April 18, 2019 - Maundy Thursday

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

"O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" (O man, bewail thy sins so great) is a Lutheran Passion hymn with a text written by Sebald Heyden in 1530. The author reflects the Passion, based on the Four Evangelists, originally in 23 stanzas. The lyrics were written for an older melody, "Es sind doch selig alle, die im rechten Glauben wandeln". The first and last stanzas have appeared in 11 hymnals. The hymn has been used in Passion music and is known in J.S. Bach's setting as a chorale fantasia closing Part I of his St Matthew Passion.  S. Heyden originally wrote a reflection of the Passion based on the four gospels in 23 stanzas of 12 lines each. The original title begins "Der Passion auß den vier Evangelisten" (The Passion from the Four Evangelists).  It reflects the Passion, narrating the stations of the cross and adding the context of Heilsbedeutung (meaning for salvation), beginning with man's sinful condition and ending with thanks.

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.

The melody of “O Mensch, bewein’ ” most probably was composed by Matthias Greiter (d. c1550). It was first published in the third Part of the Teutsch Kirchēampt mit lobgsengen (Strassburg, 1525; reprinted at Erfurt in 1848), and in Psalmen, gebett und Kirchenubung wie sie zu Strassburg gehalten werden (Strassburg, 1526), a book of 64 pp., containing 23 melodies, of which M. Greiter and his colleague Wolfgang Dachstein were the editors. In 1525-1526 the melody was set to M. Greiter’s version of Psalm cxix, “Es sind doch selig alle.” In Calvin’s Hymn-Book (Strassburg, 1539) it was adapted to Psalm xxxvi, “En moy le secret pensement.” In the course of the 16th century it was sung to the Hymns, “Als Jesus Christus unser Herr” and “Komm, heilger Geist,” and from c1584 chiefly to Sebald Heyden’s “O Mensch, bewein’.” M. Greiter was a monk and chorister of Strassburg Cathedral. He became a Protestant and in 1528 was assistant pastor of St Martin’s Church, and later of St Stephen’s Church, Strassburg. 

Below is a fairly literal, non-poetic English translation (verses 4 & 6 are missing).  Note, there are some differences in the story reflecting the theology of that time:

     O man, weep for your great sins Because of which Christ left his Father’s bosom And came upon the earth; From a young woman pure and gentle He was born here for us.  He wanted to become our mediator, To the dead he gave life  And removed in this way all sickness,  Until the time came When he was sacrificed for us,  Bore the heavy burden of our sins For a long time on the cross.

     When it was time for the feast of the Jews Jesus gathered his disciples to himself and told them: The son of man will be betrayed,  Nailed to the cross and put to death  As the Jews plan.  A woman entered Simon’s house, she brought precious perfume with her she poured it over the Lord. Several of disciples started to grumble; Jesus did not reproach the woman.  This exasperated Judas.

     Then on the Mount of olives Jesus lamented, with fear and trembling he said there: “Watch and pray with me!”  He went a stones throw further on, spoke to his father and so began:  “O God, you can make this chalice go away from me, since all things are possible for you.  But may your will be done!”  Three times he made such prayer to the Father, three times he returned to his disciples: who were all sound asleep.

     Jesus, who knew exactly what was going on, stepped forward and went to meet them and spoke to them with kindness: “What are you doing here with such force?  Are you looking for me? Here I am!”  They fell to the ground!  Through Judas’s kiss he was recognised. The crowd now ran up to Jesus and held him fast with ropes.  Peter grasped his sword and struck off the ear of the priests servant.  Jesus healed his ear!

     Not with the sword, ah, Peter, no!  I must drink fully this chalice God has given to me!  The crowd led Jesus to Annas, Then they took him to Kaiphas, Captive and chained.  Peter stood in the courtyard of the high priest, When he was recognised three times by many people, he denied the Lord!  Caiphas asked Jesus : “Who are you?” They called witnesses also To bring serious charges against him.

    Christ gave him no reply.  The chief priest said:  “What do you want to say about this?  I abjure you by my God,  Tell us, are you Christ, his son?”  He replied without hesitation:  “I am and I say at this time You will see from far the son of man Coming on the clouds And at the right hand of God!”  Caiphas tore his clothes  And said : “You have heard him!

     He has blasphemed God the Lord! Why should we listen any more to him?”  They said:" He should die”, and spat in his face’;  they struck him in the court with cries and laughter. They covered his face, hit him with their fists and then asked:"Who hit you?”  All this happened early on the next day.  It was nearly dawn.  Christ had to bear this.

