April 1, 2018 - Easter

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:

Christ Arose – John Ferguson

Robert Lowry (1826-1899), the Philadelphia-born author and composer of this hymn, was a popular Baptist preacher and educator who served churches in Pennsylvania, New York City and Plainfield, N.J.  Lowry studied theology at the University of Lewisburg (now Bucknell University), graduating in 1854 and teaching literature there from 1869-1875. He became known for his gospel songs while ministering in Brooklyn, collaborating often with William H. Doane in producing gospel song collections.  Among his most famous gospel compositions are “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus” and “Shall We Gather at the River”.  He also composed tunes for other’s texts, such as MARCHING TO ZION, a camp meeting version of Isaac Watts’ text, “Come, We that Love the Lord,” and NEED, a tune for Annie Hawks’ hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”  Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck notes that “Lowry was recognized as a most capable minister of the gospel, possessing keen insight and administrative ability. He became known as a thorough Bible scholar and a brilliant and captivating orator; few preachers of his day had greater ability to paint word pictures and to inspire a congregation. Music and a knowledge of hymnology were his favorite studies, but always as an avocation.”

When William Bradbury, another well-known gospel song writer, died, Lowry was selected by the Biglow Publishing Company in 1868 to be its music editor. In this capacity he published more than 20 Sunday school songbooks. Pure Gold, considered to be his most successful publication, sold more than 1,000,000 copies.  When asked about writing a hymn, he said, “It must be readily apprehended by the Christian consciousness, coming forth from the experience of the writer, and clothed in strong and inspiring words.”

“Low in the Grave He Lay,” called “Christ Arose” in many hymnals, was composed in 1874 while Lowry was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lewisburg, Pa. It first appeared in the collection Brightest and Best (1875) under the title “He is not here, but risen—Luke 24:5.” When it was included in music evangelist Ira D. Sankey’s Sacred Songs and Solos (1875), the song became very popular in the Moody-Sankey revivals. From that point, it appeared in a number of 19th-century British and American hymnals.  Mr. Osbeck records this account of the composition of the gospel song: Following his reflection on the resurrection as recorded in Luke 24:6-8, “. . . Lowry found himself seated at the little pump organ in the parlor of his home, and, in a very spontaneous fashion, there came forth the music and the words, giving expression to the thoughts that had been uppermost in his mind.”

The centerpiece of the song is the textual and musical contrast between the stanzas and the refrain. The dirge-like stanzas in block chords with a melody that plods in a step-wise fashion give way to a rhythmic refrain that surges up like a trumpet blast. Like many gospel songs, the three stanzas basically say the same thing three different ways. Each stanza ends with “Jesus my Lord!”—reminiscent of the early Christian affirmation “Jesus is Lord.” (Romans 10:9-13)  The music of this music captures perfectly the spirit of the transition from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord! [Refrain]

Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord! [Refrain]

John Allen Ferguson (b. 1941) is an American organist, teacher, and composer.  Ferguson is probably best known for his many choral compositions. He has also published alternate accompaniments and festival arrangements for organ, brass, and percussion of hymns and Lutheran liturgy, and has appeared on several recordings. He has more than 100 titles to his credit.   Ferguson earned a B.M. from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, an M.M. from Kent State University, and a D.M.A. from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Russell Saunders. Ferguson is a well-respected organ teacher and leader of congregational singing via the organ. He has been invited as a visiting professor by the faculties of the University of Notre Dame and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Long associated with the Holtkamp Organ Company, Ferguson's doctoral dissertation was on the work of Walter Holtkamp Sr. "Walter Holtkamp: American Organ Builder" was published in 1979 by Kent State University Press. He also served as music editor of the United Church of Christ Hymnal, published in 1974.  He worked as both professor of music at Kent State University and organist-choirmaster at Kent United Church of Christ until 1978. He later worked as the director of music at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1983 he became the Elliot & Klara Stockdahl Johnson professor of organ and church music at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, and later became the conductor of the St. Olaf Cantorei.

In dir ist Freude – J. S. Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.  He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.  Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity.  His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century.  During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven,  Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.  Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony".  He is now generally regarded as the main composer of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time.  A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory).  

The Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") is a collection of 46 chorale preludes for organ, which form the first of Bach's masterpieces with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument.  Each of them treats a known Lutheran chorale with a motivic accompaniment.  Bach explored a wide diversity of forms in the Orgelbüchlein.  As stated by Spitta in his biography of Bach:

A further step towards perfection this form was taken by Bach when he made the contrapuntal elements in his music a means of reflecting certain emotional aspects of the words.  Pachelbel had not attempted this; he lacked the fervid feeling which would have enabled him thus to enter into his subject.   And it is entering into it, and not a mere depicting of it.  For, once more be it said, in every vital movement of the world external to us we behold the image of a movement within us; and every such image must react upon us to produce the corresponding emotion I that inner world of feeling.

The tune, “In dir ist Freude”, is one of many balletti (dance-like songs) written by Giovanni G. Gastoldi (1554-1609), a priest and composer from Mantua, Italy.  It was originally published in his Balleti a cinque voce (1591), where it was set to "Alieta vi.a, Amor ciinuita", which like so many balletti had a "fa-la-la" refrain.  Cantor Johann Lindemann (1549-1631) wrote this text to fit the tune.  It was published in Lindemann's Amarum Filii Dei Decades Duae (1598).  Catherine Winkworth prepared the English translation for the second series of her Lyra Germanica (1858).  The text confesses with joy the Christian's security of walking intimately with God through the ups and downs of daily life.  Bach has set the melody in complex counterpoint which expresses pure joy in virtual abandon.

In Thee is gladness amid all sadness, Jesus, Sunshine of my heart!                         

By Thee are given the gifts of heaven, Thou the true Redeemer art!                        

Our souls Thou wakest, our bonds Thou breakest.  Hallelujah.                                        

Who trust Thee surely hath built securely; through life and death,                

He stands forever:  Hallelujah!

Jesus is ours! We fear no powers, not of earth or sin or death.
He sees and blesses in worst distresses; he can change them with a breath.
Wherefore the story - tell of His glory with hearts and voices;
all heaven rejoices in him forever: Allelujah!
We shout for gladness, triumph o'er sadness, love him and praise him,
and still shall raise him glad hymns forever: Allelujah!

About the Choral Music:

Alleluia, Christ is Risen! – Jay Althouse

Jay Althouse (b. 1951) is a native of Denver, Pennsylvania. He received a B.S. degree in Music Education and an M.Ed. degree in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For eight years he served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher. During that time he served a term on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America. As a composer of sacred and secular choral music, Mr. Althouse has more than 600 works in print for choirs of all levels. Althouse has co-written several cantatas and musicals with his wife, Sally K. Albrecht; compiled and arranged vocal solo collections; and is the co-writer of the best-selling books The Complete Choral Warm-up Book, and Accent on Composers.  He is the co-writer, with Sally K. Albrecht, of  I Hear America Singing, a choral work performed at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

The text of this anthem combines original text by Althouse and text by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885).  Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of the Rev. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity and a nephew of the poet William Wordsworth.  He was educated at Winchester and Trinity, Cambridge.  He won the Chancellor's Gold Medal for poetry in 1827 and 1828.  He was Vicar of Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire (1850–1869) and Archdeacon of Westminster (1864–1869). In 1869 Benjamin Disraeli appointed him Bishop of Lincoln which he retained until his death in 1885.  He is best known for his edition of the Greek New Testament (1856–1860), and the Old Testament (1864–1870), with commentaries; but his writings were many in number, and included a volume of devotional verse, The Holy Year The Holy Year; or Hymns for Sundays and Holydays Throughout the Year, and for Other Occasions (1862), Church History up to A.D. 451 (1881–1883).  The middle section of this text is drawn from his hymn, “Hallelujah! Christ is Risen!”

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  We rejoice this day of days.

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  Sing to God a song of praise.

            He, who on the cross, as Savior, for the world’s salvation bled,

            Jesus Christ, the King of glory: He is risen, risen from the dead.

            Alleluia, Christ is risen from the earth up to the sky!

            Alleluia, Christ is risen!  Glory be to God on high!

            Glory be to God on high!  Alleluia!

 

Joy in the Morning – Natalee Sleeth

Natalie Allyn Sleeth (née Wakeley) (1930-1992) was born in Evanston, Illinois. In 1934, she began to study the piano at the early age of four. In 1952, she received an Academic major in music theory and a BA in music theory at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She married a Professor of Homiletics, Reverend Ronald E. Sleeth. In her later life she received an honorary doctorate from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1959, and from Nebraska Wesleyan College in 1990. An organist, she wrote over 180 selections for church and school.  She was a member of the Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX.

