January 27, 2019

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:

Bishopthorpe - Healey Willan

Caleb T. Winchester, an editor of the 1905 Methodist Hymnal, challenged Frank M. North (1850-1935) to write a hymn text on city missions. North had intimate knowledge of urban life because of his work for the Methodist Church in New York City. Inspired by Jesus' words "Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find" (Matt. 22:9), North wrote "Where Cross the Crowded Ways." After making various revisions and adding a title ("A Prayer for the Multitudes"), he published the text in The Christian City (June 1903), a missions journal he edited. The text was also published in the 1905 Methodist Hymnal and in many other twentieth-century hymnbooks. Modern hymnals have changed the original "thous" and "thees" to "yous." One of the earliest and finest modern "city hymns," this text focuses on the ills of our great urban centers (and ignores their benefits) with the insight and compassion of a Christian worker in the city slums. North's descriptive phrases may have been startling at the turn of the century, but they are even more accurate descriptions of the massive cities in our world today. His prescription to follow in the footsteps of Christ and bring the gospel in word and deed is relevant as long as the Lord delays in bringing the New Jerusalem. Primarily a churchman, North devoted himself to loyal service in the Methodist denomination and to various ecumenical ventures. He was educated at Wesleyan University, Middleton, Connecticut, and ordained in the Methodist Church in 1872. A minister in several churches in Florida, New York, and Connecticut, he also held administrative positions-secretary of the New York Church Extension and Missionary Society (1892-1912) and secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Church (1912-1924). He was involved with the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America (forerunner of the National Council of Churches) and was the council's president from 1916-1920. Editor of the periodical Christian City, North was active in many organizations that promoted and carried out Christian ministries in urban life. North contributed hymns to Sursum Corda (1898) and the Methodist Hymnal (1905) and was a charter member of the Hymn Society, which republished his eight hymns in a booklet in 1970.

The hymn tune BISHOPTHORPE was written by the English organist and composer Jeremiah Clarke in 1700.

Where cross the crowded ways of life, where sound the cries of race and clan,

above the noise of selfish strife, we hear your voice, O Son of Man.

In haunts of wretchedness and need, on shadowed thresholds fraught with fears,

from paths where hide the lures of greed, we catch the vision of your tears.

From tender childhood's helplessness, from human grief and burdened toil,

from famished souls, from sorrow's stress, your heart has never known recoil.

The cup of water given for you still holds the freshness of your grace;

yet long these multitudes to view the sweet compassion of your face.

O Master, from the mountainside, make haste to heal these hearts of pain;

among these restless throngs abide; O tread the city's streets again;

Till all the world shall learn your love, and follow where your feet have trod;

till glorious from your heaven above shall come the city of our God.

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and composer.  He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but is best known for his religious music.  Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne.  He earned, by examination in organ playing, harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant").  In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada.  In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto), where he remained until his death.  St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians.  In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department.  In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it disbanded in 1939.  From 1937 to 1950, Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so honoured.  People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption."

Grand Chorus - Edmond Lemaigre

Edmond Lemaigre (1849-1890) was a 19th-century French organist, conductor and composer. 

He was the first organist of the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, inaugurated on May 26, 1877, a position he held until 1888, when he moved to Paris. The organist of the Concerts of the Trocadéro in Paris, Lemaigre played there several of his compositions on the new organ Cavaillé-Coll (1878) of the grand hall.  He succeeded his father at the head of the "Société Lyrique" in 1881, and in 1883 he founded the "Association Artistique du Centre" at Clermont-Ferrand.

About the Piano Music:

All Are Welcome - Paul Tate 

Marty Haugen (b. 1950) was raised in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in Minnesota, and became a member the United Church of Christ. He writes contemporary hymns and liturgical music for the Lutheran church. Haugen holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Luther College and an M.A. degree in pastoral studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I found it interesting when I was researching this hymn that it is apparently popular in the Roman Catholic church, yet there are many postings by Roman Catholics condemning this hymn.  And all those postings have the same basic theme:  if you welcome all, then “those” people (define as you wish) might come, & we can’t have that!  Hmmm…   I hope and believe that First UMC, Lewisville has more open hearts and open doors.  We will truly welcome all to this house.

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine, and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that free us:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.

Paul A. Tate, a graduate of the University of Georgia, is a professional musician living in Sugar Hill, Georgia. As an active workshop presenter and concert performer, Paul has released a dozen recordings and published over 100 original songs and arrangements. His liturgical compositions appear in a number of hymnal resources, and his voice has been heard around the world on Sirius Satellite Radio.

