June 10, 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 Piano Music:

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us – William Ringham

The text of "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" first appeared in Hymns for the Young, 1830, which was edited by Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779-1847). Although no author's name appears with the text, it is thought that Thrupp wrote it, since she often published hymns anonymously, under the pseudonym "Iota," or simply using her initials “DAT”.   The tune we sing today was written by William Bradbury expressly for this text and appeared in his Sunday School collection, Oriola, 1859. Bradbury was a protege of the great music educator, Lowell Mason. Bradbury sang in Mason's Bowdoin Street Church choir and Boston Academy of Music as a youth, and later started similar church and school music programs in New York where he served as organist at First Baptist Church. Beyond his work as an educator and church musician, Bradbury studied composition in Europe, founded the Bradbury Piano Company with his brother, and edited a number of music books. Bradbury is probably most famous for writing the music to "Jesus Loves Me."

Savior, like a shepherd lead us, Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

We are Thine, do Thou befriend us, Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us, Seek us when we go astray:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Hear, O hear us when we pray.

Thou hast promised to receive us, Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us, Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Early let us turn to Thee.

Early let us seek Thy favor, Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior, With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus, Thou hast loved us, love us still.

William Ringham holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from Indiana University, where he also studied composition. He has performed as a piano soloist in concerts across the U.S. and Mexico. During many years of teaching music and serving various congregations as organist and conductor, Ringham continued to compose and arrange for the groups he was leading. After retiring from teaching, he turned his full attention to his writing, first publishing in 2000. A member of ASCAP, AGEHR, and ACDA, he has received consecutive annual ASCAP awards since 2003. In 2013, Ringham retired from his position of Director of Music at Mission Del Sol Presbyterian Church in Tempe, Arizona.

Shall We Gather at the River – Heather Sorenson

"Shall We Gather at the River?" or simply "At the River" are the popular names for the traditional Christian hymn titled "Hanson Place," written in 1864 by American poet and gospel music composer Robert Lowry (1826–1899). He studied theology at the University at Lewisburg (now Bucknell University) and on graduating, in 1854, became ordained as a Baptist minister. He had charge of churches in a number of places including the Bloomingdale Baptist Church in New York City; the Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn; and others in West Chester, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He wrote a number of hymns with members of his congregations. At the Hanson Place Baptist Church he wrote songs with Annie Hawks, and he established a similar partnership with Fanny J. Crosby at Sixth Avenue Bible Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York.  He is most remembered as a composer of gospel music and a hymn writer, and also worked as a music editor at the Biglow & Main Publishing Company. He was responsible for around 500 compositions, including "Nothing But the Blood," "Christ Arose" ("Low in the Grave He Lay") (words and music)," and "How Can I Keep From Singing?". He also wrote the music and refrain for "Marching to Zion" (words by Isaac Watts).  Despite his success as a hymn writer, it was as a preacher that Lowry would have preferred to be recognized. He once stated: "Music, with me has been a side issue... I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative audience than write a hymn. I have always looked upon myself as a preacher and felt a sort of depreciation when I began to be known more as a composer." However, it is as a hymn writer that he remains renowned.

The title "Hanson Place" is a reference to the original Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn.  The original building now houses a different denomination. The song's lyrics refer to the Christian concept of the anticipation of restoration and reward, and reference the motifs found at Revelation 22:1-2 - a crystal clear river with water of life, issuing from the throne of heaven, all presented by an angel of God.

Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God?

Yes, we’ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river, Washing up its silver spray,
We will talk and worship ever, All the happy golden day.

Ere we reach the shining river, Lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver, And provide a robe and crown.

At the smiling of the river, Mirror of the Savior’s face,
Saints, whom death will never sever, Lift their songs of saving grace.

Soon we’ll reach the silver river, Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace.

Heather Sorenson entered the church music industry in her twenties, and her name quickly became a welcomed fixture in the publishing world.  Diversity is the characteristic that makes Heather somewhat of an anomaly in the industry: she easily maneuvers both the traditional and contemporary genres of Christian music, often combining the two for a unique blend that has become her artistic fingerprint. Initially recognized for her skill as a pianist, Heather is now known for her compositions in choral anthems, solo piano collections, and orchestrations. She taught all elementary levels of music at Grace Academy of Dallas for 4 years, served as an adjunct music professor at Baylor University, and has served on many master class panels in piano and songwriting. Heather regularly is a guest speaker and conductor at churches across America and leads scores of sessions each year at various worship conferences, schools, and universities. Heather makes her home in the Dallas, TX area with her beloved (and very vocal) beagle, Lucy. 

To God Be The Glory – John Carter

Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915), born in New York and died in Connecticut, wrote over 8,500 gospel hymns. In 1972, Hope Publishing Co. found over 1,000 unpublished manuscripts. Her work defined what it meant to be a successful writer of gospel hymns.  By the age of six weeks, Fanny Crosby was completely blind. She entered the New York School for the Blind at age twelve. She began writing hymns and poetry at age twelve.  Her collaborators in publishing gospel hymns included the most successful and popular composers of her day, including William Bradbury, William Doane, Robert Lowry, Ira Sankey, and William Kirkpatrick. Crosby used numerous pen names in publishing her songs, including: Ella Dale, Mrs. Kate Gringley and Miss Viola V. A.  She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne, and the British most often refer to her by her married name rather than Fanny Crosby.  She was a lifelong Methodist and her contributions to The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) include: “Blessed Assurance,” “Close to Thee,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “To God Be the Glory.”