     Then they all went to Pilate. When Judas saw what became of him, He felt terrible remorse.  He gave back the money to the priests: “How seriously I have sinned,  How great is my unfaithfulness!” The priests debated amongst themselves:  “What should we do with this money? Let us buy the potter’s field As a cemetery for pilgrims.”  This is reported in scripture.

     When Jesus stood before Pilate, he shouted loudly and madly, with the following accusations:  “he wants to oppose Caesar and calls himself the son of God, he leads the people astray constantly.”  Pilate asked him many questions, but the Lord gave him no answer. He was amazed at this.  Then he sent him on to Herod.  Herod was pleased by this:  he wanted to see a miracle!

     When Jesus made no reply to him also, Herod felt great contempt for him, he sent him back to Pilate.  The Roman said to the priests:  “Herod also saw the man  and remained still undecided.  Each year customarily at the feast  One man: is released from prison:  “I shall set Jesus free.”  They all cried with loud voice: “Nail Jesus on the cross!  We want to have Barabbas!”

     So Jesus was whipped by the soldiers on all sides  and clothed with purple.  They wove a crown of thorns and put it on him with hate and scorn, violently and without pity.  They greeted him: Hail to you!   They made a fool of him with abuse and ignominy.  Pilate said: “here is the man! I can find no evil to punish in him: there is nothing of that sort!”

     They kept shouting more loudly: Crucify him! Crucify him! Make an end of him, or you’re Caesar’s enemy”.  When Pilate heard this word, he sat down in the judge’s seat, publicly washed his hands.  He let the murderer Barabbas go free and gave Jesus to be crucified,  in accordance with their mistaken desire.  He stripped his clothes from him And led him away with loud calls;  He carried the cross calmly.

     As they went on their way with him, They enlisted Simon who was passing by and forced him to bear the cross as well. Many people and women were standing by  but Jesus, when he saw them weeping, turned to them and said:  “No, don’t weep for me, weep, daughters of Zion, for yourselves and for your children.  You will say: ‘Happy is the woman who is barren and never suckled a child when the last day comes.’”

     So they came to Golgotha.  Two criminals were there, who had been fixed to wooden crosses on the right and left hand, as it is known from Scripture.  Then: the Lord spoke on the cross:  Father forgive them what they are doing,  I do not know it is a crime!”  Pilate had written up in Hebrew Greek and Latin: Jesus, the man from Nazareth and the king of the Jews.

     As Jesus was hanging on the cross, they took his clothes and gave them away, they shared them out by lots.  Jesus mother stood not far away,   John was at her side.  Jesus said to both of them:  “this is your son, woman, accept him; from now on this is your mother”; John accepted her.  The high priests mocked him;  they cried to him curtly:  “are you the man who comes from God?”

     If you are God’s dear son, then come down from the cross, help yourself.  The thieves also spoke in this way.  But one of the two called out: “this man here is innocent!  Jesus have pity on me when you are in your kingdom.” He said: “today you will be with me in God’s paradise.”  At the six-hour there was darkness, and at the ninth hour, from the depths of his heart Jesus cried these words.

     “My God, my God, why do you forsake me!”  In reply they fetched vinegar and gave it him to drink.  When Jesus had tried it, he said: “My God, it is accomplished!”  And he bowed his head.  “O father, in your hands I entrust my spirit to you, he cried out with a loud voice.  Rocks split terrifyingly; in the temple the curtain was torn from top to bottom.

     The earth began to shake, many graves were opened. This ensuring and his men said, truly this was a righteous man,  this shows he was the son of God, and they struck him on the chest.  When they broke the legs of the thieves, Jesus was dead and so they do not break his legs: they speared him in the side.  Water with blood run out.  An eyewitness testifies this, Scripture relates it today.

     Afterwards when it was evening,  The pious Joseph took Jesus down from the cross to bury him. Nicodemus came also, brought much myrrh and spices with him to embalm Jesus.  Not far from Golgotha, there was a tomb carved in rock with a high stone wall.  They placed Jesus’s body inside, rolled the stone into place and went their way in sorrow.

     On Saturday he rests in the grave.  Then early in the morning, on the third day, Jesus rises up in power!  He opens for us his heavenly kingdom and says to us, faithfully and mercifully that we are free and delivered from our sins.  For this reason we should be joyful that our saviour, only he, Christ, has overcome for us sins and their distress, with them hell and death: the devil lies bound.

