October 22, 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:

O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe – Johann Walther

There is some doubt as to the authorship of the hymn "Verzage nicht, du Häuflein klein!".  Some hymnologists have attributed it to Johann Michael Altenburg), others to Jakob Fabricius, and still others attribute it to King Gustav Adolf himself.

The Lutheran theologian, Jakob Fabricius (1593-1654), was the son of a shoemaker.  Fabricius was the preacher for Duke Bogislaw XIV von Pommern. In 1626, he attained a doctorate in theology in Greifswald. In January 1631, Duke Gustav Adolf appointed Fabricius as his preacher. As a preacher and a priest Fabricius accompanied King Gustav Adolf on his travels in Germany. After the death of the King in November 16, 1632, Fabricius returned to the service of the Duke of Pommern and became Superintendent for Eastern Pomerania.

Johann Michael Altenburg (1584-1640) was for some time teacher and precentor in Erfurt. In 1608 he was appointed pastor of Ilversgehofen and Marbach near Erfurt; in 1611, of Troch-telborn; and in 1621 of Gross-Sommern or Som-merda near Erfurt. During the war, he was forced to flee to Erfurt, and there, on the news of the victory of Leipzig, he was appointed diaconus of the Augustino Church, and pastor of St. Andrew's Church. He was a good musician, and may have been the composer of the melodies rather than the words of some of the hymns attributed to him. 

0 little flock, fear not the foe Who madly seeks your overthrow;
Dread not his rage and pow'r. And though your courage sometimes faints,
His seeming triumph o'er God's saints Lasts but a little hour.

Be of good cheer; your cause belongs To Him who can avenge your wrongs;
Leave it to Him, our Lord. Though hidden yet from mortal eyes,
His Gideon shall for you arise, Uphold you and His Word.

As true as God's own Word is true, Not earth nor hell's satanic crew
Against us shall prevail.Their might? A joke, a mere facade!
God is with us and we with god -- Our vict'ry cannot fail.

Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer; Great Captain, now Thine arm make bare,
Fight for us once again! So shall Thy saints and martyrs raise
A mighty chorus to Thy praise, Forevermore. Amen.

Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that of Johann Sebastian Bach, he was the famous composer's cousin.  Walther was most well known as the compiler of the Musicalisches Lexicon (Leipzig, 1732), an enormous dictionary of music and musicians. It the first dictionary of musical terms written in the German language, and it was the first to contain both terms and biographical information about composers and performers up to the early 18th century. In all, the Musicalisches Lexicon defines more than 3,000 musical terms; Walther evidently drew on more than 250 separate sources in compiling it, including theoretical treatises of the early Baroque and Renaissance. The single most important source for the work was the writings of Johann Mattheson, who is referenced more than 200 times.

Walther was the music teacher of Prince Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar. He wrote a handbook for the young prince with the title Praecepta der musicalischen Composition, 1708. It remained handwritten until Peter Benary's edition (Leipzig, 1955). As an organ composer, Walther became famous for his organ transcriptions of orchestral concertos by contemporary Italian and German masters. He made 14 transcriptions of concertos by Albinoni, Gentili, Taglietti, Giuseppe Torelli, Vivaldiand Telemann. These works were the models for Bach to write his famous transcriptions of concertos by Vivaldi and others. As a city organist of Weimar, Walther wrote 132 organ preludes based on Lutheran chorale melodies.

His Eye is on the Sparrow – Charles Callahan

Civilla Durfee Martin (1866-1948) was born in Nova Scotia and died in Atlanta, Ga. In “His eye is on the sparrow” (1905), she has provided one of the most influential and often-recorded gospel hymns of the 20th century. Martin was the daughter of James N. and Irene Harding Holden, and was a schoolteacher with modest musical training. Together with her husband, Walter (1862-1935), they often wrote gospel songs for revival meetings. “Be not dismayed” is an example of their collaboration.  Walter Stillman Martin was a Baptist minister who received his education at Harvard. He later became a member of the Disciples of Christ, teaching at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, N.C., before moving to Atlanta in 1919, a location that became the base for revivals that he held throughout the U.S.

The song was obviously inspired by Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Gather feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”  Later in Matthew (10:29-31), the Gospel writer continues on this theme: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Similar thoughts are cited in Luke 12:6-7. Stanza two quotes part of John 1:14 directly, “Let not your heart be troubled...”

Civilla Martin describes the context out of which the hymn was born: “Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s response was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ was the outcome of that experience.”  The next day she mailed the poem to Charles Gabriel, a famous composer of gospel songs, who wrote a tune for it. 

Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart feel lonely And long for Heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? A constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me;

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth But one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me;

Whenever I am tempted, Whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, From care He sets me free:
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He cares for me;

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me

Charles Callahan (b. 1951) is one of America’s leading organist-composers.  A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Catholic University of America.  In recognition of his service to the church and his commissioned compositions for Papal visits to the U.S., he was awared the Papal Honor of Knighthood in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1999.  In addition to compositions and performances, Charles Callahan is a noted educator and author whose two books on American organ-building have become standard reference works.

