January 8, 2017

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:

Praeludium: “Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut” – Christlieb Binder

Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1532 - c.1599) was a German didactic poet and Lutheran pastor. He was born in Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Germany. From 1543, he studied theology. After graduating, he first started his career as a teacher. He was ordained into the Lutheran Ministry during 1557 and served as pastor of two parishes. In 1566, he became the pastor of Langenfeld, Brandenburg-Prussia. He wrote songs and poems which focused on his religious and theological beliefs. Ringwaldt was a prolific hymnist, and composed tunes as well.

Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut ("Lord Jesus Christ, you highest good") is a hymn and hymn tune in eight stanzas by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1588)   It is a song of penitence related to the tax collector's prayer "Herr, sei mir armem Sünder gnädig" (God be merciful to me a sinner). He incorporates  ideas from the epistle, such as the promise of mercy and refers to several verses from different gospels to underscore that thought, Luke 15:2 , Matthew 9:2 (parallel Luke 7:48), and Matthew 11:28 , paraphrased as "Er ruft: Kommt her zu mir, die ihr mühselig und beladen" (He calls: come here to Me, you who are weary and burdened).  The first 2 stanzas follow:

            Lord Jesus Christ, O highest good, a fountain of all grace,

            Behold how in my emotions I am weighed down with sorrows

            And have many arrows in me, that in my conscience endlessly

            Pierce me, a poor sinner.

            Have mercy on me burdened so, take them out of my heart,

            Since you have atoned for them on the wood with deathly agonies,

            So that, for great woe I might no perish in my sins,

            Nor eternally despair.

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.

Song 13 – Eric H. Thiman

Song 13 is a hymn tune composed by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). Used as a setting for a text from the Song of Songs, the tune was published in George Withers' Hymnes and Songs of the Church (1623) as hymn number 13 (hence the tune name).  It has been used as a tune for many hymns since. 

“Depth of mercy, can there be” is a hymn Charles Wesley (1707-1788) using the tune Song 13, that was first published in Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1740, and headed "After a Relapse into Sin," in 13 stanzas. In Stevenson's Methodist Hymn Book, and its Associations, 1870-83, is an interesting account of an actress and her change of life through the instrumentality of this hymn: An ac­tress in a town in Eng­land, while pass­ing along the street, heard sing­ing in a house. Out of cur­i­o­si­ty she looked in through the open door and saw a num­ber of peo­ple sit­ting to­ge­ther sing­ing this hymn. She list­ened to the song, and af­ter­wards to a sim­ple but ear­nest pray­er. When she went away the hymn had so im­pressed her that she pro­cured a co­py of a book con­tain­ing it. Read­ing and re-read­ing the hymn led her to give her heart to God and to re­solve to leave the stage. The man­a­ger of the the­a­ter plead­ed with her to con­tin­ue to take the lead­ing part in a play which she had made fa­mous in other ci­ties, and fi­nal­ly he per­suad­ed her to ap­pear at the the­a­ter. As the cur­tain rose the or­ches­tra be­gan to play the ac­com­pa­ni­ment to the song which she was ex­pect­ed to sing. She stood like one lost in thought, and the band, sup­pos­ing her em­bar­rassed, played the prel­ude over a se­cond and a third time. Then with clasped hands she stepped for­ward and sang with deep emo­tion:“Depth of mercy, can there be mercy still reserved for me?” This put a sud­den stop to the per­for­mance; not a few were im­pressed, though many scoffed. The change in her life was as per­ma­nent as it was sin­gu­lar. Soon af­ter she be­came the wife of a min­is­ter of the Gos­pel.

Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear, Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace, Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls, Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I have spilt His precious blood, Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable, I, who yet am not in hell!

I my Master have denied, I afresh have crucified,
And profaned His hallowed Name, Put Him to an open shame.

Whence to me this waste of love? Ask my Advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face, Now before the throne of grace.

Jesus, answer from above, Is not all Thy nature love?
Wilt Thou not the wrong forget, Permit me to kiss Thy feet?

If I rightly read Thy heart, If Thou all compassion art,
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow, Pardon and accept me now.

Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood! He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move, Justice lingers into love.

Kindled His relentings are, Me He now delights to spare,
Cries, “How shall I give thee up?” Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Lo! I still walk on the ground: Lo! an Advocate is found.

“Hasten not to cut Him down,Let this barren soul alone.”

There for me the Savior stands, Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel; Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Pity from Thine eye let fall, By a look my soul recall;
Now the stone to flesh convert, Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent, Let me now my sins lament,
Now my foul revolt deplore, Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Eric Harding Thiman (1900 – 1975) was an English composer and organist.Largely self-taught, he was awarded an FRCO in 1921. From 1930 he was Professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music and later, from 1956 to 1962, was Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of London. From 1958, having moved from Park Chapel (a Congregational Church in Crouch End, later to join with Ferme Park Baptist Church to form a Union Church in the same district, he was organist of the City Temple in London, a Congregational Church where he increased his renown as an improviser of great skill. He was a keen advocate of amateur music-making and in the 1960s was the conductor and Musical Director of the Purley Choral Society.  A prolific composer of small-scale works, he wrote much educational music for piano and other instruments, as well as accessible music for church choirs.

Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound – Charles W. Ore

"Amazing Grace" was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).  With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was drafted into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.
Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was first printed in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind but now I see.

Shout, shout for glory, Shout, shout aloud for glory;
Brother, sister, mourner, All shout glory hallelujah.

In addition to being an accomplished organ recitalist, Dr. Charles Ore (b. 1936) composes organ and choral music, and is a leader in the use and development of improvisation in organ playing. He is organist at First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Neb.

About the Choral Music:

Grace – Mark Hayes

Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds.  Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013.  Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world".

Hayes has set the familiar text of Amazing Grace to the tune “O Waly Waly”.

            Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound;

that saved a wretch, a wretch like me;

I once was lost, but now am found;

I once was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart fo fear,

And that same grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour when I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,

I have already safely come;

This grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And surely grace will lead me home,

I shall go home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun, the glorious sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

             Than since the day we first begun.

About the Hymns:

Great is Thy Faithfulness

A native of the small Kentucky town of Franklin, Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960) was born in a log cabin. He lacked formal education. Nevertheless, he became a teacher at age sixteen and the associate editor of his hometown weekly newspaper, the “Franklin Advocate”, at age twenty-one.  Though he was ordained a Methodist minister in 1903, he served only a single, brief appointment at Scottsville, Kentucky, due to ill health.  He wrote more than 1200 poems, 800 of which were published. They often appeared in religious periodicals such as the “Sunday School Times”, “Moody Monthly”, and “Alliance Weekly”. Many of these were set to music.

Chisholm had sent a number of his poems to the Rev. William H. Runyan (1870-1957), a musician with the Moody Bible Institute and one of the editors of Hope Publishing Company in Chicago.  Runyan wrote of the hymn: "This particular poem held such an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carry over its message in a worthy way, and the subsequent history of its use indicates that God answered prayer.  It was written in Baldwin, Kansas, in 1923, and was first published in my private song pamphlets."  A phrase in Lamentations 3:22-23 provides a basis for the refrain: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." 

George Beverly Shea (1909-2013), the famous Canadian-born singer of the Billy Graham Crusades, introduced this hymn to those attending the evangelistic meetings in Great Britain in 1954.  It immediately became a favorite.  This hymn appeared in many evangelical hymnals and song collections, but was not chosen for an official Methodist hymnal until The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), even though the author was a Methodist.  It was a very popular hymn of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church and had been included in their hymnals.

According to Carlton Young, "Great is thy faithfulness" was second only to "In the garden" as the most requested hymn for inclusion in The United Methodist Hymnal. A survey conducted in 2000 by Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, General Board of Discipleship, revealed that "Great is thy faithfulness" remains one of the favorite hymns among United Methodists.

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Frederick Faber (1814-1863) was one of a number of English clergy who converted from the Anglican Church to Roman Catholicism in the Romantic era of hymnody in the 19th century.
Faber was born an Anglican and reared a strict Calvinist. After attending Oxford, he took orders as an Anglican priest and began his ministry as a rector. Influenced by his friend John Henry Newman (1801-1890) who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845, Faber also converted to Catholicism that same year.

Drawing inspiration from the hymns of John Newton, William Cowper and the Wesleys during his Anglican youth, he recognized that Roman Catholics lacked a tradition of more recent metrical hymnody in English. He took it upon himself to remedy this. By the time he died, he had contributed 150 hymns, all composed after his conversion to Roman Catholicism.

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” originally had eight stanzas and appeared under the title “Come to Jesus” in Faber’s Oratory Hymns (1854). In a later collection, the hymn expanded to 13 stanzas, beginning with “Souls of men, why will ye scatter/ Like a crowd of frightened sheep?” That version was included in a posthumous collection, Hymns Selected from F. W. Faber (1867). Two omitted stanzas expand on the theme of God’s unfathomable mercy in a manner that, according to UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young, “demonstrates Faber’s affinity with eighteenth-century evangelical writers such as Charles Wesley”:

     There is no place where earth’s sorrows
     Are more felt than up in heaven;
     There is no place where earth’s failings
     Have such kindly judgment given.

     There is grace enough for thousands
     Of new worlds as great as this;
     There is room for fresh creations
     In that upper home of bliss.

British hymnologist J. Richard Watson notes that, “Faber’s emotionalism, and his uninhibited use of . . . imagery, demonstrate his love of a sentiment that comes close to sentimentality. But his sentiment, however excessive it may seem, touches a tender spot: Faber is cheering on the soul, recognizing the troubles of life, and holding out the promise of a final homecoming.” 

The ultimate theme of this hymn is based on the premise and paradox that a sovereign God, unlike earthly rulers, demonstrates welcome, kindness, grace and mercy. All we need to do is have a simple faith that “rest[s] upon God’s word.”

Freely, Freely

Carol Sue Owens (b.1931) attended San Jose State College and Cathedral School of the Bible, Oakland, Calif. She and her husband James composed Christian musicals. “Freely, Freely” is featured in Come Together, A Musical Experience in Love, written in 1974.