are held at DePauw University. A signed manuscript of his hymn“Are Ye Able” actually written Feb. 23, 1926, is included in the Bridwell Library Manuscript and Documents Collection.  The text is based on Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.”