February 25, 2018

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 Gott, du frommer Gott – Max Reger

Johann Heerman (1585-1657), son of a furrier, was the fifth but only surviving child of his parents. During a severe illness in his childhood, his mother vowed that if he recovered she would educate him for the ministry, even though she had to beg the necessary money. He was appointed diaconus of Koben, a small town on the Oder, in 1611, and was promoted to the pastorate there.  Much of Heermann's life was spent amid the distressing scenes of the Thirty Years' War; and by his own ill health and his domestic trials he was trained to write his beautiful hymns of “Cross and Consolation." Between 1629 and 1634, Koben was plundered four times by the Lichtenstein dragoons and the rough hordes under Wallenstein sent into Silesia by the King of Austria in order to bring about the Counter-Reformation and restore the Roman Catholic faith and practice; while in 1616 the town was devastated by fire, and in 1631 by pestilence. In these troublous years Heermann several times lost all his moveables; once he had to keep away from Koben for seventeen weeks; twice he was nearly sabred; and once, while crossing the Oder in a frail boat loaded almost to sinking, he heard the bullets of the pursuing soldiers whistle just over his head. He bore all with courage and patience.  After 1623 he suffered from an affliction of the throat, which compelled him to cease preaching in 1634. 

As a hymnwriter, Heermann ranks with the best of his century.  He began writing Latin poems about 1605 and was recognized for his poetry at Brieg in 1608. He represents the transition from the objective standpoint of the hymnwriters of the Reformation period to the more subjective and experimental school that followed him. His hymns are distinguished by depth and tenderness of feeling; by firm faith and confidence in face of trial; by deep love to Christ, and humble submission to the will of God.In his House and Heart Music some of his finest hymns are in the section entitled "Songs of Tears. In the time of the persecution and distress of pious Christians."

Oh God, you faithful god, you source of good gifts,
without whom nothing exists that does exist, from whom we have everything :
give me a healthy body and grant that in such a body
there may remain an inviolate soul and a pure conscience.

Grant that I may do diligently what it is my duty to do,
as your command guides me in my position.
Grant that I may do it promptly, at the time when I should,
and when I do it, then grant that it may turn out well!

Help me, so that I may always say what I can stand by,
let no useless word come from my mouth,
and when in my office I should and must speak,
then give my words force and weight without causing vexation.

If there is danger, then let me not despair,
give me heroic courage, help me to bear my cross !
Grant that I may overcome my enemies with gentleness.
And if I need counsel may I find good counsel.

Let me with everyone live in peace and friendship,
as far as is Christian. If you want to give me anything to do with
wealth, property and money, then give this also,
that nothing may be mixed up with any goods that are unjust.

If in this world I have to live my life longer,
through many a bitter step  press on to old age,
then give me patience. From sin and shame protect me,
so that I may bear with honour my grey hair

At my end let me depart relying on Christ's death,
take my soul to you to your joys in heaven,
bestow a little space on my body, a grave by my parents,
so that it may have peace by their side.

On that day when you will awaken the dead,
then stretch out your hand to my grave,
let me hear your voice, and awaken my body
and lead it beautiful and transformed to the multitude of your chosen people!

The celebrated German composer Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (1873-1916), was the son of a school-teacher and amateur musician, who gave him instruction on the piano organ, and various string instruments. In 1874 the family moved to Weiden, where he studied organ and theory with Adalbert Lindner. He then attended the teacher-training college; after visiting the Bayreuth Festival in 1888, he decided on a career in music. He went to Sondershausen to study with Riemann in 1890, and continued as his pupil in Wiesbaden (1890-1893).  From 1890 to 1896, Max Reger was active as a teacher of piano, organ, and  theory. Following military service, he returned to Weiden in 1898 and wrote a number of his finest works for organ. He went to Munich in 1901, first gaining general recognition as a pianist and later as a composer.  He was professor of counterpoint at the Königliche Akademie der Tonkünst. He went to Leipzig as music director of the University and as professor of composition at the Conservatory.