Sortie – George Blake

At age fourteen, George Blake (1912–1986) began to play the theater organ professionally at the Franklin Theatre in Nutley, New Jersey. His father having died when he was very young, Blake quickly became the primary supporter of his family through his performing, and he lived with his mother in New Jersey for many years until her death. His younger brother was the cartoonist Bud Blake (of the popular comic strip "Tiger.") A student and protégé of Lew White (organist of the original Roxy Theatre), George Blake served as principal organist for a number of theaters in New Jersey and New York City, including the New Roxy (later the Center Theatre) in Rockefeller Center. He was also a regular performer on several radio programs of the day, including the "Lucky Strike Hour." As the age of the cinema organist ended, Blake focused primarily on sacred music. During his cinema years, he was organist at several churches in New Jersey including St. Andrew's Episcopal (South Orange) and Grace Episcopal (Nutley) and was the school organist for Columbia High School (Maplewood). Blake composed and published extensively in both sacred and secular genres. He co‑wrote a number of popular songs with Richard Leibert, organist of Radio City Music Hall, several of which were performed and recorded by leading artists of the day, including Mario Lanza. 

About the Choral Music:

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise – Gordon Young

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).

ST. DENIO is based on "Can mlynedd i nawr" ("A Hundred Years from Now"), a traditional Welsh ballad popular in the early nineteenth century. It was first published as a hymn tune in John Roberts's Caniadau y Cyssegr (Hymns of the Sanctuary, 1839). The tune title refers to St. Denis, the patron saint of France.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice, like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all laud we would render; O help us to see
'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!

Amen. Amen.

Gordon Young (1919-1998) was born in McPherson, Kansas, and during his lifetime was recognized as one of this country's great church organists. He was a prolific and talented composer for both organ and choir, with nearly 1000 published works.  During the course of his career, he was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and choirmaster in churches in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Mr. Young taught organ in conjunction with Wayne State University and for 15 years was organist and choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit.

About the Hymns:

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Anglican priest and professor Edward Hayes Plumptre (1821-1891) composed “Rejoice, ye pure in heart” as a processional hymn for a choir festival in one of England’s majestic places of worship, Peterborough Cathedral.   Plumptre was a distinguished scholar of his day. Educated at University College, Oxford, he then became a fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford, receiving his ordination in the Anglican Church in 1846. After serving as a clergyman, he became chaplain and professor of New Testament exegesis at King’s College, London, and dean of Queen’s College, Oxford. His most prominent position as a clergyman was that of dean of Wells Cathedral.

Of the original 11 stanzas, five or six stanzas appear in most hymnals.  Omitted stanzas refer to this processional in martial terms as warriors who “march in firm array.” This kind of imagery is not only consonant with the times, but also reflects the theology of the Anglican Communion that views its role on earth as the “Church Militant” while the church in heaven is the “Church Triumphant.”   Hymnologist William Reynolds noted that it “was not unusual for a cathedral processional to take from ten to thirty minutes, and the hymn that was sung by both the choir and the congregation needed to have enough stanzas for this.”   It was first published in the third edition of Plumptre's Lazarus and Other Poems (1868) and in the Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern (1868).

Arthur H. Messiter (b. Frome, Somersetshire, England, 1834; d. New York, NY, 1916) composed MARION for this text in 1883 and named it after his wife. The tune was published in the Hymnal with Music as Used in Trinity Church (1893), a hymnal compiled by Messiter during his long term of service as organist/ choirmaster at Trinity Church (Episcopal) in New York City (1866-1897).

Educated by private tutors in England, Messiter immigrated to the United States in 1863 and had an active musical career in Philadelphia, which included an organist position at St. James the Less. At Trinity Church in New York City, he modeled with distinction the British cathedral tradition of music. Messiter was an editor of the Episcopal Hymnal (1893), compiled the Psalter (1889) and Choir Office Book (1891), and wrote a musical history of Trinity Episcopal Church, New York (1906).

Christ Loves the Church

The love of Christ is central to our faith. Without Christ’s sacrifice we would not experience salvation. Brian Wren (b.1936), the author of “Christ Loves the Church,” explores the relationship between Jesus and the church. Each stanza looks at a different aspect of the relationship Christ has with the church and expands upon it. He references Ephesians 5:25 indirectly throughout this hymn: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

“Christ Loves the Church” was written in 1986 for the 150th anniversary of High Street United Methodist Church in Muncie, Indiana. Brian Wren dedicated this hymn to this church, and sought out Jane M. Marshall (b.1924), a Southern Methodist University graduate, to write a tune to accompany the text. Her tune HIGH STREET was written for this hymn.

Wren was ordained in 1956 in Britain’s United Reformed Church. He holds a B.A and D. Phil from Oxford University. In 2001, he was named a fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. He retired in 2007 from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he was the first holder of the John and Miriam Conant Professorship in Worship. Wren has published at least eight collections of his hymn texts and two additional collections with his wife Susan Heafield, a United Methodist minister.