One of Sleeth's best-known anthems for choir is entitled "Joy in the Morning" and was written for the
West Virginia Wesleyan College concert chorale on the occasion of her husband's inauguration as the
president of West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1977.  Far and away the best-selling anthem in the
Hope catalog with over one million copies sold, "Joy in the Morning" is a true classic.

            Joy, there’ll be joy, there’ll be joy in the morning on that day,

            For the daylight will dawn when the darkness is gone.

There’ll be peace evermore, there’ll be peace on the earth once more,

            Every heart and voice will again rejoice, there’ll be peace evermore.

            And the glory of the Lord will shine upon us,

            And the glory of the Lord will bring the truth divine.

            There’ll be love and forgiveness everywhere,

            And the way of the Lord will that day be restored,

            There’ll be love, sweet love everywhere.

There’ll be love and forgiveness,

            There’ll be peace and contentment,

            There’ll be joy, joy, joy, joy, joy!

Hallelujah, from Messiah – G. F. Handel

Georg Friederich Handel (1685-1759) became a musician and composer despite objections from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Handel studied music with Zachau, organist at the Halle Cathedral, and became an accomplished violinist and keyboard performer. He traveled and studied in Italy for some time and then settled permanently in England in 1713. Although he wrote a large number of instrumental works, he is known mainly for his Italian operas, oratorios (including “Messiah”, 1741), various anthems for church and royal festivities, and organ concertos, which he interpolated into his oratorio performances. He composed only three hymn tunes, one of which still appears in some modern hymnals. A number of hymnal editors, including Lowell Mason, took themes from some of Handel's oratorios and turned them into hymn tunes.

Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible, and from the version of the Psalms included with the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

Handel's reputation in England, where he had lived since 1712, had been established through his compositions of Italian opera. He turned to English oratorio in the 1730s in response to changes in public taste; Messiah was his sixth work in this genre. Although its structure resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic form; there are no impersonations of characters and no direct speech. Instead, Jennens's text is an extended reflection on Jesus Christ as Messiah. The text begins in Part I with prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only "scene" taken from the Gospels. In Part II, Handel concentrates on the Passion and ends with the "Hallelujah" chorus. In Part III he covers the resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven.

Handel wrote Messiah for modest vocal and instrumental forces, with optional settings for many of the individual numbers. In the years after his death, the work was adapted for performance on a much larger scale, with giant orchestras and choirs. In other efforts to update it, its orchestration was revised and amplified by (among others) Mozart. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the trend has been towards reproducing a greater fidelity to Handel's original intentions, although "big Messiah" productions continue to be mounted. A near-complete version was issued on 78 rpm discs in 1928; since then the work has been recorded many times.

Part II closes with the chorus "Hallelujah", in the key of D major with trumpets and timpani. This chorus is often performed out of context, especially around Christmas and Easter. The choir introduces in homophony a characteristic simple motif on the word, playing with the interval of a second, which re-appears throughout the piece. Several lines from the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19:6,16, Revelation 11:15) are treated differently, as in a motet, but unified by "Hallelujah" as a conclusion or as a countersubject in a fugal section. The line "for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" is sung by all voices, first in unison, then in imitation with Hallelujah-exclamations interspersed. The second line "The kingdom of this world is become" is sung in a four part setting like a chorale. The third idea "and he shall reign for ever and ever" starts as a fugue on a theme with bold leaps, reminiscent in sequence of Philipp Nicolai's Lutheran chorale Wachet auf. As a countersubject, the words "forever – and ever" assume the rhythm of the Hallelujah-motif. The final acclamation "King of Kings...and Lord of Lords" is sung on one note, energized by repeated calls "Hallelujah" and "forever – and ever", raised higher and higher (the sopranos and the trumpets part), up to a rest full of tension and a final solemn "Hallelujah".

In many parts of the world, it is the accepted practice for the audience to stand for this section of the performance. The tradition is said to have originated with the first London performance of Messiah, which was attended by King George II. As the first notes of the triumphant Hallelujah Chorus rang out, the king was so moved that he rose to his feet and remained standing until the end of the chorus. Royal protocol has always dictated that when the monarch stands, everyone in the monarch's presence is also required to stand. Thus, the entire audience and orchestra stood when the king stood during the performance, initiating a tradition that has lasted more than two centuries.