Max Reger's fame as a composer was enhanced by his successful tours as a soloist and conductor in Germany and throughout Europe. Max Reger was an extraordinarily gifted musician, widely respected as a composer, pianist, organist, conductor and teacher. A master of polyphonic and harmonic writing, he carried on the hallowed Classical and Romantic schools of composition. Although he wrote major works in nearly every genre, he is best known for his organ compositions.

I Come with Joy – Andrew Moore

“I Come with Joy” was written in 1971 by Brian Wren (b. 1936), Emeritus Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is a writer, preacher, worship and workshop leader, and internationally published hymn-poet, with entries in most recent denominational hymnals in North America, Britain and Australia. Some of his hymn-poems have been translated into Finnish, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and Korean. Brian holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Oxford University. He is a Minister of the United Reformed Church (UK). His publications include What Language Shall I Borrow? - God-Talk in Worship: A Male Response to Feminist Theology (1989 and 2009), Praying Twice: The Music and Words of Congregational Song (2000), Advent, Christmas and Epiphany: Liturgies and Prayers for Public Worship (2008), Hymns for Today (2009) and seven hymn collections totaling 250 hymns.

LAND OF REST is an American folk tune with roots in the ballads of northern England and Scotland. It was known throughout the Appalachians; a shape-note version of the tune was published in The Sacred Harp (1844) and titled NEW PROSPECT as the setting for "O land of rest! for thee I sigh." The tune was published again with that same text in J. R. Graves's Little Seraph (Memphis, 1873). The name LAND OF REST derives from the tune's association with that text.

I come with joy to meet my Lord, forgiven, loved and free,
in awe and wonder to recall his life laid down for me.

I come with Christians far and near to find, as all are fed,
the new community of love in Christ's communion bread.

As Christ breaks bread and bids us share, each proud division ends.
The love that made us makes us one, and strangers now are friends.

And thus with joy we meet our Lord. His presence, always near,
is in such friendship better known; we see and praise him here.

Together met, together bound, we'll go our different ways,
and as his people in the world, we'll live and speak his praise.

Andrew Moore (b. 1954) is a British composer, arranger and music editor and also a Catholic priest.  A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was ordained a priest in 1982 as a member of the Benedictine community at Downside Abbey having obtained a degree in theology at Cambridge University (Christ’s College). At Downside, he taught music and religious studiesr. As monastic and school choirmaster for many years he helped to maintain a high standard of liturgical music. From 1993-95, he was parish priest at the Downside Parish of Little Malvern. In 1996, he left monastic life for a more active ministry in the Diocese of Portsmouth. As a composer, Andrew Moore is best known for his liturgical music, having written several mass settings, many responsorial psalms, motets, anthems and carols. He has also written instrumental music, chamber and orchestral music. He makes much use of modal music (the plainsong influence), but there are also elements of jazz harmonies (his father was a very accomplished jazz pianist).

Agincourt Hymn – Charles Callahan

The Agincourt Carol (sometimes known as the Agincourt Song, the Agincourt Hymn, or by its chorus and central words, Deo gratias Anglia) is an English  folk song written in the early 15th century. The carol is one of thirteen on the Trinity Carol Roll, probably originating in East Anglia.  The tune has been given various texts over centuries, beginning with the Latin original through to one of its more often used translations by Benjamin Webb (1819-1885), "O Love, How Deep How Broad, How High!" Other texts include one titled "God of our fathers, known of old" by Rudyard Kipling, 1897, as well as titles such as "Jehovah, my God, on Thy Help I Depend" (1912), “The Glory of These Forty Days”,  and "O God, thy soldiers' great reward".