     Christ suffered great pain for us, therefore let us be thankful, and live according to his will.  Because his word shines so clearly for us, let us be enemies of sins.  Each day strive in this way: to show love for everybody as Christ has done for us with his suffering and death.  O human race, consider what is right, since God’s anger strikes sins protect yourself from it!

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 one of the main composers 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 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.

My Body Broken

About the Piano Music:

At the Foot of the Cross - Jeremy Young

Jeremy Young has combined the chant “Stabat Mater” with “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”.

The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.  The title comes from its first line, Stabat Mater dolorosa, which means "the sorrowful mother was standing”.  The Stabat Mater has often been ascribed to Jacopone da Todi, OFM (ca. 1230–1306), but this has been strongly challenged by the discovery of the earliest notated copy of the Stabat Mater in a 13th-century gradual belonging to the Dominican nuns in Bologna (Museo Civico Medievale MS 518, fo. 200v-04r).  The Stabat Mater was well known by the end of the 14th century and Georgius Stella wrote of its use in 1388, while other historians note its use later in the same century. In Provence, about 1399, it was used during the nine days' processions.  As a liturgical sequence, the Stabat Mater was suppressed, along with hundreds of other sequences, by the Council of Trent, but restored to the missal by Pope Benedict XIII in 1727 for the Feast of the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to her Son to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed was that Mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs, she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that Mother's pain untold?

For the sins of His own nation, She saw Jesus wracked with torment, All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child, Saw Him hang in desolation, Till His spirit forth He sent.

O thou Mother! fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ my  Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain, who for all my sins was slain, who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee, mourning Him who mourned for me, all the days that I may live:

By the Cross with thee to stay, there with thee to weep and pray, is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!, Listen to my fond request: let me share thy grief divine;

Let me, to my latest breath, in my body bear the death of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound, steep my soul till it hath swooned, in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh, lest in flames I burn and die, in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence, be Thy Mother my defense, be Thy Cross my victory;

While my body here decays, may my soul Thy goodness praise, Safe in Paradise with Thee.

“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” is one of the great hymns of the church, perhaps the greatest passion hymn.  It has an equally great history.  It is based on a long medieval Latin poem, Salve mundi salutare, with stanzas addressing the various parts of Christ's body hanging on the Cross. The last part of the poem, from which the hymn is taken, is addressed to Christ's head, and begins "Salve caput cruentatum." The poem is often attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153).

Bernard of Clairvaux, saint, abbot, and doctor, fills one of the most conspicuous positions in the history of the middle ages. His father, Tecelin, or Tesselin, a knight of great bravery, was the friend and vassal of the Duke of Burgundy. Bernard was born at his father's castle on the eminence of Les Fontaines, near Dijon, iu Burgundy, in 1091. He was educated at Chatillon, where he was distinguished for his studious and meditative habits. Bernard had all the advantages that high birth, great personal beauty, graceful manners, and irresistible influence could give, but, strengthened in the resolve by night visions of his mother (who died in 1105), he chose a life of asceticism, and became a monk. He entered the monastery of Citeaux, the first Cistercian foundation, in 1113. Two years later he was sent forth, at the head of twelve monks, from the overcrowded abbey, to found a daughter institution in the Valley of Wormwood, the Abbey of Clairvaux. On the death of Pope Honorius II., in 1130, the College of Cardinals split without a clear choice of Pope.  Bernard was instrumental in the restoration of Pope Innocent II to Rome, which greatly increased his influence in the Church.  The summer of 1146 was spent traversing France and Germany to rouse the people to engage in the second crusade.  In both countries the effect of his appearance and eloquence was marvellous, almost miraculous. The population seemed to rise en masse, and take up the cross. In 1147, the expedition started, a vast army, of which probably not a tenth ever reached Palestine. It proved a complete failure, and a miserable remnant shared the flight of their leaders, the Emperor Conrad, and Louis, King of France, and returned home, defeated and disgraced. The blame was thrown upon Bernard, and he soon died, weary of the world.   

One of the hymns by which St. Bernard is best known as a writer of sacred poetry is "Salve mundi Salutore," an address to the various limbs of Christ on the cross. It consists of 350 lines, 50 lines being addressed to each. Many other hymns and sequences are attributed to St. Bernard.  Hymns, translated from, or founded on, St. Bernard's, will be found in almost every hymnal.

