March 26, 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:

Jesu, meines lebens Leben - Flor Peeters

Ernst C. Homburg (1605-1681) wrote this German chorale text (“Jesu, meines Lebens Leben”), which was published in Part One of his Geistliche Lieder (1658). Homburg, who wrote most of his hymns for his own devotions, described his eight-stanza text as a "hymn of thanksgiving to his Redeemer and Savior for his bitter sufferings." In early life Homburg was a writer of love and drinking songs. After a difficult time of family illness, he experienced a religious conversion, and his poetry took a more serious turn. A lawyer by profession, he wrote hymns to express and strengthen his own faith rather than for public use. Some 150 of his hymn texts were published in his Geistliche Lieder.  The translation by Catherine Winkworth was published  in her Chorale Book for England (1863).  The text is based on Matthew 26:64-67 and is a meditation on the suffering and death of Christ, which brought eternal life to believers, provided full atonement for our sin, and mortified our "old nature". The tone of unending gratitude to God reflected in the refrain line–"thousand, thousand thanks are due"–runs throughout the entire text.

Christ, the Life of all the living, Christ, the Death of death, our foe,
Who, Thyself for me once giving To the darkest depths of woe,--
Through thy sufferings, death, and merit I eternal life inherit:
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Thou, ah! Thou, hast taken on Thee Bonds and stripes, a cruel rod;
Pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee, O Thou sinless Son of God!
Thus didst Thou my soul deliver From the bonds of sin forever.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Thou hast borne the smiting only That my wounds might all be whole;
Thou hast suffered, sad and lonely, Rest to give my weary soul;
Yea, the curse of God enduring, Blessing unto me securing.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Heartless scoffers did surround Thee, Treating Thee with shameful scorn,
And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee. All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne
That as Thine Thou mightest own me And with heavenly glory crown me.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee That from pain I might be free;
Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee,-- Thence I gain security;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish Me to comfort in my anguish.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Thou hast suffered great affliction And hast borne it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion, Fully to atone for me;
Thou didst choose to be tormented That my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be, Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

Then, for all that wrought my pardon, For Thy sorrows deep and sore,
For Thine anguish in the Garden, I will thank Thee evermore,
Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing, For Thy bleeding and Thy dying,
For that last triumphant cry, And shall praise Thee, Lord, on high.

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.

O Bread of Life – Winston Cassler

The Latin hymn “O esca viatorum” was probably composed by a German Jesuit of the 17th century, though it has been by some ascribed to St. Thomas of Aquino. It has not been traced earlier than the Maintzich GesangBuch, 1661, where it is entitled "Hymn on the true Bread of Heaven."  It was translated into English by Philip Schaff (1819-1893).

O Bread of Life from heaven, To saints and angels given;
O manna from above! The souls that hunger, feed Thou,
The hearts that seek Thee, lead Thou, With Thy sweet, tender love.

O fount of grace redeeming, O river ever streaming
From Jesus' holy side! Come Thou, Thyself bestowing
On thirsting souls, and flowing Till all are satisfied.

Jesu, this feast receiving, Thy Word of truth believing,
We Thee unseen adore; Grant, when the veil is rended,
That we, to heaven ascended, May see Thee evermore.

G. Winston Cassler (1906-1990) was a member of the faculty of St. Olaf College from 1949 until his retirement in 1972.

Leoni: Finale - Frank Ferko

The roots of early Christian worship grew in the soil of the first-century Jewish synagogue service. In Scripture and psalm, in sermon and prayer, the gathered community celebrated what God had done—and anticipated God’s mighty acts yet to come. In light of this, the well-known hymn “The God of Abraham Praise” offers a glimpse of history.

Thomas Olivers (1725–1799), the hymn’s author, was born in Wales and orphaned at age 4. Apprenticed early to a shoemaker, he grew to adulthood a wild, rootless man. In his mid-twenties, however, Olivers was converted through the preaching of George Whitefield. Soon after, he became an evangelist with John Wesley. Olivers spent more than twenty years—end 100,000 miles—as an itinerant preacher. Later, he became co-editor of Wesley’s Arminian Magazine.