St. Pope Gregory I., The Great was born at Rome about A.D. 540. His family was distinguished not only for its rank and social consideration, but for its piety and good works. His father, Gordianus, was a man of senatorial rank and great wealth; whilst his mother, Silvia, and her sisters-in-law, Tarsilla and Aemiliana, attained the distinction of canonization. Gregory made the best use of his advantages in circumstances and surroundings, so far as his education went. "A saint among saints," he was considered second to none in Rome in grammar, rhetoric, and logic. In early life, before his father's death, he became a member of the Senate; and soon after he was thirty, he devoted the whole of the large fortune that he inherited to religious uses. He founded no less than six monasteries in Sicily. In 577 the then Pope, Benedict I, made him one of the seven Cardinal Deacons who presided over the seven principal divisions of Rome.

The following year Benedict's successor, Pelagius II, sent him on an embassy of congratulation to the new emperor Tiberius, at Constantinople. After six years' residence at Constantinople he returned to Rome. It was during this residence at Rome, before he was called upon to succeed Pelagius, that his interest was excited in the evangelization of Britain by seeing some beautiful children, natives of that country, exposed for sale in the slave-market there ("non Angli, sed Angeli"). He volunteered to head a mission to convert the British, and, having obtained the Pope's sanction for the enterprise, but he was recalled by Pelagius, at the earnest demand of the Roman people. In 590, he became Pope, and carried out his intentions towards Britain by the mission of St. Augustine. . His Papacy, upon which he entered with genuine reluctance, and only after he had taken every step in his power to be relieved from the office, lasted until 604, when he died at the early age of fifty-five. His Pontificate was distinguished by his zeal, ability, and address in the administration of his temporal and spiritual kingdom alike, and his missionaries found their way into all parts of the known world. He exhibited tolerance for Jews and heretics, and his disapproval of slavery by freeing all his own slaves.

Gregory's great learning won for him the distinction of being ranked as one of the four Latin doctors, and exhibited itself in many works of value, the most important of which are his Moralium Libri xxxv., and his two books of homilies on Ezekiel and the Gospels. His influence was also great as a preacher and many of his sermons are still extant. But he is most famous, perhaps, for the services he rendered to the liturgy and music of the Church, whereby he gained for himself the title of Magister Caeremoniarum. His Sacramentary, in which he gave its definite form to the Sacrifice of the Mass, and his Antiphonary, a collection which he made of chants old and new, as well as a school called Orplianotrophium, which he established at Rome for the cultivation of church singing, prove his interest in such subjects, and his success in his efforts to render the public worship of his day worthy of Him to Whom it was addressed. The Gregorian Tones, or chants, with which we are still familiar after a lapse of twelve centuries, we owe to his anxiety to supersede the more melodious and flowing style of church music which is popularly attributed to St. Ambrose, by the severer and more solemn monotone which is their characteristic. The contributions of St. Gregory to our stores of Latin hymns are not numerous, but few as they are, they are still used in the services of the Church. The Benedictine editors credit St. Gregory with 8 hymns, (1) “Primo dierum omnium;" (2) "Nocte surgentes vigilemus;" (3) "Ecce jam noctis tenuatur tunbra;" (4) “Clarum decus jejunii;" (5) "Audi benigne conditor;" (6) "Magno salutis gaudio;" (7) “Rex Christe factor omnium;" (8) "Lucis Creator Optime." Some writers credit him with three others. (9) “Ecce tempus idoneum;" (10) "Summi largitor praemii;" (11) "Noctis tempus jam praeterit."

“Clarum decus jejunii” was translated by Maurice Bell as “The Glory of These Forty Days”, and published in The English Hymnal (1906)

The glory of these forty days We celebrate with songs of praise;
For Christ, by Whom all things were made, Himself has fasted and has prayed.

Alone and fasting Moses saw The loving God Who gave the law;
And to Elijah, fasting, came The steeds and chariots of flame.

So Daniel trained his mystic sight, Delivered from the lions’ might;
And John, the Bridegroom’s friend, became The herald of Messiah’s Name.

