March 5, 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:

Aus tiefer not – Georg Kauffmann

Martin Luther (1483-1546) is important in the history of hymnody for restoring congregational singing in worship. In addition, Luther wrote hymns and composed hymn tunes. Luther was one of the primary theologians of the Protestant Reformation and established the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany. Lutheranism eventually spread throughout Europe and North America.  Luther had a unique theological perspective: Justification by Faith (salvation is a gift from God and is available through acceptance. It is not attained through 'works.').  Luther's theological views are evident in his hymns.  

Luther wrote both the text and tune of “Aus tiefer not schrei ich zu dir" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), originally "Aus tieffer not schrey ich zu dir" and published it in the Achtliederbuch in 1524, one of several hymnals he published.  The text is based on Psalm 130.

Out of the deep I cry to thee; O Lord God, hear my crying:
Incline thy gracious ear to me, With prayer to thee applying.
For if thou fix thy searching eye On all sin and iniquity,
Who, Lord, can stand before thee?

For this, my hope in God shall rest, Naught building on my merit;
My heart confides, of him possest, His goodness stays my spirit.
His precious word assureth me; My solace, my sure rock is he,
Whereon my soul abideth.

What though our sins are manifold? Supreme his mercy reigneth;
No limit can his hand withhold, Where evil most obtaineth.
He the good Shepherd is alone, Who Israel will redeem and won,
Forgiving all transgression.

Georg Friedrich Kauffmann (1679-1735) was a Baroque composer and organist from southern Germany who composed primarily sacred works for the organ and voice.  Late in his life, Kauffmann started to publish a complete edition of his organ chorales; however, he died of consumption before they had been completely published. His widow completed the publication of the Harmonische Seelenlust.  While they did not make a great first impression, over the next century they became one of the most significant achievements in German organ music, and remained in high demand well into the 19th century.

Partita uber "Christ der du bist der helle Tag" - J. S. Bach

Erasmus Alber (1500-1553) studied at Wittenberg under Luther and Melanchthon. He was a schoolmaster at St. Ursel, near Frankfurt-am-Main, and at Heldenbergen, in Hesse Darmstadt. In 1528, the Landgrave Philip of Hesse appointed him pastor at Sprendlingen and Götzenhain, where he devoted himself specially to the children of his charge. After 11 years' service, the Elector Joachim of Brandenburg appointed him court preacher at Berlin.  In 1542, he became pastor at Stade, in Wetteravia, and while there received the degree of Doctor of Theology from the University of Wittenberg. He had the good fortune to attract the attention of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, and subsequently became one of Luther's most active helpers in the Protestant Reformation. Not only did he fight for the Protestant cause as a preacher and theologian, but he was almost the only member of Luther's party who was able to confront the Roman Catholics with the weapon of literary satire. In 1542, he published a prose satire to which Luther wrote the preface, Der Barfusser Monche Eulenspiegel und Alkoran, a parodic adaptation of the Liber conformitatum of the Franciscan Bartolommeo Rinonico of Pisa, in which the Franciscan order is held up to ridicule. Of higher literary value is the didactic and satirical Buch von der Tugend und Weisheit (1550), a collection of forty-nine fables in which Alberus embodies his views on the relations of Church and State. After Luther's death, Alberus was for a time a deacon in Wittenberg; he became involved, however, in the political conflicts of the time, and was in Magdeburg in 1550-1551, while that town was besieged by Maurice, Elector of Saxony.  In addition to losing all his own and his wife's property by confiscation and necessary expenditure, he was unable to obtain from the Town Council the payment of his stipend. On May 4, 1553, he applied for the payment of 60 florins to relieve his urgent necessities. The refusal broke his heart, and he returned home to die.

One of the best writers for children in his day, he has been by some ranked, as a hymn-writer, next to Luther, in the Reformation period. His hymns, 20 in all, were first collected by Dr. Stromberger, and published at Halle, 1857. Being mostly long, and ungainly in style, not many of them have kept a place in the hymn-books, though they have been justly styled "powerful and living witnesses of a steadfast faith and a manly trust in God's Word"

O Christ, who art the Light and Day, Thou drivest night and gloom away;
O Light of light, whose Word doth show The light of heaven to us below.