Tradition tells us that on a Friday evening in 1770, Olivers attended Sabbath worship at the Great Synagogue, Duke’s Place, London. There, as the “Yigdal” (traditional Hebrew doxology) was sung by cantor Meyer Lyon (d. 1796), Olivers was so moved that he approached the operatic vocalist personally. In the 12th century, Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides codified the 13 articles of the Jewish Creed. These articles of the Jewish faith were later shaped into the Yigdal around 1400 by Daniel ben Judah, a judge in Rome.  In the mid-eighteenth century, cantors had begun to use musical notations, and Lyon graciously provided Olivers with his tune (Leoni).  The Methodist preacher then adapted the text of the Jewish doxology (which was based on the Thirteen Articles of Faith stated by famous Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides in the twelfth century). The opening word, yigdal (Hebrew for “may He be magnified”), inspired Olivers’s free rendering. "The God of Abraham Praise" was first published as a leaflet titled "A Hymn to the God of Abraham" in 1772. It was later published nationwide by Wesley in the Methodist hymnal "Sacred Harmony". The hymn later made it to the United States after being published in Joshua Leavitt's "The Christian Lyre".

The God of Abraham praise, who reigns enthroned above;
Ancient of everlasting days, and God of Love;
Jehovah, great I AM! by earth and Heav’n confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name forever blessed.

The God of Abraham praise, at whose supreme command
From earth I rise—and seek the joys at His right hand;
I all on earth forsake, its wisdom, fame, and power;
And Him my only portion make, my shield and tower.

The God of Abraham praise, whose all sufficient grace
Shall guide me all my happy days, in all my ways.
He calls a worm His friend, He calls Himself my God!
And He shall save me to the end, thro’ Jesus’ blood.

He by Himself has sworn; I on His oath depend,
I shall, on eagle wings upborne, to Heav’n ascend.
I shall behold His face; I shall His power adore,
And sing the wonders of His grace forevermore.

Tho’ nature’s strength decay, and earth and hell withstand,
To Canaan’s bounds I urge my way, at His command.
The watery deep I pass, with Jesus in my view;
And thro’ the howling wilderness my way pursue.

The goodly land I see, with peace and plenty blessed;
A land of sacred liberty, and endless rest.
There milk and honey flow, and oil and wine abound,
And trees of life forever grow with mercy crowned.

There dwells the Lord our king, the Lord our righteousness,
Triumphant o’er the world and sin, the Prince of peace;
On Sion’s sacred height His kingdom still maintains,
And glorious with His saints in light forever reigns.

He keeps His own secure, He guards them by His side,
Arrays in garments, white and pure, His spotless bride:
With streams of sacred bliss, with groves of living joys—
With all the fruits of paradise He still supplies.

Before the great Three-One they all exulting stand;
And tell the wonders He hath done, through all their land:
The listening spheres attend, and swell the growing fame;
And sing, in songs which never end, the wondrous name.

The God who reigns on high the great archangels sing,
And Holy, holy, holy! cry, Almighty King!
Who was, and is, the same, and evermore shall be:
Jehovah—Father—great I AM, we worship Thee!

Before the Savior’s face the ransomed nations bow;
O’erwhelmed at His almighty grace, forever new:
He shows His prints of love—they kindle to a flame!
And sound thro’ all the worlds above the slaughtered Lamb.

The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high;
Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, they ever cry.
Hail, Abraham’s God, and mine! (I join the heav’nly lays,)
All might and majesty are Thine, and endless praise.

Frank Ferko (b.1950)  played piano from childhood, and worked as an organist and conductor in his teens. His first compositions were primarily liturgical in nature. He attended Valparaiso University, where he took particular interest in early music and the compositional and theoretical output of Olivier Messiaen.  He received a bachelor's from Valparaiso in 1972 in piano and organ performance, and then took his master's at Syracuse University in music theory. Ferko served as Director of Music at various midwestern churches before entering Northwestern University to pursue a PhD in composition. He is currently on the staff of the Archive of Recorded Sound at Stanford University.  As a composer, Ferko began receiving critical acclaim and commissions in the 1980s, including the Holtkamp Award from the American Guild of Organists in 1990 for the song cycle A Practical Program for Monks. He has also worked as composer-in-residence with the Dale Warland Singers.   