The poem was translated into German by the Lutheran hymnist Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676). He reworked the Latin version to suggest a more personal contemplation of the events of Christ's death on the cross. It first appeared in Johann Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica in 1656. Although Gerhardt translated the whole poem, it is the closing section which has become best known, and is sung as a hymn in its own right. The German hymn begins with "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".

Paulus Gerhardt studied at the University of Wittenberg, after which he was pastor at Mittenwalde, and then St. Nicholas’s Church in Berlin, then finally archdiaconus at Lübben.  The outward circumstances of Gerhardt's life were for the most part gloomy. His earlier years were spent amid the horrors of the Thirty Years' War. He did not obtain a settled position in life till he was 44 years of age. He was unable to marry till four years later; and his wife, after a long illness, died during the time that he was without office in Berlin; while of the five children of the marriage only one passed the period of childhood. His latter years at Lübben as a widower with one surviving child were passed among a rough and unsympathising people. 

Gerhardt ranks, next to Luther, as the most gifted and popular hymnwriter of the Lutheran Church. With a firm grasp of the objective realities of the Christian Faith, and a loyal adherence to the doctrinal standpoint of the Lutheran Church, Gerhardt is yet genuinely human; he takes a fresh, healthful view both of nature and of mankind. In his hymns we see the transition to the modern subjective tone of religious poetry. From the first publication of Gerhardt's hymns they at once came into favour among all ranks and creeds; and a large proportion are among the hymns most cherished and most widely used by German-speaking Christians at the present day. 

The length of many of Gerhardt's hymns ("Ein Lämmlein" is 10 stanzas of 10 lines; "Fröhlich soil," 15 stanzas of 8 lines), and the somewhat intricate metres of others, have caused his hymns to be less used in English than otherwise might have been the case; but a considerable proportion have come in some form or other into English hymnbooks. A large selection, translated with scrupulous faithfulness but not retaining much of the lyric grace of the originals, was published by the Rev. John Kelly, in 1867, as Paul Gerhardt’s Spiritual Songs. 

“O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” is a beautiful but free translation of the "Salve caput cruentatum". Gerhardt's version appeared in Crüger's Praxis (1656), in 10 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled, "To the suffering Face of Jesus Christ."  Bernard's original is powerful and searching, but Gerhardt's hymn is still more powerful and more profound, as redrawn from the deeper spring of evangelical Lutheran, Scriptural, knowledge, and fervency of faith.

The hymn was first translated into English in 1752 by John Gambold (1711–1771), an Anglican vicar in Oxfordshire. His translation begins, "O Head so full of bruises." In 1830 a new translation of the hymn was made by an American Presbyterian minister, James Waddell Alexander (1804-1859). Alexander's translation, beginning "O sacred head, now wounded," became one of the most widely used in 19th and 20th century hymnals.

James Waddell Alexander, D.D., (1804-1859) was an American Presbyterian minister and theologian who followed in the footsteps of his father, Rev. Archibald Alexander. He studied at Princeton, and was Professor of Rhetoric at Princeton, 1833; Pastor of Duane Street Presbyterian Church, New York, 1844; Professor of Church History, Princeton, 1849; and Pastor of 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York, 1851. His works include Gift to the Afflicted, Thoughts on Family Worship, and others. His hymn translations were collected and published at New York in 1861, under the title, The Breaking Crucible and other Translations. 

The music for the German and English versions of the hymn is by Hans Leo Hassler, written around 1600 for a secular love song, "Mein G'müt ist mir verwirret", which first appeared in print in the 1601 Lustgarten Neuer Teutscher Gesäng. The tune was appropriated and rhythmically simplified for Gerhardt's German hymn in 1656 by Johann Crüger. 

Alexander’s complete text follows:

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

The combination of liturgical musician and children's theater musician might seem to be an unlikely one. A quick analysis, however, shows that both jobs have a great deal in common. They both deal with transmitting important stories and messages in a highly stylistic manner with the hope that transformation will occur. It also helps if the attention of the assembly can be held for more than five minutes. Jeremy Young is such a musician. Based in the Washington, D.C., area, he has been involved in church music since his time as a graduate student at Catholic University, where he was awarded the masters degree in liturgical music in 1976. During that time and for thirteen years afterwards, he was the music director at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in the District of Columbia.  His list of compositions includes his album We Feel Your Presence, Lord (CS-224). His "We Shall Rise Again" (G-2983) now appears in the funeral music collection Blest Are Those Who Mourn, as well as both Gather hymnals.  His experience with children's theater began in 1974 when he joined the Blue Sky Puppet Theater, a troupe of puppeteers who specialize in bringing value-oriented messages to school students. Jeremy Young's music contributes to the productions that special power that increases the impact of the show.

