March 10, 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:

Won’t You Be My Neighbor - Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers was the creator of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as well as the host of all 895 episodes, the composer of its more than 200 songs, and the puppeteer who imagined 14 characters into being. More importantly, he changed the face of children’s television and transformed the way we think about the inner lives of young children.

Fred McFeely Rogers (1928-2003) earned his bachelor's degree in music composition at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida in 1951. While a college senior studying music composition at Rollins College, Fred arrived home to see this wonderful new technology in his family’s living room. He instinctively understood the power of the new medium and especially how it could be used to serve children, rather than the slapstick and nonsense that was on the air. From that moment, he knew what he was called to do.

Immediately upon graduation, he was hired by NBC television in New York as an assistant producer for “The Voice of Firestone” and later as floor director for “The Lucky Strike Hit Parade”, “The Kate Smith Hour”, and the “NBC Opera Theatre”. Rogers was married in 1952 to Joanne Byrd, a concert pianist and fellow Rollins graduate.

In November, 1953, at the request of WQED Pittsburgh, the nation's first community-sponsored educational television station, Rogers moved back to Pennsylvania. The station was not yet on the air, and Rogers was asked to develop the first program schedule. One of the first programs he produced was THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. It was a daily, live, hour-long visit with music and puppets and host Josie Carey. Rogers served as puppeteer, composer, and organist. In 1955, THE CHILDREN'S CORNER won the Sylvania Award for the best locally produced children's program in the country. It was on THE CHILDREN'S CORNER that several regulars of today's MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD made their first appearances -- among them, Daniel Striped Tiger. X the Owl, King Friday XIII, Henrietta Pussycat, and Lady Elaine Fairchilde.

During off-duty hours, Rogers attended both the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development. He graduated from the Seminary and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1963 with a charge to continue his work with children and families through the mass media. Later that year, Rogers was invited to create a program for the CBC program in Canada, which the head of children's programming there dubbed MISTEROGERS. It was on this series that Rogers made his on-camera debut as the program's host. When he and his wife and two sons returned to Pittsburgh in 1966, he incorporated segments of the CBC into a new series which was distributed by the Eastern Educational Network. This series was called MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD. With graduate studies in child development as well as his divinity degree, Fred was well-prepared to speak directly to his pre-school audience.  “I’ll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized, after a lot of help from a lot of people, what, in fact, I really wasn’t. I was not just a songwriter or a language buff or a student of human development or a telecommunicator, but someone who could use every talent that had ever been given to me in the service of children and their families.” 

In 1968 it was made available for national distribution through the National Educational Television (NET) which later became Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  In 1969, he famously testified before a Senate subcommittee that was considering cutting funding for public television. Senator John Pastore was in charge of the proceedings, and after two days of hearings, he remained distinctly unimpressed. Then Fred spoke.

In 1968, Rogers was appointed Chairman of the Forum on Mass Media and Child Development of the White House Conference on Youth. Besides two George Foster Peabody Awards, Emmys, "Lifetime Achievement" Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the TV Critics Association, Fred Rogers received every major award in television for which he is eligible and many others from special-interest groups in education, communications, and early childhood. In 1999, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. His life and work have been the subject of feature articles in national publications, including LIFE, Reader's Digest, Parents, Esquire, Parade, and TV Guide. In 2002, President George W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, recognizing his contribution to the well-being of children and a career in public television that demonstrates the importance of kindness, compassion and learning. On January 1, 2003, in his last public appearance, Fred Rogers served as a Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade, and tossed the coin for the Rose Bowl Game.

Fred Rogers was the composer and lyricist of over 200 songs, the author of numerous books for children.  His last book, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book, was praised by Publishers Weekly for the "qualities of warmth and attentiveness that translate very well into this brief yet thorough parenting guide.”  Fred Rogers received more than 40 honorary degrees from colleges and universities, including Yale University, Hobart and William Smith, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, Saint Vincent College, University of Pittsburgh, North Carolina State University, University of Connecticut, Dartmouth College, Waynesburg College, and his alma mater, Rollins College.