About the Choral Music:

We Will Glorify – Twila Paris

Fort Worth native, Twila Paris (b.1958) is a Contemporary Christian Music singer-songwriter, author, and pianist. Since 1980, Paris has released 22 albums, amassed 33 number one Christian Radio singles, and was named the Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year three years in a row. Many of her earlier songs such as "He Is Exalted", "We Will Glorify", "Lamb of God", and "We Bow Down", are found in church hymnals or otherwise sung in church settings. She was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in May 2015.

Paris comes from a family of ministers and musicians. Her great-grandparents were revival preachers in Arkansas and Oklahoma and her grandmother composed sacred songs. She was encouraged to sing in church from a young age by her father, who was also a minister and songwriter. Following graduation from high school and a year of study in a Bible school, Ms. Paris focused on singing and Christian composition. As someone who has been in the profession for over two decades, Ms. Paris talks about how changes in her life have affected her compositions: 

“When God calls us to do something, even if we enter a new season in our lives, He finds a way to enable us. Yes, it’s a challenge, but it’s clear what God is doing, where He’s leading and what He’s enabling me to do. I have to be more intentional and disciplined about my songwriting now that I’m a mother. It’s not as spontaneous as it used to be, but the fact that I’ve been able to approach writing in a different way 20-plus years on and the fact that there are opportunities to record and do things in a fresh way, and that people are still listening, it’s like God is making a way—to quote Don Moen—and I believe He is doing just that. . . . So as long as the Lord keeps opening these doors, I’ll be faithful to walk through them.” 

“We Will Glorify” is one of several songs by Ms. Paris that has passed the test of time in a genre that typically appreciates the ephemeral. Several key terms such as “King of kings,” “Lord of lords,” and “Lamb” recall the book of Revelation, especially Revelation 17:14.  In addition to Revelation, language throughout the song is reminiscent of the psalms, especially psalms of praise. This is a song of exaltation and adoration as those assembled offer praise to the almighty God who is above all.

            We will glorify the King of kings, we will glorify the Lamb;

            We will glorify the Lord of lords, who is the great I AM.

            Lord Jehovah reigns in majesty, we will bow before his throne;

            We will worship him in righteousness, we will worship him alone.

            He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, he is Lord of all who live;

            He is Lord above the universe, all praise to him we give.

            Let all who own Christ’s holy name give God the praise and glory.

            Let all who know his power proclaim aloud the wondrous story.

            Cast every idol from its throne; the Lord is God, and he alone;

            To God all praise and glory!

            Hallelujah to the King of kings, hallelujah to the Lamb;

            Hallelujah to the Lord of lords, who is the great I AM,

            The great I AM; He is the great I AM!

Oh, Won’t You Sit Down? – Greg Gilpin

          God’s Project

This traditional African-American spiritual was arranged by Greg Gilpin for the Indiana Middle School Honor Choir in 2007.  Greg Gilpin’s (b.1964) first choral works were published while attending Northwest Missouri State University, where he received his degree in Vocal Music Education. In addition to his work in music education, he has traveled internationally as a back-up singer for various artists.  He is also a studio musician and producer and ASCAP award-winning composer and arranger. He is currently Director of Educational Choral Publications for Shawnee Press.

            Oh, won’t you sit down?  Lord, I can’t sit down,

            ‘cause I just got to heaven, goin’ to look around.

            Who’s that yonder dressed in red?

            Must be the children that Moses led.

            Who’s that yonder dressed in white?

            Must be the children of the Israelite.

Who’s that yonder dressed in blue?

            Must be the children that are comin’ through.

            Who’s that yonder dressed in black?

            Must be the hypocrites a-turnin’ back.