About the Choral Music:

Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul – John W. Peterson

John Willard Peterson (1921-2006) is probably the most influential hymn writer of the latter part of the twentieth century and certainly among the most prolific. He wrote well over a thousand songs, as well as 35 cantatas and musicals. His songs are singable, and their declaration of Bible truth is clear and helpful.  As with many hymn writers, Peterson was sensitive to the spiritual application of events happening around him. Sometimes a random comment, or a meaningful phrase, gave him the idea of a song. On one occasion he was assisting with the music at the Montrose Bible Conference. In a morning meeting, time was given for testimonies. Peterson says: “An old gentleman rose to his feet to tell of the saving work of God in his heart. As he spoke, his face glowed, especially when he rehearsed the night when he came to Jesus Christ. “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul” was the way he explained it.”  John Peterson jotted down the phrase, and later that week wrote both words and music for a joy-filled gospel song.

Born in Lindsborg, Kansas, he served as an Army Air Force pilot flying the China Hump during World War II. Later, he attended Moody Bible Institute and served on the radio staff there for a number of years.  In 1953, he graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and shortly thereafter settled in Pennsylvania to continue his song writing career. He then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for over ten years he was President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration, a sacred music publishing company. While there, he compiled and edited a hymnal called Great Hymns of the Faith, 1961. He also served on the board of Gospel Films, Inc. of Muskegon, Michigan.  In 1986, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Heaven came down, heaven came down!

O what a wonderful, wonderful day – Day I will never forget;

After I’d wandered in darkness away, Jesus my savior I met.

O what a tender compassionate friend – He met the need of my heart;

Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart!

Now I’ve a hope that will surely endure After the passing of time;

I have a future in heaven for sure, there in those mansions sublime.

And it’s because of that wonderful day When at the cross I believed;

Riches eternal And blessings supernal From His previous hand I received.

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,

When at the cross the Savior made me whole; 

My sins were washed away, washed away, And my night was turned to day,

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! 

About the Hymns:

O For a Thousand Tongues

"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,000 hymns. Wesley was suffering a bout of pleurisy in May, 1738, while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Böhler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness on May 21, Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words and at peace with God. Shortly, his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal and counted it as a renewal of his faith; when his brother John had a similar experience on the 24th, the two men met and sang a hymn Wesley had written in praise of his renewal.

One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines “Glory to God, and praise, and love Be ever, ever given” and was published in 1740 and entitled “For the anniversary day of one's conversion”. The seventh verse, which begins, 'O for a thousand tongues to sing', and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls the words of Peter Böhler who said, “Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all.” The hymn was published first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists in 1780. It has appeared first in every Methodist hymnal since that time.

The original 10 verses are:

O For a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise!
The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the world abroad The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of cancell'd sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avail'd for me.

He speaks, - and, listening to his voice, New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; The humble poor believe.

Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, Your loosen'd tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, And leap, ye lame, for joy.

Look unto him, ye nations; own Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone, Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain;
His soul was once an offering made For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature's sleep, And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep, And wash the AEthiop white.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven.

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

Frederick Faber (1814-1863) was one of a number of English clergy who converted from the Anglican Church to Roman Catholicism in the Romantic era of hymnody in the 19th century.  Faber was born an Anglican and reared a strict Calvinist. After attending Oxford, he took orders as an Anglican priest and began his ministry as a rector. Influenced by his friend John Henry Newman (1801-1890) who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845, Faber also converted to Catholicism that same year.

Drawing inspiration from the hymns of John Newton, William Cowper and the Wesleys during his Anglican youth, he recognized that Roman Catholics lacked a tradition of more recent metrical hymnody in English. He took it upon himself to remedy this. By the time he died, he had contributed 150 hymns, all composed after his conversion to Roman Catholicism.

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” originally had eight stanzas and appeared under the title “Come to Jesus” in Faber’s Oratory Hymns (1854). In a later collection, the hymn expanded to 13 stanzas, beginning with “Souls of men, why will ye scatter/ Like a crowd of frightened sheep?” That version was included in a posthumous collection, Hymns Selected from F. W. Faber (1867).

Two omitted stanzas expand on the theme of God’s unfathomable mercy in a manner that, according to UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young, “demonstrates Faber’s affinity with eighteenth-century evangelical writers such as Charles Wesley”:

     There is no place where earth’s sorrows
     Are more felt than up in heaven;
     There is no place where earth’s failings
     Have such kindly judgment given.

     There is grace enough for thousands
     Of new worlds as great as this;
     There is room for fresh creations
     In that upper home of bliss.

British hymnologist J. Richard Watson notes that, “Faber’s emotionalism, and his uninhibited use of . . . imagery, demonstrate his love of a sentiment that comes close to sentimentality.   But his sentiment, however excessive it may seem, touches a tender spot: Faber is cheering on the soul, recognizing the troubles of life, and holding out the promise of a final homecoming.”   The ultimate theme of this hymn is based on the premise and paradox that a sovereign God, unlike earthly rulers, demonstrates welcome, kindness, grace and mercy. All we need to do is have a simple faith that “rest[s] upon God’s word.”