There is another story told about this chorus that Handel's assistant walked in to Handel's room after shouting to him for several minutes with no response. The assistant reportedly found Handel in tears, and when asked what was wrong, Handel held up the score to this movement and said, "I thought I saw the face of God."

            Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.  Hallelujah!

            The kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ.

            And He shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Hallelujah!

About the Hymns:

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

"Hymn for Easter Day" was written by Charles Wesley in 1739 for the inaugural service at the Foundry Meeting House, London's first Wesleyan chapel.  As with many of the most popular hymns, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" has survived the centuries thanks to a successful marriage of lyrics and music.  The tune first circulated in 1708 with the Lyra Davidica hymnal, but no composer has ever been acknowledged.  It was first published in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, John Wesley's hymnbook first published in 1780. Charles Wesley's original text does not include the song's most distinctive characteristic—the "Alleluia!" that ends each line.  An unknown editor added the alleluias later.

“Alleluia”, meaning "Praise the Lord," prominently leads off Psalms 106, 111, 112, 113, 117, and 135 in the Hebrew hymnal.  In the years immediately following Christ's resurrection, “alleluia” particularly connoted praise for Jesus' victory over death.  Early Christians began greeting each other on Easter with the now-familiar call and response:  "Alleluia! He is risen!" "Alleluia! He is risen indeed!"  Alleluia is meant to convey emphatic joy, thanksgiving, and triumph. 

John captures the triumph in Revelation 19 with his vision of the great multitude in heaven roaring, "Alleluia!"   Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, conveyed the joy when he wrote that Christian houses of worship in the fourth and fifth centuries shook from the intense alleluias shouted by believers.  Roman Catholics and Anglicans refrain from speaking or singing alleluia during Lent, but they reintroduce the word into their liturgies to express their thanksgiving on Easter morning. Even in nonliturgical churches, alleluia retains a kind of liturgical significance. Bernard Lord Manning, a hymnologist, historian, and observer of Methodism during the early 20th century, explained how hymns like "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" functioned as a liturgy for John and Charles Wesley's spiritual descendants.

But in the evening at the chapel [the Dissenting church], though I was uncertain about the prayers, there was no gamble about the hymns.  I knew we should have Charles Wesley's Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," with its 24 "Alleluias": and we did have it.  Among any Dissenters worth the name that hymn is as certain to come on Easter Day as the Easter Collect in the Established Church.  And mark this further—those 24 "Alleluias" are not there for nothing: the special use of "Alleluia" at Easter comes down to us from the most venerable liturgies.  Our hymns are our liturgy, an excellent liturgy. Let us study it, respect it, use it, develop it, and boast of it.

This melodic liturgy conveys the triumphant joy that is ours on Easter morning.  Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Easter People, Raise Your Voices

Following in the tradition of many pastors who write hymns, William Marceus James (1913-2013) wrote "Easter People, Raise Your Voices" for his congregation at Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in New York City.  Born in Meadville, Mississippi, and educated at Mt. Beulah College, Butler University, and Drew University, the Rev. James received his license to preach in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1936 and was ordained an elder in 1940.  In 1944, he was appointed to the Trinity (Morrisania) Methodist Church in the Bronx, a church he founded with no members. In only eight years, it grew into a 900-member congregation. In an interview with the United Methodist Interpreter, James noted, "It was during that time I learned to minister to gangs and street people."  In 1952 he began serving Community Methodist Church in Harlem, which later became the Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in 1971. The Rev. James ministered to this congregation for 33 years until "retiring" in 1985, but he continued his ministry to young people and to the Harlem community.

The author of more than fifty hymns, James noted to this writer in 2005 that "I wrote hymns for my congregation whenever I needed one. 'Easter People' is not the greatest hymn I have, but it took better than the others. Most of my hymns have themes around the social gospel." Originally in five stanzas, the hymn first appeared in the United Methodist collection, Songs of Zion (1981), in its present form.  The triumph of the Resurrection over evil is the theme of "Easter People." In stanza two, the poet reminds us that the "fear of death" cannot stop us from doing all we can to overcome evil "here below." The final stanza insists: "Every day to [Christians] is Easter" because our God is one who "rights the wrong."

Henry T. Smart (1813-1879) composed REGENT SQUARE for the Horatius doxology "Glory be to God the Father." The tune was first published in the English Presbyterian Church's Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867), of which Smart was music editor. Because the text editor of that hymnal, James Hamilton, was minister of the Regent Square Church, the "Presbyterian cathedral" of London, the tune was given this title.