Then grant us, Lord, like them to be Full oft in fast and prayer with Thee;
Our spirits strengthen with Thy grace, And give us joy to see Thy face.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest, To thee be every prayer addressed,
Who art in threefold Name adored, From age to age, the only Lord.

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.

About the Choral Music:

Come Follow Me – Joseph Martin

Joseph Martin (b. 1959 ), a native of North Carolina, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Subsequently he earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. Joseph taught for five years in the Piano Pedagogy Department of the University of Texas.. He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company’s sacred publications and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts. Joseph has performed solo piano recitals and has been the featured artist with symphony orchestras in the United States and Mexico. As winner of the Nina Plant Wideman Competition, he performed with the Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra. His solo recital in Ex-convento del Carmen was broadcast nationally throughout the country. Though he continues to perform in concert, he now devotes his efforts to playing in churches and for conferences of church musicians Recognized throughout the United States for his many choral compositions, over 1200 compositions are currently in print and the list continues to grow.

“Come Follow Me” is a movement from the cantata, A Time for Alleluia.  From the passion of Gethsemane to the victory of the empty tomb, A Time For Alleluia celebrates the life of Christ and his redemptive work, using Ecclesiasties as the biblical basis for the text.   “Come Follow Me” takes its text from Matthew 19.

            Take up thy cross and follow.

            Come, faithful seeker of the Light, my voice is calling in the night.

            Walk with me; I’ll be your guide.  Follow me.

            Come weary pilgrim, take my hand.  I’ll lift you up and help you stand.

            All who seek the promised land, follow me.

All who hunger, all who suffer, all who sorrow, all who would be free, follow me.

            The path is steep, the road is long, but with my love I’ll keep you strong;

            Then my grace will lead you home. Come follow me.

Come follow me, O faithful one, until the final race is won,

            Until the great Amen is sung!  Follow me.

           

            I am the Way, the Truth, the Life.  Follow me.

About the Hymns:

I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath

Isaac Watts is often called the “Father of English Hymnody.” Watts (1674-1748) was the first English-language poet who produced a significant number of hymns of high quality.  In the 18th century, hymns could be distinguished from metrical psalms. During the time of Watts, congregational song was dominated by strict metrical versions of the Psalms. For example, compare “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” (1561), William Kethe’s metrical version of Psalm 100, to the translation found in the King James Version. The similarities of language are striking for Kethe’s metrical rendition, the oldest continuously sung congregational song in North America. Watts wanted to break the stranglehold of metrical psalms on congregational singing. To facilitate this he composed psalm paraphrases that were freer in their relationship to the original psalm and, in addition, “hymns of human composure”—freely composed hymns such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

“I’ll Praise My Maker” is Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 146. It was originally entitled “Praise to God for his Goodness and Truth” and published in his famous Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719).  John Wesley played a prominent role in preserving this hymn as we know it today, slightly adapting four of the six original stanzas. Wesley strengthened Watts’ first line of the hymn which originally read, “I’ll praise my Maker with my breath.” Wesley included it in the first hymnal published in America, the Charlestown Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1737). Its appearance in every Methodist hymnbook since 1737 attests to its popularity. J.R. Watson noted: “This hymn was greatly loved by John Wesley, who died singing it.”

I Surrender All

"I Surrender All" was written by American art teacher and musician Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855–1939), who subsequently became a music minister and evangelist. It was put to music by Winfield S. Weeden (1847–1908), and published in 1896.Van DeVenter said of the inspiration for the text:

For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing. 

Following his decision to surrender his life to the Divine, Van DeVenter traveled throughout the United States, England, and Scotland, doing evangelistic work. Winfield S. Weeden, his associate and singer, assisted him for many years. Toward the end of his life, Van DeVenter moved to Florida, and was professor of hymnology at the Florida Bible Institute for four years in the 1920s. After his retirement, he remained involved in speaking and in religious gatherings. Van DeVenter published more than 60 hymns in his lifetime, but "I Surrender All" is his most famous.