Fred was chairman of Family Communications, Inc. the nonprofit company that he formed in 1971 to produce MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD and that has since diversified into non-broadcast materials that reflect the same philosophy and purpose: to encourage the healthy emotional growth of children and their families. MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD is the longest- running program on public television. Today Family Communications, Inc. is called The Fred Rogers Company in honor of its founder. 

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood, A neighborly day for a beauty

Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you

I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you

So let's make the most of this beautiful day;

Since we're together, we might as well say,

Would you be mine? Could you be mine?

Won't you be my neighbor?

Won't you please, Won’t you please,

Please won't you be my neighbor?

Sortie - Clément Loret

Clément Loret (1833-1909) was an organist, music educator, and composer of Belgian origin.  His father Hippolyte, organist (at Notre-Dame de Termonde) and organ builder, introduced him to music and the organ at a very young age. He started playing in church when he was 7 years old, and the following year he occasionally replaced his father at the organ. Admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 1851, he was a student of Lemmens for the organ and Fétis for the counterpoint. He won a First Prize in 1853.  In 1855, Loret came to Paris. Lemmens had written him a letter of introduction to Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who was so little impressed by the young man that he dared not present him to his acquaintances. However, he linked up with Auguste Victor Mustel, a harmonium builder, who convinced him to stay. He then held organist positions at Suresnes and Notre-Dame des Victoires. Then, he was named titular holder of the new Cavaillé-Coll organ of the National Basilica dedicated to St. Geneviève (now Panthéon de Paris) during the Second French Empire, from 1855 to 1885, and occupied the gallery of Église Saint-Louis-d'Antin, where Niederermeyer was maître de chapelle from 1858 to 1866.  Appointed professor of organ at the Niedermeyer school of Paris in 1858, he trained most of the French organists of the time including Fauré, Letocart and Gigout.

About the Piano Music:

Just a Closer Walk with Thee - Ruth Elaine Schram

"Just a Closer Walk With Thee" is a traditional gospel song, performed either as an instrumental or vocal song. While the precise author of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" is unknown, circumstantial evidence suggest it dates back to southern African-American churches of the 19th century. The first known recording was by the Selah Jubilee Singers in October, 1941.  Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleans jazz funerals. The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Corinthians 5:7 which states, "We walk by faith, not by sight" and James 4:8, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." 

Some personal African American histories recall "slaves singing as they worked in the fields a song about walking by the Lord's side."  Songs with similar chorus lyrics were published in the 1800s, including "Closer Walk with Thee" with lyrics by Martha J. Lankton (a pseudonym for Fanny Crosby) and music by William Kirkpatrick, which was published in 1885. Some references in Atchison, Kansas credit an African-American foundry worker and vocalist, Rev. Elijah Cluke (1907-1974), for the current rendition of the song. "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" became better known nationally in the 1930s when African-Americanchurches held huge musical conventions. In 1940 Kenneth Morris arranged and published for the first time the well-known version after gospel musicians Robert Anderson and R.L. Knowles listened to William B. Hurse direct a performance of it in Kansas City and then brought it to Morris' attention.^[7] Morris added some new lyrics and a choral arrangement. In the 1940s, a boom of recordings recorded the number in many genres, ranging from Southern gospel to jazz and brass bands.

I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore.

Ruth Elaine Schram (b. 1956) wrote her first song at the age of twelve. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 2,000 published works.  Over seventeen million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990.  In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.  Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos.”

