May 28, 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:

Christi Himmelfartsdag - Otto Malling

“Christ Ascends into Heaven” is from a collection of pieces covering the entire church year, “Die Festtage des Kirchenjahres”, by Otto Valdemar Malling (1848 –1915).  Malling was a Danish composer, the cathedral organist in Copenhagen and Director of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. Malling wrote the first Danish textbook in orchestration, along French conservatory lines. His scores of organ music brought him some reputation abroad, but after his death he was soon forgotten in his native country, as musical tastes changed.

With Timbrel and Dance – Dale Wood

This sparkly piece is based on Jeremiah 31:4, “Adorn yourself with tibrels and go forth in the dance”.  Dale Wood (1934-2003) was a prominent composer, organist, choral director, and clinician.  He was honored many times by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for his “very important contribution towards the creation and development of contemporary American church music”.  He wrote many collections of organ works, most of which are based on both old and new hymn tunes.  Over eight million copies of his publications have been purchased in over 50 countries.

Trumpet Recessional on Hanover – Franklin Ashdown

Charles Wesley, the son of Samuel Wesley, was born at Epworth, Dec. 18, 1707. He was educated at Westminster School and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated M.A. In 1735, he took Orders and immediately proceeded with his brother John to Georgia, both being employed as missionaries of the S.P.G. He returned to England in 1736. For many years he engaged with his brother in preaching the Gospel. He died March 29, 1788. To Charles Wesley has been justly assigned the appellation of the "Bard of Methodism." His prominence in hymn writing may be judged from the fact that in the "Wesleyan Hymn Book," 623 of the 770 hymns were written by him; and he published more than thirty poetical works, written either by himself alone, or in conjunction with his brother. The number of his separate hymns is at least five thousand.

The year 1744 was a time of great opposition to, and persecution of, the Methodists in England. The country was at war with France. An invasion for the purpose of dethroning George II, and crowning the exiled representative of the House of Stuart was expected. The Methodists were represented as Papists in disguise, working for the Pretender. Their meetings were broken up by mobs, and many of their preachers were impressed into the army. Even the Wesleys were brought before the magistrates for examination. To strengthen and reassure his Methodist followers, Charles Wesley published Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution (1744) anonymously. This text, in seventeen stanzas, was the first of the "Hymns to be Sung in a Tumult," which the small but heroic Methodist groups sang in the face of violent opposition.  It is a hymn of thankful praise to Christ for his victorious reign and for providing salvation for his people. It reveals the cosmic scope of Christ's kingdom and helps us to join our voices with the great doxology to Christ, the Lamb, as foretold in Revelation 5:9-14. In the first stanza "servants" refers to all Christians, not just clergy, to those made "to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God" (Rev. 5:10).

You servants of God, your Master proclaim, 

and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name all-victorious of Jesus extol; 

his kingdom is glorious and rules over all. 

God rules in the height, almighty to save; 

though hid from our sight, his presence we have;
the great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus our King. 

"Salvation to God, who sits on the throne!"
let all cry aloud, and honor the Son;
the praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces and worship the Lamb. 

Then let us adore and give him his right:
all glory and power, all wisdom and might,
all honor and blessing with angels above
and thanks never ceasing for infinite love. 

Franklin Ashdown is a composer and a medical doctor, and has pursued dual careers for the past three decades. Born in 1942, he was recruited to play the organ for a local congregation at age 13.  He is a widely published composer of organ and choral music.  A resident of Alamogordo, NM, Dr. Ashdown enjoys a full life as an internist, composer, and organist-choir director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

About the Choral Music:

Be Not Afraid – Taylor Davis

Taylor Davis (b. 1980) is currently the Director of Music and Worship at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. A 2003 graduate of Centenary College of Louisiana, Taylor earned a Bachelor of Sacred Music degree while studying conducting with Dr. Julia Brasher Thorn, as well as intensive courses with Dr. Sandra Willets, Dr. Ann Howard Jones, Paul Oakley, Alice Parker and Jane Marshall. He has also studied composition with Dr. Eric McIntyre, Ms. Parker, and Ms. Marshall. In 2004 he became a Fellow of Melodious Accord. In demand across the country, with commissions coming from a wide variety of groups, his music has been performed throughout the US, Europe, South America and South Africa by youth and adults.

“Be Not Afraid” is based on Isaiah 43:1-7.

