April 30, 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:

Prelude – Friedrich August Reissinger

Friedrich August Reiiger (1809-1883) was a German composer , organist , conductor , vocal pedagogue and conductor. At thirteen, he went the Thomasschule in Leipzig and sang in the Thomanerchor . He studied theology, and was a member of the Sing Academy in Berlin.  He went to Christiania, Norway in 1840 to  be music director of Christiania Theater.  From then on, he remained in Norway, in whose musical life he played a major role. In his ten years as a music director, he directed 33 operas. At the same time, he worked as an organist in a Catholic church, directed the Philharmonic Orchestra, and led the  Christiania Musical Association. In 1850, Reißiger became organist of the Immanuel Church in Halden.  As a composer, he wrote songs and piano music, military music , and cantatas.  He composed the Requiem upon  the death of King Karl Johans (1844)  Reissiger was awarded the Order of Saint Olav in 1875.

Voluntary – George Guest

A voluntary is a piece of music, usually for an organ, that is played as part of a church service. In England, the music played before and after the service is often called a “voluntary”.

George Guest (1771-1831), was an English organist.  Guest was chorister of the Chapels Royal, and may have been the Master Guest who was one of the principal singers (in 'Messiah' and miscellaneous concerts) for the Hereford musical festival of 1783. Guest was organist at Eye, Suffolk, in 1787, and at St. Peter's, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, from 1789 to 1831. He was the composer of four fugues and sixteen voluntaries for the organ; the cantatas, the 'Afflicted African' and the 'Dying Christian;' three quartets for flute and strings; three duets for two violoncellos; pieces for military bands; hymns, glees, and songs.

O Filii et Filiae – Marsha Medley

O filii et filiae is an early Christian hymn celebrating Easter.  It was written by Jean Tisserand, O.F.M. (d. 1494), a preacher, and originally had nine stanzas.  The hymn was very popular in France, whence it spread to other countries. The hymn was assigned in the various French Paroissiens to the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, on Easter Sunday. There are several translations into English by non-Catholics. The Catholic translations are one by an anonymous author in the "Evening Office", 1748 ("Young men and maids, rejoice and sing"), Father Caswall's "Ye sons and daughters of the Lord" and Charles Kent's "O maids and striplings, hear love's story".  The translation by Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878) follows:

            Ye sons and daughters of the Lord, the King of glory King adored,

            This day Himself from death restored.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

            All in the early morning gray went holy women on their way,

            To see the tomb where Jesus lay.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

            Of spices pure a precious store in their pure hands these women bore,

            To anoint the sacred Body o’er.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            Then straightaway one in white they see, who saith, “seek the Lord:

            But He is risen and gone to Galilee.”  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            This told they Peter, told John, who forthwith to the tomb are gone,

            But Peter is by John outrun.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            That self-same night, while out of fear the doors were shut, their Lord most dear

            To His Apostles did appear.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            But Thomas, when of this he heard, was doubtful of his brethren’s word,

            Wherefore again there comes the Lord.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            “Thomas, behold my side”, saith He, “My hands, My feet, My body see,

            And doubt not, but believe in me.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            When Thomas saw that wounded side, the truth no longer he denied,

            “Thou art my Lord and God!” he cried.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            Oh, blest are they who have not seen their Lord and yet believe in Him!

            Eternal life awaitheth them.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            Now let us praise the Lord most high, and strive His name to magnify

            On this great day, through earth and sky.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

            Whose mercy ever runneth o’er, Whom men and Angel hosts adore,

            To Him be glory evermore.  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

Marsha Medley  (b. 1958) is the Organist and Music Director at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, MO.  She received a B.M. in piano from the University of Missouri and a M.M. from Miami Univerity in Ohio.  Self-taught on the organ, she first started playing at the “big” Mass in the Catholic Church of her childhood at age 13. She has directed vocal choirs and bell choirs and conducted church orchestras for more than 20 years. Marsha is a published composer and arranger and has taught piano privately for many years.

About the Choral Music:

Here Am I, Send Me – John Purifoy

John Purifoy (b. 1952) is a composer and arranger with numerous published choral cantatas, anthems and keyboard collections. His stage musical "Lambarene," based on the life of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, received workshop productions at the state theatre of New Jersey and the North Shore Musical Theater near Boston.  Mr. Purifoy served as editor and director of music publishing for Word, Inc. from 1975-1982. He is the recipient of the Freedom’s Foundation Award and five-time recipient of the ASCAP Standard Award. 

Purifoy wrote both the words and music to this mission anthem based on Isaiah 6:8.

            Here am I, send me.  Here am I, Lord, send me.

            Unto thee, willingly, yielded I come.

            Show the path that I must walk, compel me then to go,

            And if I stray bring back the light of day,

            For here am I, send me I pray.

            Send me to be what’s created in me, formed in your image I stand.