About the Vocal Solo Music:

Wayfarin’ Stranger - Donald Moore

Paul Burnett, baritone

The Wayfaring Stranger, dated 1784, was a “spiritual” sung mainly by the pioneers that inhabited the southern Appalachian Mountains and typically used at revival meetings. The pioneers led grueling lives full of hardships and trials and anticipated eternity with an expectancy that is expressed beautifully in the words of the song that talks of both the struggles and blessed paradise on the other side of Jordan.  As with most folk songs, many variations of the lyrics exist.  Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Donald P. Moore holds a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Kent State University.  Moore is organist-choirmaster at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.  He is a prolific composer, arranger, lyricist, and author with over 500 compositions in print, including sacred, secular educational and pop choral works, music collections, organ and piano works, and educational books.  He is a seventeen-time winner of the ASCAP Composers Standard Award, and was recently listed by the American Choral Directors Association as one of 480 elite composers of significance throughout the history of American choral music.  Moore also maintains a competitive midget car race team, campaigning through the year with championship drivers from across the United States.

I’m just a poor, wayfarin’ stranger a-trav’lin’ through this world of woe;

But there’s no sickness, toil or danger in that bright world to which I go.

I’m goin’ there to meet my father, I’m goin’ there no more to roam.

I’m just a-goin’ over Jordan, I’m just a-goin’ over home.

About the Hymns:

We Are the Church

Donald S. Marsh (1923-2010) spent his childhood in Asia and then received Bachelors and Masters degrees in music, art and drama from the University of Houston. For 17 years he was involved in the theater, concert and TV world of New York City - as actor, choreographer and teacher. For three decades he served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Port Jervis, directing over 75 plays and musicals, and conducting three choirs. He was an ordained Presbyterian elder. With his colleague, Richard Avery, they have seen over 150 of their songs published in various songbooks and hymnals. The hymn, “We are the Church” embodies Christian unity unlike the childhood rhyme I learned because the church is not about a building, nor the steeple, and we are not bound by our walls to be called “church”. When we gather, there is singing, and praying, and laughing and crying, all of it reminding us that WE are the Church.

Blest Be the Tie that Binds

John Fawcett (1740-1817) was born into a poor family in Yorkshire, England, and was orphaned at age 12.  To survive, he accepted a lengthy apprenticeship to a tailor.  While still in his teens, he heard the great George Whitfield preach and became a Christian.  Fawcett became active in a Baptist church and was often asked to speak.  At age 25 (and newly married), he was invited to serve as pastor of a small church at Wainsgate.  The poor people of that little village were able to pay very little, and much of Fawcett's pay came as potatoes and other produce.  Once his wife, Mary, began having children, they found it difficult to survive.

Fawcett learned that the pastor of a large Baptist church in London was retiring, and he let the church know that he would be interested in serving them.  They called him to be their pastor at a much larger salary, so John and Mary packed their household and prepared to move.  But, as the story is told, Mary told John that she didn't think she could leave these people whom they had both learned to love, and John admitted that he shared her sentiment; so, the two of them unpacked the wagon and told the London church know they wouldn't be coming.

Fawcett, who wrote a number of hymns during his lifetime, wrote the hymn, "Blest Be the Tie," to convey his sentiments and those of his wife to the poor people among whom they had chosen to live.  Fawcett served that little church for the rest of his life –– 54 years in all.

Lowell Mason arranged DENNIS and first published it in The Psaltery (1845), a hymnal he compiled with George. Webb. Mason attributed the tune to Johann G. Nageli (1773-1836) but included no source reference. Nageli presumably published the original melody as the setting for "0 selig, selig, wervor dir" in his Christliches Gesangbuch (1828). Nageli was an influential music educator who lectured throughout Germany and France. Influenced by Johann Pestalozzi, he published his theories of music education in Gangbildungslehre (1810), a book that made a strong impact on Lowell Mason. Nageli composed choral works, including settings of Goethe's poetry. He received his early instruction from his father, then in Zurich, where he concentrated on the music of ]. S. Bach. In Zurich, he also established a lending library and a publishing house, which published first editions of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and music by Bach, Handel, and Frescobaldi.  The tune name DENNIS is thought to refer to a town in Massachusetts.