March 25, 2018 - Palm Sunday

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 Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß – J. S. Bach

The Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") is a collection of 46 chorale preludes for organ, which form the first of Bach's masterpieces with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument.  Each of them treats a known Lutheran chorale with a motivic accompaniment.  Bach explored a wide diversity of forms in the Orgelbüchlein.  As stated by Albert Schweitzer: “Here Bach has realized the ideal of the chorale prelude.  The method is the most simple imaginable and at the same time the most perfect.  Nowhere is the Dürer-like character of his musical style so evident as in these small chorale preludes.  Simply by the precision and the characteristic quality of each line of the contrapuntal motive he expresses all that has to be said, and so makes clear the relation of the music to the text whose title it bears.”

"O Mensch" is one of the most celebrated of Bach's chorale preludes.  Bach ornamented the simple melody, in twelve phrases reflecting the twelve lines of the opening verse, with an elaborate coloratura.  The ornamentation, although employing conventional musical figures, is highly original and inventive.  While the melody in the upper voice is hidden by coloratura over a wide range, the two inner voices are simple and imitative above the continuo-style bass.  Bach varies the texture and coloring of the accompaniment for each line of what is one of the longest melodies in the collection.  Bach’s characteristic use of tone-painting is clear.  In the penultimate line, accompanying the words "ein schwere Bürd" (the heavy burden of our sins), the inner parts intensify with the upper voice rising to a climax on the highest note in the prelude.  The closing phrase, with its mounting chromatic bass accompanying the bare unadorned melody to end in an unexpected modulation to major, gives a sense of hope anticipating the resurrection.

Sebald Heyden (1499-1561) was a German musicologist, cantor, theologian, hymn-writer and religious poet.  He is perhaps best known for his De arte canendi ("On the Art of Singing", 1540) which is considered to have had a major impact on scholarship and the teaching of singing to young boys.  Heyden developed a great reputation as a scholar, devoted to studies and writing on education, theology, and music.   It has been speculated that Heyden was the world's first true musicologist.

O man, thy grievous sin bemoan, For which Christ left His Father's throne, From highest heaven descending. Of Virgin pure and undefiled He here was born, our Saviour mild, For sin to make atonement. The dead He raised to life again. The sick He freed from grief and pain. Until the time appointed That He for us should give His Blood, Should bear our sins' o'erwhelming load, The shameful Cross enduring.

In the Cross of Christ I Glory – David Cherwein

Sir John Bowring (1792-1872) was a distinguished scholar, ranked by some as one of the great minds of his day in the English-speaking world. Among his gifts was his ability as a linguist, publishing translations of poetry from such varied languages as Russian, Batavian, Spanish, Polish, Serbian, Bohemian, Magyar, Czech and Hungarian. Bowring was also a social progressive, advocating free trade, parliamentary reform, education for all and prison reforms, according to hymnologist Albert Bailey. Few hymn writers have been as involved in politics. Knighted in 1854, Bowring helped develop commercial relationships on behalf of Great Britain, traveling to France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Syria and Siam (now Thailand). Bowring also was twice a member of Parliament, a consul at Canton (in charge of trade in China) and a governor of Hong Kong. He was evidently relieved of his duties in Hong Kong because he “was full of conceit and without any very clear idea of political principles on a large scale.” After retirement in 1860, his public service continued as a commissioner to Italy and other diplomatic posts in Europe and Hawaii.

Despite a demanding political and diplomatic career, Bowring maintained an active avocation as a translator of poetry, composer of original poems and writer of essays on political and religious themes. Mr. Bailey notes that the “hymns that have lived were all written when he was about 30 years old, when his poetic interests were uppermost, and the idealism of youth made him the champion of the downtrodden and the underprivileged.”   “In the cross of Christ I glory” (1825) was composed while the author was in his early thirties. Appearing in Hymns by John Bowring (1825), the theme and language suggests a much more mature poet.  Galatians 6:14 provides the basis for this hymn: “Far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Ithamar Conkey (1815-1867) was born in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, and was of Scottish ancestry. He was organist at Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut. After his work in Norwich, he went to New York City and served as bass soloist at Calvary Episcopal Church and later bass soloist and choir director of Madison Avenue Baptist Church.  One Sunday in 1849 Conkey walked out of the morning service at Central Baptist Church, where he was choir director and organist, frustrated because only one soprano from his choir had come that morning. The next Sunday, the minister preached a Lenten message on the words of Christ on the cross. One of the hymns to be sung was Bowring's "In the Cross of Christ I Glory."  Later that day Conkey's discouragement changed to inspiration and he composed a new tune for that text.  He named the tune after that one faithful soprano, Mrs. Beriah S. Rathbun. The tune RATHBUN was published in Henry W. Greatorex's Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1851).