            Turn my weakness into your power, power to be at last all I’m able to be.

            Here am I, send me.  Here am I, Lord, send me.

            Precious Holy Spirit, come, fill me anew.

            Give me wisdom, send me strength,

            Grant that I may be a mirror of your never ending love,

            For here am I, send me I pray.

About the Hymns:

We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations

H. Ernest Nichol (1862-1926) had begun a study program in civil engineering when he decided to study music instead. In 1888 he received a bachelor's degree in music from Oxford University. Nichol wrote some 130 hymn tunes and texts, many under the pseudonym “Colin Sterne” (derived from his middle and last name); many were first sung at church school programs.  “We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations was written in 1896 and published in Sunday School Hymnary, 1905.

A song which encourages us to “go therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19) was a very popular "missionary hymn" among denominational churches in past years, typical of the hundreds that were penned to express the determined, dynamic, energetic, and expansive attributes of late nineteenth-century "Christian missions."  Among hymnbooks published by members during the twentieth century, this song appears rarely, primarily because the chorus expresses postmillennialism, which implies that Christians will bring the kingdom of God in its fullness to earth by our own efforts.

In spite of its controversial theology, this is a rousing hymn which motivates God’s people to sound forth the word of God and reminds us of the great blessings that are available to those who receive the word of God.

Pass it On

If you are a baby boomer, raised in the church, and born in the late 1940s or 1950s, you probably grew up singing Kurt Kaiser's "Pass It On" around a campfire or at youth group meetings.  Kurt Frederic Kaiser was born in 1934 in Chicago. He received his musical education from the American Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University.  Kaiser joined Word, Inc., in 1959 as director of artists and repertoire, and later became vice president and director of music for Word. Kaiser has received many honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for his contributions to the Christian music industry (1992); an honorary Doctor of Sacred Music degree from Trinity College in Illinois; and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Baylor University. In 1993 his album Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs was recognized with a Dove Award. In 2001 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and was placed in the Hall of Honor by the Christian Booksellers Association. The Faithfulness in Service Award was presented to him in 2003. In 2011 he received the Hines Sims Award, named for the editor of the Baptist Hymnal (1956), one of the most successful hymnals in the history of the denomination. While known primarily for his youth musicals, Mr. Kaiser is an accomplished pianist and has written music for a variety of performing media in varied styles. He has composed more than sixty hymn texts and tunes, the most famous of which are “O how he loves you and me” (1975), and “Pass It On.”

In correspondence with the author, Mr. Kaiser provided the background to "Pass It On," one of his most famous songs: "In 1969, Ralph Carmichael and I collaborated on a musical, Tell It Like It Is. It was written to get young people involved in the Church. After reviewing what we had written, we decided there needed to be a closer, a modern 'Just As I Am'. On a Sunday night I was sitting in our den by the fireplace where there were remnants of a fire, and it occurred to me that it only takes a spark to get a fire going . . . and the rest came very quickly. My wife suggested that I should say something about shouting it from mountain tops, and that ended up in the third verse. It only took about 20 minutes to write the lyrics. Afterwards my wife and I went for a walk, letting the song ruminate in our minds."

“Pass It On” gained traction in broader congregational circles when it appeared in Hymns for the Living Church (1974) and Hymns for the Family of God (1976). While this song has received theological criticism by some, Kurt Kaiser joined a number of other composers in the late 1960s, 1970s, well into the 1980s who sought to offer an alternative to, in the words of Dr. Young, “the lifestyle of drug and sexual permissiveness of the youth counterculture, embodied in the Haight-Asbury flower children.” One cannot separate the text from its folk guitar-based music. Many lifelong faith commitments to Christ were made by post-World War II baby boomers around campfires singing this song. Few songs from this era have reached the iconic status of “Pass It On,” which, though informal in its jargon, might be seen as an extension of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service

Albert F. Bayly (1901-1984) was ed­u­cat­ed at Lon­don Un­i­ver­si­ty and Mans­field Coll­ege, Ox­ford.  Be­gin­ning in the late 1920’s, he served at four Cong­re­ga­tion­al church­es in North­um­ber­land, Lan­ca­shire and East York­shire; in 1962, he be­came pas­tor in Thax­ted, Es­sex.  Af­ter re­tir­ing in 1971, he moved to Spring­field, Chelms­ford, and was ac­tive in the local Unit­ed Re­formed Church.  He wrote sev­er­al pa­geants on mis­sion themes, and li­bret­tos for can­ta­tas by W. L. Lloyd Web­ber (father of Andrew). 

Bayly wrote this text in response to a Hymn Society of America search for new hymns on social welfare. It was chosen as the theme hymn for the Second National Conference on the Churches and Social Welfare held in Cleveland, Ohio, October 23-27, 1961. The Hymn Society published the text in Seven New Social Welfare Hymns (1961).