About the Hymns:

For the Beauty of the Earth

Folliott Piermont (1835-1917) was born in Bath, England and was a lay member of the Anglican Church. Following his graduation from Queen's College, Cambridge, he taught the classics for a time at Somerset College, later becoming a freelance writer. During his 82 years of life, Pierpoint published seven volumes of poems and hymn texts, many of them showing his love for nature. He is most remembered for this beautiful hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth.

Piermont was about 29 years old when he wrote the text for this joyful hymn.  It was a lovely day in late spring.  While enjoying the surrounding area of his native city of Bath, in England, he was inspired by the beautiful countryside with its winding cool and peaceful river, Avon, in the distance. The tuneful songbirds, the wind whispering over a vibrantly colored hillside, all seemed to be praising the Creator with their unrestrained gladness and peace.  Overwhelmed with emotion, he expressed his feelings of gratitude in the penning of this sacred song.  The text was inspired by Hebrews 13:15:  "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."  It first appeared in 1864 in a book of Eucharistic hymns and poems entitled Lyra Eucharistica, Hymns and Verses on The Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern, with other Poems with the title "The Sacrifice of Praise".

Jesus, Remember Me

“Jesus Remember Me” (1978) is a simple tune from the hand of Jacques Berthier (1923-1994), one of the primary composers associated with the Taizé community. Consisting of just two phrases in melodic sequence, the tune is intended for singing in harmony, with repeats optional at the discretion of the performers. One can forgo the quarter rest at the middle of each line, singing basically two long lines for the entire song. In a meditative service, repeat the song a number of times – sometimes softly, sometimes forcefully, sometimes only humming. The song can also be sung as a "frame" surrounding spoken or silent prayers, or as a refrain to a series of spoken prayers.

A son of musical parents Berthier studied music at the Ecole Cesar Franck in Paris. From 1961 until his death he served as organist at St. Ignace Church, Paris. Although his published works include numerous compositions for organ, voice, and Instruments, Berthier is best known as the composer of service music for the Taizé community near Cluny, Burgundy. Influenced by the French liturgist and church musician Joseph Gelineau, Berthier began writing songs for equal voices in 1955 for the services of the then nascent community of twenty brothers at Taizé. As the Taizé community grew, Berthier continued to compose most of the mini-hymns, canons, and various associated instrumental arrangements, which are now universally known as the Taizé repertoire. In the past two decades this repertoire has become widely used in North American church music in both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions.

“Jesus, Remember Me” is a litany.  As you repeat the chant, allow your mind to clear of outside distractions and find your center.

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  First embraced by Roman Catholics, this hymn has since become well-known and a favorite in many denominations.   Following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the role of congregational song became much more prominent in Roman Catholic worship. The ecumenical worshipping community has been the beneficiary of some music composed for Catholic worship since that time, especially music for Communion.   We would not have some of our favorite Communion hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal and The Faith We Sing without the contribution of post-Vatican II Catholic composers. “One bread, one body” (UMH No. 620) and “Take our bread” (UMH No. 640) are just a two of these. 

Omer Westendorf (1916-1997) was one of the leading post-Vatican II composers and his hymn, “Gift of finest wheat,” is one of the best-known Communion hymns to come from the decades immediately following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  The hymn was first published in We Celebrate with Song (1979).

Beginning at age 20, Westendorf received his master of music degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and for most of his professional musical career served as organist and choirmaster at St. Bonaventure Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Under his direction, the Bonaventure Choir sang concerts and recorded sacred music for several decades. One of his greatest achievements was the founding of the World Library of Sacred Music in 1950 and World Library Publications in 1957. These organizations have been primary distributors of music for the Mass in the U.S. and beyond.  Westendorf was also known for his lectures and seminars on sacred music, consultations on liturgical music, and as a hymn writer. UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young notes that Westendorf’s “People’s Mass Book, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1976, was the first vernacular hymn and service book to implement the Catholic liturgies decreed by Vatican Council II. He wrote Music Lessons for the Man in the Pew to teach the art of sight reading choral music.”