In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o'ertake me, hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me. Lo! it glows with peace and joy. 

When the sun of bliss is beaming light and love upon my way,
from the cross the radiance streaming adds more luster to the day. 

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure, by the cross are sanctified;
peace is there that knows no measure, joys that through all time abide. 

In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime. 

Dr. David Cherwien (b. 1957) is currently serving as Director of Music at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and in 2002 was appointed Music Director for the National Lutheran Choir, also based in the Twin Cities. He has also held full time parish music positions in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Chicago, Seattle, and Berlin.  He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance, and the Master of Arts degree in Theory and Composition, both from the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate work was in organ performance and music education at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he was honored as distinguished alumni in the fall of 2000.

About the Choral Music:

Hosanna Processional – 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 and 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. 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.

            Hosanna, glory to the King.  Hosanna, lift your voice and sing.

            Sing hosanna to the King.  Sing hosanna, lift your voice and sing.

            Lift up your heads, you gates of Zion.  Be lifted up, you ancient doors.

            Lift up your heads, you gates eternal.  

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

All glory to the King of kings!

Jesus rides through the streets of the city, people shout hosanna to the King.

Palms and psalms are raised to his glory. Sing hosanna,

Lift your voice and sing.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

All glory to the King of kings!

About the Handbell Music:

Be Still My Soul – Cynthia Dobrinski

Little is known about the author of this hymn.  Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel was born in 1697.  The date of her death is unknown.  Some hymnologists suggest that she may have become a Lutheran nun.  We know her as the author of "Stille, mein Wille; dein Jesus hilft siegen" published in a collection entitled Neue Sammlung geistlicher Lieder (A new collection of spiritual songs) in 1752.  This text appears at the time of German pietism, similar in spirit in many regards to the Wesleyan revival in England of the same era.  Philipp Jacob Spener (1635-1705) led the German pietistic movement.  Though not a hymn writer himself, he inspired a revival in German hymnody characterized by faithfulness to Scripture, personal experience, and deep emotional expression.  Katharina von Schlegel is thought to be the leading female hymn writer of this period.

The hymn comes to us via a translation by Jane L. Borthwick (1813-1897), a member of the Free Church of Scotland.  Borthwick was second only to Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) in bringing the riches of German hymn heritage to the English language.  Her translation included five of the original six stanzas, appearing in Hymns from the Land of Luther, second series (1855).  The melody comes from the symphonic tone poem “Finlandia, Op. 26”, by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).  David Evans (1874-1948), a Welsh organist-choirmaster, matched the translation with the tune for the Revised Church Hymnary (1927). It was brought to the United States when it was used in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. for The Hymnal (1933).

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Cynthia Dobrinski (b. 1950) received her undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth. A Fulbright Scholar, she studied organ and harpsichord at Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik, Cologne, and organ performance at Northwestern University. She taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for 15 years.  She has written over 175 pieces for handbells and led over 350 workshops and festivals internationally.  Her creative compositional techniques have made her the leading handbell arranger and composer in the country.

About the Hymns:

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

Theodulf of Orleans (760-821) was originally from Spain. Muslim conquests of Iberia drove him to leave, and he was brought to France by Charlemagne. In addition to serving as a kind of poet laureate, he was a scholar, church reformer, secretary of education, theological advisor to the king.  His writings included sermons and theological treatises on baptism and the Holy Spirit. He opposed the use of icons and revised the text of the Bible. He became Bishop of Orleans about 785, and soon afterwards also Abbot of Fleury. After Charlemagne died, Louis the Pious accused Theodulf of joining Bernard of Italy (a royal nephew) in a conspiracy against the throne. Theodulf protested his innocence, but in 818, he was deposed from his influential posts and imprisoned at Angers, where he died in 821.  While imprisoned, he wrote the words to the Latin hymn "Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit Rex Christe, Redemptor " or "All Glory, Laud and Honor To thee Redeemer King."  More than a thousand years later, an English translation of his hymn remains a favorite for Palm Sunday.

