March 11, 2018

TIME CHANGES THIS 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:

Wondrous Love – Robin Dinda

“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 derived that of 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”.  Today it is a widely known hymn included in many hymnals. 

What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great 'I am';
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I'll sing on.

Robin Dean Dinda (b.1959) began playing the organ and composing at age eight.  Dinda played his first European recitals at age sixteen, performing organ concerts in Germany that included his own compositions.  He is particularly known for his performances of American organ music, and his programs invariably include examples of his own published compositions.  He earned degrees from Davidson College, The University of Cincinnati, and The University of Michigan, holds the Fellowship Certificate of The American Guild of Organists.  Robin Dinda is Professor of Humanities (Music) at Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  He is also Director of Music at The First Parish (Unitarian - Universalist) in Fitchburg. 

My Song is Love Unknown – Karl Osterland

Seventeenth-century devotional poetry provided a nurturing environment that enriched hymnody in the days before such 18th-century hymn writers as Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley.
Congregational singing beyond metrical psalms was not widely practiced during the 17th century. Though devotional poetry during this era was not typically written to be sung by congregations, verse from this century found its way into hymnals later on.

Samuel Crossman (1624-1684), an Anglican minister, received a bachelor of divinity at Penbroke College, Cambridge. He then served both an Anglican parish at All Saints, Sudbury, and a Puritan congregation. Crossman sympathized with the Puritan cause as a dissenting religious body within the context of the Anglican Church of England. He participated in the 1661 Savoy Conference, which attempted to revise the Book of Common Prayer so that it could serve both Puritans and Anglicans. The Conference was unsuccessful, and the 1662 Act of Uniformity expelled some 2,000 Anglican ministers, including Crossman. He recanted and was soon ordained in 1665, becoming a royal chaplain. He was called to a position in Bristol in 1667 and became Dean of Bristol Cathedral in 1683.

This poignant meditation of the Passion of Christ was published just before Crossman’s ordination, in The Young Man’s Meditation (1664). This short book of poems was reprinted in 1683, and the poem appeared for the first time as a hymn in the Anglican Hymn Book in 1686, just two years after the author’s death.  The original poem has seven stanzas, taking the singer from Palm Sunday through the crucifixion. But its purpose is not simply to retell the events of the Passion. From the beginning we find that this is a love song—sung to the Savior who demonstrated pure love, even to the “love-less” so that they might be “love-ly.” 

My song is love unknown, my Savior's love to me,
love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.
O who am I that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from his blest throne salvation to bestow,
but men made strange, and none the longed-for Christ would know.
But O my friend,  my friend indeed, who at my need, his life did spend.

Sometimes they strew his way, and his strong praises sing,
resounding all the day  hosannas to their King.
Then "Crucify!" is all their breath, and for his death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done? What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run, he gave the blind their sight.
Sweet injuries! Yet they at these themselves displease, and 'gainst him rise.

They rise, and needs will have my dear Lord made away;
a murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay.
Yet steadfast he to suffering goes, that he his foes from thence might free.

Karl Osterland began playing the organ when he was ten years old. He has his BA and MM in Organ Performance from the University of Michigan.  He is organist at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, Detroit. 

Jesus Loves Me – Wilbur Held

"Jesus Loves Me" was written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called Say and Seal, written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child. The tune was added in 1862 by William Bradbury (1816–1868). Along with his tune, Bradbury added his own chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me" After publication as a song it became one of the most popular Christian hymns in churches around the world, especially among children.

Anna’s family home was quite close to the United States Military Academy at West Point, in New York, in the era just before the Civil War. Each Sunday Anna taught Bible classes to the cadets. Her remains are buried in the military cemetery, and her family home is now a museum on the grounds of the United States Military Academy.

Her original poem follows:

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! Loves me still,
Tho I'm very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free,
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me;
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Wilbur C. Held (1914-2015) was born in Des Plaines, Illinois, and received his B.M. and M.M. degrees at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He then attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he earned his S.M.D. A member of the Episcopal Church, for many years Dr. Held was Professor of Organ and Church Music at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.  He remained in this position for over 30 years, and for most of that time was also organist-choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio.  Dr. Held started composing little pieces for the organ because he felt there was a lack of teaching material aimed at developing style and registration, especially for the romantic use of the instrument.  Having written several suites primarily for pedagogical use, he turned his attention to broadening the repertoire for church use, continuing to stress modest technical requirements and flexibility of registration. To date he has published 325 organ works. He has served on the national councils of both the AGO and the Hymn Society of America and has appeared as recitalist at their national conventions.

About the Choral Music:

God So Loved the World – Franz Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. Haydn’s most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.  Haydn was recruited at age 8 to the sing in the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he went on to learn to play violin and keyboard. After he left the choir, he supported himself by teaching and playing violin, while studying counterpoint and harmony.  Haydn soon became an assistant to composer Nicola Porpora in exchange for lessons, and in 1761, he was named Kapellmeister, or "court musician," at the palace of the influential Esterházy family, a position that would financially support him for nearly 30 years. Isolated at the palace from other composers and musical trends, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original."