One of the prominent features of Catholic hymns from this era is a memorable and singable refrain. For example, think of how easily congregations learn the refrain by Catholic musician Daniel Schutte, “Here I Am, Lord.”  “You satisfy the hungry heart” has an equally memorable refrain, though more reflective.   The refrain evokes the agrarian image of “finest wheat,” the source of bread, a primary staple that sustains life. The hymn writer first addresses Christ directly in the second person, implying an intimate relationship, and offers a petition to Christ to “give to us... the bread of life to eat.”

The hymn is replete with biblical references. The refrain echoes John 6:25-37, a passage where Christ develops the imagery of bread and says, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger.” Stanza one focuses on the metaphor of Christ as shepherd drawn from several passages, but especially from John 10. Stanza three is almost a direct quotation of I Corinthians 10:16-17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ. The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”  The final stanza sites the selfless and self-giving gift of Christ reminding us of Philippians 2:5-11, a creedal hymn of the early church. 

Kyrie eleison

Kyrie Eleison (Greek for "Lord have mercy") is a very old, even pre-Christian, expression used constantly in all Christian liturgies. Arrian quotes it in the second century: "Invoking God we say Kyrie Eleison". A more obvious precedent for Christian use was the occurrence of the same formula in the Old Testament (Psalm 4:2, 6:3, 9:14, 25:11, 121:3; Isaiah 33:2; Tobit 8:10; etc.). In these places it seems already to be a quasi-liturgical exclamation. So also in the New Testament the form occurs repeatedly (Matthew 9:27, 20:30, 15:22; Mark 10:47; Luke 16:24, 17:13).

It is not mentioned by the Apostolic Fathers or the Apologists. The first certain example of its use in the liturgy is in that of the eighth book of the "Apostolic Constitutions". Here it is the answer of the people to the various Synaptai (Litanies) chanted by the deacon. That is still its normal use in the Eastern rites. The deacon sings various clauses of a litany, to each of which the people answer, Kyrie Eleison.  It occurs often in St. John Chrysostom. Its introduction into the Roman Mass has been much discussed. It is certain that the liturgy at Rome was at one time said in Greek (to the end of the second century apparently). It is tempting to look upon our Kyrie Eleison as a surviving fragment from that time. Such, however, does not seem to be the case. Rather the form was borrowed from the East and introduced into the Latin Mass later. Etheria (Silvia) heard it sung at Jerusalem in the fourth century. It is evidently a strange form to her, and she translates it: "As the deacon says the names of various people (the Intercession) a number of boys stand and answer always, Kyrie Eleison, as we should say, Miserere Domine". The first evidence of its use in the West is in the third canon of the Second Council of Vaison in 529. From this canon it appears that the form was recently introduced at Rome: "Since both in the Apostolic See as also in all the provinces of the East and in Italy a sweet and most pious custom has been introduced that Kyrie Eleison be said with great insistence and compunction, it seems good to us too that this holy custom be introduced at Matins and Mass and Vespers". About the fifth century the Greek Kyrie Eleison was adopted by the West, and at Rome with the alternative form Christe Eleison. This was then sung, not as in the East only by the people, but alternately by cantors and people. It displaced the older Latin exclamations at this place and eventually remained alone as the only remnant of the old litany.

By at least from the eighth century, the present practice of singing Kyrie Eleison three times, Christe Eleison three times, and Kyrie Eleison three times, making nine invocations altogether, was established. The first group is addressed to God the Father, the second to God the Son, the third to God the Holy Ghost. The medieval commentators are fond of connecting the nine-fold invocation with the nine choirs of angels. From a very early time, the solemnity of the Kyrie was marked by a long and ornate chant. It is still the most elaborate of all our plainsong melodies. As the first invariable hymn, the Kyrie is often the first piece in a musical Mass. An English version is used in the Anglican liturgy and in the reformed Roman Catholic vernacular liturgy.

Kyrie Eleison

                        Lord, have mercy upon us.

            Christe Eleison

                        Christ, have mercy upon us.

            Kyrie Eleison

                        Lord, have mercy upon us.