November 5, 2017

Set your clocks back Sat. night!

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:

Dundee – Healey Willan

Without question, “Let Saints on Earthi n Concert Sing” is one of Charles Wesley’s greatest hymns, and among his funeral hymns, no other is so filled with grandeur and such an energetic imagery of an army of saints in heaven and on earth comprising “one church”.  The Bishop of Hereford stated that he considered these lines among the finest in hymnody.  Dr. Abel Stevens wrote, “many of Charles Wesley’s elegies have an unearthly power; a sadness of the grave pervaded by the rapture of heaven.”

DUNDEE first appeared in the 1615 edition of the Scottish Psalter published in Edinburgh by Andro Hart. Called a "French" tune (thus it also goes by the name of FRENCH), DUNDEE was one of that hymnal's twelve "common tunes"; that is, it was not associated with a specific psalm. In the Psalter Hymnal the tune is in isorhythmic form (all equal rhythms) and has a harmonization that was published in Thomas Ravenscroft's Whole Booke of Psalmes (1621). The tune's name comes from the city of Dundee, known as the "Scottish Geneva" during the era of the Scottish Reformation.

Let saints on earth in concert sing With those whose work is done;
For all the servants of our King In heaven and earth are one.

One family, we dwell in him, One Church above, beneath;
Though now divided by the stream, The narrow stream of death.

One army of the living God, To his command we bow: /flood,
Part of the host have crossed the And part are crossing now.

E'en now to their eternal home There pass some spirits blest;
While others to the margin come, Waiting their call to rest.

Jesu, be thou our constant guide, Then, when the word is given,
Bid Jordan's narrow stream divide, And bring us safe to heaven.

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and composer.  He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but is best known for his religious music.  Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne.  He earned, by examination in organ playing, harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant").

In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada.  In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary 

Magdalene (Toronto), where he remained until his death.  St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians.  In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department.  In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it disbanded in 1939.  From 1937 to 1950, Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so honoured.  People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption."

Preludio “Sine Nomine” – Herbert Howells

“For All the Saints” is the quintessential hymn for All Saints’ Day, with its uplifting text and triumphant music. It was written as a processional hymn by the Anglican Bishop of Wakefield, William Walsham How (1823-1879).  How was educated at Shrewsbury School and Wadham College, Oxford (B.A. 1845). Taking Holy Orders in 1846, he became successively Curate of St. George's, Kidderminster, 1846; and of Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, 1848. In 1851, he moved to the Rectory of Whittington, Diocese of St. Asaph, becoming Rural Dean in 1853, and Hon. Canon of the Cathedral in 1860. In 1879. he was appointed Rector of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London, and was consecrated Suffragan Bishop for East London, under the title of the Bishop of Bedford, and in 1888 Bishop of Wakefield. In 1854, he published Psalms and Hymns, Compiled by the Rev. Thomas Baker Morrell, M.A., . . . and the Rev. William Walsham How, M.A. This was republished in an enlarged form in 1864, and to it was added a Supplement in 1867. To this collection Bishop How contributed several hymns, and also to the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns , of which he was joint editor, in 1871. Nearly 60 of Bishop How’s hymns are still in common use, the most popular of which are "For all the Saints who from their labors rest" and "We give Thee but Thine own".

Originally in eleven stanzas, “For All the Saints” was published in Earl Nelson's Hymns for Saints' Days (1864) with the heading, "Saints' Day Hymn. A Cloud of Witnesses. Heb. 12:1."  The hymn was sung to the melody Sarum, by the Victorian composer Joseph Barnby, until the publication of the English Hymnal in 1906. This hymnal used a new setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams which he called Sine Nomine (literally, "without name") in reference to its use on the Feast of All Saints, 1 November (or the first Sunday in November, All Saints Sunday). It has been described as "one of the finest hymn tunes of [the 20th] century."

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,

Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;

Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;

Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,

Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,

Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee: Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,

Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,

And win with them the victor’s crown of gold. Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,

Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,

Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored. Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,

Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,

And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify. Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,

Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,

And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong. Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;

Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;

Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;

The saints triumphant rise in bright array;

The King of glory passes on His way. Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,

Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!

Herbert Norman Howells (1892- 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.  Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, the youngest of the six children of Oliver Howells, a plumber, painter, decorator and builder, and his wife Elizabeth. His father played the organ at the local Baptist church, and Herbert himself showed early musical promise, first assisting his father, and then moving at the age of eleven to the local Church of England parish church as choirboy and unofficial assistant organist.   In 1912, Howells moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music.  Howells' promise seemed likely to be cut short in 1915 when he was diagnosed with Graves' disease and given six months to live. His poor health prevented him from being conscripted in World War I.  At St Thomas' Hospital he was given the previously untried treatment of radium injections in the neck, administered twice a week over a period of two years. For much of this time Howells travelled between London for treatment and Lydney where he was nursed by his mother.  In 1920, he joined the staff of the Royal College of Music, where he was to remain until 1979.