Now often named ST. THEODULPH because of its association with this text, the tune is also known, especially in organ literature, as VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN. It was composed by Melchior Teschner (1584-1635) for Valerius Herberger's hymn for the dying. Teschner composed the tune in two five-voice settings, published in the leaflet Ein andächtiges Gebet in 1615. Teschner studied philosophy, theology and music at the University of Frankfurt an-der-Oder and later studied at theuniversities of Helmstedt and Wittenberg, Germany. From 1609 until 1614, he served as cantor in the Lutheran church in Fraustadt, and from 1614 until his death, he was pastor of the church in Oberpritschen.

O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done

Charles Wesley (1707-1788), one of the founders of the Methodist church, wrote a hymn that makes us face the reality of what God has done for us through the cross of Jesus.  Time stops in pure contemplation when reflecting on this hymn. The emotional intensity is almost overwhelming. The gripping opening line is essentially a rhetorical question. However, the punctuation is not a question mark but an exclamation point. Why? Because from the outset is it apparent that Charles Wesley (1707-1788) is expressing the inexpressible, comprehending the incomprehensible, reflecting upon the unfathomable. 

Following immediately is a stunning paradox: “The immortal God hath died for me!” The concept is so overwhelming that the poet turns to the device of tautology—repeating the supreme paradox of our faith three more times, each different from the first.  The third line draws upon an important and at times controversial theological concept: Is the Son coeternal with the Father? Charles Wesley’s “high” Christology indicates unequivocally that the Son and the Father are one.  The “begotten-ness” of the Son does not focus on coeternal only in the sense of time; being “begotten from the Father” is a language of relationship: the Son and the Father are inseparable. Thus in this hymn, Charles Wesley invites us to comprehend our complicity in the crucifixion of God the Son.  The first stanza is framed by the word “Love,” placed in the upper case as a synonym for the pure essence of the One who is dying in humility. Note that Wesley does not say, “My Lord, my Love, was crucified!” Time collapses at this moment leaving only the eternal present tense. Wesley invites us to join John and Mary at the foot of the cross in the very moment of the crucifixion. He does not give us the luxury of distancing ourselves from the death of God the Son by resorting to the past tense.

The intensity does not abate in the second stanza. Ending the first stanza with “crucified,” he immediately repeats the word at the beginning of the second stanza. The uncomfortable first-person perspective continues: “for me and you.” We are “rebels” that Christ is bringing “back to God.”  Wesley introduces “blood” into our raw imagination - a concept that is inescapable when contemplating the crucifixion, yet one that many Christians insist on avoiding today.  This is not a gratuitous focus on a gory scene, however. This is a vision of “pardon for all.”  The final stanza draws from the famous Good Friday passage, Lamentations 1:12a: “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.”

Isaac Baker Woodbury (1819-1858) wrote the tune SELENA for this text.  He taught music in Boston, traveling throughout New England with the Bay State Glee Club. He later organized the New Hampshire and Vermont Musical Association and directed music at the Rutgers Street Church in New York City. He became editor of the New York Musical Review and made another trip to Europe in 1852 to collect material for the magazine. He published a number of tune-books, of which the Dulcimer, a New York Collection of Sacred Music, went through a number of editions. His Elements of Musical Composition, 1844, was later issued as the Self-instructor in Musical Composition. He also assisted in the compilation of the Methodist Hymn Book of 1857.

What Wondrous Love is This

What Wondrous Love Is This is sometimes described as a "white spiritual", from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody is derived from an English popular ballad. The hymn's lyrics were first published in Lynchburg, Virginia in the c. 1811 camp meeting songbook A General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Songs Now in Use. The lyrics may also have been printed, in a slightly different form, in the 1811 book Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Original and Selected published in Lexington, Kentucky. In most early printings, the hymn's text was attributed to an anonymous author, though the 1848 hymnal The Hesperian Harp attributes the text to a Methodist pastor from Oxford, Georgia named Alexander Means.  Camp meeting attendees during the Second Great Awakening would sing the hymns printed in these hymnals to a variety of popular melodies, including "The Ballad of Captain Kidd", which was well known at the time; this is likely how the text and melody came to be paired.  The text and melody were first published together in The Southern Harmony, a book of shape note hymns compiled by William Walker.  In 1966, the United Methodist Hymnal became the first standard hymnal to incorporate “What Wondrous Love Is This”.