Go to Dark Gethsemane - Zach Unke

“Go to Dark Gethsemane” is a Lenten hymn that spotlights scenes from the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life.  It takes us on a journey from the Garden of Gethsemane where we are charged to stand and watch, to the judgment hall and our denial of him, to the cross where we witness his death and his grace, and finally to his glorious resurrection and our redemption. We become part of the drama of Christ’s passion and resurrection. 

The poet repeats the phrase “learn of” at the end of each stanza, charging us to apply each scene to our lives. James Montgomery uses repetition to draw attention to what he considers important about each scene and each stanza.  “Learn of Jesus Christ to pray” encourages us to remember the scene of the garden and to go to God in fervent prayer. “Learn of Christ to bear the cross” is a charge to lay down our lives, take up the cross and follow Christ. “Learn of Jesus Christ to die” is a reminder of what Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” 

James Montgomery( 1771-1854), considered one of the most important hymn writers of the English language, wrote this beautiful hymn in 1820. He was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of Moravian missionary John Montgomery.  When Montgomery was 5 years old, his parents moved him to a Moravian settlement at Bracehill, Ireland, near Ballymena in Antrim County. Soon after, his parents accepted a call to the mission field and left him behind in Bracehill. He never saw his parents again. They both died while in the Barbados Islands.  At age 7, Montgomery was enrolled at Fulneck Seminary in Yorkshire, where he would remain for the next nine years. Struggling to meet the expectations of his instructors, he left the school at age 16 and became an apprentice at a chandler’s shop in Mirfield.  After five years, he tired of the work and took an apprenticeship with Joseph Gales, the owner and publisher of the Sheffield Register. For two years he learned about the publishing business, and in 1794, when Gales was forced to flee the country to avoid imprisonment, Montgomery took over the Register and changed its name to the Sheffield Iris.  Montgomery published and managed the Sheffield Iris for 32 years. He used the Iris as a tool to distribute the 360 hymns written throughout his life. His most well-known hymns are “Angels, From the Realms of Glory,” “Go to Dark Gethsemane,” “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,” “Songs of Praise the Angels Sang” and “Stand Up and Bless the Lord.” 

Montgomery’s “Go to Dark Gethsemane” is still one of his most widely used hymns, most often sung during Lent or during Holy Week. The first three stanzas are most commonly available in hymnals. The fourth stanza, though often omitted today, has been preserved in The United Methodist Hymnal.  Even though the text is now over 185 years old, it has rarely been altered. Many hymns from this era use language that is no longer common in today’s hymns or speech. Hymnal editors typically remove antiquated language and replace it with modern equivalents, but this hymn has remained essentially intact.  This beautiful somber hymn has stood the test of time. We benefit from the art and poetry of Montgomery still today.

Go to dark Gethsemane, You who feel the tempter's pow’r; 

Your Redeemer's conflict see; Watch with Him one bitter hour; 

Turn not from His griefs away; Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

Follow to the judgment hall; View the Lord of life arraigned;

O the worm-wood and the gall! O the pangs His soul sustained!

Shun not suff'ring, shame, or loss; Learn of Him to bear the cross.

Calv'ry's mournful mountain climb There' adoring at His feet,

Mark the miracle of time, God's own sacrifice complete:

"It is finished!" Hear the cry; Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

Early hasten to the tomb Where they laid his breathless clay;

All is solitude and gloom; Who hath taken Him away?

Christ is ris'n! He meets our eyes: Savior, teach us so to rise.

A native of Tacoma, Washington, Zach Unke grew up playing the piano and began playing in church as a second grader and accompanied several services as well as choir and classroom singing.  He studied piano both at Lakeland College and Martin Luther College.  He has played for several art openings, the 2008 Unity Music Festival in Sheboygan, and at both The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, WI and The American Club in Kohler, WI. He says: “I grew up as a church pianist.  I write music for the church pianist.  My goal is to create music that excites and challenges the pianist but is easily enjoyed by the listener.”