While Haydn rose in the Esterházy family's esteem, his popularity outside the palace walls also increased, and he eventually wrote as much music for publication as for the family. Several important works of this period were commissions from abroad, such as the Paris symphonies (1785-1786) and the original orchestral version of "The Seven Last Words of Christ" (1786). Haydn came to feel sequestered and lonely, however, missing friends back in Vienna, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, so in 1791, when a new Esterházy prince let Haydn go, he quickly accepted an invitation to go to England to conduct new symphonies with German violinist and impresario Johan Peter Salomon. He would return to London again in 1794 for another successful and lucrative season.  Already well known and appreciated in England, Haydn's concerts drew huge crowds, and during his time in England the composer created some of his most popular works, including the "Rider" quartet and the Surprise, Military, Drumroll and London symphonies.

Haydn is remembered as the first great symphonist and the composer who essentially invented the string quartet. The principal engineer of the classical style, Haydn exerted influence on the likes of Mozart, his student Ludwig van Beethoven and scores of others.

            God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.

            Whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

            God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, 

            But that the world through him might be saved.

About the Hymns:

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

The psalms are a source of inspiration for hymn writers. Psalm 103 is the basis of "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847). Born in Scotland and educated at Enniskillen and Trinity College in Dublin, Lyte's most significant appointment was as Anglican curate at Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England, where he served for 24 years. Lyte was known as a man frail in body but strong in faith and spirit. Suffering from chronic asthma and tuberculosis, he retired from his parish in September 1847. Seeking a better climate in Italy, he died that November in Nice, France, on his way to Rome.  Lyte's poetry earned him several honors. His collections include Tales on the Lord's Prayer in Verse (1826), Poems, Chiefly Religious (1833, 1845), and The Spirit of the Psalms (1834). His most famous hymn was "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide", which represents the heart of the Romantic style. This hymn was published as one of 280 free psalm paraphrases in The Spirit of the Psalms. One of three paraphrases of Psalm 103, Lyte took a very free approach to his interpretation. 

An Anglican minister, he drew upon Miles Coverdale's translation as found in the Book of Common Prayer rather than the Authorized King James Version. Instead of beginning with "Bless the Lord, O my soul," this translation opens with: "Praise the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me praise his holy Name. Praise the Lord, O my soul: and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thy sin: and healeth all thine infirmities; Who saveth thy life from destruction: and crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness." One can see these theological ideas in the opening stanza of Lyte's hymn, but in a free poetic form. When the hymn appeared in the influential collection Hymns Ancient and Modern, the editors substituted "Alleluia! Alleluia!" for "Praise him! Praise him!", a change that not only improved the ease of singing, but elevated the exaltation.

A missing stanza four corresponds very closely with verses 15-17:

     Frail as summer's flower we perish: Blows the wind and it is gone.
     But, while mortals rise and perish, God endures unchanging on.
     Praise him! Praise him! Praise the high eternal One! 

Besides a sense of jubilation, this hymn emphasizes God's providence. The poet consistently emphasizes the reliability of God.

John Goss (1800-1880) composed LAUDA ANIMA (Latin for the opening words of Psalm 103) for this text in 1868. Along with his original harmonizations, intended to interpret the different stanzas, the tune was also included in the appendix to Robert Brown¬ Borthwick's Supplemental Hymn and Tune Book (1869). LAUDA ANIMA is one of the finest tunes that arose out of the Victorian era. A reviewer in The Musical Times, June 1869, said, "It is at once the most beautiful and dignified hymn tune which has lately come under our notice."

Christ is the World’s Light

The Reverend Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) was a British Methodist minister and hymnwriter.  His hymns reflect his rejection of fundamentalism and show his concern with social issues. They include many that were written to supply obvious liturgical needs of the modern church, speaking to topics or appropriate for events for which there were few traditional hymns available. His hymns appear in hymn books of various denominations, but most notably in Hymns and Psalms, the hymn book of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and the United Methodist Hymnal used in the United States.

Fred Pratt Green was born just outside of Liverpool, England, into a Christian home that he described as “a place where religion was scrupulously observed but never made burdensome.”   Green was ordained in 1924, continuing his ministry in various parishes throughout England well into the 1940s. As a minister, he rarely had time for outside interests, but when he met the devout poet Fallon Webb, he was instantly fascinated. The two would continue exchanging poetry for nearly 20 years until Webb’s death. Green did not focus on hymn writing until he retired from active ministry.

 “Christ is the world’s light” was written at the request of the hymnal committee for a text to accompany the tune CHRISTE SANCTORUM for the British Methodist hymnal, Hymns and Songs.  The tune comes from the Paris Antiphoner (1681), a collection of music for Latin hymns. The melody, ideal for the natural stresses of the Latin language, presented Green with problems in English, but he overcame them by repeating the words at the end of the first three lines of stanzas, 1, 2, and 3: “other,” “brother” and “Father.”  The original title is “The Uniqueness of Christ,” and is based on John 8:12, Ephesians 2:14, John 1:4 and particularly, John 14:9: “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” 

Each stanza begins with a descriptive assertion of Christ’s uniqueness: Christ is the world’s light” (John 1:4 and 8:12); Christ is the world’s peace” (Ephesians 2:14); and Christ is the world’s life” (John 1:4). The final stanza is Trinitarian, “give glory [to the] Spirit, Son, and Father.”  One of the most important recurring themes of this hymn is the nature of our relationship to Christ—he is our brother. At birth, Christ “became our brother”; in his passion, our brother was “murdered here”; in the final stanza, “God with us” is “my brother.” Christ, the son of God, walked alongside us as our own brother. The recurring line at the end of every stanze, “Glory to God on high,” is a refrain that focuses the entire hymn on exclaiming the glory of God.