In September 1935 Howells' placid existence as teacher, adjudicator and occasional composer was abruptly shattered when his nine-year-old son Michael contracted polio during a family holiday, dying in London three days later. Howells was deeply affected and continued to commemorate the event until the end of his life.  From that point on Howells turned increasingly to choral and organ music.    In 1941, Howells became  organist of St John's College, Cambridge.   Howells continued to compose until his late 80s.   He died in 1983, and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey.   Howells was appointed CBE in 1953 and Companion of Honour in 1972.

Chorale Prelude on "Bromsgrove" - Alec Rowley

The father of Dr. Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was a respected Nonconformist and twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions. In his later years he kept a flourishing boarding school at Southampton. Isaac, the eldest of his nine children, was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. His taste for verse showed itself in early childhood. His promise induced a physician of the town and other friends to offer him an education at one of the Universities for eventual ordination in the Church of England: but he refused; and entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690.  Leaving the Academy at the age of twenty, he spent two years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. Watts preached his first sermon when he was twenty-four years old. In the next three years, he preached frequently; and in 1702 was ordained pastor of the eminent Independent congregation in Mark Lane. His health began to fail in the following year, and Mr. Samuel Price was appointed as his assistant in the ministry. He became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, under whose roof, and after his death (1722) that of his widow, he remained for the rest of his suffering life.

His learning and piety, gentleness and largeness of heart have earned him the title of the Melanchthon of his day. His theological as well as philosophical fame was considerable. His Speculations on the Human Nature of the Logos, as a contribution to the great controversy on the Holy Trinity, brought on him a charge of Arian opinions. His work on The Improvement of the Mind, published in 1741, is eulogised by Johnson. His Logic was still a valued textbook at Oxford. The World to Come, published in 1745, was once a favorite devotional work, parts of it being translated into several languages. His Catechisms, Scripture History (1732), as well as The Divine and Moral Songs (1715), were the most popular text-books for religious education. The Hymns and Spiritual Songs were published in 1707-9.  Some hymns were also appended at the close of the several Sermons preached in London, published in 1721-24. The Psalms were published in 1719. A large mass of Dr. Watts's hymns and paraphrases of the Psalms have no personal history beyond the date of their publication. 454 Hymns and versions of the Psalms are still in common use.

The hymn tune BROMSGROVE was written by Charles Crowley and first published in Psalmodia Evangelica (1789).  It was very popular in New England and used with at least 17 different texts.

How bright these glorious spirits shine! whence all their white array?
How came they to the blissful seats of everlasting day?

Lo! these are they from suff’rings great, who came to realms of light,
And in the blood of Christ have washed  those robes which shine so bright.

Now, with triumphal palms, they stand before the throne on high,
And serve the God they love, amidst the glories of the sky.

His presence fills each heart with joy, tunes ev’ry mouth to sing:
By day, by night, the sacred courts with glad hosannahs ring.

Hunger and thirst are felt no more, nor suns with scorching ray;
God is their sun, whose cheering beams diffuse eternal day.

The Lamb which dwells amidst the throne shall o’er them still preside;
Feed them with nourishment divine, and all their footsteps guide.

’Mong pastures green he’ll lead his flock, where living streams appear;
And God the Lord from ev’ry eye shall wipe off ev’ry tear.

Alec Rowley (1892-1958) studied at London's Royal Academy of Music, and later taught at Trinity College in the same city. He frequently performed and broadcast piano duets with Edgar Moy, and was widely known for his songs and compositions for solo piano and solo organ. He was for many years the organist of St Alban's Church, Teddington and was a contributor to “The Rotunda”, the house magazine of Henry Willis & Sons Ltd., organ builders.

About the Choral Music:

Recollection of Joy – Donna Butler

Donna Butler Douglas has enjoyed parallel careers in church music and graphic design. For over 20 years she served as Director of Music for churches in Oklahoma, Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City and Little Rock, Arkansas. She currently manages communications and publications for Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.A native of Ada, Oklahoma, Donna holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree in Piano from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Donna is published under her maiden name, Donna Butler, and has received annual standard awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) each year since 1989. Mrs. Douglas is an accomplished pianist, soloist and free-lance composer with over 100 compositions in print. Donna is a recipient of the “Profiles in Excellence” award, presented by Oklahoma Baptist University to noteworthy alumni.