About the Choral Music:

Bread of the World – Dennis Eliot

Written by Reginald Heber, "Bread of the World" was first published posthumously in his Hymns written and adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year (1827); it was subtitled "Before the Sacrament."  Heber indicated it was to be sung as part of the service of confession and forgiveness or during the communion liturgy as a substitute for the traditional singing of the Agnus Dei. The text is a prayer asking Christ to look on us with mercy and to feed us with his grace. Though written in two stanzas, it is one continuous thought. A devotional text with strong poetic images–"bread of the world" and "wine of the soul"–this hymn invites confession of sin and the acceptance of divine grace.

Reginald Heber (1783-1826) was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823.  Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today.

The second and third verses were written by Gilbert Martin.  Gilbert M. Martin (b. 1941) is a free-lance composer and editor of choral music. For more than 30 years, organists, pianists, schools and churches have performed and enjoyed his original compositions and arrangements. He often travels throughout the country to teach and conduct musical ensembles. He received a B. Mus. from Westminster Choir College, where he was honored as a distinguished composer and graduate. He has received 21 yearly ASCAP Awards, and is a member of ACDA, AGO, AEA, and NARAS.

No biographical information is available on Dennis Eliot.

            Bread of the world in mercy broken, Wine of the soul in mercy shed, 

By whom the words of life were spoken, And in whose death our sins are dead:

Look on the heart by sorrow broken, look on the tears by sinners shed;

And be your feast to us the token that by your grace our souls are fed!

Sit at this place, dear Lord and Father, fill up the cup and break the bread;

O let us feel your loving power, O let us hear the words you said:

“This is my blood and body broken, refresh your spirit, make it whole;

Remember me with food the token; bread of the world, wine of the soul.”

About the Hymns:

You Satisfy the Hungry Heart

This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  First embraced by Roman Catholics, this hymn has since become well-known and a favorite in many denominations.   Following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the role of congregational song became much more prominent in Roman Catholic worship. The ecumenical worshipping community has been the beneficiary of some music composed for Catholic worship since that time, especially music for Communion.   We would not have some of our favorite Communion hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal and The Faith We Sing without the contribution of post-Vatican II Catholic composers. “One bread, one body” (UMH No. 620) and “Take our bread” (UMH No. 640) are just a two of these. 

Omer Westendorf (1916-1997) was one of the leading post-Vatican II composers and his hymn, “Gift of finest wheat,” is one of the best-known Communion hymns to come from the decades immediately following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  This hymn unites the work of composer, Robert Kreutz, and hymn text writer, Omer Westendorf.  It was among 200 texts submitted for possible use at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" was selected as the official hymn of that gathering.  The hymn was first published in We Celebrate with Song (1979).

Beginning at age 20, Westendorf received his master of music degree at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and for most of his professional musical career served as organist and choirmaster at St. Bonaventure Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Under his direction, the Bonaventure Choir sang concerts and recorded sacred music for several decades. One of his greatest achievements was the founding of the World Library of Sacred Music in 1950 and World Library Publications in 1957. These organizations have been primary distributors of music for the Mass in the U.S. and beyond.  Westendorf was also known for his lectures and seminars on sacred music, consultations on liturgical music, and as a hymn writer. UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young notes that Westendorf’s “People’s Mass Book, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1976, was the first vernacular hymn and service book to implement the Catholic liturgies decreed by Vatican Council II. He wrote Music Lessons for the Man in the Pew to teach the art of sight reading choral music.”

One of the prominent features of Catholic hymns from this era is a memorable and singable refrain. For example, think of how easily congregations learn the refrain by Catholic musician Daniel Schutte, “Here I Am, Lord.”  “You satisfy the hungry heart” has an equally memorable refrain, though more reflective.   The refrain evokes the agrarian image of “finest wheat,” the source of bread, a primary staple that sustains life. The hymn writer first addresses Christ directly in the second person, implying an intimate relationship, and offers a petition to Christ to “give to us... the bread of life to eat.”

The hymn is replete with biblical references. The refrain echoes John 6:25-37, a passage where Christ develops the imagery of bread and says, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger.” Stanza one focuses on the metaphor of Christ as shepherd drawn from several passages, but especially from John 10. Stanza three is almost a direct quotation of I Corinthians 10:16-17: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ. The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”  The final stanza sites the selfless and self-giving gift of Christ reminding us of Philippians 2:5-11, a creedal hymn of the early church. 

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”.  Today it is a widely known hymn included in many hymnals.