            Be not afraid, for I have redeemed you.

Be not afraid, I’ve called you by name.

            My love for you is everlasting, my love for you shall have no end.

            You are my child, and I’ll love you always.

Just hold my hand, and I’ll lead you home.

When you feel lost, always remember: I am right here, just call my name.

When you pass through the waters, I will surround you,

            When you pass through the floods, they will not sweep o’er.

            When you walk through the fire, you will not be consumed.

            You are my child, you are so precious to me.

About the Hymns:

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

“Our God, Our Help in Ages Past” is a hymn by Isaac Watts which paraphrases Psalm 90. It originally consisted of nine stanzas. In present usage, however, the hymn is usually limited to stanzas one, two, three, five, seven and nine. In 1738, John Wesley in his hymnal, Psalms and Hymns, changed the first line of the text from "Our God" to "O God." Both Watts' wording and Wesley's rewording remain in current use.  The hymn was originally part of The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, published by Watts in 1719. In this book he paraphrased in Christian verse the entire psalter with the exception of twelve Psalms which he felt were unsuited for Christian usage.

The hymn tune "St. Anne" to which the text is most often sung was composed by William Croft in 1708 whilst he was the organist of the church of St Anne, Soho.  It first appeared anonymously in the Supplement to the New Version of the Psalms, 6th edition in 1708. It was originally intended to be used with a version of Psalm 62. It was not until sometime later when set to Watts' text that the tune gained recognition.

The complete nine verses are as follows:

Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of Thy throne Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.

Thy Word commands our flesh to dust, Return, ye sons of men:

All nations rose from earth at first, And turn to earth again.

A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood, With all their lives and cares,

Are carried downwards by the flood, And lost in following years.

Time, like an ever rolling stream, Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.

Like flowery fields the nations stand Pleased with the morning light;

The flowers beneath the mower’s hand Lie withering ere ‘tis night.

Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last, And our eternal home.

Because He Lives

UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young says this gospel hymn “is one of the five most requested... to be included in this hymnal.” Based on John 14:19c—“because I live, you also will live”—the hymn’s theme is effectively supported by a soaring melody in the refrain. The words were written by two of the longest-lasting performing couples of Christian contemporary music, Gloria (b. 1942) and William J. (b. 1936) Gaither. “Because He Lives” was awarded the recognition of Gospel Song of the Year for 1974 by the Gospel Music Association and the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP).   This gospel song has undoubtedly offered hope for many people because of its connection between the Resurrection and a “life... worth the living.”

The Gaithers said this about this hymn:  “‘Because he lives’ [1971] was written in the midst of social upheaval, threats of war, and betrayals of national and personal trust. It was into this world at such a time that we were bringing our third little baby. Assassinations, drug traffic, and war monopolized the headlines. It was in the midst of this kind of uncertainty that the assurance of the Lordship of the risen Christ blew across our troubled minds like a cooling breeze in the parched desert. Holding our tiny son in our arms we were able to write:‘How sweet to hold our newborn baby, And feel the pride, and joy he gives; But greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain day because He lives.’”

Bill Gaither began as a teacher of English, literature and journalism in 1959 in his hometown of Alexandra, La. Gloria Sickal taught French and English in the same high school. They started to sing together and were married in 1962. By 1967, the couple left the teaching profession to become full-time recording and performing artists. Gloria Gaither has authored several books since 1971 including Make Warm Noises, Rainbows Live at Easter, Because He Lives, Decisions: A Christian Approach to Making Right Choices and Let’s Make a Memory (co-authored with Shirley Dobson). In addition to a number of popular Christian musicals, the Gaithers co-edited the hymnal Hymns for the Family of God (1976) with the assistance of the late composer Fred Bock.

Standing on the Promises

R. Kelso Carter became an ordained Methodist minister (1887) at the age of 38. A year earlier, he was a professor at the Pennsylvania Military Academy, where he wrote the hymn, "Standing On the Promises," after reading Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians I: 20:  "For all the promise of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us."  I was published in Songs of Perfect Love, one of two hymns compiled by Carter.  The drum-beating, military march style of the music reflects the influence of the military academy life that surrounded Carter when it was written.  Carter was active in the Methodist Camp-Meeting movement, and “Standing on the Promises” was widely used in evangelistic crusades well into the 20^th  century and is still found in many hymnals.  It is a reminder of the Christian’s daily dependence on the promises of God.