All-holy Lord, in humble prayer, We ask tonight Thy watchful care.
Oh, grant us calm repose in Thee, A quiet night, from perils free.

Our sleep be pure from sinful stain; Let not the Tempter vantage gain,
Or our unguarded flesh surprise And make us guilty in Thine eyes.

Asleep though wearied eyes may be,     Still keep the heart awake to Thee;
Let Thy right hand outstretched above Guard those who serve the Lord they love.

Behold, O God, our Shield, and quell The crafts and subtleties of hell;
Direct Thy servants in all good, Who Thou hast purchased with Thy blood.

O Lord, remember us who bear The burden of the flesh we wear;
Thou who dost o'er our souls defend, Be with us even to the end.

All praise to God the Father be, All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore Forever and forevermore.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.  He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.  Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity.  His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century.  During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven,  Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.  Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony".  He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time.  A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria”  (to God alone be the glory).  

This setting of "Christ, der du bist der helle Tag" (Christ, You Are the Bright Day) is a quite early Bach work, likely dating to the composer's years in Lüneberg.

Christ is the World’s Light – J. Bert Carlson

The Reverend Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) was a British Methodist minister and hymnwriter.  His hymns reflect his rejection of fundamentalism and show his concern with social issues. They include many that were written to supply obvious liturgical needs of the modern church, speaking to topics or appropriate for events for which there were few traditional hymns available. His hymns appear in hymn books of various denominations, but most notably in Hymns and Psalms, the hymn book of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and the United Methodist Hymnal used in the United States.

Christ is the world’s light, Christ and none other;
Born in our darkness, he became our brother.
If we have seen him we have seen the Father:
Glory to God on high!

Christ is the world’s peace, Christ and none other;
No one can serve him and despise another.
Who else unites us one in God the Father?
Glory to God on high!

Christ is the world’s life, Christ and none other;
Sold once for silver, murdered here, our brother.
He who redeems us reigns with God the Father.
Glory to God on high!

Give God the glory, God and none other;
Give God the glory, Spirit, Son, and Father.
Give God the glory, God with us our brother;
Glory to God on high!

J. Bert Carlson (b. 1937), retired pastor, holds a master of music from Duquesne University School of Music and has served as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Whiting, NJ since 1997. Carlson wears many diverse hats as a piano teacher, organ recitalist, tenor soloist, musical director, and conductor as well as cofounder of the Chicago Oratorio Society and clinician for numerous workshops with an emphasis on choral methods, organ and hymn composition. His prodigious list of publications includes anthems, vocal songs, organ works, and piano works.

About the Choral Music:

We Will Walk in the Light – Don Besig

Don Besig was a public school music teacher for over thirty years in western New York. He taught at all levels and since his retirement has continued to serve as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. Recognizing a need for choral music written especially for student singers and volunteer church choirs, he began composing for his own choral groups in 1960. He is also the recipient of several ASCAP Plus Awards Don is a graduate of Ithaca College and a member of Phi Mu Alpha and ASCAP. He and Nancy Price collaborate to write music and lyrics. 

This gospel style anthem is based on 1 John 1:7

          We will walk in the light.  We will walk in the light.

            Yes, we will walk in the light of the Lord.

            Through every night and every day, we will surely find our way

            When we walk, walk in the light, the light of the Lord.

            Sometimes when the road is rough and long,

            We feel like everything in life just seems to be wrong.

            When we feel afraid, and touble is all around us,

            We need God’s light to keep us strong!

            When we’re lost and don’t know what to do,

            We’ll find our Savior right beside us, helping us through.

            Everywhere we go, wherever the road may lead us,

            God’s light is shining strong and true!