Frances Jane Crosby’s hymns have historically been among the most popular songs sung by Methodists.  “To God be the glory” was included in William Doane’s Songs of Devotion in 1870.  Ira Sankey probably saw the hymn in Doane’s collection and incorporated it into the first edition of his Sacred Songs and Solos (1875).  Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey helped to establish the hymn’s popularity during their revivals in Great Britain in the late 19th century.  It also appeared in some British hymnals including the Methodist Hymn Book (1933).

However, it was not until the 1954 Billy Graham Crusade in Nashville that Cliff Barrows introduced this song to congregations in the United States.  Mr. Graham and Mr. Barrows had learned the song during the 1952 revivals they had conducted in Great Britain.  Hymnologist William J. Reynolds, writing in his hymnal companion Hymns of Faith (1964), documented the return of this hymn to the USA: “It is most extraordinary that this long-forgotten American gospel song should have been imported from England and become immensely popular during the last decade.”

To God be the glory, great things He hath done,

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

John Carter is a productive and versatile composer with a notable and long-standing career in choral composition. In addition to hundreds of sacred and secular choral pieces, Carter has written several collections of piano and organ literature, bell choir arrangements, a number of works for musical theatre and an opera. He is a well-known clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States.  He is currently serving as Director of Music at the University Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio.

About the Choral Music:

Brethren, We Have Met to Worship – Anna Laura Page

Anna Laura Page (b. 1943) received a B.M. degree in vocal music education with a concentration in piano, and a M.M. in music theory with a concentration in organ from the University of Kentucky. Active as a composer, clinician and organist, she served on the Music Committee of the Southern Baptist 1991 Hymnal Committee and has received the ASCAP Standards Award for the past several years. She has taught organ as an adjunct faculty member at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and theory/organ as an adjunct faculty member at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. She served as director of the Austin Peay Community Children's Chorus in Clarksville, Tennessee for three years. Mrs. Page currently serves as Handbell Music Editor for Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Her publications include choral works for children, youth and adults, and compositions for handbells, organ and piano. She is married to Dr. Oscar C. Page, President of Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Brethren, we have met to worship And adore the Lord our God;
Will you pray with all your power, While we try to preach the Word?
All is vain unless the Spirit Of the Holy One comes down;
Brethren, pray, and holy manna Will be showered all around.

Brethren, see poor sinners round you Slumb’ring on the brink of woe;

Death is coming, Hell is moving, can you bear to let them go?

Tell them all about the Savior, Tell them that he will be found.

Sisters, pray, and holy manna Will be showered all around.

Let us love our God supremely, Let us love each other, too;
Let us love and pray for sinners, Till our God makes all things new.
Then He'll call us home to heaven, At His table we'll sit down;
Christ will gird Himself, and serve us With sweet manna all around.

About the Hymns:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" is a hymn based on Joachim Neander's German chorale Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, published in 1680. John Julian, in his A Dictionary of Hymnology, calls the German original "a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest creation of its author, and of the first rank in its class."  Neander wrote this particular hymn while dying and it says much about his faith. While contemplating the words to go along with the melody, he reflected on Psalm 103 with its claim that everything within us should praise the Father’s holy name.  It was the favorite hymn of King Frederick William III of Prussia, who first heard it in 1800.  In the Neander original, first the singer calls himself (my beloved soul) to praise God, then calls for a larger group to join the praise with musical instruments as well as song.  John Julian‍‍ '​‍s A Dictionary of Hymnology lists more than ten English translations of "Lobe den Herren" printed in various nineteenth century hymnals. 

The melody used by Neander, first published in 1665, is probably based on a folk tune. The common name given to this melody is "Lobe den Herren". Several variants were published with various secular texts between 1665 to 1680, when Joachim Neander published his German hymn, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, using its meter. The text paraphrases Psalm 103 and Psalm 150.  

One interesting piece of history is the later use of Neander’s name. He often taught in a valley near the Düssel river, and over 100 years after his death the valley was named after him. It was in that valley that bones were later found, from which we get the name “Neanderthal.”

O Spirit of the Living God

Henry Hallam Tweedy (1868-1953) hailed from the northeast, born in Binghamton, N.Y. He was granted degrees from Phillips Andover Academy, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary and the University of Berlin.  A Congregational pastor, he served churches in New York and Connecticut, and later taught practical theology from 1909-1937 at Yale Divinity School.  He co-authored several books, including Training the Devotional Life (1919) and Religious Training in School and Home (1917). His most important contribution, however, was as editor of the hymnal Christian Worship and Praise (1939).  In addition to editing a hymnal, Tweedy published a practical volume, The Minister and His Hymnal, and won several hymn contests sponsored by the Homiletic Review and the Hymn Society of America.

Tweedy said he composed “O Spirit of the Living God” because “some of the old Pentecostal hymns were to me unsatisfactory, and I was eager to interpret the symbolism of the story in Acts in a way that modern men could understand and sincerely mean.”  The text is an exposition of Acts 2, a passage focused on Pentecost. The hymn was first published in the Methodist Hymnal (1935).

FOREST GREEN is an English folk tune associated with the ballad "The Ploughboy's Dream." Ralph Vaughan Williams turned FOREST GREEN into a hymn tune for The English Hymnal (1906), using it as a setting for "O Little Town of Bethlehem."