“Recollection of Joy” is based on Phillippians 1.

            I thank my God when I remember you, For He has blessed my life with yours.

            With every prayer of mine for you, I’m filled with joy;

            For I hold you in my heart.

            And I pray that your love may abound yet more in knowledge

            And in all judgement, that you may approve excellent things.

            That you may be sincere, being filled with the fruits of  righteousness

            Unto the glory and praise of God.

            Grace to you and peace to you from God our Father, Christ our Lord.

            Oh, I thank my God when I remember you.

About the Hymns:

Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast

Food is a big deal in our society, but even more important are the spiritual “meals” that we share. One often hears phrases such as, “They are hungry for the gospel,” and as Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man cannot live on bread alone.’” (Matt. 4:4)  We are reminded that truth, as well as sustenance, is found in the gospel. Charles Wesley’s hymn, “Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast” is an invitation to that table and a reiteration of that truth. 

The younger brother of Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, Charles (1707-1788) wrote 6,500 hymns, and preached as an itinerant minister of the Church of England. To put this in perspective, if we assume that he wrote hymns from the time he started school up to his death, it averages out to 97 per year, or one hymn every three to four days. Wesley wrote many of the most important Methodist hymns, 41 of which remain in the latest edition of the UM Hymnal (1989).  His hymns were examples of fine poetry married to a rich, biblically based theology. Wesley scholar Ernest Rattenbury once observed that “a skillful man, if the Bible were lost, might extract much of it from Charles Wesley’s hymns.”

“Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast” first appeared in 24 stanzas in Hymns for Those That Seek and Those That Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ (1747). It makes an important theological statement. Our participation in church is more than a weekly obligation. We can view church as a family meal where all are welcome. The first stanza bids us to “let every soul be Jesus’ guest,” and adds, “Ye need not one be left behind.” It is this joyful message of welcome that as parishioners we should seek and embrace, and as ministers we should promote and foster in our churches. The gospel feast is also a feast of salvation: “Come and partake the gospel feast, / be saved from sin, in Jesus rest.” When we participate in the Eucharist, we are reminded of the sacrifice our Savior made for us. The Eucharist should be as inclusive as the gospel demands that the ministries of the church be. Just as we tell others of the good news, we should be eager to share both the food we eat and the truth we cherish. Another interesting aspect of this hymn is its urgency, as Wesley sounds an eschatological note: “This is the time, no more delay! This is the Lord’s accepted day.”

The hymn-tune HURSLEY was written by Peter Ritter (1760-1846) and first published in theEvangelical Lutheran Hymnal, 1908

Rejoice in God’s Saints

Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) gave us a fresh hymn for All Saints’ Day. Rather than elevating saints to a realm beyond the earthly, Pratt Green, in the words of  Carlton Young, “describes the importance of saints and how they interact with the world.” In contrast to the “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:2 that hover above us, Pratt Green brings these saints to our level: “A world without saints forgets how to praise.” Saints model for us the “habit of prayer” and a “depth of adoring” that we should “share.” The last half of the second stanza—“Some carry the gospel through fire and through flood / our world is their parish; their purpose is God”—is reminiscent of John Wesley’s famous declaration, “I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

It was written for the six-hundredth anniversary celebration of [Julian of Norwich’s] Revelations of Divine Love (1373), commissioned by the Dean of Norwich Cathedral.  British hymnal editor and composer John Wilson advised Pratt Green to explore the lives and influence of the saints beyond the cloistered life, showing how saints relate to common life.

An Englishman educated at Didsbury College in Manchester, Pratt Green was ordained in the Methodist ministry in 1928, serving circuits throughout the country between 1927 and 1969. During his ministry he wrote plays and hymns and published three collections of his poems. But it was not until his retirement that Pratt Green’s hymn writing blossomed, creating over 300 hymns. Generally considered to be the leader of the “hymnic explosion” that began in the 1960s, Pratt Green’s hymns appear more often than any other 20th-century hymn writer in English language hymnals published in North America. 

Green’s approach to saints is in contrast to William Walsham How’s famous hymn, “For All the Saints” (UM Hymnal, No. 711), written more than 100 years earlier. How, echoing the conquests and colonization of the 19th century, drew heavily upon militaristic images of “faithful soldiers,” “victor’s crown,” “fierce strife” and “long warfare.”  Images of “triumph,” “brave hearts” and “strong arms” in How’s text are replaced here with calls to prayer, patience and self-giving. Pratt Green offers an alternative to classical views of the saints that speaks to all of our experience.