About the Hymns:

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

Walter C. Smith based this text on 1 Timothy 1: 17: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever." The six-stanza text was published in Smith's Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life (1867) and, after having been revised by Smith, in W. Garrett Horder's Congregational Hymns (1884). Further revisions were made by the Psalter Hymnal Revision Committee.
"Immortal, Invisible" is a strong text of praise to God, who created and sustains the lives of all his creatures. The text focuses on the Creator of the universe, the invisible God whose visible works in nature testify to his glory and majesty. "Light" is the prevailing image in stanzas 1, 2, and 4 (see also Ps. 104:2); our inability to see God is not because of insufficient light but because the "splendor of light hides [God] from view."

Walter Chalmbers Smith (1824-1908) was educated at the University of Aberdeen and New College, Edinburgh, and became a Presbyterian pastor in the Free Church of Scotland in 1850. He served four congregations, including the Free High Church in Edinburgh (1876¬-1894). Moderator of his denomination in 1893, Smith was a man of wide interests. His poetry was published in some six volumes entitled Poetical Works (1902), and his hymn texts were published in Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life (1886).

On Eagle’s Wings

Michael Joncas (b. 1951) was ordained in 1980 to the Roman Catholic priesthood, and has served since 1991 on the faculty of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.  He has written three books, more than a hundred published articles, and has compiled more than 20 collections of liturgical music. Father Joncas was visiting a friend at the major seminary in Washington. One evening, Father Joncas’ friend got word that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack. Father Joncas wrote “On Eagle’s Wings” in the days that followed and it was was sung for the first time publicly at the friend’s father’s wake service.  The song is based on Psalm 91 and Isaiah 4031:, its lyrics drawing from the Scripture’s descriptions of God’s protection and providence.  

Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies

The 18th-century Englishman Charles Wesley (1707-1788) wrote, according to eminent 20th-century hymnologist Erik Routley, “more than 8,989 poems with over 6,000 of them qualifying as ‘hymns.’” That’s 3.4 poems per week, Routley added, “assuming him to have died in the act of writing.” Judging solely by quantity, Wesley can be matched by few sacred poets in history. The quality and depth of theology found in these hymns, however, is why hymnologist Routley dubbed Wesley “the first and, surely for all time, the greatest evangelical hymn writer.” From the beginning of their movement, Methodists included many of his texts in their hymnals. Of the 980 hymns included in the English Methodist Hymn Book (1904), 440 are by Charles Wesley. The next edition in 1933 still used 243 of his poems. 

Of the many great hymns by Charles Wesley, “Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies” is considered one of his best. It is one of the greatest morning hymns in our language, but it is more. It is a glorious hymn to Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the World.  Originally titled “A Morning Hymn,” this hymn first appeared in the Wesley collection Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740) in three stanzas as well as other collections prepared by the Wesley brothers. In Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), it was first paired with RATISBON, the tune that most often accompanies the text today. 

Scripture references may be found throughout, ranging from books of prophecy to a literal incarnation account in Luke and a theological incarnation account in John. The Rev. Carlton Young, editor of theUM Hymnal (1989), points out a reference to John 1:9 concerning the “true light” in line two. Stanza one continues with direct references to Isaiah 2:6 and Malachi 4:2 in line three about the “Sun of Righteousness.” The “Day-star” in line six is a direct reference to Isaiah 14:12 and 2 Peter 1:19. 

Routley explores two interesting ideas about this hymn in his book, Hymns and the Faith (1968). First he points out that the idea of worshipping the sun was a pagan religion. By referencing Christ as the “Sun of Righteousness,” Christianity has put “back on the right track religious instincts which had gone astray.” The other idea concerns the very first word of the hymn. Routley states that “God, whose glory fills the sky” would not have been anything out of the ordinary. He continues that “Christ, whose glory fills the sky” is an “epic” idea that until this hymn had not been present in Christian thinking or writing. Christ is no longer a being that can only be at one place at one time, but he is one with God in his omnipresence and omniscience. Routley rightly proclaims, “Never was written a more thoroughly and richly happy hymn than this.”